/February 12, 2039. 7:00:04 AM/

For the first time in his short-lived life, Nines set his eyes on the imposing building in front of him. It was not much taller than the other buildings surrounding it, nor was it more well-kept. It could even be called messy in comparison to the other places (limited though that may be) the android has seen before. It gave him the same feelings that he often felt when returning to Hank's house after a long trip away, like he was returning to someplace that he was meant to be. He thought that it was quite beautiful, in his own opinion.

Being built in the heart of Detroit likely played a factor into that analysis. The rush of humans and androids alike around him made his shoulders itch in curiosity. Not that Nines could ever truly feel what an 'itch' was. But it was the emotions behind it that mattered, at least according to Markus' teachings.

"Come on ya' idiots!" Hank yelled from the other side of the busy street. It would have been hard for a fellow human to hear him over the other conversations and noize of the street, but he was yelling at two androids. And thankfully, Hank waited until he had gotten to the other side of the sidewalk before he started to exclaim his frustrations. "You're the ones who insisted that we be here at the ass crack of dawn, so get over here!"

Having paid too much attention to the building itself, it took a moment for Nines to remember what the three of them were doing here. Connor, who stood at his side, leaned over him to wave the coffee cup that he held in his hand in Hank's direction. "You left your coffee Hank! And your keys!"

Hank made a show of dramatically patting down his pockets before making his way back over to where the androids stood. The RK800 handed him his forgotten items without complaint.

"So, how're you feeling Nines? Got any nervous circuits in that mechanical frame of yours?"

"Might I rem—remind you Lieutenant Anderson, t-that I am a state of the art android built for interrogation." There was no fear present in his systems of course. Though, he couldn't quite place the feelings of heaviness in his torso.

Although, Connor seemed to have immediately seen through his blatant white lie (a skill build through practical testing in the field, the one thing Nines lacked). As they started to walk back across the street and in between the busy sidewalks his predecessor took the opportunity to remove his skin and link their hands together. He didn't think twice about returning the gesture and ignored Hank's silent yet emotional scoff in their direction.

If this is all too much, too soon Nines then—

Knowing where that train of thought was going, he interrupted it before the other android could even ask.

No Connor. I want to do this, I'm sure of it.

But this will be your first real job! Now that we have the option to choose, we shouldn't just stick to whichever jobs we were designed for.

Connor sounded as passionate in his mental conversations as he did working alongside Jericho's leaders to bring about equality for all androids. However unneeded his concern may have been.

Relax. If it makes the both of you happy, then I can't wait to see what it has to offer.

It was then that the two of them had to drop their connection to open the doors to their destination, Detroit Police Department Central Station, located on 1301 Third Avenue. The interior of the building was just as loud as it was outside. The bustling of human officers, and even a few android ones, was contributing to the energetic mood. It was palpable that something big was going on even as they stood waiting by the front desk, separated from the rest of the office.

After waiting for less than a minute, Hank pulled them off to the side of the room where there were seating and human friendly refreshments available. In true Hank fashion, it seemed in the seconds it had taken to find the DPD he had chugged the entirely his coffee. While he got a refill Connor sat him down and started to fuss over him much like a mother would.

His predecessor analyzed his entire frame, looking for any out of place details. He adjusted Nines' tie, brushed his hair 4.5 centimeters to the left, and brushed some invisible dust off of his coat jacket. Not an android identifying one /never again/ but a simple white suit. It was sort of endearing, but he didn't need that sort of attention right now. "D-do you think that I forgot something?"

That brought him out of his analysis. "What? No, of course not! I'm just worried for you, new surroundings and all. I can clearly remember the first time that I came in here."

"So can I." Nines reminded him. It was one of the memories put into his mind chip before he was activated, in order to aid in capturing the escaped deviant. It was almost ironic how that turned out.

"Right, but when I uploaded those memories into Cyberlife's database I didn't include the feelings that I felt while I was there." Was Connor deviant at that point? He'd have to ask him about that later.

"That wouldn't have gone over very well I imagine." He concluded with a bitter tone, for once openly expressing his disdain about their past situation.

"Here, let me show you." Connor reached for his hand and Nines met him halfway. As their hands glowed blue he started to remember that day in much more detail. It wasn't a true recollection, yet it was a close as they would possibly ever be able to manage.

It was very similar to what he 'remembered', on November 6th at 9:56 AM. Connor arrived at the DPD Station and waited for Hank. That was what Nines' memories told him, and yet it was so much more. Through their bond he felt the wonder and curiosity that Connor felt on that morning. The questions he had wanted to ask, the people he wanted to introduce himself to, and the building he wanted to explore. All of those emotions, repressed under the calm facade of a Cyberlife issued android.

It was eerily similar to what Nines was feeling right now. Truly, they were similar in both physical appearance and in mind.

So, Connor was concerned about his reactions to being in the fast paced environment of the police force. The feelings that Nines were feeling did sound like they were nervousness, and he was told that was normal for new situations that even humans found themselves in. It was only magnified for newer deviants. But he was in control of these emotions. He could do this, he told himself.

I don't understand why you're so concerned over a simple job interview Connor.

The RK800 rolled his eyes and sighed.

I know you're good enough for us. I just hope that we're good enough for you.

Right at that moment, Hank returned with a fresh cup of coffee in his right hand, and two packets of a blue looking liquid in his left. There was really only be one thing that it would be, seeing as Connor looked much too proud of himself for it to be something that Hank could drink.

"Guess what I found over on the coffee cart?" He said, offering the two pouches for them to take. They were labeled as a 'Thirium Supplement' and had multiple large, bolded warnings on it that it was unsafe for a human to drink.

"I'm glad that Fowler took up my suggestion." Connor replied as he efficiently ripped open the package.

"A-are there many androids working here?" Nines asked.

Almost as soon as he said that, the person being helped at the front desk left. The android who was running the front desk lit up at the sight of them and waved them over. The only way that he could tell that she was an android was the bright LED on her temple. Hank lead the way to stand in front of the desk, so he was partially hidden from view as he analyzed her. Nines discreetly found that she was an ST300 named Jacqueline, last name unavailable. She was likely going through the process of getting a proper legal name, like many other androids. It was reassuring to think that the DPD had already been inputting the androids under their supervision into the proper legal systems, as well as accommodating for android visitors in their lobby. Looking up her record brought about the same information that searching a human would bring up. But nowadays that often felt like a breach of trust, so he didn't pry much more than that.

"Hank, Connor so good to see you! Ben was asking about you two like five minutes ago. And hey—" She visibly blinked again at the sight of him, her LED spinning yellow. Her gaze went from Connor's face and back to his own slowly. She cupped her hand around her mouth to theatrically whisper in Connor's direction. "...I thought you were a specialized model Connor?"

The RK800, undeterred, nodded and put his hand on Nine's shoulder. "I am. This is Nines, he's an RK900. Same facial mold, different model designation."

"Ah, gotcha!" She smiled brightly at them again, her previous confusion gone. Even if he could still tell that she wanted to ask more about his presence. "I'll check you two in then. I'd head directly to the captain's office if I were you. We're chock full of fun cases today."

Hank hummed his appreciation, "Thanks Jackie," Her smile somehow grew even wider as she shooed them away to help the next visitor.

With that, they were allowed to pass through the security gate and into the police station proper. It was a uniquely designed floor plan. It contained glass meeting rooms surrounding the regular working desks in the center of the massive room. In the back there was one elevated office sealed off from the rest of the others. He could only assume that it was the captain's office.

As they slowly made their way over in that specific direction, they were stopped multiple times by other officers. It seems as though Connor was quite popular at the office, much to Hank's chagrin.

Many of them asked about Nines' presence, but just as many of them simply accepted Connor's explication that he was another RK series model. That might have been either due to understanding what that meant, or a lack of knowledge about how android series functioned. Either way, he was not bothered much by the officers. That is, until they met Detective Gavin Reed.

"So what, you're built to handle police work and you're allowed to just waltz in here like you own the place?" They had been passing by his desk as he made the comment.

Connor immediately jumped to his defense. "I assure you Detective Reed, Nines is not only capable but is also enthusiastic to join the force."

The detective scoffed, scrolling in his phone. "It doesn't look very happy to be here, doesn't even have a real name yet."

"Many androids have chosen unconventional names in order to distinguish themselves—"

"Shut your trap Connor. Let the tin can speak for itself." Detective Reed suddenly stood up and showed his way in front of Nines. Hank looked about ready to step in, and Connor didn't seem too far behind him.

"So," Reed leaked back to look smugly at him. "What are you plastic assholes trying to accomplish here?"

"Gavin—" Hank started to say.

"Just no Hank, back off alright! Who the fuck are you androids trying to replace this time, huh?"

The question was clearly directed at Nines, but he didn't quite know what to say even if he could. He could feel his artificial vocal cords tighten at the mere thought of responding to Reed's clear accusations.

But then he thought of a plan.

Detective Reed, seemingly having not gotten a satisfactory response, opened his mouth to say something else when suddenly, a ringtone went off.

Ring...Ring...Ring

It was the phone that Reed held in his hand, forgotten in the midst of his anger. He barely glanced at it before canceling the call. Then it started up again.

Ring...Ring...Ri—

He turned it off after the second ring. At this point, Connor was looking at Nines with a knowing glint in his eyes.

Ring..Ri—

"Who the shit…" Reed starred indiscriminately at his phone. His face lit up and his head whipped up to stare at Nines. This time when the phone rang he put his phone up to his ear and accepted the call.

"I advise you, detective, to be more conscientious about who you decide to insult. Of course, while it might not be me who will eventually take your job, you should be aware that if you continue to use your lawful waking hours to stare at your phone and accomplish nothing while on duty, then you will lose it."

That left Detective Reed in a state of shock it seems. His mouth opened as if to say more, but just as quickly closed shut. He silently hung up and returned to his desk, presumably to sulk if what he knew from Connor's accounts held any truth to them. Both Hank and Connor looked at him in almost awe.

"Holy shit, if I knew I could get Gavin to shut up by insulting him I would have done that a long time ago." Hank brushed his hair out of his face and sighed.

Connor let his shoulders relax and patted his hand on Hank's back. "...I agree."

It was at that moment that the calm tension was shattered by none other than the captain of the police force himself, Jeffrey Fowler.

"Hank, Connor, get the new kid over here stat! Stop messing with Reed or I'll have to physically separate the lot of you!" The imposing figure of a man stood outside of his glass encased office with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Hank grumbled under his breath big reluctantly pushed the two androids in the direction of the shouting voice.

"It's now or never, kid." Hank said as the three of them entered the captain's office.

Not even looking up, Fowler dismissed them. "Get out of here, this is an interview not a goddamn hearing. No not you—" He said that as Nines attempted to leave the room with the other two. "You get to stay here. God, these androids and their lack of social cues."

Connor left him one last reassuring smile as they walked over to their shared desk space, attempting to look like they weren't trying to listen in, and failing miserably.

Captain Fowler exhaled, sank into his large chair, and mindlessly shuffled some papers around. Nines took it as one of those aforementioned social cues and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. He attempted to appear at ease, but he thinks that it didn't work according to the captain's rising eyebrows. Nines took an unneeded breath in, and prepared himself for whatever may come next.

Content with his readiness, Fowler asked the question he had been waiting for since he had woken up this very morning. But if he was being honest with himself, he had been waiting for it for a very long time.

"What made you want to join the police force?"

A/n: Don't worry guys, we all know that he's going to ace this job interview. ;)

I know I said that I'd get this out on Saturday, and it still is for me! Gotta appreciate that I'm staying up late to get this done, but it's here at last!

And wow, it's finally over! I know I said that with the last chapter, but I couldn't resist post one last follow up to it! Epilogues are all the rage nowadays aren't they? It's been a cool experience posting on this website for the first time, and I can't wait to get to another story (if my classes will let me lol). See you soon!