The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 399: Femme Fatale

[Chapter 399: Femme Fatale]

Upon returning to the room he had booked at the Marriott Hotel, Larry Fink had just settled down when his assistant approached him. "Sir, the investment manager of Donald Trump has called, notifying us that they are canceling the investment partnership due to issues with their funding chain."

Robert Kapito's face tightened. "Another one!"

Before the assistant could finish, he added, "As of ten minutes ago, the company's stock price has fallen by 8%. The Montana-based Double Mountain Mining and the Silicon Valley company, Sentinels Network, have suspended our financing discussions, claiming the risks are unmanageable."

This spy case was particularly deadly, as it severely damaged BlackRock's reputation. The secondary market stock prices continued to drop, and several financing deals in the primary market were halted.

Fink steadied himself and said, "We're facing a crisis, but our foundation remains strong; there's no need to panic."

He looked at Kapito and said, "I will arrange to speak with Hawke Osment."

Kapito replied, "If his conditions aren't too extreme, let's agree to them temporarily until we can catch our breath..."

Fink understood that during a crisis, support was in short supply; people were practically hoping for BlackRock to collapse. In times like these, survival required struggle.

"Find a go-between, preferably a political broker, someone they won't easily refuse. Get in touch with Hawke Osment," Fink instructed.

Kapito sighed, "Previously, the high-profile supporters we had in California, like Willie Brown and Speaker Nunez, have all fallen due to the Ackerman family's case. The new Newsom family doesn't want to get involved in the Russian spy case."

At this point, Fink realized that the situation in California wasn't simply deteriorating for BlackRock -- it was dire. He regretted not following the advice to withdraw the BlackRock Film Foundation.

After some thought, he instructed his assistant, "Get Hawke's contact information; I'll call him myself."

After some effort, the assistant managed to secure Hawke's cellphone number through Hollywood connections from BWR Public Relations. Fink personally called Hawke, and they scheduled a meeting for the next morning at Coastal Building.

---

As night fell, the neon lights on Sunset Boulevard lit up. Russell led Lola out of the Avalon Bar and said, "My car broke down, and I took a cab here. Mind if I catch a ride with you?"

Lola tucked her brown hair behind one ear and smiled at Russell. Russell shrugged his shoulders.

Lola grabbed him, saying, "Get in the car."

They climbed into a champagne-colored BMW while Lola drove west along Sunset Boulevard. Russell sat in the passenger seat, responsible for giving directions.

After about ten minutes, they stopped below an apartment building. Russell got out first, holding the door open, and invited, "Want to come up for a cup of coffee? I have some beans from Brazil, freshly ground; it tastes amazing."

Lola hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Alright, I'll come up for a coffee."

...

They went up together and entered Russell's apartment. Russell had planned this all along; he turned on the TV, which was broadcasting Fox 11 news.

He really went to grind coffee beans. Lola glanced at her own figure and then at Russell grinding the coffee, unable to comprehend. Who would come up just for a cup of coffee!

With no remote handy, she had no choice but to watch Fox 11. Before long, the channel switched, and Ace News began.

Russell came over with two cups of aromatic coffee, along with sugar cubes and milk, and sat beside Lola. Lola added some sugar and milk; however, her thoughts weren't on the coffee. With hot coffee in front of her and no way to downplay the moment, she could only gaze at the TV screen.

Having lived undercover in Los Angeles for eight years, Russell was no longer the iron-willed spy he once was. He had conformed somewhat to a normal person's life, so his adaptability had diminished. He stuck strictly to the plan he had set.

The segment on Ace News discussed the latest revelations about the BlackRock-Russian spy case, inevitably mentioning Twitter.

The TV show served as prime conversation fodder. Russell said, "This case has been unfolding publicly, and it looks like BlackRock is about to sink deep into the mire."

Twitter paid Lola, and the compensation was considerable. Naturally, she stood on Twitter's side. "Luckily, the company discovered it early; otherwise, the entire Manhattan AI Project would have leaked, leading to incalculable losses for Twitter."

"That's a huge investment project?" Russell inquired.

Lola didn't know much and was reluctant to discuss confidential matters. "I heard it had been in the works since last year."

"After running for so long, if it was stolen, the losses would surely be substantial." Russell looked at the TV, where Twitter had revealed compensation amounts: "$3.3 billion! That's an unbelievable claim."

Lola's mind wasn't on the money, as she engaged in casual conversation, waiting for her coffee to cool off before taking a few sips.

Seeing Russell sit idle, Lola's patience wore thin. Finally, she lunged at him.

Russell wanted to protest but was quickly silenced by Lola's kiss. It was a direct attack on his senses. After eight years in the colorful nightlife of Los Angeles, Russell was no longer the iron-man spy he used to be; he chose to give in to his desires.

...

The next morning, neither of them had yet to wake from their slumber when Lola's phone rang.

She quickly opened her eyes and fumbled for her phone, answering urgently. After hanging up, she told a startled Russell, "There's an issue with the transmission from a server. I need to head to the office right away."

"It might be a line problem. I'll call someone to come in, and then I'll head over, too," Russell replied.

Lola rushed into the bathroom to freshen up, got dressed, grabbed her bag, and hurried out of the apartment without looking back.

Watching her leave, Russell suddenly felt as if he had run into a femme fatale. He too hurriedly left the apartment while calling a technician from his team on his way down.

---

At Coastal Building, Hawke arrived early. Not long after he started work, Edward walked in, saying, "Larry Fink has arrived. I had someone bring him to the meeting room on the first floor."

"Let's go meet him," Hawke replied as they both headed down to the public meeting area.

Larry Fink had met Hawke once before and approached him for a handshake. "Good to see you again."

Hawke gestured, inviting him to sit. "Make yourself comfortable."

Fink settled into a single sofa and stated, "Recently, there have been some misunderstandings between Twitter and BlackRock, leading to the current situation; our companies are not enemies."

Having had their share of conflicts, Hawke wasn't holding back. "Where were you when that car filled with explosives nearly crashed into me in Covina, and mercenaries started shooting at me?"

He chuckled, "Where were you when your subordinates were stealing Twitter's most crucial business and technological development plans for the next decade?"

Fink frowned, now better prepared for the challenge of the day. "I don't want to call it a misunderstanding about the Covina incident. Those responsible have faced consequences, and as for the spy case, BlackRock had no knowledge of it."

As if he believed the spy case wasn't engineered by him, Hawke bore a dubious expression. "Really?"

Fink said something he himself didn't believe: "I strongly suspect that the Russian factions were aware of the conflict between BlackRock and Twitter, purposefully implanting a spy in BlackRock to incite internal strife within America."

He emphasized, "Our two firms represent entirely different political factions, which could stir internal discord in America..."

Hawke raised his hand to interrupt Fink, saying, "Let's put that aside for now. A senior employee from BlackRock, one who has already been apprehended by the FBI with irrefutable evidence and confessed, along with two individuals coerced by this spy, have caused substantial losses to Twitter through wiretapping!"

Fink expressed his sincerity. "BlackRock can compensate Twitter for its losses."

Hawke looked at him in silence.

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Fink continued, "The entire BlackRock Film Foundation could serve as compensation for your company. While it has limited funding, it has invested in several Hollywood films, including a $90 million investment in New Line Cinema's The Golden Compass."

Hawke thought to himself, that's quite a significant investment; how much could they actually recover?

Was the boomerang coming back to hit him? Had he dug his own pit that would ultimately bury him?

Hawke shook his head slowly.

Fink understood that BlackRock needed a moment to breathe and suggested, "BlackRock is willing to compensate $300 million in order to settle out of court with your firm."

Hawke responded, "Twitter's demands are clearly outlined in the lawsuit."

As Fink was about to say something more, the meeting room door was knocked and Edward quickly walked in, saying, "There's an urgent matter."

Hawke glanced at Edward's discreet gestures and understood the matter was quite urgent. He immediately said, "You should seriously consider Twitter's legitimate demands; I have to attend to something urgent, so I can't see you out."

He quickly walked towards Edward, and they exited the meeting room together.

At that moment, a supervisor responsible for the reception came in.

Fink, with a blank expression, said nothing and quickly left Coastal Building.

---

Just ten minutes earlier, Lola, accompanied by her tech team, had spent some time successfully resolving the slow issue with a server.

An assistant had brought her breakfast.

After returning to her office, Lola hurriedly finished her breakfast and opened the internal office software on her computer, drafting a written report on the incident to send to her director, Harland, and the operations director, Caroline.

Once she sent the email, she casually clicked open her inbox and quickly skimmed through unread messages until her eyes landed on a highlighted notice.

It was a notification jointly issued by the chairman's office and the operations director's office, directed at all managers and above.

Lola opened the notice again, which reminded management not to leak key content related to the Manhattan AI Project and the Russian spy case.

Most people, including Lola, would find it hard to keep such things under wraps as they were entirely unaware of the specific information.

The notice also stated that if anyone attempted to inquire about related content, they should report it to the security department.

Lola released the mouse, recalling the events of that night.

Was Russell casually chatting about the TV show, or was he probing for information?

She couldn't tell, so she decided to report it to the security department.

*****

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