America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

By midafternoon, Martin emerged from Louise's place and headed back to his home in the North District of Sunset Boulevard. After a brief wait, Nicholson and Leonardo arrived one after the other.

Having admired Martin's new house, the three of them sat down to enjoy tea under the European-style gazebo in the backyard.

Leonardo exclaimed, "Buying this place for 12 million US Dollars, you made too much! Tell me if there are more properties like this, Martin, you must introduce one to me."

Before Martin could reply, Nicholson chimed in, "First, you need to find a rich guy like Pitt, then wait for him to get tangled in problems and have his cash flow cut off, that's when an opportunity arises."

Leonardo picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and changed the topic, "Does Lily have any large sculptures? While her works are still affordable, I would like to buy some at a low price and just sit back and wait for their value to increase."

"Not at the moment, but if she knows you're interested, she will definitely make some." Martin poured more tea for Leonardo: "She's still a newcomer. If her work is to appreciate, you as a renowned Hollywood collector should speak highly of her more often."

Although he enjoyed taking jabs at Lily, when it came to serious matters, Martin was reliable.

"No problem," Leonardo replied.

Martin asked Nicholson, "What's happening with the Adler School of Acting?"

"It's quite interesting." Nicholson, once a student at Adler, had plenty of channels to find out what was happening there: "Ben Affleck joined the school as a teacher through Judi Dench's introduction and he chose to teach the class your little girlfriend is in."

Leonardo picked up the conversation, "It's clear what Ben is hiding up his sleeve, I can see it with my backside." He turned to Martin, brimming with urgency, "Don't you have any plans?"

"Of course, I do!" Martin, who thrived on creating a stir even in calm waters, was not going to stand idly by when someone tried to secretly mess with him, especially when their target was Eliza.

He stated outright, "I've come up with a great plan! Leo, I remember Jennifer Garner has golden brown hair and long legs that fit your usual taste; go for it, be brave!"

Leonardo didn't argue but mentioned another aspect, "Jennifer Garner is over 30 years old, not within my range."

Nicholson and Leonardo both looked at Martin, their eyes clearly conveying a message.

When others wanted to joke around, Martin steered the conversation back to business, "It's not easy to deal with Ben Affleck right now. However, his brother Casey, I have some ideas about him."

Leonardo opened his mouth in shock and deliberately moved his chair away from Martin, "You actually..."

"Shut up, Leo! I'm talking business here." Martin briefly mentioned the incident of Casey buying Lily's sculptures.

"He didn't really lose out, did he? After this recent surge of popularity, Lily's works are bound to find a market," Nicholson pointed out.

Martin replied, "I'm worried about Lily getting into trouble, so I've had bodyguards covertly follow Casey Affleck around for a few days. He smashed everything he bought and threw it into the trash outside his house."

He sighed, "He seems to have taken quite a blow."

Nicholson understood, "You mean to give him another nudge?"

Martin shrugged, "We can't do much about Ben; as a core member of the Foot Clan, he has a significant status in the circle, and we can't just talk him into a corner."

Leonardo agreed, "Ben has been a star for over a decade, backed by Harvey and Matt Damon; he's not your average Hollywood star."

He reminded, "If it were an ordinary Hollywood star who screwed up multiple roles in a row, there's no way they'd keep getting roles or find opportunities to direct multi-million dollar projects."

Martin spoke directly, "Let's handle the small fry first, then create opportunities to tackle the big fish."

Hearing not 'wait for' but 'create', Nicholson asked, "Have you thought of a way?"

"I've got some leads, and I need your connections at the Adler School of Acting to lend a hand," Martin shared his idea.

Nicholson grew excited, "Let's give it a try, we've got nothing to lose anyway."

Glancing at the time, Martin stood up and said, "Let's go take a stroll and, while we're at it, I'll take you guys to see a good show. My people have been watching Casey lately."

"Great!" Leonardo said, "Where's your wine cellar? I'll grab a bottle of fine wine, and we can drink and watch the show."

Nicholson burst into laughter, "A good show is best enjoyed with wine."

Leonardo went to the basement to pick up a bottle of Cabo Wabo Tequila, then they left the estate in an inconspicuous Chevrolet.

On the road, Martin phoned Bruce and instructed the driving Leonardo to head for the Old Santa Monica Pier.

Upon reaching the vicinity of the pier, according to Bruce's instructions, the Ford parked at the highest point on the edge of the parking lot, near a public phone booth.

The three of them sat in the car and looked out; less than twenty meters away was the pier's old trestle.

This place was once a tourist hotspot, famously known as the western end of Route 66, but it had declined along with the highway.

There weren't many tourists around the pier, just a sparse few.

Soon Bruce arrived as well.

He ducked into the car and said, "If all goes as expected, the person should arrive soon."

"Everything arranged?" Martin inquired.

Bruce outlined, "The salesperson and the cameraman are all people found by Ivan; there are no issues."

Hearing about the cameraman, Nicholson suggested, "How about getting Lorraine to shoot some footage and sell it to TMZ for some extra cash?"

Unable to resist, Leonardo commented, "Jack, you really are a good father."

Martin added, "That's possible, but tell her to shoot from a bit of a distance."

Nicholson burst out laughing, "Don't worry, Lorraine's been studying photography closely lately to make some extra cash."

Leonardo asked, "Have you not considered having her change professions?"

Martin replied, "Lorraine's a paparazzo, specializes in sneaking snapshots of Nicholson's private life for cash, a perfect closed loop in the industry chain."

"That's still less than what you make from sneaking shots of you," said Nicholson, not to be outdone.

Leonardo asked him, "Aren't you afraid that Lorraine, this little lamb, will just wander into Martin, the big bad wolf's, mouth for nothing?"

Martin immediately took the moral high ground, "Jack, I fucking consider you a brother, and you plan against me like this?" Discover more stories at empire

For a moment, Nicholson was so choked by the bastard's shamelessness that he couldn't speak.

Not long after, a car came from the distance and parked near the pier.

Casey Affleck got out of the car, holding a bottle of alcohol, and leaned on the pier railing. He bit the cap off and poured liquor down his throat.

The sun setting into the ocean left a few glimmers of light that fell on his face. A gust of wind blew over, turning his hair into a bird's nest, making him look like a harmless homeless man in decay.

Just like Martin, who outwardly looks like a sunny handsome man, Hollywood stars always have one set of behaviors in front and another behind closed doors.

Casey wiped the liquor from the corner of his mouth, and suddenly saw a few tourists with Joker makeup walk by. He thought of someone and muttered to himself, "Lily Carter!"

He decided then, he would sober up in the next few days and then go to the California Institute of the Arts to look for that Lily Carter.

Things should always have a beginning and an end.

After the Joker tourists had gone, another tourist arrived.

He sat on a nearby bench with his bag placed to one side, facing Casey's direction.

A young man in a bulky coat came from the other side and hastened towards Casey after seeing him, saying, "Hey, buddy, you looking for some stuff?"

Casey, thinking the man was a dealer due to his attire, asked, "You got the good stuff?"

The young man leaned in, whispering mysteriously, "Top-notch goods."

Casey, well-versed in such matters, said directly, "Let's see what you've got first; I'll buy it if it's right."

The young man pulled out a paper bag from under his coat, opened it, and let Casey see, "The hottest commodity on the market right now, absolutely the good stuff."

What Casey saw was a hand-carved Cola Cult edition of the Joker from The Dark Knight.

The young man specifically pointed out the base of the statue to Casey, "Lily Carter's name, definitely genuine!"

The instant he heard that name, Casey became even more dejected.

But the young man enthusiastically pitched, "Lily Carter is the new master sculptor of the generation, even many artists in Hollywood are collecting her works! Her hand-carved, limited edition Joker has a huge potential for appreciation, it could rival the original Darth Vader!"

Casey took a swig of alcohol, then waved his hand dismissively, "I don't need it."

The young man, however, didn't give up and continued, "Buddy, it's a rare opportunity. If you buy it, you're making money! Only an idiot would miss out on such an artwork with huge appreciation potential!"

Casey stopped moving, staring at the young man like a statue.

The latter kept on talking, "How stupid is that? He first gets conned and then smashes a valuable artwork; pigs are smarter than him!"

Casey confirmed, this guy was as good as a statue!

Without a moment's hesitation, with not even a hint of anger on his face, just like the day he smashed the statues, he swung the wine bottle at the young man's head!

The young man dodged the blow but couldn't avoid his shoulder. He screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

The wine bottle flew from Casey's hand, but he didn't stop there; he kicked the young man repeatedly as he lay on the ground.

The young man curled up protecting his head, screaming, "Are you fucking insane?"

He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Help! Somebody help me!"

The sparse tourists nearby all looked in their direction.

At the elevated parking lot, the three men sipped fine wine while enjoying the show with great enthusiasm.

Martin finished off his glass of wine and asked, "Who's willing to be a good citizen of Los Angeles?"

Leonardo was about to get up but was held back by Nicholson, "I've lived in Los Angeles for so many years, the whole Sunset Boulevard praises me, proud to have a neighbor like me. I must be the one to play the good citizen!"

With that, he got out of the car, ran to the public phone booth, and dialed 911.

This place was near the Santa Monica waterfront villa area, so police cars arrived exceptionally fast.

Nicholson, following Martin's lead in doing good deeds anonymously, heard the distant sirens, got back into the car, and said, "Let's go, time to change spots!"