"Ah." Claude smiles slightly at Thace, eyes amused but also not entirely without understanding. "Let me guess - someone important to you got dragged into Team Rocket, huh?"
It's all adding up now. Sure, it's possible Thace is just a highly conscientious man who's fussing over people caught in a bad position he doesn't have any personal connection with, and there's no ulterior motives at play here...but that's really not how Claude reads this. Thace talks about Team Rocket like a man in the know. If he himself isn't one - and, if he was one, why wouldn't he have a uniform that fits? - then he clearly has insider information from someone who is. And that lends a whole new context to his being so concerned about their circumstances and well-being in general - there's someone whose circumstances and well-being concern him very specifically. (Or, possibly, multiple someones. Claude can't rule that out.)
"Well, I can tell you right now that I've never been interested in endangering anyone's lives, here or anywhere else," he says, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "As for identities...listen, I'm only interested in putting a stop to all this nonsense and letting people go back to enjoy a peaceful holiday. I'll do a lot to make that happen...especially for my friends, who absolutely need and deserve a nice, peaceful holiday. But I'm not interested in doing any more than necessary to make that happen, you know? I'm fine with just driving Team Rocket off, if that's all that's needed to resolve this. Fair enough?"
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It's all adding up now. Sure, it's possible Thace is just a highly conscientious man who's fussing over people caught in a bad position he doesn't have any personal connection with, and there's no ulterior motives at play here...but that's really not how Claude reads this. Thace talks about Team Rocket like a man in the know. If he himself isn't one - and, if he was one, why wouldn't he have a uniform that fits? - then he clearly has insider information from someone who is. And that lends a whole new context to his being so concerned about their circumstances and well-being in general - there's someone whose circumstances and well-being concern him very specifically. (Or, possibly, multiple someones. Claude can't rule that out.)
"Well, I can tell you right now that I've never been interested in endangering anyone's lives, here or anywhere else," he says, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "As for identities...listen, I'm only interested in putting a stop to all this nonsense and letting people go back to enjoy a peaceful holiday. I'll do a lot to make that happen...especially for my friends, who absolutely need and deserve a nice, peaceful holiday. But I'm not interested in doing any more than necessary to make that happen, you know? I'm fine with just driving Team Rocket off, if that's all that's needed to resolve this. Fair enough?"