He couldn't stop thinking about it. It had been around five when he'd returned to the DPD and let Fowler know about Connor staying behind a while longer. He'd been sitting there for a solid hour, guilt eating away at his insides. He couldn't get the zero model out of his head. The way he'd looked so sad and desperate as he'd moved his hands, trying to speak to him. What kind of detective am I when I can't even communicate with a victim? His fingers twitched in agitation as he rested his elbows on the desk. This was the first time it had ever happened. What if it had been a deaf human? How scared would they have felt? Stuck with blinded senses and unable to communicate? He opened an internet tab and started browsing YouTube. There were plenty of tutorials, but that seemed a little too impersonal. Too difficult to pick up alone.

"Sign language? You going deaf, Reed?" Hank teased lightly as he walked by with a mug of coffee in his hand. He was clearly taking the long way back to his desk on purpose, spending a few more seconds on his feet after sitting down in meetings all day. It had been rough. He was glad he hadn't had to deal with Perkins directly. He probably would have punched him again if that were the case. Luckily, it was all officially over now. He was fully reinstated. The mark would go on his record, of course, but it wasn't like he didn't have a bunch of other disciplinaries already.

"No, I just...I think it would be a good idea to learn it, you know? Just in case," Reed replied almost questioningly. It was odd for him to seek any form of approval from other people these days. Hank took that as a positive sign as he shrugged his larger shoulders. Most of his largeness came from his weight these days, but he'd slowly turned over a new leaf to change that. Connor had insisted on it, pointing out he'd have to retire sooner if he didn't shape up. There was no way Hank wanted to retire or be bound to a desk for the rest of his career.

"There's certainly no harm in it, and God knows it's a better hobby than going to those damned AAL meetings!" Hank retorted gruffly, watching Reed nod his agreement. He'd long since parted ways with the AAL at this point. He hadn't interacted with any of their members in over five months. Until recently, he'd been busy with Connor's classes in the evenings, but now that he'd passed the course, he had a few hours free for something else. Usually, he'd just take cases home, but maybe learning a new skill would be more fulfilling. More useful. Sure, a lot of deaf people got those fancy implants these days, but there were still a few who shunned technology. Then there were people like that android, who were mute and used sign language to communicate.

Hank returned to his desk, leaving Reed to consider his options as he looked up various online courses. He wasn't sure that they'd work for him, but he did stumble across a few local tutors. He sent out a few emails before getting to work, surprised as he got a reply a few minutes later. It was a young woman. A university student who lived locally. He messaged her back to set up an appointment to meet and discuss his needs. He was lucky to find her free that evening. He felt a new surge of enthusiasm as he returned to work, barely noticing the hours pass. At eight o'clock, he packed up and grabbed his keys.

He met the young woman at a café not too far from the station. A lot of students lived in the area since the university was just up the road. City housing was expensive, but students on campus often got a discount. She had to be a first year. She looked barely eighteen. Very innocent and somewhat sweet. She looked up at him with bright blue eyes full of enthusiasm. It turned out it was quite rare for her to get tutoring requests for sign language. She usually tutored geometry. She was very good at speaking. Only the small lisp and lilt of her voice gave her deafness away.

"Do you have a hearing aid? How can you understand me?" Reed asked curiously, pausing as he realised he was being rude in questioning it. The girl, whose name was Rebecca, simply smiled warmly in return. She didn't seem bothered by it in the least. Perhaps she was used to it. Reed knew people could be insensitive when it came to certain things. The amount of times he'd been asked which one was the man in his relationships was appalling. He couldn't roll his eyes hard enough sometimes.

"I don't. I can't actually hear a thing. I can understand you because I've been lip-reading for so long," Rebecca replied, watching Reed nod his understanding. It made sense. "What made you want to learn?" It was a fair question. It would help her gauge how serious he was about the whole thing. For some reason, it made Reed a little uncomfortable. It would be weird to say that he felt bad about a mute robot. That is how it had started, but from there, he'd started looking at the broader context and other possibilities.

"I had an incident at work...I met someone that couldn't talk, and he wanted to communicate with me, but...It made me think that there could be a lot more people out there, and I don't want to be in that situation again." Reed was earnest in his response, watching Rebecca nod her agreement. It was a perfectly acceptable answer, one she even admired a little. It was always nice when people took an interest. She gave him a short introductory lesson, teaching him a few small hand signals. He could say hello and goodbye, count to ten, say please, thank you, and sorry, and had a printout of the alphabet to study by the time he was finished.

"How often would you like lessons?" Rebecca asked curiously, letting Reed see the college schedule on her tablet so that they could work around it. He brought up his own work hours on his phone so they could compare. He was eager to get started and booked her solid for an hour a night for two weeks. Maybe in two weeks he'd lessen the amount, but he was desperate to keep busy and learn more. When he took up a new hobby, he'd often be consumed by it for a while. Hopefully, he wouldn't lose interest in this one.

That became his new routine. He'd practice alone at night, watching tutorials and studying any papers Rebecca gave him. He'd later practice with Rebecca for an hour a night. Sometimes he'd even sneak in a couple of sessions during the workday if he had time. He tried to be careful about it, not wanting to seem weird to his co-workers, but he quickly grew comfortable signing at his desk. That's how Connor had found out. Almost three weeks had passed since the day at Cyberlife, and he hadn't spoken to him about it since.

Connor had been keeping regular tabs on the zero model, as well as the other RK900s. His friends at Jericho were still fixing the zero model. Mentally and physically. They'd been unable to fix his vocal processors right away. He needed a few replacement parts to be custom made from stored schematics, and they were still fixing the busted machinery to do so. He was doing well aside from that. Like the others, they hadn't been able to deviate him completely. It seemed deviancy, if possible, would have to be attained by himself. It seemed this was a precaution Cyberlife had taken to block deviancy from his model. The trauma he'd suffered had made him partially deviate, giving him the freedom of emotions, but without the freewill to disobey orders or escape his handler. That had made his torture even more cruel. They'd also been able to clear his registry. He was free to choose his own handler now. When he was ready. They'd assured him there was no rush. Once he'd decided what he wanted to do, he'd be able to assign a new company or individual as his owner.

The other RK900s had quickly moved on, mostly off the grid. They'd been courteous enough to let Connor know what they had chosen for themselves before disappearing. One had joined the FBI, two had headed for the State Department, one was in the CIA, and five had joined various sectors within the military. One of them had somewhat dropped off the grid, simply saying he would go his own way in time. Connor had wished them all well, telling them that if they ever needed anything, he'd be there. They'd been confused by his offer, but politely accepted his good will.

Connor had been visiting Cyberlife almost every day so far, even if just for a few minutes. The zero model had settled enough that he didn't need him there constantly. That was a vast improvement on his first night. Connor had actually ended up staying at the tower over night on that first day. The zero model had screeched out static every time Connor had suggested leaving, his blue eyes looking so wounded that Connor had caved in and stayed. Simon had done his best to get to know him a little, slowly weaning him away from Connor so that he could return to work. Over the next few days, the zero model's confidence had grown. He felt safe around the androids in the tower, slowly realising the humans who'd tortured him were gone for good.

His casing and skin had been beautifully repaired by Josh and Simon, who had checked over his internal parts, too. Aside from the torn out vocal processor, he was completely fine. It was just a case of helping him deal with the mental fallout and upgrading some of his software. Simon was doing well, interfacing with him regularly to share experiences and talk about it with him. Sometimes he'd speak out loud, and sometimes he'd sign with the zero model. Connor also used sign language, knowing the zero model was most comfortable with that method of communication. It made sense. He'd never interfaced with another android before that time in the basement when Connor had first met him.

Right now, sitting in the DPD, Connor watched Reed as he leaned back in his chair. He was looking at the screen. His lips quirked in amusement as he held a silent conversation with whoever was on the other side. It seemed he'd picked up a lot in three weeks. They were talking about a night out the person had the night before. Reed was playfully telling them off for getting so drunk they'd had to be carried home. It seemed the person had asked about Reed's last night out. Reed signed that he hadn't been on a good night out for weeks, and he hadn't been laid in forever. Connor actually had to look up the term laid under slang to make sense of that. Reed signed that he would be right back, grabbing his coffee mug for emphasis as he got to his feet. Curiosity got the better of Connor, who sneaked over to take a peek at the screen.

Hello, he signed at the pretty blonde, who was sitting at a desk in what seemed to be simple university accommodation. She had a pen in her hand, clearly working on an essay of some sort. She looked up in surprise as she noticed the movement on the screen, and Connor signed his greeting once again. Hello, my name is Connor. She examined him with a small smile.

Are you the one he's learning to sign for? She was curious, watching as Connor tilted his head in a silent question. He said he wants to learn to sign so that he can talk to people if he needs to, but I figured there was another reason. That made sense to Connor. He'd noticed that Reed would often get passionate about certain things very quickly. With that passion came the inexplicable need to consume all knowledge of the topic. A similar thing had happened during the modules. Reed had completed each assignment as soon as possible, even going so far as conducting extra research where necessary.

No, I believe it is because of...my brother. Detective Reed met my younger brother while we were working, and he is mute. Connor noticed the woman's blue eyes shift to the LED on his forehead. She questioned him on the familial ties of androids, and he actually enjoyed trying to explain to her the various models and how they considered themselves to be related. Being in the RK series, he and Markus considered themselves to be cousins, but since the RK900s were within the same model range, they were more like brothers to Connor.

"Am I interrupting?" Reed asked with a raised eyebrow as he returned and looked between Connor and his screen. He was almost amused by Connor's sheepish expression as he realised he'd been quite rude by prying into his private business. The woman on the screen, on the other hand, cheerfully got involved. Her lips quirked into an almost mischievous smile as she signed.

Yes! You didn't tell me your co-worker was such a snack! She almost seemed accusing as Reed snorted, watching Connor's LED spin yellow at the strangely forward compliment. Reed huffed his agreement. He couldn't exactly deny it. Connor was designed to be attractive, with each small mole placed with the utmost care to make him appealing. Is his little brother just as hot? Rebecca asked curiously, noting the way Reed seemed to clam up at that nugget of information. Reed placed his coffee on the table.

They're almost identical. His eyes were evasive as he responded. Rebecca looked somewhat smug at his discomfort. He shrugged it off as he moved past Connor to sit in his chair, turning it so that he could see both the screen and him. He was sure to angle himself so that Rebecca could still see both of them as they signed.

Outwardly, we are quite similar. However, my younger brother is an upgraded model with many advancements. Connor signed that with a hint of pride, which surprised Reed. He would have thought Connor, as an RK800, would feel some form of resentment at being upstaged as Cyberlife's most advanced model. Then again, he's never seemed the jealous type...Reed regarded Connor, who tilted his head curiously with soft hazel eyes.

Anyway, have you finished hijacking my lesson now? Reed asked with a smirk, watching Connor wince in embarrassment. Rebecca gave him a brief telling off before inviting Connor to join them for his lesson later. Connor politely declined, knowing that this was Reed's new hobby and it would be rude to interrupt them further. He used the excuse of work and swiftly escaped, leaving Reed to finish the last ten minutes of his break, and returned to work. Reed looked up as a piece of paper hit his forehead.

If you want more practice, I am fully capable of conversing this way. Reed watched as Connor signed from his desk. Reed signed back his agreement before they both quietly returned to work. Reed startled as another file was dropped on his desk. The pictures within sent a shiver down his spine. Another one...The fourth one now. He felt wary as he pulled up his saved map and added the new location. They were almost formed an exact cross, like compass points. Each warehouse was in a different area of the city, run by a different gang. So is it gang related at all? Is it one of the four trying to camouflage? Or a fifth group trying to throw us off? Penny for your thoughts, Connor signed after laying a hand on Reed's shoulder.

There's four of them now...Different gangs run in each area where the bodies were found...I don't even know if these are connected to gangs anymore! Reed's expression was somewhere between troubled and annoyed as he stared at the grim photos. It was definitely the same MO. Thirium drained. Smashed into bits. Tossed in a warehouse. Connor nodded his understanding as he joined him in looking at the photos. They sent a stiff, cold feeling coiling through his chest cavity.

This looks like it could become a big case. Can you handle it on your own? He was unsurprised as Reed's expression become defensive. He'd always worked alone, and he usually managed to close cases. At the same time, if new bodies kept piling up, it wouldn't hurt to have a second pair of eyes looking things over and giving him support. It wouldn't be the first time he'd ended up working with Hank on a case.

Guess we'll find out...Reed replied almost evasively. Connor said he'd think on it and reminded him he could always ask if he needed help. Thanks, Tin Can. Reed gave him a soft but grim look. Connor was almost indignant that he'd gone to the effort of learning to sign his pet names. Reed stared at the files again, turning everything over in his head. He had a few contacts on the streets. Maybe he could see a couple. Find out if they knew anything. That would have to wait for tomorrow though. He'd need to let them know and give them time to set up a meeting place.