The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 201: Forge Ahead]

Santa Monica, 20th Street.

Inside the villa's tool shed, Hawke and Erica were sorting through firearms. Brian had previously sent over dozens of guns.

Suddenly, Hawke's phone buzzed, and he answered it.

"Boss, they made a move," Campos quickly reported about the recent events. "I scared them off; Harley shouldn't be hurt."

Hawke responded, "Got it. Stay safe and don't leak any information."

Campos added, "Garcia and Carlos are still tailing Harley. I showed my face in front of her just in case. I'll send my car to the junkyard and scrap it down to a pile of metal."

"Sounds good," Hawke switched hands for the phone. "Where's Harley headed?"

"Looks like she's going to Century City," Campos informed him.

Hawke understood. "She's heading back to the Fox Television Center. She's a smart girl."

Seeing Hawke hang up, Erica put down the assembled handgun and said, "Those bastards wouldn't dare make a move at the Fox Television Center, even if they were crazy."

Erica was already informed about the situation, and Hawke had briefly explained it to her.

After a moment of thought, Erica said, "This is a good opportunity. If Fox exposed this, they'll be under immense pressure. If this is connected to Owen, he might not be able hold on."

Hawke replied, "Brian and Jennifer need this win, right?"

Erica nodded, "Jennifer came to Los Angeles on a mission and just took office; she could use this credit. Brian is involved in this political game and needs to build his resume and credibility."

Hawke, of course, wouldn't be on the front lines. "Let Brian handle it."

"Brian wants to secure more resources, so he naturally has to take on the corresponding risks." Erica was decisive and picked up her phone to call Brian.

In this scenario, whoever gained credit would also bear the greatest risks.

Hawke stayed back, watching everything unfold with a cold, detached gaze.

His hidden objectives had never changed.

After finishing her call, Erica wanted to prevent Hawke from taking risks, saying, "Hurry up and finish organizing those guns."

"Okay," Hawke sat back down at the workbench.

...

Downtown Los Angeles, FBI Los Angeles Division.

An armored SUV sped into view and pulled over to the side of the road.

In the back seat, Brian made another call.

Within half a minute, Jennifer, with her neat short hair, hurriedly arrived and got into the back seat.

She smiled at Brian, "I'm back."

Brian looked serious. "Let's get down to business; no fooling around."

Jennifer wiped her smile away, asking, "What's the important intel?"

"One of my guys discovered something..." Brian quickly shared what he could reveal.

Jennifer nodded eagerly, "Good! Very good! Owen has been tight-lipped, and due to his status, we couldn't use some of our special measures. Now we've found a breakthrough; we can shatter his mental defenses."

She had no time to waste here. "I have to go; we'll talk later."

Brian waved her off. "Go quick."

...

Jennifer returned to the division, called two subordinates, and headed to the holding room to question Owen Nester again.

Previously, they had found videos of the abuse of women and minors on Owen's computer. Although they were downloaded from the internet, they were enough for the FBI to keep him detained.

Jennifer also sent three of her loyal aides, who had accompanied her from Wyoming, to the LAPD to look for a girl named Lena.

This time, the situation was different; using the information Brian provided, Owen's mental barriers started to show signs of breaking.

...

In the Cadillac, Harley maintained her composure as she drove into Century City, slowly spotting the brightly lit Fox Tower, gaining confidence.

Earlier, when the vehicle had crashed into her Cadillac, she had clearly seen two of the three men who got out of the Land Rover with guns in their hands.

Had it not been for lucky timing with a police car passing by, she might have died tonight.

Or perhaps something worse than death.

The Cadillac turned directly into the underground parking lot of Fox Tower and parked at the elevator entrance.

...

Carlos and Garcia drove past the front of the building and disappeared into the night.

...

Harley turned off the engine, realized her hands were sweating, and when she got out of the car, her legs felt a bit unsteady.

Facing such a scene, her nerves were inevitable.

But without a moment's hesitation, she slung her briefcase over her shoulder, grabbed the recording storage device and the dashcam memory card, stomped her foot to regain her strength, and stepped out firmly.

Harley quickly walked into the elevator area and took the elevator upstairs.

...

Arriving at the Fox Newsroom, she found Gretchen.

Gretchen looked at Harley, whose hair was soaked in sweat, and asked, "You look a mess! What happened?"

"News! I'm on a story, and things went wrong." Harley's nerves still lingered. "I got hit by a car; those guys had guns, and luckily a cop happened to pass by..."

Despite having done some shady things, Gretchen never wished harm on her staff; she asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Harley replied, "I'm fine; I think I've gathered some crucial evidence."

"Hang on." Gretchen walked to the office door, opened it, and checked outside for any abnormalities. Finding none, she locked the door and drew the blinds.

Harley handed her the storage device. "You should listen to this first."

Gretchen connected her computer, opened the audio file, and then watched the dashcam video.

Harley fast-forwarded to the key parts.

After Gretchen finished listening to the conversation between the two in the car and watched the crash footage, Harley took out documents from her briefcase, including secretly taken photos, recordings, etc.

Gretchen quickly thumbed through them, realizing this was beyond her control to handle.

She grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Harley. "Take a sip and calm down. This is Fox; no one can hurt you here."

Harley took it, twisted it open, and had a sip of the sugary water, easing her nerves a bit.

After contemplating for a moment, Gretchen decided to escalate the issue to upper management.

Since Roger Ailes cleared her path, Gretchen had people around her looking out for her.

She called the chairman's assistant.

At this time, Roger Ailes wasn't at Fox Tower.

...

In Beverly Hills, on North Sunset Boulevard.

In a luxury mansion, a high-profile party was still in progress.

Roger Ailes had hosted a banquet to entertain McCarthy, Duarte, and other members of the Republican Party visiting Los Angeles.

They were primarily discussing the situation in Sacramento.

An assistant approached, whispering a few words in Roger's ear. Roger replied, "Have her come see me immediately."

...

Gretchen received the call, instructing Harley to bring all the materials and head downstairs with her.

Harley reminded her, "They're bold; they might come after us."

Gretchen nodded. "The chairman's office has notified security."

The two made their way downstairs; it was the busiest time for the television station, with many people around.

Once outside the building, three security department vehicles were already parked up front. Once the two got in, they sped off toward North Sunset Boulevard.

...

In less than 15 minutes, Harley found herself in the study of a luxury mansion, face to face with the top figure of Fox.

Gretchen gave Harley a look, and she handed all the materials to Roger's assistant.

Roger adjusted his glasses and reviewed the materials, photos, and audio and video records one by one. After listening to key parts of several audio files and watching the crash footage along with the club's sign, he slightly closed his eyes, clearly in thought.

Harley wanted to speak but was silenced by Gretchen's eyes.

At this point, the only person who could make a decision was Roger Ailes.

Roger recalled the meeting earlier; McCarthy had mentioned that the Republican Party had opened a gap in Los Angeles and found a critical breakthrough point in Owen Nester, the former mayor of Covina.

To amplify their advantage, they even employed forces from Washington to send over a deputy chief of the FBI with deep red connections.

Owen Nester, Hollywood's deep blue Jewish power, acting training schools luring pretty minor girls, clubs offering certain special services -- these incidents were not isolated.

With Roger's experience, it wasn't hard to see a connection among them.

The battle at the top of California's political arena was reaching its decisive phase.

With Fox's stance clear, Roger had enough courage to directly say, "Fox hasn't had a blockbuster story in a long while."

Gretchen understood, "Yes."

Roger checked the time. "There's still time for tonight's midnight news."

He turned to Harley. "You report the story you investigated."

Gretchen opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat.

To make a public appearance on the television screen, Harley first thought of the guns in those people's hands, but after a moment's hesitation, she recalled the missing girls who had vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed in this world.

She felt incredibly resolute. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll report!"

Roger nodded in satisfaction. "Go ahead."

Harley gathered all the materials and left the study without looking back.

Gretchen followed her.

...

Roger Ailes picked up a secure phone and dialed an old friend's number. "Arnold, I found the breakthrough you were looking for. Make sure to watch tonight's midnight news."

On the other end, Arnold Schwarzenegger remarked, "My partner is indeed exceptional."

He directly promised, "If I win, Fox will receive a series of tax breaks and state grant funding."

...

Gretchen and Harley hopped into a security department vehicle, hurrying back to the Fox Television Center.

Arriving at Fox News, they received word from the chairman's assistant to fully cooperate with Harley in preparing for the midnight news.

Harley stopped thinking about anything else and forged ahead.

...

Inside the villa on 20th Street in Santa Monica.

Erica had just helped Hawke clean the guns in her own special way.

With Erica's stimulation, Hawke felt invigorated, his brain cells buzzing with activity.

He suddenly said, "There was something I didn't remind Brian about."

Erica was resting her head on his thigh, lazily not wanting to think. "What is it?"

Hawke said, "Those individuals might commit suicide out of fear of crime."

Erica looked up at Hawke, "That can't be stopped. As long as Fox News exposes them, they'll definitely take action."

Hawke sighed lightly, "What if the deep blues decide to compromise voluntarily?"

Erica, not overly concerned, yet not oblivious, replied, "You already know the outcome."

Hawke nodded. "Politics is an art of compromise. The red-blue struggle has been the theme of America for over two hundred years and will remain so for a long time, even though the division is intensifying. Both sides cannot completely annihilate each other."

Unaware of Hawke's deeper motives, Erica said, "We're still young; we have plenty of time. At this stage, we just need to secure our rightful benefits without rushing for anything else."

Hawke was well aware that some matters weren't worth rushing.

*****

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