Chapter 254: The Movie Promo

"I only supplied the rough idea. The details have nothing to do with me. That credit belongs to Director Adam and the team behind him. Without them there is no film. In my view this picture broke what people think a movie is supposed to be. Most films still fake their fight scenes with effects. Our selling point was that it looked real.

"Stormfront’s lightning. Homelander’s lasers. All of it shot practical.

Maybe people want that now."

"Mr. Greevs, your humility is impressive. You are not only a fine executive. You are an excellent writer. I hope you keep giving us scripts like this." The reporter smiled.

"Of course. I will do my best."

When the interview ended the superheroes took the stage one after another and stood in front of the poster, eating flash after flash.

Hughie and Starlight showed up at the event too. Congresswoman Neuman came with them. The Superhuman Affairs office had posted strong numbers this past year. The man in the White House liked what he saw and was ready to move Victoria up.

"Check me. Tie sitting right?" Hughie wore a proper suit. He looked taller in it.

"You’re good."

Starlight fixed his collar. Then they walked toward the stage holding hands.

The cameras swung. Up on the platform Homelander’s smile died. He watched Hughie looking pleased with himself and anger sat in his eyes. Since Starlight came back to the Seven her numbers had gone up, not down.

She had even passed him. That pissed him off. He wanted to fire the lasers and turn the pair of them into scrap.

"Starlight, this way!"

"A solo shot, please."

The requests made Hughie let go of her waist and step back, awkward. Starlight said, "Go take a break. I’ll find you in a bit."

"Hughie?" On the way back he bumped into Ivan and spun around at once.

"Sorry, Mr. Greevs. You all right?"

"I’m fine. Work going well?"

"Not bad. Under the Superhuman Affairs office the supe crime rate is down."

Facing Vought’s vice president Hughie stayed a little stiff. He smiled politely. "We could not have done it without Vought."

"That is what we are here for. I heard someone is hunting powered people in the dark. Several are already dead. Has your office looked into it? Word is the man running it is an old Vought fugitive. Billy. I hear you two used to be close."

Ivan glanced at Edgar in the distance and asked it like it was nothing.

"Billy? I cut ties with him a long time ago. I don’t know what he’s doing." Hughie shook his head. That part was true. They had split six months back and never spoken since. Dead to each other.

"Is that so? Someone asked me to pass him a message. If you two are not in contact, never mind." Ivan started to leave. Hughie stopped him.

"Mr. Greevs, can I know who wants Billy? If I catch him I can pass it on."

Hughie looked curious.

"I never met the man. He left a note on my desk. Said to get the contents to Billy within a week."

That only made Hughie more curious. Sounded like the writer knew Billy.

"Can you tell me what it said?"

"No problem. I can give you the paper. I brought it." Ivan pulled a folded white sheet from his pocket and handed it over.

Hughie opened it. The word WARNING sat in red ink. A phone number sat under it.

Hughie’s pupils tightened. The mystery man.

His fingers jerked off the edge of the paper like it had bitten him, then clamped down again.

"I’ll find a way to get it to Butcher." Hughie stuffed the paper in his pocket fast. His face looked wrong. Sweat even sat on his forehead.

"You know who wrote it?" Ivan frowned.

"No."

Hughie shook his head quick and made an excuse toward the bathroom.

He walked and thought. Why would the mystery man want Billy. What did the warning mean. Was he going to dump another body in Hughie’s place like last time, just to scare him?

Even a child could see the mystery man was not that bored.

Was he going after people around Hughie? Cold ran up Hughie’s back.

Honestly, without this paper he had almost forgotten the man existed.

"MM. It’s me." In a stall Hughie covered the phone and called.

"What?"

"I’ll explain when I get back. Can you reach Billy right now?"

MM hesitated on the other end. "You want to grab him?"

"Shit! If I wanted him I wouldn’t have waited this long. You think his work is clean? Leaves no trail? If I hadn’t sat on his name the Superhuman Affairs office would have moved on him already. I need him now. This is about everyone’s lives." Hughie was wound tight.

"That bad? Hold on."

In the room MM hung up and looked at the family photo on the desk. He clenched his teeth and dialed the number he had not touched in six months.

Good thing he had not been blocked. Half a minute later the familiar voice came through.

"Something happen on your end?"

"How would you know that?" MM asked.

"If nothing was wrong you people would never call me again. Spit it out. What do you need?"

"Not me. Hughie wants to see you."

"Hughie?" Billy sounded surprised. "What does that government lapdog want with me? I don’t have time to play house."

Six months later and Billy’s mouth had not changed a bit.

"It sounds serious. He would not have asked me to call otherwise."

"Then why didn’t he call me himself? Oh right. I blocked his number and every account he has. Fine. Tell him I am on the supe they call Termite. He should know where to find me." Billy looked at the ended call and frowned. When MM first rang his mood had been decent.

Now it sank again. He smoked the rest of the cigarette in silence, then spoke to the man next to him. "Hunter squad is done. I will not leak your names. As for that fire six months ago, if you keep your mouths shut nobody will ever know what you did."

"Good." Jamie let out a breath. He and the others had wanted out for a while. Billy had them by the balls so they had kept walking the same road. Hearing the squad was finished was the best news he had heard in months.

"I’ll go tell the rest."

Billy watched Jamie leave and his face did not change. He already knew the hunter squad would fall apart sooner or later. One day they would point the guns at him. Better to kill it himself than sit around waiting.

...

Cut to Ivan.

The reason he used Hughie to reach Billy was simple. He could not find the bastard. He was not all-knowing and he did not have Professor X’s mind. Finding Billy in a city this size was a joke, and the man knew how to hide.

"Ivan, I think I saw a phone number on that paper. Whose number is it?" Homelander had watched the whole exchange.

"Who knows? You can try calling it. Might be a dead number." Ivan smiled.

"You are hiding something from me."

Homelander looked at him hard. "I don’t know what you are playing at behind my back, but do not forget you are Vought’s vice president and he is a government employee. You two should not have private business."

"Just because he is Starlight’s boyfriend? Then again her numbers have been high lately. She even passed you. Honestly, Homelander, your spot as joint leader is looking shaky. She might take it." Ivan smoothed a crease on his cuff.

"You should think about how to raise your own numbers."

He started to leave.

"Unless Edgar loses his mind the leader of the Seven is me. Homelander." Homelander’s eyes went mean and wild, like he might kill someone on the spot. He put on a confident smile. It looked fake from every angle.

"We will see, Homelander."

Ivan smiled and ran into Starlight looking for him.

"Do you know where Hughie went?"

"Men’s room. You might catch him by the door."

"Thanks."

The promo did not last long. Once the reporters cleared out Edgar called Starlight and Homelander to the Seven conference room.

Ivan did not hear what was said.

Homelander’s mood was clearly shit.

Even through a dozen floors Ivan could feel the noise coming from Stormfront’s room. He almost wondered if Homelander was trying to take the tower apart that way.

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