Chapter 686
Never Forget
Hawke and Brian quickly reached an agreement regarding John Boehner's trip to Los Angeles.
First, gain support, and then gradually work towards your goals after the election is won.
Regarding the matter involving Tom Emmer and Mr. Dong, they can still use other people as pawns.
The following morning, John Boehner quietly arrived in Los Angeles.
Hawke and Brian hosted the nominal leader of the Elephant Party at the Beverly Business Club.
“Every election brings its own set of challenges.” John Boehner came to Los Angeles specifically for the election: “But we rarely see one this intense.”
Because John Boehner's family was also involved in the AI Manhattan project, Hawke's words were very direct: "Originally, according to our plan, we intended to wait until Tom Emer's second term ended before Brian entered the election. However, plans change quickly. Tom Emer first launched a fierce attack on the Walker family, who were related to the Ferguson family by marriage, and then botched the operation to hunt down Ben Laden, which had a huge negative impact."
“Under these circumstances, Tom Emer's chances of losing the election are greatly increased!” Brian looked at John Boehner and said, “Too many people in the party, including you and me, have interests closely tied to the White House. If we lose the election, who will protect our interests?”
These are all objective facts, and John Boehner was very clear about them: "Tom's mind is too narrow."
Hawke continued the previous topic: "Strictly speaking, it was Tom Emer who struck first. He caused a near-irreparable split within the party, almost triggering a civil war. We were only retaliating to protect our own interests."
The banner of justice must be upheld. Even when the US military engages in substantial aggression, it must use a bag of laundry detergent or anti-terrorism and anti-drug measures as pretexts.
John Boehner said he could understand: "Tom really went too far and should pay the price for it."
He then changed the subject, saying, "But if such a fierce attack continues for a long time, it may create irreparable rifts within the party, giving the Democratic Party an opportunity to exploit."
Brian shrugged: "We can't just take the beating without fighting back, can we?"
John Boehner could not refute this and could only say, "A counterattack is necessary. The war must be kept under control. My information is that the Donalds are already pulling strings behind the scenes, trying to make this civil war completely spiral out of control."
Actually, there's a great idea for a temporary truce, but Hawke and Brian shouldn't be the first to say it, as that would risk losing the initiative.
John Boehner glanced at Hawke and Brian and said, "I've spoken with several former party leaders, including McConnell and Gingrich, and they all agree that Brian is a better candidate than Tom Emmer."
Brian nodded slightly, agreeing without hesitation.
Hawke smiled and said, "By stepping forward, we are also trying to save this election."
The pros and cons are now clear, and John Boehner has only one choice, whether considering the bigger picture or protecting his own interests.
He looked at Brian: "I and several other former leaders in the party will fully support you and persuade Tom Emer to withdraw from this election."
Hawke cautioned, "Knowing Tom Emmer as I do, it won't be easy to get him to back out voluntarily."
John Boehner said, "This also requires some cooperation from you, such as stopping the war after he announces his withdrawal."
This was not unexpected. Hawke and Brian had considered this scenario during their conversation yesterday and reached a consensus.
First, secure the position of president, then we can discuss other matters.
In a society like the United States, where personal connections are so important, no one can ignore the influence of a current party leader and two former party leaders.
Brian said, "We can't call a halt. Tom Emmo is the one challenging the war, and Tom Emmo should be the first to bow down. Otherwise, we can't explain ourselves to our allies, such as the Walker family."
John Boehner considered for a moment and said, “When I return to Washington, I will have a good talk with Tom Emmer and persuade him to give up. He has very few supporters in the party now, and it shouldn’t be too difficult for me and a few old guys to do it.”
Hawke, however, thought it wouldn't be easy. After a moment's thought, he said, "After you talk to him, let us know as soon as possible, and we will take some targeted measures."
John Boehner nodded slightly and said, "We need to cease hostilities as soon as possible."
Brian, however, said, "The decision to start a war was made by Tom Emmer, but the initiative to cease hostilities..."
Hawke continued, "If you want us to stop the war, there are a few conditions, because it involves not only Brian and me, but also many allies who have suffered heavy losses because of Tom Emer's war."
Brian nodded slightly: "That's right, this involves more than just me and Hawke."
John Boehner was thinking about his son's company, which was also tied to Hawke's side, and would suffer heavy losses if he lost the election.
The big picture was intertwined with partisan interests, while the small picture was tied to his own interests. Without the slightest hesitation, he said, "Go ahead and speak."
Hawke stated, "First and foremost, the Walker and Cheney families. All actions taken by Washington against these two families must cease immediately, the blocked factories, accounts, and companies must be unconditionally removed, problems in this series of cases must be acknowledged, and the federal compensation mechanism must be activated."
The compensation was federal money, which John Boehner thought was not a big problem.
Hawke continued, "In Regina's case, Tom Emmer must reach an out-of-court settlement with Regina within six months, providing her with personal compensation. In Claire's divorce case, Tom Emmer agreed to the divorce, and half of his assets will be paid to Claire..."
John Boehner frowned and said, "I don't have a problem, but the problem is whether Tom Emer will agree."
Brian smiled and said, “John, in terms of the general trend of society, Hawke and I don’t really need to compromise. Tom Emer has less than a 10% chance of winning the party primary. Hawke and I are willing to take a step back mainly because of you and the unity of the party. You came all the way to Los Angeles to help me. We can’t let you go empty-handed, and we don’t want to cause irreparable rifts in the party because of the election.”
Hawke said, "We've shown our sincerity, and Tom Emer needs to show his sincerity too."
John Boehner understood that if Tom Emmer didn't choose dignity himself, Hawke and Brian would help him choose it.
The two sides talked for a long time, and at noon Hawke hosted a banquet at the clubhouse, specifically to entertain John Boehner.
He also contacted George Walker and Claire Emmer, who communicated with John Boehner via satellite phone video.
That afternoon, John Boehner returned to Washington aboard a business jet sent by Hawke.
On the same day, Special Counsel Chris Wood from the Department of Justice arrived in Los Angeles and, accompanied by several FBI officials, met with Regina.
There was also a series of evidence that Regina submitted to the FBI.
Chris came with a mission and knew exactly what he needed to do. He told Regina, "The Department of Justice has officially opened a case. I have submitted the relevant case details to Congress and requested that the President's DNA be extracted to prove his innocence."
Regina said coldly, "He is not innocent, because this DNA is his."
Julia, a former White House cleaner who had just arrived in Los Angeles from Washington, also came to the FBI branch office.
Chris conducted a routine questioning of her, which led to a series of third-party evidence.
Julia, as a witness, was also under close protection by the FBI and Butterfly Security.
Washington has not given up and has been trying to transfer Regina to Washington for questioning.
Tom Emer even enlisted the help of a Supreme Court justice. But the Justice Department withstood the pressure.
Both Hawke and Regina herself knew that if she moved to Washington, she would most likely commit suicide.
Compared to Tom Emmer's situation, dealing with Mr. Dong's situation is simpler.
Faced with immense pressure from both the political and business circles, even with a shell company attached to the outside, Mr. Dong still couldn't withstand it.
Mr. Dong is not only facing the freezing of mortgaged assets such as buildings by banks, but also numerous default lawsuits. Homebuyers with extensive connections have also contacted banks, police stations, prosecutors, and even the tax bureau to launch investigations against the Dong Group.
Companies that can grow large are unlikely to withstand close scrutiny.
While sending his eldest daughter, Yini, to discuss compensation matters, Mr. Dong also personally called Hawke several times and arrived at the Coast Building ahead of time.
When he met Hawke, his first words expressed his concession: "I have decided to withdraw from this election."
Hawke looked at the blond man and said, "Don, you always do things in unpredictable ways. I never thought that all that you did and said was just to run for election."
Mr. Dong understood what he meant and quickly apologized: "I overestimated myself. If this matter has caused you and Brian any trouble, I apologize."
Hawke could never believe such a so-called apology.
Dong Zong solemnly declared: "I swear that I will never participate in any political election again without your and Brian's permission."
Hawke knew all too well how audacious this bastard was, how crazy he could be, and how vengeful he was.
Therefore, Hawke did not believe a word of what Mr. Dong said.
But directly taking down Chairman Dong would still be somewhat troublesome.
Jennifer proposed a plan to use someone else to do the dirty work, and Hawke acquiesced.
He used a tactic to lull Dong Zong into a false sense of security: "I originally considered you a friend, but your actions have put me in a very passive position, and even made my subordinates and allies doubt my judgment."
Mr. Dong's face was full of sincerity: "I am extremely sorry for this. If there is anything I can do to make up for the trouble I have caused, please don't hesitate to ask."
Hawke raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "I also have a few friends in Hollywood. Dwayne Johnson and Tobey Maguire have bought multiple properties in the One World project."
The former was an old acquaintance of Hawke before he became famous, and the latter was Leonardo's childhood friend. Leonardo specifically asked Hawke for help.
It was just a matter of a few words, and Hawke gave it a push.
Mr. Dong immediately stated, "I will have someone handle these two transactions right away... no, I will have Yini personally follow up, refund their deposits, and fully compensate them for the breach of contract."
Hawke had no objection to this and didn't say anything more.
Mr. Dong had always suspected that Hawke might have purchased the World One Tower property in advance to collect the penalty for breach of contract, so he cautiously asked, "Besides Dwayne Johnson and Tobey Maguire, is there anyone else?"
Hawke shook his head: "Just the two of them."
Mr. Dong's expression remained unchanged, but he was convinced that these two were Hawke's front men. He quickly took out his notebook and carefully wrote them down so as not to forget them.
He tentatively asked, "Will I be able to leave Los Angeles in the future?"
Hawke laughed: "I'm helping Brian run for the party nomination, I don't have the energy to deal with anything else."
Mr. Dong reiterated, "No matter what happens in the future, I will stand by your side and fully support Brian."
He added, "My lawyer has spoken with the complainant multiple times, but the complainant has refused to talk to me, so the situation is not easy to handle."
The two of them knew perfectly well why these filthy things had happened.
Hawke said, "All these problems you're facing can be solved with money. You can't expect me to pay for them, can you?"
Mr. Dong understood, and after only a slight hesitation, he made a decision: "I will resolve all the issues as soon as possible."
Hawke casually remarked, "That's your freedom."
Regardless of whether it was good or bad, a result was finally achieved, and Mr. Dong took his leave at the appropriate time.
Hawke seemed unchanged from the past, personally escorting President Dong to the elevator.
After leaving the Coast Building, Mr. Dong got into the car that had arrived at the entrance and had the driver take him back to his residence.
As the car drove further away, he looked back at the Coast Building, where the Twitter logo on the rooftop was particularly eye-catching.
Mr. Dong took out his phone and called his daughter first: "I've talked to Hawke. You should expedite the screening of the homebuyer list and resolve the issues that need to be resolved as quickly as possible, according to the principle I mentioned."
Inee asked, "Hollywood stars?"
Mr. Dong slapped his forehead, realizing he had almost forgotten. He pulled out his small notebook, glanced at it carefully, and said, "Take care of Dwayne Johnson and Tobey Maguire first, and leave the other Hollywood stars for now."
Inee replied, "I'll take care of it right away."
After hanging up the phone, Mr. Dong called his lawyer: "Contact the lawyers for San Gabriel Valley stars such as Denise Stormi and Jessica Drake, and reach an out-of-court settlement with them as soon as possible."
The lawyer cautioned, "In my previous attempts to contact them, they all refused to settle."
Mr. Dong felt exhausted, but he forced himself to stay alert and said, "It should be fine now. Just do as I say."
"Okay." The lawyer hung up the phone.
Mr. Dong then called the FBI, saying he was willing to compensate the victims on St. James Island and hoped to speak with them.
The FBI officials, who had previously refused outright, readily agreed this time.
As for the mortgaged bank, repaying the loan is impossible; Mr. Dong doesn't have that much cash on hand, so he can only use fixed assets to offset the debt.
All of this will cost him dearly in terms of money.
Mr. Dong has made a decision to return to Hollywood once the case is basically resolved, and continue his rise after the last bankruptcy.
As for those two bastards, Hawke and Brian, he'll never forget them! (End of Chapter)