Blake is surprised to see Irene starting the conversation already with them but decided to remain silent and just observe how each react to her words
When Blake hears this he has to stop from laughing and only cracks a small smile before he assessed him in his mind as somebody how sees only in black and white a naive idealist if he had to guess
@NOTHING HERE @Tjf @Omega98 Irene finished speaking. "You are wrong, young senator. We don't want to see the... state to fall." It did not escape Jacob that she did not use the word 'Republic'. "We want the domain to thrive... that's why we are ready to support your motion..." She paused. "But we have to be sure, that the money you will gain, will not be... wasted." She nodded to the trio senators with respect and took a step back, standing next to Blake. "Your turn. I hope you have your offer prepared..." She whispered so that only Blake Orange could hear her.
Blake puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder before nodding at her after which he turns to the Delisle family "Good day senators my name is Blake Orange and came here"He now looks at Shawn Delisle" To save you the time from coming after me, so very generous from me dont you think. Now we know what you want from us to YES for the loan .Now our price is that we have a say in how the money from the loan is spend and you know since im felling so generous today i will let you chose the rest of my price.But i have to warn you i my receive other offers that i might accept if i sense that the offer was to low" Says Blake with smile on his face
@NOTHING HERE @Tjf @Omega98 Shawn Delisle leaned back in his seat, considering the young man... but giving no reply. He just sat there, giving Jean, Jacob and Clara a chance to speak.
Jean felt an absolutely incredible amount of pride towards her son. Like his father he believed in doing good things for good reasons, and being a good person because it was the right thing to do. She'd done something right with him, and she couldn't hide her pride towards him even if she wanted to. But she also felt a sense of disappointment. She would make sure he was King one day, and his open hostility would need to be tempered and hidden. She was content to let Shawn and the newcomers speak. She was reasonably certain they could come to an arrangement on their own. Her husband was at the very least a capable diplomat after all. Instead she turned her attention towards the two independents. If she could negotiate a price that wasn't too high then they'd be well worth the effort.
Jacob crosses his arms and lets his mother take the lead in the negotiations, not wanting to sully his hands with them.
@NOTHING HERE @Tjf @Omega98 Shawn Delisle thinks for a moment, letting the silence drag... after a moment. Spoiler: Blake's Oratory 81 +20 (master orator) -10 (arrogant address) -> 71 > 50 -> failure The senator slowly leaned back. "Your proposition is unappealing and your demeanour offensive." The older man started, slowly. "You can try to blackmail me as much as you want, but by the end of the day, when the public sees that the policy that was supposed to help them, is being blocked by you, how do you think they will react?" The man paused, letting Blake digest it. "If you want to shoot yourself in the foot, by alienating your voters by making their lives miserable, please..." He spread his hands. "Be my guest." A small smile marted his face. "If that was all, boy," He almost sneered the word. "Make yourself gone."
Blake stood there for a second looking at Shawn Delisle before he started bursting out laughing and after that starting to clap his hands "That was good Senator Shawn ,that was good nice speech" He stops clapping but still has a smile on his face "It almost made me forget the situation you are in that if you fail to pass this policy you and your party will be held accountable for causing this economic crisis and every politician worth two bucks will be having a speech about how the JL and Shawn Delisle failed the Republic until you leave the political world for good.Also blackmail i merely offer you deal that can save you. But if you want this" He gestures to the whole chaos in the senate" Be my guest" he spreads his hands copying him mockingly " Well then im leaving i will wait your answer you know my name you can figure out where to find me "After he says that he starts to move away from them with Irene and his secretary waving his hand and saying in a joking way " Bye old man "
The trio left and walked in silence. But after a few steps, Irene spoke, worry in her tone. "Was it wise?"
@Tjf @Omega98 As the young man left, Shawn Delisle shook his head. "It seems that at least one problem seems to be solving itself. We now have someone to blame." He said as he turned to Jacob. "The young eager fool forgot that we are in a public place. The video recording of that meeting will be shown in the news, and what will people see? An RHP senator who voted against them having money, coming to the senators who wanted to help them, mocking them and laughing at them. Without audio, that's how they will interpret it." The man shook his head. "Remember, my son, always be mindful of your surroundings..." He then frowned and turned to his wife. "Do we have senators we could convince to switch sides before next voting?" He asked.
Blake thinks for a second "Probably not if you think it in perspective but what done is done " He then looks over to his secretary Symania "Symania i want a list with all how abstained and a second with all the independent senators and the outcast from the various party " He then looks at Irene " We are going to make it that if they want to pass that policy they need to deal with us "
His secretary moved her hand to her glasses and adjusted them. "Yes, sir." She said briskly, as her attention moved to her datapad. Irene stayed silent for a moment. "Agreed. But how do we want to achieve this?" She asked. "You want to buy those who abstained first? It might come with a higher cost now... if we will be fighting for them with JL..."
Blake looks at Irene before responding "Well il like to talk with them and see the price they have and if we do not get the votes of the abstained then at the very least i want the JL to pay more for them that they would have to . But if you have other idea feel free to share them with me "
Irene hummed as she considered the situation. "Why go to fight with JL, when we want them to win?" She asked after a moment. "What do we gain from fighting against them?"
"Simple put because even though i agree with the loan that dose not change the fact that we are political opponents ,you thinks that if us were in their situation they would not try to fuck us over in some way ,hell they probably thinking right as we talks now of something to do to fuck us over ."Blake sigh before starting again "Irene you saw how they opened the conversation they accused us of being racist and not caring of the people that is how they see us terrible people and because of that they would not shy away from the dirtiest of tactics "Says Blake before puting a hand on his forehead"But i guess you were asking if its worth it to do this or not. And maybe i am too heated after that discussion with them to make logical choices maybe we should just go to our party and say we need to stay united in this and be done with it, What do you says Irene Symania is it worth the trouble i value your girls advice"Says Blake while looking at them
Jean nodded slightly. "There were a couple members of the Justice League who voted against us. I'll gain an audience and get them to switch their votes. A pair of independents voted against us, they might be swayed but I'll have to sit down with them first. They may want something in exchange, but it shouldn't affect anything outside their riding's. With your blessing I'll open negotiations." While the Vocal Emancipation League and the Contemporary Choice League would probably be easier to influence, as their beliefs lay closer with that of the Justice League, Jean would prefer not to grant either political party anything. And she'd only negotiate with the Elf from Extremist Reformation Union if she absolutely had to. It was true that the New Operation Party and the Peaceful Homeland Party weren't inclined to change their votes, many of their views overlapped with her personal ones and she was confident in her ability to deal with them. She'd send a request for meetings with influential members of both parties once the public session was over.
"I hope the people care about his bad sportsmanship." Jacob sighs at his father's words, and looks to his mother. "Need someone to tag along to those negotiations, mother?" Jacob asks as Jean lays out her plans. "I could use the threat of my supporters to help sway some people's opinions. No politician likes protesters chanting outside their office, after all." The young man chuckles, keeping it hidden that part of his motivation is to ensure that his mother doesn't sleep with anyone to get a deal done. Jacob used to deny all the rumors about her, but after beating a bully half to death in the Military Academy, he was forced to deal with the fact that Jean does in fact sleep around.
For Jean her son's offer was at once welcome and not. While publicly she supported the Justice League agenda, in reality the only part of their platform she agreed with were aspects of their economic policy. In her planned dealings with the PHP she wanted to impose upon them her commitment to an Independent Sanctum Mesa and her shared views on elven relations, while at the same time placating their insistence on a military based economy and want of a democracy. Meanwhile her negotiations with the NOP would heavily rely on her assurance that the military would not be ignored with the loan. She loved to listen to her son speak. He was passionate, and commanding and she would oftentimes get enraptured by his speeches. But he was also earnest and honest. People believed and followed him because he believed in what he spoke about. Backroom politics was a dirty business by nature and one had to compromise their morals and integrity to get things done. It was something Jacob's father didn't understand because she'd spent the last twenty years protecting him from it. She wanted her son to maintain the same moral high-ground his father had, and him being in the room as she stabbed the Justice League in the back to further its agenda was something that would only hinder her. She granted Jacob a warm smile that was tinged with a touch of sadness. "While I would adore to spend more time with you, and I do so love to listen to you speak, I think your efforts would be best suited to negotiating with representatives of VEL or the CCL, Your reputation would have a far better ability to swing their votes to us than mine."
Jacob suppresses a blush at his mother's praise - he's always tried to pretend that he didn't like it - and nods. "Alright, then, mother. Just..." He gives her a long look. "Just...you don't have to agree to anything...drastic. There'll be another way to get what we want." He doesn't say what he's referring to, but he hardly needs to. Jacob has always assumed that his mother's way of making deals was something she didn't want to do, but was forced into by circumstance, so he gives her a smile and a pat on the shoulder. "Alright." He says after a silent moment. "I should head out to meet with those representatives." @majus Turning, he leaves his parents, and contacts his political aide, Mysandra, the woman appearing via a hologram at his wrist. "Hey, My. Could you contact the VEL and CCL for me? I'd like to get a meeting with some of their senators. Preferably one after the other."
