The Tyrant Billionaire

Documentary filmmaker Burgess Morian, formerly a military field journalist, ventured into European battlefields to shoot war documentaries. After retiring, he joined MGM, and his documentaries have received awards in the past, meeting all of Hardy's requirements.

Hardy recounted the entire incident to Moran, who became excited upon hearing it. "Recording the process of apprehending bank robbers sounds very interesting to me."

"I want to capture that tense and thrilling feeling because eventually, I plan to screen it in cinemas."

Moran became even more excited.

All his previous work had been documentaries, none of which had ever made it to cinemas. "Mr. Hardy, rest assured, I will definitely capture the tense and thrilling sensation."

He pondered for a moment. "I'll need eight cameramen, eight handheld cameras."

"No problem."

"I want to use all color film."

"Understood."

"I also want to interview the Bank of America and the police department."

Hardy chuckled. "Don't worry, all of that has already been arranged for you."

...

Bank of America Los Angeles branch headquarters.

A meeting was underway in the conference room.

President Moria Johnston was furious about the bank robbery and decided to offer a $20,000 reward for clues leading to the capture of the robbers.

"Our Bank of America's motto is to protect our customers' property to the greatest extent. We won't tolerate any damage to our customers property. This matter must be thoroughly investigated."

Shooting concluded.

Edward, the interim general manager of HD Studios, entered the president's office with a smile. "President Johnston, our boss has arranged with MGM. This film is set to be made into a documentary, screened in major cinemas across the U.S., and submitted for consideration at the Oscars."

Edward was originally a manager at HD Agency, but HD Studios was an empty shell. Hardy had simply used his name before. Later, with increased responsibilities, like the collaboration with MGM, someone had to manage things. Hardy made Edward the general manager of the film company.

Edward was sharp and capable, managing things quite well from the start.

This documentary business was also assigned to Edward by Hardy.

HD Studios.

Upon hearing this, President Johnston immediately recognized the connection to HD Security.

Showing in major theaters across the U.S. and entering the Oscar documentary competition would indeed have a tremendous promotional impact on Bank of America.

But what did his last sentence mean? Frontal shots. So that means there are also reverse shots, this was a blatant threat.

President Johnston also knew that, as the robbed party Bank of America's inaction later on could be exploited by the filmmakers to severely damage its reputation.

Who gave these media pundits the power of speech?

Johnston asked Edward to step out and called the Bank of America president on the phone. He was just the branch president and needed to consult on such major events affecting the entire Bank of America.

"President Mark, I need to consult with you about something."

Johnston explained the plan to capture the robbers, film a documentary, and MGM's plan to screen it nationwide and submit it to the Oscars.

Finally, he asked, "The film company is asking how many positive shots Bank of America is willing to retain in the documentary."

Upon hearing this, President Mark understood the film company's intentions.

"Of course, the more positive shots, the better, and they must all be positive shots. I want the documentary to emphasize Bank of America's 'customer service first' philosophy."

"The documentary absolutely cannot contain any negative news about Bank of America. Do you know how severe the consequences of negative publicity can be? It could ruin a company, and negative publicity can sometimes take years or decades to recover from."

"Negative news handling could cause our stock prices to plummet, and our shareholders wouldn't forgive us."

"President Mark, I can sense a threatening tone from that film company. They definitely want money," Johnston said.

"Of course, I can sense that. Actually, this is a good thing. At least they're willing to negotiate. If the documentary promotes us positively, it'll be extremely beneficial to our company. It's only right to pay a promotional fee," President Mark replied.

"How much money do you think is appropriate?" Johnston asked.

In fact, Johnston had long known the outcome of this call he wasn't stupid, and the president was even smarter. However, he had to make the call because this amount of money was probably substantial, not something that could be settled with thirty or fifty thousand. He, as a branch manager, couldn't decide.

"Did they propose a specific amount?" President Mark asked.

"No."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Johnston, allocate $100,000 from your Los Angeles branch for promotional fees to the other party."

Johnston thought to himself that the president was really generous a $100,000. It is really beyond his capacity to allocate that much in publicity fees at one time.

But he didn't expect that it wasn't over yet.

President Mark continued: "I will allocate another $100,000 from the headquarters to the other party. Let's contribute a total of $200,000."

Johnston was surprised.

"Isn't $200,000 a bit too much?" Johnston asked.

"As long as the other party promotes Bank of America entirely positively and screens it in major theaters across the U.S our investment will be worth it." President Mark said.

"Understood, President. I'll take care of it."

$200,000 Upon hearing this figure, Edward was thrilled.

A documentary that hadn't even started filming yet had already earned $200,000 in advertising fees.

He borrowed a director and eight cameramen from MGM, along with some film, totaling less than $20,000.

But now, they had already made ten times the profit.

Johnston looked at Edward and said seriously, "Mr. Edward, Bank of America is willing to invest this huge advertising fee, but we also need to protect our interests. The film should emphasize our philosophy as much as possible, with no negative reports about us."

Edward smiled: "Don't worry. After the film is produced, I'll gather a few people to watch the preview. We'll only officially release it once everyone is satisfied."

Johnston finally felt relieved hearing Edward's words.

Edward left with the $100,000 check. As for the remaining $100,000, Johnston said it would be paid after the viewing, which Edward found appropriate.

He had already made a huge profit with this $100,000.

...

Los Angeles Police Department.

Chief Ed faced the camera and introduced the entire robbery case, ending with an impassioned declaration to apprehend the robbers and protect the citizens' safety.

...

HD Security Company Headquarters.

In the plaza a team stood there, Black tactical uniforms, steel-plated bulletproof vests, helmets, pistols at their waists, grenades, flashlights, and magazines in their pockets. Some held submachine guns, others sniper rifles, their faces covered with masks, revealing only sharp eyes.

This outfit was very similar to future special forces.

The black tactical uniforms and equipment were specially designed by Hardy when he established the security company. They hadn't been seen before, but Hardy had them introduced ahead of time. Apart from anything else, they looked very cool.

Each team was equipped with a set of wireless walkie-talkies, somewhat similar to mobile phones in the future. Although the communication range was only 1.5 miles, it was considered cutting-edge technology for that era and played a crucial role in commanding operations within a small area.

The team standing there immediately gave off a strong and formidable feeling.

They looked very professional.

Director Moran was also seeing such a team for the first time and was greatly impressed. He ordered several cameras to capture the scene from different angles, striving to portray their most powerful side.

Inside the strategic research room.

Lancer was being interviewed.

"At HD Security, all personnel are ex-soldiers who have fought bravely on European and Asian battlefields, all heroes in combat, making significant contributions to global security and world peace."

"After joining the security company, they received more formal security training and became security personnel, continuing to serve the public's safety. We have already established contact with the Los Angeles Police Department, and both sides have expressed their intentions to conduct capture operations together.

I believe that HD Security will also become a force to protect the citizens of Los Angeles."

"We have clearly investigated that there are six robbers in total. There may be other personnel in hiding, but they shouldn't exceed ten."

"One team should be able to eliminate them, but for the safety of the public, we are preparing to deploy six teams to ensure everything goes smoothly."

Sixty security personnel climbed into their vehicles, with Lancer as the commander sitting in the command vehicle, equipped with a radio for communication with the six combat teams.

Several cameramen followed different units, continuously filming, especially focusing on the command vehicle.

At the same time, the police department also deployed a team.

A total of 20 people.

Police and HD Security assembled about 3 kilometers away from the scrap collection station, standing together after disembarking.

The police looked somewhat lax, armed with just pistols and a few long guns. Looking at the security company teams beside them, they exuded a fierce and elite air from the inside out.

There was a clear difference.

Chief Ed shook hands with Lancer.

Facing the camera, Ed said, "Those bank robbers are a group of inhuman bandits. The police department is somewhat lacking in firepower, so we have deliberately started a cooperation with HD Security for this capture operation, where HD Security will take the lead and we will assist."

Ed turned to Lancer and asked, "Are you sure those robbers are still inside the scrap collection station?"

"Yes, our intelligence officers have been keeping watch." Lancer replied.

"Then shall we begin the operation now?"

"Operation..."

With that command, HD Security personnel boarded their vehicles again and headed towards the scrap collection station in a massive formation.

The convoy stopped 500 meters away from the scrap collection station.

The action teams disembarked and advanced forward from different directions.

The cameramen closely followed the teams.

Bringing up the rear were the police.

Meanwhile, in another luxury car, several VIPs sat inside, including Meyer, the boss of MGM, the mayor of Los Angeles, Ross President Johnston of Bank of America's Los Angeles branch, and Hardy, the boss of HD Security.

It was also the first time Hardy met Mayor Ross and President Johnston. He had asked Meyer, the boss of MGM, to help invite them here to watch a good show.

More importantly, to establish connections. He was now qualified to treat these people as equals.

"Mr. Hardy, I greatly admire your ability to build such a powerful security team. I believe HD Security will have great development in the future," Mayor Ross said.

President Johnston, looking at the young man in front of him, smiled and said, "I admire his financial skills even more."

Yesterday, HD Film Company effortlessly took away $200,000 from him, and he still needed to thank them for promoting him.

Moreover, he promised to cooperate with HD Security in the future.

Meyer watched the counter-terrorism elites rushing into the scrap recycling station and turned to Hardy, saying, "Hardy, I suddenly feel sorry for those robbers."

"Why?"

"Because they've encountered you."

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