The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 423: America’s Shamelessness, Refreshing Perceptions

Yelena, having not been transferred domestically for very long, said, "The shamelessness of Americans has completely changed my perception!"

Dalcy, an experienced agent, responded, "They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals."

Yelena avoided jumping to conclusions and asked the more experienced Dalcy, "Who is more likely behind this?"

"Based on recent media reports, all factions involved in splitting BlackRock's assets could have acted," Dalcy analyzed rationally. "They took advantage of this opportunity to seize large sums from BlackRock, and to prevent retaliation by the major victims, they likely struck early to eliminate risks."

Yelena asked, "Known forces include Hawke Osment's Twitter and Foundation, his girlfriend Erica Ferguson's family, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, and a foundation called PineTree. What kind of organization is that?"

Dalcy had been following the spy case closely and said, "According to confidential latest news, PineTree purchased shares at low prices and donated them for free to a charity foundation. The head of that charity is Hillary's younger brother."

Yelena shook her head, "Sure enough, America's ruling class is full of parasites, even resorting to such tactics."

Dalcy didn't know the truth behind the second Los Angeles spy case but knew the domestic leadership wasn't much better. Worried about reckless actions from above, he warned, "This is an internal American power struggle. Besides official protests and denials, it's best not to get involved. If foreign powers join, they might unite against us."

Yelena, knowing the real situation of the Los Angeles second spy case, regarded orders and laws as serving the ruling class. A careless order from the top could wipe out years of effort below. This wasn't something she could resolve or resist, so she said, "Continue with the original plan and refrain from rash actions. As for... other things, those aren't our decisions."

Dalcy was gloomy. Some of Moscow's political oligarchs were truly capable; some just grovelled to the West. Who knew what absurd measures the latter might take to curry favor.

Yelena sighed, "I will recommend to the ambassador a formal protest through official channels regarding these events."

Dalcy nodded but remained uneasy about a certain tsar's office oligarch in Moscow who could directly command intelligence agencies. He said, "If any orders are too absurd, please make a reasoned stand."

Yelena didn't respond. Once orders are given, they must be executed.

Dalcy understood, packed his things, and left the conference room.

Yelena returned to her office and wrote a report about the matter, submitting it to the ambassador the same day.

...

A few days later, related news appeared in the media. Russia officially lodged the strongest protests to the White House about these events. But nobody cared. The world had protested America too many times.

Americans were used to it. The media only put such reports in obscure corners, making no waves.

Protests couldn't change the result.

The FBI officially released the investigation report on the New York Hudson River helicopter crash. They compiled abundant irrefutable evidence forming a perfect chain and logical closure. The whole truth pointed to Russian spies.

The official announcement was made, and whether people believed it or not didn't matter.

---

Los Angeles, Coast Tower.

The first floor press room swarmed with reporters. Twitter set up live cameras, streaming video and text to the whole network via its website and mobile app.

Hawke, representing Twitter, and Henry Paulson, representing Goldman Sachs, officially signed a financing agreement. They signed, exchanged contracts, then stood before cameras shaking hands.

The scene erupted in applause.

The occasion was not just financing but also expanding shares. Goldman Sachs became third-largest shareholder.

Twitter now had over 70 million active users, with a total market value of $42.5 billion. Goldman Sachs raised $5 billion for investment in Twitter.

After the financing and share expansion, Twitter adopted a dual-class AB stock structure. Class A enjoyed normal dividends and voting rights, while Class B held extra voting rights beyond Class A's usual privileges.

Goldman Sachs's shares were Class A.

Hawke still controlled 54% of Twitter's equity and 76% of voting rights.

Twitter remained under his control.

No interviews were arranged after the signing; once contracts were exchanged, the ceremony officially ended.

...

Hawke invited Henry Paulson and Lloyd Blankfein, who was set to replace him as CEO, to go to the 16th floor to meet other shareholders and attend this year's annual meeting.

Lloyd Blankfein was a self-made man from Brooklyn's poor neighborhoods. He claimed he still hadn't paid off his student loans.

That afternoon, on Twitter's 16th floor, the shareholder meeting was held.

Hawke didn't make any huge moves like at the beginning of the year. While promoting the company's regular development plan, he focused on two areas.

One was the Manhattan AI Project proposal, scheduled for the Congressional Budget Committee vote in October. It concerned the interests of all shareholders, who would fully support the bill.

The other was the continued advancement of the smartphone programs to capture the smart device market.

Executives Harland and Andy Rubin would participate next month in a global conference held by the Joint Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, setting up a global smartphone program alliance.

Twitter would officially launch the open-source Android phone system at the alliance's inaugural conference.

---

Beverly Hills, Four Seasons Hotel.

Acting as the middleman to connect Twitter with the behind-the-scenes Lachendons, with no incidents in between, Harvey Weinstein finally felt relieved.

In the hotel suite, Harvey took out his phone to make a call.

Hillary called, planning to celebrate on Epstein's island and asked him to "invite" several stars from Hollywood.

She specifically mentioned Leonardo.

Harvey forced himself to call Leonardo, noting the guy had gained weight and wasn't as handsome as before. He wondered what special charm made Hillary so attached.

Since they were celebrities, both men and women were invited, but not the lesser-known stars.

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Harvey made a list including Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Charlize Theron, and famous actors James Franco, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon.

Most of these actors were around Miramax, except Charlize Theron, who was harder to invite as she wasn't connected to him.

He included her on the list, mainly because Hillary had invited Stephen Hawkeing to that island. Hawkeing's multiverse remarks had helped the South African woman during Theron's award run, and Hawkeing remained fond of her.

Harvey knew the physics icon studied more than just black holes in the universe.

If Hawkeing went, he wouldn't need to toast the bigwigs like Hillary, just study another kind of black hole.

Harvey called each person, and most agreed.

As for Charlize Theron, he asked Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to put pressure.

After finishing, Harvey thought he should relax and get a woman to come give him a massage.

He picked up the list of actors trying out for a Miramax film project. Although Harvey liked to mess around, he was more particular than many Hollywood bigwigs -- he only liked women.

Scanning the female lead auditions, Harvey found a familiar name -- Jennifer Siebel, who had auditioned for a horror film once before.

*****

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