The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 386: Plea Agreement

[Chapter 386: Plea Agreement]

Los Angeles, FBI division.

Chick drove back into the office, urging his team to take the evidence they had gathered to the evidence room.

He took the elevator up and entered his supervisor's office.

Jennifer Huey was sitting on a recliner, asking, "Did you find anything?"

Chick elaborated, "We thoroughly searched Eugene's house and found a ton of evidence. There were over a dozen letters exchanged between Eugene and Moscow, as well as several Russian books that could be used as spy code texts. We also looked into his communication records and found that he had contacted the Russian embassy and made phone calls to Moscow."

Jennifer praised him, saying, "Well done."

Both of them understood that this sort of behavior was typical among the Russian immigrant generation.

But when necessary, it served as solid evidence.

Eugene was involved in the espionage of critical Twitter tech secrets, posing a threat to a strategic plan filed with the Technology Policy Office. What else could he be other than a Russian spy?

Jennifer was interested in this case not just because Hawke was an ally but also because it offered her personal benefits.

Having just taken over as the head of the FBI's Los Angeles office, cracking a major espionage case would solidify her position.

Moreover, fabricating a Russian spy case also aligned with the interests of the FBI.

The newly minted tsar from Russia aimed to get closer to America, but America only saw him as a fool and thought the idea of gaining a status equivalent to Britain, France, and Germany was wishful thinking.

Europe belonged to America, not Russia.

America had long expelled Russia from its European membership.

For America to truly trust Russia, the tsar would have to completely sabotage himself like Ukraine, destroy strategic weapons, and break apart the vast territory into dozens of countries that would then wage war against one another, killing each other off.

...

Just after Chick left, Bernaldo walked into the office with the interrogation records, handing them to Jennifer and stating, "Eugene has reached a plea agreement with us."

Jennifer was a bit surprised. "That quickly?"

"He has one condition," Bernaldo said naturally as an enforcer. "We found out through background checks that Eugene has a sister in New York who is currently attending New York University. I threatened him that if he didn't plead guilty, his sister would be deported. I also told him that many young Slavic girls who got deported often went missing."

The latter statement was true, and Jennifer had seen records on that.

Bernaldo continued, "Eugene has reached a decent position at BlackRock and should have heard of such cases. His sister is very attractive, and once she's deported, her future wouldn't be good. Therefore, he requested that his savings go to his sister to help her complete her education."

"We can grant that," Jennifer said, knowing that her objective, like Hawke's, wasn't about one person, but rather the nature and outcome of the case.

She thought for a moment, "I will file a request to headquarters soon for special protection for Eugene's sister, temporarily keeping her out of the public eye."

This way, Eugene would be completely under their control.

Bernaldo nodded. "I'll go have another thorough conversation with him."

...

Once he left, Jennifer took out her phone and called Hawke, updating him about Eugene's situation.

Hawke immediately responded, "Send me the information on his sister; I'll dispatch someone to New York overnight to ensure her safety."

Jennifer shared the details.

...

Bernaldo soon reached an agreement with Eugene, who would admit to being a spy and had conspired with BlackRock executives Haas and Anderson to orchestrate the espionage case involving the theft of Twitter's AI technology.

---

In New York, it was deep in the night, but the BlackRock headquarters in Manhattan was still lit up.

In the office, Chairman and CEO Larry Fink hung up the phone.

Across from him, co-President Robert Kapito asked, "What's the situation over in Los Angeles?"

A half hour earlier, the finance head of the BlackRock Film Foundation had called to report developments in Los Angeles, leaving Fink and Kapito baffled, knowing only that Anderson, Haas, and Eugene were involved in an espionage case and had been taken by the FBI, even without access to their lawyers.

Kapito had some understanding, knowing that in a case involving a hostile enemy to America, regular lawyers couldn't intervene.

Fink said, "Los Angeles has gathered extensive intel. It seems the FBI arrested a lot of people near the Twitter headquarters at Coast Tower during the day."

He expressed his concern, "Could there have been complications with their espionage plan?"

Kapito wasn't hopeful. "We should prepare for the worst."

Following his lead, Fink considered the worst-case scenario and said after a moment, "You should reach out to our connections within the FBI to find out exactly what happened. I'll contact my old friends at the Department of Homeland Security since they have the authority to intervene in this case."

Kapito added, "Have the people over in Los Angeles launch a financial offensive..."

"No, let's keep a low profile over in Los Angeles," Fink said, as he was planning to support the social media companies in Silicon Valley and push the Federal Trade Commission to initiate antitrust lawsuits; their targeted action against Twitter had already peaked.

He realized, "Los Angeles has turned red; we can't operate from here anymore."

Kapito agreed, "That makes sense. They're launching a political campaign, and so should we."

Thinking of the various tactics employed by the FBI, Fink was genuinely worried. "What about Haas, Anderson, and Eugene's families? Where are they? Get someone monitoring them immediately."

BlackRock, after all, was an investment firm with no preparations for such issues. Kapito said, "I'll send people to investigate right away."

---

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Just as BlackRock was busy, a Mercedes left a high-rise apartment in the Upper East Side and sped toward LaGuardia Airport, the closest airport to Manhattan.

Inside the car, James Murdoch asked his female assistant, "What time can we apply for the quickest flight? We need to be in Los Angeles by dawn tomorrow!"

The assistant, just finishing a phone call, hurriedly replied, "The flight crew has secured the route and is currently conducting pre-flight checks. We expect to take off in about 35 minutes."

"I see," James calculated ways to calm the situation down.

The assistant questioned, "Why are we in such a rush?"

"Remember, don't underestimate a rapidly growing company, especially its leader," James recalled his encounter with Hawke at the Fox annual party and added, "Especially since this person and his media network have practically turned California red."

The assistant refrained from asking further questions.

Last year's election saw News Corporation siding with George Walker Bush, and James was positioned to understand many things that others didn't.

California was one of the key states in determining outcomes.

And in California, besides Fox News, Twitter and Hawke Osment along with Brian Ferguson also played pivotal roles.

Now, the fools at World News Weekly still viewed the emerging power of online media through the lens of traditional media, naively thinking it was nothing, even managing to locate the spy operation directly at Twitter.

They did it and got caught red-handed.

James was acutely aware of Hawke's capacity for mischief, realizing he wasn't just a troublemaker but had Twitter, a massive media platform at his disposal.

He needed to rush over to calm the situation, which was just part of the reason.

Another part was that if they were captured and held, it could trigger a chain reaction.

James was currently overseeing numerous print media outlets in both the UK and the US and understood well that espionage was not an isolated incident among News Corporation's media but widespread.

Executives, including himself, commonly accepted this news channel's existence.

James took out his phone again, dialing Hawke's number, but like last time, it was busy.

The car arrived at the airport, driving straight into the private plane terminal.

After boarding the plane, James dialed Hawke's number again, this time getting through.

"Good evening, Hawke. I hope I'm not interrupting you," James said politely while introducing himself. "This is James Murdoch; we spoke at the Fox annual party."

...

At Coast Tower, Hawke was settled in his office suite for the night.

Surprised by James Murdoch's call, he contemplated the intentions behind it.

"Of course I remember; we talked about traditional media and the development of new media," he replied.

James chuckled, "That was a pleasant conversation. I had intended to buy you a drink, but my father sent me off to the UK shortly afterward, and I've only recently returned."

He got to the point quickly. "I just got back to New York and heard from my team about the incident with World News Weekly. This was entirely the actions of my staff, and I have to apologize for that."

These matters weren't resolvable with a simple apology. Hawke's tone was calm. "The law will render justice for Twitter."

James put away his smile. "I'm currently on a private plane heading to Los Angeles, and I'll arrive by early morning. World News Weekly made a mistake and will definitely pay the price, but before we hold the paper accountable, please allow me the opportunity to meet with you in person; I come with sincerity."

Hawke had begun forming thoughts and responded, "I will be waiting for you at Coast Tower in Santa Monica tomorrow morning."

James replied, "I'll be there on time."

Hawke promptly hung up the phone.

...

Edward, on the other end, finished the call and approached, saying, "Jennifer called; the FBI reached an agreement with Eugene."

Hawke smiled. "Great, as long as this Russian first-generation immigrant admits to being a spy, the other two can't clear their names."

Things escalated to a higher level, and Edward struggled to keep up with the line of thought. "Russia won't admit to it..."

Hawke chuckled, "Of course, Russia won't admit it. Whether true or false, they won't own up to it."

He took out a secure satellite phone, moved to the window, and dialed a number. Once connected, he stated, "It's me. I have a new task for you."

...

In Costa Rica, in the coastal city of Limon, the newly established Hurricane Security Company, Bosque hung up the satellite phone and called for an assistant.

"I remember a guy who's fluent in Russian and a Ukrainian who's very hostile to Russia. Bring him in; I have an important task to assign to him."

*****

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