I Know Where Your Wife Is

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

On the screen, Guardian's glance seemed to pierce the security camera and look straight at them, sitting behind the monitor.

"Easy, little Hughie. He was probably looking toward the smoke detector." Frenchie spoke in a low voice, as if afraid Super Hearing might pick it up.

"Yeah, definitely a coincidence." Mother's Milk nodded quickly.

Butcher shoved the cigarillo between his lips and said briskly,

"Pack it up."

"What? Now?" Hughie turned around.

"Are you deaf? I said we're pulling out!" Butcher was already unplugging the surveillance equipment. "Copy the footage and take it with you. Format all the hard drives, and take down the antennae too. This van needs to be cleaner than a church after Sunday service, got it?"

No one questioned Butcher again. They moved quickly. Frenchie and Hughie dismantled the equipment, while Mother's Milk swung open the van door and jumped out, pretending to check the tires as he scanned the street.

"Guardian has Super Hearing, but from our last encounter, he didn't seem to have X-ray vision," Frenchie said.

"Bullshit!" Butcher cursed. "The CIA's intel is worthless. They can't even figure out how fast Homelander can fly, so how the hell would they know anything about Guardian? Didn't you watch the livestream? The guy can blast a Middle Eastern bunker to pieces with those beady eyes of his. He definitely has Super Vision!"

Frenchie thought that made some sense.

Hughie still held out hope. "He probably didn't notice us. Otherwise, we wouldn't still be standing here."

"What I'm more interested in is what he said. Kicking A-Train out of The Seven... So he's the one pulling the strings, not Homelander, the team leader. We were completely wrong about Guardian!"

Mother's Milk said.

They'd always thought Guardian was just a dog at Homelander's side.

But now it looked like this dog had more power than its master!

"Fuck!" Butcher cursed. "That guy's a lot harder to deal with than Homelander. Maybe Vought made him specifically to keep Homelander in check. He's way more dangerous than Homelander!"

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

"Shame we didn't get Compound Five. What now?"

"Can't be helped. We'll look for another way in. Guardian's bound to keep an eye on A-Train now. There's no point taking such a huge risk."

Butcher volunteered.

He was the craziest one of them all, but facing Guardian left him feeling utterly helpless.

There was no getting around it. The other guy was just too normal.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone rapped on the van door.

All four of them froze.

"Open up. It's pretty cold out here."

A lazy voice came from outside, and the people in the van felt as if they'd plunged into an icy abyss.

Rip!

Apparently tired of waiting, someone tore the van door off from the outside.

Backlit, a figure floated cross-legged outside the doorway, looking over the four people inside.

"Well, this is quite a party."

The van was littered with the equipment they'd dismantled: antennae, cables, metal rings, and the USB drive in Hughie's hand.

"Joey's Plumbing?"

Lu Heng glanced at the lettering on the side of the van. "You plumbers have some pretty advanced equipment. Directional antennae and real-time video monitoring? What are you, plumbers for the secret service?"

No one dared speak.

The four of them were rooted to the spot. The other three slowly reached for their waists, as if those few toy guns could comfort them.

Hughie had turned ashen, like a figure in a comic book.

Come on, man. We saved you and your girlfriend. Do you really have to be this scared?

We're the good guys here!

"Boys, no need to panic. He's a friend." Butcher bared his teeth, signaling Mother's Milk and Frenchie to put their weapons away.

Even a full set of assault rifles would only be good for picking this man's teeth.

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

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

Butcher kept a straight face and simply nodded.

"Good dog. That's more like it!"

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

He didn't mind Butcher keeping tabs on A-Train. He didn't mind Butcher using the secret of Compound Five to take down Vought, either.

Too bad the timing was off. Lu Heng had just happened to show up in person.

"I gave you the USB drive. What else do you want? I'm ready." Butcher chewed on the cigarillo between his teeth.

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

Lu Heng lost interest. There was too much testosterone in this group.

"Looks like you're more of a saint than Homelander. Are you just worried the leak of Compound Five would damage your reputation? We can work together. How about that, in exchange for this?"

Butcher always wanted to keep the upper hand, no matter the situation.

Lu Heng remained unimpressed. "I'm not interested. Compound Five means nothing to me. But you lot—I've never shown you any hostility, so why are you all scared shitless?"

[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: astonishment, helplessness, confusion, bewilderment]

[Ability Points gained: +2,567]

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

At the mention of wives, a vein pulsed on Butcher's forehead.

They'd contributed a fair number of ability points.

Hughie didn't react much. He still had Robin, and things with Starlight had never even begun.

"He really doesn't seem to be hostile toward us," Frenchie whispered.

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

"What do you want?"

Butcher asked.

Guardian really didn't seem to want to kill them. In other words, they might still be useful to Lu Heng?

"Well! I was hoping you'd do some damage to Vought's reputation, but you don't seem to know where to draw the line. You keep dragging me into it, and I can't just sit back and let that happen, can I?"

Lu Heng hinted.

Butcher seemed to relax a little. "You mean as long as we don't target you, you won't interfere with whatever we do? Even if it's about the secret of Compound Five?"

Butcher was testing the limits.

"Right. Also, I know where your wife is. Don't even think about recording our conversation. Good dogs behave themselves."

Lu Heng shot into the sky.

Butcher panicked.

[Butcher--emotional outburst: shock, confusion, anger]

[Ability Points gained: +12,567]