Page 26 of Seductive Architect
Arthur stood in the doorway leading away from the reception area. He didn’t have a snide remark for Janet's exasperated sigh for me. His hands remained shoved in his pockets as he stared into space. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about him feltoff. Though after the night I had, I could relate. I’d never confess it, but Janet hadn’t been wrong. I had switched my shirts three times thismorning, hoping I’d bump into a certain mailroom employee.
“Arthur, are you doing okay?”
Not only did henotrespond, but I don’t think he blinked. I had seen him get quiet when Janet threatened to tell his childhood nickname. Every time he bit back his words, he’d chew his lip, biting back a snarl. Now, he did nothing but take up space. I gave him the once-over, curious if an alien parasite had attached itself.
“Earth to Arthur?”
He blinked, shaking his head. “Sorry, my mind was wandering.”
“More like it was playing leapfrog on the interstate,” Janet said. “Have you finally snapped? Are we going to need to install metal detectors so you don’t go postal?”
He shot her a dirty look. Normalcy had returned.
“I’m sure we can get you a room at the ‘clinic.’” Her air quotes weren’t lost on me. “We’ll tell everybody you needed a vacation.”
Arthur hid his face in the palm of his hand. “I’m not going to the funny farm, yet.”
Janet could have come back with a thousand replies, mocking him. She had them loaded and ready to fire like a machine gun. Instead, she glanced at me, an eyebrow raised. Her restraint spoke volumes. For the first time, she had genuine concern for her brother.
“If you need to take a day, I can monitor the upgrade.”He’d never agree. Arthur hadn’t missed a day of work since I started at the company. Even his long weekend getaway had been to network with other app developers. I admired his dedication, but it seemed to have taken its toll.
“I’ll be fine. I just need to focus on work.”
While he tried to convince us, my brain had gone into overdrive. Could it be the chemicals they put in the water supply? Did he receive an email threatening to share images of him mounting Ricardo unless he paid them money? He hadn’t given me much to work with… except the familiar hum of code.
I spun about, expecting to see Hudson behind me, the source of the increasing white noise. Nope. This was no time to think about green slime or kisses. Focus. My eyes narrowed, forcing my powers forward. Arthur wasn’t the origin; he was the target.
“I’ll be fine. I just need to focus on work.”
When he turned around and headed down the hall to his office, I glanced at Janet. She didn’t open her mouth. All the theories I had been working on slipped down the priority list. There was an unknown force at work here, and I bet if I traced it back to the origin, I’d find Lizard people. Or inter-dimensional aliens. Or a secret government agency.
“You have a theory.” It wasn’t a question. Janet had seen me at work before. As much as I wanted to illuminate the issue, I didn’t know if I could trust her. Had whateveraffected Arthur gotten to her as well? My inner circle had been compromised, and I didn’t know whom I could trust. I wanted to tell her. But what if she was compromised, too?
“Maybe.”
If I couldn’t trust anyone, I’d go back to the one person I did. Me.
I had plenty, but until I could be sure where her allegiances lay, I’d be keeping them to myself. I slurped the last of my frappe, ignoring the tightness in my chest. Yesterday, I wanted someone. Today, I couldn’t afford to. It would be less about work and more about hunting down the origin of this damned humming.
“You’re going to leave a sister hanging?” She shouted down the hall. “I hope the Masons come get you.”
At this point, that could very well be a reality.
9
“So,you’re not going to doanywork today?”
I didn’t respond. Connie had been pushing for me to monitor the rollout since I arrived. Usually, she’d jump into whatever task occupied my brain. Today, she fixated on the update to the app, claiming I needed to earn my paycheck. The world wouldn’t fall apart if I indulged in a little research.
“Connie, run a self-diagnostic.”
“Fine.”
Moodier than usual, she vanished as the diagnostics ran. She had been acting weird for days, and I could only handle so much weirdness at once. It could be anything from janky code to her new experiences with her boyfriend. We’d get to the bottom of it. With Hudson and the code and now something similar around Arthur, wehad left coincidence and moved into theory territory. When she finished, we could make adjustments, and she’d be back to helping me.
I stared at a virtual wall covered in photographs and newspaper articles. With a flick of the wrist, everything dimmed except the picture of Hudson. I reached into the projection, plucking it from the corkboard. The super-soldier theory had been hidden underneath. I’d need to ask Connie if she had any more information on Senator McAfee.
I summoned a picture of Arthur. Drawing a circle with my finger, I pointed an arrow to a notepad. “Both have similar code. It’s fast. It somehow comes back to Synergy, and something I’ve heard there before. Close, but not quite the same. Could it have already been impacting Hudson?” I flicked a finger, creating a second notepad with questions. “Could it be what’s erased his past?”
