The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 157: Determining Targets]

In Santa Monica, at a newly secured safe house.

Someone knocked rhythmically at the door. Edward went to answer it, and Campos slipped in, dressed up for the occasion.

He looked at Hawke, who was sporting a wig and fake beard. "Boss."

Hawke gestured towards the seat across from him, "Take a seat." He asked, "How's business lately?"

Campos sat down and replied, "We've taken on a few private investigator jobs, all tracking and photographing unfaithful spouses. Additionally, the Hispanic population in Los Angeles is growing rapidly. We've developed many informants, including those working in hotels, restaurants, and film sets."

Hawke had another purpose for this meeting: "If you encounter a Mexican policeman like yourself again, after verifying relevant situations, you can consider bringing them into the company. You now have channels to handle legal identities. If there are suitable candidates, the company can fund their processing, but be cautious of the timeline."

Campos understood. "I've already placed legal identity as one of the top rewards within the company."

He then inquired, "Is there any significant work to be done?"

"We need to train a skilled group adept in photography." Though Hawke's version of Twitter wasn't officially launched yet, preparations needed to begin early. "There will be big news to capture later."

Campos understood the company's current focal business was as such, continuously honing their craft in tracking and spying.

Their meeting lasted only about ten minutes before they both departed.

...

Returning to his own outfit and Mercedes, Hawke instructed Edward to drive to Brian's law firm.

He was there to sign an agency agreement on behalf of the newly formed Twitter company with Brian.

Once that was taken care of, Brian pulled Hawke into his office and mentioned, "The struggles above are intensifying and could likely involve those below. You need to be cautious in the upcoming period."

Hawke was psychologically prepared, knowing that whatever one did, they had to face the consequences. "Will they resort to humanitarian destruction against us?"

"Not necessarily. If either side resorts to gunfire, things will spiral completely out of control," Brian was still confident in this regard. "Both sides have families; who would dare to fire the first shot easily?"

That said, Hawke remained vigilant and urged, "Never underestimate their moral standards; to the big players, we are merely pawns."

Brian chuckled, "Don't worry too much; they'd go after me first, then you."

Hawke patted his shoulder. "Be a sturdy shield -- absorb most of the damage."

Reiterating his earlier advice, Hawke added, "Be cautious they don't send a beautiful woman with AIDS your way to launch a biochemical attack."

At the mention of AIDS, Brian became alarmed and angrily threw out a blessing, "Next time, you'll encounter a huge-scale gunfight involving hundreds of casualties!"

The two engaged playfully in verbal jabs. Hawke took the opportunity to remind him, "Didn't you only get tested for AIDS last time? That doesn't seem right; check your neck; there are plenty of red spots, and your hands are also reddened. You wouldn't have contracted syphilis, would you?"

Without the need for restraint, Brian realized his neck and hands were indeed a bit red, but he hesitated, recalling, "I was just sunburned!"

Hawke kindly advised, "I strongly recommend you get tested again."

Brian looked somewhat dazed, "Do you want me to find a beautiful woman?"

"Not during these special times; of course not." Hawke returned to his earlier point: "You're a shield. Don't fall before feminine allure."

He rose to take his leave, saying, "Make sure to have a bodyguard with you; don't mingle carelessly, and don't make me have to clean up your mess!"

Brian held his hands up. "Listen to what you're saying like I'm unreliable or something."

Hawke was well aware that if Brian could stand firm, he would face much less trouble, bolstering his mood, "Do you remember? Our target is the Oval Office!"

Brian nodded earnestly, "We've only just begun. There's no way we can falter now."

Hawke exited the law firm and got into his Mercedes.

...

Edward set down the magazine in his hand and asked, "Boss?"

"Let's go to the company." Hawke wanted to grab a newspaper to flip through.

It was the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which prominently featured the latest Oscar nominations and various comments related to it.

On the second page, a headline criticized this year's Oscar nominations.

Led by Will Smith and Spike Lee, Black Hollywood figures vehemently called out the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor/Actress nominations for lacking Black representation.

Even when considering Best Supporting Actor and Actress, only Queen Latifah received a nomination.

It seemed they all had forgotten that last year's leading actors and actresses were both Black.

For Spike Lee, this was far from the first time he had cursed the Oscars.

Will Smith also claimed that the Oscars lacked respect for Black talent.

Without special privileges, that was, of course, a sign of disrespect.

Hawke finished flipping through Entertainment Weekly and tossed it aside, grabbing the next paper, the Los Angeles Times.

The front-page headline caught Hawke's attention.

Bill Clinton came to Los Angeles to promote his autobiography and attended a luxurious party hosted by Sean Combs, alongside celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and other notable figures.

The accompanying article featured a very clear group photo that seemed to have been specifically provided to the Los Angeles Times by the hosts.

In the photo, Clinton took center stage, with many stars crowding around him.

He recognized several people he had worked with before, with Hawke himself standing close to Sean Combs and spotting the main leads from the selfie scandal, Josh Hartnett and Allison Faith.

Hawke surmised that Clinton had come to Los Angeles not only to promote his autobiography and attend the party but likely also to support that beleaguered blue-party politician.

...

Arriving at Ocean Park Avenue, Hawke parked in front of the Twitter office building.

The workers were busy on the top floors, having just put up the little blue bird logo of Twitter.

Hawke entered the company and made a round in the tech department, where the beta version was already online, initially just in web format; the installation version would follow shortly.

In the web-based trending news section, the top two stories just happened to be those he had seen before -- about Clinton at the party and the uproar led by the Black community regarding this year's Oscars, spearheaded primarily by Will Smith and Spike Lee.

Hawke entered his office, where Caroline was busy on the phone, contacting advertisers, managing forum promotions, and courting star clients.

In Hawke's name, she had pulled in Dwayne Johnson, Steve Nutt, Josh Hartnett, Allison Faith, and Sarah Jessica Parker to register.

Hawke didn't idle away his time either, calling Eric Emerson and Katherine to help out with promotions.

He also recalled Brian's strong ties with Tom Cruise, who was even attempting to play nice with him, so he called Brian again, asking him to recommend Twitter to Tom Cruise.

Hawke even called Suzy, suggesting the LAPD set up an official Twitter, allowing timely releases of information.

Even Frank, that bastard, didn't escape.

...

Frank made only one request: "You promised you'd make me a consultant for your new company."

Hawke looked out the window at the parking lot opposite the company, which was just next to Venice Beach, and replied, "I'll help you move tomorrow."

He asked, "Can you figure things out down at Venice Beach? Just don't let the local gangsters push you out."

Frank confidently replied, "I'll make one phone call, and it'll be sorted."

Hawke hung up the phone.

...

"Boss," Caroline reported, "Since the new version of the website launched, we've gained 455 new registered users so far."

Hawke nodded. "Don't rush; every beginning is tough."

Caroline handed over a fax. "This was sent by Mary Ferguson."

"I see." Hawke carefully read it once before making a call to Mary Ferguson.

Mary stated directly, "The website is live. What's your plan now? You promised me that by May, active users would surpass 200,000."

She slowed her speech, "You have to prove Twitter's potential and value for me to secure more resources for you at the board meeting."

Hawke replied, "The plan will be implemented shortly."

"I'm looking forward to it." Mary quickly hung up.

Hawke was well aware that the most pressing issue now was how to attract users to the Twitter site.

His planned strategy was to leverage explosive news events to drive user engagement.

For the general public, the allure of great gossip far exceeded news on societal or political issues.

Unless the latter could generate an event on the level of 9/11.

...

As Hawke devised his plan, he prepared two candidates. After encountering Gretchen and Will Smith at Fox Tower, the choice expanded to three.

The original two were sports stars -- one was the renowned sex addict and golf superstar Tiger Woods.

The other was the incredibly motivational cyclist who had clinched four consecutive Tour de France championships, Lance Armstrong.

The former is a well-known sex addict.

The latter is a typical American sports star and a doping expert.

Hawke also collected some preliminary information through the Internet and first gave up Tiger Woods. This sex-addicted tiger currently only has a girlfriend and is not married yet. The gossip scandal is not big enough.

Lance Armstrong, however, with testicular cancer, remained a strong candidate for Hawke.

Hawke vaguely recalled pivotal moments in his doping scandal.

But compared to Will Smith, the influence of both fell short.

In 2003, Smith was nearing the peak of his career.

Across all of Hollywood, few stars genuinely matched Smith's level of prominence.

Hawke suddenly remembered reading in the Los Angeles Times about the Clinton couple and Sean Combs, nicknamed "P. Diddy."

These guys definitely throw unusual parties.

But Hawke understood very well that he shouldn't provoke them at this stage.

Strength is the foundation.

In comparison, even just an entertainment superstar like Will Smith seemed much safer to target.

Hawke made a decision -- Will Smith would be the primary focus, with Lance Armstrong as a backup.

He called Caroline in, instructing her to gather preliminary information on the individuals.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.