Flight 37 was still the biggest story in America and the rest of the world.
Every eye was glued to the little girl in the hospital bed. Besides the black box, she was the only one who might know what really happened up there.
The Atlantic near the crash site was crawling with salvage ships. Dozens of news crews camped out on the shore, twitching for the second that black box got pulled from the water.
Homelander had been a walking fucking time bomb these past few days. Ivan even watched him storm into Madeline's office, then slam the door so hard on the way out that the solid hardwood exploded into splinters. The whole damn tower shook.
"Homelander's been in a shit mood lately. Whole building feels like it's walking on eggshells. You hear anything? He and Madeline finally have a blowout?" Baruch asked, lounging in Ivan's office first thing in the morning, sipping coffee like he owned the place. "Your brew's way better than the crap downstairs, by the way."
"You run your mouth that much and you're still alive? I'm starting to think you're related to the chairman," Ivan shot back with a smirk.
Baruch's eyes went wide. "How the hell did you know I'm his nephew?"
"Wait, you actually are? No wonder nobody ever fires your lazy ass."
"Hey, don't go spreading that around. I never told anyone. Keep it quiet, yeah?" Baruch grinned.
...
Homelander's mood was pure garbage. Every time his suggestion got shot down, the rage boiled hotter.
The thought of that little girl destroying everything he'd built made him want to burn the whole fucking world.
But she was locked down tight. Without Vought's help, he couldn't get to her quietly.
"Come in."
The Deep slipped into the conference room, nervous as hell.
"Where's the black box?" Homelander growled, face dark as thunder.
The Deep shook his head fast. "Still nothing yet."
"You sure about that?" Homelander stepped right up in his face, eyes glowing red. "You come back empty-handed and think that's okay? I'll give you three more days. Find the fucking black box. Or else…"
He grabbed The Deep by the throat and lifted him clean off the ground.
"Urg.." The Deep's face turned purple, choking. "I.. I'll try. Urg.. I swear I'll try my best!"
"Get out."
Homelander tossed him aside like trash and turned toward the floor-to-ceiling window, barely holding back the urge to kill.
The Deep dropped to one knee, gasping for air. For a second there he really thought he was dead. Ivan had been right. As long as the black box wasn't in someone else's hands, Homelander wouldn't touch him. Nobody else could find it on the ocean floor.
Of course, neither Homelander nor Queen Maeve knew Vought already had it.
...
Outside a hospital in downtown New York, Queen Maeve stood guard by the entrance. She wasn't just there to stop Homelander from going full psycho and murdering the girl.
She was also busy hating herself for abandoning her in the first place.
Suddenly a swarm of reporters came pouring out of nowhere, shoving their way into the building.
Maeve grabbed one of them by the arm. "What the hell is going on?"
The reporter looked pissed at first, ready to snap at whoever was slowing him down. Then he saw it was Queen Maeve and swallowed the curse.
"Uh, we just got word the girl who survived the crash woke up," he said, forcing a ugly smile. "Everyone's rushing to hear what happened."
Maeve stood there frozen.
"Sorry, I really gotta go," the reporter muttered, pulling his arm free.
"God bless her," Maeve whispered, sounding almost relieved.
These past few days had crushed Maeve almost as hard as Homelander. Maybe harder. She didn't just have to fake it for the cameras.
She had to live with her own guilt and the sick feeling that she'd left a little girl to die. The nightmares wouldn't let her sleep.
Now that the girl had woken up, some of that weight finally lifted off her chest.
...
Meanwhile…
A-Train didn't give a shit about the plane crash. Ever since the dungeon got exposed and Butcher's crew took Kimiko, he'd gone straight to Popclaw.
No matter how hard he pressed her, she kept swearing she hadn't leaked the location.
He had no choice but to tell her to pack up and get the hell out of New York.
Popclaw understood how deep the shit was. She took his advice and caught a red-eye to Havana that same night.
But after she left, A-Train spent days chewing on it. Hiding her wasn't a fix.
The only real solution was her dead. Only then could he sleep easy, keep his spot in The Seven, and save his own ass.
He finally booked a flight to Havana to finish the job.
"Hey, baby."
The second A-Train showed up, Popclaw threw herself at him, hugging him tight. She really did love the guy... no, she doesn't wanna think about the green hat.
"Oh God, where have you been? It's been days." She purred lovingly.
"I was handling some stuff. It's all good now," he said, stroking her back.
"You told me I had to hide, that we were in trouble and…"
"I know. It's taken care of. Good news: Madeline gave the green light. We can go public with our relationship."
Popclaw stared at him, not daring to believe it. "Don't fuck with me."
"I swear to God. But listen, if we're doing this, you gotta be straight with me."
Love makes people stupid. Popclaw was no exception. She wanted to keep him so bad she spilled everything.
"I did tell a couple people… that day you were dropping off Compound V near the noodle shop. I'm sorry. They forced me…"
Popclaw kept apologizing, over and over. She'd been scared shitless that day and never thought it would blow up this bad.
"Why? What did they have on you?" A-Train asked, still not getting it.
"...."
Popclaw dodged the question, looking guilty as hell. Instead she gave him detailed descriptions of Butcher and the others.
"I'm so sorry. I really fucked everything up," she whispered, head down.
"It's okay. Really, it's fine."
A-Train looked at her and started talking about their first date, all sweet and romantic like he was whispering love lines.
Popclaw's lips curved into a happy little smile.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
The second the words left her mouth, A-Train moved like lightning. He snatched four syringes off the table behind her. Popclaw didn't even have time to blink before he jammed all four needles straight into her arms and pushed the plungers down.
She stared at the syringes sticking out of her, then looked up at him in total disbelief.
A-Train couldn't meet her eyes. He just lowered his head in silence.
____
Damn, Homelander is stressed, Maeve is depressed, A-Train is paranoid, and the Deep is getting manhandled by Homelander. The flight girl wakes up in the hospital, and A-Train kills his girl.... Meanwhile, Ivan is chilling in his cabin.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69