"If they can ruin your reputation, if they can keep you bogged down in your own backyard dealing with internal dissent and division, you won’t have the energy to help Murphy influence the statewide election."

"Once Pittsburgh is in chaos, Murphy’s campaign will lose its foundation and collapse on its own."

Ethan pointed to the phrase in the article: "the Judas in a hoodie."

"Look at this phrasing. This is pure psychological warfare aimed at young, progressive voters."

Leo listened to Ethan’s analysis.

It all made perfect sense.

With the party primary just around the corner, it was inevitable that Monroe, as the front-runner, would try to suppress his challengers.

And weakening Murphy by attacking Leo was, without a doubt, a brilliant move.

"It seems our dear Vice Governor is getting desperate."

Leo leaned back in his chair, his eyes turning cold.

"So what do we do?" Sarah asked anxiously. "The comment sections are out of control. A lot of students are organizing protests, saying they’re going to block the gates at the construction site. Should we respond? Should we explain?"

"Explain how?"

Leo shot back.

"Am I supposed to tell them, ’Yes, I did make a deal with Morganfield, but I got five hundred million US Dollars in return’?"

"In the eyes of those idealists, the deal itself is the original sin. No matter what I got in return, it’s all tainted."

Leo stood up and walked to the window.

"We don’t respond," Leo decided.

"But..."

"Sarah, it’s a trap," Leo cut her off. "If we jump out and try to defend ourselves now, the buzz around this topic will break out of its small circle and become city-wide news. At that point, the mainstream media will have to follow up, and then we’ll truly be on the back foot."

"Since this was a targeted campaign, we’ll keep it isolated within that circle."

Leo turned and looked at Ethan.

"Ethan, contact Murphy’s camp and tell them to be ready. The fact that Monroe has made his move means he’s afraid of us."

"Tell Murphy to ignore all this noise."

"The speech will go on as planned. We’re going to use that five-hundred-million-dollar check, use those cranes and shipping containers, use our concrete achievements to slap Monroe right across the face."

"Once the project breaks ground, once people have jobs and food on the table, these ideological accusations will naturally vanish into thin air."

Leo paused, then continued, "Also, Ethan, you know Murphy’s personality. He’s used to that steady, moderate approach. He gets emotional and tends to waver when he runs into trouble."

"You need to give him a shot of confidence. Tell him this little storm won’t sink the ship, that everything is under our control. Tell him to relax, focus on preparing his speech, and not get scared out of his wits by things that haven’t even happened yet."

Ethan nodded.

"Understood. I’ll make sure he holds steady."

...

In a hotel ballroom across from the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, a press conference was underway.

On the stage sat a group of experts and scholars in sharp suits and gold-rimmed glasses.

On the backdrop behind them was the name of an organization no one had ever heard of: the Pennsylvania Logistics Fairness Alliance.

The spokesman was a man named Julian Thorne, a chief researcher at a top Philadelphia think tank and a former consultant to the State Transportation Committee.

Thorne spoke calmly into more than a dozen microphones.

"We don’t just love Philadelphia; we love Pittsburgh, too."

Thorne opened the report in his hands.

"However, as responsible citizens and professionals, we must express our deep concern over the five-hundred-million-US-Dollar inland port expansion plan recently proposed by Pittsburgh City."

"According to our research, this plan lacks the most basic statewide coordination."

"The Pittsburgh City Government is attempting to use massive public debt and Federal subsidies to create a closed system independent of the statewide logistics network. This will not only lead to redundant construction but will also cause vicious in-state competition."

Thorne pointed to a map behind him.

On the map, the Philadelphia Port on the Delaware Riverfront and the Pittsburgh Port on the Ohio Riverfront were connected by a red line.

"This is using Pennsylvania taxpayers’ money to steal business from other Pennsylvania taxpayers."

"This is economic cannibalism."

"Therefore, our Alliance has formally filed a request for administrative review with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development."

Facing the camera flashes, Thorne stated their demand.

"We demand that the State Community and Economic Development Department immediately fulfill its regulatory duties and suspend the issuance permit for Pittsburgh City’s five-hundred-million-dollar municipal bond."

"This suspension must not be lifted until the State Transportation Department completes a twelve-month assessment of the project’s synergy with the long-term statewide integrated transportation plan and confirms it will not cause irreversible damage to the existing logistics system."

...

「Pittsburgh. City Hall.」

The fax machine spat out the last page with a long BEEP.

Ethan Hawke stood by the machine, holding a copy of the request for administrative review that had just arrived from Harrisburg.

His hand was steady, but his expression was grim.

"They’ve made their move. It’s an administrative review." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"They went straight to the State Community and Economic Development Department, the one responsible for approving the bond."

Leo picked up the document.

The document cited clauses from the *Pennsylvania Infrastructure Coordination Act*, pointing out that any major infrastructure project must align with the State Government’s long-term plans.

And Pittsburgh’s inland port project had clearly not been coordinated with the State Transportation Department.

Leo flipped to the last page and looked at the member list for the "Pennsylvania Logistics Fairness Alliance."