Cabinet Meeting

Bright lights illuminated the spacious conference room as the people gathered around the enormous rectangular table looked at one another.

Although the Cabinet Meeting Room in Ilan City's Mayor's Residence had been designed from the outset to accommodate up to fifty people at once, nearly a year had passed since Lynn took office as mayor and formed the new cabinet.

Yet this was only the second time so many cabinet members had gathered together.

The first time had not been in this Cabinet Meeting Room, but in the Banquet Hall of the Mayor's Residence, at the banquet celebrating the New Mayor's inauguration.

Most of the time, cabinet decisions were made by the mayor and the directors of the seven major departments in a meeting.

Even when matters involving other departments arose, only the directors of the smaller departments related to the matter would be brought in, rather than summoning everyone for a meeting.

As one cabinet member after another arrived, exchanging friendly greetings, the initially relaxed atmosphere gradually grew solemn.

That solemnity reached its peak when Vice Mayor Lant arrived.

Watching the vice mayor take a seat beside the head of the table, a gaunt man seated farther back lowered his head. He had a mustache, wore a gray suit, and had a gold pocket watch hanging from his chest. He looked at the somewhat wide, fat man beside him and asked softly,

"Do you have any news? The mayor suddenly summoned all of us..."

"No."

The Wide Fat Man leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "I haven't been able to contact Mayor Lynn since last night."

"Aren't you from Mayor Lynn's party?"

The Mustached Man looked puzzled. "He didn't answer your calls either?"

"I heard none of the calls made to him last night got through."