Page 40 of Seductive Architect
It took a moment before a giant thumbs-up appeared. “Is that concern in your voice? I’m touched. Really.”
That eliminated one worry. “I need you to track Arthur and Drew for the last forty-eight hours. Find out if they had any interactions or overlaps with Tia from Synergy.”
“Janet’s arch-nemesis?”
“The same. Add Ricardo and Senator McAfee to the list.”
“It sounds like somebody has a theory. Care to share with the rest of the class?”
“Not a theory yet. More of a gut feeling.”
I flicked my wrist, and the projectors filled the room with code. With a couple of well-rehearsed motions, the building’s security cameras came to life. From here, I could see every inch of Synergy… except the janitor’s closet. Unless I spotted a villain creeping through the corridors, it was like hunting for a needle in a haystack.
I replaced the courtyard with the camera in the mailroom. Connie had mentioned it going on the fritz when Hudson entered the view. Blinking with static, I froze the screen, capturing Hudson’s smile on camera. The image distorted, making it impossible to tell what was happening, but I assumed he filled a cart with today’s deliveries.
“Spying on your man friend?”
“What’s with these other cameras?” Similar glitcheswere happening on the second and third floors. “Have they been tampered with?”
Before Connie could respond, I called that part of me that talked with machines. Narrowing my eyes, I focused on the monitor for the second floor. It wasn’t a problem with the camera itself. It did exactly as it was instructed. An external force tampered with the feed, stopping it from broadcasting normally.
“Everything looks fine on my end.” With the number of inconsistencies coming from Connie, I’d need to do a deep dive into her code when we solved this. “I’m reaching out to the security office.”
One camera remained mostly obscured. I didn’t need to see it to imagine the frosted glass durable enough to withstand a grenade. It housed some of their moresensitivematerial on cybernetics. It was as if somebody wanted to make sure their coming and going didn’t get recorded. Most of the theories on the wall had to do with big picture items. None of them hit this close to home.
Hudson could provide the missing information. As much as I wanted to follow the fuzzy feeling in my gut, I had almost busted him for armed robbery. I needed to be sure. But part of me didn’t want to know the answer. I’d need to scan the footage from last night and verify his story. Once I had that, I could ask him out for another date. It might be time to admit that I knew his secret.
Or I could ask,thenverify.
Orion: Up for a date night?
Hudson: What are we adding to the list tonight?
The list. Was that programming, too? Or was it him trying to be human? I couldn’t tell anymore.
My phone eagerly awaited my reply. After seeing our texts, it had already come up with cute names for us. Orison. Hudorian. FuzzFest. Instead, I focused on the screens. It was one thing staring at the wall, trying to fit the pieces together. It was another when the events on the wall had reached my friends. I wasn’t going to let some mysterious plot hurt the people I cared about.
It came back to Hudson. I was convincedhewas the key.
13
Bottom’s Uphad been part of the Ward since before I could buy a drink. Ever since the owner’s son took it over, it had transitioned from a dive bar to agaydive bar. It was the perfect place to admire men in leather harnesses, stare at the eye candy, and make questionable life choices. For tonight’s meeting with Hudson, it’d be the perfect place to havethetalk.
“You’ve been nursing that beer for a while.”
Mick couldn’t look any more like a bartender if he tried. He had a short-sleeve button-down with the top buttons open, showing plenty of chest hair. The rag over his shoulder might as well have been an occupational accessory. Despite his warm demeanor, he unnerved me.
“Waiting for a… uh… friend.”
He folded his arms, giving me a nod. “In that weird space between friends and… whatever?”
This is why he made me uncomfortable. He read people as easily as I communicated with machines. While I had cracked the code with every electronic device, he did the same with humans. Whatever part of my brain that didn’t process a person’s unspoken words, or their body language, or… just aboutanything,Mick could do in his sleep. It was as if I stared in a funhouse mirror or found my doppelgänger.
“It’s complicated.”
“Always is.”
I think our definitions were slightly different. Complicated for him meant figuring out what to have for dinner or where to go on vacation. My version of complicated included feelings for a machine that could very well disrupt the entire hero community. His meant which show to watch, and mine could end in death and mayhem. Minor differences.
