Pressing her lips into a line, Rose cast her gaze down. Something about her expression bothered Dante, and he soon found himself trying to reassure her for some reason.
"You don’t have to worry, I will make sure he stays safe."
How was he going to do that while infiltrating the hotel? He didn’t really know. Then again, the brat was only a stand-in.
’You can’t be in danger if you aren’t doing anything dangerous.’
[I very much doubt that will be the case.] Said Volcan.
Unexpectedly, his attempt at placating the purple-haired beauty only earned him an angry glare.
"Are you sure you won’t just beat him again?"
Lost for words, Dante could only stare back at her.
"I know a lot is riding on this heist, but you should have at least discussed the matter with us first." She added. "I was already against you participating. What makes you think bringing someone even younger was a good idea?"
"Wha-" another deep stab left Dante shocked for a moment. "You were against me joining?"
That was likely something he wasn’t meant to know, as shown by the change in Rose’s reaction. She held a hand toward him, her mouth opening to say something, but she held back at the last moment, casting her gaze down.
"You’re still young, Dante. It’s something I like about you, but work is entirely different." She said. "I can’t stand the idea of you being involved in something so dangerous. Do you even know how I felt when Viktor told us about your injury?"
Perspective mattered a lot. Since they had no idea what he went through and what he was capable of, it wasn’t strange for others to dismiss him as just another kid who had barely entered the world. Experience came with age, and being nineteen years old didn’t convey a lot of experience.
"Can’t believe you still think of me ." Dante heaved a long sigh. "Weren’t you the one begging me to hold back just the other day?"
The comment caught everyone off guard, drawing all their attention to him. Even Rose herself seemed shocked by what he said, and though she tried to keep her serious face on, her flushed cheeks gave away how she felt.
"You didn’t have to expose me like that." She turned away with a huff. "Besides, this and that are two entirely different matters."
"You’re right. This is a big job with a lot on the line. We can’t let just about anyone in." Getting up, Dante walked to the front of the room and stood with his back facing the empty wall. "Still, what choice do we have? Are you sure you want to wait for Vik to find another Diver? And what’s the point anyway? The brat already did most of the job, and he’s providing a much better service than what we asked for. Do we even have a reason to turn him down?"
Looking at them one by one, Dante waited for the rest of the crew to provide an argument. They all kept their silence, however, and after a while, Viktor got up.
"He’s right, you know? We don’t have much time left, and I don’t think I can get us a good Diver. The kid raised the bar too high, so forget about finding one on his level."
"Are you sure about this?" Mr. Pike asked.
"I’ve been meaning to train him gradually, but..." the fixer raised his hands in resignation and shrugged. "Guess he’ll have to learn on the job."
With three of them agreeing, there was no point in further discussion. It wasn’t a vote, however, so Viktor still asked the remaining two for their last stance.
"Fine, I understand." Said Rose. "But... please, make sure he doesn’t do anything dangerous."
Dante almost broke into a coughing fit. Rose’s reaction was far outside his expectations. He knew from the start how difficult it would be to sell Finn’s participation to them, but never did he think that his biggest opposer would be the purple-haired beauty.
’This is going to be a problem...’ He thought while keeping a neutral expression. ’Well, it will have to wait for later, I guess.’
"This job is making me feel old." Sighing, Kirk shook his head. "To think we’re hiring kids nowadays."
"Alright, I guess that settles it."
Viktor clapped once to announce the end of the discussion then went and summoned Finn. Looking stressed out of his mind, the boy first checked the others then let his eyes settle on Dante. He was silently asking what came of their talk, but he didn’t have to wonder for long as Viktor announced the result right after.
"Welcome to the team, Finn. This will be your first big job, so do your best."
Staring at him for a moment, the boy then averted his gaze, a look of guilt settling on his face.
"A-ah, yeah, I will do my best!"
A gentle hand fell on his cheek just then, causing him to freeze in his spot. Somehow, and without anyone’s notice, Rose spawned beside the boy and was caressing his cheek. As she was leaning down a little, the change of angle gave him a very good look at a very specific part of her anatomy, crashing his brain in an instant.
"You poor thing. Look at what they have done to your face." She gave him a pitying look. "It must have hurt, right? You-"
A hand fell on Finn’s shoulder and he was quickly pulled away. At the same time, Rose found herself being dragged to the other side of the room by both Dante and Kirk.
"Should we call the police?" Asked Kirk.
"And here I thought you were worried about him." Dante looked at her with disgust. "Turns out you’re the danger we have to protect him from."
"Wha-! Hey! It’s not what you think! I didn’t-"
"Yeah, yeah, you aren’t tricking anyone." Said Dante. "I know your kind, alright."
The look of distress on her face was enough to expose her, and no amount of excuses was going to change the others’ opinions. As he finally understood what was happening, Finn looked up at Viktor, his face a little pale. The fixer smiled and offered him a very important piece of advice.
"Try not to stay alone with her, okay?"