Dickory

The Statement

By the time Nines opened his eyes again, most of the day had passed. The added stress had taken a toll on his systems, so it took longer to reorder his thoughts and replenish his energy reserves. His stress levels had completely calmed, which was more than he could say for his partner. Gavin was jittery. Nervous. It wasn't a state Nines usually associated with him. The moment he opened his eyes, Gavin was there, checking up on him. Making sure he was alright, asking about his stress levels, asking if he needed thirium and forcing a silver bottle into his hands.

It was late afternoon. Gavin and Elijah had remained in the parlour all day since Gavin hadn't wanted to leave Nines' side. He'd managed to sleep a little more while he waited for the charging cycle to end. He'd curled up on a sofa close to Nines' reclined form to sleep, often jerking awake just a few minutes later. Elijah had kept watch, diligently shaking his shoulder whenever he sensed a nightmare coming on. Chloe had made sure that he ate something, and when Nines woke up, she already had some thirium ready.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Nines asked sensitively as he sat upright in the chair he'd been reclined in earlier. Gavin sat on the sofa and interlocked his fingers, gripping and twisting them as he looked at the floor and nodded. He couldn't really say he was ready, but they had to go through it all at some point. May as well get it over with. Elijah and Chloe stepped out, both understanding the need for confidentiality and discretion where official statements were concerned. "Very well. State your name and rank for the record," Nines instructed calmly as he began an official recording.

"Detective Gavin Alexander Reed of the Detroit Police Department." His leg was already bouncing as his thoughts returned to the previous day. It was a lot to take in. A lot to unpack. A lot to confront. Nines remained calm and collected as he decided where to begin his line of questioning. It made sense to start right near the beginning of their day. It offered a lead-in. Something less traumatic for Gavin to focus on first.

"Will you begin your account at the start of your day? What were you doing at the precinct yesterday morning?" Gavin let the calm of Nines' voice wash over him and sighed as he closed his eyes and took himself back to the previous working day. Everything had been so normal; boring even. Nothing stood out except that he'd been a little anxious about the lack of contact from Aaron. Less anxious...more annoyed...I thought he was just busy and ignoring my calls. The thought sent guilt coiling through his insides.

"I was writing up some reports and waiting on a text or call from Aaron. Aaron Hughes...We hadn't spoken for a couple of days, so I was getting a little annoyed about it. We didn't fight on Friday, so I was expecting another call or text...That's when I got the email, the one I forwarded to you." Nines nodded his agreement as Gavin's green eyes lifted for confirmation. He remembered, of course. The old Cyberlife email address. He'd already run it to find that it was one of many outdated accounts. Once addresses went out of use, they would often become available for purchase online. For now, he didn't see the relevance of the address itself, but he'd flagged it for Colin's inspection.

"You had never seen this email address before that day, and you had no idea who it could have belonged to. Is that correct?" Nines asked for confirmation, watching Gavin's jaw tighten. His whole body was tense. If he'd had any idea, any at all, he would have called Perkins. The last thing he'd wanted to do was to put himself in the middle of another crime scene like that. To be targeted like that. He felt violated. Sickened. He felt...The experience had seeped into every pore, hit him on every level. If he never saw one of those fucking clocks again, it would be too soon. He wasn't even sure he could handle seeing thirium again at this point.

"N-No, I didn't recognise it. That's part of the reason I checked it out...I thought maybe it was one of my informants in trouble and looking for an out. It happens sometimes if they can't make a call directly. It didn't even cross my mind that..." He trailed off, licking his lips as they dried out. Talking about it was harder than he thought. His heart was pounding already, and they'd barely even started. Nines watched his stress spike and paused, waiting for him to take a few breaths before continuing. His skin was getting an unhealthy white sheen as he continued to fidget.