“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a variety. What if you didn’t like fish?” She bit into a piece of salmon and avocado and made a sound of appreciation. Her phone, set discreetly on the other empty chair, began to buzz. Still eating, she grabbed it with her free hand and showed it to River. “Segment time.”
“This isn’t popcorn, but it will have to do.” River got up and shifted her helmet to the chair she’d been sitting in, and then she moved her plate and sat next to Marina. “Easier to watch it together, right?” She took a bite of dragon maki and sighed happily.
“Right.” Marina’s eyes narrowed like she was trying to figure out River’s game, and then Adriana was live and their attention turned to the screen.
She was standing in front of an empty building with boarded-up windows and graffiti in swirling patterns all over it. “First of all, wow. You guys really came through yesterday, and I’m so impressed at how many of you have turned out tonight, especially when it’s definitely getting colder.” The cameras panned the crowd, which was certainly bigger than the one the night before.
“I’ve got a couple of interviews to show you that I did earlier today. But first, I want to share some information with you aboutBlack Pinnacle. I need to get it all out tonight, because they’re probably going to slap me with a gag order by morning. So listen up.”
“Here we go.” Marina set down the tuna roll she was about to eat.
River took her hand. “Hey. There’s no need to get stressed. She’s going to say whatever she’s going to say, and there’s nothing you can do about it from our igloo. You may as well treat it like a movie and enjoy your food.”
Marina squeezed her eyes shut and then nodded. “You’re right. Thank you.” She picked up the tuna roll.
“Besides, Cruella will probably have you eating cold gruel off her high heels in the morning.” River coughed as Marina elbowed her in the side.
“First things first. Black Pinnacle is a real estate development empire owned by Sheila Black. They’re huge on the East Coast and have gentrified communities all over the Eastern Seaboard. They’re known for tearing down buildings like this one, behind me, and replacing them with fancy, modern condominiums.” Adriana looked over her shoulder and back at the camera. “Now, tearing down a derelict building that isn’t serving a purpose for the community isn’t a bad thing. I think most of us can agree on that. The problem comes with the next part.”
“I like that she acknowledges different sides of the issue,” River said, her mouth on fire from the sashimi. Marina just nodded, watching the screen.
Adriana walked at an angle to the building, and a huge whiteboard with pictures and writing all over it came into view, set up on the grass and stark against the night behind it. “Before I made my way here, I talked to plenty of people on the East Coast from the communities affected by the redevelopment.” She tapped one section. “In the Capital project, there was harassment of varying levels. From knocks on the door at allhours to reiterate the buy offer, to threatening notes, to people sitting outside the buildings whose owners didn’t want to leave in a show of intimidation and coercion.” She tapped three other sections. “That was the case with these other projects as well. In this one,” she tapped a photo of a burned-out multistory house, “there were accusations of arson, though they weren’t proven. But the building was then sold to Black Pinnacle for one-tenth of the initial offer.”
Marina set her food down firmly, and her knuckles were white as she gripped the wine glass. “Shit fucking fuck.”
River couldn’t say anything. She continued to eat and gently nudged Marina’s plate toward her. “Just a movie for the moment.”
Marina threw her an irritated glance, and then it softened. “This is bad, River.”
“It’s facts, and you work with those for a living. You can deal with them tomorrow.”
“This project, however, is the one where many of the questionable dealings come together.” The largest section, in the middle, showed numerous burned-out buildings, as well as dark SUVs parked outside people’s houses. “We spoke with a government official who confirmed bribes were taken by multiple agencies in order to push through zoning, lift rent control restrictions, and even force evictions. Predatory buyouts, where tenants were unaware of their rights, were common, as was discursive rhetoric that made it sound like they were going to help people but ultimately displaced them instead.”
Once again, the cameras panned over the agitated crowd, which was growing restless as it waited for Adriana to finish so they could give voice to their rage.
“This is a company that lacks any moral compass. They don’t care about community. They don’t care about people who have less than. What they want is homogenous housing with chainstores that cater to the upper ten percent of society. And they’ve made it very clear, time and again, project after project, that they’re willing to get what they want at any cost.” Her gaze moved across the crowd for a long moment. “And so far, they’ve gotten what they want. The question is, will they get it again, here in Chicago, in a community that needs investment, not eradication?”
She stopped talking and the crowd took their cue. The chant of “Black Pinnacle, black heart” could probably be heard on the moon. It went on for some time, and River saw a couple of the kids from her workshops at the back, fists and voices raised. Activism was good, and she’d never tell them otherwise, but she couldn’t help but worry about them too.
“I’ve loaded everything we’ve found out about Black Pinnacle on my website. I’ve also sent it to the various news agencies I’ve worked with in the past. Whether or not they’re willing to go up against a billionaire is something we’ll have to find out later. If you’re interested in the evidence we gathered, I suggest you check it out fast, before we’re forced to take it down by Black Pinnacle’s lawyers, who are probably already scrambling to shut us down.” A link appeared on the screen.
“I’m excited for you to meet someone from the community?—”
River gently reached over and hit the close button on the screen, making Marina look at her with a deep frown. “The interviews are to connect viewers with the community. They won’t show anything you need to see right now.”
Marina sighed and set down her phone. “This is going to be a nightmare.”
River ate quietly and was glad when Marina started to eat again too. “That was a terrible movie. I get to choose the next one.”
Marina gave her a small smile. “Sheila’s going to rip off everyone’s head and scream obscenities into their neck holes.You’ll have to take a raincheck on the movie until I reattach my head.”
“I have a feeling you’re amazing at what you do. I think you’re probably a tsunami when it comes to setting your mind to something and making it happen. You’ll handle her.” River meant it, even though that same swirling energy was set against her own community.
“Why don’t you want to move?” Marina asked, picking at the charcuterie board. “I say that as the art gallery potential hook-up. I really want to understand what keeps you there.”
River nodded thoughtfully and finished her mouthful of salami and weird, squishy cracker. “Fair enough. I grew up there?—”
“But you left. You went away to college. People leave their hometowns all the time and never look back.”
