Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York

Manhattan, office of New York Police Commissioner Frant Hardman.

Auston, the head of the Auxiliary Police Office, and Lawrence, the head of the DA security company, drank coffee and waited patiently.

Soon after.

Commissioner Hardman walked in with a briefcase and smiled as he let the two of them into his office.

Commissioner Hardman's secretary brought coffee to the three of them and closed the office door thoughtfully.

About two 10 minutes later.

Auston and Lawrence said goodbye to a smiling Commissioner Hardman and left.

After Commissioner Hardman returned to his office, he closed the door, walked to the phone, pondered for a long time, picked up the phone and dialed.

. . .

Manhattan.

Stanley fourth floor.

David pushed the notebook where he and Shirley talked in front of Lilith and explained it.

Lilith lowered her head and looked through the notes David had made, and after listening to the entire plan, the expression on her face was a mixture of surprise and weirdness. .

She stared at David with inquiring eyes for a few seconds, and said with a strange smile: "The two magazines you want to acquire, "Vogue" and "Harper's BAZAAR," are both Hearst magazines. The company's most famous fashion magazine..."

"Don't you know Patty Hearst?"

"...Who is she? Your friend?"

"That's it."

"At least...it used to be~"

"Ever? You two had a falling out?"

Lilith put the notebook on the desk and glanced sideways at the three Lu Di and Shirley sitting on the sofa. After pondering for a few seconds, she shook her head and smiled.

"Patty Hearst's grandfather, Hearst Sr., had a good relationship with the Morgan family."

"The Hollywood movie "Citizen Kane" shot in 1940 is a biographical film based on the boss of the Hearst Company, William Randolph Hearst."

"The elder Hearst passed away in 1964."

"He and his wife have five sons in total. Patty Hearst's father is the elder Hearst's second son."

"However... the will left by Old Hearst before his death caused the heirs of the Hearst family to fight a lawsuit for nearly ten years after Old Hester's death."

"In the mid-1920s, Hearst Sr. openly lived with his lover, then-married Hollywood actress Marion Davies, in Los Angeles, California. Hearst Sr.'s wife lived in New York with their five children."

"So, after the death of Hearst Sr., part of the equity distribution of Hearst Company was divided in the will to Marion Davies's children."

"But this will was later judged invalid by the court after many court trials."

"Because Hester Sr. was still married to his wife before his death, their five sons enjoy the inheritance rights of Hearst Company, while the children of Sr. Hearst and his lover Marion Davies have no inheritance rights."

Lilith paused for a moment, then continued to laugh when she saw the small flame of gossip flashing in David's eyes.

"The Vogue and Harper's BAZAAR magazines you want to buy are all in the hands of the elder Hearst's second son, Patty Hearst's father."

"Paddy Hearst is in jail now..."

"if you.."

When David heard this, he frowned and raised his hand to interrupt Lilith and said, "Prison? What crime did she commit?"

Lilith put away her smile: "She was imprisoned for multiple armed bank robberies..."

"Armed robbery? Multiple times??"

"Is she short of money? Why would she do such a stupid thing?"

Lilith sighed with helplessness and regret: "In 74, Patty, who was the same age as me at the time, was a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley."

"One night in February 74, Patty and her fiancé were attacked by three strangers in their apartment."

"Subsequently, her fiancé was severely beaten and seriously injured and was hospitalized. Fortunately, he survived, but Patty was knocked unconscious by three gangsters and taken away as a hostage."

The expression on Lilith's face slowly turned cold, her voice was slightly lowered, and she continued.

"Hearst Corporation is one of the giant companies in the media industry."

"After Patty Hearst was kidnapped by an organization calling itself SLA, the media across the United States was abuzz."

"They used the inflammatory reporting that the old Hearst was best at to let almost everyone in the United States know about it."

"During the 57 days when Patty was kidnapped by the SLA, every tape that was sent for processing was reported by the media with great fanfare for everyone to know."

"Initially, the SLA organization asked the Hearst family to put pressure on the US government to release the two criminals arrested by the SLA. Patty's family did not agree."

"Seeing that the two accomplices had no hope of being released, the SLA organization once again made a request to ask the Hearst family to spend $[-] million to establish free welfare stations in Los Angeles and San Francisco to distribute food to the poor."

"The Hearst family simply cannot afford the money and did not agree."

"Paddy's parents listened to the opinions of their family members and did not agree..."

"Later, the SLA organization sent Patty's tape and claimed that the amount had been reduced to 400 million, and made all the media controlled by the Hearst family become a propaganda tool for the SLA organization."

"At that time, the Hearst family was still unwilling to part with the money, so they could only report the so-called SLA organization's declaration obediently in their own newspapers and magazines."

"But the direction of this matter is far beyond everyone's imagination."

"The various demands of the SLA organization have become more and more numerous and excessive, causing divisions of opinion within the Hearst family."

"Except for Patty's parents, no one in the family is willing to let the whole family be led by the SLA, this stupid organization, to become the laughing stock of the world because of Patty's safety."

"So, they bypassed Patty's parents and publicly announced to the SLA organization in the newspaper that they had given up on Patty."

Lilith's voice stopped in the office.

David saw that her expression was very ugly, so he turned to look at Ludy and asked.

"Do you know about this?"

Lu Di smiled playfully, shrugged and said, "Of course!"

"A few years ago, there was news about Patty Hearst on television for months at a time."

"It is said that after she was imprisoned for two months and the Hearst family no longer met the requirements of the SLA organization, Patty used an audio tape and several photos to announce to the media that she chose to join the SLA organization and became a poor person. A warrior who fights for freedom."

"The photo of her holding a rifle and standing in front of the Hydra flag was reported by newspapers for three days."

"I still remember... The newspapers at that time said that Patty's face was extremely pale, her cheeks were sunken, and it seemed that her soul could no longer be seen in her lifeless eyes..."

"Haha~" Lu Di spread his hands, glanced at Lilith, whose face turned dark, and closed his mouth knowingly.

David raised his eyebrows, raised his hand to scratch his chin, looked at Lilith, and waited.

Lilith took a deep breath, leaned back, crossed her legs, folded her arms in front of her chest, and whispered.

"The Hearst family at the time was completely unable to accept Patty's decision."

"Patty's parents speculated that their daughter, who had always been well-behaved and gentle, must have been coerced by the SLA organization and had no choice but to join the organization."

"However, Patty's recorded declaration and photos have already been sent out, and it is impossible for the Hearst family to stand up and support her decision out of their minds."

"They... chose silence."

"A few days later, Patty joined members of the organization in robbing a bank in San Francisco at gunpoint."

"And after the robbery was successful, she announced again on the tape that she had changed her name to Tania and was already a fighter fighting against the current unreasonable system in the United States."

"The then Attorney General of the United States, William Saxby, specifically labeled the SLA organization an enemy of society in the media, and ordered the FBI to pursue the SLA organization with all its strength and bring them all to justice in one fell swoop."

"The major media also ignored the voices of Patty's parents defending their daughter, and fully reported the scene of Patty holding a gun, describing her as a terrifying devil and a national thief."

"Later, the SLA organization responded to these reports. In a new tape, Patty used harsh and rude words to compare parents who were concerned about their personal safety to stupid pigs."

"Wait a moment!"

David waved his hand to interrupt Lilith, picked up the pen, and after recording some important information in his notebook, he frowned and raised his head and asked Lilith.

"What did she go through during the two months she was imprisoned?"

Lilith shook her head slightly and continued without answering the question directly.

"In the late summer of 75, Patty was caught by the police more than a year after she was kidnapped."

"In court, Patty told everyone about her experience being locked up in a closet at SLA headquarters."

"She said that someone in the SLA organization has been brainwashing her and trying to make her an accomplice."

"Whether it was day or night, she was forced to repeatedly listen to the so-called correct remarks and death threats from the SLA organization."

"Even...she has been raped by different SLA members many times~"

"Patty said that from the beginning of her hope, she gradually stopped believing that anyone would come to save her."

"During the trial, her defense lawyer also presented the testimony of the FBI agent, saying that Patty's mental state appeared to be very abnormal after her arrest."

"Patti's defense lawyers also presented a lot of evidence to prove that Patty was constantly tortured during those nearly two months. As a victim, she gradually developed a psychological attachment to the perpetrator. The twisted emotions, in turn, began to help the perpetrators.”

Lilith took a few deep breaths and said in a deeper voice: "Paddy's father hired psychology experts and sociology experts to summarize her psychological distortions as Stockholm Syndrome."

"Those experts stated to the judge and jurors in court: Stockholm syndrome is caused by the fact that people have a fragile bottom line in the fear they can endure."

"When Patty was locked up in a small closed space and subjected to constant threats to her life and verbal and physical abuse, all the fear in her heart for the robbers who kidnapped her would slowly turn into a fear of the robbers over time. Gratitude, and then turned into a kind of... crazy worship, and thought that only when the robbers were safe, she was safe..."

"This mentality of succumbing to violence was summarized by the psychologist who came to court as: Human beings are creatures that can be domesticated through various means."

David silently wrote down this passage, but felt a strange sense of absurdity in his heart. .

He pondered for a moment, looked up at Lilith, and asked softly.

"Did she only have her own account in court about her experience of being imprisoned? Where are the members of the SLA organization who can corroborate it? They were all rounded up and shot by the FBI and the police?"

"No~ There is also a surviving Harris couple who went to court to testify about some of Patty's tragic experiences while they were imprisoning her."

"However... the judge and jury did not accept the evidence presented by the lawyers. They unanimously found Patty guilty of bank robbery, accompanied by illegal possession of weapons, and was jailed for 7 years."

David nodded slightly, tore off a piece of paper from his notebook, wrote a few words on it, stood up and walked to Lilith, smiling.

"Come with me~"

Lilith stood up with a pursed lips, was hugged by David around the waist, and walked out of the office.

out the door.

David hugged Lilith's hand tightly, handed the note to his secretary Maggie, and said: "Tell... Yuri~ Find Odis Parker or Mag Ludwig and let them check it out. Tell me if you have any news~"

"Okay~" Maggie took the note and quickly went to find Yuri without even looking at it.

David turned his head and asked softly in Lilith's ear: "Which magazine do you and Laura prefer? Vogue? Or Harper's BAZAAR?"

Lilith bit her lip, raised her head slightly to look at David, and replied with a complicated look in her eyes: "We... all like Harper's Bazaar."

"Okay~ Then it's Harper's Bazaar!"

David held Lilith in his arms, walked slowly to the elevator, and continued to ask softly.

"Where's Laura? Have you been in contact with her these days?"

"...We talk on the phone every night. She is very busy with her studies and is slowly adapting to life at Yale~"

"Well~ not bad!"

"It seems that our little girl has grown up? Haha~"

Lilith stopped in her tracks, turned her head to look at David, and whispered hesitantly: "You want... to help Patty? Come and get Harper's Bazaar?"

David raised his eyebrows calmly and said with a smile: "If you want me to find a way and help, a Harper's Bazaar magazine is not expensive, right?"

"..Thanks!"

"Oh? Is your thank you for Patty? Or...?"

Lilith rolled her eyes at David and said with a smile: "Thank you, for us!"

"Ah~ you're welcome!"

"Hahaha~"

. . .

David sent Lilith to her office, and after a few words of comfort, he left.

On the way back to his office, he chose to take the stairs.

As he walked down step by step, he couldn't help but smile, shake his head, and sigh.

Stockholm Syndrome, Stockholm Syndrome, or also commonly known as: Hostage Syndrome. .

The victim of this disease is a bizarre mental illness that is emotionally dependent on the criminal. The cause is that the victim is attached to the criminal who is violent to him/her. The result is that the victim and the criminal are complicit and become the criminal's accomplice. .

In his previous life, David had watched countless movies and TV series adapted from the characteristics of this mental illness.

In those film and television dramas, the screenwriters presented the entire process of the hostages' tragic experiences and psychological changes after being kidnapped to the audience, allowing more people to have a clearer understanding of cognitive syndrome. .

Lilith mentioned just now that what the psychologist said is true~

Human beings are one of the intelligent creatures that can be domesticated through various means.

Whether Patty Hearst really suffered from Stockholm Syndrome or whether she really voluntarily participated in the criminal activities of the SLA organization was not important to David.

He could read from Lilith's language and demeanor that she wanted to help her former friend, but was struggling with no good way.

But~

As David just said, he didn't know Patty, and he had nothing to do with the Hearst family, so why should he find a way to help them?

If David really chooses to help Patty Hearst just for Lilith, what will Patty's family think?

In the adult world, one of the lowest levels of thinking logic is. .It’s no good to be early!

They would definitely be secretly wary of David, lest this guy come out of nowhere and take the opportunity to put forward harsh conditions. .

Harper's Bazaar Magazine~

It’s a good excuse and bargaining chip!

Human nature~

Many times, it’s impossible to guess~

. . .

David returned to his office, first signaled to Ludy and the other three, then sat down next to Shirley and smiled.

"When I was going out just now, I thought of something again."

"When I participated in the parade, I saw a lot of girls wearing warm jeans. What brand were they wearing? Do you know?"

Shirley tilted her head and thought for a while, then said with some uncertainty: "It seems to be... a brand called ck (Calvin Klein)."

(ck, CalvinKlein, can be translated as Calvin Klein.)

"ck?" David seemed to have some impression of this brand in his memory~

"How are their products? Have you bought them?"

"No~"

"I only occasionally see ck's women's clothing, coats and accessories when I visit department stores. ck is probably a new denim fashion series launched this year, and I have only seen it on the street in the past few days."

"Oh.."

David stood up, took his notebook, wrote it down, and asked Shirley: "What about you? Do you have anything to add to my plan?"

Shirley shook her head simply: "You are the boss, and planning is all your concern. I am just a worker. Whatever you say, I will do~"

"Uh...hahaha~"

"Okay~"

"Just now... I asked Lilith and she thought Harper's Bazaar magazine would be a good fit for us."

"Coupled with the two brands we have mentioned, COACH (Coach) and ck, the preliminary acquisition plan has been finalized."

"After you go back... take the underwear drawings I gave you before and make a sample~"

When Shirley heard David starting to make such a request again, her little face jumped up and she frowned and said, "You..."

"Hey~ don't be impatient!"

David raised his hand to hold Shirley's little hand and explained: "Women are the mainstream consumer group who pursue fashion."

"Since we want to do women's business, we must establish a complete product chain so that women who come to our company to shop can buy everything they can't imagine!"

"Just like housewives walking into Wal-Mart, a one-stop shopping experience that meets all customers' needs is our key goal for future development."

"Underwear is an important product category that we must be involved in."

"So...don't get it wrong!"

"I don't know any other designers at all, you are the only one who can help me..."

"I was just thinking about our plan~!"

"Business is business, and it's just business~!"

Shirley stared at David intently for a while, exhaled a long breath, and shrugged.

"Okay~ I'll just...believe you once~"

"But, only this time!"

"Haha~ I promise! There will never be a next time~"

When David saw that he had finally coaxed Shirley, he couldn't help praising her like honey for a while and sent her away. .

. . .

David sat back behind his desk again, facing Ludy and the other three, spreading his hands with a grimace.

"e＝(?o＊))) alas~"

"This aunt is not easy to be deceived..."

"Hahaha~"

Ludi and Alto, who had been sitting on one side the whole time, eating melon in silence and enjoying themselves, were made to laugh by David.

The wooden man Rosenluo also raised the corners of his mouth slightly, nodded and smiled~

He also knew Shirley. He had experienced this person a few years ago, who seemed harmless to humans and animals, but after being exposed to her, he realized how powerful she was. .Little pepper~

. . .

After a few people laughed, David found another piece of white paper, asked Lu Di and the others to sit across from him, pondered for a while, and said to them while writing.

"Your ideas are great~"

"But, can we expand it a little bit more?"

"For example, there are countless magazines in New York. We can first collect several small magazines, integrate them, and use their existing personnel and sales channels to launch a new magazine of our own~!"

"Then, we need to identify the consumer groups, change and update the magazine content in a targeted manner, and fully mobilize their enthusiasm for consumption, so that we can survive independently by not just selling small videos~"

"Rather... build a pan-entertainment empire around a central development plan that satisfies people's curiosity for novelty or desire to pry into privacy!"

"Empire?" Ludy repeated the word and nodded amusedly.

"You kid, are you too ambitious?"

"Hahaha~"

"A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier!"

"Since we are going to do it, of course we have to do it the best~!"

"The name of this new magazine should also be more resounding..."

"Hmm... New Yorker?"

"No~ It seems there is already a magazine called The New Yorker..."

David scratched his chin with his hand, tilted his head and thought for a while, and finally gave up: "Forget it, let's wait until you go back and integrate the magazine before thinking of a name~"

"Let's go on~"

"I just mentioned...the Empire!"

"Yes, that's right~ We are going to build a pan-entertainment empire that is comparable to major Hollywood movie companies."

"Since we are a pan-entertainment empire, of course we will not only meet the needs of male consumers, but also take into account the needs of female consumers and transgender consumers~"

"There are a lot of beautiful girls in New York, and there are also a lot of young and strong handsome guys, right?"

"We can give women and transgender people a separate magazine that they like to read the most."

"On this point, you can go back and find someone to do a market survey first to see if they/they like handsome boys/beauties of that style and really want to see them in magazines~"

Lu Di grinned, turned to look at Rosenlow, and asked in a low voice: "Can you remember everything he said?"

Rosenlow pointed at David honestly and said, "When he finishes writing, I will follow it~"

"Tsk... ok~"

"David, continue."

"Haha~ok!"

"Furthermore... our magazines and pictorials should not have overly nude photos or articles involving discrimination!"

"Nudity... In this regard, we are all men. We should know that there is a sense of mystery in women. When they are half-covered, they are the most fascinating and curious beauties."

"Hmm... Haha~ You've done a lot of research on this, right?"

"Hahaha~"

"cough~"

"That... articles about discrimination will cause trouble and will cause our magazine to be labeled even more~"

"So, be careful and don't let those who have made a lot of noise in recent years be targeted!"

"Okay~" Lu Di nodded in agreement.

David’s reminder is correct~

When it comes to making money, no one wants to have a lot of trouble~

David lowered his head, wrote down the points he just said on the paper, thought about it, and continued.

"All actors who participate in video tapes and magazine shootings must sign a strict contract to ensure our interests."

"If we meet a newcomer with the potential to become a big star, we will control his/her nudity to leave him/her with the possibility of putting the clothes he took off back on and becoming a big star~"

"We are in a long-term business, and we cannot do stupid things like killing the goose to get the eggs, fishing in the marsh, and short-sightedness~"

"He/they will become our cash cow in the future and must be well protected and cultivated to make more money~"

"When we have more and more cash cows, our income will also become more abundant~"

David stared at Ludy, watched him think about it for a moment, nodded, then breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued.

"Finally, the idea I can think of is to set up an interactive relationship between magazines, videos and consumers... rankings or awards~"

"Those actors, models, and characters we introduce are the most popular among consumers, and they will receive the most popular awards from us~"

"For similar awards, you can refer to some award settings in the domestic entertainment industry~"

"I won't go into details. You should be able to find more professional talents to get them out~"

"That...the last one~!"

"I also want to remind you!"

David stopped writing, looked at Lu Di and the three of them seriously, and said: "Anyone, in order to pursue fame and fortune, chooses to take off their clothes and accept everyone's gaze calmly..."

"We welcome!"

“Business is business, it’s just business!”

"We will not do anything to force people~"

"So, I suggest that when signing a contract with a new person in the future, you must send a lawyer to explain the various terms of the contract in detail, so that they all clearly understand the contents of the contract, and record the process."

"In doing so, we can leave evidence that cannot be overturned as to whether they signed the contract voluntarily!"

"It can also avoid some troubles that we don't want to encounter~!"

"ok~"

Lu Di was considered the representative among the three, and he nodded readily and agreed.

David let out a sigh of relief, handed his record to Rosenlow, and said with a smile.

"If you encounter problems, you can come to me at any time~"

"Okay~Thank you, David!"

"Hahaha~ You're welcome!"