Absolutely not worth paying those coupons, since youll get betrayed no matter what you do with this guy. The smart play here is to deal with him directly and save your currency for actual useful stuff. Going straight for varan skips unnecessary king of the hill tasks, and you get the same outcome anyway.

Take care of him first or eliminate shah/roosevelt if you want, but paying is just throwing away resources that could go toward better equipment, since hell turn on you regardless. Pretty interesting how the whole betrayal happens either way, so might as well keep those 20k coupons for yourself. Definitely focus on getting decent gear instead, since thats actually gonna help you progress through tougher areas later on. Just remember that attacking him straight away is perfectly fine, saves time, and keeps your resources intact for stuff that matters.