Chapter 502 - 233: Early Coronation
"Leo, I don’t know why you’ve come to me."
"I don’t think our relationship is at that point, and we’re hardly what you’d call political allies. Just a few months ago, we were bitter rivals."
"But today you show up here with a proposal that’s enough to turn all of Pennsylvania upside down."
"Let me be clear: I can’t do this."
"The political muscle required to push this bill is unimaginable."
"The Vice Governor can’t do it."
Monroe spread his hands, gesturing to the stark emptiness of the room.
"In Pennsylvania’s political structure, the Vice Governor is just a spare tire, a mascot."
"Even the Governor might not be able to do it, and he would certainly never agree."
Monroe’s voice was a bit dry.
"Bob Campbell is a cautious man. He just won re-election, and now he’s planning to go to Washington to seek a cabinet position."
"He won’t risk pissing off insurance giants who can influence White House policy, not at a critical juncture like this."
Monroe tried to dissuade Leo with the logic of the bureaucracy.
Leo’s gaze bored into Monroe’s eyes.
"I’m not going to the Governor."
Leo’s voice was brimming with confidence.
"Because as far as I’m concerned, he’s history."
Monroe froze, his brow furrowing.
"History? He’s the sitting Governor. He holds the power to sign executive orders."
"That’s only temporary." Leo waved his hand dismissively. "His mind is already in Washington."
"I’m looking for the *real* governor."
Leo pointed at Monroe, sitting behind his desk.
"I want to make you Governor."
That one sentence landed like a clap of thunder, exploding in the confines of the small study.
Monroe’s heart skipped a beat.
He instinctively gripped the armrests, his body going rigid.
But he quickly regained his composure.
"You’re insane," Monroe scoffed, trying to hide that he’d been rattled. "The election just ended. The next gubernatorial election is four years from now."
"Four years, Leo."
"In politics, four years is an eternity. Anything can happen. I’ll have been pushed out by my rivals within the party and end up teaching at some community college long before then."
"Precisely because so much can go wrong, we need to make our move early."
Leo walked back to the desk, planted his hands on its surface, and leaned over to look down on Monroe.
"You think four years is too long? I think it’s too long, too."
"We don’t have to wait that long."
"If you have the guts to do it—the guts to take on this bill and wage this war in the State Senate."
Leo’s voice was like a Demon’s whisper.
"Maybe... the sitting Governor will find himself forced to resign early for some reason?"
Monroe’s pupils contracted sharply. He understood Leo’s insinuation.
’He’s staging a coup.’
"You..." Monroe’s throat went dry. "What makes you think you can?"
"The leverage I have."
Leo began to lay out his arsenal.
"Look at the situation. Murphy won the election, and my position in Pittsburgh is rock-solid. I control hundreds of thousands of votes across Pennsylvania’s Rust Belt—the key to any Democratic victory statewide."
"And you... even though you lost the election, you still have deep roots in Philadelphia and a network within the Establishment Faction."
"If we join forces."
Leo held out both hands, slowly closing them into one.
"Western workers and eastern elites. Progressives and the Establishment. We would control the entire political map of Pennsylvania."
"Now, let’s get back to the bill."
Leo picked up the draft and flipped to the page with the core clauses.
"This isn’t just a policy, Aston. This is a key."
"When you stand on the floor of the State Senate, in front of cameras from across the state, and announce you’re going to lower drug prices by taking on the PBMs, to save seniors who can’t afford their insulin, to save families being torn apart by the opioid crisis."
"Think of the acclaim you’ll receive."
Leo painted a vivid picture.
"When seniors in nursing homes see their monthly prescription costs cut in half; when working-class parents discover their children no longer have to ration their medicine because of the cost."
"That wave of public support will sweep the state like a tsunami."
"You’ll be a hero. A reformer who dares to challenge the monopolistic giants and fight for the people."
"At that point, if the Governor refuses to sign, he’ll be standing against all thirteen million people in this state. He’ll be the villain standing in the way of affordable medicine for the people."
"If he dares to veto it, I can make him resign in disgrace within a month."
Leo’s eyes turned sinister.
"Trust me. I have the means."
"Once he’s gone, the state Constitution dictates that the Vice Governor automatically takes his place."
"This is your coronation."
Monroe sat in his chair, his breathing quickened.
’This is insane.’
’He instantly guessed at the kinds of methods Leo would use—threats, blackmail, maybe even fabricating a scandal.’
"How would you do it?" Monroe asked, probing. He wanted to find out just how far this young ally was willing to go.
"You don’t want to know."
Leo’s eyes grew deep, unreadable.
"Besides, Aston."
Leo stared into Monroe’s eyes.
"You’d better pray he refuses."
"That way, your path to becoming Governor will be much quicker."
Monroe took a deep breath. The sheer, overwhelming confidence radiating from Leo was unnerving.