The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 63 Ackerman Charitable Foundation

In the ranch park, the parking lot is fenced off by trees near the RV, and on the barbecue grill in the middle, the meat is sizzling.

Frank picked up the tongs in one hand to flip the barbecue, and skillfully brushed the sauce on it with the other hand.

Several small square folding tables were set up nearby, and the canvas folding chairs creaked as Hawke stood up.

He opened the ice bucket, took out the drinks and beer that had already been chilled, and asked Erica Ferguson: "Beer or juice?"

"Let me help you." Erica stretched out her long legs, swinging her golden brown ponytail, and came over to help carry the bottles and jars.

The weather was getting warmer, and a layer of white mist quickly rose up as the beer and drinks were put down.

Erica opened a can of beer and handed it to Hawke: "The savior hasn't come back yet?"

"Thank you." Hawke looked towards Fountain Street and pointed at a second-hand commercial vehicle: "People are coming."

The business car turned into the parking lot and stopped near the RV. Edward got out of the car first, then opened a side door. A beautiful young woman in her early thirties got out, holding the hand of a girl who was less than ten years old.

Edward introduced both parties.

The young woman is Nicole, who works at a rescue center, and she is holding her daughter Michaela.

The girl is not very lively and always looks like she is worried about something.

Erica talked to her for a few words, but got nothing back, and whispered to Hawke, "It seems I'm not very good at communicating with children."

"Then keep your distance." Hawke put down the barbecue he had just brought and said, "Try Frank's cooking. He often boasted to me that when he lived in a big house in Malibu, he often held barbecue parties and his barbecue cooking skills were top-notch."

Erica cut off a small piece, tasted it, and nodded, "It's really great. Compared to this, the barbecue my father makes is not even worthy of feeding dogs."

Hawke ate a piece and found it to be truly unique: “I didn’t expect that Frank wasn’t bragging.”

Erica asked curiously, "Frank is a nice guy. What does he do and why does he live in an RV?"

Hawke actually knew very little: "He claimed to be a former Hollywood producer. He divorced several ex-wives and didn't want to pay child support, so he decided to become a vagrant. His old friends sponsored the RV and promised to guarantee his safety."

Seeing the sauce on the corner of Erica's mouth, he took out a napkin and handed it to her: "I'm not sure about the rest. I suspect Frank is not his real name."

Erica wiped her mouth and stopped probing: "Everyone has secrets."

Hawke couldn't let the conversation between them become dull, so he tried to find a topic that would interest Erica: "I want to ask you something. I plan to apply for a gun license. Is it easy to get one in California?"

He seemed very frank: "For my job, a considerable part of my working time is at night. The public security in Los Angeles... I have been in trouble several times. It is too dangerous without a gun as a deterrent."

Erica knew how dangerous some places in Los Angeles could be at night, so she simply asked, "Are you good with a gun?"

"I came from a bankrupt small farm in Wyoming, where there was a lot of land and few people, and people didn't know how to use guns, and the sheep were eaten by coyotes," Hawke said.

Erica said, "Background check, and some classes to attend." She thought for a while and said, "How about this, I have time tomorrow afternoon, so I can go with you."

Of course Hawke would not refuse: "Then I'll trouble you."

Erica clinked the can with him: "It's just a small matter."

On the other side, Michaela actually followed Frank to learn barbecue, and Edward brought Nicole to this table.

The four of them had a pleasant chat.

During this time, Erica asked, "I sometimes deal with rescue shelters. Which one are you at?"

Nicole said, "Ackerman's Charity Shelter in Hollywood."

Hawke couldn't help but prick up his ears at the name Ackerman. He continued, "I often heard Edward mention you. I thought you were near Skid Row."

Nicole turned her head and kissed Edward. "We met when he was handing out business cards in the Hollywood area. It was a romantic encounter."

Edward kissed back: "It was fate that brought us together, thank God."

Hawke couldn't stand these two people and said, "It seems that there are more and more homeless people around the Avenue of Stars."

"If the government doesn't take effective measures, Hollywood will become the second Skid Row." Erica immediately raised the topic: "Rescue stations alone cannot solve these problems, and rescue is becoming commercialized..."

Seeing that Nicole and Edward were confused, she knew she had made the wrong choice of occasion.

Hawke reacted quickly, took over the conversation and asked Nicole: "The rescue station is affiliated with the Ackerman Charitable Foundation?"

"Yes." Nicole said, "I am an employee of a charity foundation, but I am the lowest level employee."

Erica thanked Hawke for helping her out, smiled at him and said, "I saw on the news last time that the Ackerman Charity Foundation donated tens of millions of dollars to help children with leukemia find bone marrow matches." Nicole said, "I'm not responsible for this part. My job here is mainly to help the homeless. Occasionally, a charity foundation will provide free physical examinations for them, and I will help out."

Edward had heard Hawke talk about charity, and he had reminded the Ugly Trio last time, but he had never mentioned it to Nicole. Instead, he praised her: "It is said that many people have been diagnosed with diseases, and Nicole's work has saved them."

Hawke began to understand why Edward was able to handle these lonely divorced women.

Emotional value.

Nicole was just a low-level employee at the foundation, and she felt somewhat accomplished, so she smiled sweetly at Edward, "Some people came back after being cured, and some chose to reenter society and never came back."

Having said this, Frank, who was grilling not far away, suddenly raised his head and looked over here.

Then he lowered his head and continued with the work in his hands.

He's a homeless man now and can't take care of that shit.

Hawke noticed Frank's actions and shouted at him, throwing a can of beer over: "That's enough, come over and chat."

"Finish baking these." Frank glanced at Hawke. This guy was quite interesting. He hoped that he would not do anything stupid.

After the steaks and skewers were grilled, Hawke put the tables together and the five of them sat together, eating meat, drinking and bragging.

During this time, several of Frank's acquaintances joined the people who came to the park for a walk.

The next afternoon, Hawke made an appointment with Erica to go to the Atter Mountain Shooting Range, which is cooperating with the Western Police Department, to submit a series of information, sign up for related courses, etc.

Erica made a phone call and the background check was passed as quickly as possible, and the course training and exams were arranged as soon as possible.

As for live ammunition shooting, it was a piece of cake for Hawke.

After passing the background check, Hawke was able to go to the gun shop at the shooting range and buy a gun.

Erica recommended the Glock 17 and 19 pistols commonly used by the LAPD.

Hawke followed suit and chose a 19 that was easy to carry.

Erica was on the night shift today, so Hawke drove her to the Western Police Station and parked the car in front of the police station to make his presence known.

Gossip spreads at an alarming speed.

Hawk did this for no other reason than it would be more convenient for him to cause trouble in West Los Angeles in the future.

It was getting dark and he was about to go back to rest when Claire, assistant to "Midnight Entertainment" producer Megan Taylor, called.

Claire asked tentatively, "The news didn't air last time. Do you have a problem with us? You haven't come to deliver news for a long time."

Hawke said: "I took a few days off recently."

"Midnight Entertainment" has lacked enough explosive headlines in recent episodes, and its ratings have begun to decline. Megan Taylor was a little anxious and asked Claire to make a phone call.

Claire started to PUA: "You are still young. If you don't work harder and give it a try, how can your studio develop?"

"It's not every day that there's news that's good enough to make the headlines." All the headlines Hawke brought out were true and reliable, but many of them were produced and sold by him himself: "I'm working hard to find news points. Don't worry, as long as the price is high enough, I will definitely give priority to you if I get hot news."

On the way back, Hawke was still thinking about the next piece of news and how to produce it.

The probability of getting an exclusive deal by relying on naturally occurring ones is too low. There are at least thousands of competitors in Los Angeles.

When I returned to the studio, I received a MMS message on my mobile phone.

When Hawke opened it, he found that it was a selfie of Erica in front of a full-length mirror after she changed into her police uniform.

He wrote back: "A beautiful, heroic angel of justice has descended upon Los Angeles."

The cell phone rang, and Hawke thought it was Erica, but when he answered it was a man's voice.

Eric said, "Going to Tracy's gym tomorrow?"

Hawke had just made an appointment for an exam training course today, and said, "I don't have time tomorrow. I have to attend a firearms training course and a live ammunition test."

Eric was stunned: "No way, business war has reached this level?"

“Once you get high enough, you’ll realize this is normal,” Hawke said.

Eric sighed and added, "Johnson is going overseas for promotions, and you don't have time, so I can only go to the gym by myself tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)