Page 19 of Seductive Architect (Grunts of Vanguard #2)

Bottom’s Up had 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 a gay dive 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 have the talk.

“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 about anything, Mick could do in his sleep.

It was as if I stared in a funhouse mirror or found my doppelg?nger.

“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.

“Follow your gut.”

“I never follow my gut,” I blurted out. What type of bartender rhetoric was he trying to feed me?

“Maybe that’s why it’s complicated.” Did he just drop some wisdom as he fired double finger guns at me?

Mick spun about, shouting at a group of gentlemen at the jukebox.

Just as the music came to life, he grabbed the cord and unplugged the machine.

I appreciated the lack of noise and maybe his advice.

It sounded so simple, yet I had tied myself up in knots over the situation.

Could I have feelings for a guy who might very well be at the center of superheroes coming to an end?

“Not my first bar.”

“Wow,” I gasped.

Hudson traded his button-down for a t-shirt that hugged his body in all the right ways.

Tight in the biceps and around the belly.

It was as if he intentionally highlighted his best assets.

Well… until he flashed that smile. He grabbed a chair opposite me.

I hated that the conversation ahead of us might wipe it off his face.

I had beaten around the bush as much as possible.

Inside, my brain, heart, and even the butterflies in my stomach waged a silent war.

“First gay bar?” I asked.

He spun about in his seat. Without prompting, Mick returned with a frosted glass filled with a dark amber beer. Hudson didn’t hide his surprise as Mick rested a hand on his shoulder, sliding the beer onto the table.

“Orion was just telling me about you.”

“Oh?” We said it in unison.

“I think you give him butterflies.” If I didn’t know better, I’d think Mick had telepathy. It’d explain how he predicted his patrons’ drinks and doled out sage advice. He’d be going on the board when I got home.

With a quick pat, he departed. Leaving Hudson with that smirk. “Two firsts. Gay bar and giving somebody butterflies.”

He laughed, but I couldn’t join him. My stomach twisted.

This was it. No more waiting. This wasn’t a date. This was a reckoning.

“I… uh…” I needed to get it out before I chickened out. “I need to ask you a very serious question.”

“Go for it.” He leaned over, sipping from the beer without using his hands.

“Where were you a year ago?”

“In Vanguard.”

“What did you do for work?”

“I worked at the lab.”

He continued sipping. I slid forward, resting my elbows on the table. It was harder than I imagined. I wished I had taken a photo of him before I wrecked this relationship.

“I know your secret.”

His eyebrow went up. “What’s that?”

“That you’re…” It was one thing to say it to Janet. That hadn’t made my palms sweat. I fidgeted in my seat, mustering the courage. “Not human.”

He sat upright and froze. His entire body went rigid, as if he had turned to stone.

Shit. I hadn’t considered his response. Would he whip the table to the side and kill everybody in the bar to cover up his identity?

I probably should have done this in an abandoned warehouse to limit casualties.

This was why I’d never be a top-tier hero.

“I don’t know what you mean.” He poked his cheek to emphasize the squishiness of his flesh. “I feel pretty human.”

“What is your favorite elementary school moment?”

“I don’t know what you?—”

“What is the name of your first pet?”

“Stop. Please stop.” His eyes pleaded with me.

“Why does your list of firsts start six months ago?”

Hudson’s head cocked to the side. For a second, he looked like he didn’t understand the question at all.

Then his mouth opened and closed soundlessly, his eyes darting to the beer glass like it might hold the answer.

His fingers drummed an erratic beat on the table.

When he finally spoke, his voice cracked.

“You’re messing with me.” He said it, but it didn’t come with a joyful tone. The gears were turning. He tried to smile, but it vanished.

“Do you have any memories before Synergy?”

“I don’t…” His eyes darted back and forth. “I don’t know.”

I wanted to out his secret so that it was open between us. I hadn’t expected I’d be outing him to himself. His eyes dropped, fixed on the beer in front of him.

“It’s dark. I get glimpses, but I can’t see specifics. How?” He looked up. “Why can’t I remember anything before? ”

“That’s when you were made.” Now it sounded cruel. “Born. Kind of the same thing.” The panic seeping into his eyes felt like a punch to the gut. It’d have been easier if he had been a sleeper agent trying to kill me.

He continued muttering, growing quiet. I don’t know what possessed me, but I reached across the table, holding out my hand.

His eyes moved from the beer to my fingers.

The seconds dragged out, turning into minutes.

I had done enough damage in the pursuit of truth.

Maybe I could help level the playing field.

“Give me your hand.”

His fingers crept up the table until his hand hovered over mine. I took the initiative, gripping his wrist. As soon as we made contact, my powers flared, the hum of code reaching deafening levels. I was about to do the one thing I had been told never to do. I told the truth.

Hello, Hudson.

“Huh?”

He shook his head before swatting at his ear. I had upended his world. I hadn’t thought about how this might impact him. There was only one thing I could think of that would level the playing field.

With a thought, his phone vibrated. “You should get that.”

It continued vibrating. It took a moment before he slid a hand into his pocket.

When he checked the screen, he flicked it open.

I watched as his thumb scrolled, flipping through a dozen photographs.

When he reached the end, his eyes widened.

It must have been the one of me in my helmet and gauntlets… and nothing else.

“You like to play dress-up?”

The best part of my every-day persona, nobody would suspect me of being a superhero. Unlike Wyatt, I didn’t need to work at blending in. Disgruntled appearance, average guy, unsuspecting, it all worked in my favor.

I glanced over Hudson’s shoulder, my hand still on the table. Arthur would claim I let my emotions get the best of me. He’d say revealing anything, especially to a guy on the wall, would be reckless. I wouldn’t argue. This was a stupid idea. Very stupid.

I reached out to the nanites, about to put it all on the line. My watch disintegrated as the metal covered my knuckles and spread along my fingers. Hudson’s confusion faded, replaced by disbelief. If his eyebrows went any higher, they’d be in his hairline.

“You—” He leaned forward, whispering. “You’re Failsafe?”

Shaking my hand, the nanites returned to the shape of my watch. I couldn’t tell if my reveal had done anything more than confuse the situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mick came over, dropped a beer in front of us, and pulled at his neck until he revealed himself as a Lizard person.

“That was you the other day?” With a slight suggestion, his phone opened the HeroApp? and brought up the p hoto of us after stopping Prism’s henchmen. “Is that how you figured out I’m a…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say it. It’d take time.

If he were like me, it’d be years before he understood being different is a strength.

I didn’t have somebody to rely on during those early years.

I thought I had been built broken. It wasn’t until I saw Prime save the mayor that I realized different didn’t mean bad.

We’re both special.

“How are you doing that?”

This is my gift. I can communicate with… machines.

“Is that how you?—”

“Figured it out?” Admitting I talked to machines didn’t seem as big a deal as explaining my hobby . “I’ve been investigating some theories?—”

“Conspiracies?”

“We don’t use that word,” I said quickly. “But yes, like that. It just so happened one of them was a super-soldier program.” He cocked his head to the side. After everything he learned, he didn’t see the connection? This is why I thought our species wouldn’t survive. “You’re the proof.”

“I’m not a soldier…”

“I watched you tear the door off a car.”

“People needed saving, and…” It was the first moment of understanding. As his eyes darted back and forth, he replayed the event. His hands slowly repeated the gestures, hu rling the door across the lobby. Hudson’s eyes went wide as the puzzle pieces fell into place.