The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 154: Stay Away from Erica]

In the study of the villa, Mary Ferguson, who had just arrived, tightly embraced Erica, feeling her daughter's warmth, which finally put her mind at ease.

As a mother, she couldn't help but complain a bit, "I wanted you to attend business school, but you insisted on becoming a police officer."

"I'm fine. Those who dared to attack me were all taken down by Hawke and me," Erica comforted her mother in her own unique way. She added, "I don't understand finance at all. I grew up playing with guns, and police can legally use them."

She stated something very fitting for her situation, "Someone has to inherit Dad's career."

Mary shook her head and said no more, turning her attention to Hawke. "You weren't hurt, right?"

"I'm fine." Hawke intentionally made a light comment to ease the atmosphere. "Erica protected me really well."

Erica shot him a glare and told the truth, "It was Hawke who protected me. He took out 13 guys, while I only took out 8."

Brian, nearby, couldn't help but chime in, "Are you trying to brag right now?"

He pointed outside, "You two brought back this much stuff? Is this still a house?"

Hawke replied, "Most of it was custom-made. We couldn't have done it on our own."

This villa was renovated by Mary, which already used bulletproof glass materials. The spotlights and things were also custom-made by Erica, working with those manufacturers.

During the past month and a half, Hawke and Erica mostly dug a few holes and pulled some wires, installing things on trees and light poles. Even the biggest construction, the pit, required hiring people to dig.

As for the underground pepper spray nozzles, they were part of the villa's irrigation system upon delivery. They just needed to change the water supply system and connect another pipeline, and when the time came, they wouldn't spray water anymore.

Mary looked serious, "There are issues with the Silver Lake community management. So many gangsters came in without any warning. I will discuss this with the development management company and have them give us an explanation."

The gangsters had mostly been dealt with, so someone had to take responsibility.

At that moment, Suzy walked in through the door and said, "There's a large gathering of media reporters outside. We need to respond beforehand. Hawke, what's your and Erica's opinion?"

Hawke stated directly, "The surveillance footage only recorded the outdoor area, just consider me nonexistent."

He turned to Erica, "You make the decision."

Mary interrupted, "Let the spokesperson handle it..."

Erica understood what her mother was worried about and said, "Even if I don't step forward, the hatred between us and the Mule Gang won't disappear. I'm already a thorn in their side; having one more won't matter."

Mary thought about it, and indeed the situation was such.

Suzy quickly excused herself to handle media matters.

Hawke chatted with her briefly.

The surveillance footage was originally taken by Hawke and Erica. Fox 11 had collaborated multiple times, so Suzy naturally had no objections.

Since it was inconvenient to go out now, Hawke called Megan Taylor to arrange a meeting for a detailed discussion the next day.

Erica arranged for her mother to rest and made several calls to relatives.

Hawke went upstairs and handed her the keys to the bulletproof Mercedes. "You can take this one for now. I'll get the manufacturer to customize a brand new one for you."

Erica parked the bulletproof Cherokee in front of the villa, but it had already sustained damage during the intense attacks from the Mule Gang's firepower.

She declined the offer, "No need, Mom will have someone bring over a brand new one."

Hawke didn't argue and pocketed the keys. "We can sell the video tomorrow; the money will go towards renovating the villa."

Leaning against him, Erica remembered something, "Aren't you planning to establish an online media company? Can this video be used to draw in users?"

Hawke responded, "My online media is still in planning; we won't be going online for a while. This kind of social news isn't the kind of secret celebrity scandal that can be made public. With so many media reporters outside, timeliness is critical, and the hype won't last that long."

Erica nodded, "You're more experienced in this area than I am; I'll follow your lead."

Regarding the explosive news after the establishment of the new media website, Hawke recalled a few ideas, deciding on which one based on the situation later.

The North American sports and entertainment stars were never short of shocking scandals.

Hawke had already pulled the Ferguson family's business investment company into the fold.

To aim for the Ackerman family, he first needed to be strong enough himself.

...

That night, many media reporters surrounded the villa, finally waiting for the LAPD's announcement.

Learning that police officer Erica Ferguson had experienced an invasion from 21 Mule Gang drug dealers, and not only was she unharmed, but had also achieved an exaggerated record of shooting down 20 gangsters while severely injuring 1 -- each reporter was left in shock, frozen on the spot.

Many reporters doubted, pressing Suzy, who was responsible for the police announcement. Suzy reiterated her answer and informed all reporters that the LAPD would hold a press conference after briefly handling the case.

...

The next morning, newspapers and television stations based in Los Angeles, including the Los Angeles Times, made Erica the front-page news.

Erica's father, Carter Ferguson, who served as one of the five commissioners of the Police Commission, convened a meeting to specifically discuss follow-up handling.

Since the LAPD's law enforcement authority was limited to Los Angeles, the Police Commission decided to collaborate with the DEA to launch the most vigorous crackdown on the Mule Gang.

This involved the safety and reputation of the entire LAPD.

...

However, Paul Ferguson moved faster. His beloved granddaughter, the only third-generation member of the Ferguson family, had encountered such a threat, which made him furious.

That morning, Paul instructed the butler while the butler visited the security company.

A supervisor from the family security company left for an overseas business trip and contacted foreign mercenaries by noon.

Paul Ferguson hadn't acted against the Mule Gang before, initially saving that for Erica to gain experience and credit.

Now, there was no need for that.

...

All morning, Mary also met with the development and management company of the Silver Lake community.

Although two of their security personnel had died, the fact remained that they had not done their job adequately.

The development company's house sales were already poor, and now with this incident, it was clear to them that if Erica Ferguson publicly sold her house in the Silver Lake community, it would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to them.

The houses in this community would become undesirable.

More critically, they had also secured another piece of land near Silver Lake, waiting for the right moment to develop Phase Two.

If Phase One collapsed, Phase Two could be forgotten.

The company stated they would bear all repair costs for the villa, install a security system for free according to the owner's request, and provide $1 million as a mental consolation to Hawke and Erica.

...

Hawke asked Erica for her opinion and decided to use the old method, signing a business strategic consulting agreement with the development company under the name of West Coast Media Entertainment Studio. The agreement was valued at $1 million.

Hawke, of course, had no expertise in real estate. The so-called strategic plan was directly handed to Caroline, asking her to draft a logically coherent report that would satisfy the business requirements.

The other party likely wouldn't accept it anyway.

Inside the villa, after Brian reviewed the consulting agreement and confirmed there were no issues, he had Hawke and Erica sign it.

The development company's general manager then left.

Brian came over, putting an arm around Hawke's shoulder. "Buddy, this is a big check; it's time to treat us."

Hawke readily accepted, "I'll take you to the Artel Mountain Shooting Range to practice shooting. I'll cover the costs of buying guns and training, both Erica and I will pay for it."

"Forget it, forget it." Brian looked intimidated, "I feel like I'd be risking my life playing with guns around you guys."

Erica chimed in, "With what you've stirred up recently, be careful of others taking potshots at you."

Brian thought about Hawke being involved, "Don't worry, Hawke will protect me."

Hawke didn't banter with him anymore. He told Erica, "I'll set up a separate account for the money we earn together. We'll deposit it there, and from that account, we'll cover expenses for future trips, gun purchases, and hunting training."

"Sounds good." Erica had no objections, but she needed to clarify one thing, "The income from the video belongs to you. We've agreed on that a long time ago; I get the name, you get the profits."

Hawke swiftly agreed, "No problem."

Brian interjected, "Wait, I noticed a major issue -- you plan on opening a separate account? What are you up to? Are you going to...?"

"Shut up!" Hawke pulled out his Glock from his waistband, slamming it on the table. "Are you wishing us well or cursing us? Speak up."

Brian's words went unspoken as he turned to leave the room.

He muttered to himself, "Did I just say something that made him leave?"

This bastard wasn't giving up. To test it, he quietly said, "I hope your next encounter involves a shooting involving hundreds of people!"

Hawke took the Mercedes keys and storage drive. "I'm going to the Fox television center."

Erica responded, "I need to go home too. My family won't rest easy until they see me."

The two drove their bulletproof cars out of the villa.

Two more cars followed Erica.

After the news conference the next day, she would head to the police station to handle necessary procedures, then start her administrative leave.

...

Hawke entered the Fox television center, heading straight to Channel 11 to find Megan's office.

Megan could hardly wait, immediately watching the video carefully.

The number of assailants and their firepower left her shaken.

For an ordinary person, holding out until the police arrived under such an attack would have been quite impressive.

But these two managed to almost wipe out the Mule Gang.

After watching the video, Megan didn't speak but reflected deeply before telling Hawke, "Though I shouldn't say too much, we are old friends, so here's some sincere advice -- stay away from Erica Ferguson."

Hawke was surprised, "Why?"

Megan earnestly replied, "How much time has it been? Not even a year, right? How many times have you faced attacks in her presence?"

*****

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