The meeting went on for a while with the crew discussing the details of the heist and what might need to be changed now that Shark was gone. One of the main concerns they had was whether the BEO might learn some things about them now that they had the fat Diver’s equipment, but that was nothing more than unnecessary paranoia.
Shark was one of the most skilled Divers in Neo-Vatra. He was an experienced merc as well, so it’s unlikely that he had anything that might lead to the other members of the crew. The last message he sent was no different from a suicide note, and if he truly intended to go through with it, the first thing he would do was destroy all of his equipment to ensure that his enemies wouldn’t get anything from it after he was gone.
Eventually, it was time to disband. The final decision they arrived at was that the trio infiltrating Blue Ember would continue to remain there for the time being while Victor looks for a new Diver.
The somber atmosphere was shattered by Rose, who lunged at Dante as soon as the meeting ended. Though he had hoped the seriousness of the discussion they had would deter her from causing a scene, it was clear he was asking for too much.
Holding a hand to her face, he leaned back and kept her away from him. Though she tried pushing, Dante didn’t relent and stopped her from getting close, leaving her hands flailing around.
"Mind cutting it out already? I’m not really in the mood." He never was, and never will.
"Boo... and here I was so worried about you for the last week." The purple-haired woman began to sulk. "Guess you don’t care about me."
Dante was about to say he doesn’t, but Victor glared at him at that moment.
"Is it true that you got a new implant?" She asked. "You were gravely injured just recently. Don’t you think that’s too dangerous?"
"I know a really good doctor," Dante replied. "And I paid a lot for a round of Nanomeds."
"Oh my... That must have been quite costly."
"That doesn’t even begin to describe it."
Buying the implant, paying for the surgery, and paying for the Nanomeds. Then there were the materials for the upgrade. All of it brought his savings from 1.2 million all the way down to 100K. And this was for a relatively cheaper implant.
"I’m not a big fan of subdermal armor." Said Rose, sighing with a hand on her cheek. "It takes away your sense of touch, right? How are you going to enjoy our dates from now?"
All of a sudden, Dante felt like an idiot for thinking what happened between them would just be a one-time thing.
"Rose," rubbing his temples, Victor spoke with a slightly annoyed tone. "Dante and I need to talk. I think it would be better if you return now."
"What!!? But why!!?" Acting surprised, she tried to jump on Dante again only for him to push her away. "It’s been weeks since we last met! I want to spend some time with Dante!"
"You can do that later. Just go for now."
"... fine, I will go."
With a huff, Rose got up from the couch and headed for the exit. The sigh Victor let out as the door closed spoke of his exasperation. Shark’s death and the impact it had on the heist was must have stressed him quite a bit. His blood pressure seemed to be on the rise, too, which is why he took out his trusty pill bottle.
"It’s that bad, huh?" Dante asked after noticing the fixer eyeing the whiskey left in one of the corner.
"Bad doesn’t even begin to describe it." Sitting down, Victor leaned back and rested his head on the back of the couch, letting out a faint groan. "Finding another fixer isn’t that big of a problem, but convincing them to join? That’s a different story."
The assumption that the authorities were going to be too focused on their targets to notice anyone else turned out to be wrong. Of course, the crew hadn’t ignored them completely, but the results showed that they were far from being prepared to deal with the heroes of the BEO.
"Greg was on an EI wanted list. I guess it’s not so surprising that they got him."
"The BEO was after him?" Dante asked.
"He might not look like it, but the bastard was a Level 2 Cyborg. If he weren’t entirely focused on Diving, they would’ve snuffed him out long ago."
"Uh-oh..." Dante nodded indiscernibly. A moment later, he sighed and let the corners of his mouth curl up a little. "Too bad, I didn’t get to sell his body."
"It would’ve earned you a couple million, at least." Said Victor. "You missed one big prize."
Though they tried to laugh, it came off as weak and dry. Silence lingered between them, turning heavier by the second. Eventually, Victor gave Dante a glance and asked a question.
"Things don’t look good, that’s for sure," Dante replied. "But you don’t need me to tell you that."
"I’m asking because this is... well, it’s your biggest job since what happened with Gaspard’s crew."
"Way bigger, actually," Dante replied. "The biggest gig we took only got me a couple hundred grand."
A twenty-million cut couldn’t be compared. Dante’s mind went back to the job he and his old crew took a while back, the one that ended terribly and changed life entirely. He recalled some of its details, and the question followed right after. As curious as he was about what happened, he shook them out of his head and tried to focus on the problem they were currently facing. He had avoided investigating it for a reason, after all.
"Are you thinking of calling it off?" Dante asked.
"That might be our only choice." Said Victor. "The client isn’t going to be happy about this."
"The client, huh? You didn’t tell us much about them."
"I’m sure you can guess a few things." The fixer fell silent once more, only speaking after a while. "I... I will check with my backups, though, don’t hold your breath." He looked at him with tired eyes, his gaze holding a hidden meaning. "If you come up with any ideas, bring them to me right away. Unless you want to miss another big payday."