Volume 3: My days in a college fraternity Chapter 156 Powerful Person
El Monte, Los Angeles.
Tommy Hawke arrived accompanied by Lotte Page. When he saw Dennis, this guy was sitting on a bench in the community square. His smile was as bright as the sun. A group of children gathered around him. Dennis grabbed handfuls of candy from the plastic bag beside him and distributed them to the children. He was like a sunny and cheerful young man who came to an unfamiliar area, met a group of lovely children, and gave them a thoughtful gift.
The picture is so beautiful that it looks like a realistic oil painting full of humanistic care.
The scene was nothing like what Tommy had imagined: in a dark and cramped room, Dennis's limbs were fixed to an iron bed, and two tall black women were guarding the door, selling tickets to the ugly women who were lining up outside. The weird ugly women handed over the money one by one, then walked into the room with a grin, and greeted Dennis, whose mouth was sealed with tape and whose eyes were desperate:
"Baby, Mommy is going to play a game with you called Donkey Punch..."
Tommy motioned Mr. Page to wait not far away, and he walked over to sit in the empty seat next to Dennis. He turned his head to look at Dennis who was kissing the forehead of every child who came to receive candy: "This is completely different from what I imagined."
"I know." Dennis waited until all the children got their candies before signaling them to run away. He then looked at Tommy and said, "I suddenly fell in love with this place, Tommy. In the two days I have been here, I have found the meaning of life. I love everyone here."
"Everyone or all women of marriageable age. These two words have completely different meanings," Tommy said with a smile.
Dennis cursed with a smile, and then said, "Look here, there are more than a hundred families, children can't see their fathers for years, wives can't see their husbands for years... I want to stay here, they need men, they need a strong guardian, this is why I am here, God guided me here, hoping that I can change the terrible environment here."
"Do you want to hear my analysis of what you said? You are just fucking vain. You just want to be worshipped by a bunch of poor people to get cheap spiritual satisfaction. You can't get this kind of satisfaction anywhere else, but here are all vulnerable women, you can gain their desire and dependence on you." Tommy took out cigarettes, put two in his mouth and lit them, then gave one to Dennis and spoke.
Dennis took a puff of his cigarette and said, "After those women knew my plan, they worshipped me like a god. There's nothing wrong with that. If I had been a garbage station manager, I wouldn't have had the same sense of accomplishment as I do now."
"Their admiration for you will only last until they figure out that you are just a drug dealer who makes a profit from the price difference. By then, you will be the first to be kicked out. Those tenacious mothers will purchase and sell the products by themselves. Don't think that poor people are just idiots who don't know how to think. Once interests are involved and your role doesn't mean much to them, you will definitely be killed by someone else." Tommy leaned forward, supported his arms on his thighs, and said with a smile:
"For example, there is a beautiful mother who is your deputy. She listens to you in everything. If you want to sleep with her, she will immediately take off her clothes. If you ask her to go get the goods, she will immediately drive out. But when she finds out that you only have this little ability and can't learn anything else, what will she do? It's simple. Call the husband of her best friend and tell him that his wife has been taken away by you. The other party will come back and shoot you, and she will become the new boss of this community."
"How is that possible?" Dennis' beautiful fantasy was shattered by Tommy's words that the other party shot him with a gun, but he still refused to accept the reality.
Tommy shrugged his shoulders and looked at the children running around and playing in the distance: "Why not? If I were that woman, I would kill you so easily. You don't have much nutrition to absorb anyway, why should I keep you and give you more money?"
Dennis opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start. He lowered his head and was silent for a moment before he said softly, "Brother, you really know how to shatter your friends' fantasies. Yes, what help can a garbage station manager bring to this community? The drug dealers only need to follow me around a few times to learn the tricks. By then, I will have no use value."
At one point, Dennis really thought that it would be nice to stay in this small country of women and be a king. He fantasized about making money by being a drug dealer, bringing income to the women, having the children like him, and he could also like the soldiers' wives.
Until Tommy, that bastard, burst his dream bubble in a calm tone.
"Remember I asked you to do me a favor? If you really like this place and really want to help these women and these children, I think you should consider helping me." Tommy said to Dennis.
Dennis curled his lips and looked at Tommy. "Jason said that helping you would probably mean making a short film. So you're saying that I should make a short film and then distribute the tapes to every woman in this community, so that when they need comfort late at night, they can relax with the tapes starring me?"
"West Point Military Academy or the United States Naval Academy, which one do you like? I will send you to college." Tommy flicked the ash from his cigarette and looked at Dennis.
Dennis was stunned for a moment, then he touched Tommy's forehead with his hand and said, "The sunlight in California must have radiation, Tommy, you'd better go find a brain doctor to check your brain. You don't have a fever, but the trouble is even bigger, because it is likely that you need surgery to find out the cause of the disease."
Tommy ignored the guy's teasing and just repeated to Dennis what he had said to his brother.
"You mean, you will give me some money so that I can live a life of luxury with those SSD people in New York?" After listening to what Dennis said to Tommy, "I can also send you the bills for my prostitution, and you will reimburse me in full, including the cost of taking drugs with them and the expenses of having a girlfriend..."
"Yes, as long as it's not too excessive, it's okay. So you agree?" Tommy nodded seriously to Dennis and asked.
"The most important question, Tommy." Dennis also frowned and looked at Tommy seriously. "There is only one last question. If my girlfriend gets pregnant, can the abortion fee be reimbursed? Or child support? You know, I don't like using Trojan..."
Tommy sighed, "Dennis, I asked you to go to college and become a trainee officer, not to increase the birth rate in New York State. The way you sow seeds, the annual GDP of the United States cannot afford your child support, so don't expect me to raise your children for you."
"I've decided to go. I want to be an officer protecting America. You know, I have a good idea. I will wear an officer's uniform and come back here one day to comfort the women here. Maybe during the comfort in bed, the woman's husband will suddenly come back. I'm really looking forward to that scene. Imagine, imagine, Tommy, do you think that woman's husband will salute me and say hello, sir, when he sees me?" Dennis suddenly thought of a question that excited him, and said to Tommy excitedly:
"When soldiers are on missions overseas, as their superior, I must take care of their household chores so that they can focus on the battle without distraction. This is my duty."
Tommy nodded painfully: "Love your soldiers like your own sons, Dennis. American soldiers need warm-hearted officers like you."
"Will Pam go to West Point with me?" Dennis thought of his best friend Pam after imagining himself. "If she goes, she can keep watch outside the door while I comfort the families of my subordinates to make sure I don't get shot by them."
"No, I only got two fucking letters of recommendation, one for you and one for Tony, and Pam can't pass the physical exam. Without his glasses, he's blind." Tommy threw away his cigarette butt, picked up a toffee, peeled off the package and put it in his mouth, feeling the pleasure of the sweetness filling his mouth:
"If he goes to West Point, there's a chance that World War III will start."
"I didn't expect you to think so highly of Pam. Are you saying that if Pam becomes a soldier, there is a chance that World War III will be triggered?" Dennis asked in surprise when he heard Tommy's words.
Tommy nodded. "Yes, think about it. During the graduation combat exercise, Pam's glasses fell off and broke, so she could only operate the artillery and fire blindly. Then she successfully hit the viewing platform with a shell, sending the principal and other senior military officers who were watching the graduation exercise to heaven. Then the next day, the president announced to the entire nation on TV with a solemn expression that the West Point bombardment was planned by the Soviet Union. Pam Marvel was a top agent carefully trained by the Soviet Union and infiltrated into the United States. In view of the Soviet Union's heinous terrorist assassination against the United States, he decided to declare war on the Soviet Union, and World War III officially broke out."
"So, Pam, you can only be an air-conditioning repairman. It's a pity. I thought he... could be my adjutant." Dennis said with some regret after hearing what Tommy said.
Tommy began to speak, "The United States Naval Preparatory Academy is located in Newport, Rhode Island. He needs to complete a one-year preparatory course there and get a letter of recommendation from the dean of the preparatory academy before he can go to the Naval Academy to study non-military majors such as logistics, engineering, or ship repair. Whether he can make it depends on himself. I'm not God, and sending you and Tony to a military academy is the best I can do now."
"Very good, I knew I could never be a mediocre garbage station manager. I always believed that I am a genius. Just wait and see, Tommy, Dennis Herbers will one day lead his troops into Berlin, plant the American flag on the dome of the Kremlin, and let Stalin hand me the letter of surrender." Dennis stood up, stretched his body, and said excitedly.
Tommy's mouth twitched a few times: "But Stalin died long before you were born, and the Kremlin is in fucking Moscow, not East Berlin..."
"Really? It doesn't matter. It was the same for Stalin's children writing the letter of surrender." Dennis looked at Tommy and realized that he was not joking, so he changed his tone.
Tommy also stood up: "Stalin's daughter defected to the United States and is now an American. Are you sure you want to bring her back to Moscow and let her sign the surrender document on behalf of the Soviet Union?"
"It sounds like the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States is more complicated than the relationship between me and 120 nightclub girls." After listening to this, Dennis patted Tommy on the shoulder and said, "You go first. I will come back to Stanford to find you in two days."
"You're not going with me?" Tommy was stunned.
Dennis walked towards the community. "Of course not. I have to hurry up and satisfy my vanity. As a future officer, I want to comfort the empty wives of my future subordinates. Tommy, do you know why you are not as good as me? Kindness, you must remember, be kind, be kind, and don't be stingy with your kindness and sperm."
…
"Dick Cheney, a member of the House of Representatives, was the White House Chief of Staff during the Ford administration. He served for less than a year before stepping down when Ford lost the election."
"Donald Rumsfeld was the White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense during the Ford administration. He was also Dick Cheney's mentor. After Ford lost the election, he went to work as CEO of Cell Pharmaceuticals. The military had a very good impression of the former Secretary of Defense."
"Thomas Hayward, former U.S. Navy Chief of Operations, retired in 1981. Now he is going around asking for donations for the foundation he founded, trying to get prestigious universities in the country to provide more educational opportunities for ordinary soldiers."
Jim Manz's efficiency was amazing. Within a week, he put three carefully selected names and information in front of Tommy and told Tommy that these three people were willing to attend the charity dinner and give speeches.
Tommy had some impression of the first two names. One was known as the most powerful vice president in American history, and the other was the US Secretary of Defense who successfully turned his own death into a joke.
However, in his impression, Rumsfeld seemed to be the Secretary of Defense of Bush Jr., but now Jim told him that Rumsfeld had served as the Secretary of Defense as early as 1975 when Ford succeeded Nixon?
"Secretary of Defense during President Ford's administration? How old was he then?" Tommy asked Jim in surprise as he flipped through Rumsfeld's file.
Jim put his feet up on the table and shook his legs lazily. "At the age of 43, he was the youngest Secretary of Defense in American history and President Ford's sharpest dagger. He personally helped Ford plan the Halloween Massacre and completely purged the cabinet, eliminating the people left by Nixon."
Tommy heard Jim's comments about the other party and said curiously, "You seem to admire him very much."
"Of course, a man who can sit in the House of Representatives as a member of the House of Representatives at the age of 30, enter the White House at the age of 36, serve as President Nixon's assistant and director of the White House Economic Office, become President Ford's White House Chief of Staff at the age of 40, become Secretary of Defense at the age of 43, become CEO of the private company Cell Pharmaceuticals at the age of 45, and make the company from a Fortune 500 company to a Fortune 100 company at the age of 47, isn't worthy of appreciation and admiration?" Jim looked at Tommy:
"But I'm just admiring him. That guy's era is over. Take a look at the information. I've prepared it in great detail."
Tommy looked at the information in his hand, and Jim had indeed listed the reasons why Rumsfeld was elected.
First of is interested in the military prescription drug assistance program proposed by Jim, and if someone is willing to promote it, Cell Pharmaceuticals is willing to cooperate.
Secondly, he is a German-American from the US Navy. After graduating from Princeton University, he served in the Navy for four years. During this period, he studied briefly at the US Naval Academy. He can barely be considered an alumnus of the US Naval Academy.
Third, during his tenure as Defense Minister, he gained the friendship of the military.
Ford originally wanted to sacrifice Rumsfeld because he wanted to thoroughly investigate the US military's false accounts, corruption and other issues. Once the investigation was launched and the progress was announced, Rumsfeld would definitely end up being shot in the back by a machine gun, and then the police would announce the results of the investigation and he would die by suicide.
After all, corruption in the military is extremely serious and interconnected at every level. Even the president does not know which problem will completely detonate the explosion point, and dares not act rashly. However, he needs political achievements and means to show the people that he replaced Nixon not because of good luck, but because of greater ability and determination.
Ultimately, he left it to Rumsfeld to sort out the matter.
But Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld did not die of suicide. After his investigation, he chose a low-key and conciliatory policy. He assigned assistants to all military officials in the Department of Defense and filled them with various schedules, such as overseas exchanges and research at various bases. In short, he wanted to make sure those people had a fulfilling life every day. In this way, many internal tasks of the Department of Defense had to be handled by the assistants.
In the eyes of military officials, assistants are untrustworthy outsiders, and their acts of corruption naturally could not be known by them. Therefore, Rumsfeld first used this method to force military officials to stop temporarily to avoid continued corruption, and in a sense, he sidelined the military officers.
Those corrupt people believed that as long as they remained vigilant against these assistants, they would not be able to obtain any inside information about previous corruption. However, Rumsfeld did not think about looking up old accounts. Instead, he compared the accounts after these assistants took over with the accounts previously handed in by the military, and thus inferred which links had serious corruption and which accounts contained false accounts, making the direction of the investigation clearer.
After discovering the specific problem, he did not take immediate action. Instead, he introduced a computer network into the Department of Defense and announced that all financial work and internal affairs of the Department of Defense must be handled by computers, further increasing the difficulty of fraud for the military. And because computer accounts and paper books exist at the same time, the other party needs to falsify accounts twice. In this way, in less than a year, he found out the termite network of the Department of Defense, and did not take the credit for himself. Instead, he quietly compiled all the lists and evidence and handed them over to President Ford, allowing the president to decide how to deal with them.
President Ford's face was very interesting when he got the evidence. He really wanted to use Rumsfeld's method to clean up the Department of Defense, but he was not prepared to have a wild imagination like Kennedy. In his opinion, it should be Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who should die, not himself as the president. If he declared himself responsible for this investigation, he would probably be lying in the hospital morgue tomorrow.
Therefore, he could only delegate power once again, indicating that he would give full authority to Rumsfeld. However, Rumsfeld seemed to have guessed that the president would kick the ball back to him. He just needed the president to give him full authority. After getting the power he wanted, he revealed the list in his hand to those military leaders who had no idea that they were in a state of panic.
After getting the list, some of the military minions involved in corruption immediately died in various bizarre suicides. After those people died, Rumsfeld applied to the president for a pardon, pardoning all the military leaders who did not seem to be seriously involved in the crime and were mainly deceived by their subordinates. He announced the end of the investigation and won the favor of the military.
So in the end, the Ministry of National Defense was cleaned up, and he, who should have died by suicide, not only did he not die, but he also gained the friendship of the military.
"The method of cleaning up the Department of Defense was excellent." After reading it, Tommy said to Jim, "He only took one wrong step, which may be the reason why he was not used by Reagan. That is, he should have let the president gain the friendship of the military instead of himself. He was a little too impatient and exposed his ambition. Otherwise, Ford would not have let him sink in the business world for so long."
Jim nodded. "Yes, the National Review thinks so too. It may be difficult for him to get the Republican presidential nomination in the future. When he was in power, he dealt a heavy blow to several Republican opponents who were qualified to compete with him, such as Kissinger, George Bush, etc. George Bush is now Reagan's vice president, and Kissinger is now the chief of staff of David Rockefeller, the largest donor of the Republican Party. Do you think that they, who were almost wiped out by Rumsfeld, will give him a chance to stand out now? So I say that his political career is over. Of course, the youngest Secretary of Defense in American history is a record that is dazzling enough. I think it is enough to attract those students to see the holder of this record with their own eyes."
"Including Pete Wilson, we have four powerful people. Mr. Rumsfeld and Hayward are very attractive to military academy students, but they are both former ministers, so they are not attractive to guests. People spend a thousand dollars to buy a ticket, not to take a photo and chat with the former Secretary of Defense, but to find a reason to trick them into paying." Tommy said to Jim after reading the information of several people.
Jim didn't bother to look at Tommy, and turned his head away: "You only asked me to help you find a few powerful people to attract those military students, but you didn't ask me to help you sell tickets to rich guys."
"I didn't ask you, but I thought of it. We can fool those nerds in Silicon Valley. The Veterans Association and SSD need technological products, and only those technology companies that are keen on charity can get the orders." Tommy said.
Jim turned back to look at Tommy and asked curiously, "So, what order?"
Tommy spread his hands at him. "How the hell do I know what the order is? I just made up a reason and spread it around so that they would think there was a chance to get an order and buy tickets. Besides, even if I really thought of an order, I would only tell Jason or Holly. I make money from the Veterans Association and SSD, so how could I give it to others?"
