"How did you react to the discovery of your new status, given the situation in Portland?", Ms. Marisol was looking at me from the seat in her studio, while I sat in what was now my office in the H.A.A., talking over my computer monitor.

I sighed, and blinked a little, "It was.. it's big. Kind of hilarious, though. I was eating some wings at the time, when John Cox, head of the H.A.A. branch, dropped it on me. I kind of just stared at him, holding up this half-eaten wing. I imagine I looked pretty silly, but I mean, how would you have reacted Ms. Marisol?"

She did a good-natured laugh, "I can only imagine what you're going through right now. What are your priorities at the moment?"

"The biggest priority right this second is making certain I have everything in place, and that I speak with all involved parties. I know I should be aiming for a flashier beginning, but I've done my research. Plenty of attempts to alleviate homelessness have been made, and so many have gotten buried because people tried to make it look like they were making progress, rather than focusing more on making actual progress," I said, quietly sending off memos through my technopathy as I chatted away. The interview was important, but I had more to do, and I couldn't fully spare the time.

Ms. Marisol had caught me just before entering the H.A.A., asking for an interview. My initial instinct was to put it off. After all, how much could there be to report? I hadn't even gotten my badge yet, but when I brought it up to her, Anna had a much different take, "Marcus, have a seat."

I wanted to get on with my day, but Anna was rarely insistent, so I had a seat, and she started, "You need to do the interview."

"Come on, really? I can do it later when I've actually got some stuff together. Right now? I've got like a million things to do," It was a waste of time.

Anna didn't let me off that easy. "Yes, you do have a million things to do, and the interview is the first one of them. Have you really considered what this looks like right now? The entire world woke up a few hours ago to find out that a fourteen-year-old was given executive authority over a state. Boy Scout notwithstanding, the world doesn't know you. They don't know your plans, and they don't know what your ultimate goal is. There will be plenty that are scared of what's happening, scared of you."

She wasn't wrong. I'd love to think I had a reputation for being someone trustworthy, but trust is earned, and whatever trust they might have in me to be a decent person, it was different now. They could laugh things off when it was just 'hero stuff', or when a teenager bought his own mall. Now, though, I was in charge of a state. I mean, not a terribly highly populated one, but still, it was expecting too much that I could just do whatever, and the rest of the world would just be cool with it.

"So are you saying that other attempts at curing homelessness have been more in line with publicity stunts?"

That snapped me back to the conversation real quick, "No. Image is important, and the image of progress in itself can be important to those in the struggle. The problem is that limited resources get expended on the initial vision of progress, and then the resources for the actual progress taper off, and... they get screwed again.

"It's what we see again and again, and it's a large part of the reason that those most in need of help avoid it amongst the homeless. They've been let down, abandoned, and abused so many times. I will break that cycle."

Ms. Marisol was clearly getting direction from whomever was on the other end of her earpiece, but it made sense. This was a developing story, so most likely, they were feeding her various updates from her producer. Knew that Newsroom marathon would pay off. She had a new question, "You've used the term homeless, but there are many who believe that the proper term should be unhoused individuals. Would this language better fit the situation?"

I actually felt Anna's palm hit her forehead as the question came out. Alright, I'll be honest... lost my cool for a moment here, "On behalf of the homeless of Portland, the greater State of Oregon, and on the behalf of every person in the history of all of humanity that has been homeless... they can go fuck themselves!"

Oh yeah, there it is. Anna sighed, fully unsurprised by the statement. Shock registered as people on the show had gotten used to me being generally polite, but there was a line here, "Inane bullshit like this stalls legitimate help! It doesn't 'raise awareness' or whatever other asinine bullshit buzzwords you wanna jam together. It wastes time and starts idiotic arguments that are the height of privilege. No one trapped in this shit cares, they don't have the capacity for it, cause they have real problems, like where the next meal comes from, where they can sleep safely tonight, and whether someone's robbed or burned down their tent since they were last there. They don't have the free time to come up with new language to be offended by.

"So you know? They can go argue about the language, and I'll keep myself busy with getting them homes, jobs, and help that actually matters."

Yeah, I was gonna pay for that one. The interview wrapped up shortly after that, and having given the internet enough fuel to go fully nuclear, I went on about my day. The next fun moment? I had to go talk to a slew of local business owners who wanted a word about what was happening. They seemed to think I was going to speak with them each individually, but I didn't have the sort of time to have the same conversation dozens of times. So, we rounded everyone up in what was just a gymnasium in the H.A.A., and I stepped up front with a mic, "Okay, I know everyone here has seen the news, and yes, I'll be handling things to take care of the current crisis. Now, you'll see mics on either side, as well as down the center. Once I say my piece here, there'll be an AMA section, and then, I've got more people to talk to."

I pretended to shuffle some papers for a moment, and launched off, "Okay, first off, I get it, you have businesses, and we'll need businesses in order to make sure this succeeds. Part of this whole system is jobs, we need jobs to keep this from turning back into the same situation or a worse one. Portland businesses are at the forefront of my plans, even if I'm not immediately involving all of you.

"Next. We'll be making use of as many Portland industries that produce what we need as possible. I could just order everything in, true, but we might as well use what we have, and in helping that way, we funnel economy into Portland which helps us out with the relief of homelessness going forward. If anyone here is involved in a business that can help in solving this crisis, there's a man over here on my left named Gregg. He's running point on the H.A.A. disaster relief for businesses. Talk to him, and we'll get the ball rolling."

Everyone seemed a bit more relaxed in general. The business leaders heard the magic words: I'm not coming for you, and you could make some money. Unfortunately, there was a particular class that was about to be made considerably less relaxed, "As to the renting situation in Portland... here, landlords will be far less happy with me. It's gotten out of hand, and it's getting stopped, but to my other business leaders here that are bout to scream about capitalism, understand me: They've screwed all of you. Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z would love to join country clubs, but that rent allotment says no. They'd love to go out to bars and restaurants more often, but that rent says it isn't happening. Buy better clothing? Rent's a problem. The rampant theft? Desperate situations breed desperate solutions. Student debt pretty much assures that they might never get to buy homes and combine it with rent, that's just a pipe dream as it stands now. If this situation does not get resolved soon the entire housing market is going to crash as the Boomers leave the market.

"This exists at all levels of Portland society because just as the cost of living has gone up for the poor, it has skyrocketed for everyone else as well. It's hurting every business outside that group, and due to the rise of corporate-owned apartment complexes, competition in the market has been gutted, since many apartment complexes are hiding their true corporate ownership, groups of companies that are owned under the same umbrella company. Their money leaves Portland, never to return, and that stops now."

I knew the landlords were going to pitch a fit, so I went ahead and got myself my own angry mob for free. The people of Portland would yell at them, sure, but they hadn't changed anything from that, because why would they? People still needed places to live, so there wasn't a proper motivation to change the arrangement. The first landlords stood up, only to get shouted down by the other business leaders, who were now starting to get the picture of how many of their businesses were losing profit to them.

Now let's take it for a spin, "My first emergency proclamation is this: All apartment complexes must prominently display their full corporate ownership and must show that ownership to all new or current residents in clear terms. If this is not taken care of in one week, you will be fined, and from there, if you haven't taken care of it, then two weeks after that, we will be severing the ties, revoking your licensing to operate as apartments. The property will revert to the City of Portland until new owners buy the property from them. You're free to argue this after the emergency situation has resolved, but it will be seen to in the meantime."

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While some landlords looked furious, I noted one or two who heard it, and the potential possibility: Encourage your competition to reject the current rule, and then potentially you could scoop up a shiny new complex for next to nothing. The sharks would be swimming, but swimming against each other as much as me.

"Mall owners, we have a special provision for you, a separate presentation by my company, Aegis, Inc.. This is not paid, it's pro-bono, it costs you all nothing, and represents a potential new revenue stream for your consideration. You can contact Miguel Suarez for more information, and he has business cards available for interested parties."

From there the Q&A started, and it generally went how I expected. Business owners in downtown who'd had their stores robbed, vandalized, and otherwise seen their business crumble away over the last several years wanted to know what I was going to be doing about it. I went over my initial plans, focusing on creating what were essentially rehab communities, and moving the homeless to there, cutting the numbers involved. This would also involve cleaning up the camps around the city, and some restoration projects. I didn't mention my eventual plans for the actual criminal element of the city. I didn't want it getting back before it was time to spring the trap on them.

Then, one particular owner stepped up to the mic, a middle-aged woman named Sheila, "Hi. My question pertains to your upcoming mall. I own a bakery on the west side, and I was wondering about leasing rates for businesses in your new mall."

I hadn't expected the question, but it wasn't too difficult... then I saw a bunch of other nods around the room, "Well, it's not really the purpose of this meeting, but you can also speak with Miguel about that. He would have the information on it."

Another owner was in business around the mall, "If I might ask: How long until the mall is finished? My bar's been kind of on the edge for a bit."

More nods of affirmation. Okay, this is going in an odd direction, "I've ordered in things to get the renovations of the mall done as fast as possible. This means increased work crews, so I do apologize, but there's definitely going to be some noise for a while. Our current plan is to be operational within the next ninety days."

The owners from around the mall took it... differently than I would have thought. I'd assumed they would kick a bit, but when they heard mention of construction crews, felt more secure- OH. Construction workers would most likely hit up whatever was convenient nearby, rather than go hunting for somewhere specific. It was a more or less automatic business for them, much as the construction noise might be otherwise harmful, and their business had already been reduced with the mall dying, so it wouldn't be driving off much business.

A few needed help to stay afloat, so I directed them to Gregg. Finally one of the landlords stepped forward, "I have a problem with this 'proclamation' of yours. The companies that bought these complexes are just trying to earn a profit, like every other business here. What right do you have to hurt that?"

I could feel Anna's disapproving look back behind me, so I took a moment to breathe before responding, "And people have a right to be able to afford to live in the city they work in. It would be one thing if it was one or two, but nearly every complex in this city falls under that heading. Your companies knew what they were doing, and didn't just build new apartments, but bought out existing complexes, drastically raising the rents to 'recoup' your investments, investments that should not have been made if they required such staggering rental prices to be recouped. I have evidence in front of me of independent complexes that have literally doubled their rents in the last ten years while offering no new services or amenities to counter or explain that rise in rent, all owned by similar companies. It's FAR ahead of inflation and even raises in property value, taxes, and pretty much any metric that would explain such a constant, consistent shift.

"If I had the authority for it, I would not be outside of reality to label the practice as monopolistic price-fixing, since, let's be real, you're not even competing with one another, all charging remarkably similar prices across all instances. But, you have given me an idea, so thank you.

"I will be setting up three distinct websites for rentals, leases, and homes. For rental, all Portland renters will be able to post, not just the complexes as happens on the larger renting sites. The same will be done for homes, including what homes are going up on bankruptcy, and we will arrange it for private sales, not just those through realtors. Finally, a leasing site for commercial and industrial spaces following the same essential rules."

I did the paper shuffling again like I was looking for a particular note, "Now, a final note: We're going to be working with Tenant Court here at City Hall to work things out on evictions. While I'm not currently going to halt evictions, we will be directing resources to help get people out of their current predicaments with their rent, whether that involves them keeping their current lease or us figuring out somewhere else for them to live. This does not halt eviction for things like vandalism, theft, or violent behavior, just the people who are behind on their rent. You've oddly enough hurt yourselves in a lot of ways on that count, so we'll come up with stuff for getting you paid out, and keeping what people we can in their homes while we get the new paradigm sorted out."

The other landlords peeled out of the question line. Some people's kids, man. I spent the better part of an hour fielding questions until it looked like everyone was done one way or another, either satisfied that they had all the information they needed or going off to seethe on their own time. The latter group was going to be an issue.

They filed out, and I got enough time to grab a bite real quick, and the next group launched in, the H.O.A.s... they're not happy with me either. Researching H.O.A.s had been troubling. For so many, they operated with next to no real restrictions, and it definitely showed. Portland had made no proper, concrete regulations for these, nor had a number of cities around the country drawn such things up. H.O.A.s in and of themselves weren't a problem and could be good, but they needed better oversight, restrictions, and regulations that protected against the worst impulses of those running them. Some of the things they got away with were just idiotic, like people getting fined for parking their own cars in front of their own house for just one example. Other H.O.A.s seemed barely functional, unable to handle even simple matters, and no provisions in place for the residents to replace bad leadership.

Preventing evictions and bankruptcies was important, as both were things that led directly or indirectly toward homelessness, and we needed to stem the bleeding. Get evicted, and you would have trouble getting another place around Portland, especially with so many 'sister company' apartments. Bankruptcy could destroy years of otherwise good credit, and knock you into a different life.

Next came groups like Oregon Food Bank and Salvation Army, all the groups that were associated with working with the homeless more directly. Their questions were more related to what was going to be happening over the next little bit, and what their roles would be, and while I might argue with certain groups' individual policies, I needed all of them. I was a little surprised to see the head of the BSA District Council in attendance. This meeting kind of loved me immediately. I mean, my donations budget notwithstanding, I'd demonstrated an incredibly active desire to do the same thing they were trying to get done. Every shelter and Food Bank in the area was overworked and understaffed and had been for years now. The prospect that someone was going to potentially change that dynamic had them ready to go.

The head of the BSA District stepped up to the mic, "Lincoln Tsumpti, representing the Boy Scouts council here in Portland. What do you need from us?"

I, uh... okay, another little gap. I hadn't properly factored in Boy Scouts, so it did take me a moment, "Mostly, we need folks who can clean up around the city, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts if we can get them. I'm also certain the Food Bank and kitchens could use some volunteers. There's been a lot of damage, and we need to get it cleared up."

It was kind of like that here. This group was more about working out federal funding and marching orders. I directed a lot of it through Fred, since that was specifically our non-profit group, to come together and create a council. They wanted assurance more than anything else.

All-in-all, I spent eight hours up on that stage, largely just answering questions, laying out the game plan, and then on to the next group. Anna let me know that I had one final group, but it was much smaller: The mayor, city council, and Oregon's Congressional Reps. We would hold that meeting in a conference room, and everyone felt awkward. I was drained from the all-day press of everything, and they were dealing with a fourteen-year-old kid who was now their boss for the next few months. Super fun.

The first thing I did was actually take the office of Commissioner of Police from the Mayor, and she wasn't deeply thrilled with me on that, but I mean, she's never been a cop or any other member of law enforcement. That should have been the job of someone who was in the field and had some degree of proper experience with the thing but with an eye to the future. It was an old holdover from before the Portland population boom. Locating one had been back-burnered repeatedly over the years, but we needed action now that would roll over into whatever became of Portland in the aftermath of this. The council had a ton of things to say, none all that helpful really, but I assured them I would seek their input whenever I needed it, and the people from Congress needed to go over paperwork with me for submitting reports, and to get an idea of what precisely my intended goal was.

By the time evening rolled around, I was just done. I was finally sitting in Jersey Mike's with Anna and Miguel eating when I got a text from Mr. Bethel, who was confirming the time to leave for the hunting trip. Fuck. I almost canceled, but Anna halted me, "Marcus. We have several days before anything happens with all of this. It's coming up on the weekend, and there just isn't anything to be done until Monday. You should go, take the weekend."

"Anna, there's a lot of shit that needs to be in place before-"

She held up a hand, "That's why heroes get sidekicks. I can keep things moving, and help get heroes settled as they come in. This is probably the last weekend you'll get to yourself for a while, so you need to take it. I'm telling you that as your sidekick, your friend, and a fully licensed therapist. I'll take care of Portland. You go."