The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 114 Thunder Strike

As the sun moved to the west, Hawke drove his Mondeo on the streets of West Los Angeles.

Through the rearview mirror, he noticed that the Honda Accord was following him, so he immediately increased his speed, forcing the Accord to speed up as well.

The Mondeo turned onto 20th Street, followed by the Accord.

Daniel Richard sped up to avoid losing sight of his target.

He worked as a freelance reporter in Los Angeles for several years and had a keen sense of news, always feeling that something big was about to happen.

Whenever Daniel was at the scene of big news, his heart would beat faster.

Now, he feels this way.

Daniel stared straight ahead and suddenly noticed that an oncoming SUV in the opposite lane had overtaken his lane and was rushing straight towards him.

As an experienced driver, Daniel quickly changed to the outer lane.

But the van, which was driving normally and quickly in the outer lane, suddenly braked urgently.

Daniel also braked suddenly.

In order to follow the Mondeo, he drove too fast, and the accident happened suddenly. Although the car braked, it still hit the van in front.

There was a dull thud, but the impact was not serious. Daniel quickly pulled the handbrake, picked up his bag and got out of the car to check the situation.

The SUV in the opposite lane had already disappeared.

A sturdy man with a fierce look got out of the passenger seat of the van and stared at Daniel.

Daniel was not someone to be trifled with, and he shouted, “How do you drive!”

Just in case, he wanted to take out the camera from his bag to shoot.

This action aroused the strong man's vigilance.

Before Daniel could even take his hand out of the bag.

The back door of the van suddenly opened, and two men wearing black masks and bulletproof vests raised their ARs and spray guns and pointed them at Daniel, shouting, "LAPD, let me see your hands!"

Daniel was so frightened that his grip loosened and the bag fell to the ground.

He thought to himself, "Who the hell did I offend? Is it necessary to do this?"

Daniel was well aware of the LAPD's brutal style, so he quickly raised his hands above his head and shouted, "I didn't attack you, I don't have a weapon, I cooperate with you!"

A business car drove up from behind, and two plainclothes officers with guns got out and took Daniel under control.

In the business car, Erica said into the intercom: "The K1 team was hit by an unidentified vehicle. It is currently unclear whether it is related to the operation. The person involved will be detained by the Western Police Station."

The other side replied: "Agreed."

Plainclothes officers from both sides searched Daniel's car and checked to remove things that shouldn't be there, such as videos or recordings.

If there weren't so many people, they would have put down a gun or something like that no matter what.

The LAPD is no worse than the FBI when it comes to framing people.

Just as Erica finished reporting to her superiors, her former partner Julian drove over in a patrol car. As Erica said, he took over control of Daniel and took everyone back to the West Branch for questioning.

People can be detained for 24 hours. If you don't tell them, just find a few black guys and lock them up in the same detention room.

But in just a few minutes, the chaos here was over.

The two cars quickly left 20th Street and headed straight for their destination.

Several camouflaged civilian vehicles arrived near Venice Beach.

Hawke called Edward and Campos, brought two cameras, and went to the media signal vehicle disguised as a truck and knocked on the rear door.

The door opened from the inside and the three of them got in the car together.

Hawke asked Susie, "Did you get what I wanted?"

Susie moved a box from the inside and said, "It's all here."

Hawke said to Edward and Campos, "Put these on."

Inside the box were two sets of police bulletproof vests and helmets.

Edward and Campos will then follow two LAPD teams into the villa where the traffickers are located. These are necessary security measures.

For such a dangerous filming job, Hawke would of course let his men rush forward.

After the two men put on their bulletproof vests and composite helmets, Hawke patted their arms and reminded them, "Follow the team and don't act on your own. Safety first."

Edward said casually, "Don't worry, Boss. These are nothing compared to the Compton riots."

The Savior personally experienced the Los Angeles riots.

Not to mention Campos, who fought his way out of the siege of traffickers and former colleagues.

The two men checked the camera again to make sure there would be no delay in filming.

Susie sent someone to take them to another car and follow the two teams.

Hawke sat in front of the display screen and asked, "Is the recorder on?"

"Everything has been communicated." Susie took off her hat, straightened her short hair, sat on another chair, and said, "Each team will have three people wearing recorders, which will be turned on when they get off the bus."

Hawke thought of some of the things he had done in his previous life and said, "Prevent them from having explosives."

Susie said, "All preparations have been made. They are the most professional action team in Los Angeles. They have found the architectural drawings and sent out reconnaissance vehicles. They will take action while they are having dinner and will not give them a chance to fight back."

"Let's wait." Hawke said no more.

Not long after, conversations began to be heard on the radio. The senior officer in charge of the detective bureau gave orders, and several cars approached the villa area one after another, waiting for the opportunity to take action.

The van that Hawke and Susie were in drove to a convenience store near the community and stopped.

After waiting for a while, the investigators reported that the dinner ordered at the target house had arrived.

At the commander's command, the action began.

Different images appeared on the multiple screens in front of Hawke. The six images kept shaking and were divided into two groups.

There were two LAPD teams, one in front and one behind.

A SWAT team arrived in an electric maintenance vehicle and was responsible for the main attack at the front gate.

Another team of detectives, led by Erica, arrived in a van spray-painted with furniture advertisements and blocked the car from the back door.

Edward and Campos followed the two teams separately to shoot, and there was no real-time signal transmission.

The electric maintenance vehicle drove along the road to the front of the villa, suddenly stepped on the accelerator and changed direction. The car rushed onto the sidewalk, crashed through the wooden fence wall between two palm trees, and rushed to the front of the house.

As soon as the car stopped, the doors on both sides opened. With two muffled bangs, the glass of two windows on the first floor shattered, and stun grenades fell into the dining room and living room respectively.

There is no rushing in and engaging in a gunfight.

Amid the loud roar, all the glass in the house shattered.

Then tear gas flew into the house again.

The fully armed SWAT team got off the car, with one person in front holding an explosion-proof shield and moving forward to provide cover, while the team members behind him stood guard all around. Campos, who was carrying a camera, was protected in the team.

The door lock was bombarded by a special spray gun, the door opened, and then a stun grenade cleared the way.

Similar actions are also taking place at the back door.

After waiting for a while, two teams rushed into the villa.

There was no further shooting and no resistance was encountered from anyone.

All nine people in the villa were easily captured.

The largest armed violent organization in Los Angeles, when they made up their minds to take action, the gangs were just a bunch of small fry.

In the signal transmission vehicle, Hawke took off his headset, picked up the camera, and said, "Want to go together?"

"Let's go together." Susie put on her police hat, followed Hawke out of the car, and quickly walked to the sidewalk outside the villa.

The team in charge of the periphery quickly set up a cordon.

The commotion here attracted many community residents to come out and watch.

Hawke turned on the camera, entered the cordon, and filmed the villa.

After getting the consent of the on-site commander, he entered the villa with Susie.

Hawke took pictures of various places one by one, and came to the living room, where he took a close-up of Erica who took off her helmet.

The latter was leading people to search, and soon found important evidence in a basement.

Hawke had been following and the camera turned away.

Under the bright light, the cabinet containing desiccant was filled with palm-sized plastic packaging bags, the number of which was no less than those seized on the yacht.

Erica randomly picked out a few bags, opened them and examined them, and said, "Lesson card stamp."

Hawke took another close-up.

"This way!" The police officer on the other side took apart a metal cabinet and said, "Come and see."

Everyone came over to check, and found that the cabinet was full of guns. In addition to various pistols, there were five AK-family rifles and two shotguns.

There was even a hand grenade in the corner. In the kitchen upstairs, there was also a harvest.

A large amount of cash and class card prints were found, and Edward was filming.

Seeing that no one was taking pictures of her for the time being, Erica gave Hawke a look and spoke to her boss according to the designed script.

Hawke strode closer and the camera turned.

"After a preliminary search of the scene, we seized a large amount of drug money, guns, and tax card prints." Erica reported to her superiors: "The amount is beyond imagination. This may be the largest drug case we have disrupted in the past five years."

The boss said succinctly: "Continue the search and don't miss any corner."

After a while, the processing here came to a temporary end.

The nine arrested criminals and the seized illegal items were escorted out one after another.

Media reporters began to appear outside.

A police officer in charge of perimeter security quickly came to the door and whispered a few words.

Erica borrowed a cell phone and called her former partner Julian, then found Hawke and called him to a corner.

"Julian just called and Daniel Richard, who was following you, confessed something." Erica said quickly, "The person who ordered him to do so was Anna Cookman, assistant producer of Channel 11's Ace News. Gretchen was also involved. They are curious about why you can always get the latest news and want to see the secrets."

Hawke couldn't help but shake his head: "What's the secret? It's just self-production and self-sales."

Erica suppressed her laughter and maintained the serious expression required for such an occasion: "For example, today's news."

"That's about right." Hawke thought about what Erica said: "Gretchen from Ace News is interesting."

Erica reminded him: "The paparazzi matter is easy to deal with, but it's a bit troublesome when it involves the people from Fox."

Hawke is not a man who will swallow his anger. Since it was Gretchen and her assistant who ordered it, he has to think of a way to fight back.

He thought of Megan. If this matter went well, he could also help Megan.

Upgrading an important part of his network of personal connections is also a good thing for him.

Hawke asked, "This involves Gretchen. Can the Western District Police Department legally subpoena her for questioning?"

"Just asking about the situation?" Erica needed to ask clearly, after all, it involved Fox: "If you just want to ask questions, it's no problem to inform Fox in advance."

She is no stranger to this kind of fight: "Don't expect to get anything out of her. She must have been accompanied by a lawyer when she came here. This incident has taught the paparazzi a profound lesson. She will naturally restrain herself."

Hawke glanced at his watch. "That's not what I meant. Can the Western Precinct summon her with due process after 6: and let her leave the police station at o'clock?"

Erica hesitated for a moment and said, "It will only take an hour or so. I can find some connections. It won't be difficult."

Hawke knew she wasn't done talking.

Erica stared at him. "Can I trust you about this?"

Hawke elaborated: "The nature of my job is that if someone steps on me and I can't fight back, there will be more trouble later. It's better to kill a chicken to warn those who are ready to make a move."

Erica nodded slowly but said nothing.

Hawke continued, "When we were practicing shooting this morning, you mentioned that you were going to take a year-end vacation next month. I'll invite you to go hunting in Wyoming, and I'll cover all the expenses."

"You're offering a bribe," Erica said deliberately.

Hawke said, "Don't worry, I have a way to make it not considered bribery."

"It's just a summons for questioning, it will take at most an hour and a half." Erica took out her cell phone and made a call.

After finishing the work here, Hawke called Susie and went back to the signal transmission vehicle to organize the recorded videos.

Not only were the photos taken by him, but also the photos were transmitted by the recorder.

Soon, Edward and Campos also returned.

Hawke quickly reviewed the video they had shot and asked Susie, "Is everything okay?"

Susie nodded: "It's a good shot, the action is quick and the strikes are accurate."

Hawke transferred the videos to his notes, copied another copy on a storage disk, and asked, "I'm going to Fox TV."

Susie pointed outside: "I will be in charge of the media here, and I also have to prepare Johnson and Erica's speeches."

"Keep in touch." Hawke packed his things, picked up his bag and got out of the car.

Edward had gone outside and drove the Cadillac over.

Hawke entered the back row and said to Edward, "Go to the Fox Television Center."

The car started, and Campos, who was sitting in the passenger seat, said, "Boss, if there's nothing else, drop me off at Abbot Kinney Boulevard and I'll drive back first?"

Hawke said: "Your legal status issue will be resolved soon, don't worry."

There was no way back in Mexico, and Campos hoped to stay in Los Angeles, saying, “Thank you.”

Edward turned onto Abbot Kinney Avenue and parked his car next to the parking lot.

Campos was getting off.

Hawke took out an envelope filled with cash and handed it to Campos: "You will be paid every week after your legal status is resolved. You can rent a house then. I will tell you the specific work when the time comes."

Campos had other people to take care of, so he accepted the job without hesitation.

After he got out of the car, Edward drove to Century City.

…………

Fox Tower, Channel 11 Director's Office.

Pierce, the channel's legal advisor, had just reported the Western Division's notice to Director Cynthia Rothberg.

Cynthia asked, “What exactly happened?”

Pierce elaborated, "I asked someone at the Western Division. Gretchen's assistant, Anna Cookman, hired a freelance reporter to investigate Hawk Osment at the West Coast studio. It just so happened that the LAPD had a big operation today, and the reporter ran into a disguised civilian car carrying SWAT, and was arrested by them."

Cynthia was in control of the overall situation at Channel 11, and she understood immediately: "Gretchen and Megan's fight."

"The Western Division is very disciplined and notified us in advance. Their people will be here soon." Pierce asked directly, "How should we respond?"

Cynthia asked, "Just a summons for questioning?"

Pierce was able to confirm: “Yes.”

He thought for a moment and then said, "I also got a piece of news. The daughter of Carter Ferguson, one of the five members of the LAPD Police Commission, has a close relationship with Hawk Osment. It is said that the two of them and Dwayne Johnson once died together on that yacht and saved a boatload of people."

Cynthia remembered this: “The news video was played by Megan’s program team.”

She hesitated for a moment and said, "Gretchen has crossed the line. If everyone does the same as her, where is the order of the channel? Who dares to sell hot news to Fox? When the people from the Western Branch arrive, you will go with Gretchen. If the situation is correct, just fire Anna Cookman."

"I see." Pierce left the office.

Ten minutes later, Gretchen, who was preparing for tonight's "Ace News", suddenly found that the legal advisor and two people broke into her program set.

The two men explained their purpose and showed their documents to Gretchen and Anna Cookman.

"I refuse." Gretchen's first reaction: "I don't know the person you are talking about, and I don't know what happened. In less than an hour and a half, my show will start..."

The two men said nothing and looked at Pierce.

Pierce said directly: "Director Cynthia wants you to go there and explain the situation to prove your innocence. I will accompany you throughout the process."

Gretchen didn't believe it, picked up the phone and dialed Cynthia's office number: "Director, this is me..."

Cynthia interrupted her directly: “You crossed the line, don’t do it again.”

Gretchen heard the busy tone on the phone and had no choice but to put on her coat.

"Please wait a moment." She came to the next office and said, "Nina, tonight's show will be broadcast as scheduled. If I can't make it back in time, you can take over first."

Coming out of the office, Gretchen glanced at the assistant.

Anna lowered her head.

The two went downstairs and drove a car to the West Branch.

In the car, Gretchen asked, "Who are you looking for? How do you do things?"

Anna also felt aggrieved: "You have met Daniel Richard, he has provided us with news many times and he has always been reliable. I also specifically told him not to have direct contact with Hawke Osment..."

Gretchen said, "Remember, this is all your own doing."

Anna is a qualified assistant and can take on responsibilities: "I will stick to this."

Gretchen controlled her emotions and thought that with Fox TV around, this matter wouldn't be too troublesome.

Anna drove out of the parking lot and found a Cadillac turning in from the entrance next to her. She knew the handsome black man driving the car, Hawke's assistant.

She raised her finger and pointed: "Hawk is here."

Gretchen turned her head and kept looking at the Cadillac.

As soon as the Cadillac stopped, Hawke got out of the car, carrying his briefcase, and hurried towards the Fox Building.

"He got big news again?" Gretchen asked.

Anna turned her head quickly and glanced: "It seems so."

Gretchen had a bad feeling, but she had to go to the Western Branch.

(End of this chapter)