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

“No more fighting during lunch breaks,” we mumbled in unison.

Once we changed from our uniforms, we gathered in the Secret Identities’ break room to receive a tongue-lashing.

While it had been upgraded, Wyatt insisted we use our old chairs.

He claimed it made it cozier. We let him have it.

At least now it had working appliances. Though I think we could all tolerate fewer motivational posters from Janet.

“Kick them in the balls” wasn’t quite the right ethos for Arthur’s company.

Arthur held up his “Bestest Boss” coffee mug, a gift from Wyatt.

“Orion. What’s the rule?” For a big man, he was the least intimidating man in the room.

Wyatt looked like the cover model of Weight Lifters Weekly.

Compared to Arthur, even Drew would win in an arm-wrestling competition.

Arthur and I might be close in physique, but he had a softer personality. I’d bet on my dry wit each time.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Connie said it was your idea.”

“I’m going to unplug her.”

Arthur continued leaning against the counter, grimacing as he drank his cold coffee. I took satisfaction that the microwave continued playing jokes on him. That’s what he got for not wiping down the interior after his lunch exploded. I might encourage this vendetta.

“Fine. No more heroics at lunch.”

“And?”

What else had I done? Alright, I might have convinced the printer to eat the paper.

There was also the router dropping out during video conferences.

Or was it the photo from the Christmas office party where he insisted on wearing the ugliest sweater known to mankind that kept popping up as his computer background?

“I want hot coffee.”

I grumbled. “Fine.” I waved my hand toward the microwave, withdrawing the vendetta. “You know, I’m thinking you?—”

Wyatt threw himself back in the chair, hands covering his face. “Not again.”

“No more conspiracies,” Drew said. “I love you, I swear, I do. You’re nice… ish. But Lizard people aren’t controlling the government. ”

I snickered. “Of course not. They’re too busy with our satellite network.”

“The Church is not a front for an alien invasion.”

Wrong again. “Close. Inter-dimensional beings here to steal our resources.”

“The government isn’t creating super soldiers to replace heroes.”

“Okay, that one is right. And they are. I can prove it.”

“Can you?” Arthur asked, sliding his mug into the microwave. When he pushed the button to start, nothing happened. He turned, frowning. “Really?”

“What can I say? The microwave holds a grudge?”

Truth be told, Arthur wasn’t wrong. I had taken uncovering the truth and made it my identity.

I could see things, dangerous things. People went about their days as if there wasn’t another reality just beneath the surface.

The whiteboard in my home had far too many incidents to be a coincidence.

If they ignored it, that was on them. But I wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

“I had one conspiracy theory right.”

Arthur reduced himself to whispering sweet things to the microwave. No amount of love would get it to turn on. If he thought I was the stubborn one, he obviously didn’t talk to enough wronged microwaves. It would be weeks before he drank warm coffee.

Drew had his eyebrow raised. “I’ll bite. Which one?”

“Secret Identities Incorporated is a front for superheroes.” I had applied for the job, ready to close the case on this mystery. Arthur offering me a position programming an app that changed the way superheroes operated had been a shocker. I held out my finger and made a check mark. “I was right.”

“Ahem,” Arthur said. “Let’s put this conspiracy to bed. I was not harboring superheroes.”

I gestured to Drew. “He can literally change the color of objects.” I pointed to my forehead. “With his mind .”

“I had no superhero employees before the three of you. There wasn’t a conspiracy until you signed your contracts. You can’t say you were right when you made it happen.”

“Technicalities,” I mumbled. They might think I’m paranoid, but I call it being prepared.

Usually, I divided my time between research and video games.

Slaying demons kept me distracted and gave me an excuse to adventure with other players.

It had all come crashing down when a dwarf cleric wormed his way into my DMs. All a guy needs is a stout, bearded man willing to patch up the arrow holes in your chest. I should have known something was off.

All the red flags were there. It reinforced my inability to connect with humans, and instead, I threw myself into uncovering the mysteries of Vanguard.

I frowned, still hurt that I lost my fuzzy cleric. It wasn’t the game I missed. It was the idea that someone out there gave a damn .

“Don’t be sad, friend!” Wyatt jumped to his feet, hands on his hips. “If you need a victory, I can be your alien invader.” He leaned forward, hand up to his mouth. With the loudest whisper possible, he added, “After work, of course.”

Wyatt, in his goofy over-the-top way, proved a point.

As of right then, I had exposed nothing.

Had I turned into one of those people wearing tinfoil hats?

No. Due to my abilities, I watched the uncanny amount of information being collected from Vanguard citizens.

Every purchase, every dinner, every midnight liaison was all captured and catalogued.

In the wrong hands, this information could be used to destroy mankind.

I felt it in my bones… none of us, me included, comprehended the whole story.

Janet stood in the doorway to the break room.

While Arthur didn’t intimidate, his twin was another story.

Even next to the statuesque Wyatt, she held her ground.

After working here for months, I couldn’t figure her out.

Arthur described her as chaos personified, and I agreed.

Or at least chaos with a devious grin. Underneath her radical persona, I bet there was an untold story.

“Did Wyatt just say he was going to conquer the world?” She sauntered over to Wyatt, jabbing a finger against his chiseled chest. “Do we have to have another sit-down with Human Resources?”

Wyatt frowned. “Not another training video. I get confused when you’re playing all the parts.

” As the self-appointed Queen of Human Resources, she created a series of videos in which she played all the roles.

Confusing? Yes. Amusing? Absolutely. Arthur tried to rein her in, but Janet wouldn’t be tamed.

“Janet!” Arthur growled. “No more videos. They have work to do.”

She rolled her eyes. Despite being twins, they looked nothing alike.

Arthur’s dad bod and beard made him look like a generic bear.

Janet, on the other hand, was a stocky woman, but more than willing to wield the ladies to get what she wanted.

No matter how perky she made her breasts, nobody here noticed.

I think that’s why she harassed the employees at Synergy Research.

At least there, her cleavage held power.

“Is that harassment?” She waited a moment. “No, really. Can I call that harassment? Maybe Arthur needs the workplace etiquette video?”

Drew snorted. “That’s my favorite. The part where she consents to touching her own butt… priceless.”

He gave up, throwing his arms in the air. Grabbing his cold coffee, he stormed out of the break room. It wouldn’t be a day at Secret Identities if Janet didn’t drive her brother from the room.

From down the hall, Arthur shouted. “Get to work. All of you!”

Wyatt and Drew headed to their offices. When I tried sliding by Janet, she thrust a hand against my chest. Without my suit, I only had the strength of a man with an affinity for pizza and energy drinks. Stopping me dead in my tracks, she leaned her head out the door.

“It’s clear.”

“Clear?”

“I know they’re giving you a hard time.” She leaned in close enough that I could smell her tea tree shampoo. “You’re close to the truth.”

For a second, I thought she might be mocking me. Janet was either the only one who saw it too… or the best liar of all.

When she pulled back, I couldn’t get a read on her expression. Unlike machines, humans were complicated creatures who rarely said what they meant. Whatever program ran in their brain defied logic, and none more than Janet. Machines were easy to speak with; humans were another story.

“Are you serious?”

“Synergy. It screams corporate villainy. Even if Arthur’s boyfriend is the CEO.”

I thought about it for a second. I had my eye on them for a while. My surveillance might be on the wrong side of legal, but people traded freedom for safety. Then they complained when they didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t going to be the one who got comfortable. That’s when they get you.

“I’ve had my suspicions. If I were them, I’d hide in plain sight. But how would you know? ”

Janet winked. “When I was with the F.B.I., I saw things.”

“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.