Chapter 55 : Blackmail
After that, Butcher explained the plan.
To get closer to the Compound V operation, they needed access to Believe Expo.
According to the records they had recovered, Samaritan’s Embrace was connected to the shipments they had been tracking, and its founder Ezekiel would be attending the event personally.
VIP guests would even get the opportunity to meet him face-to-face.
"Which is where we come in," Butcher said, pointing toward the promotional footage on the television.
"All this religious bollocks is just window dressin’. We get close to Ezekiel, figure out where the Compound V is comin’ from, where it’s goin’, and who’s involved."
Mark listened quietly. "And what happens if Ezekiel doesn’t tell you anything?"
A grin slowly appeared on Butcher’s face. The kind that immediately made everyone suspicious.
Without a word, he pulled out his phone and turned the screen toward Mark.
Mark looked at the display. Then kept looking. Then immediately looked away.
"Why the fuck are you showing me that?"
On the screen was a video of Ezekiel having gay sex with another man.
"Put it away," Mark said.
"It’s leverage."
"It’s gay sex."
"It’s blackmail."
"It’s gay sex."
"It’s blackmail involving gay sex, yes." Butcher pocketed the phone.
"Ezekiel’s built his entire career preachin’ family values and religious purity. If he doesn’t want this all over the internet, he’ll cooperate."
Mark rubbed his forehead. "You could have just said you had blackmail material instead of showing me that horrifying thing. Now I need to go purify my brain."
He turned to leave. Butcher called after him. "Are you in or not?"
Mark stopped. More public appearances meant more visibility, and visibility had its uses. He turned back around.
"Fine. I’m in."
After that, the atmosphere inside the hideout became considerably more relaxed.
The plan had been discussed, Butcher seemed satisfied with himself, and for a brief moment things were almost peaceful.
Then the news changed.
A photograph of Popclaw appeared on the television. The anchor’s voice immediately caught everyone’s attention.
"We have breaking news. Former teenage superhero Popclaw has been found dead. Authorities are reporting the cause of death as a heroin overdose."
The room fell silent.
Hughie frowned at the screen. "Wait. Doesn’t this seem a little fishy? How does a supe die that easily from a heroin overdose?"
Mother’s Milk leaned back in his chair. "There’s no need to think it’s fishy. If Vought found out she leaked information to us, they would’ve cut her off." His expression remained grim.
"The location she gave us wasn’t public knowledge. If they figured out somebody talked, she would’ve been one of the first people they looked at. "
"Vought is good at cleaning up loose ends — if somebody becomes a problem, they remove the problem before it points back to them."
Nobody really wanted to argue with that.
Hughie looked back toward the television. Popclaw had been alive only a few days ago. Now she was dead. Just like that. A cold feeling settled in his stomach.
"Then do you think they’ll investigate and find us? If they know she talked to someone, won’t they start looking for who she talked to?"
Nobody answered immediately. Frenchie looked down at the table. Mother’s Milk rubbed his forehead. Even Butcher’s expression became more serious.
"They’ll investigate," M.M. said eventually. "But they investigate everything. The question is whether they can connect it back to us."
Hughie didn’t look reassured. "And if they can?"
Butcher finally spoke. "Then we’ve got bigger problems than a dead junkie."
Mark watched the report for a few moments before shaking his head.
A-Train really was human trash. The guy had gotten his own girlfriend killed because she leaked information, made it look like an overdose, and walked away from it.
All because Homelander had told him to.
Across the room, the others were discussing Vought’s involvement. Mark didn’t say anything. Unlike them, he already knew.
The Triad operation had nothing to do with Vought’s leadership. Not officially.
The Compound V being moved to terrorists, the chaos spreading across the country, the increasing number of superpowered threats — it all served a single purpose.
Homelander wanted superheroes in the military. He wanted the government dependent on Vought. Everything else was just a means to that end.
Mark leaned back in his chair. A simple thought crossed his mind.
What if he just killed Homelander?
The idea was tempting. It was also pointless. Homelander was a symptom. Vought was the disease. Even if Homelander died tomorrow, the company would still exist.
The executives, the politicians taking Vought’s money, the systems protecting them — none of that would change.
Worse, it might actually help them. If somebody publicly killed Homelander, Vought would immediately turn him into a martyr.
The public would rally behind the company, and the person responsible would become a terrorist in the eyes of millions.
Destroying a man was easy. Destroying a corporation woven into politics, media, and public opinion was another matter entirely.
That required evidence. It required tearing away the image Vought had spent decades building.
Only then would things actually fall apart.
Until that happened, killing Homelander would accomplish far less than people imagined.
Mark glanced back toward the television. The news had already moved on. Popclaw was yesterday’s story. The world kept turning, Vought kept operating, and the real fight was still ahead.
*****
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