Chapter 716: A serious conversation.
"You know, I was joking back then."
Closing the door behind him, Dante looked around the room with a bit of curiosity. Though it wasn’t a place he had been to, it wasn’t that different from the rest: the dim lighting, the large bed, the energy drinks and condoms. Just another room for a pair of lovers to fornicate. It was a shame because, although a gorgeous older woman was waiting for him inside, it didn’t look like what she had planned for them was going to be fun.
"No one saw you come in, right?"
As she sat in the chair in the corner, arms crossed, the scarlet haired Caroline pierced him with an intense glare.
"Yeah yeah, you don’t have to worry." Dante said, taking off his jacket. "No one will know about this."
"This isn’t the time for your jokes." She said.
"Would you prefer to wait until after we’re done?"
The BEO commander didn’t appreciate his sense of humor, and that showed in the reigned sigh she let out.
"So, what did you call me here for?" Dante walked over to the minifridge in the corner, checking its contents.
"I don’t know where to start." Going silent for a couple of seconds, she gazed at him once more. "How about you explain to me what’s happening between you and Gaia?"
"Damn, you all ask the same question." Picking a can, he got up and popped it open. "It’s very simple, actually. Someone had the brilliant idea of leaving the file they had on me open, and people looked inside it, so now I’m getting harassed."
"Information leaking is an inevitability." Caroline said. "Especially when one of the world’s most powerful corporations is involved."
"What I’m hearing is that you negligence has put the life of an innocent civilian at risk."
"You? Innocent?" The BEO commander chuckled. "I thought we were having a serious conversation?"
"You have yet to arrest me, right?"
"Doesn’t mean you aren’t guilty."
If there was a reason he has yet to be behind bars, it would be that those in power have yet to figure out the price they would have to pay to make it happen. With Ghost going around killing heroes and picking fights with megacorporations while escaping their notice, trying to mess with him was a recipe for disaster. That’s only for now, at least.
"You can go ahead and forget all about Gaia. Any more than this and you might not make it home tonight."
He had basically confirmed that Ghost was involved earlier, so there was no point in digging any further.
"So, what is that you want?"
Caroline didn’t rush to answer, continuing to stare at him as he chugged his drink without a care in the world.
"I want update about the job." She said.
"The job, huh?" Now was Dante’s turn to sigh. "You sure don’t have any patience, huh?"
"Do you have something, or you don’t?"
"Can’t say for sure."
Walking over to the bad, Dante sat down on the side.
"Say, how are Genomes made?"
His question seemed like it came out of left field, and that reflected in Caroline’s expression. She was one of the freaks, so Dante expected her to know a thing or to. Of course, whether she told him or not was another story.
"I don’t know what you want me to say. Would you like a description of the process?"
"I doubt the folks at Eidolon are retarded enough to leave such info in your head." Dante said. "They probably wiped it off before letting you out."
"That’s..."
It was an obvious conclusion, especially when he knew the megacorp had someone who could mess with memories. Even if they were willing to grant the powers to outsiders, they still had no intention of revealing its secrets.
"Let’s narrow it down a bit." Dante said. "How much time passed between the start of... whatever genetic treatment you got and its end?"
He had considered asking Merry and Wolf, but the chance never presented itself.
"I... I’m not sure I should be telling you that..."
"C’mon, you’ve come this far." Dante said. "A wise man once said: never offer your loyalty to a company, because it’ll screw you up the moment it’s convenient to do so."
"I’m the BEO commander." Carline replied. "I have a lot more to worry about than that."
"Who are you kidding? Everyone and their mother knows Eidolon controls the BEO."
"I won’ deny that big the case to a certain extent, but..."
"You came to me because you couldn’t trust them, right? What are you hesitating for?"
It wasn’t going to be easy, but if they were going to make more progress, Dante needed all the info he could get. Alas, the commander’s reluctance wasn’t something that could easily be overcome.
"I do not believe that is relevant to our topic." She said. "Do you have any updates?"
"I told you at the start, didn’t I?" Dante sighed. "It takes time."
"Time we don’t have." Caroline said.
"Don’t know what you expect me to do. They’re being careful, and for a good reason."
Dante wasn’t exactly going to spill the beans to the BEO, but seeing as he was meeting its commander in secret, they had every reason to not trust him.
"Well then, if this is all you got for me, I’ll be going now." chugging the rest of his drink, Dante tossed the can into a nearby trash bin and made for the door. As he was in Ghost Mode, the sensors didn’t catch him, so it didn’t open automatically the way it should. Just as h was about to give Volcan the order to open it, he heard the commander’s voice.
"About a month, I think..." Caroline said.
"What now?"
"The time between the start of the procedure and its end. I spent most of it in a coma, not knowing if I would wake up again. I hear it’s the same for all other villains, though I hear the time had decreased somewhat recent years."
