Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1312 Escape from Los Angeles

The sun set at 7:30 that night, and by 7:45, fires had already started in some communities in Los Angeles. This was clearly arson.

The fire was like a signal. Soon, the riots that were originally confined to the city center and Normandy areas began to break out in Watts, Willowbrook, Florence and other places due to the encouragement of the fire, including looting and arson.

Ronald stood on the top floor of his house and could see a little fire in the distance, burning in the distance and lighting up the southern sky.

"Are you okay there? Do you want to hide at my place? I'll send someone to pick you up..." Ronald saw South Coast, the community where he used to live and where The Karate Kid was filmed, which was also starting to be burned down.

Because Cameron has to pay alimony to his ex-wives, he doesn't have the money to buy a mansion near Beverly Hills, so he still lives in the old house.

"OK, I'll still come to your place. I can drive myself. Let me call Linda first..." Cameron didn't want to hide in his girlfriend Linda Hamilton's house, so after hanging up the phone, he drove quickly to Ronald's house.

"Jim, you're here..." Diane walked up to him and hugged him... She was scared by what happened today.

"Where's Ronald?" Cameron asked.

Diane pointed upwards, toward the stairs leading to the rooftop.

"Jim, here..." Ronald was on the rooftop, looking through a telescope... and handed the other one beside him to Cameron.

"How far has it burned?"

"Hyde Park is on fire..." Ronald said, pointing to the newly-ignited fire in the distance.

"Oh my God...that's the dam area where I filmed The Terminator..." Cameron also found a familiar spot that was shining with flames.

"Fuck, what is Chief Gates of the LAPD doing now?" Ronald cursed. He boasted yesterday that he could control the situation, but now he is gone.

"Ronnie..." Diane yelled from below, "Come down quickly, there's something on TV..."

Ronald and Cameron hurried down from the roof and saw that the TV was showing footage of the LAPD headquarters, the Parker Center.

The TV station's live broadcast was shot by a photographer from a helicopter, transmitted back to the TV station via a live broadcast vehicle, and finally broadcast to TV viewers throughout Los Angeles and the United States.

The Parker Center was surrounded by a lot of black and Latino mobs. Their eyes were red and they kept trying to break through the cordon outside the Parker Center.

Behind the cordon was a combat team of LAPD. Although they were fully armed and intimidating, the number of protesters outside was many times theirs, and they were not unarmed.

"Fuck, can't he protect himself? Is Director Gates a man?" Ronald became even more angry when he saw this. This guy is only good at talking, but he is a mess in doing things..."

"Oh, Shxt," Cameron also covered his face. If the Parker Center is lost... "What about your two movies?"

"I'm planning to stop filming. Hyde Park is almost gone now. To the west are Crenshaw and Jefferson Parks. If it spreads to West Adams, it will be very close to Culver City. There are many valuables in the studio. I guess those thugs will want to rush in. Oh, you're right. I'm going to call Michael (Douglas)."

"Hello, Michael, how are you doing?" Ronald called Douglas' home.

"Fuck it, a bunch of old guys here came to me and asked me to put pressure on the governor and senators to replace the mayor who incited black people..." Michael Douglas's house was also messy and noisy.

There are many veteran stars where he lives. When this kind of thing happened in the past, the LAPD and other forces would first protect them and the studios, the largest industry in Los Angeles. Now the black mayor Tom Bradley has publicly attacked the court's decision, saying that the judge is blind and inciting black people to express their dissatisfaction with his words.

"Don't count on it. Look at Channel 5. Even the Parker Center is under siege..."

"Fuck your mother..." Douglas spoke eloquently, and both of them reached a consensus that it was impossible to shoot a movie in this city with smoke everywhere. All crew members were immediately notified overnight to stay at home, and starting tomorrow, the filming of City Heroes would be suspended indefinitely.

"Fuxk, I didn't expect that the things in this movie would come true..." Ronald thought of "City Heroes" and felt it was ridiculous. This messy magical plot, black people inciting to attack LPAD, and the snobbish boss lady of the Korean grocery store, actually happened in this city.

Is this still America, which just won the Cold War? Ronald suddenly felt very magical.

Fortunately, the league itself had problems and collapsed. If it had dragged on for a few more years, with such a thing happening in the second largest city in the United States, it is hard to say who would be the first to fail.

Ronald thought that he had donated money to two senatorial candidates, and that this would be useful today...

"Barbara? This is Ronald Lee..." Ronald answered the phone call of Barbara Boxer, the female candidate of the Donkey Party.

"Oh, Ronald, you don't have to give me your full name. I know what you are going to say. I have already signed a petition with the current senator, Mr. Alan Cranston, to ask for help from the White House. The situation here is no longer something that those bastards at the Park Center can handle.

Your crew has stopped filming? This is very wise. My sources told me that the riots will probably last for more than three days. Why? Because the mobilization of the National Guard and the army requires the approval of the White House. Do you need to leave? You decide for yourself. I feel that you should not stay in a dangerous place..."

"Mr. Bruce Hesenson..." Ronald called another candidate.

"Fuxk fuxk, don't count on the LAPD, if you can, store enough food and water, load your bullets, and block the door with sandbags..."

The candidate of the Elephant Party is indeed quite tough. He directly said that he would arm his family.

"LAPD Chief Gates? This guy is a softie, do you know where he is now? He escaped from Parker Center in a helicopter and ran away to attend a political fundraiser, wanting more power..."

"It's terrible..." Ronald felt that this matter was really going to be serious.

Commissioner Gates and Mayor Bradley, these two bastards are not the ones who really want to do something to quell the riots, but they are both thinking of taking the opportunity to incite supporters and expand their influence. Both of them are more like politicians than bureaucrats who really do things.

"Ring ring ring ring..."

At this time, the phone rang, and Ronald heard it was Richard calling.

"I have received reliable information. The mayor and the director have held a meeting and are preparing to set up strong guards around Hollywood and Beverly Hills. There will be a curfew in the next few days. Starting tonight, civil aviation flights will bypass the sea and will not pass through Los Angeles. If you want to leave, you must take advantage of this opportunity, otherwise you will be trapped here..."

"Okay, let's go now. Will you come with us?" Ronald wanted to take Richard with him.

"I have to stay here. My other clients are still in Los Angeles. If you want to leave, it would be best if you can take Paula and his child with you. This way, Niceta won't have to worry about anything. Someone is needed to look after this place..."

"Richard, these are all external things. The most important thing is safety..." Ronald wanted to persuade him again.

"I've already made up my mind. Besides, I'm afraid that if we're not here, someone will take the opportunity to cause trouble at CAA. Don't worry, I'm prepared..."

Ronald was touched. Richard was really dedicated to his work. He really did the best a broker could do to protect the interests of his clients...

He turned back to discuss with his bodyguard Daniel, leaving two people to protect Richard and Niceta, and then sent someone to pick up Paula Wagner and the child.

Stars like Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks all have their own connections. After Ronald informed them, they also said that it would be better for them to leave for the time being.

Cameron watched for a long time and finally asked Ronald, "Are you really leaving?"

"Confucius once said that a gentleman would not stand next to a wall that was in danger of collapsing. I know that probably nothing will happen to us, but why try?"

"Damn, you're right..."

"Okay, call Linda and we'll go together..."

Everyone gathered at Ronald's house and prepared to rush to the airport together. Pilot Bozo, the former Top Gun stunt pilot, was already at the airport with another pilot preparing the business jet so that they could take off as soon as they arrived and fly directly to Staten Island.

Surrounded by a team of bodyguards, they drove a bulletproof car all the way to the airport.

The entire road was littered with broken glass, and street lights were destroyed in many places, but there was still light. The flames in the distance illuminated the city's sky.

When we arrived at the airport, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were there, and Paula Wagner was still comforting the two panicked stars. There were many other stars in the terminal, all of whom were planning to flee before the curfew.

Kidman's eyes were a little red and swollen, and she seemed to be scared enough. She wanted to go back to her hometown in Australia to avoid the limelight. Cruise didn't want to go that far, he just wanted to stay in a safe place for a few days to see the limelight.

Ronald stepped forward and asked Paula Wagner's child to come over and sit down first. This agent was really pitiful. He had also fled away, and before he could take care of his child, he had to provide psychological counseling to Nicole Kidman.

Ronald felt sorry for the child, so he held him and coaxed him to sleep. The child was not used to being in a strange place, and was crying before, but now he might be tired and soon fell asleep in Ronald's arms.

"Ronald, thank you..." Paula Wagner was about to burst into tears. Who doesn't love their own children?

"How is it?" Ronald asked her in a low voice.

"She agreed to go to Miami for vacation first. She still loves Tom very much..."

Not only did Tom Cruise not want to go to Australia, he also didn't want to be too far away from his beloved Scientology. He had just finished filming "A Few Good Men" and his Scientology microphone had become famous in Hollywood, so he wanted to go to Clearwater, Florida, where another large headquarters of Scientology is located.

"That's good..." Ronald also felt it was absurd. This riot turned the big stars who were usually so popular into ordinary people. The worst was Paula Wagner. It seemed that she had to accompany them to Miami. It was very tiring to bring the children with her, and she had to take care of two older children.

"Hey, you can't do this... We applied for the route according to the regulations..."

At this moment, Ronald's captain Bozo and all the other business jet pilots came to the lounge and surrounded a man wearing an air traffic control center uniform to express their protest.

"What happened?" Ronald asked Bozo.

"The air traffic control center rejected our take-off time slot. We submitted the flight application according to the procedures and obtained the permission. The landing place is a private airport, which has nothing to do with them. But the air traffic control center said that they received an order from DC to temporarily stop giving us the take-off time slot.

"Do they have that power?" Ronald didn't understand.

"In fact, as long as we submit the flight application and the landing place allows it, there will be no problem. They are just bullying. I heard that there will be a curfew in the early morning. Then we will have to line up again, and they can show off their power again...

If I were still flying planes in the Navy, would they still have a say?"

"This is a joint decision by the mayor and the governor. You can protest if you have any objections. I remind you that the White House was also involved in this decision. We'd better do it according to the requirements. You don't want to see reports in tomorrow's newspapers about celebrities abusing their fame and fleeing Los Angeles, do you?
In fact, it will be very quick. You just need to resubmit your application, obtain permission from the new Joint Operations Command, and then queue up again. The sooner you queue up, the sooner you will get permission to take off..."

The people at the air traffic control center obviously wanted to show off their power. There are many people in America who have this bad temper of wanting to show off their power at critical moments.

In this society that operates according to various rules and regulations, the authority of rule enforcers is respected, and failure to comply with the rules will cause public dissatisfaction. These people may only have this one chance in their lifetime to get some privileges in front of celebrities, so they must strictly enforce it with the mentality of not using it for nothing.

"When will it be possible?" Some celebrities and wealthy people could no longer hold back and started asking.

"It is expected that the mayor and the governor will declare a curfew in the early morning, and the National Guard will be deployed in advance. You can wait until tomorrow morning to get the permits. Please tell me your name, sir, and I will give you the first application..."

"Ah...this sir..." Many people crowded forward. At this time, the county magistrate was the most powerful person on the scene.

"Call me..." Ronald didn't want to wait any longer. He had a good relationship with the military, so it wouldn't be a problem to find them to open a backdoor. But now it was too late to find the officer who would take over the air traffic control at Los Angeles Airport. Fortunately, there were stronger connections...

"Hello, George, this is Ronald. I'm in Los Angeles now and need a takeoff permit. Yes, someone here has invalidated our flight permit..."

"Let him answer the phone..." Little George was still worried that his partner might be in danger, and he was furious when he heard the news.

"Who are you? I'm very busy now..." The official at the air traffic control center looked arrogant.

"I am George W...., son of the current President George H.W..."

"I'm still Ronald's son..." He didn't believe it at all, hung up the phone, and pointed at Ronald and lectured him, "You'd better apply honestly, otherwise I'll let you go last..."

"I don't think you have the right..." Ronald thought about the scene where little George fainted from anger over there, and felt that he would be free soon.

"Let me show you if I have the authority to do so..." The officer found Ronald's flight permit from a stack of previous permits and tore it to pieces. Originally, it would only take a new stamp to release the flight, but now that it has been torn up, it would take at least two more hours to reapply...

"Tear,...call..." The walkie-talkie on the officer's waist suddenly rang.

"Control room, control room, I'm in the terminal hall, Over..."

"You Shxt! You MotherFuXXX...Issue Ronald Lee's flight permit immediately, you XXXX..."

The official who was scolded was a little overwhelmed, "But I have torn up his application..."

"Let me go now. Why are you still talking about horseshxt at this time? Let me go. I ask you to put it together again..."

Ronald smiled slightly, and under everyone's surprised gaze, he said to Tom Cruise, "Why don't you go to my place first? Then you can fly to Florida?"

……

In the morning, Ronald and his family were already drinking hot tea in their house on Staten Island. Paula Wagner entrusted her children to Diane and went to Florida with Cruise and Kidman.

Ronald was still watching the morning news. In the early hours of last night, the mayor and the governor jointly issued a statement announcing a curfew. All sports games and cultural performances were cancelled, and the latest home games of the NBA Lakers and Clippers would be held in Las Vegas.

The curfew was not actually implemented because the National Guard did not have permission from the federal government to enter Los Angeles to maintain order. All the forces were deployed by the black mayor to the wealthy areas to protect public security.

Last night's rioting caused widespread damage to property in various communities, ultimately spreading to Hollywood.

Looting and arson swept Hollywood Boulevard, while rioting spread southwest to neighboring Gardena, Compton, Carson, and Long Beach.

The black and Latino army, having tasted the sweetness of riots, spread in all directions from the southern center of Los Angeles. Eventually, it spread to areas such as West Hollywood where ordinary Hollywood actors live. There were reports of property damage and injuries everywhere.

"This is really chaotic. I've been in America for so many years, but I've never seen anything so chaotic..." Ang Lee had finished his award tour in Europe and returned to New York. When he heard that Ronald was here, he came over to chat with him.

"Yes, the riots in New York's Central Park a few years ago did not expand. That was because the PD's leader was capable. Rudy was in charge of New York that year, so nothing serious happened. Now, those two idiots in Los Angeles are both idiots..."

Ronald began to curse the director and the mayor as two bastards, who condoned and instigated such a huge disaster for their own selfish interests.

"Spike, what do you think?"

Another former schoolmate, Spike Lee, also came to see Ronald, but he changed his talkative nature and didn't say a word.

"Spike, what's wrong with you?"

"I thought about my movie Do the Right Thing two years ago, and these people are just repeating the plot I shot in the movie. These bastards will not be satisfied until all of us black people die..."

Ronald glanced at Cameron who was drinking coffee next to him, and Ang Lee who was drinking tea on the other side. They were all shocked. This... It seems like it's you black people who are causing the riots this time?
(End of this chapter)