Chapter 477: Precisely Stepping Wrong at Every Turn in Life

[Chapter 477: Precisely Stepping Wrong at Every Turn in Life]

In Malibu, a beachside villa shone brightly under the night sky. A luxury car approached from a distance and stopped in front of the villa. The passenger got out, and security personnel drove the car over a hundred meters away to a public parking lot diagonal from the villa.

The vacation villa was close to Malibu Beach and had full facilities. Inside a truck disguised as a refrigerated van, Hierro, skilled in electronic communications, was calibrating equipment, trying to connect to the target cameras.

Juan stood at the front side near the truck, raising binoculars to observe the villa entrance through a glass opening atop the truck cabin. Carlos, sitting at a computer, controlled secretly placed cameras to capture guests arriving at the villa.

This was the annual lavish party hosted by Puff Daddy.

Leonardo was in Europe promoting The Departed and didn't attend but had already learned the party's time and place and informed Hawke's team. With this, Carlos and the others had come days earlier to set up.

After several attempts, Hierro said, "Only two hidden cameras connected. It's probably because the distance is too great and the wireless signals are outdated."

Carlos said, "We can't get any closer. Puff Daddy cleared the road in front for the party. Getting too close would alert security."

Juan put down the binoculars and said, "Luckily, Sean Ackerman likes to film, and the Ackerman family has a tradition of secretly installing cameras at party venues."

The villa was originally owned by Sean Ackerman of the Ackerman family. After the family's downfall, the villa was auctioned and bought by Puff Daddy, who now used it for his extravagant parties.

Hierro's computer screen split into two parts, showing footage of two rooms. One spacious living room had only a few people, including Puff Daddy and several African American guests. The other room, likely on the top floor near the parking lot, showed a long table covered with numerous off-white bottles.

"What's this?" Hierro zoomed in.

Juan glanced back and said, "Looks like Johnson & Johnson baby oil."

Carlos, knowledgeable as always, added, "These guys really know how to party!"

...

As time passed, more luxury cars arrived rapidly. The external hidden cameras controlled by Carlos captured many faces, and the auto-record function started.

Juan sat back down, watching the footage and muttering the identities: "Jennifer Lopez, that's one impressive figure; no wonder she's the queen of curves. Is that Naomi Campbell? Jesus, Mariah Carey is also a regular -- she seems especially close to Puff Daddy. And Allison and Joanna, mother and daughter..."

Hierro typed and said, "Mariah Carey appears on almost all of Puff Daddy's albums. She shows up at all his major events. Gossip says they've been involved for over ten years, along with a big group scene."

Carlos replied, "Considering how wild some folks get, that's pretty normal."

Since Hawke gave orders earlier in the year, Butterfly Consulting had conducted secret investigations into Puff Daddy, so they understood the nature of his parties.

More celebrities showed up: African American stars like Usher, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart, Chris Brown, and white celebrities such as George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, Colin Farrell, and Ben Stiller. Some were business elites unfamiliar to Carlos.

Juan tapped the table and said, "Look at this. Isn't that Britney Spears?"

Carlos frowned, "Yes, it is."

Juan frowned and said, "Remember when we helped the boss once? Britney broke free from her father Jamie Spears' control."

"I remember." Carlos joined in. "Paris Hilton reached out to Hawke for help then."

Hierro looked back shaking his head, "The entertainment industry's like a huge cesspool. Everyone who goes in ends up like this."

Juan said, "I just prefer listening to her songs."

Hierro chuckled, "Just listen to the music, dude. Don't treat them like goddesses. Parties like this are usually just a big mess."

"I like Mariah Carey's songs too," Carlos added casually. "With her fighting skills, she could probably handle a group of dudes."

Just looking at Mariah's size and lung capacity was enough to be formidable. Add in gender differences -- one against ten wouldn't be much of an exaggeration.

Juan waved his hand, "What are you talking about? You think I'm gonna chase after some pure white knight in all this mess? I'm not dumb; a toothpick can't stir a storage tank."

Carlos said, "LeBron James just arrived."

Juan saw the new arrivals, his eyes widening, "Puff Daddy sure knows a lot of people. Even top NBA stars. Wait, are those the Williams sisters? They're even tougher."

Celebrities like Jessica Alba and Kelly Rowland arriving caused no surprise, but Carlos paid special attention to two attendees: San Francisco's chief prosecutor Kamala Harris and Martha Stewart, homeware queen and one of the rare female billionaires.

Though predominantly entertainment, the party bridged political and business spheres.

Carlos showed Juan someone on screen, "Isn't this Jeffrey Epstein?"

Juan examined carefully and confirmed, "Yes, that's him."

Carlos nodded slightly, "Seems the boss's intel was right; there's overlap between Puff Daddy's and Epstein's circles."

Hierro said, "They like to frequent each other's parties."

...

Outside, cars stopped arriving and inside, the party kicked off. Those familiar knew exactly what that meant.

The party quickly escalated; every room was occupied. Baby oil and drugs supplied by Puff Daddy were on each room's coffee table, available anytime.

A designated rest area on the third floor allowed the tired to sleep before continuing the festivities.

Raw human indulgence was on full display.

Hierro connected to only two secret cameras Sean Ackerman installed: one in the hall, one on the second floor. The hall was relatively normal, with just some drinking and drugs. Puff Daddy left it as a proper social space.

The second floor took a wild turn. The Williams sisters entered with three men; four more joined later. The chaos was fiercer than the US Open.

The Williams sisters were stronger than Mariah Carey.

...

The party lasted three days and nights. Not everyone stayed the whole time; Epstein and the homeware queen left after a day and a night. Britney only stayed one night.

Carlos, Juan, and Hierro took turns switching cars to avoid suspicion.

After filming, Hierro immediately saved copies to avoid loss.

...

Back at Butterfly Consulting, Carlos reported to Campos. After Campos quickly reviewed the footage at double speed, he asked, "Which target should we focus on?"

Campos pondered, "Organize the guest list and the identities from the video. We'll send them to the boss, and he'll decide."

Carlos agreed, "I'll handle it now."

Campos instructed, "You, Juan, and Hierro must do this personally. Don't leak anything yet."

The video showed top entertainers, athletes, politicians, and billionaires -- handling them required caution.

Carlos, Juan, and Hierro got busy again.

...

That afternoon, Hawke received the footage and guest list. He studied the familiar faces; Hollywood stars often made themselves instantly recognizable through styling, creating a 'presence radius'.

Carlos and team thoughtfully captioned names, identities, and backgrounds in the video.

Seeing Epstein wasn't surprising; his and Puff Daddy's gatherings belonged to the same faction as Hillary Clinton's, operating in New York and Los Angeles and connected to the Ackerman line.

Martha Stewart, originally a supermodel, was a staunch Hillary supporter as well.

San Francisco's African American prosecutor Kamala Harris was backed by former Mayor and California Speaker Willie Brown, associated with the Ackerman family's circle. After the Ackermans' fall, Willie Brown's political resources shifted to Gavin Newsom.

Kamala was just emerging; according to Hawke's past remembering, she would compete with a certain CEO in a decade or so.

On average parties there were drug abusers; high-level parties were like Puff Daddy's debauched mess.

The rich and powerful's decadence was hard for ordinary people to imagine.

In Hawke's previous life, two major scandals -- Lolita Island and Puff Daddy's party -- happened near critical election points, which no one doubted connected to the elections.

They severely damaged the Democratic Party, already riddled with factions and conflicts, causing a trust crisis.

Hawke targeted Puff Daddy, needing a breakthrough.

With a scapegoat upfront, the incident's framework was set.

Hawke saw two unfamiliar faces -- John Podesta, a slim, darker-skinned middle-aged man known for being Chief of Staff in Clinton's second term, now working for Hillary; and Robby Mook, a media worker under Clinton's private office, about 30 years old, with little public info.

Hawke guessed Robby was Hillary's media lead.

Puff Daddy's party wasn't as elite as Lolita Island but still attracted heavyweight figures.

He took notes, pondering the breakthrough.

These people aside, the usual romantic or group relationships weren't a big deal.

Hawke put political tasks aside and refocused on entertainment.

Allison Faith and Joanna Faith were familiar clients; Allison was Puff Daddy's official girlfriend.

Previously, Hawke knew Allison's unusual fascination with Puff Daddy despite his promiscuity, letting her get involved with multiple men.

Dwayne Johnson's agent wife had shared information: after a scandal, Josh Hartnett and Allison officially dated, but their relationship ended due to Allison cheating with several black men at Josh's house.

Even by Hollywood's permissive standards, this was excessive.

Hawke remembered Allison and Joanna hosting wild parties inviting others.

Puff Daddy provided her celebrity guests for free. On the surface, it looked like they were toying with her, but she was the one playing them.

Though chaotic, their early ties were solid.

Puff Daddy and Allison's relationship was recent; Hawke didn't want to risk it yet.

So he focused on another familiar name: Britney Spears.

To be honest, Hawke was surprised to see Britney in the video.

A few years earlier, at Paris Hilton's repeated requests, Hawke helped Britney break free from her biggest nightmare -- her father Jamie Spears.

He hoped her fate might improve.

But she precisely made all the wrong choices in life.

From relationships to private life to father-daughter issues, it went from bad to worse.

By the 2020s, she was even publicly humiliated by a basketball draft star and mocked online for riding coattails.

Before 2010, this was unimaginable.

Britney had truly become Puff Daddy's woman.

Hawke wasn't sure what to say.

Compared to other stars, Britney might be a good breakthrough. Her brainpower was quite low. If she were half as sharp as Madonna, she wouldn't have spiraled into her tragic state.

...

Hawke skimmed key footage at double speed and asked Campos, "How did Britney get linked to Puff Daddy's party? Anything noteworthy?"

"No, no previous connection found," Campos said. "Maybe the contact is new or our observers were too far."

Hawke stressed the utmost discretion to avoid alerting the targets, so some details might have been missed.

He said, "Deploy skilled agents to find out Britney's situation. Don't contact Britney directly; she's careless and might spill."

Campos, having checked Britney's relationship with her father, replied, "We'll be cautious."

"What about others?"

Hawke gave him a list, "Keep low profile, observe per usual."

Campos took the list and left the coastal building fast.

...

Hawke called Caroline over. She entered swiftly.

Hawke pointed to the laptop, "Look at these."

Caroline stared for minutes, amazed, "Are those the Williams sisters? God, they're tough... So many!"

She secretly glanced at Hawke, thinking even he couldn't handle her and Megan together.

Hawke handed her the list and extracted video clips. "These are Puff Daddy party attendees. They relate to our next strategy. You lead the special unit, use supercomputers and our core algorithms to search online traces they left behind."

The Manhattan AI Project's biggest tech breakthrough was first applied by Hawke against enemies.

Previously, with the supercomputer and core algorithms, they located Philip and Williams, later used by Hawke to ignite San Francisco's crises.

If these people had ever used the internet leaving traces, it would show eventually -- possibly surprises.

Caroline looked at the list, packed up, then asked, "Meghan asked if you're going to Brentwood tonight?"

"Sure." Hawke eyed Caroline's sleek professional outfit, "Nice new clothes."

Caroline grinned, flashing two sharp teeth, then happily left the office.

*****

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