Would You Gamble Once?

William took a deep breath. "The Emergency Banking Act only made them protest, but in the end, they accepted it, because when all was said and done, it was saving their lives. But a plan like this... Wall Street will truly fight us to the death."

Roosevelt looked at Feilan. "William says that doing this will make Wall Street fight us to the death. What do you think?"

The corners of Feilan's lips rose slightly. "I think William is right. They will definitely fight for their lives, but that doesn't mean we'll lose."

"The banks have only just reopened, public confidence has only just returned, and those financial conglomerates have only just accepted a defeat. This is when they are weakest, and when they least dare make any rash moves."

"If we wait for them to catch their breath, wait for them to gather their strength again, wait for them to regain control of public opinion, buy off legislators, and infiltrate the courts."

"By then, we won't even be able to lift the scalpel."

He looked at Roosevelt, his gaze firm. "Now is the best time."

Roosevelt nodded in agreement and looked at William again. "What do you think?"

William said nothing, but at a time like this, that attitude itself signified assent.

"Then what exactly should we do?"

"This requires timing, planning, and time. We cannot rush it. I'll personally begin laying out the plan."

Roosevelt stared at Feilan before finally nodding. "Ask for whatever help you need."

"Of course."

After that, the group discussed some further plans.

It was not until several hours later that the three of them stepped out of the Oval Office.

On the steps before the White House, the sunlight stretched the shadows of the three men long.

Feilan was about to head toward the black sedan that had been waiting for him.

Roosevelt had instructed the Secret Service to arrange that car and driver for him.

"Feilan, I'll take you home."

Feilan paused.

He looked into William's eyes and immediately understood.

It was not mere politeness. It meant: I have something to say.

He turned and waved to the waiting driver. "Osato, go on back first. I'll take Secretary William's car."

The driver hesitated, but he still nodded.

Feilan got into William's sedan. The door closed, the engine started, and the car slowly merged into the traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The car was silent for several seconds.

William watched the streetscape flash past outside the window before suddenly speaking. "Feilan, if you weren't so young, I think you might be the most suitable candidate for Treasury Secretary at present."

Feilan turned to look at him.

A complicated expression lay on William's face.

Appreciation, emotion, and a trace of indescribable weariness.

"To speak from the heart, you have ideas, ability, and drive. More importantly, you dare to fight and struggle, and you dare to break the status quo. What this country needs now is not the sort of steady, unremarkable bureaucrat. What it may need is someone like you... a vanguard of reform."

William paused and gave a bitter smile. "Of course, your proposals are radical enough to make these old bones of mine tremble. But sometimes, I have to admit that for the United States as it is now, radical may be right."

Feilan was silent for a second, then gently shook his head. "Secretary William, perhaps you think too highly of me."

"Perhaps. But Feilan, I intend to submit my resignation to the President."

Feilan's expression froze.

"It has been exactly thirteen days since I took office. Do you know that these thirteen days have made me feel twenty years older?"

William continued to smile bitterly. "During the days of the Emergency Banking Act, I slept less than three hours a day. Those review reports, those negotiations, those dealings with Wall Street—every single matter drained me dry. I thought that once the bill passed, I would finally be able to breathe easy."

"But today, the things you said in the Oval Office—Banking–Securities Separation, Deposit Insurance, Holding Company Regulation, Information Disclosure."

"That will be a battle with more than ten times the pressure of the Emergency Banking Act."

"I'm old. My health was never good, and my energy can no longer keep up. Passing the Emergency Banking Act has already exhausted the last of my strength. At least I pulled the United States back from the brink of death. My mission can be considered complete, can't it?"

Feilan's brow furrowed more deeply.

He knew William was telling the truth.

This Treasury Secretary was indeed old, and his health was poor. According to the course of history, he would die next year.

As for what came next regarding that bill, the pressure truly would be more than ten times greater than that of the Emergency Banking Act.

But he also knew something else.

Right now, he needed William. The country needed this Treasury Secretary.

It was not his energy they needed. Ballantine could handle those matters, and so could he himself.

What they needed was William's prestige.

His decades of standing in the banking world, his connections on Capitol Hill, and his countless tangled ties with those financial conglomerates.

Those were things ability could not replace, things youth could not make up for.

"William, I know you're tired. I know that over these past dozen days, you have given more than anyone else. But now, the United States needs you."

William did not respond.

Feilan continued, "The Emergency Banking Act reopened the banks, brought deposits back, and sent the stock market up. But those are only surface appearances. The true diseased core is still rotting inside. Those financial conglomerates are still there, those loopholes are still there, and the mechanisms that have sent this country plunging into the abyss time and again are still there."

"If we stop now, if we let go just because we are tired, then before long—two years at most—it will all happen again. The banks will collapse again, the people will lose everything again, and everything we have fought desperately to do today will become nothing more than a pile of wastepaper."

"Are you willing to see that day come?"

William remained silent.

Feilan's voice dropped lower. "I'm not asking you to fight like you have these past dozen days, but at least... at least remain in the position of Treasury Secretary. Don't let it stand empty. With you there, the people in Congress will not dare go too far. With you there, those financial conglomerates will always have a line connecting them to us. With you there, Ballantine and I will have a little more confidence when we act."

William was still silent.

Feilan waited several seconds, then changed his approach. "Three months."

William finally reacted and turned to look at him. "What?"

"Three months. Hold on for another three months. Then I will personally vouch for you before the President and make sure you can retire."

William stared at him, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes. "You think your plan can be completed in three months?"

"It can."

Feilan answered without the slightest hesitation.

William shook his head. "Feilan, I know you have talent and ability, but this plan—Banking–Securities Separation, Deposit Insurance, Holding Company Regulation—every single measure will drive those people on Wall Street mad. They will use every means at their disposal to obstruct it. I don't believe you can complete it within three months."

Feilan looked at him. "Then, for the people of the United States, are you willing to gamble once?"