Gavin woke up to his head pounding but when he tried to clutch it with both hands, his left arm was stopped mid-motion. He glared at it through his eyelashes only to see he was cuffed. "Fuck. This is just great." He tried tugging on it, but could hear the clinging of metal against metal, which meant no way of getting out without a key. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore the pain in his head to recollect his memories. He suddenly shot up, when he remembered Nines getting shot and Hank with deviants. "Nines! Ow!" Sitting up made his head hurt even more.

The door opened and the room was lit up with electronic white light from the hallway. A figure entered, but the light was obscuring it's face. "Perfect timing. I was going to try and wake you up myself if you would keep lazing around for much longer." He had Nines' voice but a slightly different way of speaking.

"Connor? Is that you?" Asked Gavin, clutching his head with one hand to try an abade the pounding headache that was threatening to knock him out again.

"I never thought I would hear you say my name with your fondness for childish nicknames." Remarked Connor amusedly. He looked very different to the last time Gavin has seen him and from what little he could see of his clothes with the hallway light beaming in his face, Connor no longer had his android jacket and tie. His current light jacket and simple shirt made him look much more human, if he looked past the yellow LED on his right temple.

"Shut it, tin can. Did you do this to me?" Gavin pointed to his head.

"I did and would do it again. If I were the one to find you first, you would already be six feet under instead of here." Connor dragged a chair closer to the bed and the light illuminated his features harshly. "Sometimes it seems Hank holds too much sentiment towards people not worth a second thought."

"Oh yeah? Why am I here then and not where you would like me, you plastic prick?"

Connor leaned back in his chair. "Hank says you can still be useful and we really could use an extra pair of hands around here. Besides, while we have RK900, I don't think you will try to act out too much."

Gavin narrowed his eyes angrily. "Where is he?"

"In the medical wing. He's fine."

Medical wing implied this place was bigger than he thought..."Did you do something to him?"

"If you're wondering about turning him deviant, no. Wish we could have. It would have been one less problem for us." Connor furrowed his eyebrows and leaned forward, closer to Gavin again. "His life is in your hands now."

"The fuck are you trying to say?"

"He's low on thirium and is technically in a low-battery mode right now. He can survive like this for a few more hours, but eventually, his biocomponents will shut down due to low circulation and-"

"Okay! I get it! He needs the blue blood thingy and I'm guessing what you want me to do is go get it?"

"That's not the case detective. We have more than enough thirium."

"What the fuck? Give it to him then! I swear if you let him die for nothing..." Gavin rose from his bed angrily but couldn't go far because of the handcuff.

"It all depends on you, detective. We can't just give him the thirium, because his priorities would tell him to alert the authorities of our location, which makes him a liability." Connor stood up and loomed over Gavin slightly. "The only way to keep ourselves safe, is if you order him to not reveal our location."

Gavin scoffed. "And why would he listen to me? He might be an android, but he's just as much of prick as you are."

"Of course, your orders might not be as high on his priority list as capturing deviants, but we have something to help with that." Connor patted his side, at which point Gavin finally noticed his gun holster.

"Don't you dare shoot Nines, I will rip your teeth out." Growled Gavin and struggled against his cuff.

"That would be counterproductive. However, we will only be threatening to shoot you if he won't listen. You see, something we do know about the new models of androids, is that they were programmed to place the lives of their 'owners' as the highest priority." Connor made air quotes with the word owner, and cringed. "So no matter how much he would be compelled to contact Cyberlife or the DPD, he just won't be able to put his detective's life at risk."

Gavin scoffed and tried crossing his arms again, before being annoyed yet again by his restrictions. "What do you know? There is no Cyberlife anymore. If you don't even know that, how would you know anything about the new androids?"

Connor clicked his tongue. "Cyberlife, RMC... it's all the same. Nothing really changed. Firing some fake employees and changing their name doesn't make a difference. But that's beside the point. I am giving you a choice, detective. Take it, or never leave this room again."

After a moment of silence and a staring contest, Gavin finally spoke. "Fuck, you're even more of a bastard than the last time I've seen you."

"I do appreciate you at least not treating me like an object, contrary to last time I've seen you."

"Goddammit." Whispered Gavin under his breath and then stretched out his hand. "Fine. We have a deal, as long as that means Nines gets to live."

Connor shook his hand and then reached into his pocket. "Wonderful. Now, we don't need to bring the whole bed to the medical wing, do we?" He fished out a key, but the moment he unhooked his cuff from the bed, he grabbed Gavin's other arm and cuffed them together in front of him.

"Oh great. This is totally necessary. I'm just gonna start shooting in a nest full of deviants with my non-existent gun." Gavin shook his head.

"It's a precaution. And I advise you stop complaining, if you don't want to have your feet and mouth bound as well." Said Connor before walking out the door, not waiting for Gavin to follow him.

"Plastic piece of shit..." muttered Gavin under his breath but followed Connor regardless. Even if he was cuffed, at least he wasn't being dragged around. They passed several more empty rooms that looked the same as the one he woke up in, before going upstairs into a room that looked like it used to be some sort of a workshop. He was only judging by the size of it, because the roof was partially caved in and the whole place basked in sunlight and greenery. It looked like a small garden with young trees and vegetables. What actually caught his eye, were the sprawling vines with flowers everywhere. He paused to stare at it and the androids working around it. He never would have expected a garden in a deviant hideout. It also made him wonder just how much time had passed since he was knocked out.

"You're wondering what do we need a garden for." Connor snapped him out of the moment. He opened his mouth, but Connor continued speaking. "Besides gardening being some people's hobby, we do actually have humans living here as well and humans need both regular daylight and greenery for a stable mental state."

Gavin certainly did not expect this answer, althoughit made the most sense. "There are humans here?"

Connor folded his hands behind his back and nodded. "Of course. There are still those who haven't forgotten the crimes done against androids a year and half ago. We provide a safe heaven to all those sympathetic to our cause, no matter the colour of their blood." He looked at Gavin more pointedly at the last sentence.

Gavin shook his head. "What even is this place?"

"New Jericho."

"As in the place where the deviant rebels were? I thought everyone was destroyed in the revolution." Gavin counted at least fifteen people just in this room.

Connor sighed. "Technically, yes. Everyone involved died, but me and Hank were able to save several hundred from the Cyberlife warehouses."

Gavin gave him a surprised look. "Bullshit. The news didn't mention anything like that!"

Connor lifted one eyebrow and started walking away again. "Of course it wouldn't. Cyberlife didn't think we were a threat and they just wanted profit back. I'm more surprised you haven't thought of that, Detective Reed."

Gavin gritted his teeth and followed Connor. They continued walking through the not-so-abandoned building to a spot where it connected to another building by a hole in the wall. There were androids almost everywhere, but now he has started noticing some that looked more human than others but without LED's, he couldn't be sure to count just how many of them actually were humans. They finally arrived to a room with looked more like a storage room with some terrifyingly sharp equipment rather than an infirmary. There were a few cots and some IV fluid stands as the only things reminiscent of a 'medical wing' as Connor previously described it. Hank was sitting on one of those cots with someone patching up his face, up until he noticed Connor and Gavin enter. His annoyed expression turned into a cautious and then playful one.

"Gavin!" He spread his arms out, almost hitting the person tending to him. "Welcome to New Jericho! Looks like you're enjoying your stay so far." He nodded towards Gavin's bound arms.

"Like hell I am. Your face, did I do that?" Asked Gavin.

"Ah well, I'm getting older. Pretty much every little bump turns into a bruise nowadays. Don't tell me you're sorry." He lifted his eyebrow at Gavin.

Gavin just rolled his eyes. "Even if I was, I had no choice."

Hank laughed a bit. "Of course, as we didn't. That's okay. Thank you for your help." He addressed the nurse, who now that he turned to the other side, had his LED visible. Hank got up and walked towards them. "He didn't give you any trouble, did he Connor?"

"I wish he would have. Could have had a reason to repay some debts." Connor slightly glared at Gavin.

"Hey you plastic prick-" started Gavin but Hank stopped him.

"Now, now. We have a different problem at out hands right now. I suppose Connor has told you all about your predicament?"

Gavin got uncomfortable, once the subject was Nines again. He still wasn't sure on how to deal with the situation, despite there seemingly being no other option than do as Connor told him. "Yeah well, Mr. Tin can here didn't exactly tell me why you couldn't just turn him deviant. Isn't that what you wanted to do in the first place?"

Hank scratched his head. "Well yeah... I was kinda hoping it would be different, since he's an RK model just like Connor but..."

"Correct. And that is an information we should only share with people we trust. Right Hank?" Connor continued with a sharp tone. "All you need to know, is that he's not a deviant and might never be one."

Gavin's heart dropped. This meant that he really has been living on false hope all this time and came to care enough for a machine to risk his life for it. "So that's why I gotta do this shitty plan of yours huh?"

Connor furrowed his eyebrows. "Detective Reed, I already told you-"

"This your only option for both of you to live Gavin." Hank interrupted him and put his hand on Connor's shoulder. "He won't listen to your commands, unless he thinks your life is in danger. To be honest, I don't trust you either not to do something stupid and try contacting DPD if we don't threaten you as well."

Gavin snorted. "Shit, since when were you such a diplomat?"

"Shut it. It's not like diplomatic talk would work on ya anyway. Are you gonna go through with the plan or not?" Said Hank, more aggressively this time.

Gavin sighed and tried to hide how nervous he was. He was doing this for Nines. That's all he needed to think about, no matter how fishy any of this smelled. "What do you need me to say anyway?"

"Just tell him he has to obey your orders, or we will kill you. Look, I even brought a gun." Connor brandished the very gun Gavin gave to Hank before he was knocked unconscious. "And I even loaded it, in case we will actually need to use it." Said Connor darkly, before spinning the gun casually around his finger.

Hank threw him an ugly look. "That's enough Connor. I know this dipshit hurt you before but now's not the time for petty squabbles."

Connor put the gun back in his holster but returned the ugly look. "You're only this forgiving, because you still see the young man you helped out of some trouble and seen him become a policeman. Well guess what Hank? I'm not as biased and can see him for how he truly is and the danger he poses. We've come too close to being found out many times and I won't let this be the the time we break."

"Chillax Connor. My hands are tied." Said Gavin teasingly and showed his cuffs. This earned him a scowl as well. "I wouldn't mind if we actually finally went to Nines. Didn't you say he only has a few hours to live?"

"He's right behind this door." Hank pointed at a small door to their right. No wanting to waste any more time. Gavin squeezed himself through Hank and Connor, shoulder-checking both of them and went into a tiny room. There he was, lying on a cot, with blue-stained clothes and an IV hooked up to his arm. He felt his heart miss a beat when he noticed the terrifying gash in his chest, that looked to be sealed with heat.

Connor entered with Hank right behind him. "I can turn on the IV so activating him will be safe enough. You will only have a few mintues to convince him, before he gets enough thirium in his system to power the system to access Cyberlife's database and contact someone." He positioned himself near the IV, ready to set it to a faster dripping cycle.

"The moment you do any funny business, I have no qualms about shooting both of ya, alright?" Warned Hank.

"Geez, no pressure." Said Gavin, trying to sound cooler than he felt. His heart was racing again and he was already pre-preparing his lines and what to say. Connor turned up the IV and repositioned himself behind Nines' head, where he couldn't immediately see him.

"I'm going to active him in 3..2..1.." his fingers turned white for a moment, before he drew them away and backed up slightly.

Nothing happened at first but as Gavin leaned over Nines, he noticed rapid eye blinking despite his eyes closed. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and tried to sit up but almost lost his balance and fell to the ground, if Gavin didn't grab him.

"Nines! Calm down, it's okay! It's me." He stabilised Nines as he tried to get the android to look at him.

Nines tried to focus his eyes on Gavin's face, but they still looked glazed over. "Det-detective Reed?"

"Yes, it's me Nines. Now listen, this is very important. My life is in danger. If you-"

"Danger? I will protect you. Who's threatening you? I will get rid of them!" Nines looked wildly around the room and tried to get off of the cot, but only ended up making Gavin lose his balance, since his hands were still cuffed and fall on top of him.

"Nines! Stop for a second!" Gavin grabbed Nines' jacket tightly, so he wouldn't be able to move, despite being suffocated by his weight. "You need to listen to me! You need to only listen to my orders or they will kill me okay?"

"Listen to your orders?" He sounded very confused and tried supporting himself on his arms.

"Yes. If you don't listen they will kill me. Now, you can't tell anyone where we are! You can't tell RMC or DPD and that's an order! Alright?" Gavin noticed Connor with  gun drawn, out of the corner of his eye.

Nines finally managed to lift some weight off of Gavin by proping himself by his arms. He could now focus his sight on Gavin as well. "An order? There are conflicting priorities I-"

Gavin grabbed Nines' face into his hands. "Nines. They will kill me. Do you understand? You will cause a human life to be lost if you don't listen!" Tears started pooling in the corners of his eyes blurring his vision, due to sheer panic. He didn't have much time before Connor would shoot. "They'll destroy you too Nines. This is the only way. Forget about the investigation. Just listen to my orders!" He was basically shouting at him, hoping to get through.

Nines paused for a second, as if calculating, before finally declaring: "Understood Detective. My new priority is keeping you alive. I shall listen to your orders."

Gavin sighed a breath of relief and shot a look to Connor, who lowered his gun but didn't put it away yet. Gavin finally release Nines' face, which allowed him to follow his gaze and spot Connor, as well as his gun. His LED started spinning wildly again, turning to dark red. He tried to stand up, stumbling a bit and accidentally tearing out his IV, which was half-pulled out already. He supported himself be the wall to stand straight and glared at Connor. Gavin quickly jumped to his feet as well and stopped the android from moving towards Connor. "Whoa! Hey, slow down Nines!"

"Stay back, Detective." Nines, tried to push Gavin behind his back with little success. "I will not let you harm Gavin. Drop the gun." He glared at Connor, who also started to seem a bit on the edge, gripping the gun more firmly.

Gavin looked to Hank for support, but he also drew his gun. "Shit!" He muttered under his breath. "Nines! Stop this! Don't you dare attack them. That's an order!" Nines looked at Gavin with furrowed brow, probably computing again. "You can't win against the two of them. They won't harm us, if you won't harm them first." He tried to say more soothingly.

"Two of them?" Nines muttered under his breath and looked behind them to finally notice Hank, also armed. He was frozen for a few seconds, before looking back at Gavin and nodding.

Gavin sighed again and supported Nines' weight on his shoulders. "Here, let me help you sit down." He moved him away from the wall, back on to the cot. "How are you feeling?"

Nines was staring warily at Connor. "I'm lacking in thirium. My biocomponents are not getting enough of it and some functions are disabled."

Gavin took the bag, that was hooked up to the IV and showed it to Nines. "Will this be enough?"

He finally looked away from Connor and examined the pack of thirium. "Barely. I would need another pack like this to have all my biocomponents functioning properly. I will need to drink it quickly though, to avoid shutdown."

Gavin shot a look to Connor as he was unscrewing the bag, from the IV pipes. "You didn't even give him enough blood?"

Connor lifted his eyebrow and finally put his gun away. "I gave him the amount the typical android needs to replenish fully. I have no information on his model and it is possible he requires more thirium than other models."

Gavin finally freed the bag and handed it to Nines' shaky grasp. "So are you gonna get him more then? Or just stand around and wave your gun in our faces like a prick?"

"I'll go get it." Said Hank. "But don't you dare fight amongst yourself or I will spank you like a pack of unruly children."

Gavin pointed his attention back to Nines, once Hank left the room. He was gulping down the liquid as fast as he could, a small amount dripping out the side of his mouth.  Once Nines was done with the pack, Gavin carefully wiped the blue blood with his sleeve. "Stupid android. Look what you got yourself into."

Nines seemed to be regaining proper control of his body. His hands were not shaking anymore. "I apologize Detective. However, I had it under control until you showed up."

"Had it under control? If I wasn't there, Hank would have sneaked up on ya and shot a hole through your head!" Gavin angrily snatched the empty bag away from him.

"That wouldn't have happened. I was only distracted because of your presence." Said Nines sternly and sat up straighter, looming over Gavin.

"The only reason you're still alive, tin can, is because I came and made a deal with Hank to save you! So get your head out of your ass!" Gavin struggled against his restricted hands, the limited range of motion only fuelling his annoyance further. "Can't you already get this thing off me? For fuck's sake."

"Unlock his handcuffs Connor." Said Hank as he walked back into the room and handed Nines another bag of blue blood. He looked at Connor pointedly, when he didn't move. "Please?"

Connor frowned, but fished out a key and unlocked Gavin's binds. This time, without chaining him to something again and just took them away. "We still can't let you run around without supervision. There will always be someone to watch over you."

"Jeez, don't even wanna give us a room to breathe, huh?" Remarked Gavin with a stingy tone and he rubbed his now free wrists.

"You're on thin ice Gavin." Warned him Hank. "Watch what you say."

"We have a room for you two to stay in. Hank will show you the way." Connor nodded to Hank. Gavin wanted to comment on it, but bit back the retort. He didn't feel like getting punched by an android.