Page 16 of Seductive Architect (Grunts of Vanguard #2)

“Half-naked, thank you very much. ”

She had been spending plenty of time with her… partner? Despite our having a sudden interest in other people, hearing her in my head remained a comfort. Men would come and go, but Connie remained a constant in my life.

“He’s a machine,” I confessed. It hadn’t gone on the wall, not yet. My hesitation should have been a red flag. I needed Connie to knock some sense into me.

“Is this a sex thing?”

My eyes couldn’t roll back any further. “Hudson is a machine. A complicated one. I can’t understand the code keeping him running.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded as if she could read my body language. “I think he’s the super soldier we’ve been looking for.”

“It’s not enough that he’s hot, but a killing machine? Are you sure? He’s not that super.”

I expected her to agree and begin pulling footage.

If this were about the Illuminati, she’d already have records from historical archives.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about Connie had changed.

Or maybe I was the one changing? I had gone from determined sleuth to love-struck puppy dog.

Alarms sounded from the street below. I debated on signaling for one of the many heroes to take up the call.

After Solaris, I was feeling particularly hero-ish.

I shimmied closer to the edge. Falling from eighty stories should induce panic, but as I pushed off, the rush of wind drowned out the voices.

For eleven seconds, it was almost peaceful.

My suit sped along my skin; the jetpack kicked in as the faces of Vangaurdians came into view.

I zipped across the street. My visor displayed the target, a branch of Vanguard National Trust. It appeared that a group of men with guns was attempting a robbery.

The security cameras had them filling up duffle bags from the vault.

Why did they even bother? Every-day criminals must know their odds have dropped significantly since heroes appeared.

“Stupid people,” I muttered. The real question was, did they have a superpowered mastermind lying in wait? For all I knew, this was another of Prism’s attempts at fame and fortune. Men with guns, no problem, a man capable of shooting rainbows out of his palms, that was another matter altogether.

Below me, a red blur appeared. When it slowed, I saw a young man in a red suit waving. “Zipper,” he shouted. He couldn’t have been much more than a teenager. My companion should focus on his homework, not patrolling the streets.

“How old are you?”

“Old enough!” He gave me a salute before zipping forward. At least his superhero moniker made sense. At this rate, he’d have the entire scene under control before I arrived. Why did speedsters not handle all the street crime? We should be adding them to the police force .

I flipped to a view of the exterior security camera.

Even slowing the frames, it was hard to make out my sidekick.

The blurred moved, dropping one henchman outside.

A second appeared, slumped over, a keyboard and wire tied around his wrists.

When one came out of the building, firing his gun behind him, I saw my opportunity— Nope, never mind.

In a streak of red, the goon dropped the duffle bag of cash.

“Too slow, grandpa.”

“Hush.”

Zipper inspected his handiwork and pulled out his cell phone.

When he posed for a selfie with his bounty, I rolled my eyes.

As quickly as he arrived, he dashed off.

Hopefully, the kid had checked for bystanders inside.

The police would want somebody to stop and write the report.

Not nearly as glamorous as slugging it out with bad guys, but it’s the least I could do.

I spun through an alley, emerging across the road from the bank’s courtyard. As I flew closer, I found a man Zipper had missed. He stumbled his way out of the bank. Zipper had been nice enough to leave me a single henchman to squash.

As I approached, he ignored his companions, instead bending down to grab the duffle bag. Typical bad guys get the loot and forget their partners in crime. When he looked up, I all but fell out of the air.

“Hudson? ”

I landed on the steps leading up to the bank.

Raising my hands out of habit, the repulsors hummed as they spun to life.

“Halt.” While I put on the usual show, my mind raced.

While I went on dates with the man, he had been busy collecting a posse.

I cursed all my assumptions. He might have been created by Synergy, but I assumed he’d be under government control, or at least the Lizard people, stopping supers.

It hadn’t crossed my mind that he had gone rogue and turned to a life of crime.

“It’s not what you think,” he blurted out.

“Looks like you robbed Vanguard National Trust and your buddies got caught.”

“I saw them— I went in to stop— Then they vanished.” He dropped the bag. “Remember me from the other day?”

I walked up the steps, keeping my hands raised. Hudson told me he had plans tonight. He should have included robbing a bank in the notes. “I remember you doing some very extraordinary things.”

He kicked the bag in my direction and raised his hands. “I needed to help. To stop them.”

I had only seen him in action once before. Despite rewatching the footage a dozen times, I didn’t have a clear picture of his abilities. He might be formidable in hand-to-hand combat, but I had an entire arsenal strapped to my back.

“Arsenal,” I hissed .

Connie snickered. “Sorry, Failsafe. It’s stuck. I’ve already reserved the domain name. No going back now.”

“Hush.”

Hudson didn’t look like a criminal mastermind, at least not in jeans and a t-shirt.

Scanning the wall, it’d make sense that he tried to stop the burglars.

If he had been designed to be a super soldier, I assumed they wanted to replace heroes.

Had he shown up at the command of his handler?

Did they not predict Zipper intervening and cleaning the house before he could show off his skills?

Heroes stealing another hero’s save was considered a faux pas.

I’d have to talk to Zipper if I ever saw him again.

Sirens blared from down the street. I only had a minute before they arrived on the scene and carted off the perps. I had to decide. Did I blast Hudson, restrain him, and toss him with his buddies, or…

He might be telling the truth. He might not. I’d have to live with whatever this decision costs. I lowered my hands. This is stupid. This is reckless. I know it. I did it anyway.

“Go.”

It defied all logic. Even if he were a super soldier sent to replace heroes, I could put a dent in their operation by having the police question him.

Once they realized who or what he was, there’d be questions.

By morning, their discovery would be splashed across every major newspaper.

Yet, logic drowned in a gurgling feeling in my gut.

With no evidence to prove my theory, he wasn’t a criminal .

“Go,” I said. “Before the police arrive.”

Hudson bolted to an alley as the cops flew into the courtyard. Parking their cars on the sidewalk, two officers proceeded with guns drawn. They had to make split-second decisions if I was the hero on scene or a villain they’d have to confront.

“I’m on your side,” I shouted.

It didn’t ease the tension or cause them to lower their weapons. “Who are you?”

“Failsafe. Member of the Coven.” I turned slowly, my hands held in the air. “I work with Mr. Supreme.” Thankfully, Wyatt’s superhero moniker served as credentials. They lowered their weapons. “Looks like a run-of-the-mill burglary. Zipper stopped them. I secured the scene.”

“Are there any more inside?” The female officer had seniority. Her male counterpart stayed behind her, allowing her to take the lead. “Casualties?”

“Bank was empty.” I glanced over my shoulder, making sure Hudson had gotten away. “This is all of them, Officer.”

I’d be interviewing Hudson later, and this time I’d be asking the hard questions.

I should be worried that I just freed an agent of the government, and it’d bite me in the ass.

My emotions were overriding logic, and in the past, that ended poorly.

I needed to get my head screwed on straight before I did something stupid.

“So, should I follow you to the precinct to fill out a report?”