Disgustingly Appetizing

Chapter 29: Kamski's Masquerade (Part One)

"You look dashing, Gavin," Richard expressed with a smirk as he eyed his counterpart from top to bottom.

The brunet fiddled with his bow-tie while making his way toward his partner who was lounging near the dinner table. "Thanks," he stated before letting out a frustrated huff, "For fuck's sake," the detective rolled his eyes, "Could you help me with this?" he pointed to the tie.

"Of course," RK900 nodded as he approached his colleague and gripped the ends of the black neckwear and began knotting. The android's gaze drifted from the bow to Gavin's worried expression, noting the officer's furrowed brows and anxious stare. "You seem nervous," Richard stated as he tended to the bowtie.

"That's because I am," Gavin sighed as he swung his arms to his sides and looked to the ceiling, "I'm beyond nervous," he clarified while bringing his hands together to stop them from trembling.

Richard glanced at his partner with a sympathetic expression, "I can understand why you feel this way," he stated as he tugged at the tie, "But I am here to put your mind at ease," the android smiled while finishing up the knot.

Gavin looked at the perfectly tied bow and raised his brows, impressed by the machine's skill. "Oh yeah?" the brunet's eyes shifted from the tie to his colleague, "And how're you gonna do that?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well," RK900 patted down his uniform, "For starters, we have our suits, masks and tickets," he lifted his index finger before doing the same with his middle finger, "Secondly, we have a strategy—many actually— about how we'd like to detain the Sergeant. I've also memorized the layout of Kamski's mansion, so we have no issues there," he pointed to his ring finger. "Lastly, Julia was kind enough to inform us about how to smuggle our handguns into the ball in the unfortunate event we end up using them."

"Right," Gavin brought a hand to his face to pinch the skin between his brows, "She told us t—"

"To seek out a female android with long black hair and black eyes, that's correct," Richard interjected. "Remember, she's a VM700 bodyguard model so she will be at the entrance of the mansion," he gestured with hands, "Julia said that the android goes by the name of Cassiki."

"Okay," the detective mumbled faintly as he attempted to rehearse everything in his head. He then shut his eyes and sat on the dinner table, "I don't know if I can do this," Gavin brought a hand to his forehead, "I feel sick."

"Gavin," RK900 slowly walked over to his partner and firmly gripped the officer's free hand, "You have nothing to be worried about," he looked into the brunet's grey eyes, "Not while I'm by your side," the android expressed with determination.

Gavin glanced at the machine momentarily then let out a small breath, "You should go get dressed," he motioned to his bedroom, "Suit's on the desk near the bed."

Richard knit his brows, irritated by his partner's stubbornness, "Gav—"

"The ball starts in four hours," the officer glared at RK900, "And I'd like to get there early to scope out the front."

The android stared at his deadpan colleague, his LED momentarily flashing yellow before sighing and straightening himself out. Without another word, Richard started for the bedroom to change.

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The detective sat cross-legged on the living room couch with his head resting on his right hand while his left hand was busy stroking Cleopatra's back. Gavin curled his mouth into a small smirk as he watched the feline purr in delight in his lap. He drew his upper lip between his teeth as his gaze drifted to the bedroom door. He then looked to his watch and grumbled in annoyance as he realized that seventeen minutes had already gone by. "Did you run out of batteries trying to put on your fucking tuxedo?" the brunet shouted with an irked cadence, "What's takin' so long, Astro Boy?"