The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Catalina Island, west of Los Angeles.

The Ackerman family once established a club here and controlled a range of facilities, including the airport.

Later, Hawke used the political struggle between the Donald and Elephant parties in Los Angeles to completely dismantle the Ackerman family.

The airport, clubs, and other facilities here are temporarily under the trusteeship of Los Angeles City Hall.

As the Twitter ecosystem grew, Hawke became increasingly well-funded, especially through initiatives like the AI ​​Manhattan Project, which secured substantial funding from the federal government.

He had his men take over the airport and club on Catalina Island under the guise of the AI ​​Manhattan Project, which was experimenting with AI security technology, and then renovated them.

The first plane landed at the newly renovated Katrina Island Airport.

A business jet that flew in from a private airport in New York.

All surveillance cameras and drones around the airport are connected to the security system, monitoring every move in the surrounding area.

Campos came in person, leading a long convoy, and drove all the way into the gate that read "AI Manhattan Project Security System Test Site".

As the heavy iron gate closed, the tall walls created a separate little world.

The underground facilities left behind by the Ackerman family have been fully renovated and put back into use.

The five people captured in Osnin were sent here by Militang.

Militao reported the situation to Campos in person.

Campos immediately ordered his men to question him.

This isn't a LAPD interrogation room filled with surveillance cameras, and there's no lawyer or human rights stuff here.

The interrogators separated the five people and used a powerful memory restoration technique. In a short time, they confessed everything they knew.

Campos was somewhat dissatisfied with the result.

These guys don't know much.

Of course, this was all within Campos's expectations.

In Chacopa, they also received relevant information from the New England Home Services company.

For example, they obtained CCTV footage from the company entrance and the account used by the other party to transfer money to the company boss.

Campos immediately took the materials, boarded a luxury yacht, crossed the strait, returned to the private dock of the Flower Butterfly Company at the Venice Beach Club, and arrived at the Coast Building.

Twitter was holding a board meeting, and neither Hawke nor Edwards had time for the moment, so Campos waited a while.

The board meeting ended close to the end of the workday.

Hawke called Campos to his office and asked, "How's the situation?"

Campos explained in detail: "These people have no legitimate jobs. They come from all over the United States and used to work in car repair and security services, but their work records for the last two years are blank. According to them, they were hired by an overseas company and, after receiving some training in Puerto Rico, they worked for the company as temporary outsourced employees."

Edward continued, "Like unregistered private detectives and private investigators?"

"More or less," Campos continued. "They only know the name of this overseas company and don't know much about it. They receive a substantial basic salary every month, and a large bonus when they go on a mission. They don't care much about who they work for. The person who contacted them is called Williams Baines. I did a quick check, and it should be an alias."

Hawke understood: "The company and the people are all fake?"

Campos said, "Yes, that so-called overseas company doesn't exist at all. There is a person named Williams Baines, but he doesn't match the mission they described at all."

He took out a USB drive and handed it to Edward: "This is footage extracted from the surveillance footage of that housekeeping company. It captured Williams Baines' profile, and they confirmed that this is the person. Based on the images of people and vehicles extracted from the surveillance footage, Hiero tracked the surveillance in Chacopa City. But in America, it's too difficult to find people through surveillance. The vehicle the target was in disappeared after turning out of the housekeeping company's intersection, and the corresponding license plate number was also fake."

Hawke's side was used to similar operations and knew that it was unlikely to find anyone through these methods.

After glancing at the images of people and vehicles on the USB drive, Hawke said to Edward, "Hand it over to the supercomputing technology center, enter it into the database, and conduct verification and comparison through various means."

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Give Jennifer a copy as well, and see if we can get anything out of the FBI's database."

Edward took the USB drive and went to the computer next to him to make a backup.

Hawke said, "We anticipated this situation before the crew went to shoot on location. As long as they're not stupid, they'll be able to guess the real purpose of this biographical film. With the example of 'Los Angeles Fire,' they'll definitely try to stop it, since the location isn't Los Angeles."

Precisely because of Hawke's emphasis, Campos sent Hiero to be in charge of the crew's security.

Edward said, "Although there is no evidence, it's easy to guess who is targeting the crew like this."

That's absolutely true. Both Hawke and Campos knew that this matter was inextricably linked to Joseph.

Hawke's current task is to ensure the film project progresses smoothly. He asks Campos, "Does the crew have enough security personnel to escort these people back to Los Angeles?"

Campos replied, "I sent people over in advance. While they were escorting them over, another team went to New York State to report to Hiero and join the crew."

Hawke nodded with satisfaction and said, "Their primary task is to ensure the safety of the main cast and crew and to ensure that the production can proceed smoothly."

The Butterfly Company has expanded considerably in recent years and has established a dedicated training camp in Costa Rica, staffed by professionals from Bosque, to ensure that personnel possess the necessary skills.

Ultimately, it all comes down to money.

As long as you're willing to spend money, you'll naturally find the manpower.

Hawke not only spent money, but also addressed the family's concerns.

These expenses were certainly a lot of money, but they were not difficult for him at all.

Taking advantage of the socio-political situation, Butterfly Company secured many lucrative security contracts, including several federally funded projects such as the AI ​​Manhattan Project.

It feels especially good to spend federal money.

Shortly after Campos left, Tom Cruise, who was a producer on the show, and director Eric held a brief video conference with Hawke.

The incident on set served as a wake-up call for the two. After discussions among the producers, the location scenes in New York and Washington were to be appropriately shortened, with the aim of completing them within five days.

As for the indoor scenes, they were all filmed on sets built in Los Angeles.

The potential increase in costs is not a problem at all.

Just before leaving get off work, the Supercomputing Technology Center provided preliminary screening results: no candidate matching Williams' characteristics was found in the existing database.

However, the fake license plate captured by the New England Home Services company had previously appeared in a photo shared on Twitter by an ordinary user. Supercomputing, combined with AI technology, extracted this photo and a short video from a massive amount of online data.

The photos and videos are from the same Twitter user, and the car with the fake license plate is not the one Williams was riding in, but a Toyota minivan.

Technicians analyzed the photos and videos and found that they were not taken on the same day, but the car appeared in the same location.

Inside the supercomputing center, Hawke asked directly, "Where is that Twitter user's registration address?"

The special technical team consisted entirely of people Hawke had personally selected. The technician, having a general understanding of the search criteria, stated, "Scranton, Pennsylvania; user name Reinkel Princeton, 21 years old, attending community college; footage taken using Apple's iPhone 4, released last year."

He clicked the mouse repeatedly, switching between two images: the photo on Twitter and a slightly blurry satellite image.

Hawke could tell that the latter was a ground-viewing photo taken by Starlink, and was also part of a car navigation business in collaboration with Tesla.

The technician added, "We used supercomputing and AI to perform satellite comparisons, especially for the city of Scranton where the target user is located. We found two highly matching locations, and the image shown here has a match rate of over 90%."

The satellite image shows a typical suburban villa in the United States, with a trash can placed diagonally opposite the entrance and a lamppost with a sign hanging on it on the other side. There is also an American red ash tree in front of the lamppost.

Hawke nodded slightly and said, "Well done."

The technician unconsciously adjusted his glasses and straightened his chest.

Hawke returned to his office and immediately instructed Edward to relay the latest information to Campos, who would then send someone to Scranton to find the relevant address and investigate the situation.

The specific address is already shown on the Starlink satellite images, so finding the person is not difficult.

Campos informed Ramos, who had been staying at the Washington branch, that he should travel to Pennsylvania, which was nearby.

…………

Arlington, Fairling District.

Wearing glasses and a dark suit, Smith pulled down the sun visor, opened the mirror above, and tidied his short, naturally curly black hair.

His appearance was completely different from when he had blond hair and a big beard in Chakpa.

Smith glanced at his watch, got out of the car, and pretended to lock the door while looking around, but found nothing unusual.

It's no wonder he's cautious; the job he does requires extreme caution, as any mishap could cost him his life.

Smith pushed open the door of the coffee shop, where there was only one customer, his boss Dillon.

When he entered the store, a shop assistant came over and hung up a sign at the entrance that said the store was temporarily closed.

Smith, sitting opposite Dillon, said directly, "I messed up. The security for that film crew was much tighter than I expected."

Dillon already knew this outcome; if a two-time Oscar-winning director or someone of Leonardo DiCaprio's or Meryl Streep's caliber were to have problems, the news would be everywhere.

He asked, "Where are the people you sent?"

Smith shrugged: "I can't get in touch with them. The direct flights to Canada that I booked for them at Osning Airport have not been picked up. I'm worried that something might have happened to them, so I don't dare to call to confirm."

"Don't have any further contact with them." Dillon agreed with his men's caution and prepared for the worst: "They not only failed, but they were very likely taken down quietly."

He looked at Smith: "All the outposts and safe houses known to these five people have been abandoned."

Smith had done his job in advance: "When I sent out the five of them, I had already abandoned all the places that involved them. According to the normal plan, Eric Ethan would either be killed or injured."

Dillon stared at him: "And you?"

“I’m all fake.” Smith smiled, quite confidently. “My identity is fake, my physique is fake, my face, hair, and beard are fake, even the license plates on all the vehicles I use are fake.”

He paused briefly, then added, "All the vehicles have been disposed of as well."

Dillon had complete confidence in Smith's abilities. He said, "This operation has already attracted their attention. Do not make any further moves without my notification."

Smith knew who his opponent was: a super-rich man with assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Having money means you can do a lot of things.

Since he had already alerted the other party, he wouldn't be foolish enough to continue rushing forward. He said, "I plan to rest for a while. It's been a long time since I've spent time with my daughter."

Dillon thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll give you a month's leave. Remember to come to Washington next month."

"I make my living by working for politicians," Smith said with a smile. "Thank you."

Dillon patted him on the shoulder: "Enjoy this man's vacation. We'll be very busy in the coming year."

Smith certainly understood what he meant; next year was an election year, and the big boss had already set his sights on the Oval Office location.

Dillon went around to the back door of the coffee shop and got into a Cherokee.

Smith left home, got into his own car, and stopped at the safe house in Arlington to change into family clothes and a Mercedes-Benz.

During this time, he threw all the remaining fake license plates he had used in the past into a lake.

Pennsylvania borders Virginia, and after getting off the highway, Smith headed straight for Scranton.

This is a small, unremarkable town with a population of only 60,000 to 70,000.

Smith's hometown is here. After making money, he did not move to a big city. Instead, he chose to buy a new house a ten-minute drive away from his parents.

The wife and daughter live in the new house and can visit both sets of parents from time to time.

The Mercedes-Benz drove into the community and parked on the side of the road.

Smith looked at the closed wrought iron gate, the lamppost with the community sign hanging on one side of the gate, and the tall American red ash tree in front of the lamppost, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

He got out of the car, carrying the gifts he had bought in Arlington, pushed open the iron gate, entered the yard, and said, "I'm back."

A girl of about ten years old ran out of the house and bumped into Smith's arms.

A woman in pajamas followed behind.

The Smiths, along with their daughter, formed a very warm and loving family. (End of Chapter)