"By the way, I've got some good news for you. Vought's proposal to legalize Compound V has been formally rejected by the court. If you have any objections, Vought is welcome to appeal. But before you file that appeal, you'd better hand over Ryan. Otherwise Vought International's stock price might hit the floor before you even get the chance."
Mallory on the other end of the line was clearly enjoying herself.
"Is that so? Then you'd better set up big nets under every building in advance so too many people jumping doesn't cause a public panic."
Edgar's expression was a perfect demonstration of a smile that never reached the eyes. His tone was pure ice, yet a smile still hung on his face.
"You have five minutes to prepare. If time's up and we still don't see Ryan, the police gathered under Vought Tower will kick the doors open, put a gun to your head, and invite you to the CIA as a guest."
Mallory had no interest in wasting more words with Edgar. She delivered the ultimatum with a cold face.
"The CIA is demanding we hand over Ryan in five minutes."
"In five minutes, Greevs will personally escort Ryan out of Vought Tower." Edgar turned and announced the new order.
At the same time.
Major news outlets swarmed in like sharks that had smelled blood.
They sent their own reporters racing toward Vought. The blood still staining the scene did nothing to dampen their "enthusiasm."
They held up cameras of every size, livestreaming while explaining the situation to viewers who still didn't understand what was happening.
One of those viewers was Becca, who had just clicked into the channel.
In the basement the group had just finished a rich lunch and gathered in front of the television to chat.
In reality it was mostly Becca asking questions and Butcher's crew answering. After only a couple of sentences, though, Becca dragged the topic back to Ryan again. The atmosphere in the room immediately froze. Frenchie and the others, feeling guilty, all shut their mouths at the same time and looked toward Butcher, exchanging silent glances for guidance.
Seeing this, Butcher hurriedly smiled and changed the subject.
"Ryan is a supe. Who can do anything to him? Vought probably hid him. After all, Ryan's bond with you is too deep. That isn't good for Homelander building a proper father-son relationship with him. So they're using this method to keep Ryan away from you for a while."
Butcher's guess sounded reasonable and well-supported. If Frenchie hadn't personally taken part in the kidnapping, he might have believed the bullshit.
"How long are they planning to keep him locked up? No. I have to confirm that Ryan is safe."
At that exact moment a voice from the television drew everyone's attention.
"According to police statistics, the number of dead in this incident has reached thirteen, with three seriously injured and one lightly injured. Based on witness statements and video evidence, it can basically be confirmed that the killer is Homelander's son, Ryan.
"No one knows why he suddenly began slaughtering pedestrians, but the severity of this incident is also a warning to us.
"After Compound V is legalized, will more tragedies like this occur? We do not know. But one thing is certain: superhumans need supervision. They need supervision from the U.S. government."
"Ryan!" Becca, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up in disbelief.
She suspected she had misheard.
How could her own son slaughter pedestrians? It had to be a misunderstanding. She rushed to the television and stared hard at the screen.
But the footage that followed truly made her collapse.
Outside the police tape the victims' families crowded together, holding up signs printed with Ryan's portrait and shouting "A life for a life!" The same signs also carried the words "He is a devil."
Becca collapsed onto the floor. Her eyes went vacant as she muttered over and over, "This can't be real… this can't be real."
On the other side Butcher had already pulled out his phone and learned the entire sequence of events online. Honestly he was fighting hard to keep the corners of his mouth from rising. He forced himself to think of every sad thing he could, yet his relaxed eyebrows still gave away his real mood.
"It's okay. Vought is huge. They'll do everything in their power to protect Ryan. Once the storm passes, everyone will forget." Putting on a sad face, Butcher walked over to Becca, put an arm around her shoulders, and offered the emptiest comfort he could manage.
The moment the words left his mouth...
On the television screen Ivan walked out of Vought Tower at a steady pace with Ryan beside him.
"Mr. Greevs, vice president of Vought, correct?" Officer Edward, who had been waiting nearby for a while, immediately stepped forward the second he saw Ivan appear.
"That's me." Ivan nodded.
Clearly Homelander had chosen his own glory over his son.
Ivan casually glanced back and caught only a lonely figure standing with both hands behind his back, the very picture of someone who had just lost everything.
"Ryan, I am placing you under arrest for intentional homicide. Please come with me." Considering that both Ryan and his father were dangerous individuals, Officer Edward decided not to put handcuffs on the boy. He didn't want to risk triggering something far worse. His attitude stayed relatively mild.
"Damn it! Where's Homelander? He's the real selling point of this whole story. Isn't he going to do anything for his own son?"
One reporter, seeing Ryan get loaded into a police car without any incident, couldn't hold back the complaint.
At the same time he voiced what every other journalist was thinking. As reporters they never minded a bigger mess. What they hated was news without an explosive hook. No hook meant no eyes.
They had been hoping Homelander would start a full-scale fight with the police to protect his son so the topic would explode.
The current topic wasn't small, but since they had already come all this way they naturally wanted something even more explosive.
"Mr. Greevs, would you mind giving a short interview?" Seeing Ivan about to leave, one reporter reluctantly tried to stop him.
They expected Ivan to pretend he hadn't heard. Instead, to everyone's surprise, Ivan actually stopped walking.
Watching the Vought vice president head toward that particular reporter, the rest of the journalists regretted it so hard their guts turned green.
If they had known Greevs was this easy to talk to they would have shouted as well.
"What question do you have?" Ivan took the microphone the man handed him and smiled.
The reporter who had just been hit by this unexpected gift still looked a little dazed.
In his eyes Ivan wasn't merely Vought's vice president. He was a walking stack of cash.
"Mr. Greevs, forgive me for spacing out just now. My question is this: as Homelander's son, why would Ryan carry out a street massacre? Does he have some kind of psychological problem? Or is there another reason?"
The reporter forced down his excitement and asked.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69