America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 229 Boasting Bigger Than Anything

As Martin left the Lincoln Memorial, his phone beeped with a text message. He took it out and glanced at it; it was from Lily.

"Another reporter contacted me asking about you, apparently trying to dig up your scandals. They said they're from the News of the World. You'd better give me something in return, or I'll reveal all your secrets, like your relationship with Elena..."

Martin replied with a text message: "I understand."

Bruce then came over from the side, also holding a phone, and asked, "Ivan said that recently some reporters have been contacting people at the club, asking about news related to you, trying to dig up your dirty secrets of murder and arson."

"I received it too." Martin shook his phone and sighed, "Why do people always try to smear their own heroes?"

He asked, "Which newspaper's reporter?"

Bruce said, "Ivan had someone inquire about it, the News of the World."

Martin thought the name sounded familiar and intimidating, and it was the same company Lily had mentioned.

Martin thought for a moment and asked, "Which newspaper is this?"

Bruce knew a bit about it: "The weekend edition of The Sun." He specifically pointed out, "The Sun is particularly good at digging into private matters, and its standards are quite low."

Martin nodded: "Tell those two to watch out for their tails."

"You're about to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and your fame and influence will skyrocket." Bruce pulled out his phone and sent a text message, saying from a professional perspective, "If you were to fall headfirst from this height right now, man, the news coverage would be absolutely explosive."

Martin suddenly stopped and said, "I feel like something's not right." He turned and walked away, saying, "Let's go back to the hotel."

Bruce chimed in: "Another scumbag trying to mess with you?"

"Could you use a more elegant word?" Martin complained, but what he thought of was different from what Bruce had said.

The names The Sun and the News of the World kept swirling in Martin's mind, reminding him of some vague memories, as if the latter had used many unscrupulous means to obtain news.

The two got into the car, and Martin said a few words to Bruce.

Back on the 12th floor of the hotel, Bruce entered his suite, took out his specially made infrared device, and carefully checked all the rooms before saying, "No problems for now."

Martin said, "Don't let your guard down, think about Atlanta."

Bruce opened his suitcase, took out his laptop, hid it somewhere, and then set up two small cameras, which were pointed at the door and filmed in a crisscross pattern, covering almost the entire living room.

He then concealed it, making it difficult to spot without careful searching.

Martin felt safe again.

…………

In the hotel lobby, Alex, White, and Albert checked in and took the elevator to the 11th floor together.

They had done things here before and knew the hotel layout. After exiting the elevator, they checked the emergency exits before going into their room.

"Boss, Martin Davis lives on the 12th floor." White had already checked: "Suite 1206, with a male companion."

Alex glanced at the time: "Make a call and have someone come over."

White made a phone call, and shortly afterward there was a knock on the door, and a hotel staff member entered the room.

"Hey, Wolf," Alex said, shaking his hand. "Another big deal has come knocking."

Wolf had worked with them more than once: "Who are you targeting this time?" He belatedly realized: "The recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?"

Alex retorted, "What, scared? Don't worry, it's not Greenspan, it's Hollywood star Martin Davis."

Wolf relaxed: "Not today. He showed up after noon, came back more than two hours ago, and hasn't gone out since."

White asked, "Did you find a woman?"

"No." Wolf knew what they wanted to ask: "I heard from the lobby manager that he exchanged contact information with Kate, a reporter from the Washington News. You should have heard of her; she's a famous socialite, and her belt is loose."

Alex understood what he meant: "Very good! If Kate goes up to the 12th floor, notify us immediately." He added, "Wolf, the reward this time will be no less than last time. Find a way to get into Martin's room."

Wolf said, "Today is going to be tough. He probably won't go out. It would be better if it were tomorrow morning. Martin is going to the White House for the Independence Day celebrations, and the hotel's attention will be on the Independence Day events. Also, in previous years, those who received the medals always came back extremely excited and did a lot of outrageous things."

Alex nodded: "Contact me immediately if anything happens."

Wolf left quickly.

Alex then said to White, "We have professional ethics; we can't just write things out of thin air. There must be plenty of high-class escorts around here, right? Contact an agent and have him prepare a good one. If Martin and Kate don't do anything, we'll create a big news story ourselves."

White and Albert didn't see a problem; they were from the News of the World, and their job was to do creative work.

…………

July 4th is U.S. Independence Day.

On this day, Washington will host a variety of celebrations, the most notable of which will be the Independence Day celebrations on the South Lawn of the White House.

At 8:30 a.m., the four Carter siblings finished breakfast and sat together in the living room of their new home, waiting for the live broadcast of the celebration.

In another nearby community, even though Justin was on vacation, he didn't stop working. He called the Washington branch and asked them to prepare the appropriate Coke and gifts, and send someone to deliver them to Martin's hotel after the medal ceremony.

Commercial promotion and marketing are ongoing at all times.

On the South Lawn of the White House, thousands of people sat in an orderly fashion. As in previous years, the White House invited a large number of people working in essential industries, military families, and others to participate in the celebration.

Martin sat in the second row, with Ali and his daughter at the same table, as well as several sports stars whose names he couldn't recall, probably celebrities from the golf or rugby industries.

The highlight of the celebration was, of course, Bush's speech, in which he focused on Iraq and called on all Americans to be determined in the war against Iraq.

Then came the commendation.

Someone came over to remind him, and Martin followed the others to the side of the stage.

Soon, it was his turn to go on stage.

"Martin Davis, a 24-year-old, directly saved 16 people and indirectly saved dozens more at Burbank High School."

Brooks turned his gaze to the side of the stage, landing on Martin, and said loudly into the microphone: "Martin displayed extraordinary courage and audacity in the face of the horrific massacre, reminding us of the morality and responsibility we bear when confronting all forms of evil!"

He led the applause: "Martin Davis deserves this honor!"

On the south lawn, thousands of people applauded enthusiastically.

Martin approached the podium, greeted the crowd, and stood ramrod straight with a solemn expression.

Little Brett took the white enamel five-pointed star-shaped medal from the ceremonial officer's tray and hung it around Martin's neck from behind.

Martin was awarded a medal for the tragedy, so when he stood in front of the microphone, he didn't say much, only a brief and somber statement: "May the dead rest in peace, may evil be banished from this world, and may God bless America."

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause once again.

Little Brooks came over and shook hands with Martin, saying, "Seeing you reminds me of my youth, when I was fearless and unstoppable."

In the spirit of mutual flattery, Martin couldn't be outdone: "Mr. President, I've heard you served in the military; you must have been an outstanding soldier in your youth."

Little Bu laughed: "I've been promoted to lieutenant through merit."

The two stood side by side, allowing the media reporters below the stage to take photos of them.

Atlanta, Carter's new home. Lily watched the live TV broadcast, wondering, "Why do I think Martin looks more handsome now?"

Like many young Americans, Harris looks down on the White House official: "Because there's a pig next to him to make him look good."

Hall muttered, "He's such a good actor."

Elena glanced over, and her younger sister and brother all shut their mouths.

Martin stepped down and returned to his seat in the second row.

…………

Hilton Hotel, 12th floor.

Under Wolf's direction, White and Albert pushed the service cart and turned into the corridor from the freight elevator.

The hotel was exceptionally quiet during the day, with only the sound of their footsteps.

The two stopped in front of room 1206, looked around, and saw no one. White took out his room card, swiped it, and entered the room.

All their movements were observed by the person behind the peephole diagonally opposite.

White closed the door, took out the miniature camera hidden in the cart, and changed the decorations in the room.

Albert leaned against the door, peering through the peephole to observe the activity outside.

After finishing the living room, White went to the master bedroom and said, "Don't worry, the celebration won't end so soon. The head is in the hotel lobby, and they'll let us know as soon as they get back."

Albert urged, "Hurry up."

White laughed: "This time you've got some explosive news, the bonus is in good shape. Where are you planning to go for some fun?"

At this point, Albert perked up: "Las Vegas!"

White had a rather unique idea: "I'm planning to go to Tijuana; I've heard that the red-light district there is quite something."

He was used to doing these things and finished the installation quickly.

Albert called out to him, "Let's go, let's go!"

After cleaning up the few remaining traces, the two left the room and headed towards the freight elevator.

Just after they entered the elevator, someone in the corner secretly glanced at the floor the elevator had stopped at, and then made a phone call: "11th floor."

Albert and White quietly returned to their room and called Alex.

Not long after, Alex came upstairs and asked, "All done?"

Huai nodded: "It's done."

Alex opened his laptop, clicked a few times on the desktop, and the screen of the upstairs suite appeared. He nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad. Let's wait and see. If there's no news, we'll create one for him."

Albert said, "Today was the peak of Martin Davis's life, and now he's fallen from that peak to the bottom. I wonder how that feels."

The three of them laughed at the same time.

Alex pointed to the trailer and their clothes: "Wolf will take them away later."

…………

The White House celebration ended before 11 a.m., and people began to leave.

Martin met up with Bruce and waited for Jonathan to drive over.

Bruce said in a low voice, "I just received a message from the hotel that someone impersonated a 12th-floor waiter and entered our room."

He spoke very quickly: "It's certain there are three of them. Murphy has opened a new room in the same building and is keeping an eye on them."

Martin nodded and began to consider a solution.

Jonathan drove up and let the two of them get in.

Martin didn't get in the car. Instead, he walked to the driver's side and said, "John, I've run into a situation that might be very complicated."

Jonathan said, "I'm just a White House staff member, there's nothing I can do."

"It may be related to the President of the White House, and it may also jeopardize the country's reputation." Martin started by exaggerating: "The three gunmen in the Burbank High School incident were Russians. One of them had a grandfather who was the leader of a large gang in Russia. After the shooting, the LAPD cleaned up the Russian influence in Los Angeles and obtained important information from it. That grandfather was preparing to take revenge on me because his grandson was the one I shot in the head with a Coke and died from his injuries."

Jonathan listened attentively, though his expression remained blank.

Martin continued, "I was worried about retaliation, so I hired two bodyguards to protect me secretly. Just over half an hour ago, they discovered that two tall white men had entered my suite posing as hotel staff."

Jonathan was moved: "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" Martin said seriously. "I'm worried that if the Russians want to retaliate against me, what if they plant explosives? Or use firearms or something? Those polar bears are all crazy! It's best if it isn't, but if it is, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"I need to report this to my superiors, please wait a moment." Jonathan picked up the walkie-talkie.

A few minutes later, he led Martin and Bruce into an office.

A tall, middle-aged man came over and shook hands with Martin: "I am Brian, a senior director of the White House Secret Service."

Martin shook hands with him: "Hello."

A female staff member then came over and led Brian aside, whispering, "Supervisor, I've contacted LAPD, and Mr. Davis's situation with Russia is true."

Brian realized the seriousness of the problem. Martin Davis had just received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. If he were killed by the Russians, what face would the United States have left?

Another bombing or shooting incident occurred in Washington, D.C. on Independence Day...

Brian then approached Martin: "Can your bodyguards pinpoint their location?"

Martin said, "On the 11th floor."

Brian reported this to his superiors again, and the White House took it very seriously. Bush personally called the FBI.

An elite team quickly set off and arrived near the Hilton Hotel.

Someone contacted the hotel's senior management.

…………

It was almost noon, so Alex ordered food from the hotel. As a highly professional journalist, spending long hours waiting for news was a basic requirement.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door: "Sir, your lunch has arrived."

White went over, looked through the peephole, saw a waiter pushing a food cart, and opened the door.

The waiter turned and ran.

A stun grenade flew over White's head and landed in the room with a loud bang.

In a dizzying moment, White collapsed to the ground, vaguely sensing many people stepping on his body and rushing into the room.

White was in so much pain he felt like he was going to vomit blood. Before he could even open his mouth, a hard leather boot landed on his face, and his high nose immediately tilted to one side.

Alex and Albert screamed in agony.

The former was hit in the head by the butt of a shotgun, and his face was covered in blood.

The latter was pinned to the ground, with a huge knee kneeling on his neck.

"Don't move!" a furious shout finally rang out: "FBI!"

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(End of this chapter)