Chapter 185: An Olive Branch from the Church of the Collective
However, besides Vought, it was the second Organization capable of manipulating Superheroes. As for how big of a storm it would stir up, Xia Shang was very curious about it.
Meanwhile.
Hughie, who had gone out, quickly brought Starlight to the Basement.
From her, everyone learned the details about Sage Grove. It was a mental hospital located in the Suburbs of Pennsylvania, affiliated with the Global Health Organization, but its sponsor behind the scenes was Vought International. It was obvious that even if Stormfront wasn't there, it must contain Vought's unspeakable secret.
"How is Homelander's situation now?" Billy asked, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his attitude towards Starlight was still not very friendly.
But the others were completely different, especially Frenchie and Kimiko. They had completely accepted Starlight. After all, if Starlight hadn't stopped A-Train back then, Kimiko wouldn't have been able to escape safely.
After Starlight and Kimiko hugged, Starlight said, "The situation is very bad. Recently, public opinion has been very fierce. Every day, large numbers of black people gather below Vought Tower to protest. Given Homelander's mental state, to be honest, I'm a little worried he won't be able to resist taking action and kill all those guys."
"Hmph..." Billy exhaled a puff of smoke, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up. "That's actually good information."
"But I still have to advise you to leave quickly, because the chip inside you will expose our location. Hughie, didn't you think about this before you brought her here?" Billy looked at Hughie.
Seeing that the atmosphere was tense, Frenchie quickly stepped forward and asked, "Starlight, can you tell me the location of the chip? Maybe I can help you take it out."
"Left shoulder." Starlight's expression was a bit grim.
"Come with me."
Afterwards, Frenchie took Starlight to the workshop and used a small angle grinder to cut open her skin. Then, picking up the tweezers, he carefully extended them into the wound. After some searching, he finally clamped out the tubular tracker. "This little thing was hidden quite deep."
Meanwhile, Hughie in the Lobby couldn't help but complain, "Look, you should change your view of her. After all, she took a huge risk to help us get information about Vought."
"Wait, I'll take a phone call." Billy, with an impatient expression, pulled out his phone from his pocket.
After tapping the call button, he walked towards the corner.
"Hey, Joseph, long time no see. What? The president of the Hero Mutual Aid Society wants to see me? I don't have any relationship with him, do I? You should know I'm a wanted criminal now, my identity is special, it's not suitable for me to see anyone."
"He says he can help me? Oh, buddy, don't joke. Who does he think he is, the director of the FBI?"
Just then, Billy's expression changed from casual to serious. After he hung up the phone, he said to the others behind him, "I'm going out for a bit, probably back tonight."
Afterwards, he drove towards Queens and finally stopped in front of a Restaurant. The Restaurant was located in an inconspicuous, remote corner and looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. Billy opened the car window, observed the surroundings, and after confirming there was no ambush, he pulled out a pistol from under the seat and tucked it into his waistband.
"I've arrived, where are you?"
After Billy sent a message, he pulled out the car key.
"Second floor of the Restaurant, I see you."
Looking at the text message just received on his phone, Billy looked up and indeed saw a man wearing a black suit, holding a can of soda water and making a toasting gesture towards him.
The man had the same style of beard as him, but the man's beard was clearly well-groomed.
Billy pushed open the glass door of the Restaurant and walked up the stairs towards the second floor. "Billy Butcher, nice to meet you." The man stood up very gentlemanly to greet Billy.
"I heard you can help me."
The man in front of him made Billy feel very uncomfortable, like a combination of a charlatan and a hypocrite. Every action seemed very artificial.
"Of course, please sit. Would you like some orange-flavored soda water?"
"Compared to soda water, I prefer beer."
"That's a real shame."
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Alastair, and I am the president of the Church of the Collective. I have many businesses under me. I used to have a cooperative relationship with Vought International, and of course, still do now. We have a lot of dirt on Superheroes in our hands, a quantity you can't imagine." Alastair snapped his fingers, and soon, a waiter served dishes for the two of them.
"So you want to betray Vought?" Billy asked, picking up the knife and fork on the plate, seemingly casually.
However, Alastair shook his head.
"Don't make it sound so unpleasant. What is betrayal? Vought International and I just have a cooperative relationship. I am responsible for helping Vought take in some homeless, poor guys, help them sort out their psychological problems, and at the same time guide them into a new life. Of course, I will actively help them work with Vought, giving them a chance to return to Vought."
"Get to the point, what is your purpose for asking me to come here?"
Billy didn't really want to deal with this charlatan in front of him.
"I heard Vought has a mental hospital under its name. Stormfront is one of the administrators there. Those imprisoned inside are all Supe patients. By the way, don't ask me why I know this, because the Church is omniscient and ubiquitous." Alastair elegantly brought a piece of cut steak to his mouth, the rich juice overflowing from the corner of his mouth.
"You know Stormfront?" Billy narrowed his eyes. It seemed this charlatan in front of him knew quite a bit.
Alastair used a napkin to wipe the sauce from the corner of his mouth. "Of course, she was one of my grandfather's first followers. Later, for some reason, she left the Church of the Collective. Perhaps she disliked that the Church of the Collective's influence was not as great as before, so she abandoned us."
Grandfather. Hearing this word, Billy immediately thought of Liberty that Hughie and the others had investigated before. As expected, Stormfront and Liberty are the same person.
"So what do you want us to do?"
Alastair's words made Billy realize that the other party's former influence might not have been inferior to Vought International.
"Rescue those patients. As for Vought's crime information, I can do without it. I will send people to act with you. You only need to be responsible for luring away Vought's Guards; leave the rest to my subordinates," Alastair smiled.
"What do you want those patients for?"
"Sorry, no comment. However, what I can tell you is that the recent public opinion regarding Homelander was orchestrated by me. If you agree, I can let the public opinion continue. If you don't agree, the price Vought offered isn't low either, and I can also choose to continue cooperating with them."
Alastair drained the soda water on the table in one gulp, while patiently waiting for Billy's answer.
Mentioning Vought, a hint of anger faintly appeared in his eyes. It could be said that Xia Shang's attitude had completely enraged him.
(end of chapter)