Bang—
The basement door was pushed open, letting in a gust of cool, fresh wind.
Butcher strode down the steps with high spirits and plopped onto the worn-out sofa. "I talked to that bitch from the CIA."
"They want all the dirt we have on Vought and detailed records of our previous operations. In exchange, they've promised us a monthly salary of ten thousand and safe houses for our families."
"Of course, the condition for these terms is... to stop all private, unscrupulous actions against Vought."
Hughie was about to say something when Wade raised a hand to stop him.
He turned his chair around and pressed, "Such generous terms? No other requirements?"
"They also want a witness—Kimiko." Butcher lit a cigarette and took a puff. "As someone who was trafficked internationally by Vought and personally experienced their experiments, she has to stand up and testify in court."
"You bastard! She can't even say a full sentence, and she doesn't remember anything." Frenchie immediately reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pulling the bewildered Kimiko into his arms. "Let her be a witness? Vought's people would tear her to shreds and throw her into the river to feed the fish before she even reached the witness stand!"
"Only a witness who testifies voluntarily is useful; it's the only way to send those Vought bastards to court!" Butcher's voice rose as he frustratedly ran his hand through his hair. "We need official power!"
Wade watched coldly from the sidelines. He knew Butcher was targeting Vought so desperately and engaging with the CIA only because he wanted to use the leverage to find Becca.
"How many times have the officials and Vought been in bed together?" MM pointed at the TV, which was replaying the church experiment scandal in Iowa, and snorted. "Look at our last operation; Vought came out completely clean."
Butcher ignored him and turned to the others. "Chameleon. That move you used on Translucent—the mind-reading through contact. Use it on Kimiko and help her get her memory back!"
Listening to Butcher, Wade sniffed. He knew Butcher had just spent a long time with Susan from the CIA; he didn't just smell like a woman, but also had the scent of the 'Fury' potion on him.
He chuckled and pointed at Butcher's crotch. "Is the aphrodisiac saliva working well? It seems you've conducted quite a deep investigation with Deputy Director Susan."
Butcher admitted it recklessly, "Dammit, the side effects aren't small, but I got the intel I wanted!"
The room fell silent for a moment, the explosive atmosphere broken.
Hughie shook his head, his face full of disgust. "Using... that method? That's really... too low, Butcher."
MM's face darkened as well, his tone serious. "Billy, we're fighting Vought, but that doesn't mean we should use such... dirty means."
"I think it's a brilliant move!" Frenchie leaned against the wall with an admiring smile, giving Butcher a thumbs-up. "Entering the tiger's den and heroically sacrificing yourself—that kind of spirit is beyond words!"
"Shut your damn mouths!" Butcher wiped his face irritably and growled. "Stop interrupting; we have serious business to do."
Wade took a small white bottle and a syringe from his pocket and corrected him, "I can't read minds; it's just the effect of the potion. Let me prepare."
He wouldn't admit to having such an ability. No one wants to be teammates with someone who can see through their thoughts at any time; otherwise, he'd end up like Cate, subconsciously rejected and isolated by everyone.
Everyone's curious gazes immediately focused on the potion.
Hughie asked curiously, "Can you leave one for us? It would make interrogating for intel much easier."
"In your dreams. I'm even reluctant to use it myself! For interrogation, just use torture." Wade gave him the middle finger, handed the syringe filled with the liquid to Frenchie, and gestured. "She trusts you the most, so it has to be you. The effect only lasts five minutes."
Frenchie gripped the syringe and looked at Kimiko. She just looked back at him with clear, bewildered eyes, tilting her head and smiling.
"I'm sorry..." Frenchie whispered, then pricked his own arm with the needle and quickly injected the fluid.
Not daring to look into Kimiko's eyes, he closed his own and tremblingly pressed his hand onto her head.
The next second, a torrent of fragmented images and emotions flooded into Frenchie's mind through the contact. With a pained expression and closed eyes, he began to state haltingly, "She lived in Japan as a child... Her parents were employees of Vought's Japanese branch... They were killed by the terrorist organization'Shining Light'..."
"She and her brother... were taken to the Philippines... a jungle battlefield with a hail of bullets... She was trained as a terrorist there."
"Later, she was ambushed by her teammates... smuggled to America... and imprisoned by Vought, where they injected her with compound v..."
"Until... until we found her..."
Frenchie opened his eyes and shook his head, his voice full of exhaustion. "Her memories are all fragments. She was just a Japanese-descended terrorist fighting in the Philippines. She only remembers being brought to America and us saving her."
"She can't speak and only knows the simplest sign language. How can she be a witness?"
Large tears rolled silently down Kimiko's face as she hugged Frenchie tightly, her body trembling slightly.
Butcher let out a low growl and punched the mottled wall several times. "Shit! Then what's the point of talking about terms?"
He turned his head, looking at Wade with bloodshot eyes. "Wait, Susan said if we find and hand over the killer who assassinated Speaker of the House Simon, the other conditions won't be a problem!"
"You were there that night; you know who it was, right? Or... was it you!"
The air in the safe house instantly froze. Hughie and MM looked at each other.
"It wasn't me, and I don't know." Wade calmly wiped his mouth. "That night at Vought Tower, I left as soon as I planted the hacking device... Besides, Homelander, Maeve, and Starlight were all there. Would I stay behind to die?"
Butcher stared at him for a few seconds before slumping back onto the sofa. "Dammit... this won't work, that won't work! We'll never be able to clear our names in this lifetime."
"That's still better than being a doormat that people use and throw away." Wade devoured the food on the table and mocked coldly, "You think taking them to court will work? Vought's legal team can drag it out until you're dead! Expecting to take down Vought with that? Keep dreaming!"
"Don't wait until you've worked your asses off for the CIA, only to rot quietly in some gutter because of some 'accident'."
Butcher's breathing was heavy. He put his arm around Wade's shoulder, led him to a corner, and pleaded in a low voice, "Help me. Give me that mind-reading potion. I'll go myself! I'll kidnap a Vought executive, pry his mouth open, and find out where Becca is... I'll give you whatever you want!"
Wade saw a desperate madness in his eyes and slowly shook his head. "No. If you act alone, you'll only drag everyone into hell."
He broke free from Butcher's grip, turned to face everyone in the room, and clapped his hands. "I know an old guy who's retired, definitely knows the inside story, and personally shaped Homelander... He must know about Becca and more of Vought's core secrets."
Wade said no more. He walked to the blackboard and wrote a name with chalk—Jonah Vogelbaum.
He turned to look at everyone. "Find this man. Check his background, his movements, his security. Those willing to do this job, raise your hands."
"You guys work out a detailed plan. When the time comes, I'll provide the necessary help."
Hughie raised his hand almost the moment the words left Wade's mouth. MM and Frenchie shared a look and then raised their hands as well.
Kimiko looked at Frenchie's raised hand, hesitated for a moment, and then mimicked him by raising her own.
Butcher, with bloodshot eyes, stared intently at the name on the blackboard. His chest heaved as he raised his hand.
Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Wade waved and walked toward the steps. "Very well. Go investigate then. Use every means... If you get him as a witness, you'll be able to negotiate with the CIA."
After saying that, he left the safe house.
In the night wind, Wade soared into the sky. His thoughts drifted to how to safely rescue Becca and to Homelander's child, whom he had never met.
"If I actually knew where they were... it would be safer for me to act alone."
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