Chapter 703 - 328: Pledge of Fealty

Pittsburgh City Hall, Conference Room Three.

On one side of a long table in the center of the room, seven men and women constantly wiped the sweat from their foreheads, frequently reaching for the water glasses in front of them.

These people all shared a common identity: they were Representatives from the state of Pennsylvania in the Federation’s House of Representatives.

In Washington, they were respected Legislators, each with hundreds of thousands of voters standing behind them.

But today, in this Pittsburgh conference room, they looked more like criminals awaiting sentencing.

This was all due to the timing: it was an election year, and the Representatives were up for reelection.

The conference room door was pushed open.

Leo Wallace walked in.

He wore a dark trench coat, his left arm in a sling against his chest. The white bandages stood out starkly against his dark clothes.

Ethan followed behind him, carrying a stack of documents.

Upon seeing Leo enter, the seven Representatives stood up almost in unison.

The subconscious movement betrayed their inner panic and lack of confidence.

"Sit."

Leo gestured downward with his right hand, indicating they needn’t stand on ceremony.

He walked straight to the head of the table and sat down, while Ethan distributed the stack of documents to everyone present.

The document was thin, only three pages long.

A line of bold text was printed on the cover: Pennsylvania Health and Industry Synergy Memorandum.

"You’ve all come a long way, so I won’t beat around the bush."

Leo leaned back in his chair, opening the document before him with one hand.

"I know what you want."

"Your districts are bleeding. Healthcare costs are rising, factories are laying people off, and your constituents are angry. You’ve all seen what happened in Pittsburgh."

Leo looked up, his gaze sweeping over each of their faces.

"You want me to save your districts, too. You want the Mutual Aid Alliance’s pharmacies to open up in your towns, and for the Alliance’s credit note system to be integrated with your local businesses."

Seated in the first chair on the left was Representative Hayes from Bucks County.

He was a balding man in his fifties, and his district was composed mostly of declining coal-mining towns.

"Yes, Mayor Wallace." Hayes’s voice was hoarse. "My constituents are going crazy."

"They call my office every day, asking why people in Pittsburgh can get insulin for thirty US dollars while they have to pay three hundred. If I can’t give them an answer, I’m out on my ass this election."

"But something’s clearly wrong here. This should be a job for a county executive or a health director."

"I’m a Legislator. My job is to vote in Washington, not issue pharmacy licenses."

"I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve managed to make the voters think that their inability to get this medicine is my failure as their Representative."

Leo smiled. Of course, he knew why Hayes felt that way.

It was a meticulously designed political trap.

Over the past several weeks, Sarah’s media team had been running a massive number of targeted ads in these districts’ Facebook groups and local forums.

Meanwhile, Leo had also given the county executives in these districts a heads-up.

He had promised these fiscally-strapped county executives that if they helped redirect the public’s anger toward the Representatives, Pittsburgh would grant them priority in future infrastructure projects.

And so, when angry constituents stormed the county government offices, the executives simply threw up their hands. "There’s nothing we can do," they’d say. "This requires legislative support. You have to go to the Representatives you elected. Only they can get you the same treatment."

And just like that, Representatives like Hayes, whose primary responsibility had simply been to cast votes, were thrust into the eye of the storm.

In the eyes of their constituents, they had become the sole obstacle to a better life.

"I can give you that explanation."

Leo pointed to the document on the table.

"Sign this, and you’ll no longer be the obstacles. You’ll be the heroes."

The Representatives lowered their heads and quickly scanned the document.

The first part was very tempting: Pittsburgh would open its mutual aid medical network to the signatory districts and share its drug procurement prices. The credit note system would open its settlement interface to businesses in the signatory districts and provide low-interest bridge loan support.

It was practically a gift from heaven.

"Mayor Wallace, this is too generous." Hayes looked up, a hint of suspicion in his eyes. "But this looks like a district-level cooperation agreement."

"As Representatives, we don’t have the authority to sign legally binding economic contracts on behalf of our entire districts. That would violate the Constitution."

"Of course it’s not a contract."

Leo smiled. "It’s just a non-binding memorandum of understanding. A gentleman’s agreement."

"I’m not forcing you to sign. I’m just showing you a path forward, a possibility that will allow your constituents to live better."

"However, you all had better think it over carefully."

Leo’s gaze swept over everyone at the table, the warmth in his eyes vanishing in an instant.

"This memorandum may not be legally binding, but my executive orders are."

"The moment I believe this memorandum of understanding is not being effectively fulfilled, or that certain external factors are interfering with our cooperation..."

"...I have the right to revoke all of Pittsburgh’s dedicated resources to your districts at any time."

"Consider this a verbal clarification as well."

"Now, take a look at the last page before you sign."

Hayes and the others exchanged glances, each seeing in the other’s eyes the suffocating sensation of a hand tightening around their throat.

They turned to the final page of the document.

[Clause 7.2: Both parties acknowledge that, given the fragility of Pennsylvania’s industrial base and the unpredictability of the external policy environment, should force majeure prevent this agreement from being executed as anticipated, the signatory party reserves the right to adjust or terminate resource access.]