The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1587

Chapter 1587 Old Friends

Ves watched Marcella leave his office with a mixed expression.

For old times' sake, he refrained from pushing back too hard.

Yet his forbearance had its limits.

His relationship with the Bright Republic had gone through a sea of changes. While he was not yet the equal of Seniors in several ways, his specialty and his future potential was much more promising.

Ves thought that his allies would have recognized his new value the best, but evidently not everyone received the message.

He had to offer a rebuke to that old coot who was used to treating people as pawns that he was already reaching the end of the board.

The fantastic sales of the Soldier product line and its increasing proliferation in the star sector already hinted at his great appeal.

No other product in the market could match the benefits brought by his mechs. His Transcendent Messengers already transformed the Ylvaine Protectorate and now his Soldier product line was about to take the Komodo Star Sector by storm!

He was no mere pawn. Not anymore.

If he was by himself, then the people at the top might have been tempted to strengthen their control over him. There were many ways for Senator Tovar, Flashlight and other factions to exert pressure on him. If Ves would just let himself get rolled over all the time, then how would he ever get rid of the shackles that bound him to petty officials and regional snakes?

"Fortunately, I'm not alone. Gloriana is my biggest talisman."

Even though his girlfriend was a foreigner, her status was incomparable. Few Brighters would ever dare to mess with her directly, let alone touch someone she professed to love.

While her presence at Cloudy Curtain was rather awkward due to the heating Komodo War, as long as the Hexadric Hegemony remained in contention, there was no way the government would dare to go too far.

However, that did not preclude smaller actions and more indirect ways to influence him. Sending Marcella to convince him to repay the favors he received from the government certainly qualified. Though his business partner approached him with a smile, it did not change the fact that she convinced him to design a custom mech for someone he hated.

"Can I still trust her?" He seriously questioned.

Right now, the answer was no. Ves highly suspected that she had been bought by Senator Tovar or Flashlight because of her relationship with him and her minority stake in the LMC.

"Someone like Marcella is a nobody in the eyes of the higher ups. They don't have to put much effort into converting her to their cause."

He learned an important lesson today.

He had outgrown his old friends.

Perhaps at the start, Marcella used to be a figure he looked up to. Her wealth, connections, experience and capabilities were far beyond his reach.

Back then, he needed to borrow from her strength to gain a footing in the mech market.

Yet that was in the past. Now, the tables were turned. Ves succeeded in designing a mech that sold over 100,000 units a month. His products sold well in dozens of markets and several variants derived from the original design also fared very well!

In comparison, how did Marcella do? Though she had benefited hugely from her bet on Ves early on, she was still the same mech broker as before.

The only thing that had changed was that she invested much of the dividends she received in expanding her firm and setting up branch offices in many foreign states.

"All that is well and good, but at the end of the day, Marcella is still bound in Bentheim. Her network doesn't extend past her home planet."

As the LMC continued to focus on expanding outwards, his old business partner became less and less relevant. The LMC's Marketing Department could already take over her role entirely with just a modest drop in effectiveness.

Once his company got used to establishing relations and opening up markets on its own, there was no meaning in keeping Marcella around anymore.

"She should relinquish her 5 percent stake in the LMC." He muttered.

Unfortunately, this was not the time to do so. For now, he had to let Marcella maintain the illusion that she still had the ability to influence Ves and the direction of the company on account of their friendship.

"I should still send a signal to express my dissatisfaction." He mumbled.

Ves began to rub his clean-shaven chin while contemplating ways to change the status quo. He originally wanted to keep his head down and quietly design mechs, but the situation forced him to reconsider his approach.

"I should throw my weight around."

He spent a few minutes to consider his options before settling for one of the plans he had prepared. He activated his comm and sent a quick summon to one of his subordinates.

Fifteen minutes later, the door to his office opened to let in Captain Crindon. The Kinner walked all the way up to the desk before calmly sitting on the chair vacated by Marcella.

"You called, sir?"

Ves nodded. "How much progress have you made in your spy hunt?"

"At this moment, I've identified over a hundred suspected personnel that I'm reasonably confident are spies or informers. It's difficult to determine who they are answering to. Even with... your cat's help, there is far too much data to comb through."

"Let's just get rid of them all."

"Pardon?"

"Fire them all. I want to get rid of them immediately!"

"Sir, let's not be too hasty here! Some of the suspected individuals occupy key positions in your company! Simultaneously terminating their employment will disrupt many operations and lead to preventable mistakes and interruptions!"

"I don't care!" Ves roared and slammed his fist against his desk! "We need to draw a line here! People are messing around with me, thinking that I'll just take it like a good boy! Well, no more!"

Though Crindon cautioned calm and suggested further deliberation, Ves did not see the need to delay. He wanted to send a powerful message as soon as possible. To delay his actions for a few days would signal that he still had scruples.