Warnings: Swearing. Let's just assume there's swearing in every chapter at this point.
After successfully evading Conrad's attempts of intimacy in the workplace, Connor sat down at his desk, a very irritable Conrad following suit. The other android would have to wait as work came before anything relaxing in Connor's mind, which meant he would not be distracted from his current objective and not even Conrad could sway him from that. Connor tapped on the terminal screen, bringing up his contacts before selecting Kamski's number. While he would prefer not to talk to the man in general, this was work and Connor would always get the job done. Conrad remained properly seated beside him, a little closer than usual so he could see the screen as well and possibly he was a little protective over Connor when it came to Kamski. The younger android could sense the anxiety coming from Connor when others could not.
After a couple of rings, the call was answered but by a blonde android he recalled vividly. Chloe, he wasn't sure if it was the same one he'd been forced to hold at gunpoint and then spared, but just her face reminded him of why he didn't like Kamski. He could feel Conrad's steel toned eyes turning to him and Connor quickly steadied himself before he gave his stress away.
"Connor, its a pleasure seeing you again. Kamski will be with you shortly, so I hope you don't mind the wait." Polite and welcome as Connor remembered, making him wonder if she really enjoyed it there or if she was a better liar than Connor was. After all, she had to live with Kamski and his constant need for games and experiments. Whatever Chloe and her counterparts felt remained a mystery as they seemed to have no intention on leaving despite gaining awareness, after all Connor didn't get to see what went on behind the scenes.
"I don't mind at all, he is a busy man." Connor stated politely, implying that he knew that Kamski was always up to something with his sarcastic words. Once again, Hank's fault. Chloe merely smiled and nodded her head before putting the call on hold, leaving Connor with a hold screen, who knew how long it would take as Kamski only operated on his time and everyone else had to revolve around his schedule. This time he appeared to have gotten lucky as it was only a couple of minutes before the video feed popped back up to Kamski sitting in his usual lounge chair by the pool.
"Ah Connor, I'm beginning to think you have a thing for me with how much we've been talking lately." Kamski teased, shifting his gaze onto Conrad, making his taunt obviously directed to Conrad. To Conrad's credit, he remained impassive, giving nothing away as he stared idly at the screen with his LED a solid blue, his cold exterior giving him that dangerous appearance. "So what do I owe the pleasure, Connor?"
"I'm glad you could talk on such a short notice, I know you value your solitude. However, I figure you already know why I'm calling you for, the newly changed omega from last night." Connor replied smoothly, wanting to get straight to the point and not beat around the bush, however, Kamski would never get to the answer directly. Instead he shifted his gaze past Connor, seeing something behind the android, making Connor turn his head.
"I see the force has been treating my little brother well." Kamski spoke up as Connor's gaze landed on Gavin who was staring at the screen in disgust. The detective had been passing by when he heard a familiar voice. From the expression he wore it didn't seem like he was all too happy to see Kamski on the screen.
"Half brother, shithead." Gavin growled out, his entire body tense while Kamski looked like he was having too much fun with Gavin in his sights. It was the first time Connor had heard that Gavin and Kamski were related, then again a lot about Kamski's past was suspiciously missing.
"Don't be so crude, Gavin, after all its been a while since we last talked. How do you like your android co-workers?"Kamski stated casually and yet Connor felt there was something deeper in what he said, what that was eluded Connor. While Connor was innately curious, family matters were not his priority now, Neither were they Gavin's as he simply flipped Kamski off before walking away, done with his older brother. Connor turned back to look at Kamski who seemed entirely too pleased with himself.
"Pardon the interruption, but back to the topic at hand." Connor tried to put the conversation back on the rails again, Kamski didn't reply right away though, leaving Connor's words in the air as he looked contemplative, mulling over his next words.
"Yes, the omega, what an intriguing turn of events that even I hadn't quite predicted." Kamski didn't look remorseful about the loss of life, only more interested in it. That's how it just was with Kamski, Connor was used to it though he didn't really approve of it. There was nothing they could do, Kamski was too smart to let himself get caught in anything that might be deemed illegal. "I can't deny that I am a bit curious to see how this all plays out, but I've decided to let you join in on this test."
"If you have any information on the case, it would be most appreciated if you hand it over." Connor was calm those he felt a bit of impatience in having to dance around Kamski's roundabout ways of speaking. Why couldn't the man just give him a solid answer? Connor already knew why, it was always for his entertainment as if the man was watching a show play out before him.
"I've caught on to an unprecedented recent deviancy recently within Detroit. A late bloomer perhaps? A bit of a coincidence if you ask me, so it may be worth your while to go check it out." Too easy, Kamski was giving him information and yet still being vague about it, making Connor wary of what else Kamski knew. "Wouldn't hurt, after all, you have no other leads since you had to resort to calling me." Connor glanced away in guilt, but he wouldn't feel regret, Kamski was far too dangerous to interact with on a daily basis, already Connor felt like he'd talked to the man enough to take care of an entire year's worth of face time with Kamski.
Amanda had been just as conniving as Kamski, a product of that man and Connor didn't know how deep Kamski's programming went into Amanda, how much he knew about her. That web of deceit and lies was far too intricate for Connor to go over right now, he had to act before another android met the same fate. He definitely couldn't just sit around waiting for another lead, whatever game this was, Connor would play it, but he wouldn't be alone. Not anymore. "Thank you for your cooperation, Kamski, if you'll forward the address to my terminal I will get right on the case."
Kamski's grin was a little too much for Connor to bear and he quickly hung up the call as Kamski waved, he didn't say his farewells, it was rude of him but he couldn't stand looking at the man any longer. Regardless of his lack of manners, his messages chimed as he received the address as promised. He opened the mail as he suddenly felt Conrad's face press against his neck, there was no kissing but a subtle and quick rub of where their scent glands were hidden beneath layers of clothes. It was meant to be a comforting gesture between partners, distracting Connor momentarily and glancing over at Conrad. The other android had returned to his usual upright sitting position, appearing as if he just didn't do an intimate gesture in public.
Shaking his head to clear it, Connor looked back at the address and logged it into his systems, letting his access to the map of Detroit to locate where it was. In the factory district, a typical location for any hideout as most of the buildings were still temporarily abandoned due to the majority of humans leaving the city, not that the factory district had ever been a busy place to begin with. Connor held out his hand, letting Conrad's fingertips press against their own as they transferred information between each other.
"Hank, your plastic dogs are doing that freaky shit again." Gavin shouted out, interrupting the transfer of thoughts and feelings between one another, the connection wasn't strong enough to be overwhelmed by each other, just a dull connection that they could analyze each other's thoughts on what they knew about the case. Conrad shifted his glacial gray eyes onto Gavin, not budging despite Connor jerking his hand away, making the transfer end too abruptly.
"God damn it, what I say about the PDA, Connor." Hank grumbled as he returned from Captain Fowler's office.
"Sorry, Lieutenant, we were comparing notes. We just got off a call with Kamski and he gave us a lead. Its in the factory district, apparently its a recently deviated android staying there." Connor supplied, filling Hank into the situation.
"There are other androids living there as well, its a human ghost town there." Conrad added shortly after Connor spoke, they still needed time to de-sync as they were getting too well acquainted with sharing their thoughts. Hank made a grimace, definitely not getting used to the fact.
"Well, no use sitting around here dealing with dick for brains," Hank jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Gavin who reciprocated in a rude gesture before returning to his work at his desk.
Connor stood up a half a second before Conrad did, making Connor try to be more conscious in not making his movements align with Conrad's so much. "We'll follow you there, I've already logged the address in your GPS in your car, it should take us there directly." Connor didn't need to state the fact he would be riding with Conrad again, the two alphas were just barely tolerating each other's presence, it wouldn't be long until Connor would finally be able to ride with Hank again. Though the idea of putting Conrad in the back seat while Connor rode shotgun was an entertaining thought that likely would never happen.
The ride into the more desolate part of the city took longer than Connor expected, mostly because he was used to Conrad going at top speeds but now they resorted to following Hank's car. While the old alpha was no slack on the gas pedal, he was still a human and still in a bigger, heavier care that wasn't as easily maneuverable as Conrad's bike. As they pulled to a stop in front of a worn down building that was beyond repair, likely schedule to be completely demolished in the future whenever things settled. Connor looked up at the large metal building, a ruin from a time before him, before androids. Connor ran a hand through his hair, fixing it in its perfectly imperfect style.
Seeing how vehicles rarely came out here, it was no doubt that the android inside likely was already aware of their presence. A android's first instinct was to hide and in such a wasteland that would likely be easy to do. Not that it mattered, not when there were two hunters on the scene. Connor walked up to Hank as the seasoned detective got out of his car, examining the building himself. "Since the android likely already knows we're here, they'll hide until we flush him out. So Hank will wait at the front while Conrad and I try to herd them out the front." He knew that idea likely wouldn't work but when hunting androids Hank wasn't the fittest of detectives, so it was best to leave the chasing to the RK units who were built for it.
"Yeah, I got it, just don't get yourself into trouble, the both of you." He gave a glare to Conrad who seemed uncaring about the statement. It was a warning for both of them to behave, with Connor's single minded determination that often got him into trouble and Conrad's knack for brutal violence.
"I'll do my best, lieutenant. Make sure you stay on alert too, I'm sure the androids around here still aren't partial to humans quite yet." Connor frowned, hoping as long as Hank didn't go snooping then the androids that resided around here would leave him be as it was illegal to kill humans, there was a limit to freedom.
As Connor and Conrad approached the front doors, barely hanging on with their rusted hinges, the units paused. Connor glanced over to Conrad who was already staring at him, their LEDs blinking and swirling yellow as they processed the line of thought on how they should approach the situation. After a moment, Conrad frowned and reluctantly nodded before turning to veer off around the side of the building. He would enter from the back, planning to trap the android inside. Connor didn't plan for it to be easy, a newly deviated android was unpredictable and dangerous.
Slowly, Connor raised a hand, pressing against the handle-less door to ease it open, it creaked painfully loud as it swung inwards to reveal a dim warehouse. Windows covered in grim barely let any light in, abandoned stacks of empty crates and decommissioned machined collecting rust and dust were the skeletal remains of an era long past. After observing his surroundings, Connor finally took a step inside, expecting the android to be tucked away hiding. So when a fist came flying out from the left, it caught him by surprise, making him stumble deeper into the warehouse.
The other android stepped before him, the light spilling in from the open door revealing that the android standing in front of Connor was no one other than himself.
