novelnext Chapter 100 A $5 Million Bet
Chapter 100 A $5 Million Bet
Chapter 100 A Five-Hundred-Million-Dollar Bet
The door to the mayor's office was pushed open.
The door slammed against the wall's anti-collision pad with a dull "thud".
Congressman John Murphy burst in.
His cashmere coat was open, his scarf hung crookedly around his neck, his hair was disheveled by the wind, and his face was filled with anxiety and anger.
He rushed to Leo's huge desk and slammed his hands heavily on the surface.
"Leo Wallace!"
Murphy's roar echoed through the office.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Leo was sitting behind the table, holding a document in his hand.
He looked up at his ally, who was on the verge of losing control, his face expressionless.
"Good afternoon, John," Leo said calmly. "Would you like some coffee?"
"What a load of caffeine!"
Murphy waved his arms.
"Do you know what I went through in Washington?"
"House Whip Montoya called me into his office. He pointed to the live news footage, to the mayor who was helping citizens fill out lawsuits against their own government, and asked me..."
Murphy mimicked Montoya's somber tone.
"John, you assured us this kid was a genius, and now it seems he truly is. Only a brilliant Republican mole could pull something like this before the midterm elections! Is he trying to bury the Democrats with his own hands?"
Murphy felt a wave of suffocation.
He loosened his tie, trying to make it easier for himself to breathe.
"And Senator Sanders!"
"The old man is furious. He thinks you've turned his show flat into a joke. He asked me to tell you that if you don't stop, he'll personally come to Pittsburgh to settle things!"
Murphy walked around the desk and approached Leo.
"Leo, you know what year this is. The midterm elections are in three months! Three months!"
"My district is in Pittsburgh! I was counting on you, a star mayor, to campaign for me, help me achieve results."
"And the result?"
"You're acting like an anarchist! You're leading people to blockade City Hall, you're encouraging citizens to sue the government, you've turned this city into a laughingstock across America!"
"When I'm on the debate stage, how will my opponents attack me? They'll say: 'Look, this is the Democratic Party's governance; they even sue each other over something as simple as road construction!'"
'
"You'll get me killed!"
Murphy's chest heaved violently after he yelled that.
The anger that had sustained him all the way in was completely extinguished at this moment.
He took a few steps back and slumped heavily onto the leather sofa used for entertaining guests.
Murphy lowered his head, ran his hands through his hair, and remained silent for a long time.
After a long while, he slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with only a dejected weariness.
"Leo".
Murphy's voice was slow and hoarse.
Tell me, where exactly is your bottom line?
"What is your ultimate goal? Do you really want to bankrupt Pittsburgh's finances? Make those thousands of indemnity claims a reality? And then have all of us—you, me, Sanders—buried with your damn recovery plan?"
A brief silence fell over the office.
Only Murphy's heavy breathing could be clearly heard.
Ethan Hawke stood in the corner, head down, not daring to speak.
Leo put down the documents in his hand.
He stood up.
He walked to the water dispenser, filled a glass with warm water, then went to the sofa and placed the glass on the coffee table in front of Murphy.
"Mr. Congressman"
Leo spoke.
"You ask me what I'm doing?"
Leo looked down at Murphy, who was slumped on the sofa.
"I'd also like to ask you, what have you been doing for the past two months?"
Murphy paused for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Me? I'm taking the fall for you in Washington! I'm cleaning up your mess!"
No, you didn't.
Leo interrupted him, his tone becoming sharp.
"You were having a comfortable time in Washington before today, before you flew back to Pittsburgh."
"You think Pittsburgh is already yours, and all you have to do is sit in your office on Capitol Hill, drink coffee, and wait for me to get everything sorted out so you can come back and cut the ribbon and reap the rewards, right?"
'
Leo turned around and pointed out the window.
"Pittsburgh is your base, Mr. Senator."
"Moretti is holding up my budget, which is actually hurting your voters. Those who are injured because of the road collapse, those who are freezing because of the lack of heating, are also your voter base."
"Where were you when Moretti threw my budget in the trash?"
"Where were you when Morganfield used fake news to incite a worker strike and attempted to create riots?"
Where were you when my workers were left unpaid and waiting in the cold wind?
Leo stared intently at Murphy.
"You disappeared."
"You've completely forgotten about Pittsburgh."
"Do you think I'm your subordinate? Do you think I'm a professional manager you hired? That I have to work like an ox, handing over the harvest as soon as you give me some resources?"
You're wrong.
Leo's voice turned low.
"We are allies, and allies mean shared responsibility, which means standing back to back in the trenches."
"While I was wrestling with those thugs in the mud, you were standing on the shore, and you're blaming me for splashing mud on your suit?"
"That's not fair, John."
Murphy opened his mouth.
He wanted to argue.
He wanted to say that he was also busy in Washington, and that he was also advocating for Pittsburgh's interests.
But he found himself unable to speak.
Because Leo is right.
Since Leo was elected mayor, Murphy has indeed become lax.
He treated Leo like a cashed check.
He subconsciously believed that since Leo could handle elections, he could certainly handle governance.
He overlooked the ruthlessness of local politics and the backlash from deeply entrenched interest groups.
He just wants to win without lifting a finger.
Now, Leo tells him: in the game of thrones, there is no such thing as an easy win.
"Well done, Leo."
Roosevelt's voice echoed in Leo's mind.
"I don't know how you came to this conclusion. Maybe anger made you realize it, or maybe the pressure during this period made you grow."
"But what you are doing now is absolutely right."
"This is essentially about establishing dominance."
"In political alliances, the most dangerous relationships are not those between enemies, but those between mentors and students, funders and fundees."
"Once this relationship becomes entrenched, you will forever be his vassal, and your interests will always have to give way to his interests."
"You need to shatter this illusion."
"You can't let him feel like you're his subordinate. You have to make him understand that in Pittsburgh, he's dependent on you."
"Without you stabilizing the situation in Pittsburgh, his base would have collapsed; without you helping him block Morganfield, his re-election would have been a joke."
"Only the fear of equality can bring about equal dialogue."
A long silence fell over the office.
Murphy looked at the young man in front of him.
A year ago, he was a political novice seeking help in his own car.
Now, standing there, his aura is so powerful that people dare not look him in the eye.
Murphy picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip.
The warm liquid flowed down his throat, relieving the tightness in his chest.
His emotions calmed down.
He was a seasoned politician, and he understood Leo's subtext.
Leo is forcing his way out.
Murphy put down his water glass.
"Alright, Mr. Mayor."
Murphy sighed, leaned back on the sofa, and rubbed his temples.
"You win."
"You're right, I was indeed careless. I thought that old man Moretti would be more pragmatic, but I didn't expect him to be so stubborn."
"We're all in this together now."
"If Pittsburgh really falls into chaos, I won't be any better off."
Murphy sat up straight, regaining his composed demeanor as a congressman.
Tell me your plans.
"You've made such a huge fuss, even risking becoming a laughingstock in the eyes of the Republicans. How exactly do you plan to clean up this mess?"
What do you want?
Leo looked at Murphy.
He knew that this was just the beginning of a real dialogue.
The previous shouting and accusations were merely to set the tone for this dialogue.
Now they can talk about how to solve problems like two equal partners.
Leo reached out his hand to Ethan in the corner.
Ethan immediately understood, took out a pre-prepared folder, walked quickly to the coffee table, and handed it to Murphy.
Murphy hesitated for a moment before taking the folder.
His fingers rubbed against the cover of the folder.
He hesitated for a moment.
His intuition told him that what was inside was definitely not good news, and might even be a bigger problem.
He'd had enough trouble today; all he wanted was a simple solution, like Leo promising to stop causing trouble or agreeing to apologize to Moretti.
But looking into Leo's calm yet unfathomable eyes, Murphy knew he had no other choice.
He sighed and opened the folder.
Murphy flips through documents quickly, thanks to the speed reading skills he honed over many years on Capitol Hill.
The document details the list of legal challenges currently facing the city hall, as well as the Ministry of Justice's estimate of potential compensation amounts.
The more he looked, the more his tightly furrowed brows relaxed.
He even breathed a sigh of relief after closing the folder.
"Leo, your situation is indeed dangerous, but it's not as bad as I think."
Murphy tossed the folder onto the coffee table.
"Those personal injury lawyers are like a pack of hyenas that have smelled carrion; they're circling around City Hall."
"Ever since you launched that campaign to call on everyone to sue the city hall, the entire legal community in Pittsburgh has been in an uproar. The city hall's legal department has received so many letters of intent to sue that they've filled three filing cabinets."
Murphy stood up and paced back and forth in the office, his tone becoming slightly more relaxed.
"Fifty million US dollars."
He held up five fingers and waved them in front of Leo.
"This is the current upper limit of potential claims estimated by the Ministry of Justice. It sounds scary, right? But this is just a theoretical figure. In practice, these cases can drag on for several years, and the final settlement amount is usually less than one-tenth of that."
"This level of financial pressure, while giving Moretti a headache, is not enough to make him kneel down. He can simply approve an emergency legal aid fund and then leave these cases to outside law firms to fight slowly."
"Your move was ruthless, but not ruthless enough to force him to surrender immediately."
Murphy stopped and stared at the calm-looking young man sitting behind the desk.
"But Leo, have you considered another possibility?"
Murphy approached the desk, placed his hands on the surface, leaned forward, and exuded an air of oppression.
"Let's put Moretti aside for now, and put this damn political struggle aside."
"You're the mayor of Pittsburgh, and every single hole, every potential hazard listed on these notices is real. You've dug them out and put them on the table."
"This means that regardless of whether Moretti approves the money or not, as the head of administration, you will ultimately have to solve this problem. You absolutely have to fix these issues."
"Pittsburgh's finances are already as fragile as a sheet of paper. What if the city's coffers are completely drained to fix these thousands of damn holes and deal with those potentially massive compensation lawsuits?"
"Once a city declares bankruptcy, its municipal bond rating will plummet, police will strike because they can't get paid, and garbage will pile up on the streets."
"At that time, Moretti can shrug and say he was protecting taxpayers' money. And you, Leo Wallace, you will be the one who opened the wound but was powerless to heal it, ultimately bringing down Pittsburgh."
95
"You're digging your own grave, and you've buried enough explosives at the bottom to blow up the entire city hall."
Faced with Murphy's questioning, Leo did not refute, did not defend himself, and did not even change his posture.
He simply watched the anxious Murphy, observing how this seasoned politician, a veteran of Washington for many years, lost his composure due to fear of the real consequences.
Then, Leo's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile that Murphy found inexplicable.
"Mr. Congressman, please have a seat."
Leo pointed to the chair opposite him.
"Who said I had to finish fixing them right away?"
Murphy paused for a moment, then bounced up again just as his bottom touched the edge of the sofa.
"What do you mean? You yourself submitted the notices from the citizens, you yourself identified the safety hazards. Under Pennsylvania law, once the government has received actual notice, it must take measures to eliminate the hazard within a reasonable time. If you don't fix it, that's dereliction of duty, that's government negligence."
"That's right, that's what the law says."
Leo nodded, opened a drawer, and took out a draft executive order that he had prepared beforehand.
"Reasonable time".
Leo repeated the word.
"This is a very interesting legal term. What is a reasonable time? Is it a day? A month? Or a year?"
"The law does not specify a specific number of days."
"The law only stipulates that the government must make reasonable arrangements based on its own administrative resources and financial situation."
Leo handed the document to Murphy.
"This is a draft executive order that I have prepared."
"Decision on establishing the Pittsburgh Public Infrastructure Tiered Maintenance and Scheduling Management System".
Murphy took the document and quickly scanned its contents.
"I will sign this executive order once Moretti chooses to compromise."
"I will instruct the Public Works Department to officially file all received repair requests and assign them a unique tracking number."
.
"We will scientifically rate and rank these applications based on the severity of the potential hazards, the population density of the area, and the complexity of the construction."
Leo pointed to the densely packed table in the document attachment.
Look here.
"For the most dangerous ones, such as broken guardrails at school gates, we will prioritize them and repair them first."
"For those minor issues, such as cracks in the sidewalk, we will prioritize them as a second priority and schedule them for the next quarter."
"And for the more trivial ones, such as rust on lampposts, or small potholes in remote sections of the road—"
Leo's finger traced the bottom of the table.
"We will include them in our long-term maintenance plan."
"The waiting time could be several years, or even longer."
Murphy frowned.
"Several years into the queue? Leo, that will damage your image in the eyes of the citizens. They'll think you're just making empty promises and trying to appease them."
"Of course I know." Leo took back the document. "Therefore, I will not be the one to release this executive order."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, John. What would happen if Moretti were ultimately forced to compromise due to immense legal and public pressure, forced to agree to negotiate the budget?"
"In order to save face and to prove to the outside world that the power of parliament still exists, he will definitely demand that my original plan be modified."
"He would say: 'The mayor's plan is too radical; the finances can't support it. We must come up with a more pragmatic and sustainable solution.'"
"And by then," Leo's lips curled into a slight smile, "I will reluctantly accept his advice and praise his foresight."
"Then, this scheduling plan will be proposed as an amendment by the city council."
"The person who will announce this plan to the public will not be me, Leo Wallace, but Speaker Thomas Moretti."
"It was he who responsibly postponed the repair plan for several years to avoid financial bankruptcy."
"And I am just an idealist who will stop at nothing to fix all the roads as quickly as possible."
"You see, John, no matter what he chooses, I won't lose."
"He compromised, so I got the money, and incidentally, I also made him take the blame for the delay."
“If he doesn’t compromise,” Leo’s eyes turned cold, “then I will have no choice but to use all of the mayor’s administrative power to forcibly increase the expenditure of maintenance funds, even if it means doubling the number of projects awaiting maintenance in the city within a quarter.”
"If Pittsburgh's finances really run into problems, it won't be my fault."
"It was that stubborn speaker who, for his own political gain, hijacked the entire city."
Murphy's hand trembled slightly as he held the document.
This precise use of legal provisions, this method of turning bureaucracy into a defensive weapon, is as shrewd as a seasoned veteran who has spent his entire life in city hall.
"This is—this is rogue logic," Murphy muttered to himself.
"This is the art of administration," Leo said. "Scheduling is the essence."
Murphy put down the documents and took a deep breath.
He had to admit that Leo's move was indeed brilliant.
He used a schedule to defuse an imminent legal crisis, while simultaneously pushing the issue further away.
As long as the waiting list exists, the government has fulfilled its responsibility.
As for why they're scheduled for ten years later? That's because they don't have the money.
Why don't you have money?
Go ask the city council.
The logic is complete.
However, as a seasoned politician, Murphy quickly saw the greater danger behind this logic.
"Leo, this is just a delaying tactic."
Murphy sat back down on the sofa, his expression still serious.
"You can silence the lawyers with scheduling, but you can't silence the citizens."
"You've acknowledged the problem, you've made the schedule, which means you've taken on a political debt."
"If you promise to fix that road next year, but it's still in bad shape when next year comes, the public's anger will be even greater than it is now."
"They'll say you're a fraud who only makes empty promises."
"Besides, you said it yourself, the delays are because of a lack of money. You'll have to fill this bottomless pit sooner or later."
"Where will Pittsburgh get the money to fill this bottomless pit?"
Murphy spread his hands.
"You can't expect the federal government to keep funding you. The city's tax revenue is limited, and it also has to support a huge bureaucratic agency."
Leo listened to Murphy's words and nodded.
"You're right, John."
"Scheduling is just a means; road construction is the goal."
"We cannot continue to owe the citizens money; we must get the money."
"A lot of money."
Leo pulled open the bottom drawer of the baby desk.
He took out another document.
This document is much thicker than the previous one, and the cover is printed with the Pittsburgh city emblem in gold foil.
He stood up, walked to the coffee table, and shoved the document heavily in front of Murphy.
"This is my solution."
Murphy picked up the document with a puzzled look and glanced at the title on the cover.
Pittsburgh Urban Renewal Special Municipal Bond Issuance Plan.
Below is a line of smaller print:
Issuing entity: City of Pittsburgh.
Underwriting method: Open bidding.
Proposed total issuance amount: US$500 million.
Murphy's hand trembled violently, and the document nearly fell to the ground.
He suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Leo, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.
"Five hundred million?!"
Murphy's voice rose eight octaves, almost cracking.
"Are you kidding me, Leo!"
"Are you crazy?"
Murphy slammed the file on the table.
Do you know what Pittsburgh's current credit rating is?
"Those people on Wall Street aren't philanthropists, they're vampires! They read ratings more diligently than they read the Bible!"
"For a city like Pittsburgh, which has such a high rating, issuing 50 million is already a struggle, and you want to issue 500 million?"
"These bonds are worthless! Nobody will buy them! Not a single one will sell!"
"This will become a laughing stock in the financial world!"
Murphy felt his blood pressure rising.
He thought Leo was just trying to pull some small tricks, but he didn't expect this young man to want to do something big.
In theory, this is indeed a power granted to the mayor by law.
As long as the purpose of the bonds is limited to the construction of specific public infrastructure, the mayor has the right to initiate the issuance process with the approval of the city council.
If the city council compromises, it means they've been cornered by those thousands of compensation notices, and they're worried they don't have the money to fill this bottomless pit.
As long as Leo can come up with the money, even if it's borrowed, and as long as he can quell the current crisis, the city council members, no matter how unwilling they are, will have to reluctantly approve the issuance of this bond.
The procedural obstacles are no longer a problem.
But the real problem is the market.
"Approval is one thing, whether it can be sold is another!" Murphy's voice was quite agitated. "Do you think money will fall from the sky just because the city council stamps its seal?"
"If this bond can't be issued, or if the issuance rate becomes ridiculously high due to a lack of buyers, not only will the $500 million be a pipe dream, but your political credibility as mayor will also be completely ruined! You'll become the biggest joke in the entire United States!"
Leo looked at the excited Murphy, but his expression remained calm.
"I know our rating is low."
"I also know the rules of Wall Street."
"That's why I need you, John."
Leo sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.
"You're right, given Pittsburgh's current credit rating, this bond is junk."
"unless----"
Leo's eyes sharpened.
"Unless this bond has a strong guarantee."
"A guarantee that Wall Street couldn't refuse."
Murphy paused for a moment.
"Guarantee? Who will guarantee it? The Pennsylvania government? The governor is a Republican, he'd love to see you die."
"No, not the Danish government."
Leo shook his head.
"The guarantor we are looking for must be of greater standing than the Buddha."
"Who is it?"
"Democratic National Committee"