Though puzzled by Superman's cryptic warning, Adam and his crew didn't dare check under the rear seat cushion with customs officers still nearby. The risk of drawing attention was too high. So, they drove away, planning to investigate once they found a secluded spot.
"Hey… what do you think is under that cushion?" Deadshot muttered nervously, leaning close to Adam, "Could it be… a bomb?"
The assassin's voice carried an uneasy tremor. Sitting in the backseat with Adam, the mere thought of something sinister lying just beneath them made his skin crawl.
Adam narrowed his eyes and answered, "That doesn't make sense. The car was arranged by Black Mask's people. If they tried to hurt us, what would they gain?"
He cast a wary glance at No. 1, the driver sent by Black Mask.
Adam didn't trust him. He also hadn't told the man about Superman's warning.
Besides, Superman wasn't the type to play mind games. If there was something truly dangerous under the seat, Clark would have destroyed it on the spot. So, what had he seen?
A few miles later, they pulled behind a small, lonely mound, the hum of the engine dying in the dusty silence. Deadshot made up an excuse to send No. 1 away, then returned with Adam to pry open the seat cushion.
"Wait… do you hear that?" Deadshot pressed his ear against the back seat, his brow furrowing. Then he froze. "Oh my God… the screws here have been tampered with. They're loose!"
Adam's pulse quickened. His mind conjured a dozen scenarios—hidden explosives, a tracking device, or worse. The day was already shaping up to be trouble, and this was only adding fuel to the fire.
Finally, Deadshot carefully opened a small gap in the cushion and used a compact mirror to peek inside. He blinked once, then twice, before exclaiming, "What the—?! You've got to be kidding me!"
He yanked the cushion fully open, revealing not a bomb, but Jason… fast asleep, curled up like a cat, soft snores escaping his nose in tiny bubbles.
"You… you… Jason?!" Adam was stunned, speechless. The boy was supposed to be safe at a hotel in another country, not stowing away in his car like some feral raccoon.
Jason stirred at the sound, yawning and rubbing his eyes, still half-asleep.
"Huh…? Oh, hi! You're here…" he mumbled, smiling as if nothing was wrong.
Adam angrily shouted, "Why are you here? Explain. Now."
"Yeah, kid," Deadshot added with a menacing crack of his knuckles, "you better start talking before I give you a real bedtime story."
Jason blinked between them, finally realizing he was in trouble.
"Okay, okay! The thing is…" Jason gulped and said, "When my mom left me in a strange place, she told me to count to 5,271, and she'd come back. But… no matter how many times I counted, she never returned. Now the teacher—you—you're saying the same thing. I was scared you'd leave me too, so I… uh… hid in the car."
Adam stared, dumbfounded and asked, "So you tore apart my back seat?"
No. 1, who had just returned, overheard the story and let out a pained groan while saying, "That's where I kept my rare lamb wine! Do you know how hard that is to find here?"
"Oh, don't worry," Jason replied politely. "I moved the bottles to the hotel. You can pick them up when we go back."
No. 1 sighed like a man whose soul had been crushed. In a country with strict controls, spirits like that were worth their weight in gold. The loss was almost unforgivable. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt
"Jason," Adam said sternly, "do you have any idea how dangerous this is? In this heat, with no air, you could've suffocated under that seat. If Clark hadn't heard your snoring with his… abilities, we might not have found you in time. You could've died."
Jason puffed out his cheeks, stubborn as ever. "That's why I have to stay close to you! If something happens to you, who's going to teach me? I'd rather risk danger than miss my chance to learn from the best. And anyway… I'm just a kid. They won't kill a kid, right?"
Adam ran a hand down his face, caught between exasperation and reluctant amusement.
Turning to No. 1, Adam spoke with finality. "We were using Jason's slot to smuggle you through customs. Now that the kid's here, we can't risk traveling in a big group—it'll draw too much attention. It's better if you go your own way from here."
The message was clear: Jason's unexpected appearance was the perfect excuse to cut ties with Black Mask's dangerous associates. Adam didn't want to be anywhere near that ticking time bomb.
No. 1 was visibly displeased but conceded. His own goals had been achieved, and sticking with Adam would only risk exposing their less-than-legal operations. With a reluctant nod, he handed Adam a satellite phone for future contact, then disappeared into the jungle, blending with the locals.
Adam and his crew prepared to head toward the capital. None of them noticed that, as they left customs, every passport photo and ID was quietly faxed to an unknown location far away…