After Schiller called Obadiah to inform him that Tony Stark had learned of his assassination attempt, the kidnappers Obadiah had hired were bound to make another move. But this had one advantage: they would pour out of their nearby base in full force, leaving them with no spare manpower to monitor the local terrorists.
Simply put, Schiller had lured the tiger from the mountain. The Ten Rings had never stationed many people in Afghanistan to begin with. After their first operation failed, they would certainly send more men to ensure the second attempt succeeded without fail. That meant they would have no time to cause trouble for the local Anti-Government Forces.
With the pressure on the Anti-Government Forces reduced, they could spare more people to kidnap Tony Stark. Locals naturally knew the terrain and routes better than cult members who had been dropped in from elsewhere. Before long, the Anti-Government Forces caught up with Stark and Erik's vehicle.
Schiller's target had never been Erik in the first place; Wakanda could handle him. As long as Tony Stark was kidnapped and taken to the cave, the plan would be a success.
Yet what still surprised Schiller was that Erik had chosen to abandon Stark and flee. This made him lower his expectations of Erik's professional competence even further. Clearly, Erik had not noticed Stark's hero complex at all.
With that in mind, Schiller toned down the measures he planned to use against Erik as much as possible, lest Erik die too quickly and leave him unable to answer to T'Challa.
After Stark was kidnapped into the cave, the naturally enclosed setting allowed Schiller to employ a series of psychological tactics to hoodwink the naive Iron Man. It left Stark unable to forget him, regarding Schiller as his most steadfast ally from