"Good morning." There was more than a little smugness in Nines' gentle voice as he lounged on the bed beside Gavin's naked body. Gavin barely managed a whine as his brow pinched. He felt spent. His body was achy and his ass was sore where he was lying on the mattress. He used what energy he had to roll onto his side and straight into Nines' waiting chest. Nines was already fully dressed, or perhaps he'd never undressed after the night before. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he ran one hand along his curved waist.

"Like a phcking train wreck..." Gavin groaned as he nestled his forehead against the soft wool of Nines' turtleneck. It was so soft. It felt like some sort of cashmere. "What the phck happened last night?" He remembered everything right up until that torture rack he'd been strapped into. A pained groan slipped out as he recalled the trapped, vulnerable feeling of being on his knees, spread open and getting fucked by a machine while Nines watched. He remembered with clarity the heat in Nines' silvery eyes as he'd stared down with composed indifference. The way he'd carelessly swilled his tumbler of thirium as the machine had ploughed into him again and again, always at the same merciless pace. Nines had sat there on the patio chair like it was a throne, and he'd been bound, bowed, and naked at his feet.

"It seems you remember perfectly well," Nines teased as he noted the increase in his vitals and the way his cock twitched. He let out a small chuckle as Gavin's fist struck his shoulder in reproach. "You fainted after the second round, so I cleaned you up and brought you to bed." He wasn't wearing his collar, so he assumed that Nines had cleaned both him and all the toys before heading to bed. He hadn't stirred once the whole time. He'd slept soundly straight through until morning. The only downside was how badly he ached from the experience.

"Everything hurts..." Gavin gruffed as he rolled onto his front and sighed into the pillow. His knee joints ached from the kneeling, his thighs and biceps ached from pulling at the restraints, his neck ached from being restrained, and his ass was sore from the spanking. He groaned as Nines moved to straddle his sore thighs, though he didn't put any weight into it. The sound of a plastic lid twisting drew his eye, and he looked over his shoulder to find Nines dipping his fingers in a small tub. He gasped as he dabbed the cool cream on his reddened skin and moved to rub it in. "Phck, that's good..." Nines' large hands slowly stroked and teased the plush flesh, moulding the rounded muscles and massaging the sensitive skin.

"I believe the benefits were worth the price," Nines decided as he put more cream on his hands and leaned higher so that he could massage his tense shoulders. The muscles were severely knotted from the recent stress of their latest case. Gavin moaned loudly into the pillows as Nines' fingers pressed and circled the flesh around his neck and moved down to his shoulder blades.

"You mean you getting your hands on my ass?" Gavin retorted with a smirk, which Nines knew he was wearing despite his face being pressed into the pillow. He could hear it in his tone. He huffed fondly as his hands moved lower to work the muscles of his spine. Gavin arched his spine and raised his head with another moan of approval. It felt so good. It was a little painful at times, but it quickly became a relieved, loose sensation.

"That is one benefit for me, but I was referring to the fact that you slept the whole night through without issue." Gavin hummed his agreement, though he probably would have agreed to anything at the moment. He let out more contented sounds as Nines moved down to his thighs. The muscles there hurt a lot more, but Nines still managed to make it feel good after a while.

"Did you really have to strap me in a torture device to accomplish that though?" Gavin huffed as he let Nines work on his arms one by one. It was true bliss. He would quite happily have stayed in bed all day and had Nines work his magic. His muscles still hurt, but it was a lot better than when he first woke up. After a couple of painkillers, he'd be good to go. Nines chuckled as he finally drew back and got to his feet.

"It was hardly a torture device, Gavin, and you can't deny that you thoroughly enjoyed the experience," Nines purred in a sultry tone as he ran his fingers through his hair. Gavin turned his head slightly to eye Nines as he lounged at his side. As if I'd ever admit that shit out loud, smug prick! Nines smirked as if he could see the thought in his emerald gaze. "Perhaps next time I'll have you beg me for it."

"As if," Gavin grumbled as he pushed himself to his knees and stretched. Nines folded his arms as he enjoyed the show, silvery eyes tracing each taut sinew and tightened muscle beneath the stretched flesh. Gavin's eyes had closed, a blissful expression crossing his features as relief swept through his limbs. In an instant, it was gone, and he huffed and relaxed, looking up at Nines and snickering as he found him shamelessly staring at him. "Enjoying the view?"

"Immensely." Gavin dragged himself to his feet and headed to the bathroom. By the time he returned, Nines had straightened things up and left out some fresh clothes for him to slip into for work. Nines was nowhere in sight, and Gavin found him in the kitchen scrambling eggs. Today was sort of a big day for Gavin. He was handing in a more detailed outline for some of his class modules, ready to have them handed over to the administrative team and transformed into a reality. All he had to do was give it to Fowler.

"Did we land any new cases while I was out yesterday?" He knew Nines would have been keeping an eye on their desks. Nines shook his head in the negative. There had been a lull since VB's shooting. It seemed both the AHL and the AAL had been subdued by the incident. All hell would probably break loose again in a few days, but it didn't surprise him they'd taken a break. The AHL probably thought it was the AAL, and the AAL probably thought the AHL were trying to frame them or something. How's Perkins going to handle it now that we know it was the Hickory Killer though? We still haven't made it public that he's back...

"I believe it's likely we will get a visit from Agent Perkins and Colin later to discuss the latest incident," Nines added as he scraped the eggs onto some toast. Gavin nodded his agreement. That was more than likely. They'd want to be sure, and have it on official record, that he'd no contact with the Hickory Killer and no knowledge of what had happened before yesterday. It was no secret that VB kidnapped and tortured me a little. Stands to reason I wouldn't put a stop to it if someone decided to toast his ass.

That's exactly what happened when they arrived at work. Reed had barely gotten to his desk when he noticed Perkins and Colin coming out of Fowler's office. He nodded to Perkins as he set down his wallet and phone. Colin approached to greet his brothers, LED spinning yellow as he offered an anxious greeting. He was always more nervous when they had to interview Reed. He was well aware of how protective Nines was. Reed tugged off his jacket and patted Colin's shoulder in greeting on his way up to Fowler's office.

"Hey, interrogation room three?" Perkins agreed and waited patiently for Nines and Colin to join him. Reed knocked on Fowler's door to deliver his module plans, handing over the USB and letting him know where he'd be for the next half hour. Fowler voiced his agreement. Neither of them were particularly worried. This was all just standard procedure and although Perkins was a stickler for protocol, he was never unfair or unjust. He was a hard-ass, and during the revolution he'd been downright devious, but he always followed orders and closed a case right.

"I'm sure you already know what this is about," Perkins began as they sat down and Colin started his recording. Perkins was also taking notes as usual, just for his own records and reports. All four of them were at ease as Reed nodded his agreement. "Why don't you tell us about the incident in your own words?" Reed nodded as he shifted in his seat, folding his arms and leaning on the desk comfortably.

"We got to the courthouse for the hearing at maybe...eight-forty? When we arrived, it all seemed pretty standard...Reporters, protestors, officers holding the crowds back, that sort of thing. Nines and I headed over from the parking lot and made our way up the steps. A few reporters stopped us to ask questions and get a statement, so we were still out front when the prison truck rolled up." He didn't go into particulars about what questions were asked or what he said. He wasn't even sure he could remember the exact details. Whatever he'd said would be in print or on film somewhere, and Perkins likely had it already. Perkins scribbled away and nodded his understanding. It all seemed pretty standard so far.

"You didn't notice anything strange, anything off, as the truck pulled up?" Reed knew that Colin would be measuring his vitals right now, ready to pull him up if he was caught in a lie. Luckily, he could respond with complete honesty.

"No, not a damn thing. The truck pulled up and Nines and I watched the guards bring VB out. The reporters swarmed down the steps to get a comment and Nines suggested we go inside so we didn't have to cross paths with him directly. I agreed, and we were just turning to head for the doors when all hell broke loose." He still wasn't sure exactly what happened behind his back. Nines nodded along beside him. "I didn't know what happened at first. Someone shouted that shots had been fired, and I remember seeing blue just before Nines tossed me on the ground and covered. I couldn't really see anything from there, just everyone else ducking down...We looked along the rooftops. We knew it must have been a sniper, but the light was so bright, I couldn't make anything out." His lack of information really couldn't be helped. The shooter had clearly planned his position carefully that morning, taking the lighting into consideration. He'd probably moved away from the edge and packed up the moment he'd fired that second shot.

"Detective Reed is correct, and although I scanned the rooftops myself, I was unable to see any sign of the shooter from our position at that time." Nines had also scanned his memory files afterwards, once they'd found the scene of the shooting. Even zooming in on the spot had revealed nothing. The shooter had already left by the time his eyes scanned the rooftops. "I have already shared my memory files of the incident with both Detective Anderson and Agent Colin for investigative purposes." That was mostly for the record, to direct them to Colin's files.

"Alright, and what happened afterwards? It's in your report that you took control of the scene." That was also standard procedure. Reed had been the highest ranking officer present. It had been connected to his case, and it counted as a homicide, which made it his jurisdiction.

"As soon as it seemed safe, we got everyone up and cleared the scene. The court guards cordoned off the body while Nines and I dealt with the reporters. Most of the protestors left the area and headed for safety while the reporters did their thing. Nines determined the most likely shooting spot, and we headed up to the rooftop to see what we could find. We were pretty sure we found the right spot, but the shooter had completely cleared out. Besides a few scrapes from the rifle supports, there was nothing. No casings, no prints, no food wrappers or anything like that." Nothing else seemed relevant, so Reed stopped there. Colin nodded his agreement with the events. They matched the memory files Nines had shared with him.

"There was one more person on the rooftop, was there not?" Colin prompted timidly.

"Oh yeah, some reporter lady. She followed us up and scoped out the scene. Works for the Detroit Daily." Reed had forgotten her name. Perkins nodded his understanding and scribbled it down so they could get in touch with her for a follow-up later. They were almost done. He just needed to go over the final details.

"Did it cross your mind at any point that the Hickory Killer may have had some involvement in this incident?" He was unsurprised as Reed shook his head. Colin kept a close eye on his vitals, watching the levels waver a little as the conversation headed towards the Hickory Killer. It was unsurprising he was stressed at the mention of his stalker being involved, and Colin did believe he was a stalker. He may have been a depraved sociopath with violent, sexually sadistic tendencies, but the way he hounded Reed definitely seemed more typical of a stalker.

"Not at all. My first thought was that it was connected to the AAL, since VB was known to have murdered at least five of their members." That was a perfectly reasonable assumption. Perkins didn't believe the AAL to be sophisticated enough to arrange a hit like that though. If they'd taken action, it would likely have been more direct. A knife to the power core, or a shooter hidden in the crowd of protestors, perhaps even a drive-by.

"And have you received any written messages from the Hickory Killer since the incident took place?" Perkins checked, though he was certain Reed would have told them. He may insist on reading the messages first, but he'd never deliberately kept anything important from the investigation. Reed wanted to catch that sicko more than anyone.

"Not a thing, and if I do get something, I'll send it right over." That cleared up anything else he would have said. Perkins nodded his satisfaction as he snapped his book shut and tucked it away. He took Reed's hand firmly as he got to his feet while Colin's LED span yellow.

"That's all we needed. Take care of yourself, Sergeant. I doubt he'll stay quiet forever." Reed swallowed as he nodded his agreement. His chest tightened at the thought. The Hickory Killer had already hinted that he'd come for him one day. What that meant, he wasn't sure, but it certainly wasn't good. Colin nodded politely as he followed Perkins out, leaving Reed and Nines alone for a few moments. Reed stiffened before relaxing into the arms that crept around his chest from behind.

"Thanks, Terminator," he murmured as he leaned back against Nines' firm chest and rested a hand on his forearm. Nines hummed his understanding and remained still until his vitals had lowered to an acceptable level. "Want to help me plan out the next training session in the gym?" Nines' lips quirked at the invitation. There was no way he'd pass up an opportunity to toss Reed around the gym.