Chapter 317: Chapter 157: The Long Election Night

The day before primary election day, at three in the afternoon.

In the Mayor’s Office on the third floor of Pittsburgh City Hall, Leo Wallace sat behind his desk, a pen in hand.

His gaze was fixed on a thick, eighty-page document: the *Administrative Approval for the South District Old Sewer Pipe Replacement Project*.

It was a mind-numbingly dull technical document.

It was filled with technical jargon about pipe diameters, material standards, decibel limits for construction noise, and sewage flow direction.

Leo flipped to the last page and signed his name on the line next to "Approved by."

Ethan pushed the door open and walked in, carrying a stack of new file folders.

"Leo, this is the proposal from the Department of Health to add more flu shot sites. It needs your signature to approve the budget." Ethan placed the file on the desk, then pulled out a thinner one. "Also, the Pittsburgh Zoo is requesting additional funding to repair their dilapidated panda enclosure."

Leo took the files.

"Fix it up nice for the pandas," Leo said, quickly signing the document. "It’s the one place in this whole city that makes people happy without me having to worry about it."

Ethan collected the signed documents and walked out. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The office returned to its soporific tranquility.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the carpet. Motes of dust danced slowly in the beams of light.

’This is the true face of power, Leo.’

Roosevelt’s voice echoed lazily in Leo’s mind.

’People always think being President means standing on Capitol Hill giving the Gettysburg Address every day, or sitting in the Map Room commanding armies.’

’It’s not.’

’Most of the time, we’re dealing with these damn sewers, flu vaccines, and pig farmers who don’t want to pay their taxes.’

’It’s boring, isn’t it?’

Roosevelt chuckled.

’But you’ll miss it.’

’Because this boredom means order.’

’It means the city is running smoothly and safely on its established track. You don’t have to put out fires or fight for your life.’

Leo put down his pen.

He leaned back in his chair, gazing at the calm streets below.

Everything was in perfect order.

It was a luxurious sort of mundanity.

BANG!

The office door was thrown open, slamming against the wall with a loud crash.

The tranquility was shattered in an instant.

Karen Miller strode in.

She marched to the desk, slammed her hands on its surface, and stared at Leo.

"How can you just sit here looking at the budget for the panda enclosure?"

Karen’s voice was laced with an anxiety she couldn’t suppress.

"Murphy’s about to puke in the campaign office next door."

"I’m serious, I mean literally. He just ran to the bathroom and threw up the sandwich he had for lunch."

Leo’s expression sharpened, and he leaned forward.

"What do the numbers say?" Leo asked.

Karen slapped the report she was holding onto the desk.

"This is the final tracking poll."

Karen pointed to a red line on the chart.

"Over in Philadelphia, Monroe dropped three million US dollars on ad buys in the last twenty-four hours. He bought out every primetime slot on every TV station in the city."

"His support is rebounding."

"Our lead in the Rust Belt has been squeezed down to 1.5%."

Karen took a deep breath.

"At seven o’clock tomorrow morning, nine thousand polling stations across Pennsylvania will open at the same time."

"That’s the will of millions of people. It’s pure, uncontrollable chaos."

"Nobody knows if we’ll be popping champagne or writing our last wills and testaments tomorrow night."

Leo took the report and glanced at the tangled lines of data.

Red and blue lines tangled together like a knotted mess of yarn.

He picked up the pen from his desk and slowly capped it.

CLICK.

The crisp metallic click was unnaturally loud in the quiet office.

Leo stood, walked to the window, and took one last look at the peaceful streets below.

For now, Pittsburgh was serene.

But tomorrow, that facade would be torn away.

It would be a changing of the guard, a judgment of fate.

Leo turned, straightened his collar, and buttoned his suit jacket.

"Let’s go, Karen."

He walked out of the Mayor’s Office and into the red-brick office building next to City Hall.

He pushed open the door, and a wall of sound hit him.

RING, RING, RING—

Dozens of phones rang at once, a torrential downpour of sound.

"We need twenty more cars in Allegheny County! Now!"

"Damn it! Tell the print shop the flyers have to be delivered by five!"

"Are the poll watchers in Philadelphia in position? I want our people at every single ballot box!"

The shouting of volunteers, the humming of printers, the clatter of keyboards... The sounds all blended into an adrenaline-fueled cacophony.

Leo took a deep breath, like a diver plunging into the deep ocean.

He knew that from this moment until the final results were confirmed, there would be no rest.

...

The next day, the first rays of morning sun broke through the clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, traveled up the Delaware River to illuminate Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell, crested the folds of the Appalachian Mountains, and finally poured into the smoke-filled river valley of Pittsburgh.

The doors of thousands of polling stations swung open at the same instant, like floodgates releasing a long-pent-up torrent.

It was a struggle for the reins of power.

The entire state had become a massive gambling table, and every person was placing a bet on their future.