Bad Habits

January 5, 2032, AM 08:43:18

Your boots click against the tile floor as you lead Gavin through Cyberlife. It's nice to be back in familiar territory, even if the circumstances for your visit are less than ideal. You lead him to the engineering department— a buzzing hub of activity that reminds you of the DPD. Various engineers huddle over their computers, typing rapidly or working on androids undergoing maintenance. Many androids sit in various glass rooms in differing states of disrepair with robotic arms working steadily on their insides. You continue walking down the main hall and head towards the workshops of the head engineers.

You rap your knuckles on the glass pane of the door to the workshop of interest and a muffled voice tells you to come in. You spare a glance over your shoulder at Gavin, who looks completely unenthused to be there, before pushing the door open and entering.

Dr. Matthew Hayden is a lanky man wearing glasses that are probably older than you are and a button-up shirt that's two sizes too big. He hunches over the mangled form of an android and a metallic smell tinges the air.

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to venture into my neck of the woods," he says as his gaze stays transfixed on his work. His tone is controlled, almost as if every word he says is deliberate.

You share a look with Gavin, who shrugs his shoulders. "I was wondering if you could give us some more information about the androids that have been showing up lately," you begin, and he sets his tools down and faces you.

He clasps his hands in front of him, "Do you know how hard it was to get the DPD to send over an android so I could look over it?" He throws his hands up dramatically, "You would've thought I was asking for a human corpse with the way they were grilling me!"

You grimace and Dr. Hayden chuckles.

"Have you been able to find anything?" you ask as you peer around him to look at the android he's working on.

His gaze lingers on you for a moment before he steps to the side to let you look at the android. Your stomach churns as you scan her face. She was the first.

Dr. Hayden peers over your shoulder and sighs. "It's a shame someone would waste such a beautiful piece of technology," he pauses for a moment and clicks his tongue. "Although, it's not too much of a waste. They took the most important parts and did mostly cosmetic damage besides the missing limbs."

"That's what we came here for," Gavin interrupts. "What could the parts that have been taken be used for?"

Dr. Hayden straightens, almost as if he forgot Gavin was there. He clears his throat and grabs a nearby datapad. He's silent for a moment as his gaze darts across the screen. "Well, it's mostly biocomponents, which help sustain normal functions. There are also advanced processors, which could be used to modify an existing android's cognitive abilities."

"Could these parts help someone create their own android?" you question as you look up at Dr. Hayden.

His eyes flick between you and Gavin before he sets his datapad down. He crosses his arms and strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Hm, I hadn't thought about that, Doctor. I suppose it's possible. They would probably need to find the parts for the skeleton and outer parts, but it wouldn't be difficult for anyone with advanced engineering skills to assemble one. Hell, we have an entire dumpsite for android parts they could scavenge!"

You heave a sigh. This just got a lot more complicated.

You hold out your hand, "Thank you for your time, Dr. Hayden. The information you've given us has been very insightful."

He's quick to clasp your hand in his own and give it a shake. "It's been my pleasure, Doctor. Anything to help with your investigation, plus I've been eager to meet the person I've heard so much about."

You furrow your brows and force a laugh, "All good things, I hope."

He chuckles, "It's mostly just talk about your work with the DPD. It's not something Cyberlife has done before, and people are curious about how it's going to turn out, especially with all these androids showing up like they are."

"Well, hopefully, we can solve this case and catch whoever is destroying the androids," you declare as you inch toward the exit.

"Good luck, Doctor. I have a feeling you'll need it," Dr. Hayden sighs. You nod in acknowledgment as you leave his office, grateful to be away from the suffocating smell of thirium that filled your lungs.

You lead Gavin toward your office, and you walk in silence as you go over your encounter with Dr. Hayden in your mind.

"I don't trust him," Gavin grunts as you reach the solace of your office. You assume your normal seat at your desk and furrow your brows.

"What? Why?"

Gavin shrugs, "Dunno, just have a bad feeling about him."

"You're gonna have to give me a little more than 'bad vibes' as a reason," you chuckle.

He rolls his eyes, "There was just something about his behavior. It seemed off."

"Maybe he's just a bit quirky," you hum.

Gavin shoots you a glare, and you can't help but laugh. What starts as a few chuckles quickly turns into full-on laughing so hard your eyes water. Gavin quickly joins you, and soon enough the both of you have tears running down your cheeks and your chests heaving as you try to catch your breath.

You wipe your eyes as you take a deep breath, sighing a little as your gaze lands on Gavin sitting across from you. He leans his head back and stares up at the ceiling. A comfortable silence falls between the two of you as you take in his features. He'd taken off his jacket as soon as he entered your office and placed it on the back of his chair, allowing you to take in the way his uniform hugged his shoulders.

"It's rude to stare, sweetheart," he smirks.

You rest your head in your hand, "How the fuck are we going to solve this? It seems like this person is always one step ahead of us, and they're getting bolder with each passing day."

Gavin leans forward in his chair and meets your eyes. "We're gonna catch them, sweetheart," he says and you almost believe him.