I Know Where Your Wife Is

Inside a white van one street away, Hughie's hands hovered over the keyboard, his pupils trembling slightly.

On the screen, that glance from Guardian seemed to pierce through the surveillance camera, looking directly at them sitting behind the monitor.

"Little Hughie, don't panic. He was likely looking at the smoke detector," Frenchie said, though his voice was low, as if afraid of being heard by super-hearing.

"Right, it must be a coincidence," Mother's Milk nodded quickly.

Butcher shoved his cigarette into his mouth and spoke with crisp finality.

"Pack it up."

"What? Now?" Hughie turned his head.

"Are you deaf? I said retreat!" Butcher was already pulling the power cords from the surveillance equipment. "Take the video copies, format all the hard drives, and tear down the antennas too. This van needs to be as clean as if it were baptized in a church, you hear me?"

No one questioned the Butcher further. The group moved quickly; Frenchie and Hughie dismantled the gear, while Mother's Milk jumped out the side door, pretending to inspect the tires while scanning the street back and forth.

"Guardian has super-hearing, but based on our last encounter, he shouldn't have X-ray vision," Frenchie remarked.

"Bullshit!" Butcher cursed. "The CIA's list is a piece of scrap paper. They can't even pin down how fast Homelander flies, so what makes you think they know anything about Guardian? Didn't you see the previous broadcast? That guy's eyes can blast through Middle Eastern bunkers; he definitely has super X-ray vision!"

Frenchie thought that made some sense.

Hughie still held onto hope. "He shouldn't have discovered us, otherwise we wouldn't be standing here right now."

"I'm more interested in what he said. Kicking A-Train out of The Seven... he's the one pulling the strings, not Homelander, the team leader. Our assessment of Guardian was all wrong!" Mother's Milk said.

They had always assumed Guardian was just a dog by Homelander's side.

But now, it seemed this dog's power already exceeded its master's!

"Fuck!" Butcher swore. "That guy is much harder to deal with than Homelander. It's possible he was created by Vought specifically to keep Homelander in check. His danger level is far above Homelander's!"

Hughie pulled out the USB drive and began formatting the hard drive.

"It's a shame we didn't get the Compound V. What do we do now?"

"Nothing we can do. We'll find another opening. Guardian will definitely be watching A-Train's movements from here on out; there's no need for us to take such a huge risk," Butcher said proactively.

He was the craziest of them all, but facing Guardian, he felt completely powerless.

There was no helping it; the guy was just too normal.

Thump, thump-thump!

Someone was knocking on the van door.

All four of them froze in place.

"Open up, it's pretty cold out here."

A lazy voice drifted from outside the vehicle, and those inside felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

Rip!

Seeming to lose patience, the door was torn off from the outside.

Against the backlight, a figure hovered cross-legged outside the doorway, sizing up the four men inside.

"Yo, quite a lively scene you've got here."

The interior was littered with the materials they had dismantled: antennas, cables, various metal rings, and the USB drive still in Hughie's hand.

"Joey's Plumbing?"

Lu Heng glanced at the words on the side of the van. "Your plumbing equipment is quite advanced. You've even got directional antennas and real-time screen monitoring. Agent-level plumbers?"

No one dared to speak.

The four men were as if nailed to the spot. The other three slowly reached toward their waists, as if those few toys could provide any comfort.

Hughie's entire complexion turned a cartoonish shade of gray.

Come on, man, we saved you and your girlfriend, is there any need to be this scared? I'm one of the good guys!!

"Boys, don't be nervous. This is a friend," Butcher grinned, signaling for Mother's Milk and Frenchie to put away their weapons.

Even a full set of assault rifles would only serve to pick this man's teeth.

Lu Heng's gaze fell on the USB drive in Hughie's hand. "Give that thing to me."

Hughie's hand trembled slightly as he looked at Butcher.

Butcher remained expressionless, merely giving a single nod.

"Good dog, that's more like it!"

Lu Heng took the USB drive, and Omega Beams instantly melted it into nothingness.

He had no objection to the Butcher monitoring A-Train, nor did he mind the Butcher wanting to use the secrets of Compound V to take down Vought.

It was a pity the timing was so poor; they had delivered themselves right to his doorstep.

"I gave you the flash drive, so what else do you want? I'm game," Butcher said, chewing on the tip of his cigar.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in men."

Lu Heng felt a lack of interest; this group was far too testosterone-heavy.

"It seems you act more like a saint than Homelander. Are you just afraid that the leak of Compound V will tarnish your reputation? If so, we can cooperate. How about using this as a trade?"

No matter the situation, Butcher always wanted to hold the initiative.

Lu Heng remained indifferent to this. "I'm not interested. Compound V means nothing to me. As for you lot, I've never shown any hostility toward you, so why are you all acting like terrified cowards?"

[Butcher--Emotional Outburst: Despair, Fear, Anger, Helplessness]

[Ability Points Gained: +4,567]

[Hughie--Emotional Outburst: Confusion, Surprise, Bewilderment]

[Ability Points Gained: +3,567]

[Mother's Milk--Emotional Outburst: Anger, Helplessness, Confusion]

[Ability Points Gained: +2,567]

[Frenchie--Emotional Outburst: Amazement, Helplessness, Confusion, Bewilderment]

[Ability Points Gained: +2,567]

"After all, I'm not some kind of devil, and I haven't stolen your wives, have I?" Lu Heng said.

At the mention of his wife, the veins on Butcher's forehead throbbed.

The group had contributed quite a decent amount of ability points.

Hughie didn't react much to this; he still had Robin, and his connection with Starlight had never even begun.

"He really doesn't seem to have any hostility toward us," Frenchie whispered.

"Kid, your voice sounds like a drum beating right next to my ear. I can hear you," Lu Heng said, picking at his ear.

"What do you want?"

Butcher asked.

The Guardian didn't seem to actually want to kill them. In other words, were they still useful to Lu Heng?

"Well! I do hope you cause some negative impact for Vought, but you never seem to gauge the scale correctly, and it always ends up affecting me. I can't just sit by and watch that happen, can I?"

Lu Heng hinted.

Butcher seemed to relax slightly. "You mean as long as we don't target you, you won't care what we do? Even if it's the secrets of Compound V?"

Butcher was testing the boundaries.

"Correct. Also, I know where your wife is. Don't bother trying to record our conversation; good doggies need to behave."

Lu Heng soared into the sky.

Butcher panicked.

[Butcher--Emotional Outburst: Shock, Confusion, Anger]

[Ability Points Gained: +12,567]