Chapter 358: Group Chat.
It was an unfortunate coincidence, and nothing more. The chance was always there, but it seemed unlikely that Jaguar himself would show up at La Soleil on the same night Finn and Dante decided to make a reservation. At the very least, it didn’t seem like the boy had done so on purpose.
"Is something the matter, boy?"
The sudden tension wasn’t lost on Nobara, and she gave him a stern gaze. Dante found himself faced with another problem. Everyone sitting at that table knew of the true purpose of their visit, so there shouldn’t be any problem if he informed them that their main target was there. The only problem was the little shit sitting beside him.
After much consideration, Dante decided to just go ahead and do it. Creating a group chat with all six of them, he sent the first message.
[Dante: I just saw a really big fish. One with a metal jaw.]
His words got the idea across, and everyone’s expression darkened. Finn, on the other hand, turned as pale as a sheet.
[Dante: It’s just a coincidence, I know.
We couldn’t have predicted this.
Boris: What are we going to do now?
Should we get out of here?
Suzuka: No, that would be too suspicious.
Nobara: As far as they are concerned, we are just some guests.
We should go on as if nothing had happened.
]
The old cook was right. To the Dagger, they were just some patrons having dinner at the restaurant. They had no reason to fear the gang—not enough to make a swift retreat, at least. So long as they remain in their private room, the likelihood of encountering one of the gangsters is null. Not that they had to fear that happening, either.
The only thing that might prove to be a problem would be if the Scorpio-bots were discovered. The best solution would be to retrieve them, but doing so would greatly limit Volcan’s diving abilities, since the small bots were the best access point they had right now.
As he considered his options, Dante caught sight of Finn in the corner of his eye. The boy was as white as a sheet, his gaze cast down. His reaction was a little odd, considering he had been aiming to assassinate Rust Face all this time.
Thinking for a moment, Dante closed the group chat and sent Finn a private message.
[Dante: It would be really helpful if you told me your backstory.]
The boy had a history with the Dagger, that much was clear. Dante guessed it had something to do with why he had an MLP at such a young age, and why he wanted to retrieve that Juggernaut. The gun supposedly belonged to his father, but other than that, Dante didn’t know anything else.
The boy didn’t offer a reply. Not only that, but he also averted his gaze, refusing to meet Dante’s. With how critical the situation was, keeping things to himself wasn’t going to cut it.
[Dante: Do they know your face?
Who’s likely to remember?
]
After much consideration, those were the two questions the answers to which Dante needed to hear. He didn’t need the details. Among their group, the boy was the one most likely to be exposed, so they needed to come up with countermeasures.
[Finn: Jaguar.
And Henry.
He’s one of the five lieutenants.
His subordinates might recognize me as well.
]
The boy’s answer came a few seconds later, and Dante couldn’t help but be a little surprised by it. For some reason, he had always assumed that Rust Face didn’t care enough to remember the boy, and that whatever gave birth to the grudge the boy held was nothing special to the gang leader, making it easily forgettable.
Turns out the little shit had a more solid connection to the enemy boss and his inner circle. Knowing that beforehand would have been a great help, but now, it was too late.
The servers came in soon after, bringing with them the next dish.
At Boris’s suggestion, they had all ordered Filet de Bœuf Rossini. For a beef dish, the portions were a little small, but the taste was exquisite. Nobara and Boris continued their food critique while Suzuka ate in refined silence. Kizuna, on the other hand, hadn’t moved her cutlery and was glaring at Dante the whole time.
’Damn clanker...’
The android was the only one not in the group chat, meaning she didn’t get the full picture. Dante didn’t want to hear anything about bullying Finn, so he sent a short message to Suzuka telling her to get her clanker girlfriend under control.
Pretending to focus on his food, Dante turned back to the security feed Volcan provided him with. Jaguar and his lackeys took an elevator to one of the higher floors, giving Dante the relief of passing by the floor where he and the others were. From there, they seemed to enter a private room of their own. Dante waited for the scene to change to the interior, but he found himself staring at the hallway for a while with nothing happening.
[There doesn’t seem to be any bugs installed inside that particular room.] Volcan said, answering the question Dante was about to ask.
’No bugs?’
[Yes.] The AI replied. [I have redirected one of the Scorpio-bots to that floor. Once the servers move, I will slip it inside and-]
’Don’t.’ Dante cut him off. ’I have a bad feeling about this.’
Jaguar and several other high-ranking members of the Daggers were currently sitting in that one room. If possible, Dante wanted to listen in on what they were saying, but that didn’t seem like the wise thing to do in their current situation.
’Try it from outside. If that doesn’t work, use one of the servers.’
The Daggers should have long since noticed that they were being targeted by a powerful Diver, meaning their upper echelon likely had their guard up against digital attacks. Using one of the servers was far less efficient, but it was better than sneaking in one of the bots and risking it being discovered.