I could see that she was a bit unnerved but the Deep didn't dare say anything, not only he was scared of me but I practically smelled his desired to be back in my good graces, back in the spot light.
I turned back to him.
"I couldn't help but overhear your meeting in Crime Analytics earlier today and I think you may have misinterpreted my intentions in the conversation we had yesterday." I told him.
"Oh…ok" he looked at me confused and so did his wife. "You don't want me to take control to clean house of dissenters?" he continued unsure.
"Poor choice of words on my part." I stated. "What my intention was to ensure we have a clean house. One that works efficiently, in harmony. The folks using social media to express their grievances against Vought, against me well they are not in harmony with the rest of the team but they are still part of the team." I paused.
"And crime analytics is a very, very important team. It's how we maintain our image, by solving and preventing crime. A hero cannot be a hero if he doesn't tackle crime. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, of course." He replied.
"Well said, sir!" Ashley replied. My head snapped towards her and she immediately fixed her mistake. "John, I mean John."
I turned back to the Deep.
"So you see we need to keep the team happy, so they can work effectively like little bees. It's why I've made you Head of Crime Analytics, nominally, Barbara will still be in charge of the actual day to day operations of course."
Then I laughed, snorted more like and stole a look at Ashley. "You obviously don't have an analytical bone in your body."
Ashley joined in the laughter and so did his wife. I could hear they were both genuine in their laughter.
Making fun of the Deep felt pretty good but I turned back serious and continued.
"So you see what I want you to do is to go there and inspire them, be their shining light, become their friend. As your first assignment I want you to get to know everyone, find out how they take their coffee, their hobbies, the names of their pets."
He looked at me confused.
"Endear yourself to them, become their trusted ear, their connection to The Seven. Make them feel like they are part of the team. You are the only one that can do it!"
"I…I am?"
"Of course! The rest of the team they are…prickly…well they are a bunch of assholes really." I stated.
"You on the other hand, are approachable, friendly, a real man of the people. Your telepathy grants you something that the rest simply don't have." Ooof! Man I was going to need to rinse my mouth after spewing this much bullshit.
"It does?" His eyes were big, questioning and absorbing everything I said.
I moved closed to him and did the classic Homelander move where I put my right hand behind his head and slightly pull them in.
"Empathy, Deep, empathy! You can connect with the common man."
"So can you do this for us Kevin?" I used his real name for added effect.
"For the team? For me?" and I looked him straight in the eyes.
"Y..es, yes, I mean YES. Of course!" he finally said confidently.
"Excellent!" I let him go and turned back towards Ashley.
"Now to fix the earlier miscommunication, we'll bring Barb back on board and then you and her are going to conduct performance reviews and you are going to ensure that everyone gets a bonus increase between twenty and thirty percent."
"Understood?" I asked the room and everyone agreed.
It took another hour to find Barbara and get her back on board. All it cost was some heartfelt apologies plus a fifty percent raise in comp and fifty percent retention bonus of total comp.
Fuck it Vought had money.
I could have just fired the Deep or called him a moron but that would be counterproductive. The Deep was an idiot but he was very malleable.
He would become my loyal idiot.
I did not plan on isolating myself like Homelander did in the show. One man a kingdom does not make.
Plus I had too many enemies. The Boys were gunning for me and so was the government…well parts of the government. Soldier boy was going to make and appearance today as well.
I needed allies, loyal soldiers who would do my bidding because they believed in me and my cause but mostly because they believed in me.
I'm not stupid I know the Deep can be wishy washy, but I also know that deep down, pun intended, he wants to do the right thing. He yearns for respect, for acknowledgement and even to repent for his previous crimes.
With the right pressure points, a sprinkle of fear and a bit of respect he can be a most loyal tool. A dumb tool but loyal. After all I don't want all my 'soldiers' to be smart.
Too smart and they start asking too many questions.
The next of my potential allies are A-Train and Black Noir.
A-Train knows too much so he either needs to be brought back into the fold or eliminated. I didn't want to eliminate A-Train because he could be very useful. He was still popular and having a speedster on the team was always a good idea.
Plus I wanted to minimize deaths. It is a god dam testament to Edgar, Stillwell and Ashley's skills, Vought as a whole really that they have been able to cover up so much crap.
A-Train can be convinced back in his motivations mirrored the Deep thought he is not nearly as malleable.
Black Noir was a though one and the most needed one. He was by far the most capable in his abilities both in his heroics and clandestine actions.
The man was a trained Ninja, stoic, silent and deadly and he had ridiculous high ratings. When you don't say a word, people just project their own image on to you.
I know this isn't like the comics so I have nothing to fear there but the question is if he is Edgar's man or not.
Even so his feelings on Soldier Boy were clear enough. If I give him Soldier Boy that should earn his loyalty for a time at least.
Provided I can actually take down Soldier Boy, considering how though he is I might have to chuck him into a Star or something…which isn't a bad idea now that I think about it.
A problem for later.
For now I need to deal with my 'first' meeting of the Seven…what's left of them.