America 1982-Chapter 569 - 121: Before the Battle

Before formally declaring war on Fox in Los Angeles, Tommy made a special trip to the KeyBank headquarters in the New York World Trade Center to meet with Jim Manzi. He mentioned that it had been a long time since they had a massage together and he wanted to relax one last time before his vacation ended.

After some thought, Jim figured Tommy was probably not lying this time because his preparation work should indeed be almost done, and there was no need for him to come all the way here just to trouble him.

Having not seen him for a long time, Jim still had that ruffian and frivolous appearance. As Tommy lay on the massage bed next to him, enjoying the masseuse’s essential oil massage, he cursed at him, "You’re spending a fortune under the guise of business hospitality to set up a massage room like this, with a sauna, bath, and professional massage equipment at the headquarters? Jim, you should know, the President in the White House only secretly uses a personal phone to call a high-class lady for some relaxation; you’re doing this so blatantly here... oh~ lighten the pressure a bit, my waist is a bit sore, thank you, miss, your technique is really fucking professional."

Enjoying the massage from his long-time friend Julia, Jim, with his eyes closed, said, "When officials from a bunch of African countries or representatives of some United Nations organizations come to our headquarters after a long flight and want to relax their sore bodies, what should I do? Should I send them to Brooklyn to find a girl for eighty bucks a session and catch the fresh New York syphilis to take home as a gift for their families?"

After finishing, he reached back with his hand, searching and grabbing Julia’s wrist as she was massaging his back, and said ingratiatingly, "Of course I need to arrange a very formal relaxation massage, just like now. It also helps Julia’s small business make a bit more money, and seeing as I’m helping to attract customers, I assure you Julia will give me a freebie."

"I can, but the staff massaging Mr. Hawk can’t do it for free, and remember the tip has to be generous," Julia said with a laugh as she swatted away Jim’s hand, continuing with her work.

After the massage ended, Tommy, wrapped in a bath towel, stretched his limbs comfortably and sat down on a soft chair to light a cigarette. Jim, after paying a generous tip and receiving a farewell kiss on the cheek from Julia, walked over and sat down next to Tommy to say, "If Murdoch makes American dollars, hurts American feelings, wouldn’t the incumbent Republican government not allow him to do as he pleases?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"That’s what Charles said," Tommy replied, opening a can of beer and taking a gulp. The cold beer going down his throat made him let out a refreshing breath of alcohol.

Jim picked up the phone on the side and gave a few instructions to his secretary outside, postponing the arrangements he had made. After hanging up, he continued, "Murdoch couldn’t possibly do that. Without the support of the Republican Reagan Government, he would have been knocked down a long time ago in America. He couldn’t stand on his feet here. How could he possibly choose the wrong side at this time and do some stupid things that hurt American feelings? He has already sworn in and become an American citizen. The guy is really talented. First, he was Australian, then British, and now American. Wherever the money is, that’s the country he belongs to."

"He won’t hurt American feelings in the future doesn’t mean he hasn’t hurt them before, just like what he did to those politicians in Australia and England before. We don’t care whether Murdoch is a pure American in the future, but he definitely wasn’t before, just like you said, he was Australian, he was British," Tommy said.

Jim took a big sip from a juice box with a straw, then leaned his head back against the chair, gently touching his somewhat bloated belly. "I’ve already figured out why you decided to mess with Murdoch in the first place and drive him out of America."

"What else could it be, of course, it’s because Tommy Hawk loves the United States of America," Tommy said righteously.

"Right, it’s because this land cannot tolerate two people who love it so much, one has to be driven away," Jim burst out laughing upon hearing Tommy’s answer.

Tommy laughed as well when he heard Jim’s words.

On his occasional moments of leisure, Jim had pondered why Tommy would trouble Murdoch. For this, he had learned a bit about Murdoch, and the more he knew, the more he found the question interesting. He felt the answer was exactly what he had just said – there cannot be two Murdochs in America, or, to put it another way, there cannot be two Tommys.

The first time he saw information about Murdoch, he even wondered if Tommy was Murdoch’s illegitimate son since the similarities between the two surpassed those between Tommy and his own father, Colin.

For instance, most fundamentally, both men had a penchant for marrying the same type of woman. Murdoch’s second and current wife, Annie Tova, with her white skin, blonde hair, sea-blue eyes, perfect features, and naive personality, used to be a happy little-known reporter. Most of the time, her news reports couldn’t be published because they always contained her uniquely naive yet ineffective commentary as a young girl.

Until one day, the newspaper editor suddenly realized she seemed to have had an epiphany, understanding how to be a real journalist. The articles she submitted were sharp, efficient, and her critiques were to the point, winning the newspaper several Australian news awards. Just as everyone was puzzled, the then thirty-six-year-old Murdoch, who had just become king of the Australian media empire and had divorced his first wife, appeared before everyone, hand in hand with the nineteen-year-old female reporter.