[Chapter 42: Kicking Someone When They're Down]
Charlie had no way to get to the bottom of everything happening behind the scenes. He calmly stayed in the police station office and called Ophir and Colombo separately. From their accounts, he gathered some information.
Regarding the Black Panther Party, it was a formal African American organization that in its prime made many Americans more uneasy than even Martin Luther King did.
It was founded back in 1966 during segregation. The notorious FBI, led by Hoover, personally organized intense crackdowns using ruthless methods. Ultimately, it was disbanded completely in 1982.
In his previous life, Charlie had no clue about this; he was never interested in such matters. But now, he couldn't help but feel the chaotic world around him.
With the limited intel, Charlie quickly analyzed the situation. Obviously, the Black Panther group was a highly sensitive issue in America. The East and West Coast rap guys might not necessarily be connected to it behind the scenes.
But him being dragged into the mix, with the news explicitly mentioning the term, was probably stirred up by someone with obvious motives.
At this point, Charlie still couldn't see the full picture. The sheriffs here in Los Angeles brought him over but didn't conduct any in-depth talks. This confused him and made him suspicious.
On the surface, Charlie stayed calm, even bought a big meal with Gert to eat and drink, keeping cool amidst the chaos.
...
As time passed, storms raged outside. Charlie caught onto the unfolding info; the situation was becoming clearer.
The headache was Judy and other close friends calling to express concern; Charlie could only comfort them on the phone.
Starting around noon, several fringe TV networks and local radio stations began in-depth coverage of the Tupac shooting case. Death Row Records issued a statement: "Tupac's death saddens everyone. His special background was the key to the crime."
On the other side in New York, Bad Boy Records people, including Wallace himself, gave interviews expressing grief as if their past rivalry with Tupac never existed.
At the same time, they subtly mentioned the Black Panther background.
Later, explosive news aired on a CBS-owned TV program. The TV showed footage of Charlie being taken away from the Haas Building early that morning by agents.
"Reportedly, Charlie Corleone, one of the suspects in the Tupac shooting case, is under investigation at the police station. No evidence of crime has surfaced, but his grandfather was a member of a famous Texas white group."
The incident deteriorated step by step, moving against Charlie.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, Alicia even appeared on a TV program harshly attacking Charlie: "He is a hot-tempered bastard, a racist, a murderer, a villain. He once shot a Black female star's legs, leaving her paralyzed for life!"
She vividly recounted how Charlie threatened her for publicity and maliciously insulted Will's affair, twisting facts.
This immediately blew up public opinion!
Luckily, it was still early; the matter was still brewing.
...
Through Mord and others, Charlie learned of the news and angrily slammed the table cursing, "Damn call girl, how dare she kick me when I'm down!"
Etto, Lamont, Mord, Gert were all present; Colombo arrived too. Only Ophir was kept out by Charlie to avoid conflicts of interest.
Everyone looked grim and joined in the cursing.
Gert frowned and said, "Boss, what do we do? All signs show our situation is pretty bad. Alicia never mentioned 20th Century Fox; that's not her style. Someone's definitely pulling the strings behind the scenes."
"Yeah!" The others looked desperately at Charlie.
Charlie's mind raced, calmly analyzing the pieces one by one: "Don't worry, it won't be as bad as it looks!"
He gestured for them to gather around and scribbled on paper.
The trouble came from these angles. First, the East and West Coast rap companies probably made a deal to use the Black Panther Party and accusations of racism to divert attention in order to ease their own conflicts for profit.
Second, the Black Panthers wanted to drag Charlie into the abyss, exposing the redneck figures behind, to stir up a black-white storm, aiming for a comeback.
At this point, Charlie rolled his eyes helplessly. He hadn't known before that his Grandpa Corleone was a cowboy.
Finally, there was the American official side, which confused Charlie the most.
They seemed anxious this morning to summon him, probably to prevent the Black Panthers' plans and to protect him. However, their attitude was not tough; after calling him in, they just left him hanging.
Could it be that the Los Angeles side planned to use him as bait?
...
Augustin knocked and entered: "Mr. Corleone, your investigation is over. It's time to leave."
Charlie crumpled the paper on the coffee table, smiling: "Actually, I could stay a few days. It's pretty nice here."
Augustin was at a loss; he didn't understand the situation: "Sorry, you have to leave."
Charlie knew he couldn't stick around and just left with the others.
...
Under the night sky, standing on the empty street, everyone looked serious.
Wearing a casual jacket and sporting stubble, Colombo cautiously looked around and said in a low voice, "Buddy, you're in big trouble. You might be the bait."
Charlie nodded and shook his head, "Wouldn't it be better to clarify things with the bait to cooperate?"
"Who knows what these shady guys are thinking."
...
Not long after, Ophir showed up.
After seriously comforting everyone, Charlie said, "Ophir, take Colombo's two guys, plus Lamont and Mord, and go to mom's place. Etto and Colombo, you two stay with me. The situation is dangerous now. I won't force you, but please stay. I promise to find a quick solution!"
In crucial moments, these brothers from his past were still reliable, all confidently said no problem.
They left separately by car. On the way, Charlie reassured Judy and told her he arranged protection, preparing for the worst.
...
Back at his Burbank home, as soon as he entered, Charlie went straight to the study's big safe and took out the Winchester M70, counting bullets and cleaning the barrel.
Colombo was an expert in action and seemed unfazed by danger, casually smiling as he touched his pistol: "You good? Just the three of us."
"No problem!" Charlie replied with determination.
He was familiar with this gun type from his past life, though he hadn't practiced much since his rebirth, but still confident he could handle amateurs.
...
After making preparations just in case, Charlie immediately called Quinto Corleone to get to the bottom of the complex family affairs.
More than ten minutes later, while he was perfunctorily comforting the old man who was irritable after hearing about what happened to his grandson, he suddenly realized something and his eyes were gleaming.
The last piece of information fell into place.
His family had deep connections with the once-thriving American Italian mafia. These facts made the American officials reckless.
They knew that even if they got rid of Charlie at the hands of the Black Panthers, it wouldn't exacerbate black-white conflicts.
So now, Charlie had become a pawn, ignored by everyone! Only the Black Panthers were still foolishly confused.
The enemies were only two sides: the East Coast-West Coast rap trying to divert attention and ruin his reputation, and the crazed Black Panther remnants.
The police chief's side was indifferent, probably watching the show, hoping Charlie would draw Black Panther attention.
Fuck -- didn't the police protect innocent lives?
...
At this moment, Harvey called, gloating as he analyzed the situation and finally said with a grin, "My brother, you're in some trouble. I can help, but in exchange, I want to buy your studio, the copyright company, and sign twenty original content film and TV contracts.
Don't rush to say no, think carefully. Or you could try Fox and see how much greedier they are!"
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.