America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 205 Honorary Citizen and Medal of Freedom

Burbank Middle School, front entrance.

The LAPD alert has been lifted. Since dawn, Los Angeles citizens have come to lay flowers and mourn the victims.

A very ordinary Volkswagen parked on the side of the road. Martin got out of the car holding a bunch of flowers. He walked to the campus gate with a heavy face, took off his sunglasses, and placed the flowers in the mourning area.

Like others who presented flowers at the same time, he observed a moment of silence towards the campus.

Many people around looked at him, and many recognized Martin.

An old white-haired woman walked towards Martin with open arms, and Martin hugged her gently.

"Don't be too sad, kid. You've done a good job." The old woman comforted Martin: "May God bless each of us."

Martin separated from the old woman, his expression solemn, his eyes red, and he seemed still immersed in grief.

Others came over, shook hands with Martin, hugged him, and offered words of comfort.

"You've done your best."

"Kid, you're a hero."

“No one can do it better than you.”

Martin remained silent, as if he was about to be crushed by heavy pain.

Such places of mourning with flowers are of course inseparable from media reporters, who use their cameras to record everything that happens.

A reporter came over to interview him, but Martin politely declined.

Martin walked towards the car, leaving his back to the camera.

The back is slightly hunched, as if he is carrying the weight of the entire Los Angeles.

The Volkswagen drove away, and many entertainment reporters and paparazzi followed it.

Soon, the car stopped in front of a famous psychological clinic, and Martin, accompanied by his agent Thomas, entered the clinic.

"No matter how strong a man is, he can be weak sometimes." A female reporter said to her assistant, "I hope he doesn't have any mental problems."

After taking the photos, the slightly lewd assistant maliciously speculated: "Isn't this just an act? In fact, he has nothing to worry about. He is very happy because of his sudden rise in fame."

The female reporter said: "He saved 16 people! No matter what you say, it can't change this fact."

Of course there was nothing wrong with Martin's psychology, but Thomas was worried and asked him to come and see a psychologist. Considering the practical needs, he just chatted with the psychologist for a few minutes.

Thomas received a call, and when Martin came out and got in the car, he said, "The company just received a call from Coca-Cola headquarters. Coca-Cola wants to invite you to be the North American spokesperson."

Bruce, who was driving, couldn't help but laugh: "Coke cult!"

"You can talk about it, but don't make it public right away." If the news is made public now, it will give the public the illusion of taking advantage of others' misfortune. Martin reminded him, "What I have done is high-profile enough. You should be a little more low-key in life."

Thomas understood what Martin meant: "Negotiations won't happen so quickly. This is just a preliminary contact. It will take some time to reach an agreement. I'll go with you to Atlanta to shoot a movie in a few days, so it's a good opportunity to negotiate with Coca-Cola."

Of course Martin would not refuse Coca-Cola. With the current posture of the Coca-Cola Cult, he would demand at least a seven-figure endorsement fee.

Everyone says he is a hero in Los Angeles, but the hero of Los Angeles doesn’t even have a house in Los Angeles.

Bruce checked the time and turned on the car radio.

The Bush classmate in the White House will give a televised speech at 10:30 a.m. on the Burbank High School incident.

…………

White House Press Room, Washington.

Brad Pitt spoke sadly in front of the camera, saying that many families experienced the most terrible nightmare yesterday, and the national flag was lowered to half-mast in mourning. He promised that the authorities will take more forceful measures to protect the safety of campuses and teachers and students.

When a reporter asked about gun control, Xiaobu directly said: "In fact, what I can do is not as much as Martin Davis did. He was able to knock down the gunman and save 16 people, and I can't do anything except pray and mourn."

Another reporter said: "Grief and prayers cannot stop bullets."

Bush found the best excuse: "Martin Davis prevented the tragedy from expanding." He forced a change of subject: "I am very pleased to see a hero like Martin Davis stand up. He is a young man who represents the hope of America. I suggest that he be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom!"

This is the highest civilian honor in the United States, awarded annually by the President.

Reporters' attention immediately turned to Martin Davis, and they stopped asking difficult and meaningless questions about gun control.

After the press conference, the White House forwarded Martin's information to the Committee on Distinguished Civilian Service, which nominated a list of candidates and Bush made the final decision.

…………

In a villa in Los Angeles, Julie watched the live news on TV and fell into deep thought.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is almost the highest federal honor a civilian can receive. Bush dared to mention it at the press conference, not just to ride on Martin's popularity, but really intended to do so.

After all, it is a medal approved by the President.

Julie was a little envious. How nice it would be if she could get this thing. It would fit in with the path she was going to take, to show off her style outside of movies.

How many actors in Hollywood have received this honor?
Julie thought about it carefully, she could only remember two people, one was Audrey Hepburn, the other was the black actor Sidney Poitier. The phone next to her rang, it was Brad Pitt calling.

"Hi, tonight? Is your wife away?" Julie's eyes were still fixed on the TV. The TV news was once again showing the scene of Martin's heroic rescue yesterday. For some reason, she suddenly felt that Peter on the other end of the phone was boring. She made up an excuse: "I have an important script discussion tonight and don't have time to go on a date. Let's talk about it another day."

Pete on the other side was very disappointed, but he didn't force it.

Julie put down her phone, picked up the remote control and started changing channels. Martin's name and image could be seen on almost every news channel.

Unless something major happens, Martin and Burbank High School will continue to be prominent in the news in the coming days.

Julie watched the news video of Martin swinging a Coke bottle to smash the gangster. She unconsciously picked up her phone and dialed Martin's number. After the call was connected, she smiled and said, "Teacher Martin, I'm your student Angie. Are you free today? I have a lot of questions I need to ask you."

Martin's schedule for the day was full, so he declined, "Sorry, Angie, I'm very busy today. After what happened yesterday, there are a lot of troubles that need to be dealt with."

"It's okay." Julie said with a smile, "When you have time."

Someone was talking on the other end, so he hung up.

Julie glanced at her phone and put it on the sofa. She couldn't get any of Martin's warmth for a while.

Originally, she wanted to take advantage of Martin's passion to ignite herself.

Julie stood up, walked to the window, picked up the newspaper, and the first person she saw was Martin.

Martin is everywhere.

Julie calmed down and told herself not to be anxious. "Wanted" was about to start filming, and as a student, she had plenty of time to ask Teacher Martin for advice.

…………

Two days later, Los Angeles City Hall.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom has not yet been determined, and even if it is determined, it will not be awarded until before Independence Day.

But the honor, bestowed by the city of Los Angeles, was quickly confirmed.

In order to control the direction of public opinion, the Los Angeles City Hall and City Council awarded Martin himself as quickly as possible.

Martin, accompanied by Thomas, attended the memorial service at City Hall Square.

LAPD public relations specialist McLean has been with Martin.

Before the event officially started, Martin and McLean were interviewed by TV stations including the Los Angeles Times, Warner TV, CNN and NBC on the side of the rostrum.

After three days of silence, Martin finally spoke a few words, providing an assist to the LAPD.

His voice was very soft and hoarse, which made people think of excessive grief: "I have always wanted to express my gratitude to the LAPD, but I have had some psychological problems in the past few days and have been unable to talk or communicate with people."

Many reporters present had seen Martin see a psychiatrist.

Martin said: "With the help of the doctor, I gradually recovered and finally I can say thank you to LAPD. My companions and I were trapped in the corner of the corridor by the gunman. At the most critical moment, it was LAPD who rescued us."

McClain, who was following him, immediately responded: "No, it was Martin who saved 16 people, subdued two gunmen, and cooperated with the LAPD to kill the last gunman. The LAPD should express gratitude to Martin!"

As for the tragedy, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Martin and the LAPD all deserve credit.

The memorial service began soon. After a moment of silence, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa took the stage to speak: "For the past three days, the entire Los Angeles has been immersed in grief..."

He talked a lot, and then wiped his tears as he spoke.

The top movie stars are all in politics.

Grief is not the theme of this event. Villaraigosa added: "We must not forget every victim, every injured person, every traumatized person and family, and we must not forget those who helped Los Angeles. Martin Davis, an ordinary actor, an ordinary young man, faced the gun of the gangster, he bravely stood up and saved 16 people. He is a hero, a hero of Los Angeles."

The mayor raised his head, facing the sunshine, as if he saw hope: "In that dark time, Martin Davis was like the sun! Los Angeles will always remember Martin Davis. On behalf of Los Angeles, I award him the title of honorary citizen!"

Villaraigosa said, "Martin Davis please!"

McLean pushed Martin, and Martin walked up to the podium and took the golden key symbolizing honorary citizenship from Antonio.

There was warm applause throughout the square.

The public had seen the video, knew what Martin had done, and they believed their own eyes.

Martin held the golden key and came to the microphone that Villaraigosa had given up, but what he said was: "Sorry, I tried my best..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he burst into tears: "I... I'm sorry, I can't go on..."

Having said this, Martin turned around and walked off the stage.

There was silence in the square at first, and then someone shouted: "Martin, you are awesome!"

"You should be proud!"

The sound was instantly drowned out by applause, and the enthusiastic applause lasted for several minutes.

(End of this chapter)