Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt

Chapter 402: Chapter 187: The Bill is Due

He thought he had walked into the inner circle of power, but in reality, he was just standing on the rim of a volcano.

"Then... what do we do?"

Murphy’s voice trembled. He instinctively loosened his tie, struggling to breathe.

"Haven’t the bonds already been issued? What about the five hundred million US Dollars..."

"That five hundred million has already been spent!"

Leo said, his voice cold.

"It became workers’ wages, it became the steel piled high in warehouses, and it became your votes!"

"Now, we need new money to plug this hole."

"We need real money. US Dollars printed by the Treasury Department."

Murphy wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"What do you need me to do?"

He finally remembered his place.

Here, in a Washington restroom, he was still the partner who had to follow Leo’s orders.

"I need money."

Leo held up two fingers.

"Not a few million. Petty cash like that won’t save us."

"I need two billion US Dollars."

"A special federal appropriation."

Murphy nearly dropped his phone into the sink.

"Two billion?! Leo, are you crazy? The federal budget was decided long ago! Where am I supposed to get you two billion? I couldn’t get that much even if I robbed the Federal Reserve!"

"You’re a Senator, John."

Leo’s voice was remarkably calm.

"You can’t rob the Federal Reserve, of course. But you can rob Congress."

"Think about the current situation in the Senate."

"The Democrats and Republicans are neck and neck on seats, which means every single vote is critical."

"You’re the newly elected Senator, the hero who defeated Warren and represents the hope for the Rust Belt’s revival."

"Your vote is very valuable."

Leo began to instruct Murphy.

"Soon, the White House will definitely have a major bill to push through. Maybe a new tax reform, maybe a new environmental act."

"They need your vote."

"This is your bargaining chip."

"Don’t be a good boy and just listen to the Party Whip. You have to learn how to make a deal."

"You will tell the Senate Majority Leader. You will tell the White House liaison."

"’You want my vote? Fine.’"

"’Sign off on the two-billion-US-Dollar appropriation first.’"

"’If there’s no money, don’t expect me to vote yes.’"

"But..." Murphy hesitated. "This will offend the entire caucus. Sanders won’t agree, either. It’s too blatant."

"Sanders will agree."

Leo said, "Because this money is for implementing the ’New Deal.’ It’s to prove the progressive approach is the right one."

"As long as you get this money, the Pittsburgh model survives, and Sanders’s showcase project will be secure."

"I’ll call him later. He’ll approve of this idea."

"As for offending people?"

Leo let out a soft chuckle on the other end of the screen.

"John, you’re already in a pool full of alligators."

"In this place, the only way to be respected is to make them fear you."

"If you’re just a gentle lamb, they’ll devour you, bones and all."

"But if you’re a lion ready to bite, they’ll bring you meat."

"Go do what you have to do."

"Go exercise your right to propose legislation, your right to veto, and your greatest power as a Senator: extortion."

"You have ninety days."

"In ninety days, if I don’t see that money in Pittsburgh’s accounts..."

"Then we’re all going down together."

BEEP—

The video call ended.

The phone screen went black.

Murphy stood in the restroom, looking at himself in the mirror.

From the banquet hall outside, the band’s upbeat jazz and the faint sounds of laughter drifted in.

It was the roar of victory.

But Murphy knew it was an illusion.

The real war had only just begun.

He adjusted his tie and took a deep breath, trying to reclaim the triumphant feeling he’d had just moments ago.

But he found he couldn’t.

His gaze turned dark, wary, and all the more greedy.

He was a gambler saddled with immense debt, forced to bet his life on the next hand.

He pushed open the restroom door and re-entered the glittering arena of fame and fortune.

He looked at the powerful figures, all holding glasses of wine.

Before, he had wanted to be one of them.

Now, he wanted to tear a piece of flesh from their bodies.

...

「Pittsburgh, City Hall.」

Leo put down his phone.

He walked to the window and looked out at the dark night.

"Ninety days."

Leo murmured.

"Two billion US Dollars."

"Mr. President, that’s an insane number."

"It is insane," Roosevelt said. "But those are the rules of the game in Washington."

"You turned Murphy into a gun, and now, you’ve pulled the trigger."

"The bullet has left the chamber."

"Either it hits the target and brings back the prey..."

"Or the breech explodes and kills us all."

"But, Leo."

Roosevelt’s tone shifted.

"Relying on Murphy to get the money in Washington isn’t enough."

"During these ninety days, you have to find a way to keep the Pittsburgh machine running."

"You have to find a place for that mountain of steel, and you have to keep those workers busy."

Leo replied, "Since we’ve already created a massive bubble, the only thing to do is make it even bigger—so big that even Washington won’t dare let it pop."

Leo turned around and looked at the map on the wall.

His gaze moved from Pittsburgh, tracking west along the Ohio River, across the state line, and settled on an even greater industrial behemoth.

Ohio.

Cleveland.

And even farther, Detroit.

"Then let’s expand the alliance."

Ambition gleamed in Leo’s eyes.

"If Pennsylvania’s appetite isn’t big enough to digest all this production capacity..."

"Then we’ll devour the entire Rust Belt."

"I’m going to launch a bigger plan. One that makes two billion US Dollars look trivial."

"Stop."

Roosevelt’s voice cut in sharply.

"Leo, rein in those unrealistic fantasies."

"I know you’re feeling good right now, but don’t forget, you’re just the Mayor of Pittsburgh. The limits of your power end at the Allegheny County line."

Roosevelt’s tone turned severe.

"Interstate cooperation? Do you know what that means?"

"It means you’ll have to face the state governments of Ohio and Michigan. It means dealing with their governors, State Assemblies, Unions, and chambers of commerce."

"Every state has its own interests to protect, its own protectionist barriers."

"You haven’t even dealt with the Establishment Faction in Pennsylvania, and you already want to go plant your flag in someone else’s territory? You’re digging your own grave."

Roosevelt’s tone softened slightly.

"You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time."

"Your alliance is fragile. It’s built on self-interest and fear. Don’t try to make it carry a weight beyond its capacity before it’s had a chance to grow a spine."

The light in Leo’s eyes dimmed for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"You’re right, Mr. President. I was too hasty."

"Then we’ll dig deeper within Pennsylvania."

Leo’s gaze refocused on the state map, his finger tracing over the scattered small cities.

"Erie, Scranton, Johnston... It’s not enough."

"I want to spread this net even wider."

"I want all of Pennsylvania’s industrial cities to join, from Bethlehem in the east to Newcastle in the west."

"I want the list of this alliance to be so long it suffocates the bureaucrats in Harrisburg."

"I’ll make them understand that to be our enemy is to be an enemy of the entire Pennsylvanian working class."