Chapter 734 - 343: A Hundred Billion Order

「Washington D.C., K Street.」

Miller Political Consulting Company occupied two entire floors of this top-tier office building.

The office was a cacophony of voices and the incessant ringing of phones.

Dozens of analysts, PR specialists, and data engineers in expensive suits sat at their workstations, staring intently at the monitors before them.

Karen Miller sat in her office, reviewing an advertising plan for the campaign in the Midwest swing states. The plan had a budget of fifteen million US dollars.

The phone on her desk suddenly vibrated.

Karen glanced at the screen. The caller ID showed Ethan Hawke.

She immediately put down her pen and pressed the answer button.

"Ethan, what’s wrong?" Karen asked, getting straight to the point.

Ethan’s urgent voice came from the other end of the line.

"Leo hit a wall at the Capital Club. Richard Taylor stuck Leo in an outer waiting room, left him hanging for over an hour, and then sent out an assistant to give him the runaround."

"Taylor rejected the joint proposal on restarting the nuclear power plant. They’ve completely shut the door."

Karen frowned deeply.

She knew exactly what this meant.

Richard Taylor was the COO of the Republican National Committee. A political operator of his caliber would never reject a powerful mayor holding a major bargaining chip for no reason.

"This makes no sense at all," Karen said, quickly analyzing the situation. "Leo is representing the nuclear plant restart, and behind him are the massive interests of the National Energy Association. Those energy tycoons are the Republican Party’s ATMs. Taylor has no reason to turn away a cash cow."

"Leo feels something is off, too," Ethan said, his tone exceptionally grave. "He thinks something huge must have happened with the energy companies."

"They must have found a better deal elsewhere—a more lucrative alternative."

"We need to know what’s happened with the National Energy Association or the U.S. energy market in the last few days. We need deep intel—the kind you can’t find in the media."

"Got it." Karen stood up. "Give me some time."

Karen hung up without hesitation.

Leo Wallace was her most important political asset.

Her rapid rise on the brutally competitive K Street—from a campaign manager to the owner of a top consulting firm occupying two floors—was all thanks to Leo getting John Murphy elected to his Senate seat.

Murphy was her backer, and Leo was Murphy’s Kingmaker.

Now that Leo was in trouble, she had to go all out for him—both out of loyalty and professional necessity.

Karen strode out of her office and into the bustling open-plan workspace.

She walked to the center of the workspace and clapped her hands sharply.

The sharp clap cut through the din of typing and phone calls.

"Everyone, stop what you’re doing," Karen commanded.

The office fell silent in an instant, and more than fifty pairs of eyes snapped to their boss.

A senior project manager hurried over, a thick file in his hands.

"Lady Miller, the PR plan for the Ohio congressman’s reelection campaign needs your final confirmation. We’re set to launch the first wave of smear ads against his opponent on local TV networks tonight, and the media buyers are pushing for payment..."

"Put it on hold," Karen cut him off bluntly. "Shelve the congressman’s case."

The project manager’s eyes went wide.

"But Lady Miller, this case is worth a million US dollars in profit! We’ve already invested significant manpower. If we stop now, the client will sue us for breach of contract!"

"Let him sue. Legal will handle the penalty." Karen’s tone was sharp. "Right now, I need all of the company’s resources and every one of our contacts. Clear everything."

"Anyone with an objection can go to finance, collect their final paycheck, and walk out the door."

The entire office fell silent.

Everyone realized the gravity of the situation. They had never seen Karen so decisively walk away from such a massive, guaranteed profit.

Karen scanned the room. "Since there are no objections, listen to your assignments."

Karen began to quickly assign tasks.

"Financial tracking team."

Karen looked toward the seven financial data analysts on the left side of the office.

"I want you to immediately pull all non-public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from the last seventy-two hours. Track any unusual capital flows for the major shale gas producers in Texas and Pennsylvania."

"Focus on EQT, Chesapeake Energy, and any related offshore shell corporations."

"I want to know if they’ve made any large-scale cross-border fund transfers or signed any complex forward hedging contracts."

The head of the financial team nodded immediately, then turned with his team and got to work.

"Capitol Hill liaison team."

Karen turned to the PR specialists on her right, the ones responsible for political lobbying and maintaining their network of contacts.

This was the source of Karen’s confidence.

With a federal senator in her corner, everyone from aides and staffers to high-ranking officials up to the deputy secretary level on Capitol Hill had to show Miller Political Consulting Company a measure of respect.

More importantly, the political winds in Washington were in the midst of a seismic shift.

Word had recently gotten out that Leo Wallace had purged and consolidated the entire progressive caucus of the Democratic Party.

This was a massive force that could not be ignored.

But Leo was, after all, just a local mayor. He had no seat on Capitol Hill and couldn’t directly participate in voting on bills or the operations of committees.

His power in Washington needed a physical representative.

And John Murphy was that sole proxy.