Butcher is completely crazy.
Before, he watched Butcher break through the bottom line again and again, thinking that it was a necessary means for revenge. But now, he found that this man only had hatred in his mind. In order to kill Homelander, he could fill everyone in.
"Then what are we doing? Just hiding here?" Hughie asked through gritted teeth.
"Go find Mallory." Butcher stood up straight, "She used to be my boss. She has been investigating Vought. If anyone else knows about Homelander's weakness, she is the only one I can think of."
Hughie took a deep breath and took two steps back.
"So, even if everyone is involved, you will still make Homelander bleed, right?"
"Yes." Butcher replied without hesitation, without a trace of guilt in his eyes.
"FUCK YOU, Butcher." Hughie cursed. This was the first time he spoke so forcefully to Butcher, "Fuck your war, screw your Mallory. I'm going to save them."
Butcher's eyes turned completely cold.
"You, an electrical appliance salesman, can't do anything."
"That's better than staying with a lunatic like you."
Hughie turned around and strode towards the door. He walked very fast, as if he was saying goodbye to some kind of cowardly past.
He thought Butcher would pull out a gun to stop him, or rush up to beat him. But Butcher did nothing, just stood there and looked at his back coldly.
In the corner, Kimiko stood up.
She took a deep look at Butcher, with undisguised disgust in her eyes. Then she stepped forward and followed Hughie.
With a "bang" sound, the iron door was slammed shut.
Butcher is the only one left in Safe House.
He touched his pocket, took out his lighter, and lit a cigarette again. The firelight illuminated his stubbled face. After taking a puff, he threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it vigorously.
"What a damn idiot, so stupid. Damn, idiot... Damn, he's so stupid to the core."
Butcher opened the door and rushed in the direction of Mallory.
New York state, northern part, a state park far away from the hustle and bustle.
The air in the forest carries the smell of moist vegetation. Butcher stepped on the soil full of rotten leaves and finally found the figure by the lake.
Grace Mallory is holding a high-powered telescope and observing intently a bird on the treetops on the other side of the lake. She is wearing an outdoor jacket and has gray hair, like a hermit who is isolated from the world.
Butcher's footsteps startled her.
"They flew away, Billy."
Mallory did not put down the telescope, and the voice came calmly.
Butcher walked out of Woods behind her. The black trench coat on his body was covered with dust, and he looked like he had traveled all night.
"I need your help, Grace."
"I have retired." Mallory put down the telescope, turned around and looked at him, "It's time for you to put it down too."
"Put it down?" Butcher laughed as if he heard some big joke, "Mallory, didn't all this happen because of you?"
He took a step closer.
"It was you who found me back then! It was you who told me that Homelander raped Becca, and Vought International covered up all the truth like wiping your butt! It was you who used the power of your family to Frenchie, it was you who dragged Mother's Milk out of his stable life! It was you who trained me to be a bullet, a bullet specifically aimed at Homelander's head!"
Butcher's saliva almost sprayed into Mallory's face.
"Now you tell me you're quitting? You've given up? What the hell am I going to do? Where should I shoot this bullet?"
Mallory was silent. The wrinkles on her face were particularly deep, and her eyes were full of exhaustion and regret.
After a long while, she sighed. "What happened back then was indeed my fault."
Her voice was very soft, as if she was talking to herself.
"I have investigated Homelander for a long time. He is like a perfectly encapsulated monster with almost no weaknesses."
She paused and seemed to be recalling some dusty files, "The only thing I can confirm is that he and Vought's vice president, Madelyn, have an... unimaginable relationship."
Butcher frowned. "What's the relationship? She is Homelander's secret lover?"
"No, it's not that simple." Mallory shook his head, "They behave impeccably in front of others. But after all, I have been an Deputy Director in CIA for so many years, and I still have a good eye for seeing people. Billy, it's not as simple as being a lover."
"What is that?"
"A very complicated thing." Mallory's eyes drifted into the distance, "If I had to sum it up... it's more like attachment. There is also some kind of possessiveness."
Butcher's eyes lit up. He was not interested in listening to any psychological analysis, he just needed a breakthrough that he could exploit.
"Got it."
He turned around and left without saying goodbye, as if the hysterical accusation just now had never happened.
Mallory looked at his decisive back and opened his mouth, but in the end it just turned into an inaudible sigh.
"Butcher... Don't live in hatred all your life."
The wind blew her words away in the forest, but Butcher had already gone far.
At the same time.
Homelander, who single-handedly "thwarted" a terrorist attack and put Superman Militarization Act on the fast track, did not return to Vought Tower amidst flashing lights and cheers as usual.
His figure cut through the clouds above New York and flew in a completely different direction.
A few minutes later, he landed in front of a secluded villa in New York state Irvington. This place is lined with trees and has an elegant environment. It is the residence of Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum.
The "father" who created him and feared him.
New York, abandoned basement.
The welded metal door blocks out everything from the outside world.
Lucian is sitting on the ground, his hand still on A-Train's forehead, and the progress bar on the Copy panel is slowly increasing.
[Copy Progress: 65%]
Just then, the phone in my pocket vibrated slightly.
Lucian opened his eyes and picked up the phone.
It's a text message from Hughie.
[Lu, thank you. Thank you for reminding me before. My dad... he is safe. However, Mother's Milk and Frenchie were caught. Butcher gave up on them, But I can't. I know you are busy with your own business, and I shouldn't bother you. I just want... if, if I am also arrested, can you help me take care of my family and Mother's Milk's family? Please.]
Lucian stared at the text on the screen, expressionless.
Is it a bitter trick? Or are we really desperate?
For the character Hughie, kindness is his background, but cowardice is also his label. Now, this kindness overwhelms the cowardice, making him make the decision to part ways with Butcher.
This is somewhat interesting.
But...
Lucian's eyes fell on the unconscious A-Train on the ground.
In the original plot, if there had not been Starlight's betrayal and A-Train's heart attack.
This group of people has long been wiped out by waves of A-Train. None of Hughie, Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and Kimiko can escape.
Now that he has kidnapped A-Train and killed Black Noir, the entire plot has completely deviated.
Moreover, he is also very curious.
A-Train has lost contact, Black Noir is unknown whether he is alive or dead, which card will Homelander or Vought play to deal with this situation?
Will the Nazi crazy woman "Stormfront" appear in advance? Or will she use some secret weapons hidden under the deep water that have never appeared in the plot?
Thinking of this, Lucian edited a text message to reply.
"I suggest you take a break first and think of a plan to save people."
He paused and added another sentence.
"Maybe I'll be able to free up my hands by then."
Send.
And in the manor.
Vogelbaum forced himself to calmly look at the love-less "god" in front of him who he had created with his own hands, and who had been crazily brainwashed and infused with psychological flaws.
"John, what do you want to ask?"
Homelander leaned close to Vogelbaum's ear and asked softly at a volume that only two people could hear:
"Do I... have children?"