The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 97: Gun and Rose
In front of Ethan Studios in West Hollywood.

Hawke stopped his car by the roadside, looked at the license plate of the red car in front of him, got out of the car, walked to the passenger seat, and gently knocked on the window.

Jacqueline, who was putting on makeup, waved to the passenger seat, put her things in her bag, and got out of the car quickly.

"Follow me." Hawke waited for her to follow him and reminded her, "The first investor of this project is the director's girlfriend. Don't be petty in front of the director."

Jacqueline was not stupid, and quickly said, "Can you wait for me a little longer?"

Hawke waved his hand: "Go ahead."

Jacqueline returned to the car, and when she came out again, she had taken off all her makeup and even changed her clothes. She looked much less worldly.

She asked Hawke, "Is this okay?"

"This way." Hawke led her into the studio and directly to the door of the director's office.

As the crew prepares, this place is no longer as quiet as before, with many people coming in and out.

Hawke also saw Kevin Lee dealing with Miller Collins, but he did not meet the other party directly and Kevin Lee did not know him.

Eric's assistant saw Hawke and came up to him and said, "The director is waiting for you."

Hawke led Jacqueline into Eric's office, introduced them to each other, and said directly: "This is my friend. She is very interested in the acting industry. You can see if she has talent in this area."

Eric first asked his assistant to take Jacqueline to the audition room to familiarize her with the environment.

After everyone left, he asked, "Boss, is this your girlfriend? Or lover?"

Hawke made it clear to avoid Eric's misunderstanding: "She and I have no relationship in that respect. We met at work and she helped me a little. She dreams of becoming an actress. If she's still okay, find her a small role that won't affect the crew. If it's not suitable, just tell me. You're welcome."

Eric thought for a moment and said, "There is a role that is okay, but it's a prostitute, and the scale is a little bit exaggerated."

Hawke couldn't help but look at Eric, thinking, have you called Jacqueline's clock? He didn't care: "You do it as you see fit."

Eric pulled out the role script from the filing cabinet: "Sit down for a minute, I'll go audition her."

Hawke borrowed the script Eric was writing to look at.

This is a rough outline. The protagonist is a paparazzi who lives in the lower class of Los Angeles and wants to stand out...

Not long after, Eric came back and said to Hawke: "Although she has not studied acting professionally, I think she is okay."

He was a little puzzled. “I asked her to audition for the main part of the role, where she uses a pole to seduce a client. Frankly, she played it really well. It was quite like Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies.”

Of course, professional players can't be bad. Hawke nodded slightly: "As long as it's suitable."

Eric said: "The actor can't negotiate the work contract directly with the crew, she needs an agent."

Hawke's Nokia phone rang with a text message alert: "The crew will help deal with it."

He helped introduce her to the crew, and Jacqueline had to rely on herself afterwards.

Hawke opened the text message on his phone. It was from Erica Ferguson.

Just one sentence: I'm back to Los Angeles.

"I have something to do, so I'll leave first." Hawke said, left Eric's office, and dialed Eric's cell phone number.

Erica's clear voice came from the other end: "Hi, Hawke, I'm back from New York."

Hawke said, "After being gone for so long, I thought you were going to be an East Coast girl."

"Those Yankees on the East Coast are boring and uninteresting, just a bunch of little sheep." Erica asked, "What about you? Are you working?"

Hawke said, "I have nothing to do today. Do you have time? Come out and take a walk."

Erica agreed immediately: "Okay, I just got back and don't have to go to work yet, so I have time."

Her suggestion was different from that of other girls: "I haven't touched a gun for a long time. I remember that you are a very good shooter. How about we go to the Ater Mountain Shooting Range and have a competition?"

Of course Hawke wouldn't refuse: "See you at the shooting range."

Ten minutes later, the two arrived at the shooting range almost at the same time.

Erica got out of a Cherokee, came to Hawke with a bag on her back, and said, "You look stronger than before."

Hawke also put on his backpack: "It shows that my long-term exercise has paid off."

The two entered the shooting range and went to the locker room to change clothes.

Hawke's eyes lit up when he saw Erica again.

Her long brown hair was tied behind her head, revealing a heroic face. The belt on her slender waist held a camouflage training vest, highlighting her chest. She wore a pair of high-top police boots and camouflage training pants, like a nimble female leopard.

In terms of appearance alone, Erica is not as beautiful as Megan, but she exudes a completely different temperament.

Hawke joined her in a black training suit and a gun bag.

Erica was quite confident: "Which one? You choose. Let me make it clear that the loser will treat us at noon."

Hawke said, "Outdoor rapid shooting, half-body target."

Erica responded, “No problem.”

The two men came to the outdoor area and selected a shooting range, and the safety officer followed them.

He saw that it was Hawke and Erica, and said, "Are the two masters going to compete?"

Erica looked at Hawke, a little surprised: "What happened during the time I was in New York?"

Hawke walked out of the cabin, took out the magazine, checked the pistol, and said, "I often come here to practice shooting, and occasionally compete with others. They think I am a very good shooter."

"He's a first-rate shooter," the security officer said. "He's not only good with guns, but also with slingshots."

Hawke loaded the magazine: "Me first?"

Erica said, “Okay.”

Hawke entered the shooting range, and after the safety officer shouted "start", he quickly held the gun with both hands and walked quickly forward.

Half-body targets stood up one by one, and he fired rapidly. Amid the sound of gunfire, the targets fell down quickly.

The magazine was empty, and Hawke replaced it with a second magazine.

Outside the court, Erica crossed her arms and looked at Hawke with interest.

Within twenty meters, every bullet hits its target.

This guy really is a treasure.

Hawk emptied both magazines and turned back.

The security officer looked at the electronic counter and said, "Another perfect score, man!"

Erica waited until Hawke came over and said, "You're good, but I'm better."

As soon as the security officer said start, she rushed out like a cheetah, moving quickly with tactical movements, and gunshots rang out at the same time.

With every gunshot, a half-man target fell down.

After firing two magazines, Erica returned with an empty gun and pointed to the stopwatch on her wrist: "I hit them all. It took me 3 seconds less than you, so you lose."

Hawke didn't argue: "Okay, I'll treat you at noon."

Erica asked, "Did the security officer just mention slingshots?"

Hawke returned to the cabin, opened the bag on the wooden table, and took out a slingshot: "This one."

Erica took it and pulled the rubber band.

Hawke took out a few steel balls and told her the key points: "Try it."

Erica pulled out the slingshot and aimed at the head of a half-body target in front of her. The first shot missed the target, but the second shot was slightly adjusted and hit with a bang.

Then he fired five more steel balls in succession, all of which hit the target's head.

Hawke complimented him at the right moment: "Beauty, your shooting talent is so good that it makes people envious."

Erica is not modest at all: "My friends and colleagues all say this. I started practicing shooting with my grandfather when I was seven years old."

Hawke took the slingshot she handed back and asked casually, "How many years have you been practicing?"

"Fifteen years." Erica answered smoothly, then came to her senses and said, "I don't need to be so particular, just ask directly. I'm 22 years old this year."

The two men collected their bags and went to get their rifles, each coming back with an AR15.

Hawke and Erica spent the entire morning at the shooting range.

Hawke could see that Erica loved guns.

As it happens, he's also a good gunner.

Two people can play together.

At noon, Hawke invited Erica to dinner at a nearby restaurant.

While chatting, we talked about how we met.

Seeing that she didn't mind talking about these things, Hawke said, "You've been practicing for so many years, no wonder your hands are so steady."

Erica said: "If I am not stable, I might be the one who dies. Who dares to gamble with their life on such a thing?"

She smiled at Hawke and said, "Luckily you took the video." Hawke said, "Why do I have a feeling that even without the video I took, you wouldn't be in too much trouble."

"Although the person who died was a drug addict, he was still a celebrity after all." Erica did not deny this: "The public pressure is too great, I might be fired."

Hawke said: "Patrol officers are at great risk. Guns are rampant. In a common incident, the person involved may pull out a gun."

Erica said, "I am no longer a patrol officer. I will be transferred to the detective bureau." She specifically stated, "I passed the entry assessment of the detective bureau."

Hawke felt that this job was more dangerous, but Erica obviously liked it, and he said, "Congratulations on the promotion."

"My police rank hasn't been promoted yet." Erica asked Hawke curiously, "How about you? Are you busy with work recently? Are you still shooting news everywhere?"

Hawke simply said, "I don't shoot much anymore. My main business here is crisis public relations consulting and business strategy planning. In the past month, I have received two large orders in a row."

Erica asked, "Is it convenient to tell me?"

Hawke could only vaguely say: "Equal rights fighter Steve Nutter, and helping Dwayne Johnson get a leading actor."

At this point, he recalled Johnson's invitation: "After Dwayne Johnson signed the male lead contract with the crew, he planned to hold a yacht party. He invited me and I could bring a female companion."

Erica had attended too many yacht parties since she was a child, so she asked, "Are there any particularly fun ones?"

Hawke was also thinking about this when he made the invitation just now. Erica's hobbies are different from those of other girls. She likes playing with guns and shooting the most.

He quickly thought of one: "When I was a kid living in Wyoming, someone taught me an interesting way to catch fish: shooting fish."

Erica asked, "Bow and arrow fishing?"

"Similar." Hawke gestured with a slingshot: "Slingshot fishing and hunting."

Erica was a big city girl who had played with guns a lot and had also played with bows and arrows, but she had never played with the kind Hawke was talking about, so she immediately became interested: "Let's go buy some tools after lunch."

Hawke, the scheming man, thought more: "I haven't seen anyone selling it, so why not, we go buy some materials and make it ourselves."

If you look carefully you will definitely find this thing.

But when two people make it together and then use it together, the feeling and meaning are completely different.

Erica responded, "Okay, we'll build it ourselves."

After lunch, the two went straight to the nearest hardware supermarket and bought a bunch of materials and tools.

After putting the things in the trunk, Hawke drove in the front and Erica followed behind, returning to Fountain Street.

The studio space is limited and there is no garage, so the second-floor bedroom could have been used as a workshop, but Edward was temporarily living there.

Hawke had a way. He drove the car directly into the parking lot and came to Frank's RV.

Frank got out of the RV and saw Hawke taking something out of the trunk. He asked, "You bought me so many good things?"

Hawke placed the bag on the open space in front of the RV: "I'll lend you the space. We still have electricity."

Erica opened the spacious trunk of the Cherokee and carried the heavy box over. Without asking for help from others, she put on a pair of gloves, picked up a crowbar, pried open the lid of the box, and assembled the workbench inside.

In fact, she has an empty house in the Silver Lake community not far from here, but now is not the time to bring anyone into the house to be alone.

Frank didn't understand what was going on, so he connected the electricity from the Ford RV.

Hawke brought down materials such as alloy plates, high-tensile rubber bands, pulleys, reels, fishing lines and engineering plastic plates.

Hand-rubbing the slingshot is no big deal for him.

The reel is equipped with a leather belt that can be buckled on the wrist, and the arrowhead for fishing and hunting is transformed into a fish dart and connected to the fishing line.

Frank pulled a chair and sat down. He looked at the enthusiastic Erica, then looked at the scheming man Hawke. He really wanted to call him shameless.

But when he turned around and saw the new RV, he endured it again.

For the sake of the new RV, just pretend you know nothing.

Erica went to Cherokee again and brought in a brand new small welder and cutter.

Frank watched as Hawk spent thousands of dollars to make two slingshots.

The couple next to them didn't talk about love at all, all they discussed was machining and handicrafts, but their relationship was obviously getting better and better.

Frank suddenly felt that the savior was a complete blind man. Is this called not being able to pick up girls? Is this called having a gun but not knowing how to use it?
He shook his head: "That idiot isn't even fit to pick cotton!"

There was a crackling sound, and two people began to adjust the slingshot.

Erica kept putting on steel balls and hitting a tree in the distance.

Finally, Hawke's voice came through: "Old man, turn off the power."

Frank went to turn off the switch.

Erica picked up the slightly rough slingshot, buckled the reel on her wrist, and said excitedly, "Let's try it."

Hawke grabbed a bottle of water and pulled her toward the park: "This way."

The two entered the park.

There were not many people around in the afternoon, so Hawke found an uninhabited forest and hung the water bottle on a branch.

When he returned to Erica, he found that she was looking to the left.

Erica motioned for him to be quiet and pointed to a tree.

Hawke saw a pitch-black crow perched on the tree.

Erica was obviously not interested in inanimate objects. She hung the harpoon on a high-tensile rubber band and had already made the aim while pulling the rubber band to the bottom.

After a loud bang, the harpoon pulled the fishing line and flew out like an arrow.

On the branch, black feathers flew everywhere and the crow was directly pierced by the harpoon.

Erica pulled back the line, but the harpoon and the bird were stuck on a branch, so she had to go over and pick them off.

Hawke was sure that Donny's death was not unjust at all because he met Erica.

Erica came back carrying the still twitching crow and said with a smile, "It's still quite powerful."

Hawke said, "Find a place, dig a hole and bury it, so that people can see it and cause trouble."

Erica pulled a police dagger from her pocket and ran to dig a hole under a tree without Hawke's help: "I can solve the problem myself."

Hawke gradually understood her character, and without hesitation, he took out his slingshot and fishing reel, and walked to a distance of more than 20 meters. He glanced at the hanging water bottle, untied the rubber band with the harpoon, and shot the water bottle through with a "puff".

This thing is dangerous.

Hawke retracted the harpoon and fired a few more times.

Erica has buried the crow.

The two went back to complete the next one.

Hawke asked the knowledgeable Frank: "Do you need a license to use this thing to fish in the sea?"

"Of course." Frank reminded: "If you want to hunt anything flying in the sky, running on the ground, or swimming in the water, you need a license."

Erica volunteered, "I'll go get a fishing and hunting license. It's not difficult."

Hawke said, "Okay, I'll leave it to you."

After working until 4pm, Erica was ready to leave. She took a slingshot and said, "I'll use it for practice when I get back."

Hawke said, “Okay.”

Frank took away Hawk's ordinary slingshot and warned: "Put your tools away, it gives me a headache when I see them."

"Put it in my car." Erica went over to open the trunk of the Cherokee, and when Hawke approached, she said deliberately: "I have an empty house in the nearby Silver Lake community. I'll pull it over later."

Hawke tasted the pulling and asked, "Don't you want my help?"

Erica reached out and wiped some metal debris off his face: "I can do it alone."

Hawke nodded slightly, loaded the car and drove her out of the parking lot. Suddenly, he noticed a van coming across the road and Edward was talking on the phone next to the car.

Erica remembered the Savior and pulled over to the side of the road, ready to say hello.

When Edward saw Hawke, he quickly hung up the phone and said, "Boss, I was just about to look for you."

Erica got out of the car and came over: "Good afternoon, savior."

Edward was somewhat nervous when he met Erica, subconsciously worried about the magazine being emptied, so he politely replied and said to Hawke, "I'm ready to move."

Hawke asked, "So fast?"

Edward said, "I rented a warehouse and moved my things to the warehouse. I took my bag and went to Donny's house. Deborah invited me to live in."

Hawke patted him on the shoulder and said, "Let's live in a big villa."

Edward smiled with his big white teeth, opened the door and moved things.

Erica came to Hawke and was confused: "The Savior said he was going to Donny's house? Which Donny? The name Deborah sounds familiar to me."

Hawke said directly: "The Downey you are thinking of, Robert Downey Jr. Deborah is Downey's widow. The Savior somehow got to know her. Seeing that she was living a lonely and depressed life, he expressed some concern. I am not sure about the specific process. The two are together now."

Erica blinked, feeling that something was not right, and an idea popped into her mind.

She shot Downey to death, Hawke made a fortune from the news about Downey, his men seduced Downey's widow, and even moved into the villa that Downey left behind?
(End of this chapter)