The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 248: The Financial Backer]

Such a monumental story would naturally bring tremendous pressure. Cynthia Rosenberg, as the director of Channel 11, couldn't be overly cautious.

In front of Megan Taylor, she made calls to various newspaper media groups continuously.

Print media would take at least until tomorrow to publish; even if they discovered the video, their response would be slower.

Before long, familiar contacts from The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Telegraph responded that they had indeed received an anonymous email, which included footage of the priests and boys.

Cynthia hung up and called the chairperson's office, quickly briefing them on the situation.

Roger Ailes was decisive: the news had already emerged, and with the videos in hand, what was left to hesitate about?

He stated directly, "Fox is a media company with social responsibility."

Cynthia understood, hung up, and looked at Megan, "Get ready."

Confirming the report meant presenting Fox's stance, she instructed, "Be thorough and nail down all the people completely; don't give them any chance to bite back."

"Understood." Megan retrieved her storage drive, saying, "A lot of media outlets may have received the video. I need to hurry; the special edition of Ace News will air at the next hour."

Cynthia agreed, "Sure, you're the deputy director of Channel 11; all channel resources are at your disposal."

...

With no further words, Megan swiftly left the office and returned to the floor of Ace News.

Upon entering the office area, she called, "Department heads, meeting now!"

Everyone followed her into the conference room.

Megan succinctly outlined the situation and played a video clip at double speed, saying, "Aisha, head the Channel 11 live news truck to St. Beatrice Church. I will connect with you live on the next hourly news."

Aisha was the first to exit the conference room.

Megan turned to a bespectacled guy, "Identify the seven individuals in the videos, gathering relevant materials -- especially concerning pedophilia. One's named Victor Salva, previously imprisoned for molesting child actors on set. Dig up news from back then."

The bespectacled man hurried to execute the task.

As Megan issued commands, the team at Ace News sprung into action.

...

Cynthia quickly adjusted their programming, canceling the next hour's news slot for a special Ace News edition.

After the meeting concluded, Megan pulled out her phone and dialed Hawke, "It'll air in the next hourly news."

"I see," Hawke acknowledged before hanging up.

By that point, he had arrived at a villa in Silver Lake.

Erica had come over, having viewed the video.

Hawke informed her, "At the next hourly news, Fox Channel 11 will report it."

"Once media coverage begins, LAPD must respond," Erica understood clearly. "They can't pretend to be ignorant after Fox's story."

While there had been instances of reporting before, the LAPD was always quick to manage PR with the diocese.

Hawke asked, "Are the diocese and LAPD close?"

Erica took the drive, saying, "The Los Angeles Diocese is one of the LAPD's benefactors; in other words, they are among LAPD's many financial backers."

The LAPD was essentially Los Angeles's largest armed organization. When one pays protection money, they naturally maintain their interests.

In contrast, those victims, often descended from illegal immigrants, yielded barely any income to LAPD; instead, they demanded resource expenditures.

How both sides were treated could easily be imagined.

Ultimately, it was about making money.

Hawke fully understood this, stating, "Don't take the lead."

In such matters, charging ahead earned no merit.

Erica nodded, "Don't worry; I'll handle it appropriately."

Hawke walked her to the door.

Erica drove away first.

Hawke called Edward, "Head to St. Beatrice Church."

The two left Silver Lake in an underutilized Cadillac.

On the road, Hawke called Campos and the others.

...

St. Beatrice's Welfare School.

The janitor, Ronald Bain, continued with his routine patrols, visiting the apartment building where the last power outage occurred.

He moved quickly, dismantling all the cameras in the rooms, packing them into a bag, and taking them outside.

Storing the items in his vehicle, Ronald made another call before hopping in.

These were personal valuables, a few pieces he took away every day.

With no ties left, Ronald drove out of the school and headed to the agreed location.

Patting his revolver tucked in the door compartment, he made another call.

Juan walked through a few cars to approach the sedan, opening the passenger door.

Ronald handed over the bag with the cameras to Juan, "Here's your stuff back."

Juan peeked inside before setting it by his feet, "The footage captured will soon be broadcast on TV. Don't return to school or your place; according to our plan, head to the East Coast or somewhere else."

Ronald asked, "Is it that serious?"

To emphasize the gravity, Juan pressed on, "Where did those missing children from the school end up?"

Ronald fell silent, knowing many orphans had gone missing, but he dared not imagine their fate.

Juan produced a black bag, handing it over, "Here's the final payment. Take this money and leave Los Angeles immediately."

Ronald checked the bag for cash and ensured its authenticity before placing it in the glove compartment and stating, "I'm heading to San Diego, then flying to New Zealand. I've always wanted to see Middle-earth."

Juan nodded, "Stay there longer."

"I will," Ronald replied, "I'll keep an eye on the news here."

Juan slung the bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the car, walking away without looking back, quickly disappearing behind a nearby truck.

Ronald thought about the missing children and what he had been involved with, hastily driving out of the parking lot to his temporary place, packing a few personal items, and calling to book a plane ticket, steering toward San Diego.

But instead of heading to New Zealand, he booked a flight to Houston.

Ronald planned to return home for a visit.

Everyone has their own intentions and doesn't always follow the predetermined plan.

...

At Century City, CAA headquarters.

Nicole Kidman handed her purse to Andrea before entering Pat Kingsley's office.

Pat asked, "Why do you have time to come by today?"

Nicole's face was sour, "I stopped by the Four Seasons and decided to chat with you."

Pat suspected, "That fat guy is up to new tricks again?"

Nicole knew she was referring to Harvey Weinstein, "He wants me to massage his stinky feet. He's getting more out of hand!"

The so-called independence after leaving Tom Cruise was all just a publicity stunt.

A star without a background had to suck up to the bosses for opportunities.

"Just endure it for a bit," Pat suggested, knowing no solution, "You had a successful Oscar night; once you achieve significant commercial success again, you can shake him off."

Nicole replied, "May God bless you."

Then she recalled something, "You still go to St. Beatrice for Mass? I've switched there, too."

This struck a sensitive nerve in Pat, "Why did you suddenly change churches? I haven't attended St. Beatrice in a while."

Nicole didn't understand, "Why not?"

"Just don't like it anymore," Pat didn't reveal the real reason.

Just then, the phone at her desk rang.

Pat answered, and her assistant conveyed, "We just received word from Fox; in ten minutes, Channel 11 will broadcast news involving CAA."

"Ten minutes?" Pat reacted with displeasure, "Does PR know what's going on?"

The assistant replied, "They're still discussing; they say it involves a sexual assault incident."

Pat assumed the matter related to one of CAA's clients, considering the kind of scandals Hollywood stars often found themselves in.

She picked up the remote control, turned on the office television, and tuned into Channel 11.

Nicole also focused on the screen.

As the hour struck, Channel 11 did not air its regular newscast but instead cut into a special edition of Ace News.

Megan Taylor appeared on the screen, her serious demeanor indicating a major societal event had occurred.

She mentioned St. Beatrice Church, priests, children, Hollywood, and abuse among key phrases.

Pat stood frozen on the spot.

Nicole was intrigued.

Ace News then played several video segments, and although the sensitive areas were obscured, the activities were still distinguishable.

One featured Janet Kim, an agent from CAA.

The segment focused mainly on the two priests and the well-known director, Victor Salva.

On the screen appeared the photos and detailed profiles of the two priests.

Alongside, Megan Taylor's voiceover stated, "Our station captured details from St. Beatrice Church's clergy bulletin, identifying Father Michael Baker and Father Stephen Wise as the priests who closely resemble those in the video."

The scene flickered briefly before showing newspaper clippings and old video news segments.

Megan continued to narrate, "Victor Salva, a director from Hollywood, assaulted child actor Nathan Winters during the filming of Clownhouse in 1989. He was later apprehended and sentenced..."

Pat felt her heart race: it seemed... it seemed she was missing from the report?!

But her relief was short-lived as the broadcast played two more audio clips, one of which was the recording she had previously heard.

Involved in that recording were three individuals: Pat Kingsley, Father Michael Baker, and a boy.

Megan had already discussed this with Hawke.

After the audio clips finished, she said, "Pat Kingsley is the founder and partner of PKM and also a partner at CAA, currently acting as the manager and publicist for Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman."

Hearing this, Nicole's already sour expression turned even darker, and she shouted, "Damn! Why mention my name? What does this shit have to do with me? I'm not a pervert..."

She couldn't finish her sentence as she watched Pat become visibly uneasy, slipping off the couch to land on the floor.

Although Nicole wasn't innocent by any means, the look she cast at Pat at that moment was filled with contempt.

*****

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