The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Washington, Delaware Club.

A black Ford Regal drove through the gate and stopped right in front. Dillon got out of the driver's seat, tossed the car keys to the valet, and strode into the club. In a meeting room, he met Joseph.

The senator, who intends to run for the next president, is meeting with several Democratic congressmen.

Dillon waited patiently for a while.

He only entered the meeting room after the other congressmen had left.

Joseph, in his high position and with a keen political sense, had already noticed the unusual nature of the series of events and asked, "Any updates?"

Dillon took out a newspaper, handed it to him, and said, "There were more than a dozen new suicides or accidents yesterday. Although many people die like this every day in the United States, I have carefully investigated and found that these people have one thing in common: they are currently or have worked for companies related to the Walker family."

Joseph chuckled. "This is getting more and more interesting. This war has broken out at a very opportune time."

“Our people are closely monitoring and tracking this,” Dillon further reported. “Multiple agencies have been mobilized, and more than 20 companies and businesses associated with the Walker family have been investigated. Evidence of illegal and criminal activities has been found in most of them, and the Washington authorities are currently pushing for legal proceedings.”

Joseph's white hair seemed to dance in his good mood as he asked, "What about George Walker?"

Dillon said, "The Walker family has begun to mobilize its forces to fight back. There has been a backlash within several departments, and the struggle is gradually intensifying. In addition, most of the whistleblowers have committed suicide. It is understood that the Walker family is also secretly operating, but we have not yet found out the specifics of their approach."

Joseph took the newspaper, looked at it for a while, and then thought for a moment before saying, "Internal conflicts have erupted within the Elephant Party. The more intense the struggle, the better. It's not heated enough yet. Let's find a way to add fuel to the fire."

Dillon asked, "Boss, which side should we help?"

"Which side? Of course, we'll help both sides." After thinking it over, Joseph had a clear idea: "Within the various powerful departments, we need to communicate with the people we can influence and get them to support the judicial investigation against the Walker family. It absolutely cannot be ended casually; the investigation must continue for a long time."

Dillon nodded repeatedly: "As long as the investigation continues, the conflict between the two sides will not end, and the contradictions will become more acute."

Joseph hadn't finished speaking: "Keep it hidden, exert influence covertly."

“Yes.” Dillon understood the necessity of doing so, because once they openly intervened, the internal struggle within the Elephant Party might turn into a conflict between the donkeys and the elephants.

Joseph's plan didn't stop there: "At the government level, we'll secretly support Tom Emer, but through other channels, we'll quietly help the Walker family."

He looked at Dillon and instructed, "Didn't I tell you to investigate Tom Emmer's illegitimate child?"

Dillon continued, "We already have some information."

Joseph said directly, "Find a suitable secret channel to quietly pass these things to the Walker family. Let the Walker family expose that illegitimate child scandal. That way, there will be no room for reconciliation between the two sides, and it will be a fight to the death."

Dillon said, "I can find a suitable channel that won't attract the attention of the Walker family."

Joseph laughed: "Very good, get on with it."

Dillon came in a hurry and left quickly.

Joseph stood by the window of the meeting room, gazing at the streetscape of Washington, especially the Capitol Hill in the distance, and fell into deep thought.

The current situation is that the Elephant Party is in a strong position, while the Donald Party's influence is declining, making the next general election extremely difficult.

Now, with such a large-scale internal struggle erupting within the rivalry, it's truly a godsend opportunity.

But to win, there's still one hurdle to overcome: the competition within the Donald Party itself.

Joseph thought of that lump of charcoal from Chicago.

Perhaps I should go to Chicago to talk to him and ask him to be my running mate?
…………

Springfield, Illinois.

As Guan Hai drove out of the governor's mansion, he had just finished dealing with a lot of official business, and his fatigue was almost written all over his face.

In the passenger seat, his deputy, Dorenny, said, "Our people planted with Joseph have sent back new information. Joseph is very likely to intervene in the escalating internal struggle within the Elephant Party."

“This old guy has a lot on his mind.” Guan Hai also became interested and asked, “What does he plan to do?”

The people Doroni had placed were not in high positions and did not have much information. He could only say simply, "They may be exerting some influence in secret to make the fight between the two sides more intense."

After only a brief consideration, Obama made the same choice: "Let's get involved too. You think of a way to push them to keep fighting, preferably until the next general election."

As competitors for the next edition, both sides have been gathering their own information.

Dorenny replied, "We can follow Joseph quietly, and even if something goes wrong later, Joseph can be our shield."

“Yes, that’s fine.” Guan Hai completely agreed.

The car continued driving forward, gradually approaching Abraham-Lincoln Airport.

Obama is considering the next general election, and Joseph is undoubtedly the most competitive opponent within the Democratic Party.

If he were to engage in a fierce struggle with Joseph, it could escalate into a situation where the two bigwigs of the Elephant Party are now irreconcilable.

Obama believes that the Democratic Party is currently weak and must unite all forces that can be united in order to defeat the Elephant Party in the next general election.

He said to Dorenny, "Send a message to Joseph, and I want to arrange a time to sit down and have a chat with him."

Guan Hai wanted to try to team up with Joseph.

If possible, Joseph could serve as his deputy and run together in the next election.

…………

Jeffrey City, Wyoming.

A business jet landed on the small airport runway, and as soon as it came to a stop on the tarmac, more than a dozen cars immediately drove up.

The plane door opened, and George Walker and Pierce Walker quickly got off.

Brian's assistant Sandra and Hawke's supervisor Bertrand stepped forward to greet them.

The former smiled apologetically: "Hawk and Brian went hiking and hunting in the mountains. They received news of your arrival and are making their way out of the forest. They are unable to come and greet you for the time being."

George Walker shook hands with the two men and said, "This is our fault. We changed our plans at the last minute and notified you too late."

Sandra said, "Please get in the car. By the time we get to the farm, Hawke and Brian will be almost out of the mountains."

George and the Pierce brothers got into a van, while their entourage moved to the vehicles behind. The convoy didn't enter Jeffrey City, but headed straight for the distant junction of mountains and plains.

Pierce looked at George: "We don't seem to be very popular."

"It has nothing to do with that; it was due to a last-minute change of plans." George and his companion had originally planned to go to New York, but changed their route just before departure and decided to take a trip to the West Coast instead.

As it turned out, neither Hawke nor Brian were in California, so they had to come to Wyoming.

George said, "The Hawke and Ferguson families had deep ties with Tom Emmer during the last election, and we would be in a very passive position if they got involved."

Pierce understood this and said, "What do we have to impress the Hawke and Ferguson families? They have everything we have, and we may not be able to give them what they want."

George had prepared before deciding to come, saying, "There are some things they can't refuse, and it's impossible for them to refuse."

Pierce looked at George with slight surprise, not understanding what he was going to do: "What are you planning to give him?"

George said something in a low voice.

Pierce's surprise turned into shock.

The two brothers fell silent, each pondering the enormous changes this event might bring.

The convoy did not enter the farm through the main gate, which is the entrance to the resort area, where many people come for vacation during the New Year period.

After circling around to the inner residential area, George and Pierce waited for nearly two hours before they saw a convoy of SUVs and pickup trucks drive back.

On the vehicle, prey such as North American grizzly bears and coyotes were unloaded.

Hawk and Erica, dressed in hunting attire, saw the Walker brothers as soon as they got out of the car.

When Brian arrived, Hawke went over to greet him: "Upon receiving news of your arrival, Brian and I immediately set off from the mountains. This time we went quite far, as vehicles cannot enter the hunting area. Fortunately, the journey was relatively smooth, and we made it back in time."

“We’ve caused you trouble by coming here suddenly.” Former President George Walker, facing Hawke and Brian as if they were old friends, looked at the prey being unloaded from the truck and said with a smile, “We’ve caught quite a lot. Looks like a good haul.”

Brian laughed too: "I saw that grizzly bear, I took it down."

Hawke praised, "Brian's marksmanship has improved a lot; he took down the Grizzlies with just one shot."

A truck equipped with a crane unloaded several plump white-tailed deer. Hawke then said, "I brought a team of chefs who are experts at preparing game. You must try the venison and bear paws for dinner."

George said with a smile, "I'm really looking forward to it."

Brian pointed to his not-so-clean hunting clothes and said, "Hawk and I will go change first, and we'll talk later."

George nodded: "No need to rush."

Hawke and Brian entered a brick house, changed back into formal attire, and soon appeared in the warm reception room.

Erica and Jennifer brought over some black tea.

George thanked him and got straight to the point: "Recently, there have been some incidents targeting the Walker family in Iraq in the Middle East and in many parts of the United States. I'm sure you've already heard about it."

Neither side is stupid, so Hawke saw no need to deny it and said, "I have indeed heard some things. It seems that your oil industry in Iraq, as well as your chemical and financial industries in North America, have been affected."

Pierce interjected, "Someone wants to use powerful agencies like the U.S. military in Iraq, the FBI, and the IRS to retaliate against the Walker family."

Brian said, "I don't quite understand why Washington would suddenly take action."

Since George had come over, he didn't mince words and said, "When I was running for a second term, I promised Tom Emmer that if he supported me, he would become Secretary of State if I was elected."

Hawke continued, "Your second term as Secretary of State was Rice."

“So, these should be the source of the problem.” George looked very helpless: “During the last election, the Walker family gave Tom Emer the most support. I thought this matter was over, but I didn’t expect him to have endured it until now.”

Pierce's words were even more incisive: "In fact, we gave him more than enough in return, but in his shortsighted eyes, all he saw was hatred for the Walker family."

Brian sighed: "The situation in the Elephant Party, which was relatively stable, has suddenly changed. Isn't Tom Emer in mind for next year's election?"

It is now 2011, and next year is an election year.

George shook his head: "He tolerated it for four years when I was in office, and he tolerated it for another two years after he took over the Oval Office. After these six years, he couldn't take it anymore."

He started by pointing to the big picture: "If this struggle continues, it will harm the interests of everyone in the Elephant Party, and it will benefit the Donald Party. In the end, it won't just be the Walker family that suffers."

“What you say makes a lot of sense,” Hawke agreed first.

Brian then added, “The Walker family is our ally, but Tom Emer is also our ally.”

Pierce opened his mouth slightly, then suddenly realized it was inappropriate and closed it again.

He originally wanted to say that the two families were related by marriage, and were closer than Tom Emmer's side, but in the face of interests, these were merely secondary considerations.

George had already considered this aspect and said, "The Walker family has cooperated with you a lot, as has Tom Emmo. If I ask you to side with the Walker family and take action against Tom Emmo, it would indeed be putting you in a difficult position."

Hawke was blunt: "We have no reason to go to war with Tom Emer."

Brian added, "If we go to war with someone who has been doing us favors all the time without a legitimate reason, who will cooperate with us in the future?"

George and Pierce didn't believe this nonsense at all. The so-called lack of legitimate reason was simply because they didn't see any benefit in it.

If the benefits are large enough, what reason is there not to find them?

For example, a Twitter employee got lost inside the White House.

George said, “I understand all of this, and I have no intention of getting you involved in this fight. I just hope that as in-laws, you can remain neutral and contact Tom Emmer so that I can sit down and talk with him.”

In this kind of situation, Governor Brian is the more suitable person to handle it.

He still gave them that much face, saying, "I can contact Tom Emmer and try to get him to speak with you."

George laughed and said, "That's great."

Hawke, however, knew very well that dialogue would not solve the problem.

In fact, all four people present knew that Tom Emery had endured so much for so long, and after taking office, he had prepared for two more years; he wouldn't give up so easily. (End of Chapter)