Ethan left, leaving Leo alone in his office.

Just a moment ago, he had received news that Moretti had convened an emergency closed-door meeting with the council members.

But not everyone attended.

Aisha Williams and Benji Cohen, the two allies who had clearly sided with Leo, did not go to the meeting.

It didn’t matter.

Even without the two of them, Moretti still held seven votes.

Seven votes were enough to pass any resolution, enough to override any mayoral veto, enough to turn the entire city council into his personal rubber stamp.

"Mr. President."

Leo stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his fingers tapping lightly on the glass.

"What if Moretti can keep them in line?"

"What if he can use his prestige, or more vicious methods, to force everyone to present a united front?"

"What if they’d rather bite the bullet and pay the damages, rather bear the infamy, just to fight me to the bitter end?"

It was a reasonable concern.

After all, Moretti had been navigating the city council for twenty-five years. He had seen his fair share of storms.

’Unity? Heh.’

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in Leo’s mind.

’Fear is the best solvent.’

’Especially when that fear isn’t just about power, but about money.’

’Human nature is greedy, but it is even more cowardly.’

’When a ship starts taking on water, the first thing the rats worry about isn’t whether the ship will sink, but whether their own little piece of cheese will get wet.’

’Since you’re so worried, I’ll walk you through what they’re probably saying in that meeting right now.’

...

「At the same time.」

In the city council conference room.

Thomas Moretti sat at the head of the conference table, his expression so dark it looked like it could drip water.

Before him lay a report that had just been delivered from the legal department.

It listed the number of lawsuit claims received to date, along with a shockingly high estimated amount for damages.

Thirty-one million US dollars, and that was just the first day.

"This is outright robbery!"

An angry roar shattered the dead silence of the conference room.

The one who spoke was Gavin Stone.

The councilman representing the downtown commercial district and the wealthy neighborhoods was red in the face as he slammed his hand on the table.

"Moretti! You have to deal with that lunatic!"

Stone pointed at the report on the table, his finger trembling.

"Thirty million US dollars? Do you know what this means?"

"It means next year’s municipal deficit is going to explode!"

"If the city council is forced to raise property taxes to fill this hole, then I’m finished!"

"My constituents, the lawyers, doctors, and bankers living in those big houses on Squirrel Mountain, they’ll eat me alive!"

"They don’t care about some bullshit political struggle! All they care about is their own wallets!"

Stone tugged at his tie, looking hysterical.

"We have to approve that maintenance budget immediately!"

"Or just pass his damned revitalization plan!"

"As long as it shuts him up and stops this suicidal legal assault, I’m willing to compromise!"

...

’Capital will absolutely surrender.’

Roosevelt’s voice held a hint of a smile.

’This is the power of fear.’

’Gavin Stone is Morganfield’s agent, a watchdog for the rich.’

’For the wealthy, nothing is more terrifying than ’unforeseeable financial loss.’’

’He’ll be the first to jump out and oppose Moretti’s delay tactics, because he can’t afford to lose.’

...

"Absolutely not!"

Another sharp voice rang out in the conference room.

Linda Rossi shot up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

She stared daggers at Stone, her eyes filled with contempt.

"Gavin, you spineless coward!"

"If we compromise now, if we give him the money right now, we’ll become that punk’s rubber stamp!"

"From now on, does he just have to threaten us a little to get whatever he wants?"

Linda Rossi was a guardian of the old bureaucratic system. Her hatred for Leo wasn’t just about a conflict of interest, but a class hatred that ran bone-deep.

The change Leo represented was destroying the comfortable old world she depended on for survival.

"We are the legislature! We hold the power of budget approval!"

Linda’s voice was sharp and piercing.

"We will not be blackmailed by the executive branch!"

"Those lawsuits? Then let him sue!"

"Let the legal department fight it out in court! Let the lawyers drag it out! We can delay for three years, five years!"

"Let’s see who can outlast whom!"

...

’Hatred.’

Roosevelt commented.

’Linda Rossi will oppose Stone.’

’Because for her, seeing you fail is more important than anything else.’

’She’s willing to pay any price to make it happen.’

’She’ll try to use her rigid, old-school bureaucratic logic to fight to the bitter end.’

’But her fanaticism will frighten the centrists who only care about their own interests.’

...

Back in the conference room, the argument continued.

Old Billy, representing the traditional Union district, twirled a pen in his hand, his brow furrowed.

"Delay?"

Old Billy mumbled. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the now-quiet room.

"That’s easy for you to say, Linda."

"My district is full of old working-class neighborhoods, with potholes everywhere and half the streetlights broken."

"Before, when I didn’t fix them, I could say we didn’t have the money. The voters would complain a bit, but they’d put up with it."

"But now, that Wallace fellow has told everyone they can get compensated if they get hurt."

"My constituents are calling me every day now, asking why I won’t let them fix the roads, asking if I want them to break their legs so they can collect a payout."

Old Billy sighed.

"If these payouts really do bankrupt the city’s finances,"

"then what about the park ranger position I was arranging for my nephew next year?"

"And where will the increased funding I promised the retired police association come from?"

"If the money’s gone, my seat won’t be secure either."

Samira Rodriguez, sitting next to him, chimed in.

"That’s right."

The councilwoman representing the Latino community sounded full of worry.

"If there’s no money, does that mean the commercial street renovation project in my district is dead in the water?"

"I promised my constituents we’d break ground next year."

"We can’t just lose all of everyone’s money just to spite the Mayor."

...

’See, Leo?’

Roosevelt’s voice spoke up.

’This is the fragility of an alliance.’

’When there’s no external pressure, they can sit together, carve up the pie, and laugh and chat.’

’But when a real crisis hits, when every single person’s vested interests are threatened,’

’that seemingly solid alliance will instantly crumble into loose sand.’

’Everyone is calculating their own gains and losses, everyone is looking for an exit strategy.’

’What Moretti is facing now isn’t just your attack.’

’It’s an internal mutiny.’

...

"Everyone, shut up!"

Moretti slammed down the gavel in his hand.

BANG!

The heavy thud made everyone fall silent.

Moretti stood up, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone present.

He looked at the frantic Stone, the fanatical Linda, and the wavering Billy and Samira.

He knew the consensus was broken.

If he didn’t act, the council would fracture tonight.

"You think you’ll get your funding if you compromise?"

Moretti’s voice wasn’t loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed through his gritted teeth.

"You think he’ll let us off the hook if you just give him that twenty million?"

"That’s how naive you are!"

Moretti pointed out the window, at the lit-up building across the street.

"You know damn well what kind of person that new Mayor is!"

"He’s Sanders’s man! He’s here to stage a revolution against us!"

"Today he’s using road repairs to corner us, tomorrow it’ll be anti-corruption, and the day after it’ll be redistricting!"

"If we let him get stronger, if we let him seize the initiative,"

"Next year!"

Moretti’s hand slammed down on the table.

"Next year, all of your budgets will be cut!"

"Your little slush funds, the jobs you arranged for your relatives, those contracts you have with contractors—he’ll drag it all out into the light!"

"When that time comes, you won’t just lose that bit of road repair money—you’ll lose everything!"

His words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing any wishful thinking in the council members’ hearts.

They remembered Leo’s campaign promises, remembered his so-called "transparency reform."

Yes, Leo was the enemy.

The kind of enemy you fight to the death.

Seeing the change in everyone’s expressions, Moretti knew his intimidation had worked.

Now, it was time for the carrot.

"Listen."

Moretti softened his tone.

"We can’t just refuse him outright. That would be stupid."

"But we also can’t pass his ’Revitalization Plan Phase Two.’ That’s our bottom line."

"We’ll take a compromise."

Moretti laid out his counter-strategy.

"We can start by approving an ’Emergency Municipal Facilities Repair Fund.’"

"Not too large an amount. Five million US dollars. Enough to shut the mouths of the citizens who want to sue, and enough to patch the most dangerous potholes."

"But this money must be directly overseen by the city council. It cannot go into Leo’s revitalization plan account."

"We need to turn this money into our political victory, not his."

Moretti looked at Old Billy and Samira, his eyes full of implication.

"As long as we get through this round, as long as we don’t let him get full control of the budget,"

"when the time comes to draft the annual operating and capital budgets, I will prioritize each of your districts."

"Whether it’s the park ranger position, the commercial street renovation project, or property tax relief,"

"as long as you stand with me today, I guarantee, you’ll get it."

"That’s a promise."

Old Billy and Samira glanced at each other, and both saw the hesitation in the other’s eyes.

Five million could solve the immediate problem and protect their future interests.

Since they could avoid a complete fallout with the Mayor while also protecting their own cheese, why not do it?

Stone fell silent as well.

As long as taxes weren’t raised and no major chaos erupted, he could also accept this compromise.

Even Linda, though reluctant, knew this was the only way forward for now.

"Agreed," Stone said, raising his hand first.

"Agreed," Old Billy followed.

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

One by one, hands went up.

Under the temptation of cold, hard cash, and the fear of their common enemy, Leo,

the seven of them grudgingly reached a consensus.

A united front for a temporary resistance.

...

Roosevelt’s voice held a trace of amusement.

’In the end, they’ll reach some sort of compromise.’

’They’ll approve a small sum of money to try and send you away, like shooing off a beggar who comes to the door.’

’They think that if they just fix the roads and shut the citizens up, you’ll quiet down.’

’A crack has already formed, but Moretti has forcibly glued it back together with self-interest.’

’Now, the ball is back in your court.’

’They’ve given you the money to fix the roads, but they’ve rejected your revitalization plan.’

’Do you accept?’

Leo turned around and looked at the legal code still open on his desk.

"No, Mr. President." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"I’m not just going to fix the roads. I’m going to fix the people."

"They want to confine this problem to the scope of money."

"Then I’ll turn this problem from a matter of money into a matter of politics."

"Since they want to play, we’ll just have to play for bigger stakes."