Global Film Emperor

Chapter 468 Threat
"Wow..."

He kicked a shard of glass on the ground with his leather shoes, flicked off his cigarette ash, and seemed to have been choked by the drifting smoke. He squinted and looked around, then put his left hand in his pocket and threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

Even after seeing the company's dire state in the photos provided by the police, seeing it in person still felt too horrible. Jill remained silent, waiting for Mickey's volcanic eruption, ready to find an excuse to leave at any moment. She knew Mickey's personality; he was old and couldn't stand too much foul language.

To his surprise, the usually short-tempered boss did not go crazy as he expected. He simply stared blankly out the window. At the main entrance, hundreds of animal rights activists had gathered, creating a confrontation with the security guards hired by Mickey.

Mickey walked to the window, opened it, rested his elbow on the windowpane, took out his phone and put it to his ear. It was unclear who he was talking to, but an animal rights activist outside saw Mickey and started yelling at him through the wall. Mickey responded by raising his middle finger and spitting a wad of phlegm at them from a distance.

"Sir, I do not recommend that you do something that would only add fuel to the fire right now, as it would threaten your personal safety."

Jill offered words of comfort and prepared to go over and close the window for him. Although he had done what he was supposed to do in this incident, and no one had forced him to go to the company to share the fate of the company, he still felt bad.

He really enjoyed the job and being able to work with so many talented young people. For old Jill, it was a happy time. But then, Mickey reached out and stopped him, and the call was answered.

"Please clear the people out of the company entrance. When will you be there? Okay."

After a few words, the call was disconnected. Mickey then turned around, smiled gently at Jill who looked conflicted, patted him on the shoulder, walked to the bookshelf, and went to the slightly deformed safe that had been smashed. He adjusted the combination, but the door wouldn't open. He pulled hard twice, and the door finally sprang open. He took out a stack of banknotes and placed them on the dusty and footprint-covered desk.

This was probably ten thousand pounds, brand new banknotes with serial numbers still attached. Jill didn't move, and her face didn't show any joy. Instead, her lips trembled slightly, reflecting a faint moisture in the sunlight, and her loose hands kneaded together.

"Sir, are you planning to fire me?"

“I never said anything like that. I just wanted to thank you, Jill. I couldn’t express my gratitude in any other way, so this isn’t severance pay, nor is it an insult. This is just… a bonus?”

"But I didn't do anything."

"You did it, you yelled at them, even though it didn't work. There's another reason to reward you, which is that you protected yourself. The company needs a gentle and kind old man. Your presence is of great significance to the company. You've done a lot of things for us outside of work, but I haven't been able to properly thank you. This time, I won't fire you. On the contrary, I want to give you some money so that you can stay."

These words were very damaging to an old man who had lost his wife and whose children rarely came to visit. His greatest fear was that his current state of barely surviving was nothing but a waste of air and food. But Mickey gave him meaning, which was far more important than money.

"I will continue working, sir..."

"Haha, I've been to China for a while and eaten a lot of delicious food, but I still crave your sandwiches. I hope I can have them again tomorrow morning. Go to work, Gil. I'm going to talk to Lucas and the others about something else."

Mickey stood up, wiped away Jill's tears, and put on a smile again. He put his arm around Jill's shoulder to comfort her. At the door, Kesha and the other man remained silent until the old man left, when they gave him a hug.

Mickey took a tissue, wiped the dust off the desk, sat down, and looked out the window. Seven or eight cars had stopped at the door, and dozens of heavily tattooed men got out and quickly drove away the animal rights activists who were protesting at the door. Finally, the world was quiet.

"Finished taking inventory? You two should get Lu Ze's trophy repaired. And that old grandfather clock, he really loves it. He might get furious when he comes back and sees it's broken. I'm going out for a bit. You two stay at the company and be careful. Contact a home improvement company to redo the renovations. I've been wanting to get rid of this old-fashioned decor for a long time."

"Where are you going? Find someone to go with you; it's really not safe right now."

"It's okay, don't worry. In order to avoid being cursed by these people until next year, I have to hurry up and resolve this matter. Kesha, give me the bag next to you."

He took the bag, squatted down in front of the safe, reached inside, and took out a thick wad of brand-new banknotes. He did this six or seven times until the bag was full. He stood up, kicked the safe door, nodded to the two men, and, clutching hundreds of thousands of pounds, went downstairs, got into a Phantom parked outside, and drove away.

……

Half an hour later, in a middle-class neighborhood.

"Is he home?"

"here I am."

"The Chairman lives here?"

"It's precisely because he's the chairman that he can't live too well, but his wife and children are incredibly generous. Here, take a look."

A large, fat hand handed over a document. Mickey took it, flipped through it casually, chuckled, shook his head, and got out of the car first. The fat, brown-haired man followed Mickey to the door of one of the detached villas, waiting for the owner to open it.

"Ding dong..."

Shortly after the doorbell was rang, a pretty white woman opened the door, looked Mickey and the fat man up and down, then her expression suddenly changed, and she said coldly, "Sorry, you're not welcome in my home."

Just as she was about to close the door, Mickey immediately braced his foot against the doorframe and gave the cold-faced woman a smile.

"What are you doing? I'm calling the police! Get out of here right now!"

"Madam, if you don't welcome him, would you please welcome me?"

The obese man interrupted, but his actions were not as gentle as his tone. He grabbed the doorknob and yanked the door open, almost causing the woman to stumble, before brazenly entering the room.

“My name is Marshall. You should know me. I’m the Marshall who works in shipping at the docks. Is Tommy here? We’d like to speak with this Chairman.”

"What happened, darling? Who are you...?"

A man wearing a bathrobe walked out of the room. It was the middle of the afternoon, and he hadn't even changed his clothes. Mickey's first impression of him wasn't his face, but rather that he noticed his thick chest hair was naturally curly.

"May I ask what brings you two to my home?"

As the chairman of Liverpool's largest animal protection organization and vice-chairman of a British animal protection organization, he naturally couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with these two people. Judging from the situation, they seemed to have ill intentions. Mickey was alright, but Marshall...

"Tommy Blazer... I want to talk to you."

"I don't think we have anything to talk about. Excuse me, Mr. Taylor, please leave."

"Are you sure?" Mickey didn't care where they were, and Marshall cared even less. The two smoked cigarettes, flicking ash onto the expensive carpet. Mickey and Tommy looked at each other. Mickey could see Tommy's annoyance, but even more so, his fear of Marshall.

"We'll talk for a maximum of ten minutes."

……

The woman went back inside to be with the children, leaving only three men in the living room. Seemingly unable to tolerate them flicking cigarette ash on the carpet, Tommy tactfully pushed the ashtray in front of Mickey, then watched as the cigarette butt burned a hole in the carpet. His anger simmered, and his tone became increasingly unfriendly.

"Tell me what's going on."

"Mr. Blazer, what are your thoughts on 'Exile'?"

Mickey didn't want to waste time talking to this guy, so he got straight to the point: he was here today to get this done.

"I didn't watch it. I hate this movie. It's cruel, driven by a sense of human superiority, unaware that these are just human thoughts that other creatures would never agree with. What exactly are you trying to say?"

“Praise it.”

"Excuse me... what did you say?"

He looked at Mickey in astonishment, as if he had misheard. He had already made his feelings about "Exile" quite clear, and Mickey still spoke so bluntly. Wasn't he just asking for trouble?
"I want you to praise it."

"Excuse me, I mean me, as the president of an animal rights organization, you want me to praise a movie that satirizes animal rights organizations? Are you kidding me?"

"boom."

A thick wad of fifty thousand pounds was slammed onto the table, interrupting his speech. Tommy stared blankly at the money, scoffing. It wasn't that he was particularly high-minded or looked down on money; it was just that the unassuming rug beneath their feet was worth the same amount of money. Besides, Mickey's nouveau riche attitude made him somewhat disdainful. A self-proclaimed gentleman of high society wouldn't act like that.

"boom……"

"boom……"

"boom……"

Mickey kept taking out cash and placing it on the table, stacking it into a wall. Then he gently pushed it, and the wall collapsed, the cash rolled down, spread across the table, and even hit Tommy's foot.

"Think about it, praise it."

Tommy hesitated. Several hundred thousand dollars was no small sum for him, and it was impossible for him not to be tempted. However, it was definitely not something a smart person would do if he were to stand on the side of "Exile" and go against his own men.

"I'm sorry, but I will still stand on my side; I am an animal rights activist."

"You haven't even seen the movie, why don't you watch it first?"

This is the current situation: the vast majority of animal rights activists have never actually watched "Exile"; they have only heard that there are scenes in it that defame them, which makes them feel disgusted and even calls on everyone not to watch it. In fact, many people do not know what it is about. It is true that bystanders see things more clearly, and this kind of mindless behavior is ridiculous. But when you are in the midst of it, you cannot listen to any explanations for them.

"I would also side with animal rights activists after watching this. All lives are equal. I won't refute the claims in your movie, but I won't agree with them either. Sorry, you can leave now."

"Today, you have to do it whether you want to or not."

Marshall interrupted, his attitude terrifyingly forceful, giving Tommy no chance to retort. He got up from the sofa, moved closer to Tommy, and wrapped his large hand around the back of Tommy's neck, patting it gently.

“If you threaten me again, I will call the police. I respect you, Mr. Marshall, but respect is mutual.”

"The greatest respect you can show me is to do what I say. If I were Mickey Taylor, I would have thrown you into the blender the moment you refused me. Respect me, my friend, OK?"

"But you can't change my mind! I can't help you when I know it's wrong!"

"Fuck you! I really can't stand this idiot anymore."

The hand that was slapping the back of Tommy's neck suddenly exerted force, pressing him straight onto the table. A wad of banknotes was then thrown at Tommy's face. With that force, blood immediately started flowing from his nose, down his philtrum, past the corner of his mouth, and pooling on the table.

"Tracy! Call the police! I've been assaulted!"

"If you fucking dare to call the police, I can guarantee you'll find your son in the sewers tomorrow!"

The woman ran out screaming. Mickey stood up, smiled, put his index finger to his lips as a shushing gesture, then picked up the documents Marshall had given him in the car, placed them in front of Tommy, watched the paper absorb his blood, and still spoke gently.

“You don’t look like this when you’re poisoning so many stray cats and dogs every year and taking kickbacks from euthanasia drug companies. Listen to me, go watch a movie and then praise it.”

"you……"

"You should know how much of the donations from the animal protection charity gala you kept. Nobody's hands are clean. Just like I'm threatening you right now, you can continue to be worshipped by animal rights activists as long as you obey me. Otherwise, this exposé will be online tomorrow, and you know the consequences. You can report what I'm doing now, but I have enough clean money to bail myself out. And you? Think about it."

Mickey and his companion were laughing, their unbridled manner filling Tommy, who was pinned to the table, with anger and humiliation. But was there also panic? Absolutely. He knew that everything in the world leaves a trace, and his misdeeds would be exposed sooner or later. Who wouldn't be prepared for what they've done wrong? He dared to be greedy, so naturally he had considered going to jail.

This was the first time in his life that he had been blackmailed like this. It was the most frustrating thing for someone who needed his help to hold such a hold over him. That was the feeling he was experiencing at that moment, but he was powerless to resist. He could only lie face down on the table and remain silent.

“I won’t take the money. You do things for me, and I’ll pay you. That’s only fair. But by tomorrow night at the latest, I need to see your praise for ‘Exile’. Otherwise, I’ll come back to you tomorrow.”

Marshall released his grip, sat on the floor, leaned against the sofa, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva that smeared a red flower on his expensive carpet, and silently watched Mickey and the other man leave. He didn't take the bag Mickey had brought; instead, he picked it up, slowly stuffed the cash inside, and clutched it to his chest. Trembling, he pulled out a cigarette from the pack, lit it, and picked up his phone to order a ticket for the 6 p.m. showing of "Exile."

"..."

(End of this chapter)