Chapter Text
Jayce fluttered his eyes open, his LED turning red then yellow. He was standing in the Garden, his hands behind his back. In front of him Mel was painting on a rather big canvas. She had been at it for a few days now, and the details of the beautiful sunset she was picturing were truly astonishing.
“Hello Jayce. I was waiting for your return. I hope you come bearing great news.” She didn’t turn away from her painting, but Jayce could see her attention was now fully on him.
“Mel.” He waited a few seconds before giving an answer, searching for the best way to describe his day. “The lieutenant Nowak was difficult to find, I didn’t expect that.”
Mel finally turned to face him, putting her pencil away.
“I made sure to send you all the information needed for your first meeting. Your mission is very important for us, Jayce, you are our only connection with the police forces. Was the file corrupted ?” Jayce brows furrowed. He straightened his posture.
“No, the information was correct. But once at the police station, the secretary informed me that the Lieutenant was not here yet, and she had no clue about his arrival time. He seems to work on his own hours apparently. I tried to meet him at his house, but I was also unsuccessful.”
Mel gripped the chariot behind her for support. It was made to transport all of her painting tools and materials, but the whole thing wasn’t the most solid furniture and it shook under the suddenness of her movements.
“We gave you this mission because you are our most efficient android Jayce. We worked hard on every single detail of your programming and physical abilities. I hope you realize how much hope sits on your shoulders. Now, explain yourself and spare no details.”
And so Jayce did.
After the failed attempt at the Lieutenant’s house, he tried a bar he found in the file, called The Last Drop. The place was full when he arrived, people shooting funny glances at him. It was probably the obvious android outfit he was wearing, or the LED that was changing colors every few seconds to show his concentration. No one said anything though, and Jayce could reach the counter with little effort. He scanned the room, but no one was fitting the description he had been given. He was looking for a man, brown hair, not very tall, walking with a cane. Two moles on his face, a tooth gap, hollow cheeks. He decided to ask the barman.
“Hello, my name is Jayce, I’m an android sent by Cyberlife. I’m looking for Lieutenant Viktor Nowak. My report said he was spotted multiple times in this establishment.”
The huge guy was serving a drink to some girl who was clearly already wasted.
“It's been a while since we saw one of your kind down here.” When the girl took her glass, she turned around too fast and tripped over her own feet. Some of the cocktail dropped on Jayce’s vest. It made her laugh and she went away. A huge hand snapped his fingers in front of Jayce, getting his attention back. “What d’you want from him uh ? You won’t find him here tonight. But between you and I, you should tell your boss to take you back. He’s not very fond of partnerships, even with a pretty face like yours.”
His LED must have been completely red, because the bartender gave him a pitying look before sending him away.
On his way out and because it was getting late, Jayce concluded that his best option was to go back to the police station and wait there, until the man arrived in the morning. The lieutenant’s desk was in a corner of the open space. Two mugs were on it, one still half full of cold coffee, the other needing to be washed. There were traces of milk in the liquid and it most likely had been forgotten for days. There were stains of coffee everywhere, but never on any papers. He could see crumbs too, on the desk and in the keyboard, from sandwiches eaten in a hurry out of starvation rather than a regular meal. Piles of papers were scattered in a corner, an open marker on top of it. The right edge of the desk was spoiled in a round shape, probably a perfect resting spot for a cane. No pictures, no frames, no trinkets except for a small blue geometric toy with golden signs. The computer screen was covered by post-its and the mouse was probably hidden under faded yellow files. Jayce sure had been given a whole bunch of information about the lieutenant, but observing his work place was telling him a lot. The man was a workaholic, running on coffee latte and bad organization, driven by his duties and the need to feel useful. His recalcitrance to work with androids was due to some altercation he had with one in the past, but Jayce hadn’t found anything more about it, even in his data.
Waiting next to the desk got him bored pretty quickly though. After a quick chat with the secretary, she gave him the authorization to wander in the station. He checked the breakroom, lurked through windows to see offices which looked the same. Went through every corridor, touched a leaf of every plant in each corner. He even went to the bathroom, checked himself in the mirror, fixed his hair.
As he walked down the hallway, he noticed lights under a closed door. The label ‘archives’ was written on it. It was truly late now, the secretary made way to the night guard a long time ago. Maybe someone forgot to turn off the light ?
With a polite knock, he entered the room.
Shelving units were taking most of the place. Under the flickering neon light, Jayce registered boxes of proofs and clues stored by dates. Noises of papers and scribbles were breaking the silence. Soft breathes, a sigh, coming from a man rummaging through one of the boxes and writing things on a sheet of paper. Jayce could only see his side profile from where he was standing, but he recognized the mole instantly. There he was, finally.
“Hello, my name is Jayce. I'm the android sent by Cyber-” The man jumped in front of him, bumping his head on the shelf above him. He turned quickly, shocked to be found sneaking around so late during the night. His brows were furrowed in an angry way, cheeks slightly pink. He leaned on his cane for support, making a small head tilt towards Jayce.
“Who even are you ? Why are you allowed in here ?”
“My name is Jayce. I’m the android sent by CyberLife to assist you on your mission. I believe you have been made aware of my presence on the next deviant’s cases, right ?” Jayce hold out his hand. “I am pleased to meet you, Lieutenant Nowak.”
Viktor stared at him, unimpressed. After a while, he gathered his papers and made his way out of the room, brushing past the android without a word. Jayce, oblivious and unbothered by the cold treatment, followed. They were leading towards the exit of the station. Viktor moving fast, the clicking sound of his cane accompanying their steps.
“I am excited to begin our collaboration. I think that our joint efforts can really make the difference.”
But the Lieutenant still wasn’t responding. When they reached the door, Jayce started to question the situation.
“Sir ?” With a sigh, Viktor finally acknowledged his presence.
“I work alone. Go back to your place, tell them I don’t need you.” He mumbled a goodnight to the nightguard who seemed amused by the situation, and opened the door.
“CyberLife created me specially for you because they believe I can help improve the efficiency of your research. I know things have slowed down lately.”
The door closed after them, the cold air made Viktor’s body stiffen. With a hard look, he glanced one last time towards Jayce.
“A bit egotistical for a machine, huh? I won’t let you replace me, I am perfectly able to do my job.” His accent was thick, and he didn’t wait for an answer before leaving, his limp just a bit more noticeable than earlier. Jayce didn’t follow this time, but he ignored the negativity from the man.
“I’ll be by your desk tomorrow morning to start our collaboration, Lieutenant !”
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They had been working together for a month now. Viktor didn’t exactly become Jayce’s best friend, but the android never lost his good spirit. He was programmed that way after all. He had dared ask once, why Viktor was so averse to rely on him. In fact, Viktor didn’t have a problem with androids in general. He used them as much as anyone else, asked them for things and thanked them for their service. As much as Jayce was aware, the man even had an android nurse who was seeing him weekly to check on his lungs and make sure he wasn’t forcing too much on his leg. His answer didn’t offer much information, but Jayce was glad to have a semblance of conversation.
“I don’t have a problem with androids, Jayce. They are a marvel of technology and I deeply respect the hard work. CyberLife did a wonderful job.” It wasn’t enough though.
“Why were you reluctant to work with me then ?”
Jayce almost regretted asking. Almost. His eyes catched the minimal change in Viktor’s posture. He stiffened, bad leg tensed, smile tightened. He kept writing on his keyboard like nothing was wrong, but Jayce was a detective assistant. His purpose was to dig, to see, to analyze. Knowing his presence could be a bother didn’t sit right with him.
“My work is all I have. I am certain you have noticed, your analytic factor is high and you seem to have a craving for knowledge. The perfect partner, I guess. Go get me a coffee now, please.”
Jayce had learned not to push. He obliged, refusing to think too much about the conversation while he was waiting at the vending machine. There were things to unpack here, but now was not the time.
Coffee was certainly not the word he would use to describe the big cup of cappuccino flavored milk with too much sugar to be healthy. He made a comment about it once, but he only received an annoyed glare and never said anything again.
Back at Viktor’s desk, the man was focused on a new report he had just received. Jayce put the cup on the desk and half sat on it. Viktor took a pen and scribbled rapidly on a notebook.
“I think you are the last person to still handwrite. Nobody teaches it anymore. How did you learn ?”
“Hm ? Oh. Some things cannot leave the police station. They would know if I saved data elsewhere.” That made Jayce pout.
“Is no one aware that you write classified information on spare papers to bring home ? You aren’t really hiding it.”
Viktor stood up suddenly, grabbing his worn out coat.
“People are being murdered by their androids all over the city, they have more important things to handle. We have to go now Jayce, another corpse was found.”