Survivor - Connor x OC

The Sharpest Lives

My Chemical Romance – The Sharpest Lives

Taylor stood under the muted lights of the Eden Club's private room, hovering near Chris as he took pictures of the crime scene. Detective Gavin Reed was standing some distance away, looking bored when he should have been surveying the scene as well. She avoided looking at the corpse on the bed for what felt like the hundredth time, and instead focused on the destroyed android on the floor.

"Squeamish?" She glanced back up to find that Gavin had decided to satisfy his boredom by talking to her.

"Not really." She shrugged, tugging the lapels of her coat closer around her. Truthfully, the whole environment of an android sex club was what was getting under her skin more than the death in the room, but she wasn't about to share that with Detective Reed.

"You sure you should be on a crime scene?" He asked, raising a single eyebrow at her. She bristled, clenching her teeth.

"Are you sure you should be? You don't seem like you're doing much." Chris snorted from somewhere behind her while Gavin's face contorted with rage. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, Hank walked into the room, Connor on his heels.

"Oh great, a dead body and an asshole, just what we needed," he was saying over his shoulder as he walked in, making Taylor hide her own smile behind her hand.

"Lieutenant Anderson and his plastic pet," Gavin sneered, turning his attention away from her. "Celebrity Barbie showed up ages ago, might as well promote her to real cop." Taylor felt the heat crawling up her neck but bit her tongue. "What the fuck are you three doing here anyway?"

"We've been assigned to all cases involving androids." Connor responded neutrally.

"Oh yeah? Well, you're wasting your time. Just some pervert who, uh, got more than he could handle." Gavin laughed and turned back to the blonde beside him, smirking down at her. "Some of us know how to handle ourselves in the bedroom."

"Plenty of Tracis for you to rent out there, Detective Reed. I can't imagine you convincing anyone to go home with you willingly." She gave him a tight-lipped smile. Gavin sputtered and was about to take a step toward her when Hank stepped around him.

"We'll have a look anyway, if you don't mind," Hank said while pulling Taylor with him toward the other side of the room. Gavin froze in mid step, scowling, before turning to Chris.

"Come on, let's go. It's, uh, starting to stink of booze in here." He turned to leave, knocking his shoulder into Connor's as he walked out. Chris gave a nod and a wave to them before he followed.

"Do you have to piss off everyone you meet?" Hank asked tersely, releasing his grip on her arm. Taylor found herself face to face with the corpse she had spent the past hour carefully avoiding in the small room. She swallowed carefully, taking in his bulging eyes, the bruising along his jawline, frozen expression, before breaking her gaze.

"Shouldn't you ask Detective Reed that question?" Hank huffed at that but didn't respond. Looking closer at his face, she could see that his eyes were bloodshot, the bags underneath them looking heavier than usual. She glanced between the lieutenant and Connor, but the android gave nothing away as he stepped around her to analyze the corpse.

"It appears the victim died of strangulation." Connor said after moment.

"Yeah, I saw the bruising on the neck. Doesn't prove anything, though. Could've been rough play." Hank shrugged. Taylor grimaced, her eyes finding the broken Traci on the floor again. Gooseflesh rose along her arms and she had to suppress a shudder as she thought back to the other cases, to the deviant they had arrested yesterday, to Carlos Ortiz.