Chương 32

Mesmer was about to begin again when M. M.'s phone rang. M. M. looked at the screen and became still. It was Butcher. Butcher had returned to the hideout and found it empty. M. M. answered, and Butcher asked, "Where are you?" M. M. looked at the others before answering.

"We're at the hideout. We only stepped out for a minute." There was a short silence on the other side. Butcher's voice sharpened.

"Where the fuck are you?" M. M. knew there was no point lying anymore. He gave the address and said, "We needed to know her past." Butcher said nothing. He ended the call. A few minutes later, Butcher came into the house with Hughie. Mesmer stared at them. Butcher's eyes went straight to him.

"You are trusting him?" Butcher asked.

"This is your plan? Bring in another bloody Supe and let him dig around in her head?" M. M. kept his voice steady.

"We needed answers." Butcher looked at the Female, then at the papers she had drawn on. Butcher looked at Mesmer again. He hated letting a Supe into the Female's head, but the papers on the table had got them nowhere.

"You could have told me before bringing him in," Butcher said.

"And you would have said no before hearing the plan," M. M. replied.

"We have been staring at those drawings for hours. Mesmer is the first real chance we have had to understand her." Butcher cursed under his breath and stepped back from the Female. M. M. turned to Mesmer.

"Start." Mesmer swallowed and reached for the Female's hand again. Mesmer offered his good hand. His eyes moved toward the door, but M. M. stayed beside him. This time, he held on longer. His expression changed as the memories reached him.

"Her name is Kimiko," Mesmer said. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Frenchie repeated it under his breath so he would remember it.

"Kimiko." Mesmer continued.

"She was with a terrorist group. Shining Light." Hughie took a step away from Kimiko. Across the room, Butcher narrowed his eyes. M. M. stayed still, but his face tightened.

'A terrorist,' Mesmer thought. His eyes shifted to Adam, and he remembered the red glow.

'I have to expose these people.' Kimiko moved toward him again and pushed her hand into his. This time she offered her hand herself because she wanted them to see more. Mesmer flinched but touched her. More memories came. This time, he saw the rest. Kimiko and her brother had been taken. They were pulled away from their old life and forced into Shining Light. Their parents were gone. They had been turned into soldiers before they could choose anything for themselves.

Mesmer saw them held together while armed men decided what they would become. Kimiko had not joined the group because she believed in it. She had survived by keeping her brother close and obeying until the two of them could escape.

"Vought used Compound V on them," Mesmer said.

"They are making the enemies too." Mesmer pulled back, breathing hard. Frenchie finally let out his breath. Frenchie understood then. Shining Light had taken her. She had never chosen it.

"It is not her fault," he said. Hughie looked at Kimiko with softer eyes. M. M. stopped looking at Kimiko like a threat. Butcher looked away, thinking. Frenchie spoke first.

"We have to find her brother." Butcher nodded after a moment.

"Fine. We find the brother first." They began to leave. Mesmer came near Butcher and held out his good hand. Butcher looked at it and walked past him. Adam was behind the others. Mesmer held his hand toward Adam too. Adam smiled. He closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, they were glowing red. Mesmer stepped back in fear. Adam left without touching him. Mesmer watched them go.

'I have to tell the Seven,' he thought. He took out his phone. The contact name on the screen was A-Train. Butcher did not return to the hideout. He went straight to Deputy Director Susan Raynor's office. Raynor barely looked interested when he entered. Then Butcher put the Compound V on her desk. She looked at it.

"What is this?"

"The truth," Butcher said.

"Vought is making Supes with this. They are not chosen by God, and they are not born special. Vought injects them with this. We traced it through the hospitals. They have been doing this to children for decades." Raynor picked up the vial. Her bored expression disappeared.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Protection for my team," Butcher said.

"Jobs and a proper setup. Then Homelander." Raynor leaned back.

"Protection can be arranged. Jobs can be arranged." Butcher waited for the rest of her answer. When it did not come, he looked directly at Raynor.

"And Homelander?" Butcher asked. Raynor put her pen down.

"What do you think this is, Butcher? I know what happened to your wife." Butcher said nothing.

"But we cannot touch him," Raynor continued.

"Homelander is beyond our reach. I do not care what company signs his checks. We cannot move against him without a way to stop him." She held Butcher's stare.

"If we try, a lot of people die." Butcher picked up the Compound V and the evidence. Raynor stood.

"Think about the innocent lives this could save." Butcher did not stop. He walked out.