Chương 43

Butcher held the trigger while he stood in the dark hallway, facing Madelyn across the room. Madelyn Stillwell sat on the sofa in front of him with explosives around her. Homelander stood directly before Madelyn after the red glow from his heat vision had faded. Madelyn was dead. Homelander's beams had entered through Madelyn's eyes and killed her. Butcher had lost his chance to use her against Homelander. Her body remained on the sofa while Homelander looked at Butcher without showing any concern for the bombs.

Butcher stared at Madelyn and understood his mistake. He had believed she was the one person Homelander cared about enough to protect. If that was true, holding her here should have forced him to listen. Instead, Homelander had killed her himself.

'She was never his weakness,' Butcher thought. Maybe Homelander had no weakness at all. Then Adam came to his mind. Adam was the only person Butcher knew who could make Homelander step back, so he might be the one weakness Homelander had now. But Adam had not come with Butcher. Neither had Hughie. They had chosen to save their friends first because the team mattered more to them than Butcher's revenge. Hughie had refused to leave the others, and Adam had made the same choice.

Even with Homelander waiting, Adam had gone back for the team first. He had not treated Butcher's revenge as more important than their lives. Butcher looked down at the trigger. Madelyn was dead, which left him nothing to threaten Homelander with. A smile appeared on Butcher's face as he pressed the trigger. White light filled the hallway. Some time later, Butcher woke on the grass. He slowly lifted his head and found Homelander standing over him, waiting for him to move. Butcher stared at him in shock.

The blast should have killed him, yet both of them were still alive after it. Homelander looked down at Butcher.

"You got one thing wrong. You think I'm scared of your friend Adam." Butcher's expression changed when he heard Adam's name. Homelander turned away and said, "Come on. I want to show you something." Then he began walking across the grass. Butcher forced himself to sit up. His eyes followed Homelander before moving past him, and then he saw Becca. Butcher stared at his wife without speaking. He had believed she was gone, but she was standing in front of him. A boy stood before Becca and looked toward both men.

Homelander stopped near the child before looking down at him.

"Hey, son," Homelander said.

"I'm your father." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. At Vought, Stan Edgar sat across from U. S. Secretary of Defense Robert Singer. The contract between them lay open on the table. The government had agreed to use the Seven in military operations, and now the two men were going over the terms. Singer read one section again.

"Exactly what casualty allowance are you asking for?" Edgar answered without changing his expression.

"Officially, zero. Between us, thirty-four percent." Singer's hand stopped over the page.

"Thirty-four percent?"

"Once the Seven enter a real mission, innocent people may die," Edgar said.

"That is the number Vought is prepared for." Singer looked at the contract again. He hated the answer, but supervillains were appearing around the world. Normal soldiers could not fight them without losing far more people. The government needed the Seven now, which left him no other choice. Several days had passed since the team was captured. The Boys were hiding again. Adam put on a cap and glasses before leaving the hideout, then kept his head lowered until he reached the subway.

A woman in a hoodie was already sitting inside. Adam took the seat beside her without looking directly at her.

"Vought blamed Madelyn's death on all of you," Annie said.

"They're hunting every member of the Boys now, and they will not stop until they find you. Every one of you needs to stay hidden for now." Adam smiled.

"Hiding has its own kind of fun." Annie gave him a look. Adam took out a paper folded into a small square. He opened each fold across his knees until Annie could see the full page. The page held his Vought work details. Her gaze moved over the details before stopping on the photograph beside his name.

"Matthew Culbert," Adam said.

"Gecko. He was your childhood friend, and he now works inside Vought's labs." Annie looked at the photograph carefully and recognized her childhood friend.

"There is a good chance he can bring a sample of Compound V out to us." Disappointment appeared on Annie's face when she looked at Adam again. Adam raised both hands a little.

"Look, I usually walk in and fight because my brain does not work well enough for plans like this. The other Boys made this plan, and I'm only the pawn they sent to you." Annie remained quiet for a few seconds, then smiled.

"Yeah, I've seen how little your brain works." Adam smiled too. Annie folded the paper again and said, "Fine. I'll try." Their train reached the next station, and both of them got off. They walked together until the other passengers moved ahead of them. Adam looked at Annie and said, "I'm happy." She stared at him.

"You people are wanted criminals now, and you're happy?" Adam shook his head.

"Even if I become a wanted criminal, that part doesn't bother me. I'm happy because you're still with me." Annie kept looking at him. Their relationship had not become easy over the last few days. She had shouted at Adam more than once, but he had listened without arguing or walking away. That made Annie understand that he truly loved her. Her anger had not disappeared after learning about his lies. Her voice sometimes rose before Adam could finish speaking.

Adam let her say what she needed to say and stayed beside her afterward. Every time he listened through her anger, Annie trusted his love a little more than before. She smiled.

"I'm happy too." Adam smiled back.

"Yeah, your boyfriend is Superman."