Russ sighed. Somehow, he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he couldn't avoid this conversation. Vic would keep prodding about the question until he either drove Russ insane, or drove him to spill.
"It's a vigilante mercenary group," he offered candidly as he stole his fig back from Vic. "'Heroes for Hire' And I'm not in just yet. Gotta 'audition', hence the working out." Simple enough, and the truth. He didn't even know if he could be part of this group, if he was good enough. Well, he was reasonably sure he was good enough, and if he wasn't, he would be in a matter of weeks and a couple Hung Gar videos to brush up on his Kung Fu.
After chewing, he smiled and brushed Vic's cheek with his fingertips. "I can't say whether they'll let you in or not. They seem pretty selective. Not saying that you're not as good as I am, babe, because I know you are. I can talk to Felicia if you want me to see about you getting an 'audition' as well... well if she hasn't already talked to you in private, that is."
There, simple enough. Surely Vic would understand that it wasn't Russ that didn't want him on the team. It was other people. No harm, no foul, and Vic gets to remain safe. That is, unless he pressed the issue with Felicia.