Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt-Chapter 78 - 58: Allegiance

"You’re standing in the cold wind of Pittsburgh, wearing an ill-fitting suit from a thrift store, with a one hundred and thirty thousand-dollar student loan bill in your pocket."

"You have no manor, no trust fund, no father on the board of a railroad company. You have no classmates in Washington and no relatives in New York."

"Your so-called independence weighs no more than a speck of dust on the scales of power. All it would take is a single breath from Carter Wright or Morganfield, and you’d vanish from this world without a trace."

"In this cruel game, capital is the price of admission. I come with my own capital, so I get to be a player. You, on the other hand, come empty-handed."

"When a poor kid wants to change the world, his only way out is to first sell himself to a willing buyer, borrow their capital, and fight for a chance to flip his fortunes."

"You want to change this country? You want to topple oligarchs like Morganfield? You want to win real rights for your people?"

"On your own, you’ll never even make it out of Pittsburgh! You can’t lay a finger on Carter Wright!"

"You need an army. You need a patron. You need a vast network supporting you from behind."

"And Sanders is the only one right now who can make a place for us, the only one who understands us."

Roosevelt’s voice turned incredibly serious.

"Siding with him now isn’t about submitting to him personally. It’s about leveraging his momentum to forge your own path."

"Only by first becoming a valuable pawn can you earn the right to one day become a player."

"Make your choice, Leo."

"Will you continue to cling to your pathetic independence and die in the cold winds of Pittsburgh?"

"Or will you lower your head, take the sword he offers you, and fight for a greater cause?"

Leo stood in the cold wind.

He thought of Frank, Sarah, Margaret... He thought of the laborers at the worksites, fighting tooth and nail for every small change, day after day.

He had no right to sacrifice all of that for the sake of his so-called independence.

He took a deep breath.

The biting-cold air filled his lungs, his mind becoming perfectly clear in an instant.

He pressed the phone back to his ear.

"Senator."

There was nothing but resolve in Leo’s voice.

"I understand your concerns."

"But there is only one thing I want to say to you today."

Leo paused, letting the weight of his words hang in the air.

"If, one day, a storm descends upon Washington, and there is only one umbrella that can be opened in all of Pennsylvania..."

"...that umbrella will be in my hand."

"And it will be held over your head."

The breathing on the other end of the line finally slowed.

Sanders didn’t answer right away.

The silence lasted for several seconds before he finally spoke. "Don’t forget what you said today, Leo."

"I don’t believe in oaths, young man. In this business, promises are cheaper than dirt."

"And I can’t guarantee you’ll never betray me. After all, in Washington, betrayal is as common as breathing. It’s the norm."

Sanders’s voice suddenly dropped, carrying a chilling authority.

"But I must warn you."

"If you use my ladder to climb to the top, and then try to kick it out from under you..."

"...you’ll find the fall from that height is ten thousand times more brutal than you can possibly imagine."

"In the Progressive camp, we’ve always been crueler to traitors than to our enemies."

"Because an enemy merely wants to defeat us. A traitor wants to destroy our beliefs from the inside."

Listening to this, Leo felt no fear. On the contrary, he felt grounded.

’This is real politics.’

’No gentle facade, only a raw transaction.’

"I’ll remember, Senator," Leo replied.

"Good."

Sanders reverted to his usual tone.

"Marcus will be in touch with you shortly."

Marcus’s voice came on the line again, this time with less arrogance.

"Mr. Wallace, welcome aboard."

"Regarding the VAN System, we can’t force the local committee to unblock your access. That’s a gray area of local autonomy, and forcing the issue would trigger an all-out civil war within the party."

"However, Senator Sanders has given his authorization."

"We’ve decided to grant you full, top-level access to the Shadow Data System for Pennsylvania."

"It’s a completely independent database, built piece by piece by millions of volunteers during the last two presidential elections."

"It may not be as granular as the official VAN System when it comes to local community details."

"But it contains detailed information on all the progressive voters, young students, and independents who have supported us in the past."

"We will set up your access immediately."

"Have your tech people check for an email in five minutes."

The call ended.

Leo walked into the temporary office. Facing the dozen or so pairs of expectant eyes fixed on him, he nodded.

A wave of suppressed cheers erupted in the meeting room.

Sarah excitedly hugged the computer beside her.

Frank clapped Leo hard on the shoulder, nearly knocking him to the floor.

"Nice work, kid!" Frank roared with laughter. "You actually managed to pry something out of those stingy bastards in Washington!"

Five minutes later, an encrypted email arrived in Sarah’s inbox.

Following the instructions in the email, she downloaded a dedicated client and entered the long access key.

The screen flickered.

A brand-new interface appeared before them.

On the screen, countless data points lit up the map of Pittsburgh like sparks.

They represented tens of thousands of young voters hidden in every corner of the city, voters who yearned for change, for a revolution.

This was a force that Carter Wright couldn’t see and couldn’t touch.

"It’s ours now," Ethan said, looking at the screen and adjusting his glasses. "With this, plus the list of blue-collar workers Frank has, our data puzzle is finally starting to come together."

Leo stared at the flashing points of light on the screen.

He couldn’t quiet the turmoil in his heart.

’Welcome to the real arena, kid.’

Roosevelt’s voice echoed softly in his mind, carrying a hint of satisfaction.

’From today on, you’ve been officially branded.’

’It’s dangerous. It means you’ll become a thorn in the side of every anti-Progressive force out there.’

’But it’s also a form of safety.’

’Because from now on, anyone who makes a move on you is making a move on the entire Sanders camp.’

Leo calmed his racing heart and threw himself into the work.

A new war was about to begin.