Page 50 of Seductive Architect
Janet spoke as if everything were normal, but her words lacked her usual intensity. She didn’t need to say it out loud. She was worried. It was one thing when a lab experiment went crazy and we had to evacuate the building. Explosions we could explain. This… we had no idea what we were dealing with.
“I discovered something yesterday.”
I gave her a nod with my chin, directing her toward my office. Each office we passed remained empty. I couldn’t remember a day Drew had taken off. Even when he showed up with the sniffles, Arthur couldn’t force him home. Part of it was that we each wanted to excel in our jobs, but thishad also become a dysfunctional family. I even looked forward to the staff meetings.
When we reached my office, I shut the door. Arthur made me remove the locks, claiming we didn’t need deadbolts in the office. I moved the chair into place, bracing it under the handle.
“Can’t be too careful,” I said.
“Yes, you definitely can.” Janet stopped when I shot her a dirty look. “Okay, in this situation, I get it.”
With a thought, the projectors fired up, and the blinds lowered. Seconds later, the room was filled with screens.
“Are you watching the mayor?” She glanced at another security camera. “Is that the police chief?”
“Mayor has a penchant for pretty girls when his wife is away. The police chief is obsessed with Real Housewives of Vanguard. There is no evidence to suggest that either of them belongs to the Illuminati. Give it time.”
With a flick of the wrist, the screens merged into a large map of Vanguard. “Connie, can you ping phones for everybody in the company?”
Connie appeared between Janet and me. It wasn’t often that she assumed a human form. She had chosen a beautiful avatar. Not sexy, but just enough mystery to make her alluring. This version could have been any person on the street. Her earrings and diamond necklace were new accessories.
“Hey, girlfriend.” Janet held up her hand. “Finally, theladies outnumber the men. It was becoming a real sausage party up in here.” Connie gave her a silent high-five, her hand passing harmlessly through Janet’s palm.
“Weird,” I said.
Synergy was located on the edge of the Ward, near the business district. None of us had any reason to be that close to the docks. They were notorious for criminal activity, and more than a few heroes spent their entire shift keeping the riffraff in line. I couldn’t imagine why they’d be there.
“They’re at the docks,” I said.
“Why would Arthur be there? He hates the water. This one time, when we were kids?—”
“Connie.” Sorry, Janet, story time would have to wait. “Did you scan the security footage?”
She reached toward the screen, and with a flick of the wrist, the map moved to the side, and a series of cameras opened. She sped through the tapes. “I’ve scoured all the cameras, and there’s nothing unusual.”
“What about the senator?”
“He’s been at his office.” She poked at the screens, and it switched to an overhead view of Senator McAfee’s office. “I haven’t detected anything unusual.”
If I suffered from paranoia, Connie shared the trait. I’m not sure if I ever heard her claim something…anything… was normal. I had made excuses for the last week, blaming a glitch in the code or her involvement with the new man, but now I grew suspicious. No unusual activity might as well be our safe word. Had she been hacked? Or was she lying to me on purpose?
“What about last night around 8:30 PM?”
The video showed the senator sitting at the oversized desk in his office. Either he had a twin, or there was a clone of him running loose. Either of those could be likely. However, after the number of coincidences, I wondered if my greatest ally had been covering up the senator’s tracks. If she had done it this time, how much bad intel had she been supplying?
“What are you thinking?” asked Janet.
Connie had made a mistake, giving me the upper hand. For now, I couldn’t let her know I discovered her deceit. Unfortunately, there was no way to tell Janet without giving away everything. Could Connie be the mastermind behind everything? No. That made little sense… or did it?
“Connie, can you—” I froze. Ever since I turned her on, I had relied on Connie for almost everything. Perhaps I had taken advantage of her, and she rebelled? People became supervillains for far less. “Can you tap his phone? I want to know who he’s been calling.” That sounded like something I’d request.
“Do you think Ricardo is in on it?”
I didn’t know how much I could say. If we were getting close to the truth, Connie could report back to her overlord. Or perhaps she’d suddenly go mad and try crashing a plane into the building. “If it got Arthur, I’mgoing to assume it has Ricardo, too. I think we need to regroup.”
“I can?—”
“No!” I didn’t mean to shout. Janet had information, and I didn’t want her sharing it with Connie in the room. “Go about your normal workday. They might be watching.” BytheyI meant Connie. “We’ll reconvene later. In the meantime, speak to nobody. It’s you and me, Janet.”
