"No, I suppose I'm not."

Sensing Adrian Malcolm's continued reservations, Gavin opts to speak plain.

"I scouted you because you're a powerful trainer with questionable morals and Rocket's looking for soldiers. I had no idea you were also an avatar." It was fortunate, else he might've been expected to lead Adrian into a trap. MAGMA sought test subjects. "Rocket wants loyalty, obedience."

Once, they'd demanded blood. A small scar on Gavin's index finger ensures he will never forget the price he'd paid.

"Protect Rocket and we'll protect you. Betray us and we'll kill you." He flicks his wrist dismissively. "I'm sure you get the idea."

"You've got reservations, though. Voice them. Better now than when it's too late."

Casual though the words were, the meaning behind them is implicit.

This was a choice meant to be final.

Terms.

It does seem naive, but Gavin can empathize with Adrian Malcolm's stubbornness. He'd thought he might be allowed to set terms, once. That Rocket would let him be so long as he followed their orders and conducted his research for their benefit. It's why in this delicate dance of recruitment, he is careful to be frank.

"I'm afraid I'm not the one who has the final say. I've named Rocket's price. Anything more is beyond me."

There's someone above me, Gavin had told him. Underboss described enough on its own. He thinks of THEO BECKETT. We own you. Your time is our time.

"Rocket is a commitment you don't back out of once you've got what you're after. See, by then, you'd know too much..."

Serena Malcolm's arrival is well-timed; he'd messaged her some time earlier, giving her the option to intervene should she so wish.

She looks — off, he notes, but doesn't comment. He'd been equally ill at ease when Lulu Flint had first taken with Rocket. He offers a tight smile.

"Hello, Serena."

Adrian Malcolm seems to shut down, suspicion and mistrust brewing in a thousand-yard stare. This, too, is expected.

"This isn't a game," he ventures, guessing at suspicions. "Nor is it a threat. You can speak, you know. Ask questions."

He's far from an open book, but he owes Adrian some degree of honesty.

Gavin lifts a brow as he's likened to Yveltal.

"Am I? I've expressed a willingness to help you. Have helped you, in fact. With Saiga, and our other deal."

He chooses his words carefully so as not to out Adrian Malcolm's brief stint in jail should Serena Malcolm be unaware of it.

"And now Rocket is offering assistance with it. You chose to come here. Chose to stay, even after I'd laid out our terms."

Serena speaks up, then, and Gavin shifts his amber gaze toward her. After a pause, he looks away, offering her the chance to find her words without the intensity of his stare.

"I gave you more than a name." There's a cold note to his tone, now — not a threat, but anger. He'd provided as much intelligence as Rocket had on their agent. "More than that, I compromised one of my own to help you."

Loyalty to Rocket ran bone-deep for Gavin. It hadn't been an easy choice.

"You act as if I held you down and blackmailed you." Gavin's eyes narrow. "You called me. And even after the favour, I didn't force you into this."

It's a sensitive topic for him, because—

"I was forced, under threat to my life."

His attention sharply shifts to Serena Malcolm when she interjects.

"It's not my place to divulge your brother's business."

He looks back to Adrian Malcolm.

"You had a choice. You've chosen. We're on the same side, now, regardless of how that makes you feel, and I'm a man of my word. We'll help with your problem; the least you can do is be civil."