SENTIENT

Acrimony

ac·​ri·​mo·​ny /ˈa-krə-ˌmō-nē/ noun: harsh anger and bitterness.

It took ten minutes of silence. Connor waited for her to say something. By this time, lunch break is over and Connor, who had no need of sustenance, would have normally gotten back to work.

She wiped her eyes and fixed her hair away from her face. She whined, "Fuck. I didn't want to be that kind of detective, you know."

"What kind do you mean?" Connor asked.

"You know, the one who brings personal issues to work. It's such a cliché." She wiped her own face dry. Somehow, what she said rang a bell to Connor – but he had no recollection of what exactly. Perhaps, that's why it's called a cliché.

"Maybe what you're going through is a part of life and your work is not entirely your life." He responded.

Maybe his social programming was kicking in. At the same time, he questioned whether this was the first time that he had to deal with human emotional breakdowns in professional situations.

AJ sniffed and slowly regained herself back. "Thank God, I thought you were going to say something like studies show having a personal life improve a great sense of well-being at work." She jokingly imitated a robotic voice.

"I'm not programmed to pretend like I know what you're going through." Connor heard the rain fall heavier over the metal roof of the old Chevy.

"Good for you." AJ laughed sarcastically.

She turned to her side and noticed it has gotten warmer since Connor has been sitting there. She blinked a few times before she began to tell Connor her story.

"You know, back in Chicago, I made a name for myself. You've probably read all about it in my files."

'Read' was not the exact word. It takes less than a second for Connor to even access her files. With a brain connected to the database at all times, Connor knew the exact time and place that AJ was born, her parents' address, social security number, even the name of her first pet.

It was hard but she finally admitted it, "What you don't have in the records is that... I was involved with my partner not long after."

"Officer Adrian Michael Gates. Recently promoted to detective for the Deviants Crime Unit under the authority of Lieutenant Elizabeth Larrosa," Connor knew.

"We busted this cybercrime group in Detroit. You ever heard of the Marauders?" AJ was certain that he's pulling up past news feed in his head as she's speaking. "Anyways, after that I got the promotion offer. They told me the DCU needed highly-skilled officers like me in the field and I got all excited about it."

"So excited that you told Adrian about it?" Connor guessed right.

"I thought I could trust him." She sighed. "Two years went down the drain with a single text message. Can you believe it?"

"There are worst ways that it could end. For example, your partner cheating on you." Connor suggested, "That's a quick way to leave a psychological wound."

"Well, guess what I just found out," AJ pitched in for the punchline. "Lieutenant Larrosa, head of the DCU – that's how that bastard got the promotion that I was offered and now I have to settle for administrative work."

Connor's expansive android mind was just blown away by the little plot twist. With humans, sometimes it's the little things that fascinates him.

Now he understands the reason behind her obsession with the Blueblood Ripper Investigation. It's not the investigation itself, it's what it means for her. It means taking back what was rightfully hers. Something she worked hard for but taken away unfairly.