"How do we test him?"
"We give him bad news, not good news."
Leo pointed at the phone on the desk.
"Right now, in front of me, you're going to call Sanders."
"Tell him the bad news: Pittsburgh's finances are about to explode."
Murphy was taken aback. "What? Leo, if we tell him that now, won't it just make us look incompetent?"
"That's the point. We need to look incompetent, even desperate."
Leo's gaze sharpened.
"Tell him that the strategy of encouraging citizens to sue the government, while it forced Moretti to back down, has had massive repercussions. The potential claims have already exceeded fifty million US Dollars."
"If we can't find a way to cover this, the Pittsburgh City Government will face bankruptcy within three months."
"Once we go bankrupt, not only will we be unable to provide any financial support for next year's midterm elections, but Pittsburgh will become a massive political black hole for the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania."
