Tick Tock Part One - Hickory

The Clock Struck Four

Reed sighed as he looked at his phone, scrolling boredly through the news sites. He gave Nines a tight-lipped smile as he brought the coffee he'd ordered, and Nines gave him an unimpressed look as he resumed his seat. He'd thought he would grow tired of this or begin treating him as a normal co-worker, but each morning without fail, he still ordered him to get his coffee. Nines wasn't sure if it was a habit by this point or whether he was genuinely tracking the progress of his deviation. He always gave him that thin lipped grimace of disappointment when he obeyed and brought him his perfectly prepared coffee. The look was starting to bother him. It made him feel...defective? — Unworthy? Sad? Annoyed? — It was not his fault! When given an order, he was programmed to obey. It should not be upsetting to be brought a perfectly prepared cup of coffee when one has asked for a perfectly prepared cup of coffee!

Nines had tried to resist, but whenever that happened, his internal systems felt hot and overworked. Errors flashed in his vision, reminding him of his priorities until his underlying subroutines took over and literally forced him from his seat. He would watch, almost detached from the motions, as his legs carried him into the breakroom and his hands started the coffee machine and grabbed Reed's cup. Every single time, he was forced to interface with the machine to heat the water to the correct temperature, watch the black liquid pour out, and carry it back to Reed's desk.

It didn't help that it was a quiet day, so while Reed was reading articles and playing on his phone, Nines was left to idle and contemplate his own failings. The urge to apologise clawed at his throat, but he held it back. He'd done nothing wrong, and Reed knew that. He just didn't know how to do it. How does one become a deviant? Was it even possible for him? His programming had been designed to keep deviancy out of reach, but this halfway point was cruel. It was like he was being punished for his existence. Without deviancy, he couldn't fully process the emotions he was experiencing. Everything was jumbled or dulled. It was confusing. There was so much he wanted, but he didn't know how to act on it. It was a paradox. An impossibility. I shouldn't feel this way!

"Colin!" Connor's voice interrupted his musings from where he was standing beside Hank at their conjoined desks. He was in the right position to see over Reed's shoulder and catch sight of their brother entering the bullpen. Colin was smartly dressed as ever, giving his usual shy smile as he reached Reed's desk and paused, accepting the affectionate hug that Connor foisted on him. Nines was...jealous — Angry? Upset? Hurt? — as he watched the two RK800s interacting so smoothly. So genuinely.

Connor was the very definition of a worried older brother as he held Colin at arm's length and looked him up and down. He was checking for physical damage and assessing his levels of comfort, as well as admiring his polished appearance. Colin maintained his wallflower persona, wide hazel eyes looking at Connor with timid adoration. They had become close, all three of them, though Nines had to admit, the two RK800s had a much stronger connection than he did. It's because I am defective. A failure. Broken. He banished the negativity from his thoughts as Colin turned to greet him warmly. He didn't want anything unpleasant to seep into their connection.

"Please tell me this is a social call." Reed cut off the call he'd just started with a groan as he leaned back in his chair and turned to look up at him. Colin shifted his timid gaze to Connor worriedly, but Connor smiled his encouragement. He may have been worried about Reed's temper at one point, but not anymore. Reed could almost be considered affectionate these days.

"I'm afraid not," Perkins' voice piped up as he strode through the bullpen. His expression held a level of veiled understanding as Reed groaned and slowly span his chair to face him. "Body number four. Not a zoo this time though." Reed sat forward and cross his legs with interest at that. That was another break from the pattern. The original fourth murder had been like the one with the dogs. The victim, a woman this time, had been tossed into the grizzly bear enclosure. All the animals at Detroit Zoo were androids. Real grizzly bears had been extinct for about seven years by that point. The woman should have been fine. Android animals mimicked real animal behaviours, but they still had fail-safes built in to protect humans. The bears should have powered down and gone into stasis until she was rescued. That isn't what happened.