Free Web NovelChapter 47: 47: I Know Where Your Wife Is
The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.
~ John Green
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Inside a white van parked one street over, Hughie’s hands hovered over the keyboard, pupils shaking slightly.
On the screen, that one glance from The Guardian looked like it had pierced straight through the camera and locked onto them sitting behind the monitors.
"Oi, Hughie, don’t panic. He was probably just looking toward the smoke detector." Even though Frenchie said it, his voice was barely above a whisper, like he was scared of being heard by super hearing.
"Right, it must be a coincidence." Mother’s Milk nodded fast.
Butcher shoved a cigarette butt in his mouth and spoke firmly.
"Pack it up."
"What? Right now?" Hughie turned his head.
"Are you deaf? I said retreat!" Butcher was already yanking power cords from the surveillance gear. "Take the video copies, wipe every hard drive, and tear down the antennas too. This van needs to be cleaner than a church after baptism, got it?"
Nobody argued with Butcher. The group jumped into action. Frenchie and Hughie tore down the equipment while Mother’s Milk opened the van door and hopped out, pretending to check the tires as his eyes scanned the street.
"The Guardian has super hearing, but from our last run-in he shouldn’t have X-ray vision," Frenchie said.
"Bullshit!" Butcher cursed. "The CIA’s files are worthless. They don’t even know how fast Homelander can fly, so what makes you think they know shit about The Guardian? Didn’t you watch that live stream? The guy’s laser eyes blasted apart a bunker in the Middle East. He definitely has X-ray vision!"
Frenchie figured he had a point.
Hughie was still clinging to hope. "He probably didn’t spot us. Otherwise we wouldn’t still be standing here."
"I’m more interested in what he said. Kicking A-Train out of The Seven... it was actually him calling the shots, not Homelander the team leader. We’ve been wrong about The Guardian this whole time!" Mother’s Milk said.
They had always figured The Guardian was just Homelander’s lapdog.
But now it looked like this dog had already grown stronger than its master.
"Fuck!" Butcher cursed. "This guy is way harder to deal with than Homelander. Vought probably made him specifically to keep Homelander in check. His danger level is way higher!"
Hughie pulled out the USB and started wiping the hard drives.
"It’s a shame we didn’t get the Compound V. What now?"
"No choice. We’ll find another angle. The Guardian will definitely be watching A-Train now. No point taking stupid risks." Butcher decided.
He was the craziest one in the group, but even he felt completely powerless against The Guardian.
No helping it. The guy was just too strong.
Knock, knock-knock!
Someone was knocking on the van door.
All four of them froze.
"Open up. It’s pretty cold out here... well, not that I feel it."
A lazy voice came from outside. The people inside felt like they’d been dropped into an ice bath.
Rip!
Seeming impatient from waiting, the door got ripped clean off from the outside.
Against the light, a figure floated cross-legged outside the door, looking over the four people inside the van. freewebnovёl.ƈom
"Yo. Pretty lively in here."
The inside of the van was covered in dismantled gear: antennas, cables, metal rings, and the USB still in Hughie’s hand.
"Joey’s Pipe Repair?"
Hillel glanced at the lettering on the side of the van. "Your pipe repair equipment is pretty advanced. Directional antennas and real-time monitoring. Agent-level plumbers?"
Nobody dared speak.
"Come on, man, it was a Ben 10 joke, wait, do you guys have Ben 10?"
"..." The four of them were nailed in place. The other three slowly reached for their waists, like those little toys could actually comfort them.
Hughie turned completely gray, like a character from a comic book.
Come on, man. I saved you and your girlfriend. Is there any need to be this scared?
I’m a good guy!!
"Boys, don’t be nervous. This guy’s a friend." Butcher grinned and signaled Mother’s Milk and Frenchie to put their weapons away.
Even a full set of assault rifles would barely be enough to pick this man’s teeth.
Hillel’s gaze landed on the USB drive in Hughie’s hand. "Give me that thing."
Hughie’s hand shook a little as he looked at Butcher.
Butcher stayed stone-faced and gave one short nod.
"Good boy. That’s more like it!"
Hillel took the USB drive and melted it with his Omega Beams.
He didn’t care that Butcher was monitoring A-Train. He didn’t care that Butcher wanted to use Compound V’s secrets to take down Vought.
It was just bad luck that he’d dropped by at exactly the wrong time.
"You got the USB. What else do you want? I’m game." Butcher chewed on his cigar butt.
"Sorry, not interested in men."
Hillel wasn’t interested. This group was way too much testosterone.
"It seems you’re more cautious about your image than Homelander. Are you just scared the Compound V leak will hurt your reputation? If so, we can work together. How about that as an exchange?"
No matter the situation, Butcher always tried to keep the upper hand.
Hillel stayed completely indifferent. "I’m not interested. Compound V means nothing to me. As for you guys, I’ve never shown any hostility toward you. So why the fuck are you all scared shitless?"
[Butcher — Emotional Outburst: Despair -> Fear -> Anger -> Helplessness]
[Obtained Ability Points: +4,567]
...
[Hughie — Emotional Outburst: Confusion -> Surprise -> Puzzlement]
[Obtained Ability Points: +3,567]
...
[Mother’s Milk — Emotional Outburst: Anger -> Helplessness -> Confusion]
[Obtained Ability Points: +2,567]
...
[Frenchie — Emotional Outburst: Surprise -> Helplessness -> Confusion -> Puzzlement]
[Obtained Ability Points: +2,567]
...
"After all, I’m not some demon, and I didn’t steal your wives, right?" Hillel said. freewebnovel.cσ๓
Mentioning wives made the veins on Butcher’s forehead pop.
These guys were giving out some serious points.
Hughie didn’t react much. He still had Robin, and nothing had even started with Starlight yet.
"He really doesn’t seem hostile toward us," Frenchie whispered.
"Kid, your voice sounds like a drum right next to my ear. I can hear it." Hillel picked his ear.
"What do you want?" Butcher asked.
The Guardian really didn’t seem like he wanted to kill them. In other words, were they still useful to him?
"Well! I do hope you cause some trouble for Vought, but you don’t seem to know your limits and keep dragging me into it. I can’t just sit back and watch, can I?" Hillel hinted.
Butcher seemed to relax a bit. "You mean as long as we don’t target you, you won’t care what we do? Even the Compound V secrets."
Butcher was testing the waters.
"Correct. Also, I know where your wife is. Don’t bother trying to record audio or video of this conversation. Good boys need to behave." Hillel shot into the sky.
Butcher panicked.
[Butcher — Emotional Outburst: Shock -> Confusion -> Anger]
[Obtained Ability Points: +12,567]
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