[Chapter 80: Temptation of Downfall]
What should a freelance journalist do if his undercover shots didn't turn out well? Hawke would tell him to have the stars redo it; they would take another round of candid footage.
Under his direction, Steve and Wilson went up and down the stairs, chatting in the cafe while Edward took another round of shots.
Everyone returned to the makeshift office, and Edward uploaded the video onto the laptop, quickly making copies.
Hawke approached the laptop and opened two videos for playback. A few people stood behind him to watch. Even Daisy, who was in a wheelchair, had Amanda push her over.
After all the videos played, Hawke directly asked, "Which one do you guys think is better?"
Caroline was the first to speak, saying, "The second shoot is a bit better; it's a complete candid perspective."
Agent Biles agreed, "If we didn't know ahead of ti, I'd absolutely think this was a real scoop."
The others chid in, expressing their agreent.
Hawke replayed the second shoot for a closer look.
Steve whispered, "I perford well, huh? Hey... do you think when I retire, I could learn from Simpson and break into showbiz?"
Daisy exploded, "What, you want to learn how Simpson killed his wife?"
Steve clamd up, and no one could know what else was running through his mind.
Hawke packed up the laptop and handed it to Edward while saying to Caroline, "I'll leave things here to you."
Caroline nodded slightly.
...
Hawke had Edward drove back to Los Angeles.
On the way, he called gan Taylor, "I just got a huge scoop."
gan cut straight to the point, saying, "Co to my office."
When the car arrived at Fox Tower, Hawke carried the laptop upstairs, skipping any pleasantries and knocking on gan's office door directly.
gan was waiting for him, quickly opening the door and asking, "Can it make the headlines?"
Hawke settled in the guest area, sitting on the couch and opening the laptop. "It's a $150,000 explosive story."
gan sat beside him, her eyes locked onto the screen.
Hawke clicked open the video, and the shaky oval-shaped footage clearly ca from candid shots, with the lens constantly following a figure.
gan quickly recognized, "Steve Nutt from the Los Angeles Dodgers?"
"That's right," Hawke confird.
gan imdiately reacted, "The paper covered it today; his wife Daisy is due to give birth anyti now. You didn't actually get a shot of the baby, did you?" Ṙå₦ОΒЕʂ
Hawke casually replied, "I have lines I won't cross; how could I shoot a baby without the guardian's consent?"
gan turned to scrutinize him for a mont but was quickly drawn back to the video.
The cara panned into the cafe, zeroing in on the table where Steve sat, and another bald Black man appeared on screen.
The two chatted; their voices weren't particularly clear, but the dialogue was distinguishable.
gan quickly picked out the key points of their conversation: Steve Nutt and Daisy Nutt's newborn was an IVF baby, with the genetic material from the bald Black man -- Steve's teammate Wilson.
This news was undoubtedly explosive, but gan thought the subsequent conversation was even more impactful.
Steve ntioned that the reason for using Wilson's genetic material, besides his own reasons, was due to the repeated discrimination faced by his Black teammates, including Wilson himself.
The star of the Dodgers wanted to support his teammates, fighting against the persistent shadow of discrimination in sports.
After the video finished, gan remained silent. She took the mouse from Hawke and replayed it again.
As before, she paused at critical monts, even rewinding so parts for another look.
Once she finished watching, Hawke said, "$150,000 -- totally worth it."
"Definitely worth it," gan turned to glare at him, "There are no signs of artificial manipulation, but I know your style well. Why is Steve Nutt being so cooperative?"
Hawke calmly replied, "Daisy gave birth to a Black baby. According to her, the father of the child is Steve's teammate Wilson."
gan quickly pieced things together, "You've leveled up, helping the Nutt couple with PR?"
Hawke neither confird nor denied it but said, "You've always wanted to elevate the social depth of entertainnt news; I specifically crafted this story for you."
"Should I thank you?" gan responded without waiting for an answer, "A prominent celebrity couple having a baby but the father is a Black friend? The gossip factor is off the charts; and at the sa ti, we see the mocked hero showcasing incredible humanity, flipping the narrative unexpectedly; finally raising it to the level of a social issue."
Hawke acknowledged, "That's a very apt summary."
gan curiously asked, "Which university did you graduate from? Who was your ntor?"
Hawke had a thick skin, replying, "Self-taught."
This was indeed the kind of story gan wanted, and even knowing it was concocted by the jerk beside her, she wasn't willing to let it go.
Hawke could guess her thoughts: "All the footage and audio are real; these are genuine events."
Having interacted with gan multiple tis, he understood what she needed: "This could spark a dia frenzy. You can report on it continuously, including inviting Steve and Daisy along with Wilson to your show."
gan suddenly grabbed Hawke's arm, "You are like phisto, here to tempt people into downfall." She stopped hesitating, "You didn't ntion those things to , but what I saw in the video is exactly what I understand. $150,000 -- I want that video."
Hawke introduced a new condition, saying, "It's provided by West Coast dia Entertainnt Studio."
gan thought for a mont and replied, "Alright."
Hawke extended his hand, "Let's have a pleasant collaboration."
gan shook his hand and simultaneously proposed another request, "You'll attend the program's eting so you can add in any new ideas."
Hawke nodded, "No problem."
gan got up and walked to her desk, picking up the phone and ordering, "Claire, bring the storage drive and the rights transfer agreent to my office. Prepare a check for $150,000. Also, notify all departnt heads to et in ten minutes."
Claire quickly arrived in the office.
Hawke copied the video and reviewed agreent signatures.
...
Ten minutes later, he entered the program eting room with Claire and found the least conspicuous corner to sit in.
The video played once, rendering the eting room silent. The attendees weren't newbies; they recognized the potential imnse value of this news.
The program group operated under gan's authority: "Tonight, all other news is off; we are focusing solely on the video and its related content. I'm assigning tasks; those responsible need to execute imdiately."
She quickly ordered, "Claire, contact the Dodgers; take a broadcast van straight to the team. Find either the team manager or a player, preferably a Black player; I want a live link during the show."
Claire called a caraman and rushed out of the eting room.
gan continued, "Alexander, lead your team to search the Fox archive; find all cases of racial discrimination involving the Dodgers and MLB over the last three years, along with other cases in professional sports leagues. I need the most typical, well-known incidents, preferably with video footage."
A middle-aged man left the room.
gan looked at a bald man and instructed, "Bill, contact the NAACP; during the program, I want to connect with their Black opinion leaders."
Bill hurriedly exited the eting room.
gan addressed a man wearing glasses, saying, "Stephen, draft a narrative shifting from sports gossip to racial discrimination; I need a rough draft in two hours."
Then she turned to Hawke in the corner, "What about you? Anything to say?"
Most people in the program team knew who Hawke was; it was surprising for him to even be invited to the eting, let alone to be asked for his opinion.
"Just give a brief rundown on what the IVF is about," Hawke suggested, as it was sothing Edward had thought of, "Many people don't understand."
gan nodded slightly, instructing soone on her left, "You go gather relevant materials."
The eting wrapped up quickly, and the team got busy.
...
Hawke picked up the check, said goodbye to gan, and had Edward drive them back to Orange County.
Before 11 PM, everyone gathered again in the makeshift office to watch Midnight Entertainnt.
Thanks to the high ratings following Miller Collins' Milk Gate scandal, many viewers across the country tuned in to the program.
Especially in the Greater Los Angeles area, once the video aired, it caused explosive reactions.
...
In a typical Dodgers fan ho, the wife yelled toward the bathroom after seeing the show, "Oh my God! Steve Nutt's kid isn't biologically his; he used teammate Wilson's genetic material to help Daisy have a test-tube baby!"
The husband, who was showering, didn't believe it, replying, "No way? Celebrities often say ridiculous things..."
"Absolutely not false!" the wife insisted, "Steve and Wilson were caught on cara discussing this!"
The bathroom door swung open, and the husband rushed out with a towel wrapped around him, standing in front of the TV and exclaiming, "It really was a candid shot, then it must be true! Oh my God, this is crazy! Have Steve and Wilson lost their minds?"
Just then, his phone rang; it was a friend from the sa fan group, who asked right away, "Did you see Steve's story?"
The husband replied, "I did."
"That's explosive!" his friend was fully convinced of the video's authenticity, "Uh, the latest part really flips our understanding; Steve is doing this for the team!"
...
anwhile, several Black Dodgers players were called in by the team's Black manager to gather at the club, where they watched Midnight Entertainnt together with Claire and a caraman in a conference room.
Their emotions were like riding a roller coaster -- from initial shock to anger at the repeated discrimination on sports fields, finally culminating in astonishnt over Steve's statents.
"I, along with Daisy, as a pure white family, if we can raise a Black child, maybe we can set an example to help you guys!"
In the recorded candid footage, Steve's words ca with audio noise but resonated in the ears of every Black person present.
The Black manager maintained his composure, but the players, easily stirred, couldn't contain their excitent upon hearing their star player speak this way.
Two of them even shed tears.
The tallest Black player expressed, "Steve's words weren't just talk; he genuinely ans it."
The caraman had already turned on his cara, capturing the mont.
Midnight Entertainnt set up a live video link.
The moved Black players all appeared on the TV screen.
The team manager was very pleased, and the team's reputation skyrocketed.
*****
/Sayonara816.
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