The next morning, the door to the Mayor’s Office was pushed open.

Gavin Stone strode inside.

This refined politician in a charcoal pinstripe suit was completely different from Thomas Moretti.

Moretti reeked of stale cigars, carrying the greasy air of an old-school politician.

Gavin Stone smelled only of cologne and mints.

He was more like a fund manager straight off the floor of a Wall Street exchange, or a corporate raider preparing for a company buyout.

Sharp, capable, and aggressive.

"My apologies, Mr. Mayor."

Stone casually shut the door, closing Ethan’s displeased face out of the room.

He walked straight to the guest chair in front of the desk and sat down, his movements as natural as if he were in his own home.

"I know you require an appointment, but what I’ve brought is too important. All that tedious procedure will just delay us from making money."

Leo put down his pen.

He looked at the uninvited guest.

In that pyramid photo of the City Council, Stone was at the top of the opposition.

He was Morganfield’s direct agent in the legislature, a watchdog for business interests.

"Representative Stone."

Leo leaned back in his chair, his fingers intertwined.

"I thought we had nothing to discuss, unless you’re here to inform me that you plan to vote in favor of my budget proposal."

"Precisely."

Stone offered a professional smile.

It was a standard smile, revealing perfectly white teeth.

"I’m here for your budget proposal."

Stone took a document from his briefcase and slid it smoothly across the desk, stopping in front of Leo.

"This is the draft resolution just drawn up by the Budget and Finance Committee." Stone’s voice betrayed no emotion. "Speaker Moretti asked me to bring it to you first, to ask for your opinion and see if there’s any possibility of us reaching a consensus."

Leo’s gaze lingered on the cover for only a second.

"A five-million-US Dollar emergency repair fund." Leo looked up, a wry smile on his face as he looked at Stone. "Is this the Speaker’s sincerity? Representative Stone, what do you think? Do you think this number is enough?"

Stone looked at Leo, then slowly shook his head, his face a mask of disdain.

"Five million?" Stone scoffed. "That’s what you give to a beggar."

"It’s an insult to a Mayor who won with seventy-two percent of the vote. Honestly, him having me bring you this is just a waste of my time."

"I strongly disagree with his methods."

"And Mr. Douglas Morganfield disagrees as well."

Stone mentioned the name.

The air in the room instantly grew thick.

"So, Mr. Morganfield sent you to write me a bigger check?"

"You could put it that way."

Stone leaned forward, lowering his voice.

"We both know that while Moretti is the Speaker, he doesn’t control everyone. He only has a few naive centrists in his pocket."

"As for me, besides my own vote, I can influence two others."

Stone held up two fingers.

"If you get my support, plus your own two guaranteed votes, you’ll have five votes."

"You wouldn’t even need Moretti’s nod to pass any bill you want."

"You can bypass that old gatekeeper and get the key to the treasury yourself."

It was a tremendous temptation.

To dismantle Moretti’s blockade and seize control of the City Council.

This was the situation Leo had dreamed of.

"What’s the price?" Leo asked.

There was no such thing as a free lunch, especially not in Pittsburgh City Hall.

"Simple."

"We just need you to adjust your work schedule."

"We want you to elevate the ’Inland Port Expansion Plan’ to the number one agenda item for your administration."

"Initiate the bidding process for the port’s automation system immediately, and finalize the contracts within the next month."

"As long as you agree to this, my allies and I will immediately switch sides in the City Council and give you our full support."

Leo looked at Stone.

His mind raced.

The Inland Port expansion was indeed the basis of his deal with Morganfield.

He had promised to push this project.

"I promised Mr. Morganfield I would push the port project," Leo said. "But that takes time. We need to conduct an environmental assessment, negotiate with the Union, and wait for matching funds from the Federation."

"Those are just excuses, Leo."

Stone cut him off.

"If you want it done, you can fast-track it. The procedures can be shortened. As for funding, the Morganfield Group can advance the initial payments or help issue municipal bonds."

"We can’t wait that long."

"The market is volatile. This logistics boom has a window of opportunity. Mr. Morganfield wants to see excavators on the docks by next week."

Greed flickered in Stone’s eyes.

"Think about it. This is a win-win situation."

"You want political achievements? A project worth hundreds of millions of US Dollars, what an achievement that would be! You’ll become the greatest builder in Pittsburgh’s history."

"Mr. Morganfield wants the port, and he wants his profits."

"As for your so-called ’Revitalization Plan, Phase Two’..."

Stone waved his hand dismissively.

"Those welfare projects, building houses and daycares for the poor, can all be put on the back burner."

"Once the port is built and we’re making money, it won’t be too late to deal with them next year."

"Stop trying to fill those bottomless pits. Let’s make this feast big enough first. Then, even the scraps that fall from our fingers will be enough to make those people outside grateful."

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in Leo’s mind.

’He’s lying, Leo.’

’This isn’t a win-win at all. It’s the strangulation of your political career.’

’Think about it. What happens the moment you agree to make the port project your top priority?’

’A project worth hundreds of millions of US Dollars, even just the startup capital, will instantly drain Pittsburgh’s fragile fiscal reserves.’

’If you issue bonds, the city’s debt ratio will hit the red line. Once that ratio is exceeded, the city government will be prohibited from any new non-profit spending.’

’This means your ’Revitalization Plan, Phase Two’ will be completely defunded.’

’Not just this year, but next year, and the year after. As long as the port project is still burning money, you won’t get a single cent from the treasury to build schools or cooperative societies.’

’Your administrative energy will be consumed by endless bidding conferences, project coordination meetings, and environmental impact hearings.’

’You’ll become Morganfield’s senior project manager.’

’And what will the workers who elected you see? The poor who are waiting for you to deliver on your promises?’

’They’ll see that the first thing their chosen Mayor does after taking office is take their tax money to build a port for big capitalists and bring in automated machines that will take their jobs.’

’As for the benefits you promised them? We’ll talk about that next year.’

’Don’t forget, a feast is never prepared for the chef. When they’ve eaten their fill, they won’t thank the cook. They’ll just resent the greasy slob for dirtying their expensive carpets.’

’If you agree, you’ll be betraying your promise.’

’You really will become a dog on Morganfield’s leash.’

Leo looked at Stone’s sharp, calculating face.

He felt a sense of disgust.

This disgust wasn’t directed at Stone personally, but at his casual, entitled arrogance.

In the eyes of people like him, the right of the poor to survive could always be postponed, always be sacrificed.

As long as it was for the sake of so-called "economic growth," for the "greater good," sacrificing the interests of one group was perfectly justified.

But they would never sacrifice their own interests.

Leo sat up straight.

His hand left the document, pushing it back across the desk to Stone.

The movement was light, but the rejection was heavy.

"Representative Stone."

Leo’s voice was calm and firm.

"Please relay a message to Mr. Morganfield for me."

"I will push the port project. That is my promise, and I will not go back on my word."

"But."

"Not now."

"And certainly not as the top priority."

The smile vanished from Stone’s face.

"Mr. Mayor, you may have misunderstood me. This is your only chance to turn the tables in the council..."

"I understood you perfectly," Leo interrupted. "But I have my principles."

"You eat one bite at a time, and you walk one step at a time."

"My constituents, the workers and residents in the South District, the Hill District, the Brooklyn District—they’re hungry right now."

"They need jobs, they need safe communities, they need tangible hope."

"I have to fill their bowls first."

"Only when they’ve eaten their fill, when they have strength and dignity, can they go and haul heavier bricks to build that magnificent port."

Leo stared into Stone’s eyes.

"That order cannot be changed."

"This is its own kind of economics, Representative Stone. Infrastructure without the people’s livelihood as its foundation is just a castle in the sky."

"I will not mortgage this city’s future for Mr. Morganfield’s profit sheet, and I certainly won’t squander the trust the citizens have placed in me."

"Revitalization Plan, Phase Two, must be this year’s top priority. That is non-negotiable."

The room fell silent.

Stone looked at Leo, his eyes filled with disbelief. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He didn’t understand.

’Why would anyone refuse such a profitable deal?’

’Trading a vague ’next year’ for real power today, for Morganfield’s friendship—isn’t that the most rational choice?’

’This young Mayor is an irrational madman.’

’Or maybe he’s some kind of saint, his head clouded by a foolish sense of morality.’

’Either way, in Stone’s eyes, he was an incorrigible fool.’

Stone slowly put the document back into his briefcase.

His movements were slow, exuding a sense of menace.

"A shame."

Stone stood up, smoothing the bottom of his suit jacket.

He looked down on Leo, his gaze turning ice-cold.

"A great shame, Mr. Wallace."

"You’ve missed your chance to become a great Mayor."

"Mr. Morganfield is not a patient man. He doesn’t like to wait, and he especially doesn’t like people disrupting his rhythm."

"He gave you a chance because he thought you still had some use."

"But if you insist on doing this the hard way..."

Stone walked to the door, placed his hand on the handle, and paused.

He didn’t turn back, but his voice carried clearly.

"If you’re not willing to light the fire and heat up this machine yourself..."

"Then, Mr. Morganfield might just have to step in and add some fuel to the fire for you."

"And when that happens, there’s no guarantee the fire won’t get out of control and burn you in the process."

The door was opened, then slammed shut.

Gavin Stone was gone.

Leo sat in his chair, staring at the closed door.

He knew that by refusing Stone, the road ahead was now completely blocked.

’Afraid, my boy?’

Roosevelt asked.

"No."

Leo answered.

"Because I know I’m right."

"If I had agreed to his terms today, then I would truly be finished."

’Good.’ Roosevelt laughed. ’Since they don’t want us to pave the road, we’ll just have to blow it wide open.’

’Stone thinks he represents power.’

’But he’s forgotten one thing.’

’True power is never found in those fancy boardrooms.’

’True power is on the streets.’