It had always been standard for reception to be watched by two guards. Even though the Fortis Group, now the Billion Bloodline group, had once been a private security company, the desk never needed a dozen sentries; two was enough for the ordinary things that happened at a front desk. Most problems that came through could be handled by protocol and a steady pair of hands.
They had many talented staff members whose real purpose was to move as a unit when called: mobilize, secure, and respond. But those teams were for larger incidents, coordinated efforts you only saw when the company decided to show force. On a day like any other, the two at reception were expected to be a deterrent, a symbol of calm. Guards for unruly customers, for rude clients, for rowdy deliveries—those were the kinds of situations that required two people at most. Nobody expected them to be the first line against a planned abduction. Nobody expected them to be the ones who would be taken out.
