The Wolf of Los Angeles.

In the villa restaurant, Hawke brought the meal Erica prepared out of the kitchen and placed it on the dining table.

Brian selected a bottle of citrus wine, opened it, and poured the orange-red wine into three goblets one by one.

When Hawke and Erica each came out with their plates, he asked Hawke, "Erica always said that you are a good cook."

Hawke said, "Tonight's chef is Erica."

Brian looked down at the grilled steak and vegetable salad on the dining table, wondering if he could eat them.

The last time I ate food cooked by Erica was four or five years ago, and it was so bad that I wanted to cut off my tongue.

Hawke picked up his knife and fork, cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth.

Brian then dared to move and ate the steak, and found that it tasted pretty good.

But it has a sour smell of love.

The three of them had another drink.

Hawke said directly: "Tell me what you want to say."

"You wouldn't stay here to eat if you have nothing to do." Erica took the bottle and poured the wine: "Is it inconvenient with me here?"

Brian said, "Last time I discussed with Hawke about running for mayor of Los Angeles, and part of it has been followed up."

Hawke had been following the news and said, "Did the Los Angeles City Council approve the 2004 budget plan promoted by Mayor Antonio?"

"Yes." Brian emphasized: "Los Angeles City Hall fully cooperates with women's rights organizations such as Sisters Parade. Next year, $850 million of the budget allocated to the Fire Department will be used to promote women's rights development within the Fire Department and recruit female firefighters, with an expected target of 35%."

Erica frowned: "Is this job suitable for women?"

Brian smiled and said, "The salary is high, the benefits are generous, women's rights get the benefits, and Antonio gets the votes."

He continued: "This budget also includes a new vision to achieve a 2005:1 ratio of men to women by 1."

Erica shook her head: "Political madness."

Hawke asked: "Did you do the work behind the scenes to get this budget passed?"

Brian said simply: "Some members who were ready to vote against the bill chose to abstain after my continuous work."

Hawke asked another question: "Have you checked the water bank I mentioned last time?"

"Behind WaterBank is an agricultural product company called Wonderful, which is the largest cash crop planting and processing company in California." Brian did a detailed investigation: "Its head is Stuart Resnick, a Ukrainian Jew who owns more than 15 acres of high-quality agricultural land in Southern California and is the largest pistachio and almond grower in North America."

He picked up the glass, took a sip, and continued, "Other citrus fruits, such as oranges, lemons, and pomegranates, are also grown on an astonishing scale. In Covina, where I live, the largest citrus grower is also his family."

Erica thought for a moment and continued, "I've heard of them. Stuart's wife Linda donates large quantities of fruits, juices, and dried fruits to the LAPD and the county police department every year."

Hawke asked: "The biggest agricultural capitalist in California? How much influence does their water bank have on water use in Los Angeles?"

"They are the largest agricultural capitalist in California. Since 1994, they have controlled the greater Los Angeles area and the surrounding public water supply." Brian didn't know until he investigated and found the shocking fact: "Wonderful has signed a contract with the Los Angeles City Hall and the California government. It has the priority water supply rights in Southern California and holds more than 50% of the shares in many reservoirs. Even in the event of a severe drought, it can guarantee its priority water supply rights."

Hawke understood: "When does this contract expire?"

Brian said, "Thirty-five years from now."

Erica understood a little bit: "Southern California is a drought-stricken area, and water resources are privately controlled. Just now you mentioned firefighters. Brian seems to be working hard to recruit female firefighters for the fire department. What do you want to do? Do you want to make a fuss about the wildfires that happen every year?"

Hawke did not answer, but reminded: "If you or your family own luxury homes in areas prone to wildfires such as the southern foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Palisades, Sherman Oaks, and Malibu Mountains, it is best to sell them quietly in the next ten months."

Brian said: "Our house is not over there, and Paul has been reminding us to stay away from areas prone to wildfires."

Erica thought more: "Maybe Grandpa knows about the water situation and thinks those places are unsafe?"

Hawke returned to the previous question: "Let's continue with the water situation."

Brian said: "In fact, all the fresh water in Southern California is privately owned. The tax bureau is also planning to levy a rainwater tax. If the government wants to mobilize water, it needs to buy it from private hands. In a supplementary agreement signed in 2000, Wonderful purchased water at $28 per unit and sold it to the public affairs department for as much as $196."

This profit margin would make Mexican dealers cry.

Hawke asked: "One question, is there enough water in the Los Angeles fire pipelines and fire reserves?"

Erica continued, "I can answer that given the working style of these functional departments, if they can achieve half of the minimum stipulated, they would be considered to have a conscience."

Brian said, "But they can bring water from northern California." Hawke finished his steak, picked up his napkin to wipe his mouth, went to the study and dragged the whiteboard over.

He asked Bryan, “How long until the election?”

"One year, but we need to build momentum in advance," Brian said. "We'll start planning in the second half of next year."

"Take note of what I wrote and prepare for it." Hawke stood in front of the whiteboard. "Since you discovered Antonio's fire budget plan, the fire department has cut $850 million from its normal budget next year and allocated it to the women's rights movement, which will inevitably affect the welfare benefits of normal firefighters."

Brian got a pen and a notebook and wrote down what Hawke said.

Hawke wrote on the whiteboard the words fire department and women's rights: "I have read the news. To this day, the firefighters who participated in the 911/ rescue and died have not received their pensions. The medical compensation for those who were injured or sick has been delayed."

Erica shared some statistics: "Among the personnel involved in the rescue and subsequent cleanup of the 911/72000 incident, 8000 people developed different degrees of illness, 2000 of them suffered from various cancers, and more than 2002 died of diseases. The protesting firefighters in the past two years have been attacked. I spent some time in the New York Police Department in and learned some of the situations. Some people encountered many difficulties when applying for legal aid."

"We can't solve the problem, but we can solve the people who raise it." Hawke wrote 911 on the whiteboard: "Starting in the first half of next year, we will continue to publicize the plight of 911 firefighters in the media in California, especially in Los Angeles."

He thought for a moment and added: "Look for similar firefighter cases in California. If there are any, we can publicize them."

Brian said: "When firefighters encounter dangerous situations, they dare not rush up?"

Hawke nodded slightly and continued, "We paid a few meteorological experts to predict that Los Angeles and Southern California will be even drier next year, and agricultural planting will face greater challenges."

Brian made a note: "Let Wonderful control more water?" He asked a question: "Can water be transferred from the north..."

Hawke thought for a moment and said, "You raise funds... well, find a way to influence the opinion leaders of several environmental organizations, find an animal in the waters of central and northern California, publicize its importance, scarcity, and key role in world biodiversity, and call on the whole society to pay attention to and protect them."

Brian added as he took notes: "Most environmental groups in California are in favor of the Donkey Party."

Hawke thought for a moment and said, "First, identify a certain type of aquatic animal, publicize it through the media and buy off environmental opinion leaders, and push the state government to formulate regulations. No matter how great the difficulties are, those water sources cannot be moved at will. The state legislature is controlled by the Donkey Party, and proposals from environmental organizations will be easily passed."

Brian said, "I will contact the governor's office."

Hearing this, Erica said, "Since the early 1990s, the entire state of California has been neglecting infrastructure construction, and public decision-making has long been out of touch with public needs."

Hawke responded: "So, someone has to be held accountable for this."

Brian was realistic: "With my reputation, even if I could raise enough campaign funds, it would be difficult to defeat Antonio in a head-to-head showdown."

Erica said something particularly true: "Your ability and reputation are not as good as Antonio's, and you can't grow to that level in one year, so your campaign strategy is to make Antonio worse than you."

Hawke said the same thing: "This election variety show has long been a competition of who is worse."

Brian looked at Hawke and the whiteboard filled with words: "But you are crazier than any campaign strategist."

"Since we are participating in this game, we must do everything possible to win!" Hawke didn't care about Los Angeles at all: "We are not going to kill people or set fires, so what does a naturally occurring fire have to do with us?"

Brian was inspired by Hawke's idea and wondered what he should do if such a huge investment was made and no wildfire occurred or the scale of the wildfire was not large enough.
Do you want someone to set the fire?

Brian heard a piece of news that before 2000, because there were fewer wildfires and they were relatively small in scale in a few years, Los Angeles had to cut the firefighting budget and dismiss some firefighters. As a result, wildfires broke out continuously that year, and it was said that there were traces of arson.

This dinner took a long time. Brian was discussing with Hawke the whole time, and Erica would make suggestions from time to time.

Bryan expects to raise tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds. With this money, Hawke will definitely make sure Los Angeles has some nice fireworks.

It was almost ten o'clock in the evening when Brian said goodbye and left.

Hawke brought Brian back and Erica had already cleaned up the restaurant.

The two of them went upstairs together.

Erica turned on the water to take a shower and found Hawke standing at the bathroom door.

She listened to the splashing water and asked, "What if the fire is contained?"

Hawke had already thought about it: "As long as the fire causes a certain amount of chaos, those blacks will not miss such a good opportunity."

This involved Erica's professional field, and she understood it immediately: "Yes, every time there is a problem in Los Angeles, black people will join in. Looting and smashing seems to be their instinct. There are too few people who act like saviors."

Hawke said: "I helped them design a way to make money. If the fire is a little bigger, the Los Angeles government will definitely evacuate the residents. The blacks will set fires everywhere to force the residents to evacuate, and then enter the empty homes and take whatever they want. As long as a group of people start doing it and publicize it through the media, countless blacks will follow suit."

These aspects are not complicated, but very effective. Erica exclaimed: "My dear, I have a feeling that you can lead the American social order into chaos." (End of this chapter)