"This?"
Stern picked up the paper and waved it in front of Leo.
Only then did Leo realize that aside from the cover page printed with the title "Pennsylvania Comprehensive Freight Mobility Plan," the pages inside were completely blank.
"This is just a cover I printed at the front desk while you were making your call. I stuffed a few napkins inside to give it some thickness."
Stern looked at Leo's stunned expression and gave a sneer.
"Young man, you're still too green."
Stern casually tossed the stack of wastepaper into a nearby trash can.
"In Washington, real power is never written on paper."
"I don't need to give you any documents."
"I just need to make one phone call, and they'll know in Harrisburg that the wind has changed."
"That's politics."
Leo stared at the trash can.
He understood something.
At this level, legal documents were merely paperwork to be filed after the fact. What truly decided life and death was the whim of a powerful man.
