Free Web NovelChapter 6: Chapter 6: I Am Homelander, and I Do Whatever I Want
In the conference room on the top floor of Vought Tower, Madelyn sat at the head of the long table.
In front of her were the current members of The Seven: Homelander, Queen Maeve, The Deep, Translucent, and Black Noir.
Madelyn turned her tablet around and pushed it across the table.
On the screen, footage played of Soldier Boy beating A-Train.
"Within three days, I want The Seven to bring Soldier Boy back to Vought Tower. Dead or alive, though alive would be preferable, of course."
Across the table, Homelander replied, "I’m not going."
The other four all turned to look at Homelander at the same time.
Queen Maeve frowned slightly.
The conference room was silent for a full three seconds.
Translucent, seated nearby after rushing back from a fan meet-and-greet in Times Square, shifted awkwardly in his chair.
The Deep lowered his head and stared at the glass of water on the table, no one knew what he was thinking.
Queen Maeve stood with her arms crossed, her expression hidden behind her mask. She looked at Homelander, then at Soldier Boy on the screen.
Homelander’s refusal left her puzzled. Could he be afraid?
The more Maeve thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
This was Soldier Boy, after all.
Madelyn paused. "Homelander?"
Homelander finally raised his eyes.
In those blue irises, so blue they barely seemed human, the frozen image on the screen was reflected. Benjamin’s face. Soldier Boy’s face.
There was no anger in his expression, nor any of his usual emotion.
"I said I’m not going."
Homelander stood, planted both hands on the tabletop, and leaned forward slightly.
"Madelyn, I want access to every file on Soldier Boy. Until I figure out why he’s still alive, why he looks exactly the same as he did forty years ago, until I know the truth, The Seven don’t touch him!"
"He attacked A-Train. In public. In front of a crowd. Our stock opened three points down today!"
"Then let A-Train win back his own dignity."
Homelander shrugged, the corner of his mouth pulling into a smile with no warmth at all.
"Oh, right. I forgot. He’s on the medical floor with a brace on his knee, crying like a twelve-year-old girl."
Translucent opened his mouth as if to say something, but Homelander shot him a single sharp look, and he immediately swallowed his words.
He knew exactly what that expression meant.
You did not interrupt Homelander when he was in a bad mood.
Madelyn slowly rose to her feet. Her heels clicked crisply against the marble floor as she walked over to Homelander.
"Listen, Homelander. Leaving aside the fact that he’s very likely just a criminal impersonating Soldier Boy, even if he really is Soldier Boy, he still injured A-Train." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"Then let A-Train deal with him himself."
"You all leave."
Madelyn dismissed the others, leaving only Homelander in the room.
After Queen Maeve and the rest had gone, Madelyn reached out and touched Homelander’s face, preparing to use the old method...
But Homelander was not captivated like he usually was.
"I’m going to check the archives. Wait for my word, and until I know the whole truth, you are not to touch him!"
With that, he turned and left.
He did not spare so much as a glance for Madelyn, who had been about to undress.
The conference room door slammed shut the moment he left.
Madelyn stood where she was, staring in the direction Homelander had gone.
Her right hand clenched unconsciously, and her face looked ugly.
This was one of the few times Homelander had defied her.
...
The forty-third basement level of Vought Tower, Archives Management Center.
The corridor lights were as pale and sterile as an operating room. There was an identity verification terminal every three meters and a security post every fifteen steps. Every guard was equipped with standard gear capable of suppressing Class C Supes.
This was one of the highest-security areas in all of Vought International, second only to the core R&D laboratory for Compound V.
Homelander’s boots struck the epoxy floor of the corridor, every step carrying tightly restrained anger.
He had already gone through three departments.
The Archives Department, the Historical Records Room, and the Board Secretary’s Office.
Every time, the answer came with the same professional smile.
"I’m sorry, Mr. Homelander, but you’ll need written authorization from Ms. Madelyn to access files of this level."
Or,
"I’m sorry, the files are currently being digitized and temporarily cannot be accessed."
Or, more directly,
"That file does not exist."
Does not exist?
Homelander stopped in front of the final window and placed his fist on the counter.
From the point where his fist touched it, a ring of spiderweb cracks spread across the bulletproof glass counter.
The clerk inside jerked backward in terror, his chair toppling over with a loud crash.
"Soldier Boy."
Homelander’s voice passed through the cracked glass, every word forced out through clenched teeth.
"World War II hero. Core member of the original The Seven. A founding contributor to Vought. And you’re telling me his file does not exist? Or is it because there’s some unspeakable secret in that file? I am Homelander. I do whatever I want. I want Soldier Boy’s file. Now! Tell me!"
The young man on the floor adjusted his glasses with trembling hands. His voice shook so badly it was almost inaudible. He knew what he was about to say might get him killed.
"Mr. Homelander, the records... the system shows that all of Soldier Boy’s files have been archived as top secret. Access requires joint authorization from at least three members of the Board of Directors..."
