Chapter 658 - 307: The White House’s Rejection

Pittsburgh City Hall, the Mayor’s Office.

It was midnight.

Leo sat behind his desk, the lamp on it adjusted to cast a low light.

For the past several hours, Leo had been using every conventional channel at his disposal, trying to smash through the invisible blockade.

He had personally called the regional heads of the major pharmaceutical companies.

The operators’ voices were polite and mechanical, endlessly repeating the PR line about "adjustments to the logistics framework."

He contacted the health insurance companies.

Their executives couldn’t even be bothered to feign concern, simply having their secretaries tell Leo that they, too, were protesting the delays with their suppliers before hanging up.

William Saint Cloud, in his capacity as Governor, issued an executive inquiry to the State Department of Health.

However, the normally subservient Secretary of Health displayed a surprising adherence to principle.

He stated that the State Government had no authority to interfere with the supply chain management of private enterprises and even suggested William first deal with the bill that was "disrupting market equilibrium."

Dante Russo contacted the assembly members who had supported Leo in the vote, asking them to mediate.

But after receiving a call from Washington or New York, every last one of them either turned off their phones or dodged his calls.

Sarah attempted to launch a media counterattack using the Pittsburgh Heart’s network.

This time, however, the algorithms of mainstream social media platforms seemed to have instantly identified all keywords related to the truth about the supply cutoff.

Video views were locked in the triple digits, and exposé-style articles were flagged for "misinformation" and sent into an indefinite review status within seconds of being published.

Meanwhile, traditional media headlines were uniformly filled with negative coverage of Leo, portraying the chaos in the medical centers as the direct, disastrous result of the Mayor’s reckless policies.

This was the power of top-tier capital in the United States.

When they decided to erase a voice, they could achieve total suppression.

From logistics to information, from administrative bureaucrats to public perception, every single node was locked down tight.

It was a meticulously planned encirclement.

The pharmaceutical companies cut off supplies; the media imposed a blackout.

Leo felt like he was running out of air.

He took a deep breath and picked up the receiver.

He had to make this call now.

Even though he knew the person on the other end was probably waiting to laugh at his expense, he had to try.

The phone rang five times.

Each ring felt like a hammer blow to Leo’s heart.

Finally, the call connected.

"Stern speaking."

David Stern, the White House Chief of Staff.

His voice was clear, showing no signs of drowsiness from being woken up.

Obviously, he had been waiting.

"David, it’s me, Leo."

Leo did his best to remain composed.

"I’m not going to beat around the bush. Pennsylvania is facing a severe humanitarian crisis."

"Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck—all the pharmaceutical giants have placed an embargo on us. They’ve cut off the supply of insulin, antibiotics, and emergency medicine."

"Hospital inventories are running low."

"If we don’t have medicine when the time comes, people will die. A lot of children, a lot of elderly people."

"I need the Federal Government to intervene. The President has to sign an executive order, or the Department of Health and Human Services needs to step in and compel the pharmaceutical companies to resume supply. This is a state of emergency."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line.

Then came Stern’s cold, bureaucratic tone.

"Leo, I’ve seen the relevant reports," Stern said.

"According to the Commerce Department’s preliminary assessment, this is a commercial contract dispute between corporations. The pharmaceutical companies claim it’s a temporary delay caused by a technical upgrade to their logistics system, or perhaps an issue with your payment credit rating."

"The White House can’t just interfere in the commercial activities of a free market. We have no legal basis to force a private company to sell its goods to someone, or to not sell them."

"A commercial dispute?"

Leo’s anger flared instantly.

"David, don’t give me that bureaucratic bullshit! You know what this is! This is retaliation! They’re retaliating against me because I passed that damn drug price transparency bill!"

"They’re using human lives as bargaining chips!"

"That’s your opinion, Leo."

Stern cut him off, his tone growing even colder.

"Besides, I have to remind you of something."

"For the better part of the last year, haven’t you been building some kind of independent kingdom in Pennsylvania?" Stern’s voice dripped with undisguised mockery.

"You created the Mutual Aid Alliance, you created Alliance scrip, you even teamed up with Republicans to throw the assembly in Harrisburg into chaos."

"You’ve been flexing your muscles at Washington, showing everyone how you don’t need the Federal Government telling you what to do."

"You declared that Pittsburgh can take care of itself, that you can establish a new set of rules."

"Since you were so eager for independence, rejecting federal oversight and the safe path we laid out for you..."

"...then now, when your rules no longer work and you’ve made a mess you can’t clean up..."

"...why are you coming to the Federation for a bailout?"

Leo understood Stern’s subtext.

This wasn’t an inability to help.

This was a refusal to help.

Worse, it was kicking him while he was down.

Washington was happy to see it happen.

They had long since run out of patience with this disobedient thorn in their side.

If Leo were to be brought down by capital, not only would it eliminate a potential threat for them, but they could also conveniently sweep up the disillusioned voters.

They would step in to clean up the mess, play the role of saviors, and tell everyone that radical reform doesn’t work.

"Do you want to watch Pittsburgh die?" Leo asked through gritted teeth.

"No, Leo," Stern said flatly.

"You’re the one killing Pittsburgh."

"You made this mess, you fix it. The White House is busy. We have the situation in the Middle East to deal with. Good luck."

BEEP—BEEP—BEEP—

The line went dead.

Leo slowly lowered the receiver.

"They want to see me die," Leo whispered to the empty room.

"They want to see me on my knees, watch my city collapse, watch me crawl out of City Hall like a dog."

The temperature in the room seemed to plummet to freezing.

Leo’s gaze turned to ice.

’Then let them watch.’

A steady, deep, and majestic voice resonated in the depths of Leo’s mind.

’Leo, stand up straight.’

’Stop complaining like a wronged child.’

’This is politics, and politics is war.’

’On the battlefield, no one is obligated to save you. Allies betray you, superiors abandon you—that’s all just part of the game.’

’Back when I was pushing the New Deal, the Supreme Court ruled against me, Wall Street bankers conspired to short the stock market, and even the conservative faction within the Democratic Party was plotting my impeachment.’

’If I had been like you are now, crying into the phone, the United States would have been finished long ago.’

’They don’t care about your people? Good.’

’Then you don’t need to care about their rules either.’

’They’ve cut off your supply line, thinking they can starve you out.’

’Then let’s show them who’s really trapping whom.’

Roosevelt began to unfurl a massive map in his mind.

’Leo, you need to learn to think like a strategist.’

’Look at where you’re standing. What is Pennsylvania?’

’This is the energy heart of America.’

Roosevelt’s finger tapped heavily on the map.

’A hundred years ago, the coal produced here powered America’s industrial revolution. Today, it remains the powerhouse of the East Coast.’

’The Marcellus Shale formation is one of the largest natural gas reserves in all of America.’

’And then there are the power plants scattered along the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers.’

’The electricity from these plants, the gas from these fields—it doesn’t just supply Pittsburgh.’

’They are transmitted through the PJM Interconnection grid to New Jersey, to New York, to Maryland, and even to Washington D.C.’

Leo’s eyes suddenly lit up.

"You mean..."

’If they cut off your blood,’ Roosevelt’s voice was so cold it sent a shiver down one’s spine, ’you cut off their gas.’

’They leave you with no medicine, you leave them with no power.’

Roosevelt began to recount one of his own maneuvers.

’In 1943, the coal miners went on a major strike. It was a critical moment in the war, and the nation’s steel mills were all waiting for coal.’

’The mine owners thought I wouldn’t dare touch them. They thought I would compromise for the sake of the war effort and suppress the workers’ wages.’

’But I didn’t compromise.’

’I invoked the War Labor Disputes Act and ordered the Department of the Interior to take over all the coal mines. I told those owners: if you don’t start production, if you don’t raise the workers’ wages, then I’ll have the army run the mines, and you won’t see a single cent of profit.’

’They were scared.’

’Because I wielded a greater force than they did, a more fundamental resource.’

Roosevelt looked at Leo.

’Now, it’s your turn.’

’You have the Industrial Revival Alliance in your hands.’

’Sterling, he’s the representative for the National Energy Association. You signed a guaranteed power purchase agreement, so his interests are tied to yours.’

’And then there are the Union workers who control the pipelines and the power grid.’

’You can make it all stop.’

’Or, at the very least, you can make it all unstable.’

Leo stood up.

He recalled the locations of the power plants and natural gas hubs on the map of Pennsylvania.

"This will trigger a national crisis," Leo said in a low voice.

"If the energy supply to the East Coast is cut off, Washington will have blackouts, Wall Street’s trading servers will go down, and millions of homes will lose their heat."

"It’s a declaration of war against the entire Federal Government."

Roosevelt’s reply was cold.

’They struck first.’

’They don’t care if people die in Pittsburgh, so why should you care if the air conditioning in Washington is running?’

’Besides, you don’t need to cut it off completely.’

’You just need to demonstrate the capability.’

’You just need the energy companies to suspend transmission at a few key nodes under the pretext of equipment maintenance or environmental compliance self-inspections.’

’That will be enough to cause fluctuations in the New York and Washington power grids, enough to make those high-and-mighty figures feel fear.’

’You need to make them understand that Pittsburgh is not an island.’

’Pittsburgh is a bomb planted under their beds.’

’If Pittsburgh goes off, none of them will get a peaceful night’s sleep.’

Leo’s expression became resolute.

’Since Washington wants to watch a show, I’ll just tear down the stage.’

’We can all play together in the dark.’

Leo picked up the phone on his desk and dialed Ethan’s number.

"Ethan, book me a ticket on the earliest flight to Washington tomorrow."

Ethan was clearly stunned by the sudden decision. "Washington? Boss, what good will going there do now? We’ve already played all our cards."

"We’re out of cards, not moves. Since they want to beat me at the table, I’ll just flip the whole thing over."

Leo hung up the phone.

That energy artery, winding from Western Pennsylvania to the East Coast, had just become a fuse leading directly to Washington’s backyard.

The entire country had to feel Pittsburgh’s pain.

The wind outside seemed to howl louder, carrying the fury of an approaching storm.

Leo knew that when he stepped onto that plane to Washington, he would be an arsonist, torch in hand.

And what he was about to set ablaze were the nation’s long-since-desiccated and rotten nerves.