novelnext Chapter 60 The Giant in the Shadows
Chapter 60 The Giant in the Shadows
Ethan remained silent for a long time.
Just minutes earlier, while Karen was drafting the lawyer's letter and Sarah was typing away at her keyboard writing the press release, Ethan, with his back to everyone, used the act of drinking coffee as cover to send a message to Washington on his cell phone.
The message was brief: "He is preparing to sue the local council. A typical reaction: anger."
The reply came very quickly.
"If he signs it, let him be. If he stops, tell him."
When Ethan saw the text message, he secretly thought to himself that his boss was overthinking things.
Leo was indeed a gifted orator and a leader who could sway public opinion, but he was ultimately just an ordinary person who had never left Pittsburgh.
How could he possibly possess the kind of political acumen that can only be honed by spending over a decade wallowing in the quagmire of Washington?
A compliance notice that cites the 14th Amendment is seen by ordinary people as bureaucratic obstruction.
How can you expect a newcomer to smell the bloodshed of the high-level purge through those dry terms and conditions?
Ethan had expected to see Leo sign angrily, ending this brief stress test.
But Leo stopped.
Now Ethan had to tell him.
"You're right." Ethan's voice turned low. "This isn't just about you, Leo. This is an extension of the Washington Civil War."
He pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Next year is a midterm election year, and current data shows that the Democratic Party's seats in Congress are in jeopardy. The establishment bigwigs on the Democratic National Committee are terrified now; they're even more afraid of us progressives than the Republicans are of us."
"They have a deep-seated fear: they believe that if a progressive like you wins the primaries in swing states—like Pennsylvania—it will become a handle for Republicans to attack the entire Democratic Party as 'radical socialists.'"
"They are worried that this will lead to the loss of moderate voters and result in a complete defeat in swing states."
Ethan looked up at Leo.
"Next week, the Democratic National Committee will hold a closed-door meeting of its Rules and Bylaws Committee to decide on strategies for allocating primary resources in each state."
"The establishment desperately needs a few negative examples. They need to prove that progressives are incapable of surviving in Rust Belt cities like Pittsburgh and will only create chaos."
"Once this is proven, they can legitimately deprive the progressives of their resources at the conference and allocate funds to the moderate centrist candidates."
"In the Pittsburgh mayoral election, they unfortunately won."
Ethan gave a wry smile.
"Leo, God, to test Abraham's loyalty, commanded him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering."
"And you, Leo Wallace, are the lamb chosen to be sacrificed."
"Your failure will be used by them to prove the correctness of their own line and to consolidate their power within the party."
All the clues came together at that moment.
Leo finally understood why Senator Sanders had been so tough on the phone and why he insisted on pledging allegiance.
Roosevelt's voice rang out.
"Sanders knew all along that his opponent was not a stupid Pittsburgh mayor, but a party machine that wanted to crush him."
"If he's not sure you're one of his own, he has no reason to turn against the entire Democratic National Committee for a stranger."
Leo's brows furrowed tightly, and a nameless anger rose within him.
He mentally asked Roosevelt, "Since Ethan knew from the beginning that this was the Democratic National Committee's doing, and that this was Washington's civil war, why didn't he tell me sooner? Why didn't he say a word when he saw Karen drafting the lawyer's letter?"
"If I hadn't been able to resist and had signed that document and released the statement, and things had blown up, wouldn't I have become a villain to the Sanders faction? How would I handle that then?"
The more Leo thought about it, the more a chill ran down his spine.
"And Sanders, he pressured me on the phone to take a stand and choose sides. I surrendered my loyalty, and what was the result? Faced with this purge against me, they chose to stand idly by and even wait until the last minute to see my reaction?"
"Is this what they call allies?"
"Allies?" Roosevelt let out a short, harsh laugh.
"Child, put away your grievances. Do you think this is how you make friends?"
"Ethan doesn't speak because that's his job. He's Sanders' eyes, not your babysitter. His job is to observe, to observe your every move under the most extreme pressure."
"This is a carefully designed stress test."
Roosevelt's voice turned serious.
"Sanders needs to know whether the young man from Pittsburgh he chose is a strategist with a keen political sense and the ability to assess situations, or a fool who just bites like a mad dog and is easily provoked."
"If you just signed the document, if you choose to go to war with the local party headquarters, then it proves that you don't understand the rules of the game at all, that you are an uncontrollable risk, and a huge political liability."
"In that case, Sanders will reassess his relationship with you, and he will watch you die in the crossfire of Cartwright and the Democratic National Committee."
"He asked for your loyalty over the phone, but he still needs to verify your capabilities."
"Only when you realize that you cannot sign, only when you see through the trap, will you have truly passed the test and be qualified to make him use his weapons in Congress for your sake."
Leo listened to these words and looked at Ethan.
The young man was still holding his coffee, his expression calm, but there was a hint of barely perceptible expectation in his eyes.
Leo understood.
This is not betrayal; it is a selection process that is even more ruthless than betrayal.
He walked around the edge of the cliff, while his allies watched, waiting to see if he would fall to his death or stop on his own.
Leo looked at the lawyer's letter on the table.
That was what Karen was going to use to sue the local council.
If he had just signed the document and made a big fuss, it would have given the Democratic National Committee a convenient excuse.
They would say, "Look, this radical is undermining party unity and attacking local party branches."
If things really come to that, Sanders might still step in to save him, but Leo's place in his heart will definitely not be high.
"Politics takes talent, son," Roosevelt said.
"A keen sense of smell, an instinctive reaction to traps—these are things you can't learn in school, and they're what an old fox like Sanders values most."
Leo picked up the lawyer's letter.
hiss--
He used both hands to tear the document in half, then stacked them together and tore them apart again.
The scraps of paper fell into the trash can.
Ethan watched Leo tear up the documents, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
Leo opened the door, letting Karen and Sarah back into the office.
"Karen, Sarah, the plans have changed," Leo said calmly. "Canceling all legal action and press conferences, we're not suing."
This decision puzzled Karen and Sarah.
"What? You're not going to sue?" Karen was the first to object. "Leo, are you crazy? This is our best chance to fight back! If you back down now, they'll only think we're weak and easy to bully!"
"Yes, Leo," Sarah chimed in, "Public opinion is on our side now, we must strike while the iron is hot!"
Leo offered no explanation.
He only glanced at Ethan Hawke standing by the window.
Karen and Sarah followed his gaze and saw Ethan's unusually calm face.
The two of them immediately understood that this decision must be related to this person from Sanders.
Although they had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, they still chose to obey the orders.
"Okay, Leo." Karen put away her files. "You're the boss, you call the shots."
"So what should we do now?" Sarah asked. "The VAN system is still locked, and this problem always needs to be solved."
Leo looked at the core members of his team.
"This is a war started by the gods in Washington, and we mortals should not get involved."
"What we need to do now is shut up and watch the show quietly."
"Let our gods go and have a good fight with their gods."