Cobblepot gently set his coffee cup on the conference table. The base made no sound as it touched the mahogany.
"You're all right."
His smile was perfectly measured. Humble, sincere, with even a hint of the realization a young man might show after receiving guidance from his elders.
"I was too hasty. The circumstances in the East End really were... too unusual. Expanding the plan across the city could indeed cause serious problems. I failed to think it through."
The three officials across from him exchanged glances. The deputy chairman of the city planning committee gave a slight nod.
"It's good that you can see that," he said with a smile. "Drive is a fine thing in a young man, but in Gotham, some things simply can't be rushed."
"You're right." Cobblepot rose and straightened the buttons on his suit. "I'll notify our partners that the East End Revival Plan will be put on hold until the time is more suitable."
Winthrop and the other two rose and extended their hands.
"Congressman Cobblepot, you have a bright future."
Cobblepot shook the offered hand, his smile as mild and deferential as ever.
"Thank you for your guidance."
His steps were steady as he left the conference room, even steadier than when he had arrived.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows at the end of the corridor, Gotham's skyline stretched out in a gray haze beneath the afternoon sun. Cranes, scaffolding, half-finished buildings-like wounds this city would never heal, or ambitions it would never fulfill.
Cobblepot stood there for two seconds, then continued toward the elevator. The moment its doors closed, his smile vanished.
Subtle changes seemed to have come over the East End.
The cranes were still there, but no new construction fencing went up. Convoys of transport trucks no longer roared through