Leo had booked the entire conference room floor of a five-star hotel in Pittsburgh.
Seven or eight people with solemn expressions sat around a long table. They were a group of economics professors from Carnegie Mellon University, financial experts from the Wharton School of Business, and several top lawyers well-versed in Pennsylvania commercial law.
This was the "brain trust" Leo Wallace had assembled at a high cost.
Leo sat at the head of the table, a massive flowchart spread out before him.
It was the blueprint for the "regional closed-loop credit" system he and Roosevelt had conceived late one night.
"We need to add a firewall at this node."
A gray-haired economics professor pointed to the "clearing center" module on the diagram, his tone rigorous.
"Mr. Mayor, if you want to use this 'Alliance Credit Note' as a universal means of payment among the seven cities, you must circumvent the State Banking Act's definition of currency issuance."
