Chapter 986 (1/2)

“We cannot press the charges,” Senator Heathridge said over the phone. Overhead, a thunderstorm boomed noisily. On the line, there was a thin whine of static.

Evan Crane couldn’t believe his ears. “They… they were foolish enough to publicly assault the police of Zone 1. They refused to comply with an investigation in the face of a court order. More than that, that monstrous woman enforcer they hired made it abundantly that Erickson Steel has no intention of respecting the police force of this country! There is no way the bureau will let this go. And with them on our side-”

“Which is why we will force them to drop it.” The Senator said quietly. Then he sighed for several seconds, an unwilling admittance of a bone-deep weariness that wafted out of the phone terminal between them. For the first time since they began working together, Senator Heathridge seemed like he had given up. “It is out of our hands. I was… completely blindsided. Erickson Steel’s plan… perhaps Randidly Ghosthound’s… it’s… I....”

The other man trailed off into silence.

“So just like that, we are giving up…?” Evan Crane clenched his hands into veiny fists. Every time that Erickson Steel barely managed to avoid falling into his grasp, Evan had gnashed his teeth but he had been able to ultimately control his anger. After all, Evan knew that this was only a short term avoidance. With the support of Senator Heathridge and Evan pulling the strings from the shadows, there was no way for Erickson Steel to resist falling into his grasp.

It was even finally looking up for their plan. They had painted Erickson Steel into a corner. They had several tricks up their sleeve, but they had been forced to blow those tricks in order to escape Evan’s traps. But now-

But now, in the Senator’s voice… Evan heard defeat.

I will never let this go, Evan thought, his eyes twitching as he glared hatefully at the terminal.

“...It’s honestly the most exquisite thing that I’ve ever encountered. Truly, this spells doom for our original course of action.” Suddenly, there was something very strange in Senator’s Heathridge’s voice. “But since we found out his ultimate goal so early… Well, it’s not like we have no avenues available to us.”

Evan’s sea of anger parted. A ray of light pierced through the storm clouds overhead and loosed its light over his body. Coughing out his long-held breath, Evan stammered, “So, then…?”

“But I need time to prepare our counterstroke.” Senator Heathridge’s tone changed. “Half measures will be useless. And I have to admit, it was only after investigating the movements of some of my fellow Senators that I was able to spot the trap that he had laid… and it is certainly was so seamlessly woven into our offensive against them that I almost missed it.”

After a pause, the Senator continued. “What ultimately tipped me off was how silent my enemies had been over the past several weeks; I thought I had finally built up some momentum, but even then they had been too passive. I am not so prideful to give my enemies any opening, so I did so research.

“And when I examined the facts, one definitive possibility remained; they were simply biding their time. Because when I scrutinized the schedules of some of the neutral Senators… well, there was one commonality; they had all visited Erickson Steel within the last week.”

“...well didn’t they need to?” Evan asked, slowly easing away from his anger. Out of habit, he picked up a cigarette and lit it. As long as he was quiet, there shouldn’t be any way for the Senator to find out. “After Erickson Steel pulled their branches… Hell, I would want to come in person to confirm that the business wasn’t about to fail. Especially for the Senators, who probably rely on a lot of industries that use Erickson Steel.”

“Exactly! That’s why we missed the insidious truth.” Senator Heathridge’s voice dropped to a whisper slithering out of the terminal. “We were so focused on the costs that Erickson Steel would incur… we never considered the benefits of such a bold arrangement. Such as providing a convenient excuse for many important political figures to meet clandestinely with the leader of Erickson Steel.”

As the Senator continued to speak, that strange trace in his voice grew and grew. “I hadn’t put much stock in the news that the Ghosthound had returned to the business, but in light of this brilliant plan, I have no choice but to admit that I’m dancing with someone far superior to me. The man is truly a kingmaker; it is no fluke that Senator Firefly has risen so sharply to prominence. And now that Randidly Ghosthound has had private meetings with the neutral faction, I can begin to see the shape of his plan. Erickson Steel is just a stepping stone for him. A convenient front.”

“Erickson Steel is not just-” Evan Crane grunted, but by this point, Senator Heathridge was on a roll. It was like the other man was so wrapped up in his explanation that he didn't even hear Evan’s interruption. And it sounded like Senator Heathridge was starting to breathe heavily.

“This was never about the company… this was about so much more than that… Three of the most innocuous Senators that came here to speak about the steel… had one very specific thing in common: they were the ringleaders of the Western Coalition.

“You likely have not have heard, but big changes are coming through for the political sphere of Earth. Although Donnyton has been quiet… Zone Seven’s push for the governments to come together and name a world capital is gaining more and more traction abroad. Most of the Orders have been waiting for the Order Ducis to make a move, but they are leaning strongly toward choosing a location and centralizing authority. It would simplify their jobs immensely”

“And yet…” Evan murmured. Oddly, the emotion that he finally recognized in the Senator’s tone was worship. “What does this have to do with Erickson Steel?”

“Come off it, Crane,” Senator Heathridge scoffed. “It might be the current leader in metallurgy, but how long will that last? We have squeezed their ore supply down to a trickle. Even if they had a secret recipe for another metal that could revolutionize the current standard, how long will it take for our scientists to crack their formula? We already realize that the metal is made by mixing the bones of monsters into the alloy. The rest is inevitable.“