Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 424 Bastion Put in His Place

Avery headed over to update Regina on his success in instigating Bastion to go after his collaborator. Hopefully he would stir things up enough that they were able to catch everyone that had been involved in drugging Jasmine.

"You’ve done well, but I’m not sure that this will work. Bastion is one thing, he’s a fool who thinks too highly of himself. Rowan though, he’s fairly crafty. I doubt that there’s any tangible evince he left behind linking him to any of this." Regina said, her lips pursed in frustration.

"Yeah, he strikes me as that type. It’s probably why he manipulated Bastion to do his dirty work for him. Even if Bastion accuses him, all the man has to do is deny it. But you never knew. No matter how careful one if, there’s still the possibility of making a mistake."

While it was not guaranteed that they would catch Rowan Listig, Avery was feeling optimistic. His gut was telling him that things would work out.

...

Roiling inside, Bastion made his way towards Rowan’s vehicle that was still inside the designated parking area that had been reserved for senators.

There were several teams of security guards keeping watch over the area and making sure that unauthorized individuals did not enter, but they let Bastion through without sparing him a glance. As an Azadian senator himself, he was free to come and go from this place as he saw fit.

Intently he headed for his collator’s vehicle. He figured that since Rowan was still waiting around, that the man knew that he would be coming.

"Come on in young Bastion. I’ve been waiting for you."

Just before Bastion had angrily knocked on the vehicle’s door, it had opened up and Rowan had welcomed him in like a friend.

For just a moment, Bastion felt like it was the jaws of death that had beckoning him in, but he shook off such a notion almost immediately.

Rowan would not be able to do anything to him here. There were cameras recording them and guards all over the place.

Bastion stepped into the vehicle confidently and sat across from Rowan.

The instant the door closed, he wanted to start lobbing accusations at the senior senator he believed had tricked him, but he held his tongue. He felt that he should at least let Rowan explain himself first.

"Well, that outcome really was a shame. It seems that Jasmine is tougher than I thought she would be. To be able to resist that drug to that level is impressive. I’m also interested in what Nianni Taador did. I don’t know how her singing was able to calm Jasmine down like that. It was quite unexpected." Rowan said, his tone similar to a researcher that had found something interesting during a failed experiment.

"You mean was. Jasmine died you bastard! Whatever you gave me killed her!"

Unable to hold back after hearing how unapologetic Rowan was, Bastion finally lost the ounce of patience that he was holding onto.

When he heard this, Rowan looked surprised.

However, after processing the information for a few moments, he raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Certainly, there are always possibilities of complications. She could have had an allergic reaction to the substance, but there were no signs of that before she was taken out of the venue. I find it hard to believe that she would have passed from a dosage of that level. I’ve also not heard anything of her passing, so how exactly do you know?" Rowan asked, wearing a curious grin.

Bastion almost started lashing out again, but he explained his conversation with Avery.

Once he had finished listening, Rowan began shaking his head and sighed.

He then looked at Bastion like a teacher getting ready to scold a child for making an obvious mistake.

"You really are a fool. To think that you would fall for such a ruse. If his wife who he had just married died, do you truly think that Avery Asteria would have approached you as if you were his friend. Even if Jasmine had died and left kind last words for you, his first order of business never would have been to tell you." Rowan snorted.

It was easily apparent to him that Bastion had been tricked.

And it was so blatant that he could not help but find it funny and pity the boy at the same time.

"No, you’re just trying to manipulate me again. What you gave me was poison meant to kill Jasmine. I knew that you were hoping to damage Regina’s position. I should have realized that you had no intention of actually helping me."

Bastion moved to leave, but when he tried to open the door, it remained shut.

"I’m afraid that in your current state, I can’t just let you go. Whatever you are planning to do won’t end well for either of us. So, let me show you some evidence that Avery Asteria and Regina were trying to trick you."

Rowan activated a holoprojector inside of the spacious and luxurious vehicle.

What it displayed was the head server of the reception, Kokkas. There was a look of horror on his unmoving face.

For anyone that saw this it was easy to tell that the man was dead.

"As you can see, I’ve already cleaned up that loose end. Telling you that they have him in custody was merely a bluff to shake you up. In just a few hours, his body will be reduced to ash and spread in the ocean. There will be nothing left to connect either of us to this incident. At least so long as you keep your mouth shut."

Rowan said all of this like he was giving a lecture to an impetuous child.

However, Bastion hardly heard a word of what he was saying.

He was frozen in shock staring t the dead body of Kokkas.

Certainly, he may have planned on drugging Jasmine to somehow force her to become his, but in his warped view, that was perfectly justified since it was for love.

But seeing someone killed because of him hit Bastion hard.

"W-what did you do?! I promised to help him get off world and pay him more than enough Krenin to keep him silent? There was no need to kill him!" Bastion shouted.

Though he was willing to commit other manners of horrible crimes that he justified, killing went over the line for him. He possessed at least that bare minimum level of morals.

On the other hand, it was clear that there were no lengths that Rowan would go to in order to accomplish his goals.

If it was possible to do without getting caught, he would have Regina or any other political opponents of his eliminated.

This was not his first time needing to dispose of a now worthless pawn, and he doubted that it would be the last.

Of course, he had thought about getting rid of Bastion already, but that would be quite a bit tricker than the already wanted Kokkas.

Should he never be found, it would just be deemed as a criminal that had committed a grave crime somehow getting away

Should Bastion disappear though, there would be a though investigation. He was an Azadian Senator after all even if he was an easily manipulated fool.

Plus, Rowan figured that he could still be useful in the future, and just in case, he served as an excellent scapegoat to toss away just in case the investigation into Jasmine being drugged came after him. Though there should not have been enough evidence for that in the first place.

"Oh, calm yourself. There are likely very few senators without a couple of bodies behind them. You won’t get far in this world unless your willing to make difficult choices. Now, I’m going to take you home before you cause any more problems."

Rowan pressed a key on his terminal and the stationary vehicle sprang to life.

There was no driver as it was fully automated, so the only ones inside were Rowan and Bastion.

"Wait! I need to go back and confirm that Jasmien is really alive then! I can get back on my own." Bastion cried, pulling on the door violently.

Still, it would not budge. The last thing Rowan wanted was for the emotionally unstable Bastion to go running his mouth anymore. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"She is probably fine. I’ll have someone look into and find you proof of her survival. Now, stop making a fuss. I’d rather not have to dispose of you as well."

At this, Bastion gulped and became still and quiet.

He had known that Rowan Listig was a powerful and craft man, but he had not realized the lengths that he was willing to go to.

Glancing over at the image of the dead Kokkas being displayed, Bastion imagined himself ending up like that if he did not listen to Rowan.

"Good. That’s better. All you need to do is listen to me, and everything will work out. It may not be immediately, but I’ll create another opportunity in the future to make Jasmine yours." Rowan said, dangling a little more bait in front of Bastion to hopefully keep the gullible young senator subservient.