Chapter 21: A Fixed Outcome

After leaving the pub, Arias went back to the hotel he had been staying at on King's Street, but he still wasn't ready to put the finishing touches on his strategy. Given the caliber of the hotel, his suite, which was on the 20th story of the structure, was rather lavish.

Once inside, he simply took a bath before picking up his phone to make a call right away, even before getting dressed. After a brief delay, the line finally connected, and a familiar voice could be heard on the other side.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Gregor. Why do you sound so timid? I thought you'd be happier with your new position," Arias inquired casually of the man who was now Gotham City's mayor.

During those days Arias was gambling, he kept track of the happenings in Gotham. The fact that several leading candidates were corrupt politicians caused quite a commotion in the election that was intended to end the week before he left. Normally, a re-election would have been held, but given the situation in Gotham, someone had to take the leadership role. As a result, Gregor Ivanov, who received the highest number of votes among the contenders who weren't detained, was declared the winner and quickly sworn in as mayor the next day.

"By winning the way I have while some of my associates got arrested has made them think I leaked some of the information. My life is now in danger," Gregor spoke angrily, but Arias on the other end could only chuckle.

"What politician's life isn't? Grow a backbone and stop whining. If you hate it so much, I can always have you join your associates, Gregor." Arias's laughter stopped, and Gregor became very concerned because of his irritated tone.

"I get it. You didn't call me for just a pep talk, though, so what is it you need?"

"Of course, I didn't. Tomorrow, there'll be a leak regarding my location, and I want you to appeal to the mayor here to have me arrested and flown over to Gotham, where I'll be tried for the charges laid against me."

"Haha, so you need my help to clear your name? That's why you made me mayor? In the end, your position is just as bad as mine," Gregor mocked him, but Arias burst out laughing loudly and sinisterly, which alarmed him.

"You really are amusing, Gregor. With or without you, I'll be a free man. You're simply acting as a catalyst to make this happen quicker and more grand. Whereas if I reveal the information you held, the crime families would most definitely want you dead, and you'd go to prison with no one to protect you. Tell me, Gregor, does that idea sound appealing to you?"

"What do you want me to do?" Gregor sighed, realizing he had no upper hand. There was no way for Gregor to gain the upper hand without endangering his own life in the process, so he decided against upsetting Arias any further. He had to come up with something completely different, but for the time being, he could only comply.

"I want you to act like a worried father who wants to know the truth about his son. You will make my capture televised, but that very day, the charges will be dropped due to lack of evidence and a testimony from Eric Valentine himself, admitting that it was he who wanted to silence us after we saw something we shouldn't have."

"How will I get the Valentines to admit? They are strongly fighting for their defense."

"Let me worry about that. All you need to know is that after my release, an auction will be held the next day to sell the confiscated property and assets of the many crime lords and politicians. However, you will limit this auction to people from Gotham with no criminal record, stating you don't want them falling into the hands of the wrong people. By doing this, Bruce Wayne, whose wealth is also being investigated, cannot participate, and I can acquire them all in a legal manner."

"You've been planning this from the start… but what if they question the source of your wealth? If it can't be verified, then you'll also be flagged."

"Don't worry. In the past years, many casinos have records of me gambling and winning big on some occasions. Add that to my most recent winnings here in Las Vegas, and my source of wealth can't be questioned—simple gambling."

"…"

Arias had a remedy for every issue he could think of that might occur, leaving Gregor speechless.

"Still… you know the total value of all the confiscated assets may reach nearly 200 million dollars? And since it's an auction, it may very well pass 300 million."

"That's only if the others bid against me. Come on now, you didn't think you were the only person whose information I didn't leak so that I could use them, did you? The majority of Gotham's remaining elite, including police officers, allying politicians, and corporate executives, are at my mercy. Even those currently in legal battles have quite a lot more information missing. Because of that, they'll all be willing to pay to keep it that way, lest they lose their freedom for good. If all goes as planned, I'll call you tomorrow, Gregor."

When Arias stopped the conversation, the screen said, "Secure line ended." He then walked over to his dresser and opened a notepad with a list of names and phone numbers.

"Time to hand out the supporting roles, just in case Gregor tries to act too smart for his own good."

For the remainder of the evening, Arias called a number of people on secure lines and threatened and blackmailed them into doing as he said. This was possibly the riskiest element of his strategy, but he had thoroughly investigated each person and found that quite a few did, in fact, pose a threat to his life.

But he had no choice but to do this since he now needed to build a reputation as a multimillionaire who not only had assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars but was also the owner of the majority of properties in Gotham. With a reputation, he could now concentrate on gaining public support on the outside while also developing his operations underground in what was suddenly free space because many of Gotham's leading names were powerless to intervene.

Some of them did, of course, have friends in high places, but the extent of the charges and the undeniable proof made it hard for even these big-shot friends to act or provide support, which was exactly what Arias wanted. He wanted everything done swiftly because using blackmail alone would make it impossible to maintain a solid grip on everyone for an extended period of time. If Bruce Wayne, for example, got cleared of charges, then Arias had no chance of competing with his 80+ billion dollar net worth for the auctioned properties, among other things.

Arias struggled to finish until early the following morning and was unable to even sleep. But now that everything had been put in place, it was time to execute the plan.