The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 31: Every Local is a Treasure Trove]

Edward wasn't much good at anything else, but when he ran, he was like a rabbit. He jumped into the driver's seat of the car as Hawke called out to him from the back, "Get in the car!"

Hawke hopped into the passenger seat, tossing the car keys to Edward.

Edward started the car, and the Mondeo spun around on the spot before racing toward the park exit.

Hawke kept an eye on the rearview mirror. After several turns and seeing no one following them, he said, "Relax, we lost them."

Edward took a deep breath, removed the camera from around his neck, and drove into a parking lot. Once parked, he said, "Boss, is our job always this exhilarating? That skinny guy had a gun!"

Hawke brushed it off, "No big deal, it's just a stun gun. I handled him easily."

Edward patted his chest, "I thought you were going to run away."

"Am I that kind of guy?" Hawke replied with confidence. "I promised to back you up, so I will definitely do it. You work for me, and I can't let you get hurt."

Despite still feeling a bit uneasy, Edward couldn't deny that his boss had indeed shown up just in time, even managing to take down two guys and help him escape. He couldn't help but say, "You're the bravest and most conscientious boss I've ever seen."

"Just remember that," Hawke replied as he took the camera and asked, "Did you get any shots?"

"I'm not sure," Edward admitted. This was his first job, and his shots had been all over the place: "I don't know why, but I was even more nervous taking photos than I was during that shootout back in Compton."

He covered his chest, "My heart was racing. How do I describe it? It was like running into a stunning divorced woman with kids."

"You've got a screw loose," Hawke said, connecting the digital camera to his laptop and downloading the photos to take a look.

The first three pictures were all of the tent fabric, totally blurry, and no people in sight.

The next three were overexposed, so you couldn't see anyone.

Then there were five more where a guy raised his hand to block his face, trying to avoid the camera.

As for the other photos, they were better left unmentioned.

Hawke carefully sifted through the twenty-something photos and finally found one usable shot. Edward had managed to capture Eddie Murphy's face, with a nearly naked woman in the background, her hands covering her face.

He turned the laptop toward Edward, asking, "Can you recognize who this is at first glance?"

Edward exclaimed, "That's Eddie Murphy! Wow, my skills aren't half bad; this shot is clear! That girl behind him looks like a knockout. No wonder he ditched your news girl."

Hawke smirked, "You ruined dozens of shots, and this is what you call usable?"

Edward scratched his head, "Isn't it just pointing the camera at a person and clicking the shutter? I've taken pictures of lots of people before."

Hawke shot him a middle finger, then plugged his Nokia phone into the computer, downloading the tent pictures along with Edward's shots, creating a product package.

Edward was a bit of an optimist, like most guys from his background, and didn't care much about what Hawke was doing. He asked, "Where are we headed?"

"Just wait," Hawke said as he pulled out his phone and began calling several gossip newspapers, briefly introducing the product at hand and inquiring about their offers.

Eddie Murphy's star power was a bit faded, plus he was black. The woman he was with wasn't a star or a celebrity wife, and didn't have the complicated relationships like Robert Downey Jr. and Sarah Jessica Parker. The best offer came from the National Enquirer at $4,000.

Half an hour later, Hawke met with Jack, the bearded guy, at their usual spot.

Jack looked at the photos and complained that there was only one usable picture and the price dropped to $3,500 because the rest were too blurry.

Given Edward's poor photo quality, Hawke didn't have much to argue.

After the deal closed, Jack said, "In less than a week, you've got two tabloid-worthy stories. Buddy, you've got a knack for this business."

Hawke added, "I've just arrived in L.A.; once things pick up, there will be more stories."

Jack shoved a check into Hawke's hand, "As long as the news is explosive enough, feel free to reach out any time."

Hawke had his motives for mentioning this: "I heard the papers could issue freelance journalist cards; could you get me two?"

Jack didn't refuse, saying, "With the Oscars coming up, can you get me a big story?"

Hawke wasn't good at guessing, primarily because he had no convincing edge, plus the outlook for this year's ceremony was pretty clear. Denzel Washington and Halle Berry had already snagged SAG Awards ahead of time.

That award had a more than 95% overlap with the Oscars.

Hawke pondered, then asked carefully, "I heard there's a secret party after every Oscars, not on the Oscar night, but like a masquerade party."

Jack had also heard about it. He scanned Hawke's youthful features and advised, "You're still young; you have plenty of life to enjoy. Don't go looking for trouble."

Hawke understood: "Got it."

Jack took his photo storage disk and said as he got out of the car, "The freelance cards won't come until after the Oscars."

Hawke recognized this was a bait being thrown his way.

As for him being the one getting hooked? That was essential.

...

When Edward returned, Hawke took him out for a late-night snack, using the opportunity to teach him how to use the camera and camcorder.

This kid was quick, had dark skin, good driving skills, and knew the streets of L.A. He was a native...

Hawke once received significant help from a local in Park City.

He felt Edward would make a great assistant.

While they ate, Hawke informed him, "Learn to use the camera and camcorder, get another big story, and you can become a full-time member."

"Don't worry, I'll take it seriously and practice diligently," Edward declared, devouring his burger while bringing up his mainstay, "Can you hook me up with a divorced woman who's got child support to spare?"

Hawke countered, "You think you could get money from them?"

"I left Compton at 17; it's been ten years now," Edward boasted. "Half of the Black folks I grew up with are either dead or missing, and the other half are mostly wandering the streets or members of gangs that take advantage of them. I'm practically one of a kind!"

He tugged at his somewhat clean work jacket, saying, "I lived in their houses, ate their cooking, spent the alimony from their ex-husbands; it was a blast... right up until I met that loser Bree."

Hawke thought about whether Edward's experiences and connections could be useful.

Every local was a treasure trove.

"Hey, Boss, can you help me out?" Edward asked again, "I can give you a cut when I score some good benefits."

"Hmm, there might just be a possibility," Hawke replied, a sudden thought popping into his head. "What do you think about Robert Downey Jr.'s wife?"

Edward looked surprised, "Aren't they still married?"

Hawke's idea became clearer and clearer, "Being married isn't an issue; we can find ways to facilitate their divorce."

Divorce is a celebrity killer, destroying at least half of the property.

"After what happened, they will definitely get divorced, right?" Edward asked uncertainly.

Hawke thought about Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, recalling how Hollywood had more than its fair share of similar tales. They might have gotten accustomed to bickering and making up after one big fight.

But with someone like Downey -- struggling through years of addiction -- the more chaos he faced, the more agitated he'd get, which would increase his dependencies.

That way, Hawke would have a chance to engineer a devastating fall from grace.

Hawke then inquired, "Are your old partners reliable?"

Edward replied, "As long as the money's good, they're way more reliable than white folks. If you ask me, white people are a bunch of losers; they should be sent back to the plantations to pick cotton!"

Hawke tested the waters a bit further but didn't push more.

He now had the seeds of a new plan geared toward Downey, which would need refining based on how things unfolded.

...

Once they wrapped up their late-night snack, they drove around the places frequented by entertainment stars, but luck wasn't on their side. They didn't manage to capture anything of value.

During this time, Eric called Hawke, saying that Katherine agreed to help. After the Oscars ceremony, she'd find friends to introduce Hawke into Tracy Gym.

With the Oscars drawing near, while investigating Downey, Hawke took the time to print 2,000 business cards.

Hawke was gearing up for a big card distribution.

With Edward aboard, he was going to put him to work.

In the studio, Hawke handed the cards to Edward, saying, "Don't you have a lot of buddies? You could hire a few temp workers; I'll cover the costs."

Money makes everything easier; Edward responded, "Don't worry, Boss." Then he asked, "Where are we distributing?"

Hawke steered clear of the media reporter concentrations and took a different route. "Your target areas are two districts centered around the Kodak Theatre and the Beverly Hilton, branching out five miles to cover all the fast-food joints like burger places, especially McDonald's and Burger King."

Edward looked puzzled, "I've investigated, and most other media studios develop their leads in places like bars, nightclubs, upscale hotels, and Michelin-starred restaurants. Isn't our choice a bit off?"

Hawke replied ambiguously, "A lot of stars are burger enthusiasts."

He remembered that after 2010, research firms had done studies showing that stars who dieted for a week or even two weeks ahead of the Oscars often flocked to fast food joints for their first meal post-ceremony.

Many stars would indulge themselves with burgers at fast-food places.

Hawke didn't forget to give Edward a morale boost, saying, "Building our network of news leads will also be your process of filtering targets. Who knows, you might even find divorced women with kids."

Edward suddenly brimmed with enthusiasm, "I'm on my way!"

He set out to distribute the cards, and Hawke, donning a disguise, rented a new place in West Santa Monica to serve as a temporary safe house.

He also bought a Chevrolet from a used car dealer, parking it in an old-fashioned multi-exit public parking lot as a backup vehicle.

*****

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