The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 326: The Culprit]

Standing atop the Twitter building, one no longer needed a telescope; the smoke rising in the distance was clearly visible to the naked eye.

"Boss, it seems a bit out of control," Edward said, standing by the window with a note of concern. "Are we going to get burned along with this mess?"

Hawke acknowledged the blunder. "I tried to underestimate the organizational capabilities of the Los Angeles city departments, but I overestimated them instead. Their baseline is much lower than I imagined."

Edward chimed in, "It's been two days of fires in Los Angeles, and the mayor hasn't returned yet. He's still in Singapore for an art exhibition; it's absurd!"

Hawke shook his head in resignation. "I can only say that Brian picked a good time. That bastard has improved a lot."

Edward picked up his phone and glanced at the messages from Michael and the other three. "Compton has sent out a lot of women and children to help."

The four of them had been mere observers, serving as eyes and ears on the ground.

"Let Caroline keep pushing out the news," Hawke said. He had been using Campos and others to monitor the fire's spread and dynamics, feeling it was time to release some significant content.

Hawke instructed Campos to bring everyone back.

...

There was one more thing to address -- Melissa Ackerman had once disclosed that she hid a safe key in the Ackerman Charity Foundation's finance office. If there was a chance, they needed to try and retrieve it.

The Ackerman Foundation was headquartered north of Santa Monica.

Hawke left Twitter and went to a safe house in mid-Santa Monica, gathering Campos, Garcia, and Carlos to discuss their next moves.

...

Meanwhile, Twitter and Fox 11 had started to expose various shocking incidents involving female firefighters.

The platform exploded with reactions, making Twitter buzz with disbelief.

In the videos that surfaced, the female firefighters consistently shattered the common perception of what it meant to be a firefighter. They couldn't control even the basic firefighting equipment, failing to perform effectively amid the chaos, often clashing with the men who stepped up to help.

These members of women's rights organizations seemed to rely solely on their voices rather than their skills.

...

Public frustration over the fires and chaotic situation led to an outpouring of criticism.

"What is the current government thinking? Why are they sending a group of women to fight fires?"

"Are they even capable of handling this job? Not a chance!"

"Los Angeles burning like this, thanks to the elite of the fire department and city government!"

More news and commentary piled up online.

...

Subsequently, someone revealed last year's fire budget from Los Angeles City Hall, highlighting a gender balance reform in the firefighting system led by Mayor Antonio.

The outspoken critique inevitably focused on Mayor Antonio.

"Los Angeles burning like this, thanks to our elite mayor!"

"Antonio promoted the top three leaders of the fire department -- one had previous experience as an administrative officer, while the other two were social activists. Do they even know how to fight fires?"

"In a bid to win over women's support, Antonio is using the safety of all Los Angeles residents as an experiment!"

The outcry against Antonio grew louder and more intense.

Yet he did find favor with women's rights activists, as many women publicly supported him.

"How can we blame the female firefighters and Antonio? The weather in Los Angeles has been extremely hot and dry, leading to a lack of water in the firefighting pipes -- that's the real culprit."

These women could twist facts, but during this critical battle, they were failing to grasp the main point.

...

A Republic party council member later disclosed a publicly available document showing that just months earlier, Antonio had signed an agreement with the Wonderful Corporation, selling off the majority of Los Angeles's freshwater resources.

This included two reservoirs meant for firefighting and the canals of Los Angeles.

This was the real reason behind the water shortages.

...

With this revelation, the devastating fires in Los Angeles had evolved from a natural disaster into a political struggle between parties.

Another Republic party council member exposed another publicly available document, revealing that Antonio had slashed nearly half of the fire department's budget for equipment purchases, maintenance, and employee benefits, redirecting those funds towards gender balance initiatives.

This led to outdated firefighting equipment, neglected maintenance, and three firefighting helicopters that couldn't even take off.

Additionally, regular budget cuts meant that fire department supplies could only purchase cheap Chinese goods, which were utterly useless.

These documents, previously overlooked, became the focus of public debates.

Especially for those wealthy and well-known individuals living in northern Los Angeles, who had seen their homes burned down. They unleashed their fury on Antonio via Twitter.

...

Antonio was on his way back to Los Angeles from Singapore and was unavailable for immediate comment.

At his request, the fire department held a press conference at Los Angeles City Hall.

Chief Karen Crowley reported on the situation, stating that the Los Angeles Fire Department was doing everything it could to control the flames.

But Fox's reporter, Harley Wayne, asked a very pointed question.

"Before this fire, the fire department laid off a large number of male firefighters, replacing them with female firefighters." Harley directly inquired, "If a man is incapacitated by smoke in a burning building, will the female firefighters be able to rescue him?"

All eyes in the room shifted to Karen.

If Karen had been a typical chief, she would have scrambled to find a series of excuses.

But before taking the position, Chief Crowley had been a women's rights activist, her mind filled with notions of gender division and female privilege.

Without hesitation, she responded, "If there are men trapped in a fire and need my female firefighters to rescue them, that just means he was in the wrong place!"

Gasps filled the room.

If Karen had said that female firefighters should prioritize their own safety, the media would have found that reasonable.

But her blatant disdain shattered expectations.

Los Angeles City Hall's spokesperson, Ronald, was taken aback by her remark.

With nearly ten injuries and many affluent residents forced from their homes, this was not the right time for such a statement!

Ronald quickly announced the conclusion of the press conference.

...

They all hurried out of the briefing room and into a nearby conference room, gathering with other city officials from Los Angeles, like the water and power department head Bjorkman and LAPD Chief Bratton.

Once inside the conference room, Ronald expressed his frustration to Karen. "Your response is only going to escalate the tensions!"

Karen, filled with thoughts of gender privilege, retorted, "Am I wrong? Men should save themselves from a fire, right? Or do they wait for women to come rescue them?"

Bjorkman could hardly tolerate such foul rhetoric. "Why should women rely on male firefighters to save them?"

"Isn't that how it is supposed to be?" Karen insisted. "Isn't that the gentlemanly approach you all advocate?"

Bratton squinted, feeling an impulse to interject, but held back.

Ronald interrupted their futile argument. "The key issue now isn't this; it's controlling the fire."

Karen locked her gaze onto Bjorkman. "Then someone should ask the water and power department why there wasn't any water in the pipes. Where did our firefighting water go?"

Her earlier questioning had started off reasonably, but the next statements hit hard: "The water and power department has been dragging its feet on gender equality programs. I suspect you're intentionally obstructing the women's rights movement..."

Bjorkman had no desire to engage in that argument. On the one hand, it tied back to Mayor Antonio's agreement with Wondeful about water resources.

On the other hand, he couldn't win this showdown -- talking about rights versus responsibilities was an entangled mess.

Bjorkman turned to Ronald. "I suggest you contact Antonio immediately and report the true situation."

With that, he left the conference room, stepping back into the still-crowded press room to unilaterally announce his resignation as head of the water and power department.

He refused to play along with the misguided rhetoric of the women's rights movement; he was done!

...

As Bjorkman exited City Hall, he came upon a gathering of protestors converging on City Plaza.

Among them, some celebrities slipped into City Hall through a side entrance.

Bjorkman recognized prominent producer David Heyman, CAA founder Michael Ovitz, and Lucasfilm's vice president Jim Ward, among others.

All of them had lost their homes in the fire.

Looking up at the sky filled with concrete buildings, Bjorkman didn't worry about the fire encroaching on him.

But he sensed that this fire had the potential to reshape the political landscape of Los Angeles.

---

At Los Angeles International Airport, throngs of reporters and protestors gathered at the terminal exit.

They had received word that Mayor Antonio had landed in Los Angeles and would be coming out shortly.

Exiting from first class, sauntering down the VIP corridor, Antonio learned of the situation in Los Angeles from Ronald, who was there to greet him.

He was astonished. "What? The burned area has nearly reached 150 square kilometers? Why did the fire department say the situation was under control?"

Ronald, the mouthpiece for Antonio, told the truth. "The ongoing drought, strong winds, and the inexperience of our female firefighters have caused the situation to spiral out of control."

He advised, "Mayor, you need to let go of Karen and Michelle; they don't understand their roles, and allowing them to stay has led to worse consequences. The Chinese-based firefighting company they hired failed to get the job done, only allowing the flames to spread into Santa Monica."

Antonio didn't respond, as firing those two representatives of women's rights would undermine his plan to win their support.

Even if he fired them and shifted the blame entirely onto them, would those who had already lost their homes still back him?

The answer was clear.

The fire may have destroyed others' properties, but firing them would cost him his votes.

At that moment, Antonio did not consider letting the representatives of women's rights go.

*****

/Sayonara816.