Page 5 of Seductive Architect
“You worked for?—”
“Shh.”
Without another word, she ducked out of the break room into the hallway. It’d be easy enough to dismiss Janet as a wild woman with stories that redefined hyperbole. However, it made sense why most of the documents I found about her had been redacted. When I got home, I’d dedicate a section of wall to only Janet. Who knew our office assistant turned… whatever title she gave herself this week would be a photograph on my whiteboard?
“My co-workers are insane,” I said with a sigh. “Another day at Secret Identities Incorporated.”
The holographic projectors in my office showed the HeroApp™ code in three dimensions. Arthur created the original code, but since joining, I had taken over as the architect. Others would see nonsensical equations. Even Arthur struggled to comprehend our app at this level. My powers thrived in this environment. For me, it was less code and more like having a casual conversation.
“Connie, are you seeing this?”
She didn’t reply. Of course, she could. We housed a clean copy of the HeroApp™ on a server that only Arthur, myself, and my favorite desktop could access. We were about to apply the biggest update since launching. Unfortunately, our ambitions had outpaced the technology, and every time we tried, the network crashed.
“The facial recognition is too broad. We need to narrow the scope.”
“Parameters?”
“Limit to the last twenty-four hours.”
The HeroApp™ had two purposes. The first was a fun way for citizens to catalogue superhero events and stay ahead of any disastrous events unfolding in Vanguard. More importantly, we used this crowd-sourced information to make villain detection easier for heroes. Long gone were the days of lingering in the sky while scouring for danger.
Hundreds of photos appeared in the room. Most had genuine heroes, a few pinpointing villains. A good number of photographs of regular people who citizenshopedwould turn out to be heroes.
“Limit by known villain status,” I said.
Only a hundred photos remained.
“Connie, create a list of commonalities to help narrow the scope.”
Seeing the amount of information we collected, I don’t know how the others didn’t see the potential for corruption. Thankfully, Arthur didn’t have an evil bone in his body. Though if he ever turned to the dark side, I’d go nuclear and delete all traces of the app.
“Connie, while you’re compiling, could you schedule the usual pepperoni and bacon pizza?”
“You need more veggies.”
I grumbled. My desktop computer had taken on the role of life coach.
“Maybe a salad?”
“No salads!”
“Too late.”
Normal people grumbled when their computer froze or closed a file without saving. Me? I had to deal with my computer insisting I get more exercise or sleep for more than four hours. I had drawn the line when she created a dating profile. Ever since the breakup with MeatHammer71… Jared, she did her best to pick up the pieces. I couldn’t tell if she wanted me to meet somebody or if she wanted me to leave her alone once in a while.
“You’ll never land a man with that?—”
“I’m not datinganyman.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Connie might be my closest friend, but a conversation about feelings? How do you have a serious discussion with your desktop that my dwarven boyfriend kicked me to the curb for a high-level mage? He wooed me to get access to my inventory and help him defeat dungeons. Had all our video chats been for gold? It had been my fault for believing it was anything other than a friendship of convenience.
“Orion, I can’t be your only friend.”
“You’re not my only friend.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Though, Wyatt and Drew weren’t the type of people I’d invite for a movie night. Humans were messy, and I barely spoke their language. “I’m not ready?—”
Knock. Knock.
