CHAPTER 285: DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

Having managed a successful retreat, Dante realized that his fears might have been exaggerated. Riot was struggling to rebuild his gang, which meant he didn’t have a lot of hands to spare on looking for a Diver who had infiltrated their base. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t have anyone searching, which is why Dante took Finn and retreated to Nightsun, dropping by the Triple Jackpot.

"This is... sickening..."

Viktor’s mood sank deeper after seeing the footage they captured. The glare he turned to Dante spoke of his disapproval, likely because Finn ended up witnessing the disturbing scene as well. But Dante didn’t care at all.

"Seriously, how is that thing still out there?" He asked. "You would think he would be dust in a jar by now, or maybe locked up, at the very least."

"Never thought he would be such a slippery bastard." Said Viktor. He appeared to be staring at empty space, which meant he was still analyzing the footage. "You said a policeman asked you to look for him?"

"An acquaintance from the noodle shop I usually eat at," Dante replied. "I couldn’t turn him down."

"Two weeks in bed, and the moment you get out, you get tangled in another mess?" Sighing, the fixer leaned back in his chair. "That’s some luck you have there."

"Tell me about it."

Dante never expected things to turn out this way. He thought that, at most, he would find some loser who’s down on his luck, break his legs, and hand him over to the police. Never did he expect to encounter a scene straight out of a horror movie.

"So, you have everything you need. Why didn’t you go to your acquaintance?"

Victor’s question was reasonable, but all it did was make Dante press his lips together.

"If I went to them right now, they would try to arrest him on the spot. They’re already shorthanded so I doubt things will go well for them."

"Never thought you would care about what happens to cops."

"If you asked me that a year ago, I would’ve said I didn’t," Dante said. "I still don’t, to be honest. If I didn’t personally know that old man, I wouldn’t think twice about what happened."

"I see..." Rapping his fingers on his desk, the fixer remained silent for a few seconds before turning his eyes to the boy sitting on the nearby sofa. "So, did you find anything in that terminal?"

Caught off guard, Finn choked on the juice he was drinking and broke into a coughing fit. Dante watched him with an expressionless face, and after a moment of thought, he opened an app and sent him a message.

"I... I haven’t looked at it." Said Finn between the coughs. "I just copied everything."

Though he suspected that his fixer was already aware, Dante still kept up the act of the brat being the one doing the real work when it came to Diving. That meant sending messages explaining what to say, something he hoped to graduate from once Finn becomes proficient enough to handle things on his own.

"I see." Nodding, Viktor turned his attention back to Dante. "I’ve done some digging. Turns out there are a few notable names trying to get into your district."

"Like?"

"The Los Cuchillo Brothers from here."

"The Rust Dogs?"

"Ash Face from White Hill."

"The Ash Street Reapers, too?"

"There is also the Pope."

"Bone Crown?" Saying the name, Dante grew visibly pale. "You got to be kidding me...."

"There are the smaller gangs as well," Victor said.

"This is... going to be a problem, isn’t it?"

"It’s been a long time coming." The fixer replied. "A year had already passed. You could say it’s surprising no one moved in till now."

"I’ve been wondering the same," Finn said. "Hollowgrid doesn’t have any prominent gangs, right? Hard to imagine that happening without a reason."

"Well, that’s because the local gang was wiped out." Viktor glanced at Dante. "About a year ago, there was a big war in the district. Both sides took each other out, but no one stepped up to control Hollowgrid since."

"Red Rage is trying," Dante said, sounding a little annoyed.

"And they aren’t having any luck." Viktor aid. "Hollowgrid by nature makes it difficult to grow a gang there. Each megacomplex has its own community, and they aren’t very welcoming of outsiders."

"Huh... guess I can see that happening." Said Finn.

"I will send you the files later." Said Viktor, turning his gaze to Dante. "It’s nothing big so... let’s make it fifty."

Dante’s face twitched.

"You’re charging me?"

"Of course I’m charging you."

"Isn’t fifty a bit too much?"

"You’re welcome to do your own research."

"Fine, I will pay." Letting his head hang, Dante slowly exhaled. He remained silent for a while but then slowly turned to the fixer. "Hey, bout the other thing..."

"Sorry, kid," Viktor shook his head. "You’ll have to wait a little more."

"I won’t be holding my breath."

After another moment of silence, Dante placed his hands on his knees and pushed himself up.

"Well, I’d better go back now." He said.

"How much till you’re fully recovered?" Viktor asked.

"I will probably be fine by tomorrow."

So long as he stuffs himself and takes his meds, Dante is sure that all his stats would be back to normal. After that, he would only need some stretching and exercise to be back to peak performance.

"You’re free these days, right?"

"What?" Dante raised an eyebrow at the fixer. "You got a job for me?"

"I have a few, but nothing urgent," Viktor said. "It’s actually about Lev. He said he needs you for something. Just pay him a visit whenever you’re ready."

"Right..."

Dante couldn’t help but grimace. He had been meaning to go see his bony friend for some time now, but things kept coming up one after the other.

"He’s still at the same place?"

"They haven’t caught up to him yet." Viktor shrugged.

Thinking for a moment, Dante soon made up his mind.

"Might a well go see him now." He said. "I got nothing better to do, anyway."