The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 291: Female Firefighters]

After finding some bottled water, Hawke poured a glass for Megan and placed it on the bedside table. He asked directly, "Do you want me to help you compete for the director position?"

"We agreed to keep our work and personal lives separate," Megan replied, recalling their previous conversation. She framed it as a transaction to ease any concerns Hawke might have. "Over the years we've been together, I've never been an obstacle for you, and I won't start now."

She looked at Hawke, continuing, "I was born into a broken family. I never thought about starting my own family or having kids. Besides work and my career, the only joy I have comes from you. If there comes a day when you tire of me, I'll quietly walk away."

Hawke lifted the cup to feed her some water. "You're overthinking it."

After sipping, Megan said, "While the rise of new media is undeniable, traditional television isn't going away anytime soon. If I become the director at Channel 11, I'll have significant autonomy in news reporting, which could help compensate for your lack of voice in traditional media. I might not know what your plans are, but after spending so much time together, I can sense you're plotting something..."

Hawke saw no need to deny her point since she was his biggest collaborator in the media.

Recently, Megan had been interacting frequently with Caroline, seemingly infectious in her ambition. "No matter what you're planning, wouldn't a dual approach of new media and traditional television yield better results?"

"You've convinced me." Hawke took another sip from the cup. "First, we need to identify where our opponents are, their backgrounds, their strengths and weaknesses, and who the key decision-makers are at the network."

Megan had been pondering this for a while. "Ultimately, the chairman's office makes decisions -- Roger Ailes. But I won't approach him; everyone at Fox knows that taking informal paths to gain his favor comes with a heavy price. I would rather not have this job."

She stated her position clearly and further added, "The real competition comes from the other two deputy directors at Channel 11: Manninger Jenkins and Renee Russell."

Hawke responded, "I need detailed information on both of them, as well as Roger Ailes and influential figures like Cynthia Rosenberg."

Megan nodded. "I'll put together the details as soon as possible."

If they wanted to devise a targeted plan, background checks were necessary.

Hawke thought for a moment and said, "You should stay in the hospital for now; don't go out yet."

Megan understood immediately from their teamwork over time. "I'll stay put and watch the other competitors battle it out."

When Aisha returned, Hawke said his goodbyes and left the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

...

Once in the car, Hawke called Campos to have him look into Manninger Jenkins and Renee Russell's backgrounds.

Just as he hung up, Brian's call came through. "I heard you and Erica are back?"

Hawke replied, "We arrived in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon."

Brian asked, "Where do you want to meet up?"

Hawke glanced out the window and said, "Let's meet at the Beverly Business Club, the usual place."

"I might take a bit longer to get there," Brian said, gathering some documents and calling for a driver.

...

After hanging up, Hawke instructed Edward to head straight to Century City.

Edward glanced at Hawke through the rearview mirror and cautiously asked, "Boss, nothing unexpected happened this time, right?"

"Uh?" Hawke thought to himself, even you think something goes wrong whenever I step out? This was not normal.

He replied seriously, "You need to understand one thing: there are always people wanting to harm me, it's never just an accident."

Edward then added, "A few days ago, while barbecuing at Venice Beach, Frank told me to watch out for news from Florida, hinting that we might soon see some disturbing headlines."

Hawke replied, "But nothing happened this time, right?"

Edward cleared his throat and said, "I read an article in the Orlando Sentinel about two hunting guides who drowned while accompanying clients from California; they were attacked by alligators, and they couldn't even recover their bodies."

Hawke recalled Duran's two assistants and the DEA convoy they'd encountered on the way back.

Accident? The attacker probably wasn't an alligator.

Those two assistants were well-acquainted with the terrain.

Hawke could only conclude that those involved in drug enforcement were also the biggest traffickers.

He had heard Erica mention it more than once: every year, a part of what LAPD seized seemed to go missing from storage.

When the extent reached a particular level, they'd pin the blame on one person, at most sentenced to five years. After a series of reductions, they'd often be out in a year.

The latest one just got out after less than six months.

These were all unspoken rules in LAPD. Even Erica avoided touching such matters; even Carter Ferguson from the Five-Person Committee stayed away.

Hawke stated, "I caught some good game in Orlando. Once it's transported via cold chain, I'll send a portion to Frank."

Earlier, Edward had mentioned in a phone call, "Are you talking about those lizards? I've never eaten lizard before."

"They taste pretty good," Hawke recalled the lizard meat from the restaurant and said, "When the cargo arrives, take some home."

Edward showed interest. "Sounds good."

...

At the Beverly Business Club, Hawke entered a meeting room and didn't wait long before Brian rushed in.

As soon as he saw Hawke, he laughed, "How strange! You guys didn't encounter any trouble this time."

Hawke replied with resignation, "That's because you, the curse-bringer, kept your mouth shut."

Looking back, if he and Erica hadn't cut their trip short, there might have been a gunfight with the DEA or a group posing as the DEA.

Brian fell into deep self-doubt, remembering all the times he spoke before only to trigger unexpected situations.

This time he didn't say much and didn't think long; it was surprising how smooth Hawke and Erica's trip had gone.

"This is unnatural!" Brian shook his head. "It's just not plausible!"

Hawke patted him on the shoulder. "You have a knack for exaggerating; this is more your supernatural ability than science."

He shifted the topic. "I've secured the bear specimen you wanted. I took down a nearly two-meter-tall black bear, and the specimen will be sent to Los Angeles shortly after New Year's. Just be ready to receive it."

Brian grinned, "That's fantastic! It symbolizes my courage!"

"I'm glad you're happy," Hawke replied.

Brian opened his briefcase and handed Hawke a few documents. "Take a look at these first."

Hawke took them, sat on the sofa, and carefully read through them.

These were drafts from the Los Angeles City Hall, originating from the Mayor's office and initiated by the current Mayor, Antonio.

Most of the document dealt with next year's public relations budget and expenditures.

It included sections on LAPD as well as initiatives related to Silicon Beach.

The Los Angeles municipal government aimed to bolster support for Silicon Beach, but when it came to the list of businesses being helped, Twitter -- currently the most influential in Silicon Beach -- was near the bottom.

In contrast, the state government was offering preferential treatment to Twitter.

When it came to initiatives from Los Angeles, the policies for the upcoming year were pretty standard.

Although the division in American society hadn't reached the extremes of post-2010, the current President's remarks about you not being on my side meant you'd aligned with the enemy; the social and political landscape was shifting rapidly toward that direction.

To Hawke, that was a good thing.

At that moment, Brian remarked, "Antonio canceled some of the preferential policies that Twitter enjoyed this year."

Hawke wasn't surprised; although the Democratic Party in Los Angeles wasn't completely ineffective, the previous mayor, Richard Riordan, had left office in 2001 after serving more than eight years.

The Democratic Party took back the mayoral seat less than three years ago.

Brian continued, "There's one budget item you should pay more attention to; it's placed at the end of the document and is a crucial political project for Antonio next year."

Hawke quickly flipped to the back of the file.

Brian explained, "Antonio plans to collaborate fully with several women's organizations in Los Angeles and allocate an $8.5 million budget for the hiring of new firefighters."

Hawke's eyes narrowed.

This current mayor of Los Angeles aimed to increase female representation in the fire department to gain support from female citizens, with $7.5 million dedicated to recruiting female firefighters.

Brian pointed out, "Antonio is using the public budget of Los Angeles to buy off the support of female constituents!"

He shook his head. "When wildfires break out, how many of those privileged women will dare to go in first? Can they withstand the pressure from high-pressure hoses?"

Perhaps they were thinking about having fire-quenching babies? Hawke leafed through the document, "The current female firefighter ratio is 0.35%, and he wants to raise it to over 30%."

"That's insane." Even Brian, who wasn't usually reliable, felt that budget was fundamentally flawed and filled with hazards. "You should mobilize forces to stop him in the city council!"

Hawke set the document down, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Why stop it?"

Brian replied, "That could ruin this city, Los Angeles suffers severe wildfires every year."

Hawke slowly stated, "This happens to be your opportunity."

Brian had been thinking like a citizen of Los Angeles, but at Hawke's remark, he quickly adopted a more political stance.

He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. "If wildfires can't be controlled and they reach residential areas..."

Hawke said, "The truly impoverished live in the concrete buildings of downtown and Hollywood."

Brian nodded. "Yes, those who live near wooded mountainous areas must be at least well-off middle class."

Hawke continued, "Los Angeles receives little rainfall and is generally quite dry. I've heard the water supply has been sold to private companies. Is that true?"

"Seems like it," Brian couldn't quite recall. "I remember there was a water bank buying most of the freshwater resources in the Los Angeles region to develop agriculture. I need to check on that."

The two discussed this topic for a long time and reached a mutual understanding.

Before leaving, Brian asked, "The Hilton Group is planning to host a partner party in Los Angeles. Did you get an invite?"

*****

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