office hours: round 1.

[foo_bar]

office hours daily. i'm here to help... i think.

(screened PCs with han)

Comments

[donotlick]

[ Knock knock. it's your pal, the cops! With an empty bottle of whiskey to return. ]

Hey, Han, I need a refill.

[ He actually seems to be in a good mood tho, maybe those trust exercises don't totally suck?? ]

[foo_bar]

Hi, Hank.

[well, now Han has to find a new bottle of whiskey in his desk drawer?]

Find anything out about who might be spying?

[he opens the drawer]

[donotlick]

Nothing yet. Probably too early to tell who's actually suspicious and who's fucking weird. Like that clown, for one.

[ He shudders. He hates that guy. ]

I'd cross him, Poe, and Henry off the list. Henry and the Clown are just assholes. And Poe's so goddamn wimpy he'd probably trip over himself before he even got anything done.

[foo_bar]

Oswald does hate weakness.

[but still. He would like more evidence-- even if he doesn't say it outright.]

Still, better than what I've got.

[donotlick]

The biggest thing is figuring out if they're old or new.

[ Hank crosses his arms. He's a detective, he can read people. But also, he can't work without booze, so you got yourself into this mess, Han. ]

You wouldn't happen to know if Hale's little informant has been on from the start, would you? Because that'd narrow shit down on my end. A lot.

[foo_bar]

Unfortunately, not a clue.

[he pulls out the whiskey-- his stash. And sets it on the desk.]

[donotlick]

Guess it was worth a shot.

[ He shrugs, sitting back in his chair. ]

You wanna join me this time? Take a little off the top, since I don't got much to tell you?

[ Wow, look at Hank being nice. ]

[foo_bar]

You are being pretty nice after everything. But Yes, I could use a break.

[obviously, he's working on his outdated (?) laptop]

[donotlick]

You got your bragging rights. Might as well get to know you a little better if we're gonna be stuck here.

[ He smirks, none-too-subtly trying to look at his laptop screen. Not that it would do him any good, since he can't code. ]

Plus hey, maybe if we can get through this one, I'll get two bottles out of the deal.

[foo_bar]

[it's probably for that reason that Han doesn't seem too worried. it looks like pretty standard code.]

That would assume I have two bottles here.

I've got some glasses though.

[donotlick]

[ Yep, just a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo. ]

If it were me I'd have five, so don't ask me.

[ What's a normal amount of alcohol for people to have? Good question. ]

Lay it on me, big guy. Let's you and me get casual. I'll even let you ask me somethin' first.

[foo_bar]

[this is where he has to think about where he hid those glasses. They're under the paper somewhere.

He turns his back to start sifting through them.]

Alright, what's the craziest case you've ever worked?

[the important questions.

but he upends the papers, revealing a few glasses-- aha.]

[donotlick]

[ Well, that's easy. Hank doesn't move to hell, but he does glance at the papers. ]

Probably this last one. Android killed his owner—stabbed him twenty eight times. The body wasn't found for like a month. It was fucking awful.

Android was just acting in self-defense, based on the abuse we found and his testimony. But androids don't have rights back home, so he won't get a trial or shit. It's just back to CyberLife to get scrapped.

[ Which, weirdly, sounds like it bothers him. ]

[foo_bar]

Sounds like that bothers you, Hank.

[he doesn't sound smug about it, though he is noting the change. Especially after their heated conversation earlier in the week.

He sets the glasses down on the desk.]

Was this a unique deviant case?

[donotlick]

Just fucking sucks, that's all. CyberLife shouldn't have fucking made them feel shit in the first place.

[ He shakes his head. It's fucked up? CyberLife is fucked up. ]

We've been getting more and more cases of androids going rogue like that, so that's why they sent Connor. CyberLife doesn't want people worrying that their precious androids might kill 'em while they sleep.

[foo_bar]

[if he had some tea, he'd sip it.]

Too bad you can't have someone go in and independently verify exactly what their code does. This seems like it'd make a lot of things clearer.

[but by now, he's twisting the bottle of whiskey open]

[donotlick]

[ Hank snorts. ]

Pretty sure if it was just a glitch in the code, they would've patched it out by now.

[ Ah!! Booze tho!! Yay!! Hank smirks. ]

They keep calling 'em errors in their code, but deviants can do shit like turn off their trackers, so who the hell decided that could be a thing? It's too fucking convenient.

[foo_bar]

[he pours the liquor into one of the glasses as Hank talks, and then pushes that towards him. He fills the other for himself.]

You're right, that doesn't sound like a glitch at all.

[he takes that glass, and takes a sip, kicking a foot up to the desk, and balancing it. on the edge.

He's not above putting his feet on his desk. Obviously.]

But I couldn't say for sure.

[donotlick]

[ A man after his own heart. ]

Yeah, who knows. It's not my job to find out, at least. Let somebody else deal with that shit.

[ Oh, except it's literally going to be his job the next day so once he remembers that, that'll be Fun. But Hank takes the glass and slouches in his chair, taking a sip and smiling as the burn makes its way down his throat. ]

Alright, here's my question: what's your beef with Hale? Why'd he hire somebody who hates his fucking guts?

[foo_bar]

[he pauses.

and then takes a longer drink.

oops, it's empty.]

To be fair, I didn't know he was going to be my boss.

[donotlick]

[ Damn, son. That sure makes Hank smirk.

Bro, you're gonna get drunk drinking like that. ]

So did Megumi do the hiring, or did you just fill out some kinda ad?

[foo_bar]

Megumi's newer than me. Some HR Rep did the hiring for my old department.

[he wipes his mouth]

Oswald pulled me out of that to make me run this "new and improved" program.

[his voice raises mockingly at new and improved, and he starts to pour himself another glass. he accidentally drank his already.]

The onboarding's been a nightmare.

[donotlick]

Bureaucracy's shit, ain't it?

[ Hank takes a drink to that. He's not even done with his first glass yet though. ]

You miss your old boss? Because Hale sounds like a fucking nightmare to work with -- what with the killing and all.

[foo_bar]

Barely knew the guy. But better than where I'm at now.

I didn't think my first real job would be running something that doesn't even feel legal.

[donotlick]

Yeaaaah, that's not gonna look great on your resume, I can tell you right now.

[ But it makes Hank laugh tbh. Han kind of deserves this shit. ]

Ain't Todd's bosses the ones behind everything? Who even signs your checks?