[Chapter 358: Falling Objects from the Sky]
As a nonprofit organization, the Osnt Charitable Foundation primarily functioned as a tax shelter. However, according to federal regulations, the foundation was required to allocate 5% of its inco to charitable activities. Hawke set his sights on the Ackerman Foundation, which had been seized by the FBI, and the various shelters it operated in Los Angeles and other Southern California cities.
In Los Angeles, there were primarily two locations: the impoverished streets in the downtown slums and the traditional Hollywood area. There were also shelters in Orange County and Long Beach. These shelters essentially collaborated with large retail chains like Walmart to purchase their surplus food at discounted rates, recording the transactions at normal market prices, and then distributed the food to the holess.
Hawke did a bit of digging and had Edward reach out to City Hall for him, as the shelters could also receive governnt subsidies. Each year, from federal to state levels, various relief funds were allocated. After the bureaucracy took its cut, maybe 10% of that actually benefitted those in need. This represented an enormous business opportunity in Arica, allowing an entire industry to profit.
Hawke planned to wait for the Ackerman family situation to calm down before inquiring with the FBI. Regulations dictated that after compensating the victims, the Ackerman family's seized assets would have to be deposited into the treasury. The charitable shelters would ultimately need to be liquidated.
---
The following morning, Twitter received an exclusive video news clip from Butterfly Consulting, which reported a gunfight erupting in eastern Los Angeles. An FBI convoy was ambushed by assailants ard with automatic weapons who intended to seize their vehicles but were t with a prepared FBI strike team that rapidly encircled them near a small building.
In the video, helicopters carrying FBI snipers hovered above while two armored vehicles positioned themselves on the ground. Tear gas was deployed against the unprotected ard assailants. The fight was entirely one-sided, with the FBI only suffering minor injuries to three unlucky agents; no lives were lost on their side. Most of the assailants were captured alive by the FBI. Jennifer Huey's operation was a resounding success.
Two days later, an assistant director and two special agents at the FBI headquarters resigned. The head of the Los Angeles division retired early, with Jennifer Huey taking over the position. After the gun battle, Los Angeles cald down a bit.
---
Nevada, Las Vegas.
Betty drove a rental car to the MGM Grand Hotel. Going to the 12th floor, she knocked on a hotel room door. Irene opened the door and hugged Betty, exclaiming, "Thank you, thank you!"
Betty nudged her into the room and asked with a smile, "How have you been lately?"
"I've been keeping an eye on the news from California," Irene responded excitedly. "I never imagined the billionaire Ackerman family would collapse like this."
Betty guided her to the sofa, saying, "We promised you we would act, and we keep our promises."
Irene lowered her head shyly. "Honestly, I never believed you would actually succeed. I didn't think it would co to this. Guerrero deserved punishnt, but he shouldn't have taken his own life..."
She quickly shook her head. "Guerrero had been so good to ; I can't forget it. I may never forget it."
Betty gently embraced her. "I know, I understand how you feel." Then she asked, "What are your plans moving forward? We'll do our best to help you here."
Irene inquired, "Can I go back to Caltech to study?"
Betty spoke softly, "The Ackerman situation is too widespread. You don't have the ans to keep yourself safe. Anyone connected to this or those affected might exact revenge. You've seen what they can do in the videos from Ackerman's club; it's best you don't stay in North Arica."
Irene recalled the disturbing content of those videos, feeling that Betty's caution was justified.
Betty pulled out a card and an envelope, handing them to Irene. "Stay as far away from North Arica as you can; don't co back. I'll provide a few alternative locations: Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in Northern Europe, Hong Kong, Japan in East Asia, and New Zealand and Australia in the Southern Hemisphere. You can go to any of those places. The funds in here should be enough for you to settle down and lead a decent life for the next few years."
Irene accepted the card, tucked it away, and opened the envelope to find an assortnt of dollar bills. "I will follow your advice."
Betty also gave Irene an email address. "If you run into trouble, email this address."
She took out a pre-prepared business card. "Here's my Twitter account. Use this code to leave ssages; I'll see them."
Irene accepted everything. "I'll book a flight to leave tomorrow; I plan to..."
"You don't have to tell ," Betty interrupted. "Don't let know where you're going."
Irene understood, saying, "Take care of yourself."
Betty smiled, "My boss is a good person; you should sense that by now."
Irene had previously worried about being silenced like characters often portrayed in Hollywood films, but reality proved her fears to be unfounded.
...
Betty spent less than two hours there. Upon leaving Caesars Palace, she took out her phone and called, stating, "Irene's a smart girl; she'll be leaving tomorrow. After so ti, who knows, but she likely won't be back for a few years."
On the other end, Edward replied, "We can only ensure her safety; the rest is her own choice."
"Understood." Betty hung up, peeking back at Caesars Palace as she returned to her car, wishing Irene well.
She drove directly to a hotel near the airport, planning to return to Los Angeles first thing in the morning. Butterfly Consulting transford into a security firm but continued to maintain its news gathering operations, shifting its primary focus towards the security industry.
The company hired nurous new employees and required essential training.
Betty and Fiona were specifically responsible for the business training program for female security personnel.
---
San Francisco, Stanford dical Center.
Across from the intensive care unit sat an FBI agent, with another ready to replace him, both on a bench playing gas. Inside the room, Willy paced back and forth, agitated.
Having been confined to a single room for several days, Willy Brown felt he might lose his mind.
They said lying flat was comfortable, but being stuck in a hospital room was unbearable.
Willy initially thought that his severe condition would shield him from the storm of public opinion, but those FBI agents showed him no rcy.
He had sought help from local senator Barbara Boxer, but she distanced herself to support won's rights for her reelection campaign.
Willy reached out to an old friend at the FBI, who took paynt for favors but had resigned just days earlier.
If a small-ti Los Angeles FBI supervisor wanted to take him down, Willy had ways to escape and even retaliate.
But he was facing a group equally as powerful, if not more so.
That pig from Texas was proving exceptionally troubleso this ti.
...
The visiting hours for family were approaching when his visitor, Kamala, arrived. The FBI didn't hinder her entrance, rely recorded her arrival.
Kamala was led to the room by a nurse, passing through the reception area before entering Willy's room.
Once the nurse closed the door, she asked Willy, "How have you been?"
Willy frowned, a troubled expression on his round face.
"What's going on?"
Kamala replied, "I t Gavin Belson this morning, and according to the Belson family's inside information, Kerry will lose California this ti."
Willy thought of the coward who had fled California at the first sign of trouble and said, "He has no accountability; losing is what he deserves."
Kamala still worried, "California is likely to beco a swing state or even turn red."
"No, Northern California hasn't spiraled out of control. The area centered around San Francisco remains firmly under our grasp," Willy argued, not sharing Kamala's gloom. "We've only lost Southern California."
He looked at Kamala, "I'm getting old. If I manage to escape this ti, the political resources in my possession will be yours."
Kamala secretly rejoiced but withheld her excitent. "Whoever stands behind this incident will be my enemy."
Willy sank heavily into the chair. "You're now the chief prosecutor in San Francisco, so the resources available to you will only grow. Rember what you said today."
Kamala obediently knelt in front of Willy, pulling down his hospital gown.
The political scene bore similarities to Hollywood. If one wanted to cling to power, they needed to kneel and move their mouth.
---
Los Angeles, Pasadena.
A Ford Mustang cruised closer to a five-story apartnt building. However, the parking spots nearby were filled, forcing the driver to park beside another six-story apartnt building.
In the back seat, Harley glanced at the two bodyguards and said, "I'll grab so things and be right back."
The middle-aged man in the front passenger seat replied, "We'll co with you."
The young driver turned around: "It's part of the job."
Harley nodded, getting out and making her way towards the five-story apartnt.
The sidewalk was right next to a six-story apartnt building.
Harley walked by the building quickly.
The two bodyguards kept a vigilant watch as they followed closely behind.
...
Across the dual carriageway, a Latino couple stepped out of a vehicle.
As Lareya closed the car door, he caught sight of the six-story building across the street, yelling out, "Run, hurry!"
Harley hadn't undergone any training in such situations and reacted slowly.
But the two bodyguards heard Lareya's voice and instinctively pushed Harley to run forward.
They barely managed to get a few feet away when the sound of heavy objects crashing nearby echoed behind them.
Two large flower pots fell from the sixth floor and landed where they had just stood.
The bodyguards quickly shielded Harley and moved her away from the building.
The Latino man shouted, "Call the police! Soone is trying to kill us! Hurry!"
No one could be seen from the sixth-floor apartnts, as if the flower pots had simply fallen like leaves from a gust of wind.
...
Harley, shaken, followed her bodyguards into the Mustang.
"I highly recomnd you leave those things behind," the middle-aged bodyguard said. "Let's head back to Century City."
Harley nodded, "Okay... okay."
The young bodyguard turned the car around, honked the horn, and waved to the Latino couple across the road in gratitude.
The police were called casually but yielded no results.
Harley stayed hidden inside the Fox Television Center, not wanting to co out.
*****
/Sayonara816.
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