The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 148: Self-Made Security System]

Beverly Boulevard, inside Brian's villa.

Hawke packed up his personal belongings, especially firearms, ammunition, and various digital devices, preparing to move back to Fountain Street.

Edward stuffed all the documents he had from the past few days into a new shredder, thoroughly destroying them into tiny scraps.

Caroline dragged a large suitcase downstairs from the second floor and asked Hawke, "When do I start?"

"Aren't you already employed?" Hawke replied as he picked up an AR and packed it into a gun bag.

After thinking for a moment, Caroline rephrased, "What about that new company you mentioned?"

Hawke said, "I'm working on a business plan. From now on, you'll come to the West Coast studio every day. Your salary during this period will be equivalent to that of the Savior, basically $2,000 a week, plus bonuses."

Caroline quickly agreed, "Okay, I'll go tidy up and be there tomorrow."

As Hawke finished packing, he remembered something and asked, "You often deal with celebrities; you must know about their non-profit organizations and the personal companies they have in Delaware or the Cayman Islands, right?"

Caroline immediately understood, "You want to avoid taxes?"

"I'm planning to establish a charity organization," Hawke responded seriously. "To contribute to equality in American society."

For example, figuring out if Buddy Ackerman's descendants had Bombay blood type so they could be used as blood donors in the future.

Seeing Hawke's serious nonsense, Caroline replied earnestly, "There are professional intermediary companies here. As long as you're willing to spend, they'll handle all the procedures flawlessly. Even if the IRS and the Justice Department get involved, they won't be able to find anything wrong."

"Great, when you arrive tomorrow, you can run this task," Hawke said, eager to keep his employees busy.

...

Once Edward finished shredding the documents, Hawke checked around to ensure nothing was left behind. Then, he drove back to East Hollywood Fountain Street in an Audi A8 while Edward drove the bulletproof Mercedes.

Before Caroline got in her car to leave, she called a few friends to inquire about the charity related matters.

After moving his stuff back to the studio, Hawke called Brian, whose law firm also had specialists dealing with such affairs.

The studio had been empty for ten days, covered in dust. Hawke commanded Edward to get busy.

Not long after, someone knocked on the studio door from the outside.

Hawke went to open it and saw Frank holding a battered hat as he entered.

He looked thinner than before and immediately complained, "What have you guys been doing? Did you forget about me? If you didn't come back soon, I would have starved to death!"

Edward came out from the bathroom with a rag, tossing it directly to Frank, "Get to work, and you'll get food."

Frank caught the rag and threw it back, retorting, "Cotton products suit you perfectly."

He then turned to Hawke, "Hurry up and order some fried chicken and watermelon juice; we can't let people work for free."

Hawke didn't indulge him, "Haven't you noticed? You've gained quite a bit of weight from eating a lot recently. We're just helping you get back to the state we first met for your health."

Frank's face dropped, "Do you know why I got skinny? It's not because I'm not trying to earn money, but it's because I'm watching over your place! I sit at the park entrance begging every day, can't go out to collect cans or newspapers, income has plummeted. If you don't compensate for my losses, isn't your conscience bothering you?"

Hawke felt a pang of guilt, "Let's go for a big meal at noon."

Frank was satisfied, sitting on the couch and directing Edward, "The shelf isn't clean, there's still dust on the windowsill."

"I remember," Edward flashed a bright smile, "I still remember a star named Salma Hayek."

This time, Frank didn't lose his cool, keeping it light, "She's about to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress; both of us can't touch that."

Hawke casually asked, "You knew she'd leave if she got nominated, yet you still helped?"

"She put in the effort; it made me feel warm," Frank reasoned. "Efforts deserve to be returned."

Edward was left speechless and continued his work.

Frank added, "Weren't you helping someone on a project recently for the Golden Globe Awards? I found out yesterday through some contacts that Sarah Parker is likely to get a nomination."

Hawke appreciated the gesture, "Thanks."

Frank marveled, "You really create a mess; being an ambassador against domestic violence while pregnant, in such a left-leaning award category -- who would dare not award her?"

Hawke maintained his professional ethics, "I'm just doing a paid job."

"What Harvey Weinstein's public relations team did is bad enough," Frank shook his head. "I feel like you've opened another door to a new world for them. In the future, those aiming for the Oscars will spend less time focusing on their characters and more time on gaining prestige."

Hawke replied, "Without me, there would be others."

...

Once Edward finished cleaning, the three of them headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch.

Considering Frank had genuinely been watching over him recently, after lunch, Hawke accompanied him to a nearby supermarket, where they bought a mix of everything.

Frank even bought a Japanese-made pocket toy, claiming it was for caring for the health of the elderly.

He proclaimed, "Hawke, you've given Salma a bad idea. Once she gets nominated, she'll head to Europe, and then I won't have any benefits left."

Hawke reassured him, "You still have plenty of ex-wives."

Frank turned to look at Edward, who was pushing the cart, leaving him speechless.

The three of them bought so much stuff that they not only filled the fridge in Frank's RV but also stuffed the studio fridge.

...

After Frank left, Edward came over to request time off, "Boss, I haven't been back to Brentwood in days. Deborah has been calling several times a day, if I don't go back soon, she's going to break up with me."

Hawke pondered, seeing as there was nothing urgent in the next few days, he said, "Go back. I'll give you three days off, but don't leave Los Angeles."

Edward hurried out of the studio.

...

Hawke sat in front of his laptop, continuing to write his business plan to prepare for the establishment of the new company.

The new company was naturally in the internet media industry.

Traditional media was at the beginning of a decline. Starting a venture too late meant the market was already sliced up.

However, creating something in internet media was not easy.

Hawke recognized his own strengths; he was better at destruction than creation.

Besides, the internet media sector was already very competitive, especially with portal websites dominating the field.

Blogs were dominated by a few sites.

Hawke considered that the website would need media properties. It should attract users with popular, viral news while also allowing user interaction, thereby attracting investments and enhancing its strength.

However, many ideas looked great in theory; the execution often had a host of problems.

To say nothing of viral news; without sufficient strength, one might end up on the receiving end of being exposed instead.

That was why Hawke had been thinking about this since before he came to Los Angeles, now ready to implement it.

He jotted down various chaotic ideas, but in the end, only a few would be selected for actual implementation.

Just then, Hawke's phone chimed with a text message; picking it up, he read a short line: "We're back."

It was from Campos and the others returning to Los Angeles from their trip.

Hawke thought for a moment and called Brian, who was still busy with ongoing lawsuits as the attorney for multiple victims.

With Wagenen and Redford dead, civil compensation had concluded.

But in the video, there was someone whose identity could be clearly established -- Lawrence Pope.

According to Brian, Pope was extremely tight-lipped and took all the blame himself.

Even so, the matter still involved the people behind him.

The head of the governor's office had to step forward to issue a public apology, and even Governor Gray Davis was implicated.

The elephants were pushing the deep blue into a corner.

Just as Hawke wrapped up the call, he received another call.

It was FedEx notifying him that a shipment from Buffalo, Wyoming had arrived in Los Angeles, asking where to deliver it.

This was the specimen of the North American grizzly bear they had hunted.

Hawke had already discussed with Erica about sending it directly to the villa for exhibition in a display room.

He called Erica and then drove directly to the villa in Silver Lake community.

...

It wasn't long before the delivery truck arrived, and several FedEx workers carried the wooden crate containing the specimen into the display room.

Hawke signed for it, gave them a tip, and sent them on their way.

Just then, Erica called, "Wait for me to come over and unbox."

Hawke asked her, "Can you finish work on time tonight?"

"I've been working on a small case outside, and I'm done now," Erica quickly replied. "I'm not going back to the station; I'll be back in a maximum of twenty minutes."

Hawke went to the tool room, grabbing the crowbar he had bought earlier.

In less than twenty minutes, Erica's Cherokee pulled into the villa's driveway.

When she got out of the car, she was carrying three heavy bags.

Hawke stepped forward and took two from her, asking, "Did you buy guns?"

Erica smiled, "Just open it up and see; it's a surprise for you."

Entering the display room, Hawke unzipped one gun bag, revealing a Remington shotgun, alongside a shell holder and corresponding ammunition.

In Erica's unzipped bag was a Savage bear-hunting rifle equipped with a scope.

He unzipped another gun bag, finding two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and a Glock handgun, along with their magazines and bullets -- exactly the weapons they had used in Wyoming.

"I think these have special commemorative significance," Erica said, clearly invested in the relationship, wanting to manage it well. "I called the bison gun store to arrange special delivery, and they sent them right over."

She picked up the Savage rifle and placed it in a display case.

Hawke assisted her and handed over the Remington shotgun.

Erica set the Remington next to the rifle, stepping back and nodding in satisfaction.

The ammunition and magazines were stored separately in a metal cabinet with a fingerprint lock.

Both Hawke's and Erica's fingerprints were set up for the cabinet.

The two AR rifles and the Glock were kept as self-defense weapons.

Hawke grabbed a crowbar from the top of the box, tossing it to Erica, "Let's unbox."

Erica came over eagerly, "Let's do it together."

Both pressed down on the crowbar simultaneously, and the wooden crate top popped open, revealing a parcel inside.

After removing the outer packaging, they uncovered a lifelike grizzly bear specimen.

The bear had its internal organs, fat, and moisture removed and replaced with stuffing material to maintain its appearance, looking large but not heavy.

Hawke and Erica each took an end and carefully placed it in the display case.

This villa was spacious enough, and the exhibition room was large, with over twenty display cases still empty.

Hawke remarked, "Too bad the cougar specimen got ruined."

Erica waved her arm, "We can go hunt again. Starting this year, I get an additional seven weeks off on top of regular public holidays, and we can go domestically and then to Alaska."

Hawke locked the display case and called her, "Let's go, it's time to clean up."

Erica chased after him, linking her arm with his, "I just got a new whirlpool bathtub; let's try it out."

Once they tried it out, it turned into nightfall.

After their activity, they both felt hungry, and with just some convenience food on hand, Hawke changed into clothes, pulling Erica out for dinner.

...

As Hawke drove the Benz, not far from leaving the Silver Lake community, he noticed two patrol cars parked outside an abandoned villa.

Two black men were face-down on the ground, handcuffed by four patrol officers.

Erica recognized one of the officers, rolled down the passenger window, and inquired, "Hans, do you need any help?"

Hawke stopped the car, and Erica got out.

As soon as the officer saw Erica, he waved his hand in reassurance, "It's fine, we've got it. Just two petty thieves trying to steal from this abandoned house; the neighbors called the cops."

Erica waved back and got in the car: "We won't disturb you any further."

Hawke continued driving, stating, "Many houses in the Silver Lake community are still unsold, and the occupancy rate isn't high. I remember the houses on either side of us are empty."

He suggested, "How about implementing some security measures?"

Erica was aware of what he had been doing lately, "Didn't you renovate the studio? You even successfully dealt with the Dwarfs' Gang."

Hawke fell into planning mode, "By the way, the slingshot-making tools are still in the tool room at the villa. After dinner, we can go to the supermarket and buy some tools and materials and renovate them ourselves. What do you think?"

Erica was naturally someone who loved hands-on projects. "Sounds like a great idea!"

She seemed excited, "Let's hope a couple of petty thieves get tempted by that house and and we end up catching them."

After a simple dinner, they went to the supermarket and bought so much that there wasn't enough space in the Benz's trunk and had to put some in the back seat.

Back at the villa, they temporarily unloaded everything into the tool room and got busy.

For the next two days over the weekend, they didn't leave Silver Lake and worked on their custom-made security system.

By Sunday night, Erica received a call and said to Hawke, "My grandpa wants to meet you."

*****

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