"Connor! Connor-fuck-watch-the-car!" Hank's knuckles were white as he gripped the handle by his head. Thank fuck he'd remembered to buckle his seatbelt! He didn't even remember the last time he'd driven his car this fast. It was surprising the old girl could still manage it. They'd just been getting ready to leave for work when Connor got the call. His LED had spun yellow then red, hazel eyes wide in disbelief. He'd barely told him that Gavin was gone before grabbing the keys and rushing out the door. Hank had followed with demands to know what he meant. Gavin couldn't just be gone! They had no time to argue. Niles had already left to catch the school bus, so Hank had followed and climbed into the passenger's seat. Connor had been driving at full speed the moment he'd left the driveway, lights and sirens blaring. Hank rarely used them. This was his personal vehicle, and as a homicide detective, he didn't take part in high-speed chases that often.

Connor could barely focus on what he was saying. His jaw was tense, brow furrowed as he jerked the wheel and swerved around the car that almost pulled into them. His connection to Nines had been reduced to static. He wasn't sure whether there was something wrong with their connection or if Nines was just so stressed he couldn't communicate. He clicked his tongue as he saw two cars up ahead that were too close for him to slip between. Hank yelped and threw a hand on the dash as he hit the brakes to slow them down.

"Connor! Where the fuck did you learn to drive? You're going to kill somebody! Probably me!" Hank was beyond exasperated as he sat back. His heart was racing as he panted, stress lowering a little since they'd slowed to a more reasonable speed. He understood Connor's urgency, but Christ, these were busy streets and it was early morning! Kids were going to school! He couldn't help the lump that formed in his throat at the thought. Connor's LED span between red and yellow as he gripped the wheel. He knew Hank was right, but Nines was his brother, and Gavin was his friend. They were two of the most important people in his life. "I know you're worried, but we're less than ten minutes away now."

"I-I know, but my connection to Nines is...unstable. I'm worried." He didn't need to tell him that. It was obvious from looking at his face. If he were human, he would have been pale. A jittering wreck. As an android, he still had control of his faculties. One of the cars turned off and Connor surged forward, though he kept his speed a little more reasonable than before. They were entering the busier parts of the city now, and traffic was getting heavier. The siren was letting them through, but it was still slow with all the extra cars on the road.

"Here, pull over and get out. I'll park underground and meet you up there," Hank urged as they reached the Plaza. Connor gave him a warm look as he parked the car and got out right by the main doors of The Maple Hotel. He didn't look back to see Hank circle round to the driver's side. He had to get to Nines. Entering the hotel at a dead run, he looked around reception for an available staff member. Roland was there. He'd met him while setting up the party for Nines a few weeks ago. He'd been most helpful, letting them use the lift and helping to take things up to the penthouse.

"Connor, it's good to see you again. Are you here to see Nines?" Roland asked politely as he walked over. His expression pinched a little as he realised Connor's stressed state. He looked panicked; LED spinning yellow as he hurried over. His clothes were neat, but his tie was a little crooked from all the rushing around. Connor nodded stiffly as he straightened it. It was a shame they were meeting again under such circumstances.

"Yes, I need to get up to the penthouse. It's an emergency!" Roland's eyes widened a little at that and he turned professional immediately, leading the way to the elevators. He swiped Connor in and pressed the top floor. Not having seen Nines or Gavin that morning, he assumed they were both up there. Connor didn't correct him, but he thanked him politely and informed him that Hank and the FBI would join him shortly. Mention of the FBI had Roland looking even more concerned.

The ride up was tense. Connor was impatient to reach the top. He pulled out his coin, flicking it idly and passing it across his fingers. The closer he got to the top, the faster he flicked. The pinging would have annoyed Hank to no end. He caught the coin between two fingers as the lift stopped with a slight bump. The doors parted and Connor was in the entryway knocking before they'd even fully opened. He tried the door. It was locked. He rested his palm against it. Nines' code was unbreakable to him. He knocked and pressed the bell, holding it down in an endless shrill buzz. Nines, it's me, come on...There was a click and the security door finally unlocked.

"Nines?" The entryway was empty. Silent. Connor nodded a polite greeting to Aaron's sculpture as he shut the door and looked around. There was a new painting of Detroit that looked quite beautiful. The colours were crisp and rich. It was an amateur painting with rather crude lines, but still somewhat tasteful. The messy GR in the bottom corner betrayed it as Gavin's work. Connor hummed softly as he moved through to the bar. It was empty. The workshop was dark. "Nines?" he called again as he made his way towards the kitchen. "Nines!" He hurried over to the naked figure that sat crouched and huddled against the counter.

It almost seemed as if he'd lost the strength in his legs and gone into stasis. His LED was a solid ring of burning red, the only light in the dim morning light. The sky outside was grey, the sun only just breaking through in a few places. Nines' silvery eyes were open and vacant as he stared at his knees, which he'd pulled against his chest, his arms wrapped around them. Saline ran freely down his cheeks, spilling from the artificial ducts in a continuous trickle. A DPD badge had been dropped on the floor beside him, and in his hand was a short note. The paper was crumpled where he was gripping it so tight. Connor reached out and picked up the metal badge with hesitant fingers. It was definitely Gavin's. Only his fingerprints were on it. Setting the badge on the counter, he returned his attention to Nines.

"Nines? It's me, Connor...Can you tell me what happened?" He used his softest tone. The one he used when comforting Niles or talking to child victims. Nines didn't even blink at the hand that slowly reached out to rest on his forearm. Connor drew his skin back and sent a silent request. Nines made no visible acknowledgement besides his own skin trickling away. Connor's LED blinked yellow as he made the connection, wincing internally at the strength of Nines' emotional distress. He wasn't designed to handle such high levels of emotion. His mind didn't know how to cope, so everything had shut down. That explained why he was so unresponsive. Nines! Connor reached deeper into his subconscious, to a place he'd never been before. Usually, they would simply exchange information and talk. This time they needed something deeper and more intimate.

Connor opened his eyes and looked around the familiar garden. Where Nines' mind was distorted, the garden was calm. It was a fine spring day. The sky was blue and sunny. Sunlight hit the ripples in a small lake, making it shimmer. Colourful flowers were in full bloom, including those in the rose garden. He half expected Amanda to appear, and remained guarded as he made his way down the path to the small wooden bridge that would take him across to the small patio. His shoulders relaxed somewhat when he finally saw Nines standing there looking down at his hands in confusion. He turned to look around the garden, utterly bewildered. He'd never been there before, and was unsure they were still inside his head. His state of dress had also changed, leaving him in his Cyberlife uniform. Something he hadn't worn in almost a year.

"Nines!" Connor sighed in relief as he hurried across the bridge to join him. Nines remained confused even as Connor pulled him into a tight embrace. It was no surprise to him that Connor was wearing his Cyberlife attire. It was a workday, and it was rare to see him out of it. "I was so worried when you called! What happened? Can you tell me?" Connor guided him across to the small set of stone steps that led down to the edge of the lake. There used to be a small boat in his own zen garden, but Nines' was bare. He urged him to sit and sank down beside him on the steps.

"Everything was fine...We had a disagreement, but we made up before we...I should have listened to his concerns! If I'd listened, maybe he wouldn't have-" Nines paused as Connor squeezed his shoulder. It would do no good to reflect on the things that might have happened. They needed to follow the trail of what had happened. Nines swallowed his thoughts before continuing. "I entered my charging cycle as usual. I left Gavin sleeping after we...reconciled. There was no sign of danger. I did not detect any threats within the vicinity. Everything seemed normal until my cycle ended. Gavin's badge had been set at the end of my bed and he was nowhere in sight. I conducted a thorough search of the premises, but he was gone...I found this in the kitchen." He held out his hand to reveal the crumpled paper. Connor was surprised he'd carried it all the way there and reconstructed it. It was clearly important to him.

Connor took the paper and read the untidy scrawl. He could tell Gavin's hand had been shaking at the time of writing the message. He didn't like his chosen phrases. This isn't your fault. I don't want you to be the one to find me. Let Perkins handle it. I'm giving you the penthouse and everything I own. Take care of Pipsqueak. I'll love you to my last breath. Connor's lips thinned at the words. This was clearly a goodbye letter. A message hurriedly written in the last few moments before he'd left. Connor could already reconstruct how he would have stood by the counter scribbling out the short note. He'd only written it once. That was telling. He hadn't had time to waste on re-writes to get it perfect. Someone was watching or waiting for him.

"Why didn't he wait? Why didn't he tell me? I don't even know what happened!" Nines looked to Connor for answers that he just didn't have yet. He needed to gather more data. They both did. Nines' emotions had clouded his ability to function, stopping him from looking at the situation objectively. There had to be a reason that Gavin had left. He wouldn't have simply woken up and left for no reason. Something had forced his hand. It was clear he hadn't wanted to leave. Hurting Nines was always the furthest thing from his mind. They both looked up as a third set of steps joined them. Connor hadn't even felt his arrival.

"I believe we may find the answers if we interview the other witness to the event," Colin replied as he joined them on the steps. It was difficult to recognise Colin while wearing his Cyberlife uniform. He truly was identical to Connor in every way. He even seemed more confident as he stood rigid above them on the steps. Connor tilted his head in confusion. He was unaware of anyone else living in the house. Nines blinked in surprise, having never considered such an option.

"You...wish to interview Pipsqueak?" he asked uncertainly, blinking again as Colin nodded. That was a rather radical idea. Pipsqueak wasn't a surveillance model, so he didn't have a huge amount of visual feed stored. He also didn't have the same verbal communication software as humanoid androids. Although he could share feelings and get his point across when he required something, he lacked the ability to process and share fully formed thoughts. His primitive program also wouldn't understand the questions they asked. He didn't have a language package. He was no more intelligent than a regular house cat.

"That, and we can review the visual feed of the internal security cameras. You have them installed on the lower level and in all communal areas." Nines nodded. He was quietly relieved that they didn't have them installed in the bedrooms. The secret of their fraternisation was out of the bag now, but he didn't like the thought of his brothers actually bearing witness to such acts of intimacy. "From there, we can conduct full scans in order to reconstruct Sergeant Reed's final movements." Colin's suggestions were simple and logical. Precisely the tasks that Nines needed to latch onto in order to process his heightened emotional state.

"Agreed. Nines, perhaps you can I could review the camera footage," Connor suggested gently. Nines appreciated his kindness. He was offering to remain close for emotional support in his time of need. He rarely required such support, but without Gavin, he was lost. Gavin was the one person he relied on to help him process intense emotions. He looked to him for support and guidance. He was lost at sea without him. Connor moved to grip his hand. It was reassuring. Nines gripped back tightly.

"I will interview the cat." With that said, Colin ended the connection. Connor blinked back into the kitchen moments later to find Colin crouching beside him. He'd rested his hand on top of theirs to join the interface, his Cyberlife uniform nowhere in sight. The black pinstripe suit and matching waistcoat he wore that day were immaculate, as always. Colin got to his feet with a small nod, squeezing Nines' shoulder in sympathy as he went. Nines blinked the saline from his eyes and looked around. He almost seemed confused as he took in his own nakedness and the coolness of the tiles on his bare skin. Connor was sympathetic as he gripped his large elbows and lifted.

"Come on, we'll find some clothes for you first," he murmured as he helped him up. Nines was still unfocused as he stumbled, almost falling against Connor's chest. Android legs didn't fall asleep the way a human's might, but Nines had received quite an emotional shock. Perkins was polite enough to keep his focus on Colin, giving Nines the chance to properly compose himself before questioning him. Hank hovered off to the side, having come up a few minutes ago. He looked anywhere but at Nines' naked body as he got to his feet. Had Nines been human, he may have been embarrassed and covered himself. As it was, he was utterly shameless as he strode towards the staircase and headed up with Connor on his heels.

He couldn't help his gaze creeping towards the open door of Gavin's room on the way by. Everything was in order. The bed was made, as he'd left it the night before. Not a thing was out of place besides his phone. He knew for a fact that Gavin had left his phone on the bedside. Had someone called him the night before? Had he taken the phone with him? If not, then that was another avenue of investigation. With these thoughts in mind, Nines entered his bedroom and headed for the wardrobe, hesitating a moment as he looked at the racks of clothing. He hadn't worn it for over a year, but his hand first settled on his old Cyberlife uniform. He could somewhat understand Connor's choice. The uniform brought with it a certain sense of order and authority. It was exactly the clothing he needed for such a serious investigation. He needed to put his tumultuous feelings aside and become a cold, logical machine once more. He needed to become the merciless hunting dog that Cyberlife had created him to be.