Dante stepped into the gymnasium, not particularly looking forward to the inevitable encounter. He had been given a tracksuit that strangely enough fit him perfectly and soon he would be made to exercise, something he had not yet properly ever done as far as he could remember.

Just as expected, Shin and Julian were already standing in the middle, stretching. The two seemed enthusiastic about their routine, unlike the new recruit. Seeing Null approach, Julian got up and went to meet him halfway. Already dreading what would come, Dante steeled his expression.

“Hey, Dante, I wanted to apologize for what happened at lunch today,” though surprisingly it was not any kind of retort coming from the blonde teen but rather a genuine apology, “I had been acting as an asshole.”

“I guess the whole meatball thing was not nice from me either,” Dante’s eyes clearly widened at the unexpected turn of events as he also tried to admit fault. But it was strange. Just a few hours prior Julian acted like an entitled arrogant brat, going as far as scoffing at Shin, yet in front of Dante now stood someone who appeared to be a reasonable young man with a conscience.

“I am sorry you had to see me like that,” Julian chuckled at Dante’s confusion, “Can we please have a new start of our relationship?”

“Sure,” Dante agreed, though slightly startled and half expecting a backstab soon.

“It’s all part of my training,” Julian exclaimed, “I am doing something a lot like method acting, basically taking on new personalities each weak and truly living them in complete immersion until I start to believe the lie myself. This week I had been a major ass but in general, please don’t take it to heart if I ever insult you. As you might have guessed, I am basically ripping off what Damien has been doing for decades, just currently with far less grace and ballet.”

“Don’t remind me,” Dante had to repress the memory of dancing Damien again but then he focused on the other part of that sentence. Was that what Damien had been doing? Switching personalities like coats. It would at the very least bring some method to the madness Null had witnessed of the man.

“Enough chatting,” Shin, who looked a bit strange in his own tracksuit rather than a normal suit, found an opportunity to break apart their conversation, “Let's start running. 50 laps each, go.”

And so the workout started. Dante quickly realised that although he was probably above average in physique, it could not even begin to compare with Shin and Julian who had been training every evening for who knows how long. He got so utterly stomped that Dante nearly lost consciousness from the sheer exhaustion of just attempting to keep up. By the end of it, his legs were severely aching and his lungs felt as though they were inside his throat.

Shin ended up bringing Dante to his room since Null still didn't properly know the building layout yet. Once inside, he didn’t continue reading, being far too tired for that. Instead, he played around with a coin for a few minutes as an attempt at magic training, repeatedly making it levitate and fall with the spell ascend before sleepiness overcame him.

In the following morning, Shin held a strangely enlightening analysis of black market dealings over seafood, nearly extinct fish in particular. After that was lunch, hours of failing to not get caught lying by Ariane in the bullying session she called training. Then dinner, intense exercise and then slumber.

Days passed quickly that way. Dante managed to become friends with Katerin and the current Julian, though Andrew had remained distant. From what the other two had told him, he had some sort of a crush on the traitor Melusine and wasn’t taking her forceful departure too well. A lot of his scorn was turned towards Dante in particular since in a way he was replacing her.

Though the routine did not last forever.

“It’s about time you get real experience,” Shin had brought Dante away for a 1 on 1 conversation, “I have brokered a job well suited for you with an experienced group in the need of a pickpocket.”

“What do I do?” Dante asked. Although he would have prefered to maintain his lifestyle for a while longer he knew full well that refusing was not an option.

“They are going to pick you up in a few hours and will explain everything then. I am not noisy enough to inquire,” Shin explained.

“Isn’t it your task to know things?” Dante sighed as he jabbed at the man.

“I know their budget, expected profits and have a confirmation from two independent sources that the operation is not in a conflict of interest with us. What they really do no longer really matters.”

“What should I wear?” Dante then realised. He didn’t have anything that really screamed part of an operation. Though maybe that was the point.

“Your current clothes are fine,” Shin looked him over and Dante could've sworn he actually saw his eyes slightly rool. Null was adorned in the long coat he had originally taken from the warehouse and other not particularly unusual clothing. Though it all appeared worn, at least he didn’t attract unwanted attention.

“And will I get paid?” Dante finally dared asked.

“Of course, the usual rate for an operation like this,” Shin nodded, “40 000 by default and 5 percent of the merchandise sale.”

Hearing that, Dante stared at him for a while, almost expecting the eternally deadpan Shin to actually start laughing. The sum enough to buy a decent used car or 2 of those fancy overpriced brand new phones. Either way, Shin had clearly not been exaggerating when he had said that Dante could earn far more working with others.

Dante walked casually along the mostly peopleless walkways through the evening. He was back on his turf. Back on the street. The plan was needlessly complex but Dante wouldn’t complain. Even though he could’ve done the entire thing by himself, the others lacked that kind of trust in him. Essentially the task came down to swapping out a flashdrive unnoticed. And despite the relative convolution, the plan was well enough prepared that even a far less dexterous pickpocket could manage it. Soon enough, Dante spotted the target, a middle aged man surrounded by two warry looking bodyguards, all three in black suits.

“Target entering the Fishmonger restaurant,” Dante reported on his speaker. He was convinced that he could move in and get the thing over with by himself but he would get an earful about it later on if he did.

“Copy. confirm seating,” a female voice sounded from within the earing.

“Target seated. 3rd table,” Dante relayed and also entered. Taking a seat at a table in the open around the middle of the room, “In position.”

“Copy. Phase 1 begins now,” just as the woman said that, two men burst through the back door, masked and heavily armed while another man in plain clothing pulled a gun at the cashier and one more man with a handgun blocked the front door, also closing it.

“Nobody move,” one of the the the heavily armed man shouted. "This is a robbery. Follow what we tell you to do and no one has to get hurt,” he stepped into the middle of the room, near Dante, “No one reach for your phones and you are going to be just fine. You, brat,” he pointed at Dante, “Get into that corner,” he commanded pointing right where the target was along with his two bodyguards who naturally didn’t dare try anything against a heavily armed group.

From there it was easy. Everyone’s eyes were locked onto the robbers while Dante could easily do his work. He found the flash drive and seamlessly swapped it. While one of the robbers extorted the cashier another went through the guests one by one, taking their wallets. By the time the leader looked over at Dante to confirm it had been long done. With a nod of success, Null discretely got some distance from the target.

“We’ve got the girl!” the leader suddenly shouted into his coms, loud enough to be heard by the target, and the person who had been taking the wallets until that point left the crowd dragging a futilely struggling young woman. That was the cover-up. They were too heavy handed for common robbers, however, if everyone believed their real intent had been kidnapping all along it would make the robbery would look like a poor coverup, hiding their real goal. Of course, the truth would be figured out eventually by the police but that would take days of failing to figure out the girl's identity. The armed group left, dragging along the woman who had been convincingly feigning struggle.

Although it might not be the most honest work and Dante still felt certain feeling of repulsion towards the thievery, in the end the feeling of a job well done was probably universal for any occupation. As soon as the robbers left, the place broke into chaos. Null seamlessly slipped away before police even arrived and took the moment to buy a well deserved snack in a vendor stand two streets away before moving to extraction.

At first he hadn’t even wanted the mission but now that it was over he realised just how much he had missed it. The feeling of being so good at something. The certainty and confidence in his own skill.

He would have to ask Shin for more assignments.