Gotham, Municipal Office Building, 8:00 AM.
A knock sounded at the door. With a creak, it was pushed open, and a woman in formal attire entered the office holding a stack of documents. The badge around her neck identified her as Ms. Weiss, the Mayor's Assistant.
"Mr. Napier, this is the draft for your press interview this afternoon. I've made the final revisions. Please review it and make note of the important items."
The figure seated behind the desk did not move. He merely lifted his eyelids slightly before saying, "Leave it here. I'll look at it later."
"In two hours, you have a hearing concerning pollution from the chemical plant in District X15. The venue has already been arranged. Would you like to inspect it in advance?"
"No. I have visitors in half an hour."
"Names?"
"Mr. Nevi and Professor Rodriguez."
"Understood. I'll send Angelie to receive them."
"No, don't send Angelie. Send Gray instead."
"Yes, sir."
The figure behind the desk set down the document he had been reading, sighed softly, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and picked up the press release that had just been placed on the desk.
He flipped through it casually, pale fingers gliding over the black text. His straight fingers made even the English letters seem hunched over.
When he saw one of the items, his eyes darkened. He looked again at the document he had been reading earlier. Both documents contained the same key phrase—chemical plant pollution in District X15.
He rose from his chair and walked to another table nearby. A map of Gotham City lay there, dotted with colored pins. Only he knew what those pins represented.
Gotham had been divided into five zones: B, E, F, G, P, and X.
This was not Gotham's original geographic layout. Like