The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 377: Boomerang Effect

[Chapter 377: Boomerang Effect]

Two refrigerated transport trucks, led by a Rolls-Royce, stopped at the entrance of Twitter headquarters.

Tom Cruise stepped out of the car and said to the security personnel who came to check: "I brought a little something for everyone."

The security personnel quickly notified their supervisor.

Tom Cruise waved for someone to open the side door of the refrigerated truck and started unloading small cakes.

When Hawke came down from the building, the entrance was already piled high with hundreds of cake boxes.

Tom Cruise quickly walked over and gave Hawke a hug, saying, "I prepared a little gift for every employee at Twitter."

Hawke understood immediately, saying, "Tommy's friendship cakes, classic move."

"Exactly," Tom Cruise smiled warmly. "I had these custom made."

He picked up two boxes from the Rolls-Royce and accompanied Hawke back to the office, opening one to grab a cake. "Give it a try; I didn't add much sugar since I know you're not keen on sweets."

Hawke didn't hesitate and took a small bite, saying, "Tastes authentic."

Tom Cruise had been in such a good mood lately: "I've taken care of the costs; we will fully settle everything today, and each participant will get a bonus."

With awards season still a bit away, Hawke reminded him, "Before the awards ceremony, be humble when discussing the Oscars. When talking about yourself, emphasize the challenges you've faced while honing your acting skills and career path."

Tom Cruise nodded, understanding. "I will."

Hawke added, "The rest will depend on luck; may the goddess of fortune smile upon you."

After Jamie Foxx's unfortunate exit, Leonardo DiCaprio stood out as the strongest competitor among the remaining nominees.

Clint Eastwood was also nominated for Best Actor, but the old cowboy focused more on Best Director. The Oscars had never awarded double wins in the top categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director.

Cakes bearing Tom Cruise's name were delivered to every employee at Twitter.

...

Meanwhile, several vehicles marked for cleaning and housekeeping entered the new Twitter office, the Coastal Building underground parking garage, heading straight to the freight elevator.

Campos stepped out of the lead vehicle and directed his team to bring various electronic devices upstairs.

Twitter had outsourced its security to the Butterfly Security Company.

They were officially settled in now.

In the reception area on the first floor, Campos called Edward.

...

When Hawke returned with Tom Cruise, he picked up a copy of Entertainment Weekly, the cover featuring Nicole Kidman.

The title read -- Tom Cruise Is the Love of My Life.

Nicole Kidman expressed her best wishes for her ex-husband, stating he would surely win an Oscar, giving off a vibe of popping champagne for Tom Cruise.

It was uncertain whether Tom Cruise could handle such well-wishing.

...

At that moment, Edward approached, saying, "Campos has people at Coastal Building."

Hawke grabbed his phone: "Let's head to Coastal Building."

After nearly six months of adjustments, the interior of Coastal Building was set up, from office supplies to network lines and server groups -- all adjusted perfectly.

Edward's Mercedes drove directly up to the front entrance of the building.

Hawke got out and entered the spacious lobby, waving to Campos, who was sitting in the reception area.

Campos hurried over, saying, "We've brought both personnel and equipment."

Twitter would soon make the move, but before the official relocation, Hawke had one more job to do: "Make sure to check every office thoroughly, every piece of equipment. Many contractors, suppliers, and technicians have been through here, and it's hard to say there isn't someone with ulterior motives mixed in."

Campos replied, "All the equipment is here; we can start now."

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Hawke waved his hand: "Disguise as cleaning personnel."

"Got it." Campos's team had already been notified and quickly changed into cleaner uniforms, dividing into four smaller teams, springing into action.

...

Hawke headed to the chairman's office on the top floor.

This office came with an assistant work area, sufficient for a twenty-person team.

There was also a separate meeting area, lounge, and small conference room.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in the office, he could gaze out at the vast Pacific Ocean.

Hawke recalled six of Twitter's long-time employees to assist him with daily tasks.

These six individuals all had families and children and were known for their strong execution.

...

Next, Hawke went to the server room in the center of the building, where Harland was overseeing a group of technicians adjusting the servers.

Beginning this week, Twitter would fully engage with the new server group.

Harland approached Hawke, saying, "When are we going to have a supercomputer? With a supercomputer, many design and development issues would be much simpler."

Hawke had spoken with experts during the ceremony in Washington a few days earlier and said, "IBM is developing a new generation supercomputer; we also need to secure funding. Don't rush; we will have one soon enough."

This wasn't just wishful thinking; the first federal cash subsidy for Twitter had already arrived, totaling $120 million.

The remaining amounts would follow in due course.

As George Walker began his second term, new economic development plans had been rolled out, with Twitter's media endpoint and AI development included in the agenda.

Over these past two months, while stirring up rivalry between the LGBTQ and feminist movements, Hawke was also drafting a new development plan.

The new plan was closely tied to the federal government.

In simple terms, it involved using federal funds to develop Twitter.

Hawke intended to hold a shareholders meeting at Coastal Building after the relocation to discuss it.

...

Edward received a call, "Campos has a situation; he wants you to check it out."

Hawke was already at the top of the building, and as he exited the corridor, he spotted Campos and a few others outside a small conference room.

Campos stopped him from afar and whispered, "We found a listening device in this conference room."

Hawke was not surprised at all: "In the past, we used these to deal with others, now someone is using them against us."

Edward interjected, "Isn't this the boomerang effect?"

Hawke glanced at the three technicians, all dressed in cleaning uniforms, and asked, "Did you move anything after finding it?"

Luis, who came from Mexico and previously did communication support, replied, "No, we found these, and we were still cleaning. We only left after a while, discussing cleaning matters the whole time."

Campos asked, "Should we eliminate it?"

Hawke considered for a moment before shaking his head: "No, let it stay for now; you all continue."

Luis led the other technicians to keep "cleaning."

Hawke instructed Campos: "Make sure to check thoroughly; if you find anything else, note the specific location and room number, then report back to the Savior."

Campos nodded, "I've already instructed those involved to keep their mouths shut."

...

Before long, Campos received another call: a large conference room on the 15th floor had also had a listening device discovered.

Hawke told Campos to handle it.

The inspections were done meticulously, especially in key areas like the offices of Hawke and other management personnel, employing a double-checking method.

By the end of the day, three conference rooms had been found with listening devices.

...

In the main conference room on the top floor, three different models and installation techniques of the devices were discovered.

After Campos inspected them, he reported to Hawke: "It seems like three different parties installed these."

Edward bluntly remarked, "It feels like there are many people trying to take us down."

Hawke agreed: "We are industry leaders; even if we don't do anything, we'll have plenty of enemies."

He didn't say the latter part, Twitter has offended a lot of people.

Such an outcome was inevitable; to be at the top of commercial competition, numerous rivals had to be either overtaken or eliminated.

Campos stated, "These listening devices have a maximum range of only 1,000 meters. The receivers should be quite close."

Hawke approached a window and looked around.

Throughout Silicon Beach, Coastal Building was the tallest building. Gazing out, he could see most of Santa Monica at a glance.

Hawke said to Edward, "Take note of this."

Edward quickly pulled out a pen and notepad.

Hawke instructed, "Purchase a batch of signal jammers that can at least block eavesdropping and recording interference; all critical departments and conference rooms should be equipped with them."

He then turned to Campos: "Is there a detection device that can perform reverse tracking based on signals from listening devices or lasers and infrared signals? Given that the effective distance of the listening devices isn't far, we need to find them."

Campos replied, "Some listening devices remain in standby mode; they might only activate after Twitter relocates."

Hawke thought for a moment: "There may be someone inside cooperating."

Campos responded, "That's highly likely."

"Let's not alert them for now," Hawke pondered for a moment before saying, "While we eliminate external threats, we also need to root out the mole within."

Twitter had been on a significant hiring spree, and even with strict screening, some undesirable elements might still slip through.

Hawke said, "You all keep searching; I'll find a way for the rest."

...

This was the advantage of having powerful allies, and Hawke directly called Jennifer Huey.

After the election, with the former aide officially retired, Jennifer Huey took over as the head of the Los Angeles FBI field office.

Counter-eavesdropping and counter-espionage were under FBI jurisdiction.

After a short period, Jennifer Huey, accompanied by two trusted subordinates, quietly entered Coastal Building.

Hawke explained everything in detail to her and stated his demands, directly asking, "Can you handle this?"

"Are you kidding me?" Jennifer shot him a disdainful look. "The FBI is the expert in this area."

Hawke said, "I'll quietly report it; let's keep this low-key for now."

Jennifer was straightforward: "I'll set up a dedicated team."

*****

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