Chapter 64

A stream of emotions flowed through Ajax as he looked at the passing scenery outside the window. He found himself thinking how ironic life was, it had been about a month and a half since he had stepped foot into the border to avoid the limelight, and now he was leaving the border to avoid the limelight. There was no longer a place for him at the border, after all, he was supposed to be dead, and he couldn't be caught wandering around.

The Reapers may have become the Vanguard Outcasts, but it didn't matter where he was, be it on or off of Bedrichi, the border would always be under his control, Monkey had just become the proxy that needed to ascend to avoid a war that would have surely ended with the deaths of everyone at the border.

While he was thinking, Ajax felt his Vox vibrate, and looking at the caller ID he answered the call. He opted to keep his call private so he put on some earphones before saying "Hello."

"Where have you been? Actually, where are you right now? We are almost at Boirdale." Erica's voice came from the other side.

"Nothing to worry about, I'm on my way. Have you encountered any problems on the way?" Ajax said as he glanced around before returning his gaze to the passing visage.

"No problems here, transport of the mechs went fine and dandy, you don't have to wo-."

"Erica promised she would let me eat lots of yummy food!" Lily's voice came from the call, interrupting what Erican was saying.

Ajax smiled to himself but ignored Lily and continued the conversation with Erica: "Remember to lay low and don't bring any attention to yourselves. DO NOT, for the love of God and all that's holy, kill anyone. Take care of Lily and wait for me to arrive. I'll hit your line when I get there."

It was time for Ajax to return back to Boirdale to settle some old scores with the Ashlin Group, Lily had insisted on going with him and Erica chimed in as well, so he caved in and allowed them to tag along. It was Ajax's mistake to have promised Lily that he'd take her wherever he went.

He had wanted Erica to temporarily act as the leader for the Vanguard Outcasts since the border also lacked a strong person to control the situation. But she refused, saying that it was too boring, she was not suitable for management, and it would be more interesting to tag along with Ajax.

To avoid raising any unnecessary suspicions, Ajax decided for them to split up. He rode alone on the bus and Erica, who was not wanted, and Lily drove a large truck that was transporting the mechas of the three of them and a couple of other valuables.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you sound just like my father..." Erica muttered before hanging up on Ajax.

"I sound like her father...huh...ain't that a bitch?" Ajax smiled wryly. They had already grown to be good friends, so these jokes and a little bit of banter would only be normal...

***

Ajax, a little bored, started to think about whether he should check up on Erica and Lily, but his Vox vibrated, this time it was Monkey who was calling him.

"Boss, how are things? Where are you right now?"

"I'm on my way, what's the matter?" Ajax had asked Monkey to report to him if there was something that he couldn't handle.

"There are too many people who want to join the organization. Shouldn't we raise the requirements for joining a bit? Otherwise, we will soon break through the 10,000-operator mark. Won't there be too many people..."

"No, the newcomers will be assigned to the peripheral group. After a period of assessment, if there is no problem, let them officially join." Ajax thought for a while, "If there are too many people, just open up a fourth camp. If our predictions are correct, then within three months, the planting areas, business districts, and mining areas will all have to double in size and increase our production. This will allow us to expand and grow in strength."

"Ok, oh, some of our men got wind of a possible threat to use and the newcomers in the buffer zone have been growing uneasy, should w-"

"Kill them. This isn't something I should be telling you, you should already know what course of action to take." Ajax interrupted Monkey, "If 100 come, kill 100, and if they aren't deterred, then let our pilots increase their patrols, we can't let these kinds of things grow."

"Ok, got it. Anyways, how's the outside world? Is it fun?" Monkey asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Meh, it's alright. Discuss what I've told you with the rest of the higher-ups, if you can't deal with something, then just let me know. Also, remember to transfer the leftover money to my bank account every month. I'll return when things die down." Ajax hung up the call after he was done explaining things to Monkey.

He trusted Monkey with running the show in the meantime. He was an unambitious person who had no malice in his bones or any thoughts of betrayal. As for any enemies, Ajax was not afraid either, not to mention that the Vanguard Outcasts had no enemies on the border now, and there wouldn't be any for years to come.

The only thing Ajax was worried about was internal strifes. The three strongest pilots, who were capable of massacring an army together, had left the camp. Monkey wasn't a pilot either, so it would be hard for others to respect and obey them. If someone wants to rebel like Antoine had attempted to do before, Monkey may not be able to keep them in check.

However, Ajax's anxiousness had no grounds since everyone in the Vanguard Outcasts was being paid more than ever with prospects predicting things to only get better and better. Besides, Alex's body with severed arms and legs had been left hanging and rotting, ensuring that no one thinks of betrayal or they'd end up being hung in its place.

***

In the 120-story Ashlin office building in the central business district of Boirdale, Leonard was standing in the middle of the meeting room, his head bowed as his body visibly trembled. The past month has felt like a year to him, he's lost a lot of weight, and parts of his luscious black hair had been replaced by gray hair.

Before him was the holographic projection of a blond-haired middle-aged man who had his hair neatly combed back. He was about fifty years old, with a pair of dark brown eyes, a sharp nose, and a jawline that could cut down trees. Needless to say, this man was handsome and his calm demeanor made him appear majestic.

After a long time of silence, the man in the projection spoke slowly: "Leonard.....You have been hiding something from me for over a month and a half. If the news hadn't reached me, were you going to keep things from me and take them to your grave?" The moment the man opened his mouth, Leonard trembled. Every single word the man spoke felt like a knife being stabbed into him.

He didn't dare raise his head and look at the person in front of him. The person in front of him was the founder and the person in charge of the Ashlin Group, Mark Ashlin. The Ashlin Group owned over 15 galactic fleets that were spread out over half of the Milky Way.

It also controlled the economic lifelines of more than 70 large and small planets in the Milky Way system, and Bedrichi would be one of them in the future. And all of this was in the hands of Mark.

Mark stared at Leonard as if he was staring at a corpse before he continued to speak: "My eldest son, William, is transporting a batch of very important goods to the planet Agiea M77. Once he is done with his duties, he will pick his younger brother up. He should arrive in Bedrichi in about 3 months...I want you on that ship when it leaves with Charles."

Noticing his gaze, Leonard couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. He attempted to plead his case as he kneeled on the office floor: "Sir, please spare my worthless life! I wasn't trying to hide anything from you, I was just trying to catch the culprit before I contacted you..."

"The culprit....." Mark's eyes sharpened, but his face remained impassive. "So, where is this.... culprit of yours? Did you at least catch him?"

"The culprit.... the culprit had fled to the border. The Empire of Uz and the Blauth Empire have not been willing to cooperate with me in arresting him. However, I did hire a team to go to the border. They will definitely bring him back to us soon." Leonard quickly explained. He knew that Mark was a vicious man, one who was quick to determine his judgment. He never made threats, he made promises and he did what he said he would do. Leonard knew that if he were to return with William and Charles, he would be chopped to pieces and fed to the dogs.

"Oh really?" Mark paused for a second, apparently thinking over the situation. "You know, you've been the head of the Bedrichi Branch for so many years, and yet we still only control half of their market. I entrusted you with the care safety of my son as he attended the Apollo Academy.... and now he's a cripple who will probably never walk ever again." Mark's voice raised with every single word he spoke.

"AND NOW YOU TELL ME THAT THE ONE RESPONSIBLE HASN'T EVEN BEEN CAUGHT!?" Leonard flinched as Mark screamed at him.

"What do I need you for?" Mark said to himself as he turned his back to Leonard.