America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 230 Identification of Spies
On the twelfth floor of the hotel, Martin and Bruce got out of the elevator, and FBI director Neves, who was waiting there, came over to shake hands with him.

"The other party has placed some key items in your room." He said to Martin, "We need to enter your room."

Martin was prepared and said, "Sure, but my manager and I need to accompany you throughout the trip."

Bruce and Martin were in sync, so he interrupted and said, "Because of the Russians, in order to ensure Martin's safety, I set up some simple security measures in the room. It's possible that they were photographed."

Neves looked at Bruce and said, "This way, please."

Martin took a few steps closer and asked, "What exactly is going on? Are the Russians really going to attack me?"

Neves didn't know how to start for a moment.

His men rushed in, knocked down three suspects with a stun grenade, and controlled the situation in the most violent way. As a result, they found three press passes of the News of the World.

Through the FBI channels, they immediately confirmed that the three people were indeed an external news team under the News of the World.

More cases are still under review.

"If it doesn't involve state secrets, can you give me some information?" Martin patted his chest, where the Presidential Medal of Freedom was hanging. "I'm the person involved, and my life is at stake. You have to give me some information so I can be prepared."

Neves immediately came to his senses and said, "Don't worry, it's not the Russians. It's three reporters from the News of the World. They bribed two hotel employees and wanted to install eavesdropping and secret camera equipment in your room."

Martin was shocked: "Jesus Christ! They are crazy!" He responded as he should: "Old Bull, call my lawyer and agent. I'm going to sue this newspaper until it shuts down!"

After saying that, he said with a bit of luck: "Fortunately, they are not Russians."

Neves smiled and said, "We are very lucky." He comforted Martin, "Don't worry, we will deal with it together later."

When they arrived at the door, Martin just took out the room card, Bruce took it and swiped the card to open the door.

Martin invited, "Come in."

Neves entered the suite with several FBI agents.

Bruce found his laptop and camera, brought them over and placed them on the coffee table, then pressed play.

Neves glanced at Martin: "You are very careful."

Martin smiled helplessly, "I used to be quite courageous, but that time at Burbank Middle School, I was literally on the verge of death. Now when I think about it, I still get scared. I'm getting less and less courageous."

"Same." Neves agreed with Martin's statement: "The more you experience, the less courageous you will become."

Bruce fast-forwarded the video and soon saw two waiters enter the room.

Neves pointed and asked his men to get to work, then asked Martin, "Can I have a copy of the video?"

Martin responded, "Of course."

Bruce took the memory stick handed to him and copied the video.

The FBI found three sets of hidden camera and eavesdropping equipment in the living room, master bedroom and bathroom.

Martin's face looked quite grim, but his mind never stopped, he was constantly recalling and thinking.

Neves received a call and came back to say, "Mr. Davis, please don't let the news spread for now. Keep it within a certain range. This is also what the White House wants."

The chief of staff called him specifically about this matter.

Martin recalled the wiretapping scandal and made some guesses in his mind. He said, "I can cooperate with you, but I need an explanation, the hotel, the newspaper, etc."

He pointed at the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Although the medal was not very valuable, it was still somewhat useful. "On the day I was awarded the medal, someone tried to secretly film and eavesdrop on me. Their goal was very obvious: to discredit me. I was awarded the medal by the White House and by the President!"

Neves said: "Someone will give you an explanation today."

Martin sat on the sofa: "I'll wait."

He was not idle either. He called WMA and Coca-Cola respectively. Although he did not go into details about the specific matters, both sides would send special personnel over.

Especially the Coca-Cola Group. They had originally prepared an event in Washington, but it was disrupted by this incident. The relevant persons in charge are also actively contacting each other.

…………

In New York, a commercial jet took off urgently and headed straight to Washington, DC.

Mockridge, the North American editor-in-chief of the News of the World, and Tom, a lawyer who rushed over, were the only two passengers besides the crew members.

"The latest news I got..." Mockridge recounted the details of the incident as quickly as possible.

Tom thought for a moment and gave a suggestion: "Three ways. Refuse to admit that they are employees of the News, or that they are personal acts of temporary workers."

"That's one way." Mockridge thought more comprehensively: "If it's just Martin Davis, it doesn't matter what he does, but this matter involves the White House, and Bush just awarded him a medal... We can say in the newspaper that he is as stupid as a pig, but we can't do that in real negotiations. Pigs also have to save face."

Tom added: "We can take legal action against him. With News Corporation behind us, we can drag him down to death." He added: "We can force him to reach a settlement with us."

Mockridge still shook his head. He knew a lot more than Tom, the lawyer, knew.

In London, the News of the World is being investigated for leaking information about William's knee injury.

As for eavesdropping and secretly photographing, they have always been the default means of obtaining news for newspapers and even groups.

Tom didn't mention the third option, which was obvious.

Mockridge made his decision: "Two points, those three are just peripheral news informants for the News of the World; reach a settlement with Martin Davis as soon as possible."

The employer has made the decision, so Tom, as a lawyer, naturally would not object.

Mockridge pulled out his cell phone and called Washington.

At the White House, after Bush received feedback on the case, he threw this small matter to his subordinates to deal with.

The chief of staff approached Cohen, the staff member in charge of monitoring the progress, and simply said, "Mr. President needs the support of the media." Cohen responded, "I understand."

The chief of staff added: "The president is also very annoyed."

"I will work to bring the two sides to a settlement as quickly as possible," Cohen said.

The chief of staff said, "The News of the World is on its way. You should go to the Hilton Hotel." He also reminded, "The Coca-Cola people are at the Hilton Hotel. They have also contacted me."

Cohen knew that Martin Davis should not be underestimated, as there was also a force behind him.

If Martin was discredited by the News of the World, Coca-Cola would certainly drop him.

But the situation now is that Martin is on the rise.

…………

At the Hilton Hotel, the hotel manager Brown, who is an Asian, entered Martin's suite.

Martin glanced at him.

Brown introduced himself and said, "Mr. Davis, the hotel is very sorry for the disturbance you have suffered. On behalf of the Hilton Hotel, I would like to sincerely apologize to you."

He gave a standard 90-degree bow.

Martin immediately realized that this person was either a Korean or a Japanese.

Brown straightened up and bowed again: "Please forgive me, Mr. Davis."

Martin said nothing.

Brown stood there bent over, and seemed unwilling to rise until Martin understood.

Martin thought that in the future, all big companies would have to hire a Korean or Japanese guy just to apologize to people.

This talent skill is maxed out.

Martin raised his hand: "That's not necessary."

Brown straightened up quickly, as if he could hear his spine creaking, and he said quickly, "Thank you, Mr. Davis, for your understanding."

Martin was speechless. Isn't the spirit of craftsmanship the spirit of roguery?
He keeps apologizing but never says anything practical.

Martin cursed Fack inwardly and said directly, "I have entrusted this matter to a lawyer. The lawyer will discuss the details with you. If we can't reach an agreement, we will go through legal procedures."

Brown touched his waist and was considering whether to come for a third one, but after hearing this, there was no need: "Mr. Davis, the hotel is also a victim."

Martin laughed and said two names: "Wolff and Bellerin."

"During the Independence Day holiday, there were many tourists, so the hotel hired a group of temporary workers, and they were among them." Brown took out a card and placed it on the coffee table: "Hilton's VIP membership card can enjoy a 20% discount on room bookings at all Hilton hotels."

Martin just looked at him and said nothing.

Bruce added, "When Martin signed the contract with Coca-Cola, they provided Martin with a VIP card that gave him a 40% discount at all Hyatt hotels."

This is not a question of how much discount there is.

Martin got up and went to the bedroom. "I'm tired and need to rest. Old Bull, you talk to Mr. Brown for a while. The lawyer that Coca-Cola arranged for me will be here in a while."

Martin will not reach any agreement with Hilton Hotel until someone from the real News of the World or News Corporation comes.

Bruce's talk is to delay first and talk later.

More than an hour later, Martin received a call from White House aide Cohen, who wanted to invite him down for a chat.

Martin used the excuse of being frightened as an excuse to ask them to come up and talk about something.

Martin had been thinking about this matter since he got the exact information about wiretapping and secret photography. The Sun and the News of the World were not critical, but the News Corporation behind them had to consider it.

If this matter is not handled properly, it will be very troublesome.

As for seeking fairness and justice under American law, he is not that naive.

Martin has been trying hard to recall the wiretapping scandal. He seemed to have read a related news report that the reporter who exposed the incident committed suicide.

Suicide...

I just received the Presidential Medal of Freedom today. It is useful, but also useless.

In addition, he is just a spokesperson for Coca-Cola, not a biological son like Knight is to Nike.

Even if we really want to do something, it's not now.

Martin was self-aware and quickly determined how to respond.

There was a knock on the door, and Neves came here with three people.

After entering the door, he first introduced the two parties.

Cohen, a White House aide.

Mockridge, the North American editor-in-chief of the News of the World, and Tom, the lawyer he brought with him.

On Martin's side, it's just him and Bruce for now.

After the door of the suite was closed, the parties began negotiations and soon reached a consensus that the three-person reporter team headed by Alex, all of whom had Slavic ancestors, were spies from Russia.

(End of this chapter)