At two o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh City Council was holding its regular meeting.
A massive crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling, illuminating the enormous horseshoe-shaped oak conference table below.
According to the Pittsburgh City Council's charter, the Mayor was not obligated to attend routine bill review meetings like this one.
He could have just waited for the results in his office, like Carter Wright would have.
But Leo had come anyway.
He had to face it all head-on.
He had to watch with his own eyes as the key to power passed from the hands of the citizens, through his own, and into the hands of an oligarch.
'He needed to remember this feeling, to remember the weight of this betrayal.'
Leo sat in the Mayor's seat.
The symptoms of his fever had not yet completely subsided.
Two strong cold-medicine pills suppressed his shivering, but they couldn't stop the chill seeping from the marrow of his bones.
