Chapter 469 - 217: Fire Seed
The roar of a Harley-Davidson’s engine tore through the damp, cold night air of Pittsburgh.
Barney Ross twisted the throttle hard, his tires crushing the puddled asphalt and sending up a spray of black mud.
The motorcycle sped through the streets of the South District.
A year ago, the Pittsburgh South District at midnight belonged to the wail of sirens.
Police cruisers prowled the blocks like sharks, their flashing red and blue lights ready to pin some unlucky drunk or homeless person against a wall at any moment.
Back then, order was kept through fear.
But now, Barney had ridden two kilometers without seeing a single patrol car with its lights on. Instead, he saw three men on a street corner.
The three were dressed in matching dark blue work clothes, with conspicuous armbands and high-powered flashlights in their hands.
They were the community safety patrol.
It was one of the new policies rolled out after Leo Wallace took office.
Its members were all from the local unions. They knew everyone in the neighborhood, knew which kid wasn’t home yet, and which husband got violent when he drank.
Barney saw the three patrol members helping a man, dead drunk, onto a roadside bench.
One of them handed the drunk a bottle of water while another used a walkie-talkie to call for a community volunteer taxi.
No handcuffs, no batons, none of the brutality that treated people like trash.
This was Pittsburgh now.
Barney twisted the throttle and sped past.
Ahead lay the Inland Port construction site.
Even at midnight, the place was brightly lit, with massive searchlights turning the riverbank into day.
Dozens of tower cranes turned slowly against the night sky. The clang of steel, the rumble of concrete mixers, and the shouts of workers merged into a great wave of sound.
Barney watched the busy figures, a complicated feeling welling up inside him.
Leo Wallace had truly changed this city.
He’d given the people here jobs and a sense of security.
’But what kind of foundation is this change built on?’
’If a Luigi is buried in that foundation, will this entire skyscraper collapse because of one man’s sacrifice?’
Lost in these unanswerable thoughts, he brought the motorcycle to a stop in front of a two-story red brick building.
This was a branch office of the Steel Union.
A light was still on in a second-floor window.
Barney jumped off the bike, not even bothering to pull the key, and bolted up to the second floor.
He pushed the door open and was hit by the thick smell of tobacco smoke.
Frank Kovalsky was sitting behind a large desk.
The desk was piled high with documents. He had a pipe clenched in his teeth, his brow furrowed.
Seeing Barney burst in, Frank removed the pipe from his mouth.
"You look like a fugitive who just murdered someone." Frank looked at Barney over the top of his glasses. "It’s late. Can’t this wait until morning?"
Barney walked to the desk and planted his hands on its surface.
"Something’s happened to Luigi."
Frank’s hand trembled. An ember from his pipe fell onto the desk, and he quickly patted it out.
"What happened?" Frank asked.
"He’s been arrested," Barney said quickly.
Frank set down his pipe and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Barney, I told you from the very beginning, you’re in way too deep. You shouldn’t have gotten involved."
Frank’s tone was filled with exasperation.
"There were too many people who donated to Luigi. The most the FBI can do is scare them a little. But you’re different. You’re the organizer. You’re the one who put the money in the hands of the smugglers."
"If they get any dirt on you, this is funding terrorism. You’ll rot in prison for life."
"I know."
Barney gritted his teeth.
"That’s why I wanted to get him out of the country immediately. Once he left the United States, he’d be safe, and I’d be a lot safer too."
"But the problem now is..."
Barney took a deep breath.
"He’s been arrested."
"But something’s strange." Barney stared into Frank’s eyes. "The precinct didn’t sound the alarm, and they didn’t notify the media."
"My guy says a gag order came down from above."
Barney walked around the desk, getting closer to Frank.
"In this city, there’s only one person who can give that kind of order to the chief of police."
"The Mayor."
Frank fell silent.
Of course, he knew what this meant.
"Frank, I need to know the truth."
There was an interrogating edge to Barney’s voice.
"What’s Leo’s angle?"
"Is he keeping this quiet to sell Luigi out to the Federation for his own career, or is he trying to protect him?"
"And another thing," Barney’s voice dropped low. "Frank, have you seen the news lately? The big insurance companies... they’re starting to give in. They’re talking about revising health insurance policy terms, re-evaluating their standards for denying claims for critically ill patients."
"That shot the kid fired... it actually worked."
Barney took another step forward.
"He did the right thing. He put himself on the line for people like us."
"Now he’s in Pittsburgh, right under our noses. If we don’t save him, if we just stand by and watch him get sent to a federal prison..."
"...then how are we, the workers of Pittsburgh, ever going to hold our heads high in front of our brothers in other cities?"
"We’ll become a laughingstock, Frank. We’ll be the kind of cowards who just shout slogans but can’t even protect one kid who stood up for us."
Frank took out a match and relit his pipe.
Smoke billowed up, obscuring his wrinkled face and the complex emotion that flashed in his eyes.
"It still shouldn’t be you doing this."