As The Deep In The Boys

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….

Hearing her ex's request, Annie shook her head in disbelief at the guy's audacity. Even without knowing all the horrors her employer committed, she was still amazed at the request to help terrorists and risk herself by taking the guy's word for it.

"Hughie, I was almost arrested just for knowing you. I had to convince them I was a fool you used and threw away," Annie said with pain, not knowing how much of the story Vought had told was a lie. "And you want me to help your crazy killer friends?" the girl asked, getting even angrier.

"If you look at it that way..." Campbell tried to smooth things over with a foolish smile, hiding his nervousness behind it.

"You have thirty seconds to get the hell out of here!" Starlight finally got tired of listening to Hughie's crazy requests.

"Okay," the disappointed guy said, who apparently really hoped that just one request would be enough for the person he had deceived to agree to risk their neck for strangers, some of whom were hardened criminals with thick files at Interpol. "Sorry to bother you."

"Why should I even help you?" Annie asked.

As Kevin remembered, it was because of the pity the girl felt for the guy, who constantly generated an aura of a victim around himself, that everything would go wrong. 

Logical thoughts would be knocked out by hitting her sore spots, which, in her shattered worldview, would resurrect the image of a hero and make the girl desperately need to confirm her superhero image. 

It was after the next part of the conversation that Annie would need to prove that all the previous years of hardship and labor had not been in vain, that she was truly a superhero, and that even despite the bleak reality surrounding her, she could still save someone.

"Because Vought is doing villainous things," Campbell said, turning around after a few steps. "Because it's your job. Because you're a superhero."

"Really?" the broken girl asked skeptically, looking at the guy. "I don't remember the last time I saved anyone."

"You saved me."

"When did I save you?" Annie asked, confused.

"At the bowling alley."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was so angry after Robin's death. I was spiraling, but then we went bowling."

"Bowling?" Starlight asked again, not seeing the connection.

"Yeah. Bowling. And that's it."

"I didn't save you. I was just there for you," January said, looking into the guy's eyes, which gave a silent answer to the same unspoken question. 

"The thing is..." the confused girl finally decided to say. "...I don't care." After that, she turned and left Hughie, wanting to just be alone, not seeing the faces of liars and pretenders. 

Especially since she had to be at a party in the tower that evening, where not only all the members of The Seven except The Deep were waiting for her, but also a lot of moneybags to whom, just like her whole previous life, she would have to smile happily, trying to show her best side.

Her whole life had been lived under the motto of one word, "endure," and now she clearly understood that she would have no new beginning, and she had only moved to a larger stage, remaining the same toy. 

Only the hands of the puppeteer had changed; now, instead of her mother, Madlyn was in charge, and it was unlikely that would change anytime soon.

Not wanting to pursue Starlight, Kevin focused on his main objective. 

After meeting with Annie, Hughie wandered aimlessly around the city for a couple of hours until, around eight in the evening, he seemed to make up his mind. 

He went into a hardware store and then spent half an hour fumbling in his mouth in a nearby alley.

Having achieved his goal, the guy, with the confident air of a world savior, headed towards a motel where Stillwell's mercenaries were waiting for the arrival of the rest of the specialists formerly working for the FBI, codenamed The Boys.

This part of the plan raised the most doubts in Moskowitz; a trained squad had every chance of detecting his surveillance. 

But he decided to risk it, pulling his hood down further and concentrating as hard as he could on the mirage that concealed his presence from those around him.

If Kevin hadn't been a supe, his plan might have failed at the very beginning. 

As he approached, snipers watching the motel from a couple of kilometers away would have spotted him and reported to the capture team. 

But because of the mirage, he remained unnoticed, and thanks to his superhuman body, The Deep was able to easily follow the van carrying Campbell without getting tired.

Even though Kevin understood his own exceptionalism, as he followed the vehicle, realizing how easily he could outrun it, Moskowitz once again felt a sense of unreality and got yet another of the countless serotonin boosts he'd experienced over the past week. 

Stopping in front of a pair of grimy buildings connected by what were clearly later-built walkways, Moskowitz noted his complete lack of breathlessness. 

Then, with a smile frozen on his face from the overwhelming feelings, he began to climb the building opposite the parked van.

He easily made it to the top using chips in the wall, empty window frames, and his fingers, which in critical situations literally drove into the concrete like small icebreakers. Once on the roof, The Deep began to survey the area.

Taking a pair of binoculars from his backpack, he checked the perimeter and noted with satisfaction the complete absence of guards. 

Stillwell couldn't afford a mini-army, and considering the five guys left to guard Butcher at the motel, there were no more than a dozen soldiers in the building.

Seeing the unresisting Hughie finally being led out of the van, Kevin put away the binoculars and, just in case, checked the phone he'd bought from a pusher.

"Shit," The Deep muttered, noticing a message from his handler in Sandusky, who had written that he had stopped by and had important news.

….

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