America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

Chapter 110 Two-Faced

When the two of them returned to the campaign headquarters, it was already 4:30 p.m.

Unexpectedly, Vincent was already there, arguing with Kelly in front of the whiteboard. They both stopped when Sean entered.

"I thought you were still having a meeting of legal experts," Sean said to Vincent.

Vincent's expression was quite complex: "It's over. However—Mr. Kelly and I have some disagreements."

“It’s a minor issue, nothing serious,” Kelly sighed. Deep down, he didn’t think it was a big deal. “Carter thinks we shouldn’t play power games and should fight Crane purely through legal means.”

"And what about you, Kelly? I guess you think a multi-pronged approach is needed," Sean guessed.

"Yeah, more or less," Kelly shrugged.

Rachel walked to the whiteboard, looked at the densely packed strategy diagrams, and squinted. "This multi-pronged approach—"

Isn't that a bit too much?

"Maybe?" Kelly gave a few wry smiles.

"Alright, let me tell you what Rachel and I saw in Watts District." Sean solemnly interrupted them, steer the conversation back to his own topic, "We saw how a system has once again let down an ordinary person. This isn't uncommon, and I don't want to sensationalize it, but we really can help him, can't we?"

“Mr. Carter,” he turned to Vincent, “you’re a lawyer, you believe in the law, and I believe in the law too, otherwise I wouldn’t have cooperated with the police. But the law itself isn’t always just. It can be manipulated by those in power, delayed by procedures, and distorted by unequal distribution of resources, can’t it?”

"Of course I know that," Vincent said wearily. "But we can't give up on legal means."

“I’m not saying we’re abandoning legal avenues,” Sean continued. “On the contrary, we need your legal expertise to ensure we are legally unassailable. But we also need political maneuvering, public pressure, and community mobilization. Because ultimately, we’re not fighting a lawsuit, but a system—a system that allows people like Crane to hold power for so long with little accountability.”

Kelly agrees, saying, "That's what I'm trying to say. Legal battles are necessary, but not enough."

Vincent slowly sat down, clasping his hands together. "I understand your logic. But as a lawyer, I want to say this: throughout history, the greatest benefits have always come from abiding by the law. While it's true that anything not explicitly prohibited is permissible, we must also be wary of using extra-legal means to attack political opponents—"

You have to worry about whether you'll get hit by a boomerang.

He used this rhetoric to effectively mask his deep-seated reverence for the law.

But Sean knew how to guide Vincent.

He was a kind person, but also an arrogant one, to the point of being rebellious. At the time, he was being... (The sentence is incomplete and lacks context).

After being humiliated by the team's representative, Vincent's face was filled with anger. He had a fire burning inside him, but the journey from Pennsylvania to California temporarily extinguished that fire.

So he decided to reignite it.

But before that, he had to respect his right-hand man.

"Then let's define clear boundaries together," Sean concluded, "what we can and cannot do."

But we must acknowledge that political struggle is not a courtroom debate; there are no neutral judges, and no uniform rulebook. The opponent will use every means at their disposal, and if we only defend and never attack, we will lose.

The room was quiet for a while.

Finally, Vincent sighed, "Fine. I agree we need a more comprehensive strategy. But I demand to be involved in all decision-making to ensure every step is legal. And I have the right to object if I believe a line cannot be crossed."

"No problem," Sean said. "Now, let's wait for Matthew and Liam to get back, and then we can start making new plans."

.

He glanced at the time: "Before that, I'd like to hear the specific results of the legal experts' meeting. What did you conclude?"

"Carter, the professional, can handle the specific legal matters with you later; I'm not too concerned about that," Kelly said, stroking his chin. "What I am concerned about is this: I heard that one of the lawyers who attended the conference called a mutual friend afterward, and that friend is a golf buddy of Crane's fundraising director. The news should have reached Crane's ears by now."

He should now realize that we are seriously preparing a legal counterattack.

This is exactly the result of what he called "letting the waters out."

"How do you think he'll react?" Rachel's thoughts finally drifted away from the whiteboard.

“It’s uncertain,” Kelly said. “But his pressure will definitely increase. He might speed up the litigation process, or even launch a more aggressive media campaign, or fire another intern because of a dispute.”

"He will act regardless, and once he acts, he will expose his weaknesses."

"That's incredibly confident!"

"You have to be confident!" Kelly laughed.

Sean chuckled wryly after hearing this: "Then we'll prepare in advance. At the same time, we'll officially launch the constituency service survey I mentioned. We need a small team to go deep into Cran's constituencies."

"Who's leading the team?" Kelly asked. "You and Rachel, again?"

“Rachel has experience as an investigative journalist and is good at uncovering stories. In addition, I hope Mr. Carter can come with us as well.” Sean glanced at Vincent. “Of course, I assure you this will not affect the specific legal work.”

"You can come with us to see that—that protester." He mentioned Travis.

Vincent shrugged, his expression quite serious.

"It sounds like a good suggestion, but I hope it's not meant to smear. We need to base our arguments on facts, give Krane a chance to respond, and focus on systemic issues rather than—not personal attacks."

Just then, the front door opened.

Matthew and Liam walked in, both looking somewhat tired.

"Mr. Pan, you're back?" Matthew said. "We have a complicated situation to report to you."

Sean gestured for them to sit down: "About the Green Party coalition? Tell me quickly."

Then Matthew recounted their experiences visiting scholars: the setbacks at Stanford, the turning point at Santa Cruz, and Professor Greenberg's support.

"He said the Green Party was willing to cooperate with us on issues, but hoped we would at least publicly join hands on core issues such as climate change and income inequality," Matthew concluded. "I tended to refuse and remain independent, but Liam thought limited cooperation could be considered."

Everyone looked at Sean.

Sean didn't answer immediately. He walked to the window and looked at the darkening sky outside.

He still had some recollection of the Green Party.

"I remember—the Green Party had about 4% support in California," he said slowly. "Half of those were staunch environmentalists, and the other half were progressives disillusioned with both parties. If we made an open coalition, we might gain that 4%, but we might lose moderate voters, as well as those who are dissatisfied with the status quo but not yet ready to vote for the far left."

He turned to his team: "But the problem isn't the numbers. The problem is identity. If we tie ourselves to the Greens now, we become a third-party challenger on the left, not a new option that transcends left and right. Our message will become confusing."

Liam couldn't help but say, "But if we completely refuse, we might end up with no one. It's common sense that political alliances are necessary."

"It's a matter of timing," Kelly interjected. "It's too early to form a formal alliance. We're still in the process of establishing our identity. We'll have more leverage when we have a certain level of support."

"But Professor Greenberg said he might not support us if we don't take a stand now," Matthew said.

"Don't let yourself be controlled by others, Matthew," Kelly said with a smile, then looked to see how Sean would respond.

Sean offered his perspective: "We can tell him that we are willing to cooperate on specific policies. For example, if we are elected, we will push for a certain environmental bill proposed by the Green Party—although this is a bit of a pie in the sky, formal endorsement or joint campaigning is not feasible right now."

He paused for a moment: "Moreover, we need him to prove his worth first—by writing policy analyses for us and endorsing us with his academic reputation. If he does that, we will seriously consider further cooperation."

".——

After a moment of silence, Matthew finally made up his mind.

"Understood, I will convey that to him."

"Alright," Sean clapped his hands, "everyone's here now. Let's continue our discussion about the badger-hunting plan. Besides that, I'd like to hear everyone's takeaways from today so we can add something to our campaign proposal—"

"So you've finally stopped being a fence-sitter?" Kelly raised an eyebrow.

"I prefer to call our Mr. Sean: Two-Faced." Rachel's usually icy face broke into a rare smile.