Chapter 500

There was still a lot of talk, discussions about what to do. In the end, he cut the day and meeting short by sending his people to keep pursuing matters. To push the gangs and to start accumulating information about their enemies. In particular, he made sure to speak with Uswah and Mel about the gangs. He was realizing, quietly, that bringing everyone involved into big meetings was a bad idea.

Rick was too straight forward, too straight laced. Growing up in the West, he had an idealized view of how business should be managed. Somehow, Arthur doubted the Fortune 500 companies actually acted with as much integrity as the kid believed. After all, how many chemical companies had been found dumping their runoffs into rivers and the ground? How many oil companies washed their hands off on oil spills, or went about fracking the ground and causing earthquakes everywhere. Just the damage done by overfishing and over-production of food was stunning.

No, he was too much of a child to bring in on such conversations.

His other partner, the Prime Group, were an entirely different problem. They had too much interest, were willing to get involved; but were withholding full support as well. They promised a lot, but the actual effectiveness of what they offered was always blunted. They were unwilling to conduct a full war with the TG group, instead hedging their bets.

Casey might be willing to put all her bets on them, but she was but a small – if significant – cog in the machine. The Clan had yet to start paying dividends to them, to provide the Prime Group more than a small influx of crystals.

Till that changed, he doubted they would offer more support. More to the point, over-reliance on them would just leave the Clan in a different situation entirely.

Better for the Prime Group not to be involved in discussions with a potential underworld alliance. For that same reason, Arthur decided that he really should continue expanding his influence with Manager Kong and perhaps even start making inroads into the police themselves. That Inspector who was investigating him might just be someone he should speak with.

He did have his assassin’s phone still, unlocked now by code rather than face.

Arthur nodded to himself, making note of what he should do. The ex-Lotuses would deal with the gangs till it was time to decide who they were going to connect with. As much as he might think the Ghee Hin would be a good start, the fact stood that they were international organisations. It might make sense to work with someone like the UN who were more a large local gang than get drawn into a larger problem.

There was one last thing he tasked the teams with, though Eric and Leia would run that particular investigation. He tasked them with researching everything they could on the TG group, pulling not just from the information offered to them by Prime but also other sources. In time, he hoped to ascertain not just who was making the decisions to attack them; but who might have to be dealt with direct.

Of course, a semi-public company like this was not just one individual. In some cases, the CEO or Chairman might just be a figurehead. Prime Group, for example, was run by the Chin Family. Outside of killing the majority of the elders, it was nearly impossible to destroy the company itself or re-route their decisions, at least in a substantial manner. In fact, it might even have the company ossify their decision making process, as those truly in charge were removed and the bureaucracy of the company continued.

It was possible that it might be different with the TG Group, but Arthur was not so certain. Until they ascertained who or why they were taking the decisions they were, and more importantly, who was in charge; they would have to hold off.

Information, that was the name of the game.

They had to learn everything they could, and that meant building out a section of the Clan to gather information on their enemies. He would staff them with Climbers for now, people like Eric and Leia who were more interested in staying in the real world than progressing up the Towers; but the truth was that they needed to increase their non-Climber personnel too.

The good news was that with so many Climbers, finding those related to them who could serve was easy. They could try hiring externally, of course, and they would – but to start, staffing from recommendations and through the network of guanxi was actually better.

They still could not trust everyone so recommended, even family could turn on you. Even so, the probability was lower, at least if you could trust said Climbers. At the very least, it tied the Climbers closer to the Clan and provided them money, which if the Climber did not wish to enter another Tower soon, would be important.

It all mattered, of course, but it was still tiring in the end.

“Yes, Manager Kong,” Arthur said. “We managed to track down the assassin but he was gone by the time we went to his hideout. However, he did leave a phone, which I believe the Investigator will find useful. It is, as expected, the TG Group who continue to harass us.”

“We – I – have done our best to decrease their influence but they are a large corporation with significant influence. They have multiple Ministers who owe them as well as Members of Parliament,” Cynthia said, her voice exhausted over the phone. “There’s little more that I can do. Even my Minister can only do so much, not while the Clan only provides such a small benefit.”

“We’re growing!”

“And so we are aiding you, but you must understand that the aid offered to you is still out of proportion to the actual benefits. My boss understands that we must grow you too, and allow the Durians to grow; but not everyone is looking at things with such a long horizon.”

“I get it,” Arthur said, frustrated. “However, we can’t just not do anything and allow ourselves to be attacked.”

“If you take action…” the Manager’s voice dropped. “You understand that if you do something illegal and I learn of it, I will have no choice but report it? I am part of the government, after all.”

“I would never contemplate any of that.” Arthur hesitated, considering. It was time to extend some further trust, and also to verify if she might be a problem. “I’m not even going to be around. They’re coming after me, so I intend to not be here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to be going into a lot of Beginner Towers.”

“Is that wise? If you fail…”

“I fail. But it’s better than getting killed while outside. In the Towers I can grow stronger too, strong enough to beat the Intermediate Tower.”

“I do not like this rushing,” Manager Kong said. “We have lost many good prospects who have rushed ahead without proper precautions.” Then she sighed. “But I also understand you do not have many choices. Or that I have any control over you. Just… be careful. And let me know what I can do to aid you.”

“I will.” Left unsaid was that he was likely not going to ask her. They both knew that her department leaked like a sieve. Better for him to make the arrangements himself, rather than rely on her. Anyway, travel as a Climber was relatively easy; with most countries willing to allow Climbers easy entry to ascend. A sort-of weird tourist visa, with a minor tax on the way out.

Not a problem at all, for Arthur. He just had one more call to make, before he started making arrangements for the next Tower. The only other question was which one, because there was no reason to enter every one. Near impossible, in fact.