Thinking of all the terrifying rumors about Street Jesus, Gary hung his head, his tone tinged with a sob.
No one knew the background of public figures better than him. Although he was involved in gray industries, he was, at best, a small-time fixer.
But Leon was seriously connected with the Godfather of Compton, Robinson, and on top of that, he kept that pack of reckless mad dogs from O-Block.
The rumor of Monteith having half his teeth pulled out had become a lingering shadow in his mind.
"Money?" Leon yawned. "You fool, mentioning money in front of me? You don't seem as smart as I imagined."
"No, no, no... I can give you whatever you want; please don't hurt me!" Gary pleaded, "I'm a father of twelve children! For God's sake, please forgive me!"
Leon let out two contemptuous laughs. "What do the gangsters say? Forgiving you is God's business; my job is to send you to meet God."
Gary's face turned ashen; he tilted his head motionless, not even noticing the burnt-out cigarette butt burning his fingers.
"But I'm willing to give you a chance." Leon said in a deep voice, "Seize it. This is your only chance, or you might be floating at the mouth of the Hudson River tomorrow. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Of course!" Gary suddenly raised his head and said loudly, "I'm willing to do anything for you! Even if it's sneaking a nude photo of Speaker Pelosi!"
"Good. Braun contacts you often, right?"
"Our contact has been very close in recent months; he trusts my business ability very much."
"Listen, what I want you to do is simple. Keep a close eye on Braun, no matter what moves he makes." Leon leaned forward, putting enough pressure on the other party. "I mean whatever. Down to what time he wakes up every day and which woman he sleeps with... understood?"
"Understood, understood! I'm a professional at this!" Gary felt unspeakable bitterness in his heart. He had the illusion of being upgraded from a professional cleaner to a double agent.
And it happened to be a high-risk job working for both the CIA and the KGB at the same time.
"Listen, I won't let you work for free. Compared to that damn Jewish vampire, you should know who can make you big money!" Leon said, "Those who stood with me all got rich."
"I've read all the reports about you and trust your character completely!"
For Gary, it was no longer a question of who paid more.
Although Braun was cunning and vicious, willing to use any dirty and despicable means to achieve his goals, he had never heard of him causing any violent disputes.
But the young man in front of him was different.
Ordering gunmen to ambush Diddy, sending people to shoot Duane Davis's men, backstabbing Jay-Z and confronting him head-on...
Choosing between "money" and "life"—this was basically a freebie question.
"Very good. You're a smart bastard. I don't like dealing with idiots." Leon said, "Don't tell anyone I came to find you..."
---
By the time he returned to the office, it was already 12 PM.
There was a three-hour time difference between Los Angeles and New York. Thinking that Robbie should be awake by now, Leon called her.
"Are you busy on set, baby?"
"Don't call me so intimately. Aren't you about to marry Taylor soon?" Robbie dragged out the last syllable sarcastically. "Don't forget to invite me to your wedding then."
"It's too early to say that." Leon quickly steered the topic back on track. "Does Lovett still mention SB Projects in front of you often?"
"Not so frequently after I rejected him."
"Listen, Robbie, I need you to do something for me." Leon lowered his voice. "From now on, you don't need to avoid this topic with Lovett. Try to let him speak his mind actively."
"What are you going to do?"
Robbie felt very strange. The grudge between Braun and Leon had a long history, which she had known for a long time.
Braun promised female lead roles in A-list superhero movies and Oscar-level resources, hoping to sign her after her contract with CAA expired.
It seemed that CAA CEO Lovett and Braun had reached some kind of backdoor deal. CAA was not only willing to let her go but also started working on their own actor's mindset.
"You'll know later. Those two bastards will pay for their cleverness."
"Are you going to use me as a tool again?"
"Not what you think."
"Sounds exactly like what I think." Robbie sighed. "Don't explain. No one knows your methods better than me, but I have a request this time..."
"What? If I can satisfy it."
"You have to get me an A-list resource, the kind with an investment budget of over $100 million or a chance to aim for an Oscar."
Robbie's request was unexpected for Leon. In the past, this girl despised all ways of obtaining resources through gray means. Now she was actually talking about benefits exchange on the phone.
And the trading partner was her ex-boyfriend.
Hollywood is indeed a big dyeing vat. No matter what kind of girl is thrown in, she will come out reeking of money, her brain ruled by desire.
"Alright, I promise you." Leon wasn't unhappy; at least Robbie had grown.
Women without means and ambition cannot survive in this vanity fair.
"Won't you be disappointed in me for saying this?"
"How could I be? I'm very happy that you can take the initiative to ask me. No pain, no gain; this is the basic rule of how the world works."
"Alright~" Robbie said in a relaxed tone, "Remember, you taught me all this!"
After hanging up the phone, Leon put his hands under his head, looking up at the ceiling alone in the empty office.
For a long time in the past, he had been harassed by Braun using various means.
Unlike the direct revenge methods of black people like Diddy and Jay-Z, Braun fully inherited and developed the sinister and cunning characteristics often stereotypically associated with his background, acting like an intangible shadow.
Now it was his turn to fight back. The scandal of insider trading between CAA President Lovett and Braun would definitely cause quite a stir in Hollywood.
The former's presidential position certainly couldn't be kept. CAA's major shareholder, TPG Capital, would kick Lovett out immediately.
Braun would also face the pressure of a SAG investigation because of this.
---
At 3 PM, Max Martin came to Apocalypse Music for the accompaniment production of Not Like Us.
As soon as they met, he complained endlessly. "Buddy, I told you long ago, I'm not good at making rap music."
"But you did excellent work before, whether it was Panda or WAP; this is a piece of cake for you."
"This is different." Max shook his head. "The new song you wrote is a very old-school work, different from those auto-tuned trash on the market. If you want to pursue the authentic West Coast flavor, it's best to ask a professional."
"Alright, can you recommend some people who can do this job well?" Leon pondered for a while and felt it made sense.
Rap music has had obvious regional characteristics since its birth.
East Coast rap emphasizes lyrics and technicality. With Diddy vigorously promoting R&B, melodic rap became popular on the East Coast.
West Coast style pays more attention to rhythm and foundation, and emphasizes the sound effects of music. Their songs are themed on street culture, crime, and violence, emphasizing the feeling of relaxation and happiness.
Just like the music made by representative figures like Snoop Dogg and Tupac, the listener knows what they are listening to comes from the West Coast the first second the beat starts.
Judging from the expressiveness of the inspiration refresh, Not Like Us was pure West Coast style, pure enough to dare claim to be the orthodox continuation of the N.W.A bloodline.
"One of your friends is an excellent candidate." Max said, "Dre. The drum sounds he creates feel as deadly as bullets hitting the temple. Is there anyone who can represent the orthodox West Coast better than him now?"
"Are there any other candidates?" Leon facepalmed.
In the meeting in Los Angeles yesterday, although he and Dre hadn't completely fallen out, a rift difficult to repair had appeared.
He had even expressed the idea of taking over the West Coast banner at one point. In front of the other party's subordinates, this was a naked face-slapping behavior.
"Why? Listening to me is definitely right, buddy. I rarely appreciate a person in music like this." Max said.
"There are some things in between that are hard for me to explain to you clearly. Anyway, think again, is there anyone else who can do this job?"
Max thought seriously for nearly a minute and said a long list of names like Pharrell Williams, DJ Khaled, etc., but they were all rejected.
These people were all Jay-Z's little brothers and couldn't work for Leon.
The only reliable name among them was Kanye West. His talent was unquestionable, but Not Like Us emphasized lineage and style more, and didn't need too many complex flow designs and synthesized audio.
"If none of them can satisfy you, then I have no tricks left." Max spread his hands. "If Ice Cube is willing to help, you can try asking him, but his mind seems to be all on movies."
"Good idea!"
When mentioning the "Post-Tupac and N.W.A Era," music fans always think of Dre's name first.
He indeed inherited most of N.W.A's legacy and became the main beneficiary, but during N.W.A's heyday, his status in the team wasn't that high.
Besides the soul figure Eazy-E, Ice Cube was undoubtedly the second in command.
Cube contributed the vast majority of lyrics during N.W.A's heyday but didn't get returns matching his efforts, which became the trigger for him leaving the group in 1989.
The following year, N.W.A released the EP 100 Miles and Runnin', brutally dissing former member Cube in the track Real Niggaz.
The beef between the two sides lasted until Eazy-E died of AIDS in 1995 before it was declared over.
"You really should talk to Cube. With your achievements in the film industry, this shouldn't be difficult." Max said, "His situation in Hollywood isn't good. You know the box office of XXX: State of the Union; it was simply tragic..."
Released in 2005, XXX: State of the Union experienced a box office disaster after the lead actor was changed from Vin Diesel to Ice Cube. The investment of $113 million only yielded $71 million in global box office.
It was considered a rare money-loser in Hollywood history.
"That movie was born in the wrong era. If it were now, a large wave of people would walk into the cinema to pay for it just for political correctness." Leon smiled and said, "Thanks for your suggestion, Max. I will have a good talk with Cube."