The Wolf of Los Angeles.

In the reception room on the 16th floor of Coast Building, James Murdoch looked at Hawke with a confident smile on his face.

Hawke looked enthusiastic, as if the World News wiretap had never happened.

James' confidence comes from the strength of News Corporation.

Another key point is that the other party did not know that the wiretapping incident involved a very wide range of people.

Hawke's calmness comes from the fact that News Corporation absolutely does not want the phone-hacking scandal to break out.

"On behalf of World News Weekly, I apologize to you and Twitter for this incident." James seemed very sincere: "Those three reporters and their superiors and editors-in-chief will all be fired and held accountable for their legal responsibilities. They will be sentenced if necessary and compensated if necessary."

Hawke listened patiently.

James added: "We belong to the same camp. We fought side by side last year to change the color of California. News Corporation will never do anything to let down its allies. World News Weekly will make certain financial compensation to Twitter."

There are no fixed alliances among so-called business groups; everything is driven by interests.

Hawke also considers maximizing his own interests.

Is this going to trigger the wiretapping scandal? Besides having one more powerful enemy, what good will it do him?
Hawke was thinking about these things last night and said, "We are allies and have fought side by side, so there are some things I will not hide. This is a major espionage case. The FBI has found Russian spies among a series of prisoners captured. The spies want to steal Twitter's most important AI development plan and technological achievements in the next stage. I can't be sure whether your people are involved."

James was quite surprised: "How is this possible? News Corporation attaches great importance to safeguarding national interests. Business has no borders, but businessmen have their own countries."

"I never doubted you." Hawke looked unusually serious: "The problem is that your subordinates have been involved and have done the same thing as the spies."

James understood and asked sincerely, "I lack experience in this area. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Hawke said bluntly: "The Russian spy with irrefutable evidence is from BlackRock Group, and two BlackRock executives are in collusion with him..."

Before Hawke could finish, James continued, "News Corp. and Twitter are allies and will stand firmly on Twitter's side. The media I control will do its utmost to publicize the BlackRock spy theft incident. Together with Twitter, we can work together to make BlackRock and Russian spies equal in public opinion."

Hawke smiled and said, "Public opinion can kill people, but it cannot kill BlackRock. This incident is quite serious and directly threatens national security. I will go to Washington next week. I hope that the offensive I launch in Washington regarding the BlackRock incident will be supported by your political forces."

James briefly considered the pros and cons and said, "I guarantee that there will be heavyweights in the Office of the Director of Intelligence and the National Security Council who will support this."

He is also a shark who likes the taste of blood: "If there is a possibility of carving up BlackRock, I will sit at the table."

Hawke was very clear-headed. It was difficult to kill Blackrock in one go. Moreover, even if Blackrock was divided, with his strength, he couldn't swallow him alone. He said, "Of course."

James laughed.

Hawke hadn’t finished his words yet: “This espionage case targets Twitter’s AI Manhattan Project. We and the Office of Science and Technology Policy are preparing to promote this project in Congress. We hope to get your support.”

James frowned slightly.

Hawke didn't rush and continued to wait patiently.

James glanced at him, suspecting that Hawke knew something. Thinking of the situation that News Corporation would face if the wiretapping incident became widespread, he said, "AI represents the future. We must support it. I can guarantee that at least five congressmen will support the AI ​​Manhattan Project."

Hawke stood up and shook hands with James, and the two reached an agreement and tacit understanding.

The wiretapping of World News Weekly was a spontaneous act by two editors and three reporters.

These five will pay the price.

At the same time, Jennifer Huey of the FBI Los Angeles office received a response from her superiors.

She said to her assistant, "Notify everyone that the press conference will be held as scheduled."

Chick and Bernardo sent some evidence and key videos.

Jennifer and her people were preparing to go to the press conference.

When they arrived at the first floor, a group of people walked in quickly from outside. The middle-aged black man who led them greeted Jennifer from a distance: "Manager Huey, can we chat for a few minutes?"

Jennifer stopped and asked the subordinate who had stopped the black man to let him go: "Please tell me if you have anything to say. I'm busy."

Townsend is from the Department of Homeland Security and is also the director of Los Angeles: "You caught a spy? This case is also under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security. According to the Homeland Security Act enacted in 2002, we have the right to intervene."

Jennifer sneered: "Why, you want to pick peaches?"

Townsend came prepared: "We can work together on the case."

"No need." Jennifer refused directly: "The Counterespionage Act clearly stipulates that the FBI has priority in handling the case. The victim reported the case to the FBI. According to the regulations, you have no right to intervene."

Townsend has no intention of giving up: "This is good for both of us."

Jennifer said, "Have your supervisor communicate with my supervisor. If my supervisor sends a formal letter, I will comply with the instructions."

This is impossible. The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security has weakened the authority of the FBI, and the two sides are not in harmony.

Townsend still showed no sign of leaving.

Jennifer didn't look at him, but said to Chick and Bernardo, "You stay and personally guard the criminals in the espionage case. If anyone dares to attack the branch office, I authorize you to open fire in defense." Chick and Bernardo both stayed.

Many fully armed FBI agents appeared in the lobby on the first floor.

Townsend's face was dark, and he waved to his subordinates: "Let's go."

…………

At the Coast Building, Hawke and James reached an agreement.

Edward knocked on the door and came in, reminding, "The FBI's press conference on the espionage case has begun."

"Let's play it on the projection screen." Hawke invited James: "Let's watch it together?"

James said, “Okay.”

The FBI press conference will be broadcast live on Twitter via video.

The press conference started on time at 10 a.m.

With approval from her superiors, Jennifer Hughey announced that the FBI Los Angeles office, based on intelligence from Twitter, had uncovered a major espionage case that seriously endangered the national security of the United States and had disclosed the case in due course.

Eugene Kropov, an assistant to the chairman of the BlackRock Film Foundation, a subsidiary of BlackRock Investment Group and a Russian immigrant, worked with Chairman Anderson and Vice Chairman Haas to plan a wiretap and theft operation targeting an important technology of Twitter. They were caught red-handed by FBI agents.

The FBI then presented a series of evidence.

Including letters between Eugene and Russia, records of phone calls with Moscow, a collection of Russian books, etc.

Although the press conference did not state it explicitly, all the evidence points to Russia.

The relationship between the two countries is extremely complicated.

None of the journalists present raised any questions.

Years of media propaganda, including the widespread dissemination of various film, television and literary works including those from Hollywood, have shown that the Russians are America’s enemies.

This kind of news also meets the needs of the media, with hot spots and traffic.

After a brief briefing on the case, the press conference ended.

On the Twitter side, James said goodbye and left. On the way back, he called the editors-in-chief of many of Twitter's media outlets and asked them to follow up quickly. The tone of the reports was mainly "BlackRock was involved in a espionage case."

He then called two old friends.

BlackRock Investment Group has always supported the Democratic Party. Both people from the Office of the Director of Intelligence and the National Security Council are on the red side. They said they would pay close attention to this incident and speak out when necessary.

Hawke returns to his office and has Caroline issue a stern statement.

The statement was directed at BlackRock Investment Group.

Twitter's legal director Richard Wilson said in an interview with the media that Twitter will pursue this incident to the end.

Twitter and News Corp's print media have been guiding public opinion.

Since it involves foreign spies, many blue-leaning media have also reported on it.

Countless media outlets across the United States followed suit and reported the incident frantically.

"BlackRock involved in Russian espionage case" quickly made headlines.

Hawke sent Twitter's public relations director, Hearst, and two other special advisers to Washington to do some preliminary work.

Twitter's legal advisory team also filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of Twitter in the Los Angeles District Court, demanding that BlackRock be held accountable and compensate for the commercial losses caused by the exposure of Twitter's key business projects.

The Los Angeles City Government and the California State Government have also expressed their close attention to this incident, claiming that they will never allow any person or group to harm national interests.

At the White House's regular press conference, the head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy made it clear that Twitter's AI Manhattan Project had been filed as early as January and was of great significance to the development of science and technology and intelligence in the United States. It was originally planned to be put into the review process of Congress, but now it has to be changed.

Twitter's technical director, Haaland, issued a statement saying that Twitter had just discovered the existence of spies and was not sure how much content had been leaked. The AI ​​Manhattan Project, which was expected to invest $350 billion, had to make adjustments.

Later, people from the Office of the Director of Intelligence and the National Security Council were interviewed separately about the incident, saying that this was a serious leak that must be investigated strictly.

Several congressmen and senators also expressed their concern about the case.

Public opinion is almost one-sided.

BlackRock is also struggling. Some people in the Department of Homeland Security are seeking to jointly investigate cases with the FBI. Some people in Washington say they have never heard of the so-called AI Manhattan Project. Some famous Hollywood directors believe that the development of AI will lead to the extinction of mankind, and so on.

Co-President Robert Capito spoke exclusively to CNN.

"BlackRock is closely following the Twitter case and cooperating with the FBI's investigation. I can guarantee that BlackRock is a legitimate investment company and has no involvement with Russia. The so-called wiretapping is the behavior of a few individuals and cannot lead to the so-called leak." (End of this chapter)