The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 13 High-end Business War
Under the dim street lights, Hawke and Brand each rode a bicycle and rushed to the hotel.

On the side of the road, Catherine was standing in front of a BMW and called out to the two of them: "Get in the car!"

Brand knew the doorman, so he told him what to do, left his bike beside the hotel, and got into the car with Hawke.

Catherine said hastily, "He didn't find anyone at the hotel, so he went to the Crystal Cinema."

Less than five minutes after the BMW drove out, it stopped on the side of the road again.

Catherine pointed to the entrance of a cinema: "Over there!"

Hawke got out of the car first and ran towards the Crystal Cinema.

Nothing can go wrong until the financier has paid the full amount!

Eric blocked the entrance to the theater and shouted, "George Hansen, come out, come out to see me, you bastard who only knows how to hurt people from behind, come out quickly!"

Several people came out of the cinema, led by George, who was wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

He stood on the steps, looking down at us with a friendly face: "Look who's here, it turns out to be our future great director."

Hawke came over at this time.

George turned to look at Hawke and added, "And his brainless henchman."

"The people from Castle Rock Pictures suddenly changed the schedule. Was it you who did it?" Eric asked loudly, "You are despicable and shameless..."

George felt a little guilty, but the strange feeling coming from his butt instantly filled him with fighting spirit, and he interrupted, "I'm just a small figure, how can I possibly affect Castle Rock Pictures? Don't go too far, I'm not the type to bully others like that!"

Eric wanted to rush up the theater steps.

Hawke grabbed him and whispered, "This won't solve the problem."

Eric struggled and tried to rush up.

Catherine and Brand quickly stopped him.

Suddenly, with a muffled bang, the door of the cinema was kicked open from the inside, and a middle-aged man wearing a cowboy hat strode out holding a stun baton.

The electric baton crackled with sparks. He pointed at Eric, Hawke and the other three and said sternly, "Stranger, don't make trouble in my theater. Get out of here! If you don't leave, I'll smash your heads into stinky shit!"

Weapons are the best tranquilizers, and Eric stopped jumping.

Hawke pulled him back and said to the theater owner, "Hey man, calm down, we're leaving now."

When the middle-aged man saw the four people getting in the car and leaving, he put away his electric baton and shouted, "Don't let me see you stinking shits again!"

George smiled at the boss and said, "Thanks."

"It's my responsibility to protect the customers who booked the entire place." The boss walked back and said, "Hurry up and set up the place. Finish it before 11 o'clock."

George followed into the theater.

In the ticket office, the bald man was sitting in the lounge, drinking alone.

George pulled out a chair and sat down, not quite reassured: "Are you sure they don't stand a chance?"

The bald man stroked his beard and smiled, "Robert Reiner is only here for one day. Even if they want to change the screening time, they can't coordinate with the theaters. There are nearly 20 theaters in Park City, big and small, and the screening schedules are all full. Other crews also have to entertain buyers and film viewing groups."

He poured George a glass of wine. "They could rent a booth in the strip mall, but that would just be an insult to Robert and Castle Rock."

George raised his glass: "I wish us success."

…………

Hotel, suite living room.

Eric was crestfallen, and Catherine quickly explained the current situation.
More than half an hour ago, she received a call from Robert's assistant. Robert temporarily changed the film festival schedule and wanted to go see another movie tomorrow morning, so he moved "D.C. Heights" to the afternoon screening.

But the Great Salt Lake Cinema's schedule was full and other crews refused to coordinate. Catherine contacted other cinemas, but the same thing happened.

The distribution company is king in the film industry. Small crews have finally contacted the distribution company to watch the screening, and no one dares to cancel it.

Catherine asked someone from Robert's team and found out that Robert was going to see George Hanson's "Lemon Street" tomorrow morning.

The reason was simple. The assistant showed Robert the color pages of "DC Heights" and "Lemon Street". The Mexican-American attribute of the former was not favored, while the latter was a white film.

Although Catherine's father had an old relationship with Robert, the former had passed away several years ago, and that relationship was not enough to count in the face of business interests.

Brand kept scratching his head after hearing this, feeling that it was too difficult to make some quick money because there were so many bad things going on.

Eric said woodenly, "We're screwed."

"Are you just giving in like that?" Catherine was pointed at with an electric baton in front of her, and she couldn't swallow this breath: "Bow down to a bastard?"

Hawke didn't say anything. He wasn't the one who was anxious now.

Seeing Hawke was calm, Catherine asked, "Do you and your team have any solution?"

Hawke spread his hands: "This is not within my scope of business."

Catherine understood, sneered, took out a checkbook, wrote on it, and handed it over: "This is the new compensation." Hawke looked down at the $5000 on it, did not take it immediately, and asked: "What do you want to do?"

Catherine hugged Eric and said, "Find a way to get things back on track and make George Hansen miserable. The worse the better!"

"I've always wanted to expand new business, and now is the time." Hawke was very principled. He thought carefully before accepting the check and putting it away. Then he asked, "I need to confirm one thing. If Lemon Street cannot be screened normally, can you let Robert come back?"

Catherine said, "Robert has always been very efficient. It's impossible for him to spare two hours when he is only in Park City for one day."

Hawke thought for a while before saying, "Tomorrow morning, you go to the airport to pick him up, stay with Robert, and wait for my call."

"That's it?" Catherine asked.

Hawke held out his hand: "Can I borrow your BMW?" After Catherine brought the keys, he asked Brand: "What time do movie theaters usually close?"

Brand said, "It will definitely close at 11:."

Hawke checked the time and said, "Let's go for a walk."

He came to Eric and patted him on the shoulder: "Come on, man, cheer up. If you keep being so decadent, the movie will be completely ruined."

Eric heard what had just happened and asked, "Is there still hope?"

Hawke said, “Yes.”

Eric tried to cheer himself up: "What do you need me to do?"

Hawke said: "Make sure there are no problems with the copy and projection. Remember, don't let the copy out of your sight!"

Eric said, "I'll bring two people to guard it together."

Hawke took Brand downstairs, had a midnight snack, got into the BMW and checked to make sure there were no recorders or anything like that before heading to the Crystal Cinema.

"What should we do?" Brand kept talking: "This is very difficult. Can you contact Robert and ask him to change his mind..."

Hawke reminded: "Observe where there are surveillance cameras on the roadside."

"There is negligible public surveillance in Park City, and almost no private surveillance. We don't like things that invade our privacy." Having said that, Brand still observed carefully. He was too familiar with Park City. When the BMW drove into an alley, he said, "There is no surveillance. I can be sure of that."

Hawke pointed to a low wall in the darkness and said, "This is the wall of the backyard of the Crystal Cinema."

Brand nodded: "Yes."

Hawke didn't stop the car. "Do you want me to stop so you can check the cable lines of the theater?"

Brand spoke faster than he thought: "No, Park City is cold in winter, all the cables are underground, and the theater's power distribution boxes are all in a dedicated distribution room."

Hawke drove forward for a while before asking, "Hey, buddy, I remember you studied electronic engineering?"

Brand didn't realize the problem yet, and said with a bit of complacency: "So, the cable map of Park City is in my head."

Hawke thought to himself that he had found the right person when he got on the bus, Brand was his cheat.

When the car returned to the main street, Brand saw the neon sign of the Crystal Cinema again. His complacency gradually disappeared, his hands and feet began to feel cold, and he asked, "Hawk, what do you want to do?"

Hawke said slowly, "We are facing an extremely serious situation. If the situation worsens, not only will we not get the subsequent remuneration, but we will also have to pay out all the money we have earned. All the troupe gatherings and business will be ruined."

Brand was rarely silent.

Hawke said softly: "Whether we like it or not, a business war, a high-end business war in the film industry, has begun."

"But, but..." Brand didn't know what to say: "How can these be used in business wars?"

Hawke parked the car, waited for him to calm down a little, and said, "The higher the level of the business war, the more plain and simple the process."

Brand felt uncomfortable after getting the money and then giving it back. He thought of the girl he was pursuing and nodded: "I did it!"

Hawke didn't waste any time and asked, "Do you have any black clothes, a hood to cover your face, a strong rope, or anything like that at home?"

"Yes," Brand said, "My parents work at a ski resort, and there are a lot of these things."

Hawke asked again: "With the knowledge you have, can you make the distribution box or other equipment look like it is not damaged by human beings, and can't it be repaired in a short time?"

"It's not difficult." Brand paused for a moment and added, "With Park City's efficiency, a complex fault in the power distribution box will take two to three days to repair. Even if the theater expedited it, it would take at least one day."

Hawke said, "I remember you mentioned once that Park City has a local ordinance that does not allow commercial cables to be run above ground."

Brand automatically replied: "We have someone watching. If Crystal Cinema dares to get electricity from its neighbors, we will report it."

I have to say that Brand has learned a lot following Hawke these few days.

Hawke nodded slightly: "Your friends Lewis and Damian have nothing to do, you can hire them."

He thought for a moment and said, "If we act before dawn, we won't give them time to react. We also need to see if they have a backup generator..."

In this high-end business war, Hawke used one of the three tricks: pulling the power switch, grabbing the official seal and collecting the access control.

(End of this chapter)