Leo stood on the street corner below the Morganfield Building, phone in hand.

A cold wind blew through the street, sweeping up a few discarded newspapers.

He lifted his head and gazed into the distance.

From this physical distance, he couldn’t see any flames.

But in the virtual world, the one built from data and information, a raging fire had already burned through the roof.

"The Free Trade Promotion Association didn’t just serve us with a summons, they launched a simultaneous media blitz! They’ve turned the contents of the lawsuit into memes and image macros, and they’re being shared everywhere!"

"’Leo Wallace sells out the city’s sovereignty for 500 million US Dollars.’ ’The resistance hero becomes Morganfield’s puppet.’... These are the headlines plastered all over the internet now!"

"Leo, no one is mobbing the building yet, but I can feel the anger mounting! This is a city-wide firestorm! If we don’t handle this right now, City Hall will be overrun by morning!"

Leo’s heart clenched.

’Everyone?’

"Get back to City Hall! Now!"

Leo jumped into the car and barked at the driver.

The car shot forward, its tires screeching against the pavement.

Leo opened his phone. News alerts came flooding in.

*Antitrust Lawsuit Blows Lid Off Scandal: Mayor Wallace Accused of Violating the Constitution.*

Social media was even worse.

A political cartoon was going viral.

In the cartoon, Morganfield, dressed in a tailcoat, held a dog leash.

At the other end of the leash was a man.

The man was wearing a hoodie, an obsequious grin on his face, gnawing on a bone labeled "Re-election."

That man was Leo.

The cartoon was credited to a radical student group at the University of Pittsburgh. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Just a few months ago, the members of this very group had been helping Leo put up campaign posters.

Now, they were drawing him as a dog.

Looking through the car window, Leo noticed for the first time that printouts of the cartoon were plastered everywhere—on telephone poles, on bus stop signs.

A few college-aged kids were spray-painting a slogan on a wall.

WALLACE = JUDAS

The red paint dripped down the wall, looking like bloody wounds.

Leo stared out the window, his face expressionless.

He had expected a backlash, but he never predicted it would be this fierce.

The lawsuit had crystallized all the hesitant doubts into undeniable fury.

The average citizen didn’t understand the complex clauses of the Sherman Antitrust Act, nor did they know what a port concession was.

But they understood one simple piece of logic:

Someone was suing the Mayor for selling the port to a major corporation.

The court took the case.

That must mean the Mayor really did it.

This was the logic of mass communication.

The truth takes a book to explain; a lie only needs a picture.

Back at City Hall, the situation was even worse than he had imagined.

Sarah was in her office, fielding calls on phones that were ringing off the hook.

"No, the Mayor did not accept any bribes... It wasn’t a sellout, it was an investment incentive... Please, listen to me, this is just a normal business partnership..."

When she saw Leo walk in, she wearily put down the receiver.

"The business associations are in an uproar too." Sarah rubbed her forehead. "The heads of several associations representing small-to-medium freight companies and small business owners just co-signed an open letter. They’re saying that once Morganfield has a monopoly on the port, shipping costs will skyrocket and they’ll be forced out of the market. They’re accusing you of strangling free competition and murdering small businesses."

"The activists are calling you a traitor, and the small business owners are calling you a monopolist."

Sarah looked at Leo.

"Leo, we’re getting hammered from both sides. Even the moderates, the ones who don’t normally care about politics, are starting to question your integrity."

Leo took off his coat and hung it on a rack.

"Arrange a town hall," Leo said.

"What?"

"A public forum." Leo straightened his shirt. "Tonight. The venue will be the auditorium at the Carnegie Library. Put out an announcement. Invite everyone. Students, business owners, Union representatives—anyone who wants to come and curse me out can come."

"That’s too dangerous," Ethan immediately objected. "Emotions are running too high. The event will definitely get out of control. You should lie low for now, wait for the legal team to release a statement."

"Lying low is the same as admitting guilt," Leo cut him off. "I can hide for a day, but I can’t hide forever. I have to face them."

"But they’re not going to listen!" Sarah said urgently. "The crowd is a powder keg right now. Anger will consume all reason. If you go there to explain, you’ll just be a target for their rage."

"I know they won’t listen."

Leo’s eyes were frighteningly calm.

"In fact, I have no expectation of persuading a crowd that feels betrayed with logic."

"Then why go at all?" Ethan asked, confused.

"Because it’s about making a statement."

Leo adjusted his cuffs, his tone turning cold and hard.

"Politics is theater. If I don’t play my part, if I don’t stand there and let them rail against me, then even the supporters who still held out a shred of hope will abandon me for my cowardice."

"I have to stand there and show everyone that I’m willing to take responsibility for my decisions, even if they think those decisions are wrong."

"That’s what being a Mayor is about."

"If I truly want to be a leader, I must be prepared to face the people I lead at any moment."

"Even if they’re holding stones instead of flowers."

Ethan and Sarah exchanged a look. They could both see the worry in each other’s eyes, but also a sense of resignation.

They knew there was no stopping him.