Mr. Black has more ideas for runs with an Olympic
background. (We will get back to the genocidal Hell on Earth part soon...) But before we get into the fun stuff, let us explore
the meat of the matter. Mr. Black is extrapolating that Kenneth
Brackhaven and his administration are using the Olympics as a platform
for massive bribery and corruption. He and his administration are also
using the Olympics as a cover for all that bribery; the massive
construction needed and the urgency of the deals (the deadline is pretty
strict after all) allow Brackhaven to get away with almost any deal. How does all of this work?
Brackhaven, as Seattle Governor, has staffed the Seattle Olympic Committee (SOC) with his cronies and
yes men. They in turn (under Brackhaven's direction) have filled the
Olympic Planning Committee (the OPC, charged with getting all the
infrastructure and construction done) with more cronies and yes men.
Construction firms submit bids to the OPC; the OPC is under no
obligation to accept the lowest bid- sometimes the "better" bid is the
winning bid. This can be due to a bid allegedly being finished faster,
being constructed with less distress to the neighborhood (traffic congestion is a big issue with homeowners), the bid being
completed by a more reputable firm, said firm already having all the
trucks and equipment in place, etc. The real truth is most likely that
the Fix is in; simply the bigger bribe wins.
This is 1920's
Chicago/Huey Long/Tammany Hall levels of corruption. The bidding firms
either pay off Brackhaven directly (through "bagmen" of course), who
funnels down money and directives, or they pay off OPC members, who
funnel it up and the advise Brackhaven on who is playing ball the best.
These firms are not immune to this either. While not even B-level corps,
most construction firms are contracting firms; they hire other,
smaller construction firms to do the jobs. These smaller firms are
naturally paying off the contracting corp-how else can the contractors
pay for the bribes they pay Brackhaven's machine? Of course, these firms
must be hiring union labor (these unions kick back dues monies to
Brackhaven's administration of course), except for the truly dangerous
jobs-that's what metahumans are for after all.
"And what has been the Governor's reaction to these problems? He wants
to fire Seattle's hard working police! Clean up starts at home, and
Kenneth Brackhaven's the man for the job!" - an excerpt from one of Kenneth
Brackhaven's Gubernatorial campaign speeches (from Runner Havens)
Let
us not think that this is all just construction scams. The "police" are
in on this as well. How do you think Knight Errant got the policing job
in Seattle? Remember that Brackhaven ran for Governor in 2070 as a supporter
of Lone Star. He clashed with his opposition candidates on this support consistently. Then
why the change? What, you actually think Lone Star was too racist for Kenneth Brackhaven?!?
No. Lone Star wouldn't play ball. Even Clayton Wilson was uncomfortable
with the amount of corruption Brackhaven was hinting at. So a hidden
slush fund slid Brackhaven's way with KE on the cover. Why would Knight
Errant and squeaky-clean Ares sully themselves this way? Money. Lots and
lots of money. Knight Errant understood they would get the job, and
still be in place during the Olympics. The Olympics contract will double
the officers on the beat. That's something like 200,000 extra jobs. And
their taking over Seattle would shake Lone Star's grip on law
enforcement world-wide. Lots of contracts eventually went KE's way after
2072. Enough to make one wonder what KE and Ares may have to do with
the Mayan Cutter cases and the Tempo crisis. But that is a theory for
another day. All we need to understand right now is that Ares greased
Brackhaven's wheels hard to put themselves in the catbird seat. The
day-to-day officers won't be on the take, but they know who is buttering
their bread.
So Seattle passes new taxes to pay for
the Olympics (this was done under the previous administration!). Brackhaven uses these taxes, along with Corporate
sponsorship deals to fund the construction. The firms bidding to win
construction work bribe either Brackhaven, the SOC or the OPC. They in
turn take bribes from those hoping to get contracted work. And the
unions (electrical, HVAC, carpentry, etc.) get all the labor contracts,
and then kick money up. And keeping a cover on all of this is a modern
efficient police force, which is also kicking money up. So the bribery
train goes round and round. And Brackhaven's administration is getting a
taste at every level. And all paid for by citizens and rival corps. That is how a political machine works.
Assuming the Crew is not just muscle for the Machine, how do they get in on this? The most likely answer is that one of the competing firms hires them. They will be hired to disrupt rivals (to show the OPC that the rival is not a competent firm), extort rivals (with the threat of disruption and all that that entails), blackmail rivals (with dirt that the Crew digs up), or to protect the firm from being disrupted, extorted or blackmailed. variations upon these themes are the basis for our next 10 in Ten. Stay tuned, same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel.
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