For their second negotiation, Leo chose the dilapidated conference room at the Steel Worker Community Center.
Wexler arrived as scheduled.
He came alone, without an assistant.
The conference room walls were covered with black-and-white photographs. In them, steel workers stared down at the uninvited guest with their world-weary eyes.
The home-field advantage began exerting its invisible psychological pressure on Wexler from the very first second.
Leo and Sarah sat at one end of the long table, with Margaret and Frank beside them.
Wexler sat down across from them, still maintaining a smile, but he was clearly a little uncomfortable with the surroundings.
"Alright, Mr. Wallace," Wexler began. "You said you have a solution that benefits both sides. I'm very interested to hear it."
Uncharacteristically, Leo first expressed his understanding of Wexler's predicament.
"Mr. Wexler, I know this past week can't have been easy for you," Leo said. "This matter has evolved from a simple business case into a political crisis for the Mayor. And you, unfortunately, are caught in the middle."
This statement caused a subtle shift in Wexler's expression.
"On one hand, your client, Peak Development Group, just wants to close this deal as quickly as possible. On the other, Mayor Carter Wright wants you to quell this media storm so it doesn't affect his upcoming reelection campaign."
"And as for us..." Leo spread his hands, a look of helplessness on his face. "We're just a bunch of stubborn old fools who don't know how to compromise."
Next, Leo mentioned the situation outside.
"Frank and his union brothers outside are very agitated. They're already planning their next protest. I've heard they're even considering holding peaceful assemblies outside the private residences of Mayor Carter Wright and the CEO of the Peak Group."
Hearing this, Wexler's brow furrowed.
This was what he had been most worried about.
Once things escalated to harassing people at their private homes, it would no longer be a simple protest, but a major scandal.
"I'm doing my best to dissuade them," Leo said, his expression appearing utterly sincere. "But I don't know how much longer I can hold them back."
Then, Leo took out the "Future Development Plan for the Community Center" that he and Sarah had prepared.
He pushed the proposal across the table to Wexler.
"Mr. Wexler, to prove to you that we're not just a bunch of troublemakers, we've also put together a detailed plan for the community's future."
Wexler skeptically opened the proposal.
He saw the grand blueprint inside for renovating the basketball court, buying new computers, adding a small library, and even building a rooftop garden and a virtual reality experience room.
And at the end, a budget totaling a whopping four million US Dollars.
He immediately saw through Leo's intentions.
He sneered and threw the proposal onto the table.
"Mr. Wallace, are you kidding me? Four million US Dollars? Do you think my client is a charity?"
Just then, Leo took a stack of documents from his own folder.
As he was flipping through the documents, one of the photocopies "accidentally" slipped out of the folder and fell onto the table.
The paper landed face up, right in front of Wexler.
Wexler's gaze swept over the paper, and he clearly saw the title.
"Minutes of the Informal Luncheon between the Mayor and the CEO of Peak Development Group".
Leo also seemed to notice his "mistake."
He immediately picked up the paper and slowly slipped it back into his folder.
He didn't say a word the entire time.
But the message was loud and clear.
Leo looked up, met Wexler's eyes, and said with a smile.
"Of course, Mr. Wexler, all these wonderful development plans we've proposed are built on one important foundation."
"And that is, that no one in our community has to waste their precious energy explaining the specific details of certain informal luncheons to the District Attorney's Office, or to agents from the FBI."
Wexler's expression finally changed.
He tried to regain his composure.
"Mr. Wallace, your accusation is extremely serious. And this proposal you've put forward is far beyond the scope of what I can decide personally. I need to report this to my client and the Mayor's Office. We'll need time to discuss it."
He was trying to stall, to seize back the initiative.
Leo replied directly, "Mr. Wexler, please don't do that."
"My investigation didn't just cover city ordinances. I also took the time to investigate you and your client."
"I am well aware that the board of Peak Development Group has given you full authority to handle all matters related to the community center. The authorized spending limit is more than enough to cover our proposal several times over. So the man sitting here today is not just a lawyer for the Peak Group, but its sole decision-maker."
Leo continued, "So, our choice is actually very simple. Either we reach a mutually acceptable agreement in this room today."
"Or, the moment I walk out that door, the full content of those meeting minutes, along with more... interesting details about that luncheon, will immediately appear in the inbox of every reporter in Pittsburgh."
Leo's threat was direct. Wexler was weighing the pros and cons.
Those meeting minutes might not be enough to send the Mayor to prison, but they were certainly enough to kick up a media storm that could completely destroy Carter Wright's political career.
He was silent for a full minute.
He looked up at Leo again.
He knew he had lost today, but his pride demanded that he win something back at the table.
He picked up the four-million-US-Dollar development proposal again.
"Alright, Mr. Wallace," he said. "Since we've already reached a consensus on the most important issue, let's now discuss the budget for these specific items."
"A rooftop garden? Completely unnecessary. A virtual reality experience room? That's too extravagant. Renovating the exterior walls? I think keeping them as they are has more historical character."
He began to bargain fiercely with Leo over the four-million-dollar budget.
This was his last stand, a final performance to preserve his dignity.
And Leo, for his part, engaged him in an hour-long "grueling negotiation."
"Mr. Wexler, we can scrap the rooftop garden, but the virtual reality experience room must stay. It's for the children's education."
"Alright, we can cut the experience room's budget in half, but not a single penny for the basketball court renovation can be touched."
"One point two million US Dollars. That's our bottom line. We've already made a huge concession."
Finally, the two sides "painfully" reached an agreement.
The final agreement was written down in black and white.
First, Peak Development Group would formally withdraw its acquisition plan for the Steel Worker Community Center property.
Second, Peak Development Group would pay all of the community center's outstanding property taxes in a lump sum and provide a 1.2 million US Dollar development fund to the community center in the name of a charitable donation.
Third, Mayor Carter Wright must personally hold a press conference within three days to publicly announce that the city government will permanently preserve the Steel Worker Community Center and designate it as a historical protected building in Pittsburgh City.
The agreement was reached.
Wexler signed his name on the document.
He stood up and shook hands with Leo.
"Mr. Wallace, you're a natural-born politician."
Leo laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Without a doubt," Wexler replied.
...
「Three days later.」
The press conference was held as scheduled in the press briefing room at Pittsburgh City Hall.
Mayor Martin Carter Wright and the CEO of Peak Development Group stood side-by-side at the podium, their faces beaming with enthusiastic smiles.
They looked so happy, as if this had all been their choice from the start.
Mayor Carter Wright spoke first.
He highly praised Peak Development Group's sense of social responsibility, lauding them as a model for corporate citizenship in Pittsburgh.
He then highly praised the historical contributions of the Steel Worker Community Center, calling it a precious legacy of Pittsburgh's working-class spirit.
Finally, he proudly announced that, through the joint efforts of the city government and Peak Development Group, the community center would not only be permanently preserved but would also receive a substantial development fund for future upgrades and renovations.
The CEO of Peak Development Group also gave a brief speech.
He stated that his company had always been committed to community building in Pittsburgh, and it was their honor to be able to contribute to the preservation of the community center.
The entire press conference was filled with a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere.
They were so sincere, so generous, that some of the out-of-town reporters who didn't know the real story thought they were witnessing a touching tale of government and business working together to serve the community.
Such are politicians. Such are businessmen.
You can never read any true emotion on their faces.
「At that very moment.」
The hall of the Steel Worker Community Center was packed with community residents.
Sarah was using a projector to display a live stream of the press conference on the wall.
When Mayor Carter Wright personally uttered the words "permanently preserve the community center," the entire hall erupted in a deafening cheer.
People hugged, cheered, and jumped for joy. Some of the elderly residents even shed tears of excitement.
The battle, which had lasted for weeks, had finally ended in their victory.
When Leo returned to the community center, he was surrounded by people like a triumphant hero.
They tossed him high into the air.
In the air, Leo saw the familiar faces.
Margaret, Sarah, Rosa, Mike...
Their faces were all beaming with genuine joy.
The celebration raged on late into the night.
After the clamor died down, Leo walked home alone.
The evening breeze blew away the smell of alcohol on him, and with it, the elation of his victory.
He had won.
But it was a narrow, lucky win.
He knew very well that this victory hadn't been won just by the unity of the residents and the support of public opinion.
More crucially, it was won by a tiny procedural flaw on the opponent's part, and those meeting minutes that had appeared out of nowhere, like a divine revelation.
'What if the Carter Wright City Government's public notice procedure had been flawless?'
'What if that anonymous helper hadn't delivered those minutes into his hands?'
'What would the result have been then?'
He didn't dare to think about it.
He realized he had only temporarily removed a minor tumor.
But the body that produced the disease—the city's power structure—was still terminally ill.
As long as Carter Wright and his financial backers still held a firm grip on the city's power...
...then today's story would just replay itself tomorrow, in another corner of the city, in another form.
Roosevelt's voice echoed in his mind, carrying both praise and guidance.
'You've learned how to win a battle, kid.'
'Using the methods I taught you, you forced them into a dignified surrender and even made them willingly hand over war reparations.'
'But do you understand that as long as they are still sitting safely in their command center, this war will never truly end?'
Leo stopped in his tracks.
He looked up, gazing at a brightly lit building in the distance, cutting through the night.
Pittsburgh City Hall.
That was the enemy's command center.
His gaze gradually grew firm.
He knew the battle for the Steel Worker Community Center was over.
But the war for Pittsburgh had just begun.