Seeing the resentment on Hope's face, Homelander smiled with quiet confidence.
"Hope, you said your father has already found someone suitable, right?"
"That's right." Hope nodded, her voice full of frustration. "He'd rather trust a stranger who came out of nowhere than his own daughter! He's impossible!"
"Who he chose isn't actually hard to guess."
For a moment, Homelander seemed possessed by Sherlock Holmes as he laid out his reasoning.
"Your father is extremely cautious. He wouldn't grab someone off the street for such a dangerous infiltration. He needs someone who understands electronic security systems, has experience breaking in, and has a proven record. Someone desperate enough to be easy to control."
"Most importantly, this person can't attract Darren's attention. So first, they can't have any connection to Pym. Second, they should be practically invisible to society. Someone recently released from prison, for instance."
"And I happen to know that someone fitting that description perfectly was recently released in San Francisco."
"Who?" Hope pressed.
Homelander slowly gave her a name.
"Scott Lang."
"Scott Lang?" Hope frowned, searching her memory.
"The Vista Company cyberattack three years ago..." Hope blurted out. "The lunatic who returned the stolen money to the customers, then drove the CEO's Bentley into a swimming pool?"
"That's him." Homelander nodded. "A master's degree in electrical engineering and a first-rate cybersecurity expert. More importantly, he's now an unemployed, bankrupt ex-con so desperate that his ex-wife's new husband, a cop, turns him away when he tries to see his daughter."
"Your father must have had his eye on him for a while. All he has to do is set a small trap and let Scott hear that there's an extraordinary vault in his basement. For a thief with nowhere else to turn, that temptation would be irresistible."
Homelander's deduction was