Chapter 339 - 339: Deception Hidden in Plain Sight
[Chapter 339: Deception Hidden in Plain Sight]
Los Angeles, City Hall.
In the conference room, Hawke and Brian sat on opposite sides of a long conference table, signing contracts in front of them before exchanging and signing again. There was no public ceremony, no media attention, just like many political deals, the formal signing slipped under the radar and landed in the pockets of big companies.
This was a contract covering two projects. One involved the City Hall selling the Coast Building to Twitter for $150 million at cost price, under the pretense of supporting the development of Silicon Beach tech enterprises. The other was the City of Los Angeles's financial support plan for key businesses, which provided Twitter with a subsidy of $360 million for technology research and development, personnel employment, and skills training.
Once the contracts were signed, the projects moved forward. The paperwork for the ownership transfer of the building would be handled by subordinates.
...
Hawke and Brian left the conference room and entered Brian's office as mayor. Similar to an Oval Office, the mayor's office was not large, adorned with portraits of distinguished former mayors of Los Angeles, but lacking an image of the last mayor, Antonio.
Brian settled on the couch in the waiting area and told Hawke, "$150 million to be paid in three years. Twitter shouldn't have too much pressure."
"I was hoping for a ten-year installment plan, then wipe the debt clean at the end," Hawke joked.
Brian responded simply, "Los Angeles has unwritten rules in this regard. For situations like the Coast Building, the installment period can't exceed an administration's term."
There were more contracts than just these two. After the LA fires, all cleanup operations at the disaster site had been outsourced to West Coast Environmental Technologies, who then subcontracted to three other companies at a lower price. In the end, more than ten companies were involved in the cleanup.
This type of subcontracting, with multiple levels, was a common global practice. West Coast Environmental Technologies snagged all bids in the latest procurement tender from the fire department.
Due to the fire, City Hall and city council boosted the firefighting budget to its maximum. This procurement amounted to an impressive $32 million, with more to come.
As everyone knew, government procurement in America was highly profitable. A security company had already signed a contract, and Butterfly Consulting was in the process of hiring staff, but the existing security company's contract expired at the end of the year, allowing time for the new company to train personnel.
Brian added, "The president is coming to LA before next weekend. Support for the donkey party has continuously dropped since the LA fires, and it's nearly level with our elephant party." He then mentioned, "In the last election, the donkey party's Gore got 53% of the vote in California, so they don't really hold a dominant advantage."
Hawke remembered that in ten years, that number would rise to over 60%. It seemed that Elephants could only secure about 35% of the votes in California.
Hawke nodded, asking, "How did your conversations go with your girlfriend?"
"Jennifer and I are just dating; we're not engaged yet!" Brian emphasized, and then continued, "Jennifer is selecting reliable personnel and contacting the Washington headquarters to find a suitable reason to sideline the deputy director leaning toward the donkey party."
That was one of the reasons Hawke had been waiting. LAPD might frame the average person without a problem, but for things like this, he couldn't rely on them. Saying LAPD was as leaky as a sieve wasn't an exaggeration.
As soon as a case came in, it would immediately reach the ears of those who needed to know.
The local FBI office was slightly better, mainly because Jennifer Huey had brought along a cadre when she transferred in.
The supervisor here had been nominally working since last year, essentially retired, and paid no attention to these matters. As long as the deputy director was out of Los Angeles, Jennifer could use her position to suppress a lot of issues.
Hawke said, "My team is progressing step by step, it won't be long before that female reporter from Fox comes out swinging."
Brian nodded, "I promised Jennifer that if this goes well, we would get engaged right away."
Hawke sighed, "Buddy, for our careers, you've made a brave choice, and I really admire you."
Brian looked sorrowful, saying, "But what I've lost is countless forests."
"If you need me, I can help arrange a grand bachelor party," Hawke offered, feeling comfortable financially. "At the very least, I could find you five Victoria's Secret Angels and ten models who have walked the Victoria's Secret runway."
Brian grabbed Hawke's arm, saying, "Then it's settled!"
Hawke added, "Regarding accountability for the fire, don't let your guard down for a second. You need to track down Antonio, while Sacramento should investigate those donkey party council members. This isn't just about launching a pressure campaign; it will keep them focused on the aftermath of the fire."
Brian understood these points, "We need to avoid them noticing that we've opened a new battlefield."
After the fire, the donkey party sacrificed Antonio in hopes that he would shoulder as much blame as possible and attract the public's attention. This method had proved effective; with the previous Los Angeles mayor resigning, the donkey party faced considerably less public pressure.
Yet the elephant party continued its relentless pursuit, positioning itself to turn the narrative of the LA fire into a quick comeback for California.
The two discussed matters for a long time, nearing noon before Hawke finally left Los Angeles City Hall.
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...
The detective bureau was not far away, so Hawke called Erica to confirm she was free for lunch, inviting her out.
Over lunch, they talked about a recent case that had occurred in Beverly Hills.
Hawke inquired, "Any updates on that case?"
Erica replied succinctly, "The suspect remains unidentified, but all signs suggest that it was likely committed by some super-rich individual. Not only is this guy wealthy, but they might also be involved in a secret cult, possibly even a member of a satanic sect."
Hawke understood, "So someone up top is applying pressure to obstruct the investigation?"
Erica shrugged, "I can't reach them, but both CHP heads are trying to bury the case."
Hawke said, "LAPD is meant to protect taxpayers and donors. If someone pays a hefty protection fee and doesn't receive adequate protection, who would donate to LAPD in the future? Isn't that true?"
Erica nodded slightly, "Pretty much."
Neither of them were particularly concerned about seeking fairness or justice, making little of the matter.
Hawke recalled something, saying, "I've upgraded Campos's service to a security firm and need to secure a batch of firearms licenses."
"Just have him send me the personnel files; it'll take me no more than five days," Erica directly replied, pausing her knife and fork.
She added, "I'll get it sorted. When you go out, take extra security and drive the highest-rated armored car. What you're planning with Brian may provoke a fierce backlash."
"I will," Hawke assured her. "If anything happens, I'll call you."
Erica earnestly stated, "I'll ensure to inform my grandfather and have the security firm prepare two helicopters on standby. If anything happens, they could support you at a moment's notice."
...
After finishing lunch, Hawke left the urban center first, driving back to Twitter and following Harland from tech into their newly acquired office building.
Renovations on the Coast Building had paused, waiting for more specific requests from Twitter before continuing.
The main changes revolved around networking lines and security systems, with the server setup being critical.
Enclosed by sixteen floors of structure, the interior featured another sixteen floors dedicated to servers and supercomputers.
Hawke followed Harland into the building, discussing various technical matters as they walked.
This building had been designed for leasing to Silicon Beach tech companies, inherently structured to host servers, requiring minimal alterations.
The specialized communication lines and cutting-edge servers alone made this building swallow the subsidies from the Los Angeles City Hall.
The bleeding costs of developing social media networks surged. Hawke thought about the president coming to Los Angeles; if they wanted to gain an advantage here, they would undoubtedly leave something behind.
He wasn't in the business of losing money.
---
In Downtown Los Angeles, at the Expo Park,
Harley Wayne held a copy of Sports Illustrated, sitting on a bench beside the Rose Garden Plaza.
Due to it being a workday, there weren't many people in the park.
Harley glanced occasionally at those coming into the park.
The day before, the email address belonging to someone who had messaged her had suddenly replied.
That person claimed to be a source for her news stories.
Without hesitation, Harley arranged to meet the source at Expo Park.
Glancing at her watch, she shook her head, telling herself to take a deep breath. She had come a bit too early; there was still half an hour until their scheduled time.
...
In a parking lot, less than three kilometers away from the park,
Irene, the late Guerrero's girlfriend, reviewed the printed material again.
Beside her, Betty gently squeezed her hand, encouraging her, "You're a smart girl; you can do this."
Irene set down the materials and looked up at the sky, "He's watching over me from up there."
Irene had seen everything Guerrero left behind and knew her boyfriend wasn't a good person, but he treated her exceptionally well and died under unknown circumstances.
Irene still remembered the last night; if Guerrero hadn't forced her out, she would have certainly died.
She didn't care about others' lives or deaths, but she had to exact revenge for Guerrero.
When Fiona and Betty found Irene and showed her the details they mailed, she was quick to follow them without much persuasion.
This college student, after understanding the situation, was determined to take revenge.
For the past six months, Irene had been undergoing various training to prepare for her strike.
Target: Ackerman Charitable Foundation!
Irene grabbed her car keys, put on a Dodgers baseball cap, got into the nearby car, and said, "I'm going."
Betty nodded, "Don't worry, I'll stay close to you."
"Okay," Irene replied, starting the car and driving toward Expo Park.
Betty and several others quickly followed behind her.
*****
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