Chapter 547 - 257: Destined Freedom
Leo wrote Monroe’s name next to "Governor."
"Second."
Leo drew another arrow.
"When Monroe becomes Governor, the position of Vice Governor will become vacant. And the one to replace him will be the newly appointed Acting President of the State Senate—William Saint Cloud."
Leo wrote William’s name next to "Vice Governor."
Ethan stared at the roadmap of power transition on the whiteboard, his breathing growing a little ragged.
Leo continued with his deduction.
"Now, let’s look at the pardon committee."
"By the time Luigi’s case needs a pardon, the committee chairman will be William Saint Cloud. He’s our man, so that’s one guaranteed vote."
"The most crucial part is the remaining three expert seats."
Leo’s pen tapped the three empty spots.
"The current three experts were appointed by Campbell. They’re the Establishment Faction’s watchdogs, and they’ll be hard to deal with."
"But once Monroe becomes Governor, he’ll have the authority to reappoint those three seats."
Leo looked at Ethan and smiled.
"I don’t even need all three experts to vote with us. We just need to control two of them."
"Add William’s own vote..."
"One plus two equals three."
"A simple majority."
"We don’t need Kirk’s consent, we don’t need him to be absent. Even if he sits there and casts a ’no’ vote, he can’t stop the pardon from passing."
"If the Republican Party thinks they can use Kirk to stop us from pardoning Luigi, it’s already impossible—at least based on the current situation."
"The reason I didn’t directly demand Kirk’s ’yes’ vote from Taylor back then was, for one, because I really did have another card up my sleeve."
"And two, because I didn’t want to give them any room to raise their price. If I had shown how desperate I was for Kirk’s vote, that old fox Taylor would have definitely used it to demand something more."
Leo walked to the window.
"I deliberately let them think that Kirk was the only piece they had to keep me in check."
"I lulled them into a false sense of security."
"Now, by the time they realize what’s happening, by the time they discover we can pass the pardon without Kirk at all, it’ll be too late."
"The initiative has been in our hands from the very beginning."
Leo capped his pen with a crisp "SNAP."
"The math problem is solved."
"Luigi Randall is destined to be free."
"So..." Ethan let out a sigh of relief. "We have the upper hand now?"
"No, Ethan."
Leo shook his head.
"Although we’ve won mathematically, politically, Hart’s move to downgrade the charge has actually created a problem for us."
"A problem?" Ethan was confused. "Didn’t it help us?"
"Legally, it helped us. But in terms of public opinion, it pulls the rug out from under us."
Leo explained.
"The public’s anger needs fuel."
"Actually, the best possible sentence would have been the death penalty for Luigi."
"If Luigi were sentenced to death, he would be a Christ-like martyr. People would be furious. They would take to the streets for him. They would try to overthrow the current healthcare system for him."
"But what if it’s just a prison sentence?"
"Life in prison might still be considered a harsh punishment. But thirty years? It’s a long time, but in the eyes of the average person, it’s a life for a life. They might even see it as a lenient sentence."
"If a tragedy is cushioned, the audience will disperse."
Leo paced around the room.
"Once public opinion cools down, once people feel that justice has been partially served, they’ll just go home and get on with their lives."
"Our Mutual Aid Alliance still needs momentum. Our siege against Campbell still needs public support. The pressure we have now isn’t enough to force Campbell out."
"We can’t let this fire die out."
"We have to pour a new can of gasoline on this dying fire."
Ethan frowned. "But the trial’s outcome is a foregone conclusion. Where are we going to find more gasoline?"
"Washington."
Leo looked at Ethan.
"Remember that bill Murphy told us about?"
"The ’Critical Infrastructure and Medical Personnel Security Protection Act’."
"The one that’s basically a custom-made bulletproof vest to protect insurance company executives."
Ethan nodded. "The Senate has already passed it, and I hear the House of Representatives is voting on it next week. The Progressives are trying to block it, but with the Establishment Faction and the Republican Party working together, it’s highly likely to pass."
"That’s our gasoline."
"Think about it, Ethan."
"On one hand, in a Philadelphia courtroom, a young man who stood up for the poor and exposed the dark secrets of the medical industry is sentenced to thirty years in prison, forced to spend the best years of his life behind bars."
"On the other hand, on Capitol Hill in Washington, a bunch of pot-bellied congressmen are passing a law to protect the very insurance executives who let people die. They’re defining them as national security assets, and anyone who dares to resist them will be labeled a terrorist."
Leo held up his hands, making a gesture of comparison in the air.
"A hero goes to prison on one side."
"And a villain ascends to heaven on the other."
"This stark contrast, this blatant double standard."
"This is the perfect storm."
"We’re going to tie these two events together."
Leo issued a new directive.
"Sarah’s team needs to get moving."
"She needs to get ready to tell everyone that justice is dead."
"’While Washington legislates to protect murderers, a Philadelphia court has locked up a hero.’"
"This is the core narrative we need to spread."
"We need to tell every worker, every student, every patient whose claim has ever been denied."
"Luigi isn’t in prison because he did something wrong, but because he lost to a colluding special interest group."
"We need to escalate this anger from personal sympathy for Luigi into a hatred for the entire system in Washington."
"Only then will the public outrage be massive enough."
"Only then can we create a crack large enough in the system."
"Let’s wait for Washington’s reaction. When these two things happen at the same time, Pennsylvania will welcome a new era."