Chương 57

Freedom was not the only price Vought wanted Adam to pay. The company was going to fall. Adam had known that since he chose to join the Boys. If he entered the Seven now, Vought would place its name on every action he took. It would decide when attacks on Homelander were allowed and when Adam had to protect the brand instead. From inside the company, every move against Homelander would require permission. Vought could cancel a mission before Adam reached him, then bury the reason under a contract.

Edgar's resources would help at first, but they would also give Vought time to study Adam before he refused an order. Edgar's voice returned through the phone.

"What have you decided?" Adam looked toward the house Annie had entered.

"Your offer is good, Mr. Edgar. If I'm being honest, it would be close to perfect for any human being. But you made a mistake by offering it to me." Edgar remained quiet.

"What mistake would that be?"

"Why would I join the company I'm going to destroy? Why would I serve the organization that created the Seven when I plan to tear that team apart?"

"Compound V becoming public has made you confident."

"It gave me a place to start," Adam said.

"Vought still thinks it can survive the truth, but I'll strike wherever your company draws its strength. Your image can be broken along with the contracts protecting it. Compound V was only the first wall to fall." Edgar's tone never changed.

"I have met heroes like you before, including some created because Vought became careless. They gained power and decided they were beyond us."

"Each one came back to threaten the company," Edgar continued.

"Every one believed Vought needed them more than they needed Vought, and they learned otherwise." Adam listened without interrupting.

"They are all six feet under," Edgar continued.

"Vought Tower is still standing. It keeps growing." Adam smiled.

"Then let's see who Vought picked a fight with this time. Send one of your superheroes after me. I want to see how much strength your people have when the cameras aren't protecting them." Edgar gave him no answer.

"You saw the footage," Adam said.

"You know what happened when your heroes came after me." Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. He turned away from the house and watched traffic pass.

"Use everything you have, Mr. Edgar, because I'll do the same." Adam ended the call. Inside Vought Tower, Edgar lowered his phone onto the desk and said, "I expected that." He called his assistant into the office.

"Where is Noir?"

"He is searching for Billy Butcher, sir."

"Keep him on that assignment. Add Adam to it. I want to know who gave him Compound V and where he was made." The assistant waited while Edgar looked at Adam's image on his screen.

"A product that powerful does not synchronize outside our control without leaving a trail. Find it." Edgar did not care whether Adam had stolen the drug or received it from a forgotten Vought project. A formula capable of producing him existed beyond Edgar's control, and that made its source valuable. The assistant left to contact Black Noir. Adam entered the house after M. M. and Hughie. Annie stood near the sitting room wall with her cap still pulled low. An older woman sat across from M. M.

"My name is Valerie Hunter," she said.

"Liberty killed my brother." Her voice stayed steady because she had carried the memory for years. Her fingers shook against the chair despite that effort. M. M. leaned forward.

"What happened?"

"Myron was driving. Our car stopped when Liberty blocked us," Valerie said.

"She ordered him out and dragged him onto the street. Then she beat him until he stopped moving." Valerie's fingers closed around the edge of her chair.

"I watched her do it," she continued.

"She never looked worried that anyone would stop her."

"Why did she do it?" M. M. asked.

"Because he was Black. That was enough for her. Myron had done nothing to her." No one spoke. Hughie looked down while Annie stared at Valerie.

"Vought came to us afterward," Valerie continued.

"They paid my family and made us sign a contract." She looked down at her hands.

"If we told anyone what Liberty had done, they would take the money back and come after us. They called the payment compensation, as though money could make my mother forget what happened to her son." M. M. looked toward Hughie. The story sounded like every other Vought settlement, except this one had survived for decades. Valerie rose and left the room. She returned with a faded photograph and placed it on the table.

"That was Liberty." M. M.' s eyes widened. Annie moved closer to the table. The hair and costume belonged to another period, but the woman's face looked too much like Stormfront to dismiss. Annie had stood near Stormfront often enough to know the resemblance was not caused by an old photograph. Her features matched Stormfront's. Adam watched Annie understand what the picture suggested. He said nothing. They left Valerie's house after darkness covered the street. Later that night, Adam lay beside Annie in bed.

Both of them were tired from the day. Neither had dressed again, but the blanket covered them while Annie slept with her head resting on his arm. Adam remained awake. He thought about the ending he wanted from the comics. Homelander would become president, and the Supes would gather under him. In that version, Butcher advanced toward what they had become. There was no uncertainty left in that ending. Homelander held the highest office, and the Supes who followed him had chosen their side.

Adam wanted that final line to be clear before he attacked. Once they stood with Homelander, none of them could pretend they were innocent. Adam wanted Butcher's place. He pictured himself advancing alone. The numbers waiting ahead would not matter. He wanted to walk toward Homelander while every Supe under him prepared to fight. When that day came, Adam would stop holding back. He would kill every one of them. Then he looked at Annie sleeping beside him. Yes, he thought. Every Supe except a few.