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The press conference is scheduled for six pm, outside the CircleCorp offices. Carter has always prided himself on his punctuality, so it's six o'clock exactly as he steps up to the podium, giving his best politician's smile as cameras flash around him. He likes to do this kind of thing every so often, come down to street level and interact with his constituents. He's learned that people are more likely to go along with his plans if they believe he really cares about them and their opinions.
He starts with the good news; the reduction in crime, unemployment, homelessness. It's been a good year, a lot of progress made, and he relaxes into the role as the journalists ask questions and scribble down answers, aware, at all times, of the crowd approaching in the distance.
One day before
"Are you sure about this?" Shauna asks. They're gathered together in Jason's living room, a small group of the brave and the desperate, searching for some way to save their city from… well. Jason tries not to think about that.
"We have to do something," Jason replies. "They're trying to break us. Grind us down, stop us fighting back. We can't let them."
"And when Mayor Hanson has us thrown in jail for interfering with his glorious plans?"
Jason gives a grim smile. "Then at least we'll know we got to him." Maybe he'll even get to look Carter in the eyes.
He looks at the group around him, acknowledging each one with a glance and a nod. "Spread the word," he says. "Bring everyone you can.
"We're taking the fight to them."
Carter knew about the protest, of course. What kind of mayor would he be if he didn't keep up with what his constituents are doing? A couple of his advisors suggested cancelling the event, but Carter was confident their security could handle it. A few people yelling, chanting, waving signs? That's nothing.
Six months before
Jason doesn't know when exactly Carter stopped taking his calls. Maybe after Jason called him out for going ahead with the expressway project knowing that it would cause so many people to lose their homes. The conversation ended up a little more… expressive… than Jason intended, but he just couldn't stand the way Carter stood there and talked about progress and opportunity and necessary sacrifices, as though he wasn't playing with people's lives.
He can't help but think of the boy he knew back in high school, who joked and helped people and wanted to change the world for the better, and wonder what happened to him. Was he always like this, deep down? And if so, how did he, Jason, possibly miss it?
Carter doesn't react to the crowd as it gathers, intent on his speech. He outlines the plans for the expressway expansion project, gesturing for emphasis as he explains all the new jobs and opportunities it'll bring. Of course it'll mean a few people will need to be relocated, of course, buildings torn down to make room, but no one's ever made an omelette without breaking eggs.
One year before
Looking back, Jason thinks he should have seen it sooner. There's always been an undercurrent in Carter's attitude, in all his grand speeches and plans and promises, that he sees himself as above it all. Like a chess master moving pieces around a board. Sacrificing pawns left and right in the name of progress.
Jason wondered, of course, once or twice, but Carter always had an explanation for everything. The cameras and guards and extra patrols will make them safer. Expanding the power plant will reduce energy costs. Reduced regulation will lead to greater investment in their city, proving new jobs and opportunities for their people.
It all sounds good, if you don't look too closely.
When Carter signs off on a new expressway, one that will require bulldozing dozens of homes and relocating hundreds of people, Jason starts looking closely. And he doesn't like what he sees.
Carter sees the guards readying themselves as the crowd closes in, backs straight and shields raised. At first he thinks it'll be like the other times they've dealt with protesters – there's always someone objecting to something, he grew numb to the whole thing a long time ago. But this crowd is different; louder, angrier. They're not just waving signs, they're waving fists and throwing bottles. There's an electricity in the air, the kind that says this whole situation is on the edge of tipping into a riot.
Carter puts it out of his mind and keeps talking. He'll have to up the security measures around the city, he thinks, but for now he has confidence in his guards to protect him. By any means necessary.
Three years before
"Congratulations, Mr Mayor," Jason says, raising his bottle in a toast.
"Thanks for your vote," Carter replies in his best politician's voice, before breaking into a smile and running a hand through his hair. "It's still sinking in, to be honest. I wasn't sure I could do it."
Jason laughs. "Aren't you always telling me you can do anything?"
Carter shrugs, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, but sometimes I like a challenge."
The guards are as efficient as he expected, taking down the rioters with ease. Carter continues speaking, hitting the podium with his fist in emphasis just as something in the crowd catches his eye. The man shouldn't stand out, nondescript as he is, but Carter would recognise that red hair and familiar green shirt anywhere. Jason.
His speech doesn't falter, but his heart turns over at the thought that Jason is here, in the thick of it all, that he doesn't just disagree with Carter's vision but finds it objectionable enough to literally fight against it. He'd always thought they'd be in this together, changing the world for the better, but Jason hadn't seen it that way. He objected, refused, turned away. And now this.
If he reached out now, Carter thinks, what would Jason say?
Eight years before
"Guess what?" Jason says the instant Carter appears on the screen. He's practically vibrating with excitement, barely waiting for Carter's reply before blurting, "I sold one of my comics!"
Carter's face lights up, a grin spreading across his face. "You're kidding? That's great!"
"I know, right?!" He manages to calm down a little and adds, "I mean, it's just one, but it's a start."
"Yeah, the start of your career as an artist," Carter replies. "This is amazing, Jase. I'm so happy for you." He grins and adds, "Just remember me when you're working for Marvel or Disney or something."
"Yeah, yeah," Jason says, rolling his eyes with a smile. "So anyway, what's new with you? Still trying to decide what to do after you graduate?"
On the other side of the screen, Carter frowns, a line appearing between his eyebrows. "Actually I've been thinking I might try for a job at CircleCorp."
Jason wrinkles his nose. "The mega corp? Really?"
"Yeah, I know, but the pay is incredible. I figure I can do it for a few years and then quit and do what I really want to do."
"Which is?"
"I don't know yet." Carter smiles suddenly. "But I'm sure I'll think of something."
Jason's eyes meet his just as a bullet from one of the guards pierces his chest. For a second he looks surprised, and then Jason – kind, naive, blinkered Jason – falls to the ground, caught in a crossfire that should never have happened.
Carter's words die in his throat, fingers gripping the podium as he stares at the space where Jason was standing. For a second the world seems to tip on its axis, the chaos around him crashing in all at once until he wants to scream at it to stop. Bullets are still flying, violence and death and horror surrounding him, and all he can think is how did it come to this?
Twelve years before
"Do you think it's true?" Jason asks as they lie in the long grass, their bikes abandoned a short way away. "Do you think one person can really change the world?"
Carter glances over at him with a grin. "I'm counting on it."