Chapter 166: Another Tape

[Chapter 167: Video Tape Again]

The living room of the villa was momentarily quiet.

Hawke and Erica, as a young couple, shared a strong sense of political awareness shaped by their respective backgrounds, keenly aware of the cruel and dark sides of societal competition.

Erica stated, "As a small cop, I can't investigate these cases."

Hawke proposed, "Let someone stubborn lead the way."

"Since I lead a small task force, I'm responsible for my team's safety." Erica never considered endangering her colleagues. "If they can't find anything, that's fine. But if they uncover something, their safety will be in jeopardy."

Hawke slightly shook his head, "No, that's not what I meant."

He simply stated, "I plan to send Kristen Johnson and Jessica's information secretly from out of state to the Fox network."

Erica asked, "Your friend Megan Taylor?"

"Her rival, Gretchen," Hawke thought aloud. "Media under News Corp tends to be very bold. Gretchen has been with Fox for years; even if she doesn't dare investigate herself, she might submit the data to higher-ups upon receipt. It all hinges on whether Fox has the courage to confront deep blue."

Erica grasped his plan: "Using Fox's knife to test the waters?"

Hawke elaborated, "Currently, the red and blue factions are clashing over the governor's race; this might become a breakthrough point."

Erica pondered for a moment, "Should I mention this to my grandfather?"

Hawke shook his head, "Not yet. We need someone to take the lead in weathering the storm, and Fox fits the bill."

"True," Erica agreed with Hawke's viewpoint, "Fox and News Corp are both massive; they can easily handle this level of pressure."

Hawke interjected, "I'm starving. Let's make dinner together. We still have plenty to accomplish after."

He turned to Erica, "Do you have uniforms and gear over there?"

Erica replied candidly, "Knowing you like them, I've specially ordered a batch."

Together, they headed to the kitchen; as Hawke prepared dinner, Erica donned a fresh chef's outfit.

Dinner had become anything but typical.

...

The dazzling lights of Las Vegas illuminated the night.

Having applied makeup, Campos donned gloves, arriving on the edge of the city. He located a mailbox, free of surveillance, and dropped off the mail.

This package was directly sent to Gretchen at Fox News.

Campos hurried off, meandering until he got into a rented Volkswagen sedan and drove toward the city center.

Near the MGM Grand Hotel, he made a call.

Rick Salomon's acting career was more a game; after his father left Warner, he hadn't played any roles again. Yet he had moderate fame among professional poker players.

As long as one was willing to pay, detailed information on characters like him wasn't hard to obtain.

Campos wasn't in a rush; he found a place to stay, waited overnight, and received a more detailed fax about Rick Salomon in his hotel room.

People like Rick Salomon, when dubbed 'professional poker players,' were merely professional gamblers.

There were ups and downs in this profession.

Campos discovered that Rick Salomon was quite the lowlife; his breakup with Paris Hilton stemmed partly from her maturing beyond the gullible eighteen-year-old, and also from his underhanded use of her funds to gamble.

While media labeled Paris as a frivolous heiress, she wasn't entirely void of intelligence.

Young, wealthy, and indulgent, Paris reveled in her celebrity status.

Rick Salomon had faced poor luck in finances over the past two years.

Campos also obtained Rick Salomon's number. He connected through an intermediary, reaching out to Rick Salomon, pitching a lucrative business deal that could involve hundreds of thousands.

They agreed to meet in MGM Grand's cafe.

...

At 10:30 in the morning, Campos arrived at the MGM Grand, entering the cafe to quickly spot the hat-clad Rick Salomon.

Upon seeing the Mexican man sporting a beard, he asked, "Are you my contact, Vidal?"

"That's me." Campos displayed a fake press badge for Salomon to see, stating, "I'm Vidal from World News Weekly, here from New York to meet you."

Salomon was surprised, "A reporter? You guys want to interview me? I'm up for it."

Campos lowered his voice, "Not exactly. We want to gather information about significant news."

"What news?" Salomon didn't consider himself notable within professional poker -- money was all that mattered: "If you want me to provide news, you'll have to pay."

Campos spun a tale, "While in New York, I heard from an East Side socialite that Paris Hilton once got drunk and revealed to her and a few close friends that she filmed several tapes during her time with you. She's been worried about those tapes leaking."

This incident nearly slipped Salomon's mind; however, it jogged his memory of their trip to Paris, where they filmed quite a few tapes together.

Campos scrutinized the expression on his face. "Looks like there indeed are some."

Salomon acknowledged, "Yeah, she wanted it filmed... No, wait, she demanded we film it. It wasn't my decision."

He worried they were sent by the Hilton family: "Come on, when a woman requests, how can we men refuse, right?"

Campos agreed, "I need exclusive video rights."

In a sense, Salomon was this era's golden boy, having a peculiar draw to younger women.

But such people didn't care about women; Salomon directly asked, "How much can you offer?"

Campos answered, "A hundred thousand dollars."

Salomon grinned, "Are you kidding? I was the male lead, and she was Paris Hilton."

Campos said, "I haven't seen the video yet, so I'm unsure of its content. If it's just kissing and hugging, it's not worth even five thousand dollars."

"The content is along the lines of an adult film, I assure you," Salomon thought about it and confirmed that he was right: "There are scenes of me fucking her directly, and scenes of her blowing me..."

Campos said, "You name your price."

Salomon thought for a moment and said, "One million dollars."

They began negotiating, ultimately settling on a figure of eight hundred thousand dollars.

However, Campos insisted that when the footage aired, Salomon's image should remain uncensored.

Salomon confirmed he had no issue with this; he could appear directly when the video dropped, possibly sparking jealousy among men nationwide.

Who knows? Perhaps it could revive his acting career.

To Salomon, it seemed like a bragging right.

Campos didn't agree to pay upfront, maintaining that payment would follow once he viewed the footage.

Salomon led him to his place, retrieving the camera they had used, setting it up to show the footage on the computer.

Campos was quite satisfied with the video.

He swiftly drafted contracts through his law firm that day, securing exclusive rights for eight hundred thousand dollars.

He made several copies right away, carrying the original back to Los Angeles.

One copy was sent to Butterfly Consulting, while another was shipped directly to Twitter.

Once he finalized everything, Campos called Hawke, updating him on the situation.

...

In Los Angeles, upon hearing Campos's report, Hawke replied, "The day after tomorrow, send someone over to sell the footage to Twitter. The process will be the same as before."

"Got it. I'll be back by tomorrow," Campos confirmed.

Hawke hung up, heading to the operations department to find Caroline.

He asked, "How is Will Smith's traffic holding up?"

Caroline forced a smile, "In less than two weeks, it's mostly stabilized. In Hollywood, scandal gossip fades quickly."

She glanced at the data sheet: "The number of new registered users per day has dropped to fewer than 100,000, and daily active users are below ten million now."

Hawke nodded, "Online traffic has always been like this; it surges quickly and reverts just as fast."

Caroline continued, "Tomorrow, there's a press conference at the Parker Center. Are you going?"

"You can attend; I've already coordinated with them over there," Hawke explained.

Using his connections with Mary Ferguson and Suzy, he established cooperation between Twitter and the LAPD.

Connections were indeed a form of resource, and he intended to make use of all opportunities.

Caroline inquired, "Should I represent the company at the press conference?"

Hawke acknowledged, "Soon, you'll be the company's operations director."

This was no empty promise.

Caroline understood this too, her excitement evident as she beamed brighter than a sheep entering a slaughterhouse. "I'll do my best!"

She pondered for a moment, then asked, "Boss, any new hot news coming up?"

"Something is brewing soon," Hawke replied, keeping his cards close. "Once the buzz from the Parker Center dies down, we'll have new hot news on our hands."

Caroline envisioned her millions a year's salary ahead of her, "That's wonderful! We can make a big push!"

...

The following day, in downtown Los Angeles,

Caroline represented Twitter, signing an exclusive online partnership agreement with Suzy, the head of LAPD's media and public relations office, in front of numerous media witnesses.

LAPD would activate their official Twitter account, utilizing it to issue announcements via the internet.

That same afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced at their preseason conference that they would fully cooperate with Twitter, launching an official Dodgers Twitter account.

Famed saint Steve Nutt attended the press conference while also announcing his personal Twitter account, sharing updates about his life with his Black son through the platform.

This drew many fans and media to register accounts on Twitter, even some outlets proactively contacted Twitter to ask for their accounts for official verification.

Meanwhile, Caroline had successfully negotiated the new video tape rights.

*****

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