Tick Tock Part Four - The Mouse Fell Down

Cold

"Wow, good job!" Miller gasped, doubling over to catch his breath as he finally caught up to find Nines holding their suspect by the collar of his jacket. His hands were already cuffed behind his back as he cursed and squirmed. Nines' expression remained cool and disinterested. Detached. Miller was used to it by now. He'd been that way for weeks, maybe even months, at this point. He couldn't even blame him, considering what had happened. No one in the precinct even dared to bring it up at this point. It had to be six months, if not a little longer. What had started out as stress and despair had cooled and hardened. He was a lot like he'd been at the start. Cold and unapproachable. Luckily, most people at the precinct knew him better than that.

"Let me go, you useless piece of junk!" Their suspect was approaching middle aged with scruffy brunette hair and steel eyes, lips fixed in a permanent snarl as he twisted this way and that, trying to break Nines' grip. It made no difference to Nines. His hand continued holding the leather collar in an iron grasp, unyielding. "Fucking discount microwave! Uncuff me and I'll fucking show you!" He had quite the mouth on him. Miller was impressed with Nines' restraint. Despite his cool exterior, he had a lot less patience these days.

"Cease your incessant whining before I end it for you," Nines warned with a rough tug of the jacket. Steel eyes glared, but it seemed something in Nines' silvery eyes alerted him to the sincerity behind that warning. The man fell silent and remained that way all the way back to the car. He put up a brief fight as he was pushed in the back, and though he was tempted to kick Nines as he reached across and buckled him in, he thought better of it and settled for glaring instead. They remained quiet as they climbed in. It was almost like Nines had entered stasis. He remained stiff in his seat, staring ahead with unfocused eyes. That was just how things were now. Miller was used to it. As they pulled up, he rounded to the back of the car as usual.

"I'll take it from here. Why don't you go ahead and file the report?" Miller said as he unbuckled their suspect's seatbelt. They both knew Nines was faster at that sort of thing. He may even have sent it already. With a nod of his head and a somewhat curt agreement, Nines headed inside and sat at his desk. He paid no attention to Connor and Hank as he wheeled closer to his desk and laid a hand on his terminal, ignoring the cheerful pink pot that sat on the edge of his desk. How the small plant was still flourishing, he didn't know. The cheerful yellow flowers had opened weeks ago, mocking him with their cheery disposition. He assumed Connor had kept up with its care since he hadn't watered it himself in months.

He spared it a glance as he filed his report, taking in the faded chibi drawn on the side where Tina had gleefully doodled her grumpy Gavin all those months ago. The memory of seeing the pot for the first time popped up in his HUD. It was something he was getting used to these days. Whenever something reminded him of Gavin, an appropriate memory file would pop up and start playing. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to soothe or mock him, but it was always painful. A dull ache filled his chest as he replayed looking at the odds and ends Gavin had placed on his desk to cheer it up. The poor plant had been sickly at first, dehydrated to the point it might not have recovered. With a regular feeding schedule and the proper nourishment, he'd been able to get it back on the right track. Much like Gavin.

Thinking of Gavin was even more painful, so Nines blinked the box away and sent off the completed report. At least, he assumed it had been completed. Such things were often left on autopilot these days. Having finished his current task, and having no outstanding cases until he and Miller were called on again, Nines shut down his terminal and headed for the charging alcoves. It had become his new ritual. A way of coping, or avoiding. He simply allowed the workday to pass, going into stasis whenever he wasn't needed.

What was the point of staying awake? He wasn't allowed to work on Gavin's case, even though he was quite certain that everyone had given up and moved on at this point. When he sat at his desk, he was constantly bothered by others who likely meant well. Connor checked in regularly with reminders to watch his thirium levels, and Miller and Tina often stopped by to see if he needed anything or keep him company. Even Hank would give him those lingering, sympathetic glances that told him he'd been looking sorry for himself for too long. At least in stasis, he wouldn't be disturbed unless it was work related.