American Gossip King

Chapter 94 Pursuit

"Gang shootout breaks out at Dam Scrap Metal Plant!"

"The death toll has exceeded fifty!"

"It is understood that the parties involved in this battle were the Killer Bates and the Cripples Gang. Killer Bates' leader, Kemble, was killed on the spot. All the dead were members of the Killer Bates Gang. The casualties of the Cripples Gang are currently unknown."

"According to reliable sources, this is retaliation by the Cripples Gang for killing Bates, who killed twenty of their members last time. It's hard to understand why retaliation would happen in Los Angeles."

The shootout at the Dam Scrap Metal Plant quickly made headlines the following day and caused a sensation.

Keep in mind that it is now 2001. American gangs are no longer as rampant as they were in the 1920s and 30s. Large-scale gang fights still occur, but they are no longer as common.

In addition, this report was exceptionally detailed, with someone filming most of the gunfight!

WND News and the Los Angeles Herald went viral again, releasing numerous photos and videos of the gunfight.

The video shows obvious signs of editing. It basically only shows the member who killed Bates being shot down by gunfire in the dark. As for the flying guns, that's impossible... Actually, it doesn't matter if they are. As long as black people don't open their mouths, they are invisible in the dark. Flying guns are possible.

As for on-site investigation, don't count on it, because Kripps dealt with the scene immediately—although the gunshots were loud, as the most chaotic neighborhood, the police wouldn't be eager to come to the scene if a gunfight occurred here.

They can turn a five-minute journey into a fifty-minute one.

So by the time the police arrived, the place was already empty, and even the cars were gone.

Police need to rely on news reports to understand the specifics of a situation.

When Chief of Police Benton walked out of the Los Angeles Police Department, a large number of reporters had already surrounded him.

They handed the microphone to Betton and shouted:

"Chief Betton, what are your thoughts on the gunfight at the Dam Ironworks?"

Chief Betton replied sternly, "We strongly condemn this kind of gang-related behavior!"

"Chief Betton, I heard that the police didn't arrive at the scene until forty minutes after the gunfight began?"

Chief Berton stated, "I regret that we face a large number of cases every day, but we don't have enough police resources to keep up, which makes it difficult for us to respond quickly enough. I strongly urge the city government to increase our budget next year, as this is a crucial foundation for maintaining local safety."

"Chief Betton, are you familiar with the situation at the time?"

Betton noticed that the person asking the question was a reporter from the Los Angeles Herald, and he replied irritably, "No matter how much I know, I still don't know as much as you guys do. After all, you filmed the whole thing, didn't you? Why are you interviewing me? You should interview Ian Carr instead!"

"Chief Betton, is this shootout related to the hotel shooting? There are reports that one of the hotel shooters has a very close connection with Kemble."

Betton waved his hand, giving the classic reply: "I have no comment."

Pushing through the crowd, Chief Betton angrily got into his car.

Growing angrier by the thought, he shouted, "Behrman, go find Ian Carl!"

--------

The Los Angeles Herald's president's office.

Officer Bellman and Catherine sat opposite Ian.

Bellman smiled and said, "Mr. Carl, in any case, I still hope that you can cooperate with us."

Ian raised an eyebrow: "How do we cooperate? I've already said it, Butterfly only placed a camera there beforehand; he himself didn't go there."

Catherine said, "But he cut out parts of the video; we need the original video!"

Ian shook his head: "You can ask him for it, but according to him, the original video has been deleted and no longer exists."

Catherine retorted angrily, "You're talking nonsense!"

Ian glanced at her dismissively, took out a piece of paper, casually wrote down an address, and handed it to Catherine, saying, "This is his address. You can go to him and ask for it, see if he'll give it to you. You can threaten him, put him in jail, or even execute him, see if he'll bow down."

Catherine slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "Ian Carl, you're using an AIDS patient as a shield, do you think we don't understand?"

Ian laughed heartily, "I won't admit that. This news has nothing to do with me; it's all thanks to Butterfly!"

Bellman gently waved his hand, gesturing for Catherine to sit down.

He sighed, "Mr. Carl, this matter has caused a huge uproar, and we must give the public an explanation. Perhaps you have a way to resolve this?"

Ian nodded in satisfaction: "That's what a smart person would say."

He waved his cigar and leaned closer to Bellman, saying, "I have an idea for you: have Kreps arrange for a few people to take the blame... Oh, don't bring up my relationship with him. Reporters always need to know a lot of people, and I'm just better at making friends."

Bellman shook his head: "That's not enough."

"What if there's evidence?" Ian asked.

"Huh?" Bellman asked in surprise.

Ian waved his hand and said, "Of course it's not evidence that they killed anyone, but they cleaned up the scene, didn't they? Butterfly told me he filmed some people cleaning up the scene, but he didn't release it. Didn't you want the edited part? This part... might still be there if we're lucky."

Bellman understood.

The video was edited, but what content was cut is still up to the editing team.

In this situation, simply throwing out some other information to confuse the public, and then having evidence of the scene being cleared, is enough to arrest and convict someone.

The problem can then be solved!

The latest novel is first published here!

Anyway, it's just a charade.

Everyone gets by by fooling around, and American police are experts at it.

Bellman nodded slightly: "Sounds pretty good."

"But I also need a little help," Ian said.

"What?"

Ian looked at Catherine.

He smiled and said, "My suggestion from last time still stands, but the leverage seemed insufficient then. Shouldn't it be enough now?"

Catherine took a deep breath.

Bellman looked at Catherine strangely.

What, do you want her to stay with you in bed?

After a while, Catherine finally took out a piece of paper, wrote down an address, and handed it to Ian: "This is his address and job."

Ian smiled.

I knew you would investigate!

Of course, Catherine wasn't investigating this to make a deal with Ian; rather, she herself was curious as to why Ian was so interested in this Muhammad Atta, and out of curiosity, she would investigate.

Now, in order to solve the case, Catherine has finally given in.

Putting away the address, Ian picked up the phone and said, "Philip, the police will be coming to you in a little while. Give them that video."

With this matter settled, Bellman breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Ian and said, "Mr. Carl, there's something I don't understand."

Ian asked directly, "You want to know how he knew there would be a gunfight there?"

Bellman nodded.

Ian laughed and said, "Everyone has their own sources of information. What kind of reporter are you if you don't know a few gang members? It's normal for news to leak out during such a large-scale brawl."

Catherine blurted out, "But we didn't receive any advance notice."

Ian grinned, rolling his eyes. "Are you saying you're incompetent?"

(End of this chapter)