Chapter 23: [22] : Hijacking Incident
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"Do you know that in marine parks, those dolphins are constantly enduring unbearable noise? They don't like performing, nor do they like the high-intensity work every day. Some of them have even started to become depressed..."
"So don't tell me you're thinking of going to the marine park to steal the dolphins. That's illegal, Deep."
In the meeting room of The Seven on the 99th floor of Vought Tower, Roger was chatting with The Deep on his phone.
Ever since that day when Roger showed interest in understanding The Deep's friends, The Deep had started tentatively introducing some of his 'friends' to Roger.
From lobsters to crabs, from dolphins to whales, and even the blue whale that Roger wanted to see.
As time passed, The Deep confirmed that Roger wasn't like before, looking for opportunities to mock him.
He began to treat Roger as a friend, occasionally calling to discuss marine life.
From this point of view, The Deep was actually quite simple-minded. Perhaps that word isn't quite appropriate... more accurately, he was simple and stupid.
As long as someone was willing to accept him and his friends, The Deep would develop a liking for that person and consider them a friend.
Unfortunately, from childhood to adulthood, The Deep had always been treated as a freak. Even after becoming a member of The Seven, he had never been truly respected.
His fans didn't understand him, treating the on-screen version as the real him, not knowing that the actual Deep was just a pathetic, insecure coward.
Now that Roger had discovered this and accepted him, The Deep treated Roger as a friend.
However... no matter how good his relationship with The Deep was, Roger couldn't possibly support this guy sneaking into a marine park to steal dolphins.
This had happened in the original story.
The Deep had secretly taken out a dolphin he liked (loved), but on the way, they encountered a car accident, and the dolphin was run over by a passing truck.
Let's not even discuss the outcome; the act itself was already a crime of theft.
Now that Roger had come to the world of The Boys, he wouldn't let something like this happen.
After all, that dolphin was innocent, and it would be too pitiful to die in a car accident.
"But... that dolphin..." The Deep hesitated on the other end of the phone.
Roger said:
"Please, Deep, you're now a superhero of The Seven, a celebrity. If you want to save a dolphin, there are plenty of ways. You can buy it back with your own money, or donate to the marine park to give these marine animals better treatment! Not think about stealing it!
"Stealing animals from public facilities is the worst and most terrible choice, Deep. I don't want to see news about your scandal the next day, do you understand?"
"..."
The Deep fell silent on the other end of the phone.
Roger reaffirmed:
"I need to hear you say 'I understand'."
"...I understand."
"Good, now go do what you're supposed to do. Let me emphasize one last time, be smarter when doing things in the future. Learn to solve problems through proper channels."
After hanging up the phone with The Deep, Roger had just let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that Maeve had returned at some point and was bringing him a glass of juice.
"Since when did you become so close with The Deep?" Maeve asked as she handed the juice to Roger.
Roger took the juice, drank a sip, and said: "A few days ago, just after... I changed. By the way, why juice?"
"Because we have work later, and I don't think you want to appear in front of reporters smelling of alcohol."
Maeve smiled and sat down in her seat, leisurely sipping her juice.
Roger held his juice, looking at her, and suddenly asked:
"Is it my imagination, or do I feel like you've been... different from usual these past couple of days?"
"Really?"
"Of course. You used to always have a tense expression. To put it bluntly, you looked lifeless. Now you seem to be doing pretty well."
Roger observed Maeve.
Maeve nodded, took another sip of juice, and said:
"Probably because the big mountain pressing down on my head has disappeared."
Roger knew what Maeve was referring to.
The mountain she mentioned was Homelander.
The original Maeve had always lived under Homelander's shadow.
To prevent Homelander from indiscriminately killing innocent people, she didn't even dare to get close to any man.
Now, Homelander's 'personality' had disappeared, replaced by another personality full of kindness. Of course, Maeve would feel relaxed.
If it weren't for the fact that suddenly taking time off would attract attention from Vought and make things difficult for Roger, Maeve would even want to take a few days off to celebrate wildly.
For Maeve, there was nothing more joyful in this world than Homelander being dead.
"Yes, the mountain is gone, and everyone is relieved," Roger sighed.
It had been many days since Roger became Homelander. During this time, although Roger hadn't done much, the overall atmosphere of "The Boys" had become much more relaxed.
Kimiko and The Boys no longer had to hide, Maeve no longer had to conceal herself, and The Deep even had a human friend to confide in.
Even Ashley, the manager of The Seven, seemed much more relaxed, looking healthier.
Although Roger still didn't know what he should do after becoming Homelander, seeing the changes in these characters from the original story made him feel much more at ease.
When everyone is happy, he could be happy too. This is how the world should be.
As Roger and Maeve were enjoying this moment of tranquility, Madelyn suddenly walked into the meeting room from outside and said to the two sitting there:
"Great, you're both here."
Seeing Madelyn's hurried appearance, Roger and Maeve exchanged a glance, and then Maeve asked:
"Did something happen?"
Madelyn nodded:
"Indeed, something has happened. Seven minutes ago, Flight 37 from Paris to Chicago was hijacked mid-air."
"Seven minutes ago?" Roger frowned and asked.
Madelyn answered: "That's right. It was one of our sources at the North American Command that informed us about this."
Roger nodded slightly. Hearing Madelyn say this, he understood.
Probably an informant that Vought had planted in the North American Command.
"How many hijackers are there?" Maeve asked.
Compared to the source of the information, she was more concerned about the passengers on the plane.
Madelyn answered: "Reportedly three... but that's not the point. The point is, you should be able to reach there faster than the military's fighter jets."
As she spoke, Madelyn went to the many screens in the meeting room, stood in front of one screen, and pulled up the flight route map:
"The plane is now in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It's international waters. Currently, you're restricted by law from carrying out rescue missions in other countries' territories, but there's no such problem in international waters."
After finishing, Madelyn came to Roger's side and said seriously:
"If you can bring these passengers back alive, there won't be any more senators voting against our bill... This is our chance."
Looking at Madelyn, Roger remembered this memorable plot from the original story.
In this hijacking incident, Homelander accidentally destroyed the control panel, causing the plane to crash completely. None of the passengers on the plane survived.
That was something the original Homelander had to face.
And now Roger was Homelander, and he needed to handle this hijacking incident properly.
For a moment, Roger felt overwhelmed with pressure.
...
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