SENTIENT

Acquaintance

ac·quaint·ance /əˈkwāntəns/ noun: a person one knows slightly.

In 2048, most buildings that used to function as Android-Free offices are now completely remodeled to fulfill the complex activities of both humans and Androids.

The remodeling was often seen in the architecture of futuristic façade. Constructed with new age steel and electrochromic crystal glass that makes it environmentally-friendly for both humans and Androids.

The Detroit Police Department building stood tall among the skyscrapers as a stern reminder that criminal justice will be served in the city of Detroit. The clear monolithic glass facade reflected the clouds to the rest of the city.

The auto-drive taxi crossed another intersection and pulled to a designated stop where people were dropped off at the public plaza on the ground level. She tilted her chin up at the building and still couldn't set sight on the highest point of the skyscraper covered by the thick grey clouds.

"Detective Audrey Jeanette Whitley, good to finally meet you," said Captain Gregory Miller and offered his hand.

"Please, call me AJ." She met with his hand firmly. Her smile was commercial.

The man moved the conversation inside his office and offered to make herself comfortable as they would soon go through her initial assessment. His office was a stylish-looking glass box located in the middle of the office floor that provides him with a clear visual control of his surroundings.

He was dark, tall and well-built as a fine statue. For an assertive man, his soft spot seemed to be his wife and two daughters whose pictures displayed in a small wooden frame on his work desk.

By now, the girls have earned their postgraduates under the scholarship dedicated by the bureau and Lisa has everything prepared for Gregory's retirement next year, including a small business of trout farming in the suburbs.

He began, "Welcome to VCOS – Violent and Organized Crime Section. I understand you initially signed up for Deviants Crime Unit."

"That's correct. Actually, I was hoping that you'd clear up this misunderstanding for me." AJ tapped her fingers together in a vigorous manner, "There's got to be a mistake, right? Deviants Behavioral Administration?"

Gregory Miller understood how she must be feeling. He confessed, "Well, AJ, I must admit the lack of action in DBA, but the work is equally important as any other unit."

Only the most competitive officers get recruited into the DCU – with hard work, networking, and impressive track records. Everyone in the PD knows that DCU is currently the top-ranking unit and the DBA is low-tier paperwork dumpster compared to it.

"As so I've been told, sir."

Now, AJ had no choice but to accept DBA or loose the offer. She tried her best to appear as sincere as she could by forcing a smile that quickly went away.

Miller continued with her assessment. He formally went over her history in the police force and so far, he seemed impressed. "You trained in Chicago, huh? Majored in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology – that's great. Excelled all your trainings–"

He lifted his eyes from the papers to the see the back of his office. He then suddenly stopped reading and seemed taken aback, "Christ, Connor! How long have you been standing there?"

The same blue eyes from last night stood by the glass door. He was dressed in a similar fashion – suit and tie, paired with a grey leather shoe, except he looked like he took time grooming his perfect hair.

"I didn't want to interrupt," Connor spoke.

He sounded just the way she imagined – cold, raspy but calm and collected. His eyes were still as electric as she remembered, almost like they run on batteries and they charge up when he's excited.

Miller signaled him to approach, "Connor, meet your new partner. Detective Whitley."

He looked like a Henry or maybe a Bryan, she thought to herself, but Connor suits him too. She tried her best to not break off their eye contact. One of them had to be the confident one, she reckoned.

"AJ, right?" He offered his hand almost immediately. When he mentioned her name, she knew instantly he was paying attention last night.

"You know each other?" Miller interfered with a side-eye. His left eyebrow rose higher than the other.

Just when Connor realized their hands were still firmly holding onto each other, he snapped to reality and broke off the handshake. "My apologies, detective. You can call me Connor."

Captain Miller never understood the android or where to place him since Hank left. However, Connor has earned his place to stay with his amount of case hours. He has become a great asset to the division. Especially in solving homicides involving deviant suspects. Nobody could understand androids better than an android himself.

"Connor is a rather older model, but he's just as quick as those newer prototypes in New York and Washington. Isn't that right, Connor?" Miller smiled.

"Android?" AJ turned to Miller. She did not expect to work with an android on her first day – nor has she ever been assigned to. She turned to Connor briefly to say, "No offense."

"Right, I forgot. They don't have one in Illinois, do they?"

"Not in active part of investigations, sir. We believe that human intuition is rather more useful in inductive reasoning. Especially dealing with human psyche." She paused to turn to Connor again, "No offense."

"None taken." Connor stood still. The LED on his right temple dimmed and glowed blue repeatedly.

Part of the department's general orders is for both humans and androids to identify themselves. Wearing the LED was no longer necessary for regular citizens, although it is often an attribute to political stances relevant to android pride.

Miller laughed, "Sounds reasonable, but this is Detroit. There's a reason why I started the Deviants Crime Unit, and of course, the brand-new Deviants Behavioral Administration to assist in administrative parts of deviant crime investigations."

There's a terminal sitting on Miller's desk. He input his code to access it and pulled up one case file out of a few hundred files. "To put it simply, your team assists any administrative works that the other team needs for them to complete their investigations."

"I hope you don't mind working outside your job desk because your task is not only to get through our report files and archive them into the system, but also this. A homicide, just reported last night."

Several photos from the crime scene were displayed on the LED glass walls of the office room. Aiden Potoski, a forty-two-year-old man, was struck from behind and shot to death, while his son watches from the other room.

"Does this have anything to do with the Blueblood Ripper?" AJ inquired.

For the last six months, the shadow of a psychopath android on the loose has haunted Detroit like a looming spirit. The Blueblood Ripper's victims are known to be both androids and humans. So far, they have five victims.

"The Blueblood Ripper investigation is what's keeping DCU overloaded at the moment. So, we need your help on this one. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Then, the man calmly requested that they close the door on their way out.

Concept Art by https://www.behance.net/gallery/71503045/Concept-Art-Detroit-Become-Human