"I know exactly what they want," Dante said, flexing his toes experimentally, watching them move for the first time in weeks with something close to wonder. "They want what I want. That makes them useful, regardless of who they really are underneath it."
"And if the price turns out to be more than just Dimitri's death?" Luca pressed. "These people burn down entire research facilities and lose forty-seven people without blinking. That's not the kind of organization that stops asking for things once you owe them."
Dante looked up at his second-in-command, at the genuine worry etched into his face.
"I've spent my entire life owing someone something," Dante said quietly. "My father. The families before us. The business itself. This isn't different, Luca. It's just a debt I actually want to pay."
