The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In a suite-style ward at the hospital, a boy who was not yet ten years old lay fast asleep on the bed, his thin face pale and somewhat frightening.

He was connected to multiple wires, and the medical equipment next to him beeped intermittently.

Beside the hospital bed, De Paul looked at his only son, sighed softly, and pulled the blanket back up.

The door opened, and his wife Olivia came in, saying softly, "I bought dinner. Have some first."

DePaul followed his wife into the coat room, sat down at the table, picked up his knife and fork but had no appetite.

Behind her, Olivia's tears rolled down her face, and she quickly raised her hand to wipe them away, afraid of upsetting her husband.

De Paul didn't touch his food, saying, "This is the best hospital in Argentina."

Olivia slowly moved closer and sat down opposite her husband: "We...we..."

The couple had a very good relationship. Their previous child died young, and now their son suffers from a rare disease.

De Paul had worked for an Argentine tycoon for many years and had some savings. He had consulted all the doctors available in Argentina, but they could only keep his son alive. To cure him, he needed top doctors from top medical institutions.

That's not something he can solve, not even something money can solve.

Olivia held back her tears and asked her husband, "Is there really no other way?"

De Paul suddenly thought of the people he had been in contact with these past few days and remained silent for a moment.

Olivia reached out and grabbed her husband's hand: "As long as there's even a sliver of hope, we can't give up!"

“I know, I know.” De Paul nodded and said, “You should go to the real estate company to list our villa in the Recoleta district tomorrow. We need to raise the medical expenses as soon as possible.”

Although she was reluctant, Olivia nodded and said, "The house prices are pretty good right now, let's sell it quickly. I'll call a real estate agent I know in a bit."

DePaul ate a few bites and drank half a glass of milk, then stood up and said, "I'm going out for a bit. Please have the caregiver come over."

Olivia pressed the call button for a caregiver, and a female caregiver quickly came into the ward.

DePaul came out of the ward, took out his phone, and dialed the number on the record: "I need to see you now. Where are you? I'm at the hospital. Okay, I'll wait for you at the entrance of the nearby park."

As we arrived at the entrance of a park near the hospital, a minivan pulled up. The door opened, revealing a familiar face who waved to those below.

For his son's sake, De Paul got into the car without hesitation.

The van started up, and Alvarez smiled and said, "Good evening, we meet again."

De Paul wanted to express his dissatisfaction with anger, but thinking of his son, his tone softened unnaturally, and he said, "You clearly made preparations for returning to Argentina this time."

The two had dealt with each other before, but back then De Paul held a dominant position.

After retiring from the Eagles special operations team, Alvarez joined the Buenos Aires police department, where he uncovered a case involving the trafficking of drugs using several professional athletes who were affiliated with the agency where De Paul was working at the time.

Many conflicts occurred during this period, and Alvarez was eventually forced to leave Argentina.

DePaul reminded him, "I didn't know about these things. I resigned and left after they happened. You should have found out everything."

Alvarez remained noncommittal and went straight to the point: "Have you thought it through?"

DePaul asked, "Can this cure my son's illness?"

“We’ve already had someone review your son’s medical records.” Alvarez couldn’t be too certain: “They said there’s a 70% chance of a cure.”

DePaul has been dealing with hospitals and doctors frequently in the past two years. No doctor would make such a definitive statement; 70% is already a very high probability.

He looked at Alvarez: "Who did you have look at?"

Alvarez said, "The top medical experts in the United States." He added, "I can't hire them, but that doesn't mean my boss can't."

In fact, after they sent the medical records over, medical experts in Los Angeles immediately contacted them for a preliminary consultation. If the results hadn't been ideal, this plan would not have been possible.

Knowing that words alone were insufficient, Alvarez handed De Paul a formal receipt from the Sinai Medical Center.

The latter took it and examined it carefully, then closed his eyes again when returning it.

This world is just so unfair. He considers himself no ordinary person, possessing a certain level of wealth and social status, but what he couldn't achieve even with all his might might only require a single word from a top figure.

DePaul knew very well that these things did not come without a price.

He asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Please make things easier for us in the work you do," Alvarez said.

De Paul works at Lopez's United Group as one of the seven chairman's assistants.

He immediately understood what the other party wanted him to do and fell silent.

There was silence inside the car for a moment.

After a long while, the black van, like a ghost, drove up to the park entrance again.

De Paul got out of the car, nodded slightly to Alvarez inside, watched him drive away, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

He turned and walked towards the hospital, his gaze becoming exceptionally determined as he saw the hospital's inpatient building not far away.

He cannot give up as long as there is even the slightest hope.

DePaul quickly returned to the ward, found his wife Olivia, and said, "Get ready, I've contacted a hospital in the United States to transfer Lionel there as soon as possible. The top specialists there are confident they can cure Lionel."

Olivia looked at her husband in surprise: "How did you find it...?"

DePaul instructed, "Don't make a fuss about this, don't mention it to anyone. A private plane will come to pick you up the day after tomorrow; I've already made the arrangements."

Olivia glanced at her son, who was still frowning in his sleep, and didn't ask any more questions. As long as her son could be cured, everything else was secondary.

Two days later, a business jet registered in Panama quietly landed in Buenos Aires and picked up Olivia and her son.

The plane made a refueling stop in Panama before finally landing on Catalina Island in Los Angeles.

Campos had already arranged for someone to receive them. As soon as the plane landed, Olivia and her son transferred to a helicopter and went directly to Sinai Medical Center.

Like some wealthy Americans, Hawke sponsored medical research laboratories after he became rich.

So, Edward only made a phone call, and the other side had already made ample preparations.

Olivia and her child were properly settled and soon began targeted treatment.

Lionel's rare disease requires a long treatment period, but after targeted treatment, his condition has greatly improved and he is able to get out of bed and move around a little.

Campos immediately arranged for Olivia and her son to have a video call with De Paul, who was in Buenos Aires. In the villa's study, De Paul hung up the video call, looked at Alvarez sitting opposite him, and specifically said, "Thank you."

Alvarez smiled and said, "Now you can rest assured, right? I told you, our boss is a man of his word, and he never goes back on his promises."

De Paul thought for a moment and said, "Lopez is preparing to run for the next president of Argentina."

“We already know that,” Alvarez said, waiting for him to continue.

DePaul thought of his son and showed his utmost sincerity: "In the president's assistant team, I am not responsible for external liaison, but I will occasionally hear about some things. After all, this is a team, and sometimes we need to help each other."

Alvarez nodded slightly: "Is it related to the Argentine presidential election?"

“Yes, there is a direct connection.” DePaul explained in detail: “Since last year, he has been preparing for the election and has hired a broker named Angel Rodriguez to work behind the scenes for him. It is said that this man has a lot of connections in the United States and can get in touch with many members of Congress in Washington.”

Alvarez noted down the name and asked, "Do you have a photo?"

DePaul shook his head: "No, I only saw him once on the CEO's floor. He wasn't very tall..."

He described the man's features in detail.

Alvarez meticulously recorded the names and physical characteristics, sending them all to the Costa Rican headquarters via encrypted satellite channel.

Boske sent it to Los Angeles immediately.

Not long after, Alvarez received a photo, which he opened and showed to De Paul: "Is this the person?"

DePaul took a closer look and said, "Yes, that's him, but he's actually older and looks a bit older."

Alvarez chatted with him for a while longer, then quietly left.

DePaul looked at what the other person had left behind, opened it, and found a new passport, indicating American citizenship.

This relieved him of his worries.

…………

Century City, Beverly Business Club.

Elizabeth Carter, who had come from Washington, stared at the computer screen, carefully examining the people in the pictures and trying to recall them.

Gradually, some memories surfaced from the depths of her mind. She turned to look at Hawke sitting on the sofa and said, "Boss, I've met this Angel Rodriguez before."

Hawke also took the information the investigation team received from Argentina quite seriously, as it involved a huge South American market.

In particular, Lopez may have established connections with certain forces in the United States through political brokers.

It wasn't that Hawke was overthinking things; it was just that the world's biggest super variety show was coming soon, and anything could happen.

While searching for information on the computer, Elizabeth said to Hawke, "This person didn't have this name before. I remember he was called Kanigia Resas and used to work at EMY."

At this point, she emphasized, "This company later went bankrupt, but during its operation, it served the Donald Party and accepted many lobbying requests from them."

Hawke sensed something was wrong and asked, "Where was the last time you heard about or saw this person?"

Elizabeth recalled, "I don't remember very clearly. It was probably after 9/11. After all, he wasn't a well-known figure in Washington at that time, and I hadn't been in the industry for very long, so I didn't pay much attention to these people. After that, I didn't hear any news about him in Washington circles."

Hawke said, "Check it out, but don't make a fuss."

“Okay,” Elizabeth replied.

With her connections, finding the other party wouldn't be difficult as long as they were still within Washington's social circles.

Elizabeth thought for a moment and then said, "I'm worried that he's no longer in Washington and has gone somewhere else."

Hawke said, "Find out exactly who he served."

Elizabeth nodded.

Hawke glanced at Edward on the other side and gave him a look.

Edward immediately informed Campos and Henderson of the news.

Now that the Argentinians have gotten involved, they can't be ignored. Hawke must figure things out to avoid being suddenly attacked.

Elizabeth's trip to Los Angeles was to communicate with Brian's team in advance and formulate some plans.

After Brian's assistant, Bacon, arrived, the two went to another meeting room.

Edward walked up to the computer screen, looked at the Latino face on it, and, thinking of the Argentine tycoon Lopez, suddenly asked, "Boss, what about Hearst?"

“We can’t be completely sure Lopez is the problem right now.” Hawke didn’t actually think that way; he always considered the worst-case scenario first. “Everything is normal on Hearst’s side; there haven’t been any unusual situations.”

Since becoming Twitter's communications director, this former Republican senator has played a significant role in securing federal subsidies for Twitter and West Coast technology companies.

Most importantly, Hearst's entire entourage, from his assistants to his drivers to his bodyguards, consists of his own people. Any slight disturbance can be easily detected.

The situation in Argentina is still uncertain, and Hawke will not rashly conclude that Hearst is without problems; he will have someone conduct a covert investigation.

Brian arrived at that moment, and as soon as he entered the meeting room, he closed the door and said, "I received information from the National Guard that the SEALs who were training in the California desert have returned to their base in Damnek, Virginia."

The California National Guard had previously conducted extensive counterterrorism exercises with the Navy SEALs.

Its main content is aerial raids.

Hawke said, "It seems they've found a direct lead and are ready to make their move."

Brian said directly, "Benlad can't die, at least not now. If Tom Emo's hunt is successful, our plans will be put on the defensive."

Without a doubt, this is Tom Emmer's biggest trump card. The successful operation to hunt down Benladen will make him incredibly famous.

Hawke was prepared and said softly, "The Indians won't just stand by and watch Benladen be hunted down, especially on Asian soil."

Brian was confused: "Indians? What does this have to do with Indians?"

Hawke casually remarked, "Because India considers itself the hegemon of Asia and wants to meddle in the affairs of South and Central Asia."

They had previously analyzed that Benladen was most likely hiding in the area between Afghanistan and Islamabad.

Hawke added, "If anything unexpected happens, the biggest beneficiary will be the Donald Party."

Brian laughed: "We need to find a way to shift the blame onto the Democrats."

“That’s a good idea.” Hawke recalled something: Adam Smith’s Chester Foundation had clandestine financial dealings with the Indians. (End of Chapter)