The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 158: Full of Conspiracy Theories]

East Hollywood, Ranch Park.

Hawke checked the drawers and cupboards inside the RV, locking all the latches to prevent things from falling out while driving.

Footsteps echoed above him as Edward dismantled the sunshade, calling down to Frank, who was folding furniture. "Old beggar, just throw all this junk away."

Frank turned his head and asked, "If I throw it away, will you buy me new stuff?"

Due to his involvement in the company's investment, Savior had been a bit broke lately, muttering, "If you go there like this, you will bring shame to the company!"

"Hell no!" Frank spat back, "You, a cotton picker, dare to look down on other people?"

Hawke opened the RV window and urged, "You two fools, hurry up! If anyone wastes more time, I'll hang them from a streetlamp and shoot them with a slingshot!"

Edward obediently closed his mouth.

Frank quickened his pace as well.

...

Half an hour later, Edward drove the RV out of the parking lot.

Hawke, sitting in a lounge chair, asked Frank, "By your calculation, after decades in Hollywood..."

"Not decades, that's stretching it," Frank scoffed. Behind this seemingly modest comment was the depth of the king of pretentiousness. "I merely stood on the mountaintop and witnessed the most beautiful scenery."

This guy sure knew how to tick others off. It was no wonder Edward was curious about his ex-wives. "Not like you and that cotton picker, who haven't even climbed up the valley."

Hawke let him have his moment, asking, "What do you know about Will Smith?"

The king of pretentiousness understood immediately. "You're planning to mess with Will Smith? You want to dig up his scandals?"

Hawke had no need to deny it. "I have intentions in that direction."

Frank said, "These black folks are the most troublesome; they cause a ruckus at the slightest provocation. But the proportion of black consumers in Hollywood movies is increasing year by year, so we must pay attention to their voices."

He recalled Hawke's question and changed the subject. "People say Hollywood is chaotic, but if you break it down, the hip-hop and rap scene is much messier than Hollywood. Will Smith has been in rap and hip-hop for many years, and his wife Jada has a particular fondness for rappers."

Hawke asked, "So Jada chose Will Smith?"

"No, no," Frank shook his head, "Jada had a male friend, also her teacher from drama school, the famous rapper Tupac, who was killed in a shooting in 1996."

That last sentence struck Hawke like a conspiracy theory: "Did Will Smith do it?"

Frank replied, "They only got married in 1997. It's unlikely."

Hawke recalled the gossip he had read in his past life, about Jada getting involved with a friend of her son's, who, it seemed, was also a rapper.

Was Mrs. Smith into that sort of thing?

Frank added, "There are rumors, but who knows how true they are? Some even say Hanks is a pedophile. Who can confirm those things?"

Edward chimed in, "Why not ask Haley Joel Osment? He's been in a movie with Hanks, playing father and son, right?"

Upon saying this, he seemed to have an epiphany. "In these two years, Haley has turned into a big fat guy, going from the best child actor to a bear. It can't be because of that, right?"

"I said it was just a rumor," Frank huffed. "You can verify it yourself."

Hawke kept his notes, steering the conversation back. "So continue about Will Smith and his wife."

Frank thought for a moment and said, "Over a decade ago, my company participated in the investment of a show called The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Will Smith met a black actor named Duane Martin during filming. This guy was once in the NBA and is very tall and strong. They quickly became good buddies and have stayed that way until now."

Hawke thought to himself that spending money on Frank was already worth it for that insider information alone.

He asked, "Is Will Smith gay?"

"I can't be sure; Hollywood has too many secrets." Frank pondered again, "Do you remember Salma Hayek? A few years ago, she worked with Will on a movie called Wild Wild West."

Edward immediately prodded to undermine Frank. "No way? Did your little girlfriend was fucked by Will Smith?"

Frank got mad and swore, "I swear I'll send you off to pick cotton!"

He calmed himself slightly. "Will is one of the producers. If he isn't involved, how could she be the lead actress? Salma told me."

Hawke nodded slightly, "Duane Martin; I'll remember that."

Frank said deliberately, "Be careful; if you mess with people too much, you will be shot by someone sooner or later."

Hawke replied, "I've changed careers. Now I am responsible for collecting news, not shooting."

...

The RV arrived on Ocean Park Boulevard, and Edward parked it right across the street from Twitter's office building before turning into the Venice Beach parking lot.

Frank had called his old buddy beforehand, and the staff here were already waiting.

They prepared a designated parking and activity space for him; utilities weren't an issue. He could always go to Venice Beach to beg, and even though it was only mid-February, there were still quite a few tourists around.

On the Twitter side, Hawke had already greeted the security at the entrance, so Frank could go in anytime.

He had specifically instructed Caroline to seek Frank's knowledge.

...

Hawke returned to his office and called Campos, making targeted arrangements as per Frank's suggestions.

Campos acted quickly; within a few days, news came through.

Caroline also gathered some materials through her channels.

Hawke took the information Caroline collected and prepared to meet Campos.

Caroline stopped him. "You said you'd start recruiting operations personnel and editors today..."

"You handle it," Hawke replied directly. "You have enough skills in this area and know what kind of people I need."

Caroline understood. "It requires not just text and image processing abilities but also some understanding of public opinion guidance."

Hawke nodded slightly, called Edward, and left the office.

Strictly speaking, the network media operations personnel being recruited leaned towards the professional internet media influencers.

...

A little over half an hour later, Hawke and Edward met Campos in a safe house.

Using the past few days, Campos had gathered a lot of firsthand information from his numerous Mexican informants.

Hawke took out Caroline's collected materials, mainly a few pictures. "Will Smith is about to collaborate with 20th Century Fox on I, Robot. He's also co-producing the project with Akiva Goldsman. The leading lady, Bridget Moynahan, got into the crew through Will Smith."

Campos, who had followed Hollywood stars many times, understood the implication of that last line.

It goes without saying what an actress has to pay to get into a crew through a man.

Campos took the pictures and said, "We found out this too." He handed Hawke recent investigation materials and pulled out several photos, "Here's Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan coming and going from the same hotel in succession. We're currently trying to capture a video of the two directly communicating."

Hawke looked through them one by one; aside from Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan, he focused on Duane Martin, as Frank had mentioned.

Duane was from New York and had joined the NBA as a free agent but had never played in an official match. Later, he switched to acting and made his debut in NBC's sitcom Out All Night.

As of now, the most notable work he had acted in was Scream 2.

Since they met in the early '90s, Will Smith and Duane had always been as close as brothers.

Such brotherly bonds weren't uncommon in Hollywood; there were actually many stars known for their loyalty.

But Hawke felt Frank's concerns carried weight.

Many folks dismissed Hollywood gossip, believing that the so-called gem of civilized life had eradicated the red couches and the ugly truths of the industry long ago.

But the series of scandals that surfaced only proved one thing -- the outside world's wildest guesses were nothing compared to the tip of the Hollywood iceberg.

After Hawke finished looking at Duane's profile, Campos pointed to the last document. "This one is about Jada Smith."

He said, "Boss, regarding Tupac and the rappers you mentioned, we have pinpointed a preliminary target among Jada's friends. His name is Nate Dogg, a cousin of Tupac's friend Snoop Dogg. He's also a rapper who has received Grammy nominations. Since Tupac's death, he has been quite close to Jada, serving as her confidant."

Hawke carefully reviewed the materials and asked Edward, "Savior, do you believe an African American woman could maintain a close and ordinary friendship with an African American man?"

Edward knew his ethnicity all too well; he scoffed, "I'd sooner believe Frank is Abraham Lincoln reincarnated."

Campos had seen a lot: "I don't believe in platonic friendships between men and women."

"Our target is now very clear." Hawke felt the same way.

He found photos of five individuals and pinned them to the board behind him. "Our next targets are these five: Will Smith, Duane Martin, and Bridget Moynahan, and Jada Smith and Nate Dogg."

Campos nodded slightly.

Hawke slapped Duane Martin's picture and said, "Will Smith's relationship with him is key. Campos, you handle that personally."

In Hollywood, celebrity couples cheating was certainly a bombshell, but it couldn't compare to the explosive nature of the Smith scandal.

Campos packed up the pictures and information, saying, "I'll head back to arrange the work right away."

Hawke added, "If there are any irreconcilable issues, call me immediately."

Campos left the safe house swiftly.

After waiting a moment, Hawke also left and said to Edward on the way back, "Once we're back, gather more data on Lance Armstrong."

Edward asked, "That Tour de France champion?"

"Exactly." Hawke wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket; if the situation with Will Smith didn't pan out, he'd look at alternate options.

*****

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