They all realized that the owner of the factory site had called to warn them: someone was trying to sue them for illegal land use and wanted the factory owner to testify in court. But he had refused.
But that did not mean the other side would drop the lawsuit, nor did it mean they could win, because they really were using the land illegally. They had done so because there simply was no reasonable way to make it legal. No such provision existed.
"Is it too late to buy off the community?" Ron asked.
"I'm already trying," Victor said. "I used money to help them with some problems in their lives, but they said the most they could do was put in a few good words for us if they were selected for the jury. Stopping the other side from filing suit is impossible."
"Someone also warned me not to go against the forces behind this. Otherwise, the victims might not just be us Superpower Users, but also the people we've helped."
"They're taking the homeless hostage???"
"That's right. If the homeless here were all the kind who could only survive on charity meals, it would be a little better. But some of them want to return to society. It would be best if they didn't get dragged into a lawsuit. For ordinary people, that can be fatal."
"Get them out first," Ron decided decisively. "We didn't give them money before because we were afraid they'd just sit around and live off handouts. But at this point, we can't worry about that. Give each of them enough for rent and let them find somewhere to stay..."
"There probably aren't enough vacancies at this time of year," Victor reminded him. "We should arrange for them to find under-the-table jobs with