Chương 6

The damaged car sped away from the ruined shop. Hughie sat stiffly in the front passenger seat. His breathing had not settled yet. His hands rested near his knees, but his fingers kept twitching. He kept looking ahead, then toward Butcher, then at the rearview mirror as if the world might change again if he stopped watching it. Adam stayed quiet in the back seat. The trunk remained silent. That silence bothered Hughie first. He swallowed and finally asked, "Is he dead?" Butcher kept his eyes on the road.

"No," he said.

"Your mate back there is not some supe who can kill Translucent with one punch." Hughie looked back toward Adam for half a second. Adam only blinked like the line had nothing to do with him. Inside, his thoughts were different.

'If I had used even a little more power, he might really be dead,' Adam thought.

'But I did not want that.' That was not how he wanted his first real step toward The Boys to begin, and it was not what he had planned. He had pulled the punch on purpose. He needed an opening into The Boys, not a dead member of the Seven at his feet before he even understood how to stand around Butcher without exposing himself. The car kept moving. Adam listened carefully. There was still no pounding from the trunk. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

That stood out to him more than anything else inside the car. In the original scene, Translucent should already have woken up by now. He should be hammering at the trunk and making Hughie panic again. This time, nothing came. The punch had hit harder than Adam had meant to show. He kept his face calm and looked out the window. Butcher said nothing else. His hands stayed firm on the wheel. He was looking at Adam. Adam kept still. Soon, the streets changed. Adam watched the road as the streets changed.

The moment the car slowed near a familiar place, he recognized it.

'Frenchie's place,' Adam thought. He had seen it before on screen. Now he was sitting inside the same scene, with Butcher at the wheel and Hughie still trying to understand how his life had become this strange. The car stopped. Butcher got out first. Hughie followed more slowly. Adam stepped out from the back seat and glanced once toward the trunk before looking away again. Translucent still had not moved. Butcher knocked on the door. A woman opened it after a moment.

She looked at Butcher first, then Hughie, then Adam. Her eyes slowed on the car, but she did not ask a question. Butcher gave her a small grin.

"Morning, love. Frenchie about?" She looked over the group one more time, then moved aside. Butcher entered. Hughie went after him. Adam followed last. The room inside was loud with music for a moment. Frenchie stood farther in, busy with his own work before noticing them. There were open cases nearby and metal parts on the table in front of him. Adam recognized the place even more clearly now. Frenchie turned after Butcher called out to him. Frenchie looked at Butcher first.

His gaze passed over Hughie before stopping on Adam. When Frenchie looked toward Hughie, Butcher introduced him in a loose, casual way that made Hughie seem even less comfortable than before. Hughie gave a weak greeting and stayed close to the side. Then Frenchie's gaze stayed on Adam for an extra second.

"You look pretty strong," he said. Adam shook his head at once.

"Not really. I was just there at the right time." Frenchie gave him a small look that did not fully agree, but he did not argue. Butcher stepped in before the talk could drift. He made it clear that the real reason for coming was outside, not inside this room. Frenchie's face sharpened a little as soon as Butcher said that. Then Butcher nodded toward the car outside.

"I've got something better to show you." Frenchie's expression shifted. They headed back out together. But Adam kept his face plain. He would not brag or explain himself yet. They reached the back of the damaged car. Butcher stood beside the trunk and looked at Frenchie. Frenchie stepped closer, waiting to see what problem Butcher had dragged to his door this time. Butcher opened the trunk. Inside, Translucent lay unconscious.