"Let’s roll it back a little." Leaning into the back of the sofa, Dante crossed his legs, placing his intertwined fingers on his propped knee. "Since you came to us with this offer, I take it you must have a very good reason. I don’t know about interests, but we do share a goal. That isn’t enough to want us to join you, however. I don’t believe you are that concerned about our safety, either. So, my question is: why?"

The question was intended to measure the other side’s honesty rather than inquiring on the true reason. Dante already had his guesses, so he wanted to confirm how much they were willing to tell him upfront.

"Our main reason is you, Mr. Sokolov."

Dante’s left brow rose on its own, betraying his surprise and confusion. Catching on to that, Victoria continued her explanation.

"You are an Ascended cyborg." She said. "I’m sure Mr. Samson has warned you of the problems that come from advancing so far down our path, yet you show no fear. I assume you intend on continuing until the very end?"

"Obviously."

At this point, VOLCAN’s strain no longer has any effect on him, but he still intends on getting the last two pieces of Suzuka’s MBI set. The torso piece was especially important. Not only would it greatly expand his energy reserves, it would also unlock abilities that couldn’t be used through Modules. Once he has it all equipped, he would be able to use the full power of two Types at the same time.

"That fact makes you a perfect fit for our organization. Recruiting cyborgs willing to advance to the farthest reaches of this path is one of our main goals."

A perfect excuse. The Gear Cult was built around the concept of human evolution through the integration of machines, so it made perfect sense that they would be looking to recruit cyborgs into their ranks, especially one who doesn’t fear casting away his flesh. If it were any other cyborg, there wouldn’t be a need for any further explanation, but Dante wasn’t the average cyborg.

"So you got interested in me just because I’m an Ascended Cyborg." He said. "Hard to believe that’s really the main reason."

Once again, Victoria tilted her head as if to ask what he meant. Was there a need for her to feign her confusion at this point? Dante waited for her say something, and after a while, a look or realization flashed on her face.

"I believe there has been a miscommunication here. The reason I provided was for why we are interested in you personally, Mr. Sokolov."

"I see."

’Bullshit...’

He might not have the best memory out there, but his wasn’t so bad that he would forget what he said barely a couple of minutes ago. Dante was sure that he used "us", and unless she mistook him for some non-binary freak, it should have been clear that he was talking about a group. He could have been referring to Inferno, but she had purposefully avoided touching the subject.

"So I’m the only one you want to recruit."

"On an individual level, yes." She said. "There is another individual to whom you are connected that we are interested in, but we don’t know nearly enough to make a proper assessment of their suitability. We do not know whether your relation or situation prevents you from joining out ranks, but we understand if that is the case."

"Is that so?"

Dante had been acting as if he had a big organization backing him up. Said organization doesn’t exist, of course, but the people looking into him wouldn’t go for the obvious conclusion right from the start, especially with Ghost popping out every now and then to kick some fat ass like Paragon and Kaiser Tigris. If they were to find nothing after investigating him, their first thought would be that the organization backing him is powerful enough to perfectly hide its tracks, only showing what they intend to show. They would have no way of measuring the danger it poses, which would leave them with no choice but to proceed with caution, less they step on the tail of a beast too large for them to see.

"I understand your reasoning, and I appreciate the offer." Realizing that they weren’t going anywhere at this rate, Dante decided to give his response. "Unfortunately, we have no intention of joining your organization."

"I have yet to present our offer." Said Victoria.

"No matter what you have to offer, it won’t change out mind." Dante said. "We do not answer to anyone. You can forget about bringing us under you."

It was always better to shut these things very early on. The Gear Cult was a big organization with a long history, so they probably think they can just throw their weight around and have things go their way. Dante’s choice was bound to turn their relationship to an antagonistic one, but he wasn’t about to start caring now.

"I understand."

Victoria nodded once, her unchanging expression hinting at her having expected his reply. If she asked for this meeting only to ask him to join their cult, then this would be the end for of the conversation. Dante would have been disappointed if that were the case, so he was thankful that her silence didn’t last.

"Mr. Sokolov, from what you have said, the impression I’m getting is that, while you have no intention of joining the Gear, you are still willing to work with us. Is that correct?"

"Depends on what that entails." Dante replied.

"Nothing, for the time being." She allowed herself to smile. "Knowing that you are open to maintaining a cooperative relation is more than enough for the time being."

~[ ]~

The meeting was far from what he had expected. By the time it came to an end, Dante realized that the mysterious woman barely touched the subjects he had been sure she would bring up. That stirred the paranoia inside his mind, causing him to shift even more focus to the Gear Cult.

’What are they planning...’

His mind kept going back to the possibility that Larry might have betrayed him and informed them of everything they wanted to know. The possibility was certainly there, but Dante didn’t believe the lanky surgeon would sell him out like that.

’Damn it...’

As if things weren’t bad enough, it turned that Victoria Alberta had nothing to say about the cult’s relation to Catalyst’s producers. Despite it being their main entanglement, she insisted that the topic was far above her, and that she had no authority over the matter. In other words, unlike that idiot from a few days ago, thee cult hadn’t sent her to investigate whether he was worthy of joining their war on Eidolon.

’They’re still underestimating us...’

-And why wouldn’t they? You are just a nobody.-

-Do you really think you stand on the same level as them?-

-You are just some guy.-

As he sat in his office going over everything thy discussed, a message arrived, forcing his mind away from the meeting. The sender was Viktor, and the message contained two sets of coordinates, one for a pick up location and another for the destination. From the looks of it, the number of deliveries they had to perform increased.

-Great. This is your chance.-

Dante brought out a map and checked where each of the coordinates led. Though he had no interest before, he was going to be traveling around the world anyway, so he thought this might at well take a short break. His eyes settled on Tenebrosa right away, but he forced himself to choose a different location. It didn’t make sense to visit the same place repeatedly when he had the entire world open for him.

For a moment there, he considered the Star Federation, but he dropped the idea right away as well. The last coordinates took him far south, to a country named Riovanta. Just like many others in the region, it was a land ravaged by resource wars and stagnant development fueled by international corporation. Nothing about it seemed remotely interesting, but the more he looked at the map, the more it looked like the appropriate location.

Calling Carlos, Dante checked with him if there was anything that needed taking care of before he departs. Glenn happened to drop by just then, wanting to discuss the acquisition of some shares in one of the companies Dante had been eyeing. Once that was out of the way, Dante paid Viktor a visit then went to take care of the deliveries.

This time around, the clients didn’t make the stupid mistake of lying a trap for him at the stated locations. Making an example out of the people who tried it the first time had paid off, so no one dared to cross him now. No one tried to use him to move people around this time as well, so he was able to finish all deliveries with relative ease.

Only one remained delivery remained. After picking the cargo from the client’s warehouse, Dante finally made his way to the far south.