Chapter 574 - 269: Fearless
Monroe sat there, his fingers unconsciously tapping on his knees.
For a long time.
He stood up, walked around his desk to stand before Leo, and extended his hand.
The simple gesture carried more weight than any words.
Leo looked at the outstretched hand.
He knew Monroe had made his choice.
But he didn’t immediately shake it.
Leo knew that in this room, promises were as cheap as scrap paper.
A politician’s mouth is for winning votes, not for keeping promises.
Especially for someone like Monroe, who would sell his soul to climb the ladder, a promise was worthless.
What mattered was what he did.
"Aston, we’ve had a pleasant conversation."
Leo said, "But in this business, words aren’t very convincing."
Monroe withdrew his outstretched hand and sat back down in his office chair, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I need a token of your commitment."
"What kind of token?"
"The scheduling memo for the formation of a special committee to investigate the Governor’s abuse of power. It needs to be on every Senator’s desk by tomorrow morning."
Leo began to speak faster.
"We’re going to investigate Campbell’s family trust, every one of his land-planning approvals, and his financial ties to those major construction firms. Some of it is real, some of it is just speculation, but that doesn’t matter."
"The important thing is to get this fire started."
"These are all routine methods, Leo," Monroe said with a frown. "You have your people in the Senate. What can I do?"
Leo held up a finger and pointed it at Monroe.
"I want you, in your capacity as Vice Governor, to hold a formal press conference."
"At the press conference, you are to publicly issue a statement in the name of maintaining the integrity and public trust of the State Government."
"You’re going to look into the cameras, at all the voters of Pennsylvania, and say that you have deep concerns about the current situation."
"You will call on the Governor to suspend his duties and cooperate with the investigation, for the good of Pennsylvania and to prevent the government from grinding to a halt."
As he spoke those words, the temperature in the office seemed to drop by several degrees.
A vice governor publicly calling for the governor to step down... while not unprecedented in the history of United States politics, every time it happened it was a bloody political takedown.
"That’s not enough."
Leo didn’t give Monroe time to think and continued to raise the stakes.
"Once the investigation committee is launched, the Attorney General’s office will need witnesses. You will testify."
"I need you to testify that over the past two years, Campbell has repeatedly and improperly interfered with administrative decisions regarding Pittsburgh."
"You need to style yourself as a reformer who, for the greater good, had to swallow his pride, but in the end chose justice over loyalty."
Leo looked at Monroe.
"These are my terms."
"I can only trust you when you’re standing in the spotlight, plunging a knife into Campbell’s chest, letting everyone see that you’re the one who killed him."
"This means you’ll have completely burned your bridges with Campbell."
"It also means you’ll cut off your escape route with the Washington Establishment Faction. No party leader likes a subordinate who publicly stabs his boss in the back."
"Unless you win—unless you secure that seat for yourself—they’ll discard you like trash."
"You can only rely on me, on this new Alliance we’ve built."
Leo had laid all the stakes out on the table.
It was an open conspiracy.
He wasn’t treating Monroe as an equal ally. He was applying pressure, forcing him into a new pact.
If Monroe did as he was told, he would have no choice but to depend on this new power structure.
The office fell into a brief silence.
Leo watched Monroe’s expression.
He had expected Monroe to hesitate, to haggle, even to refuse.
But to Leo’s surprise, Monroe showed no signs of struggle.
The Vice Governor simply picked up the pen on his desk, twirled it a couple of times in his hand, then looked up with a smile.
"Is that all?"
Monroe asked.
Leo froze.
"That’s all."
"No problem."
Monroe’s agreement was swift and decisive, almost betraying a sense of eager pleasure.
"This is what we agreed to from the start, Leo. If we’re going to do this, we go all the way."
Monroe stood up and walked to the window.
"I’ll arrange the press conference. Let the whole state see where I stand."
"As for testifying, I’ll have my lawyer prepare the materials. Whatever you want, I can provide."
Monroe turned around, came to stand before Leo, and extended his hand.
"Leo, get your champagne ready. Before long, we’ll be celebrating the inauguration of a new governor."
Leo looked at Monroe’s outstretched hand. The fact that everything was going so smoothly gave him a strange sense of unease.
’Too fast.’
’Too easy.’
’A politician who had navigated the political world for years was facing what amounted to political blackmail, yet he agreed without even batting an eye?’
’It didn’t make sense.’
’All the previous attacks against Campbell had Monroe’s tacit approval and support, but I, Leo Wallace, was the one visibly pulling the trigger.’
’I was the one who organized the protests, launched the media blitz, and worked with the Republican Party to oust the speaker.’
’All the mud was slung at me, the Mayor of Pittsburgh.’
’Meanwhile, Monroe had maintained his image as the innocent Vice Governor, merely fulfilling his duties and expressing his concern.’