[Espy]

"You don't. You shoot him before he can shoot you. Simple as that."

Like a dumb child with a gun... That pretty much summed up governments, what with their blindly sending out soldiers like some inexhaustible resource, and exploiting that sense of patriotism that permeated among new recruits. That was why he hadn't joined in the rioting in his hometown, with his friends battling turf wars, and also why he hadn't been killed. The dogtags that bore his friend's name clinked lightly as he walked behind Lev. Besides nostalgia, they also served the dual purpose of hopefully protecting Dante's identity if he died.

When he died. In his line of work, it was considered lucky if you got to die of old age. Slightly less lucky if you got a bullet to your head, but that was better than being beaten, right?

Frankly, Dante didn't think Kasdeja cared about the people he slaughtered. He was sure the nephilim knew they were dead, and what death entailed, but as to his feelings for them, he probably had none.