The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 110 Life Strategic Planning
Fountain Street, East Hollywood.

At the entrance of the studio, Hawke took a sign and asked Edward to hang it outside the door.

It said "Temporarily closed".

After a busy month, the selfie scandal has finally come to an end and Hawke plans to take a few days off.

After the sign was hung, Edward returned to the studio and said, "Boss, Hua Hudie has contacted me several times and wants to see you. We are busy recently, and I have been asking him to wait."

Hawke asked, "Is Campos well?"

"After the fever subsided, the wound on his leg healed quickly." Edward gave a brief account: "He no longer limped when walking. He left the clinic and returned to the shelter. With Da Chou and the others taking care of him, he is living a pretty good life among the homeless."

Hawke never used his kindness unnecessarily: "Call Campos and we'll go there this afternoon."

Edward went to make the call.

Hawke also took out his cell phone and called. When the other party answered, he said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you missing? If you're not missing, come over for a drink."

About five minutes later, someone knocked on the studio door and Edward went to open it.

Frank wandered in, took one look at Edward's handmade suit and Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, and asked, "Where did you steal it from?"

Edward grinned, showing his big white teeth: "Robert Downey Jr.'s widow Deborah gave it to me."

He took out a gold-studded Motorola and said deliberately, "See? These are all given to me by her? Guess why she gave them to me? Because I moved into her house. Old man, let me remind you, don't let me know who your ex-wife is!"

In the past, the so-called threats against the ex-wife were just words.

Now that the glaring case was before him, Frank did not mention cotton, fried chicken, or watermelon juice. He took out a photo and said to Hawke, "The things you asked me to check last month are basically the same as what you said. The photos were mailed to me. You guys were busy recently, so I didn't bother you."

Hawke took it, looked at the photo of the man in Mexican police uniform, and handed it to Edward: "Take a look too."

Edward identified it carefully and said, "Boss, yes, it's a butterfly."

Hawke took the photo back and put it away.

Now that Campos' identity has been confirmed by both the black and white worlds, he can check with Erica later when the opportunity arises.

Frank reminded: "I heard from my friends that this guy is very powerful, don't mess with him."

Hawke asked, "Tell me more about it."

"The local traffickers gang wanted to kill him but failed." The person Frank entrusted was in a high position and only had a general idea: "Later, he was put on a wanted warrant and was besieged by a dozen fully armed Mexican police in the city. Not only did he not die, he also killed four people, injured three people, and escaped."

"Very fierce." Edward was a little surprised.

Hawke nodded slightly. Even if he was cherishing his life on one hand and fighting hard on the other, to have such a result was enough to prove his ability.

This person is good at investigation, has good skills, and at least has good character, so he is very valuable.

When Hawke employs people, regardless of their abilities, he cannot trust gamblers or drug addicts at all.

Like Robert Downey Jr.'s playmate Cole, he is purely exploitative.

Frank was very self-conscious. After saying these words, he took out a cloth bag, walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, picked up the food and drinks and threw them into the bag.

A bag was filled with beer, sausages, milk, fruits, etc.

Hawke said nothing.

Edward wanted to speak.

Frank picked up the bag and left without making any mockery of Edward, and even pretended not to see him.

Edward became excited: "Hey, why did you leave? I wanted to talk to you more and show you the Cadillac and Hermès bag that Deborah gave me."

Frank slammed the door.

Hawke thought of something: "Have you opened a bank account? I want to transfer my bonus directly to your account. It's too troublesome to give you cash."

"It was opened yesterday." Edward quickly reported the account to Hawke and asked, "Boss, do I have to pay taxes too?"

Hawke reminded: "With our current small bodies, don't mess with the tax bureau. Your income is not low now, don't think about taking advantage of this little bit, find an accountant to help you calculate it."

Edward made a note of it and simply used the studio's accountant.

Near noon, the two went out for lunch and called Frank in the parking lot across the street. The old man said he didn't want to see Edward.

The King of Kings seems to have a psychological trauma.

In the afternoon, Edward drove a Cadillac and took Hawke to the Avenue of Stars, where they found the ugly trio.

These three guys were sitting on the celebrity stars on the Walk of Fame and performing a clownish talent show, which was somewhat more technical than pure begging like Frank's.

Edward made a phone call, and Dachou temporarily left the sidewalk, crossed the street into the parking lot, and got into the Cadillac.

Hawke asked, "What's going on with Campos?"

"He found a few odd jobs to earn money. He has no legal status." Da Chou said, "He basically doesn't take the initiative to cause trouble. With the three of us here, no one dares to take the initiative to provoke him."

Hawke asked again: "Who do you hang out with?"

Da Chou recalled carefully and said, "Except for a few Mexicans and the three of us, he rarely interacted with others."

Hawke nodded: "Okay, you continue to be busy."

Da Chou got out of the car.

Hawke said, "Go to the aid station."

The Ackerman Charity Rescue Station is not far away. You can see the huge sign after turning a street.

Charity is also a kind of business, and there are all kinds of strange non-profit organizations emerging here.

Hawke plans to set up a non-profit organization when the funding and scale are larger.

The shelter was relatively quiet today. There were no free physical examinations. Lunch time had long passed, and the homeless people who had received food had already gone into the shade to avoid the glaring sun.

The Cadillac bypassed the rescue station, came to the back door, and drove into the parking lot.

Hawke made a phone call, and not long after, Campos came over from the other side of the parking lot.

The guy walked very fast, unlike the last time Hawke encountered him here, when he walked with a limp.

Hawke rolled down the window and waved.

Campos opened the car door, got in, and said directly: "Thank you for saving me."

Hawke nodded slightly and asked, "Fully recovered."

"Yes." Campos was not stupid at all and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Instead of answering, Hawke asked, "You reminded me last time you were here that the Mule Gang was making secret deliveries."

Campos elaborated: "When I was in Mexico, I carefully studied the transportation methods of the mule gangs. After they crossed the US-Mexico border, in order to avoid inspections by the DEA and local police, they would temporarily hire some less noticeable mules to transport the goods into Los Angeles, the surrounding Orange County, and San Francisco in the north."

Thinking back a little, Hawke remembered that the last time he saw him, it was an old man driving an old Dodge pickup truck.

The old man must be at least 70 years old.

Hawke asked, "Old men?"

Campos said: "This is a group they often use, elderly people who are physically weak and transport goods. Generally, there is rarely any inspection. They just need to drive the car to the designated place, leave the keys and leave. The contact person will observe that there is no danger of exposure, drive away their car, transport the goods back, and leave cash in the car."

Hawke then asked, "What about the rest of the crowd?"

"Pregnant women who are obviously pregnant." Campos has lived near the parking lot for the past few months and often observed them when he was bored. "They are not pretending to be pregnant women, but real pregnant women with reliable identities who are facing family financial crises. Once they are inspected, they hold their bellies in pain. As long as they are not suspects, they are likely to be let go."

Edward exclaimed: "The dealers are quite smart."

Campos said: "The stupid ones are mostly at the bottom of the pile. Those who are responsible for a business, if they don't have a good brain, will either be caught or killed by the opponent."

Hawke glanced at Edward: "Is it the same in Compton?"

"I can only get in touch with the people at the bottom." Edward shrugged. "Those idiots who sell bulk goods don't make as much money as working as a laborer, but no one likes working as a laborer. After all, bulk goods workers go out for a trip and come back to have fun. Working as a laborer is tiring and the working hours are long. It's not as good as our ancestors picking cotton."

Seeing Hawke keep asking about the Mule Gang, Campos asked, "Are you going to fight against the Mule Gang?" Hawke said, "My studio doesn't have the business of drug enforcement. As for paying attention to the Mule Gang... you can understand it this way. I am making a strategic plan for my life business."

Campos's expression became extremely serious: "Although you saved me, those things..."

"You think too much." Hawke knew he had misunderstood: "I am a principled person. Gambling and drugs are my lifelong enemies!"

Campos was visibly relieved.

Hawke asked, "Did the Mule Gang use this place to transport goods during this period?"

Campos recalled and said: "It happened once more than a month ago, but I was already sick at the time and didn't look closely. I was not very clear during the treatment at the clinic, but after returning from the clinic, I didn't see it again."

He had some understanding of the current situation in Los Angeles: "The newspaper reported that a female LAPD detective intercepted a large amount of Mule Gang goods on a yacht some time ago. Afterwards, the LAPD launched a crackdown on the Mule Gang, which must have affected these people."

The other party was from Mexico, and he was a drug enforcement SWAT officer who was so conscientious and responsible that he was almost killed by his colleagues and superiors. Hawke simply asked: "Based on your understanding of the Mule Gang, can the LAPD completely defeat them?"

"Impossible." Campos shook his head. "For an organization as powerful as the Mule Gang, there must be people hiding in the dark. There are too many Mexicans in Los Angeles. It would be hard to find them if they just hide in a Mexican family."

He looked down on his peers: "I'm not saying that the LAPD is good at making money and protecting wealthy areas, but not so good at other things. In the past ten years, the LAPD has suffered a lot of losses."

Edward automatically answered: "Los Angeles riots, North Hollywood robbery, police officers shooting each other in road rage, Rafael Perez incident..."

At this point, he saw Hawke was puzzled and gave a simple explanation: "In 98, 5 pounds of goods were missing from the LAPD's evidence room. It was thought that Officer Rafael Perez had stolen them. As a result, the investigation team found 11 other cases of evidence room goods missing, involving more than 70 officers. But in the end, Rafael took the blame for everything, so he was paroled last year."

Hawke was not surprised at all, after all, it was the largest armed violent organization in Los Angeles.

Edward said: "LAPD is the strongest legal gang in Los Angeles. I heard that the amount of fundraising has stagnated in the past two years, and public opinion and public trust in them has continued to decline."

Hawke thought of Erica. LAPD pushed her out, perhaps for image management reasons.

Campos sighed: "America is not a paradise either."

Edward had a very comfortable time during this period and had a great experience. He said, "As long as you have enough money, life in America is like heaven."

Hawke looked around the parking lot and said to Campos, "For the next period of time, keep an eye on the parking lot to see if there are any Mule Gang vehicles coming... Don't alarm them. Keep yourself safe first."

Campos is quite an expert in this regard: "As long as they show up, I can recognize them at a glance."

Hawke continued: "After you meet them, call me immediately. You have my cell phone number, right?"

"Yes." Campos took out his broken Nokia and dialed Hawke's number.

Edward went to the car to find a charger, and Da Chou and the others were able to find a place to charge.

Hawke took a look, hung up, and took out an envelope: "I'm hiring you."

Campos could handle it alone, but he had several people to take care of. He didn't say anything more and took the envelope, assuring, "If they don't show up, I can't do anything. As long as they show up, they will definitely not escape my eyes."

"That's all for today," Hawke ended the interview.

Campos put away the envelope, got out of the car and left.

Hawke looked around and suddenly saw someone coming out of the back door of the rescue station.

"Boss, I want to go down." Edward unbuckled his seat belt and stared at the back door.

The woman who came out, wearing the vest of the Ackerman Charitable Foundation, was Nicole, whom Hawke had met.

"Go." He understood Edward's feelings. The savior was kicked out by Nicole.

Edward pulled down the sun visor, opened the vanity mirror, and slightly adjusted his formal tie before opening the door, getting out of the car, and walking toward the back door of the shelter.

When he came near Nicole, he raised his hand to greet her, and his sleeve fell down, revealing the Jaeger-LeCoultre watch underneath: "Hi, Nicole, long time no see."

Nicole looked at the refreshed Edward, was stunned for a moment, and walked into the shelter without looking back.

Edward felt refreshed. He turned back and got into the car, still laughing: "Boss, this feels so good."

Hawke pointed ahead and said, "Drive, let's go."

Edward was in high spirits, driving the car, talking non-stop: "Should I give Deborah a gift?"

"You've never sent one?" Hawke asked curiously.

Edward said, "My gifts were mainly given to her son before... Well, I decided to give her a gift."

He was still the same rotten look: "Deborah will definitely give me a gift in return. The value of the gift will be at least ten times the value of what I gave her."

Hawke didn't know what to say about such a talent.

Edward succeeded in slapping his ex-girlfriend in the face, and he was extremely excited. He said, "Boss, you are also giving gifts to find clues about the Mule Gang, right?"

“It’s business strategy planning,” Hawke said.

Edward didn't understand: "The last time we two came to move things, you mentioned the mule gang. Why didn't you tell Erica?"

"Gifts are not given out all at once. You have to push them. She's pushing me, and I'm pushing her." Hawke was not kidding when he talked about business strategy planning: "If you raise a woman's threshold too high at one time, it will be difficult to deal with her in the future."

Edward scratched his head with his left hand: "What you said is too complicated. I am more suitable for enjoying pure love."

Hawke took out his cell phone and dialed Erica's number. When the call was connected, he asked, "Are you at work?"

Erica replied: "It's not time to get off work yet. I'm not as free as you are. I have a case to follow up."

Hawke asked, "Tomorrow is the weekend, do you have time? Let's go to the Attle Mountain Shooting Range and play with guns together."

"Sure." Erica agreed immediately and asked, "Have you finished the work at hand?"

Hawke said: "The contract is completed, the bill is settled and we are done."

Someone called out to Erica, and she said, "No more talking, I have a lot of things to do, see you tomorrow."

Hawke hung up the phone, returned to the studio, and took out the gun for maintenance.

Edward was ready to leave and asked for leave: "I have to attend a parent-child activity this weekend and two days next week."

Hawke didn't even look up: "Donnie's son?"

"Yes, I'm going to go camping with Donny's son." Edward was like a good father: "I'm going to buy equipment tonight, and we're going to set off early tomorrow morning. We're going to stay in Palm Valley for three days."

Hawke was a good boss and said, "Go ahead." He suggested, "Deborah is pretty good, just propose to her."

Edward was stunned: "Boss, we agreed not to be tied to a tree! Besides, it's not worth it for me to marry her."

"How can it be a bad deal?" Hawke's way of thinking was different from Edward's: "Even if we get divorced later, you can still get a large sum of money."

Edward said with unprecedented seriousness, "I am the co-founder of West Coast Media Entertainment and I receive dividends every year. With the speed at which we are growing, when Deborah and I divorce, I will definitely be the one to take away the property."

This time it was Hawke's turn to be surprised: "Well, savior, that's a very clever flattery."

"No, no, no, that's not flattery," said Edward. "I mean it all."

Hawke sent him away: "Go find your Deborah."

Edward went to be the cheap father of Donny's son.

Hawke had dinner alone and received a call from Miss Mee.

"I've read the news recently. You've made a lot of money from Josh Hartnett, right?" Miss Mee's meaning was very clear: "I brought him to you, and you also promised me a 5% share."

Hawke deliberately said: "Aren't we friends? Shouldn't friends help each other?"

Caroline is very calculating when it comes to money: "The weather is getting colder. I, your friend, have my eyes on a Chanel trench coat. Can you help me get it?"

Hawke still wanted Miss Mee to attract clients, so he thought long-term, "It's too late today. Let's do it tomorrow. I'll have the bank transfer $4 to your account."

Caroline exclaimed: "You received $80 for one order?"

Hawke was about to hang up: "Please check it tomorrow."

Caroline seemed to be hit hard, and her voice had lost its usual pride: "Okay, I'll check it out."

Hawke hit him hard, then offered another sweet treat: "Any client of your company who has problems that cannot be solved can come to me. I will give you a 10% commission for anyone you introduce."

(End of this chapter)