Chapter 76
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Public support was slowly moving toward Adam. The report was already out, and more people were beginning to question Vought's story.
Elsewhere, Annie was driving with Adam beside her and Hughie in the back seat. The car had been moving normally when Adam suddenly sensed another presence behind him. He noticed it before either of his companions understood what had changed.
Before Adam could warn Hughie, his breath caught and he jerked away from A-Train. A-Train had appeared in the back seat without giving Hughie any time to prepare himself.
.
.
A-Train had not paid much attention when Maeve first asked for his help. He had heard what she wanted, but at that time, returning to the Seven had mattered more to him than the request she had made.
His situation changed after the Church of the Collective took him to meet Edgar. A-Train had gone there expecting the meeting to open a path back into the Seven. Instead, Edgar refused to take him back.
Edgar had also told him why. Stormfront's racist beliefs meant she would never tolerate A-Train on the team.
That answer left him with only one useful move. As long as Stormfront remained untouched, she would continue blocking his return. If her past became public, Vought would have to deal with her before it could keep pushing him aside. That was when he decided to bring the truth about her into the open.
.
.
Annie saw him in the mirror and immediately became alert. The car stopped. Annie turned toward the back seat. Her focus locked onto A-Train as she prepared to attack him. She was ready to move before he could explain himself.
Adam covered Annie's hand with his own while it remained on the gear. The gesture stopped her from making the first move. Annie looked at him, but he kept his attention on A-Train.
"So, you brought evidence against Stormfront?" Adam asked calmly.
A-Train looked straight at him. He had come to make a deal rather than start a fight, yet his body remained tense because he knew exactly who was sitting in front of him.
He had seen Black Noir's condition after fighting Adam. The result had shown him what could happen even to one of the Seven. His own encounters with Adam had only strengthened that fear.
They had confronted each other several times, and every meeting had shown A-Train the same thing. Adam was as dangerous as Homelander.
A-Train thought he might be worse.
Still, there was one difference between Adam and Homelander. Adam seemed more human.
A-Train had faced him more than once and walked away alive every time. That was not something he could have expected from Homelander. Adam had even saved his life when he could have left him to die.
If A-Train had challenged Homelander in the same way, he was certain Homelander would have killed him. There would have been no warning and no mercy.
Knowing Adam had shown mercy before kept A-Train seated there, willing to talk to them instead of turning around and running. What he did not know was that Adam had no interest in attacking someone without a reason.
A-Train reached inside his clothes and pulled out a large brown packet. He placed it between the front seats where Adam could take it.
"It contains everything you asked for," he said. "Vought's files are in there, along with all the information I managed to collect from every other source available to me."
Adam took the packet and looked at its size before smiling.
"As expected from the fastest man in the World."
A-Train did not react. He did not believe the title was completely true anymore, especially when Adam was the one saying it. Adam had defeated his speed several times, so the old title no longer carried the same certainty in front of him. Even then, A-Train did not take the remark personally.
"I hope you remember that I was the one who brought you this evidence when you needed it," A-Train said.
Adam looked back at him.
"Of course, A-Train. And when the time comes, I hope I can count on your help again, just as you counted on mine today."
A-Train understood what Adam meant. He had wanted to gain two things with one move, and Adam had already noticed both.
His first goal was to clear his own path back into the Seven. If the truth about Stormfront came out, Vought would not be able to ignore her past. The company would be forced to remove her instead of using her presence as a reason to keep him out.
His second goal was to place Adam and Starlight in his debt. By giving them the evidence they needed now, he could remind them of this meeting and ask them for a favor later.
Adam's reply showed that he understood A-Train's motive. The future favor A-Train wanted had just been turned back on him.
He did not say anything about it. A-Train waved once and said nothing more.
"All right, then."
A-Train disappeared from the seat even faster than he had arrived, before Hughie could understand where he had gone.
Hughie stared at the empty seat beside him. Then he looked toward Adam.
"Can we trust him?"
Adam turned forward again.
"We don't need to trust anyone. Trusting ourselves is enough."
Adam had accepted A-Train's evidence for his own reasons. The first was personal. With everything happening around him, he wanted a problem that could pull his attention away from his own situation and give him something else to focus on.
The second reason was Vought. When Stormfront's past became public, Vought would face a heavy backlash from the public. Public attention would turn toward everything Vought had protected. Adam intended to use that exact moment to increase his own influence.
Adam already had plans for Victoria Neuman.
'And if I need a counter against Victoria, I still have Butcher.'