The hinges groaned as Becca slammed the wooden door open and scrambled toward the small figure curled up on the carpet.
"Ryan! Mommy's here! It's okay now!" She pulled Ryan, who was rolling around with his hands over his ears, into a fierce embrace.
Butcher paid no attention to their reunion. He grabbed both of them by their collars and stuffed them into the SUV's back seat.
"No time for crying!" Butcher slammed the door, circled back to the driver's seat, and floored the accelerator.
The black SUV smashed through the wooden fence around the yard and charged onto the country dirt road.
In the rearview mirror, an explosion came from the first sonic array. Homelander still hadn't found the source. But that wouldn't keep him fooled for long.
Butcher gripped the steering wheel with both hands. Routes and plans raced through his head.
Once they reached the abandoned warehouse, as long as Lucian engaged Stormfront or Homelander, he would signal A-Train to take them all away the moment they were clear of the battlefield.
What the fuck did he care whether The Pivot died? That Asian kid didn't look like a good person anyway. Having Homelander kill him would kill two birds with one stone.
Once they were beyond the ultrasound's range, the piercing drone inside the SUV finally disappeared.
Ryan lowered his hands from his ears, his little face deathly pale. He buried himself in Becca's arms and clung tightly to her clothes.
"It's okay, baby. Mommy's here. It's okay."
Becca kissed Ryan's forehead, tears brimming in her eyes. She had so much she wanted to tell her son, wanted to ask whether he had been scared these past few days, wanted to tell him how much she had missed him.
Just then, Mother's Milk's anxious voice suddenly