Leaving the Golden Hummingbird, Dante rode his bike through the Neo-Vatra’s streets with no destination in mind.
’So... how are we going to do this?’
Calling off the heist was out of the question. The promised payment was too much to pass on, not to mention the bonuses they might gain along the way. Klaus Stahlwölfe was a collector, after all, and even one of the items he owned was bound to fetch a hefty sum.
In the back of his mind, Dante still had the idea of going in alone and finishing the job on his own. As appealing as it sounded, having had the chance to think it through, convinced him it was just his arrogance speaking.
The mess he almost got himself into during the recent riots helped pull him back to the ground. A bunch of heroes and other BEO members were going to be present on the promised day, so relying too much on Volcan’s armors was like repeating the same mistake that almost got him into trouble with Flame Guard.
That wasn’t to say he planned on sitting by the side. There is a limit to how much restraint he could practice, and though he liked to believe that he was the calm and calculated type, recklessness had always influenced his actions. That’s why, instead of worrying about whether he should participate or not, Dante focused on how he should do it instead.
’I need to be there in person, obviously. ’ He thought. ’We can snatch a few cyborgs in the chaos. The cops might bring out the heavy equipment, too.’
Looting the battlefield was a sure way to make a small fortune, but to do so, he would have no choice but to get close. Type 8-3 was going to play a big role, but he had no intention of having it on the entire time. Right now, the plan heavily relies on him using Ghost Mode to stay off the radar.
As they have control over Ember, granting the others a version of Ghost Mode wasn’t out of the question. To do that, however, he would have to find a way to deliver the news to his fixer and subsequently the others.
[How about using an alternative identity?] Volcan suggested. [I learned that people online tend to make multiple accounts to serve different purposes. You can create a fake persona and use it to play the role of a Diver.]
’That’s a good idea, but...’
The idea his resident AI proposed would have been great if not for one flaw: trust. When working in a crew, the members are expected to meet each other in person from time to time. It might not be as important when working on smaller jobs, but when the risk is high and millions are on the line, trying to stay faceless doesn’t convey a lot of trust, and trust was a much-needed quality when it came to working in a team. For that reason, creating a virtual persona wasn’t going to cut it.
’We need someone to be a stand-in, but...’
That someone had to meet some criteria, with the main one being able to keep their mouth shut. There weren’t that many to choose from, and those that met the criteria weren’t exactly the tech-savvy kind.
As the thought crossed his mind, a certain face popped up in Dante’s mind, and he lost focus on the road for a moment.
’Come to think of it, bringing in a fake also goes against the whole trust issue...’
[I was about to mention that argument.]
Strangely enough, a message arrived just then, with its main topic being the one guy Dante didn’t want to consider at the moment. The sender was Boris, however, and from the tone it was easy to tell he was freaking out.
[Boris: Finn is missing! He was supposed to be at the Owls’ Lantern, but he disappeared at some point.]
From the looks of it, the big guy had tried to use the brat to earn himself some more points with Ms. Yukimura, and that seems to have backfired tremendously.
[Dante: No idea where he went?
Boris: No! He was playing with the kids, then just vanished!
Dante: Yeah, right. As if anyone would believe that.]
Thinking for a moment, Dante sent another message.
[Dante: Don’t worry, I will take care of this.]
What a troublesome brat.
’And here I was feeling bad about not helping like I promised...’
[According to my research, boys his age have a tendency to rebel and challenge authority.]
’That just means the beating he got wasn’t enough.’
Looking through his contacts, Dante opened that of the brat and sent him a message asking where he was. The next moment, he got a notification telling him he could no longer send messages to that account.
’Motherfu... Volcan, get me the little shit’s location.’
[I... I am afraid to say that is not possible.] Volcan said. [It seems he has cut my connection to his NIM at some point.]
’He cut you off!?’ A very bad premonition rose in Dante’s mind. ’What about his Exocore?’
[That, too, seems to have been disconnected.]
’You got to be shitting me...’
Somehow, this felt a lot different from the stunts the brat pulled before. Pulling to the side of the road, Dante opened his Storage, checking if the blueberry was still in its place. It had been some time since he last took it out, so for a moment there, he was afraid that he had misplaced it at some point.
’Did he give up on it or something...’
The brat had told him that the gun was essential for his revenge, and that he had been waiting till he found it before going after his enemies. Dante thought that he could stop him from doing anything stupid by keeping the Blue Berry out of his hands, but that might’ve turned out to be wrong this entire time.
’That little shit...’ Gritting his teeth, Dante twisted the bike’s handle and took off. ’I’m gonna give him the ass whooping of a life time.’