Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 207 Martin's Fruit
Until the black driver who came with the car rental company opened the door for Martin with a smile on his face, and Martin walked out of the white Lincoln stretch limousine, the same model as Michael Jackson's, holding a glass of wine and wearing a brand-name outfit without even the tags cut off, he still felt that everything he had experienced was like a dream.
His boss actually asked him to rent a luxury car and visit the famous nightclubs in New York.
Mr. Page didn't even receive this kind of treatment, so who would dare to say that Tommy or his father were white supremacists? Martin felt that he must be the first to rush forward and defeat those slanderers.
At this moment, in front of him was a three-story old building located on 125th Street in New York. A neon sign on the roof showed its name to New York: Cotton Club.
"Oh my God, I never thought that I would be able to spend money at the New York Cotton Club one day. Ancestors, your descendants have finally become prosperous." Martin drank the wine in the glass, handed it to the driver beside him, and then walked towards the door of the club. At the main entrance, the black manager who had been notified by phone and had made a special trip to welcome Martin in personally.
The New York Cotton Club, considered the most upscale nightclub by black people on the East Coast or most of the American black population, was founded during the Prohibition era. However, due to racial segregation at the time, black people were not allowed to enter the nightclub for consumption. Although the nightclub had all the famous black artists in the United States at the time, those black artists could only perform for white customers.
Moreover, all the waitresses there are carefully selected black women. The screening criteria are even more stringent than the Miss America beauty pageant. Every woman must be under 21 years old, must be over five feet six inches tall, must have light dark skin, and must wear specially customized uniforms for the nightclub when working, which are light, cool, translucent and hazy.
In short, make sure that the body is not completely exposed, but at the same time allow the customer to vaguely see any wonderful scene he wants to see.
At its peak, Cotton Club had branches in more than a dozen major cities, including Las Vegas, Portland, Texas, and California.
However, at that time they were basically controlled by gangs. For example, the Cotton Club in Chicago was owned by the family of the famous Al Capone, and the Cotton Club in Las Vegas was owned by the family of Italian mafia boss Carloway.
But everyone believed that the Cotton Clubs in other cities just had the same name, and only the Cotton Club in New York could be truly called a luxurious and fashionable celebrity nightclub.
All black people in New York City knew that the Cotton Club had the most beautiful black girls, but they could only let the white people enjoy those girls. Later, when World War II broke out and the United States began to relax restrictions on blacks and allowed blacks to protest against some extreme white policies, the first request of almost all wealthy black men in New York to the government was to allow them to enter the Cotton Nightclub to consume like white people.
This shows the obsession of black people with the Cotton Club.
Unfortunately, although the government agreed, the Cotton Club did not. In the end, the white owner of this old club made a very tough decision to counter the government's decision.
That means permanent closure.
It is better to shut it down than to allow blacks and whites to enjoy the same fun in their own territory.
Later, Langston Hughes, a black celebrity in New York, joined forces with some other black entrepreneurs to acquire the closed New York Cotton Club, retained all the performances of the previous nightclub, and opened it to black people. As a result, the Cotton Club became a nightclub exclusively for blacks, and the original white customers basically became black customers.
All the famous black singers and actors, including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, etc., have performed here, making this nightclub almost an entertainment mecca in the hearts of black Americans.
So when Martin learned that he could choose freely, he ran here without thinking twice.
"Tim, do you know where I am? I'm at the fucking Cotton Club! The New York Cotton Club!" Martin sat in the empty nightclub hall, holding his mobile phone, and called his distant cousin in New York: "The money in the Cotton Club is not easy to make? What does not easy to make mean?"
"The customer only pays for one person, but in fact there are four people holding your cousin in the bathroom stall... I'm a fucking customer! I'm not here to sell my ass in the bathroom! Who the fuck do you think I am? I'm a big shot! Not a dirty nigger fag looking for an opportunity to make a quick buck in a nightclub! But speaking of it, how much can you make from a single visit in the bathroom of such a high-end club?"
"No, no, no. Tell me where you are. I'll have my driver pick you up. You can get some friends over. Of course, I'll pay for it. Brother, I'm now someone you can't even imagine."
Parties or entertainment are simply a temptation that black people cannot resist. In two hours, more than 30 black people gathered in the Cotton Club. Although Martin didn't know any of them except his cousin Tim, it did not prevent him from chatting and laughing with these people.
Martin hugged several female companions on his left and right, enjoying the compliments from the black compatriots who came to attend his party, and boasted happily:
"Niggas, I'm a big shot, you know? I'm a nobody on the East Coast, but I'm the Nigger Boss on the West Coast. You've all seen that show on BT, right? That's me."
"Really, man?" A black man stared exaggeratedly, "I watch that show on time every week, and I even went out of my way to get a haircut like the main character. That's you? Man, to be honest, I don't believe it. You also have a woman as beautiful as Vanessa Williams like in the TV show?"
"I used to live in the same villa with Vanessa every night! Los Angeles, Beverly Hills! I even know what color nightgown she wears, Nigger!" Martin heard that the other party didn't believe him, and immediately said stubbornly:
"But you know, I don't like that kind of woman. Although she is very beautiful, she is not my type. I prefer this type."
As he spoke, Martin hugged the two female companions beside him tightly.
"Martin, everyone likes to brag, but you brag too much. I..." Cousin Tim questioned the bragging of his cousin whom he hadn't seen for many years, because Martin's bragging had made the friends he brought with him not know how to respond.
Living with Vanessa Williams? Vanessa's first music album was released last year, which directly won platinum results and three Grammy nominations. In addition, with her role in the popular TV series "Nigger Boss", she successfully became the dream lover in the eyes of most black men in the United States.
No matter how you look at it, it's unlikely that a highly educated woman like Vanessa would live with this black man who talks nonsense.
Seeing that even his cousin thought he was bragging, Martin immediately picked up his mobile phone: "I'm going to call her now. I have her number! Let her tell you in person whether Martin once lived in a villa with her and had a very good time with her!"
He did have Vanessa's phone number, but they didn't contact each other very often. Although they got along well when they lived together, after Susan took over the Pathfinder agency, Vanessa was taken away from the villa in Beverly Hills and lived in a small single apartment near Hollywood. The two never had time to see each other again after that, and at most they would occasionally call to say hello.
Seeing that Martin's expression did not seem like he was drunk, all the black people present came over, wanting to confirm whether Martin was really a big shot who could directly contact the black actress Vanessa.
Martin had a stern face, but he was struggling fiercely inside. If Vanessa told Tommy about his phone harassment, he would definitely be severely punished by Mr. Page. However, in order to establish an image of a big shot in front of these black people in New York, Martin felt that it was worth being beaten up.
So he finally called Vanessa's number.
Soon, the call was connected. Before Vanessa could speak, Martin quickly said, "Vanessa, I'm Martin Hart. We lived together in Beverly Hills before! Do you remember?"
"Martin!" To Martin's surprise, Vanessa did not hesitate on the other end of the phone, but was a little surprised: "Is it you? Spike~Spike~It's Martin! Martin next to Tommy! When we were filming "Nigger Boss" in Compton, Los Angeles, Martin helped the director solve this kind of trouble! Maybe we can just ask him how to solve it!"
Then, before Martin could say anything else, a male voice came on the other end of the line: "Mr. Hart? This is Spike Lee."
"Wow~" All the black people in the audience exclaimed in surprise.
Martin is indeed a big shot. On the other end of the phone, it's not just Vanessa Williams, but also the young black director Spike Lee! Most of the black people present have seen the film "Sure Win" directed by the other party, but they can't appreciate the artistry in it. Almost everyone watched it as a small movie. After all, it tells the story of how a black girl dated three men at the same time, and there are many bold scenes.
"Did you two sleep together? Spike! Do you want to die? You should know whose woman Vanessa is!" Martin's first reaction was to jump up in fright at the male voice on the other end of the phone, and he grabbed the phone and asked.
In everyone's opinion, Martin was unhappy because Vanessa was with Spike at ten o'clock in the evening, which further proved that there was something special between Martin and Vanessa.
But Martin knew that he was worried that Spike had slept with Vanessa! When Sophia was living in the villa, she specifically told him not to flirt with Vanessa! It was obvious that Sophia was not doing this for herself. It must be that her boss Tommy had taken a fancy to Vanessa. Now, Spike was hooking up with her?
"What are you talking about, Martin? We're reshooting some scenes for my new movie. Vanessa has a role in it. We're on the streets of New York right now, with more than 20 colleagues from the crew. It's not just me and her in a hotel room as you think." Spike explained.
Martin asked pleasantly, "You are also in New York? Great, I am also in New York, so when you finish work, I will ask the driver to pick you up and bring you to the Cotton Club for a drink together."
"You're in New York?" Spike and Vanessa exclaimed in surprise on the other end of the phone.
“I’m weird in New York?”
"No, we're in some trouble, Martin, maybe you can help me." Spike said immediately.
Martin patted Tommy's credit card in his pocket to make sure it was still there. "Of course, I'm happy to help."
Even Spike Lee and Vanessa Williams had to seek help from the unprepossessing Martin Hart in front of them. Everyone present was speechless except for opening their mouths wide. Even the lobby manager of the nightclub quietly moved a few steps closer to Martin, wanting to know more about who this Mr. Martin Hart from the West Coast was.
"Uh...it's the movie "Do the Right Thing" invested by Tommy. We used to shoot on Stuyvesant Avenue in Brooklyn, but the problem now is that there are a few scenes that need to be reshooted, so we came back here. But a street gang here called Decepticons said that we must pay more protection money, otherwise they won't let us start filming. When you called, we were communicating with them. Vanessa said that when she was filming "Nigger Boss", she encountered trouble in the Compton crew, and it was you and your men who stepped forward to solve it. So, maybe you can come over and talk to them and help us solve this problem?" Spike Lee said on the other end of the phone.
Hearing the other party's words, Martin immediately swallowed his saliva!
He could run rampant in Compton because he had the support of the three Big Jack brothers and the Compton Executioner gang, a local gang behind them. The three Big Jack brothers followed his orders mainly because their boss had told them to listen to him, a big shot from the East Coast, not because he really had the ability to solve the problem.
Besides, why would the black street gangs in New York buy into the black gangs in Los Angeles?
I'm afraid that if I rush over and introduce myself to these New York gang members, saying that I'm the Nigger Boss from Compton, Los Angeles, and ask them to give me some face, the result may be that they will pull out a gun and arrange for me to lie on a hearse and return to Los Angeles.
Looking at the people around him who were already treating him as a black boss in Los Angeles, Martin tried to relax himself, and imitated the boss's behavior when he was with Tommy. He picked up the wine glass and said calmly:
"How much do they want?"
If the amount is not much, or if it is really not enough, I can use my boss's credit card to pay the other party.
"One hundred thousand dollars." Spike said a number depressedly.
"What? One hundred thousand dollars is enough to buy the lives of half of the black people in Compton!" Martin blurted out after hearing the number.
Spike explained helplessly, "If we re-select the location, we will have to spend more money to rebuild a pizza shop and half a street somewhere else. They knew this and deliberately gave this price."
Martin deeply regretted his decision to call Vanessa. It cost him one hundred thousand dollars to call the actress. The effort and reward could not be described as unequal.
"Spike, my brothers are all in Los Angeles. It will take time for them to get here. I don't have many capable people in New York. Here are some..." Martin looked around at the black friends around him and said, "Nobody, how about this? I'll go over and pay you $100,000. After your movie is released and you make some money, you can decide whether to pay me back."
He knew that Spike Lee didn't have much money. This guy often mortgaged his own property to make movies, so he didn't expect him to pay back the money immediately, but he couldn't afford the money in the end.
Think about it, he was just doing his normal work, but was arranged by his boss's father to clean a carriage that hadn't been used for more than a hundred years. If he owed his boss one hundred thousand dollars, he estimated that the boss would make him grind in that damn mill until he died.
"Thank you, Martin. We'll be waiting for you." Spike Lee didn't have any better way. When New York street gangs caused trouble, he didn't even dare to call the police, because after calling the police and arresting a few people, the angry gangs would only use more brutal means to retaliate against himself and the crew in order to wash away the so-called shame.
Martin hung up the phone and looked at everyone: "The party is over, niggers, you all heard it, I have some other business to go over to take care of."
As he was talking, he was about to leave. At this time, a black man with simple clothes, which was completely different from the other black people, stood up from the seat at the outermost edge of the crowd. He didn't speak much for most of the night. Even when the female companion he was assigned talked to him, he was very shy, so much so that Martin didn't even remember his name.
At this time, the young tall black man walked up to Martin and said, "Mr. Hart, can I go with you?"
"You are...what's your name?" Martin asked as he was putting on his coat under his companion's clothes.
"Albert, Albert Kyle." The black man said to Martin with a simple and honest face, "I'm from Brooklyn. I'm familiar with that area."
Martin actually wanted to call Paige and ask her to accompany him. After all, he was used to Paige standing beside him to give him courage. However, when he heard the black man volunteer, Martin finally nodded: "But I don't have time to take you home, kid."
After getting into the rented Lincoln, Martin leaned back The black man named Albert hesitated for a long time, and finally said in a very tactless manner: "Sir, do you really want to pay 100,000 dollars to the Decepticons?"
Martin opened his eyes irritably and looked at the other party. "How about I call Los Angeles and ask my brothers in Los Angeles to come here in a week? You don't understand at all. I'm definitely not showing weakness. I'm just worried that the film crew will lose more money every day they are delayed."
"I...Sir, if I can help you save the one hundred thousand dollars, can you give me the saved fifty thousand dollars, no, thirty thousand dollars?" The black youth named Albert asked a question cautiously.
When Martin heard that he could save a lot of money, he immediately became interested: "Can you help me save that money?"
"That should be possible, sir. I know that street gang and have dealt with it before."
"No problem, if you can help me solve this problem, I'll give you 30,000 yuan," Martin said.
The young man asked, "Can I borrow your mobile phone?"
Martin handed the mobile phone to the young man, who took the phone, sat at a distance and dialed a number.
"Are you a gang member too?" Martin asked curiously.
Albert finished the call with a few simple words, returned the phone to Martin, shook his head and said with a smile: "Not really, I am a member of the Black Fruit."
"Black fruit? What is that?"
"As a black neighborhood organization, we volunteer to patrol racially discriminated communities, spread safety knowledge, and prevent black people from being harmed by white people," Albert said.
"We used to rely on community donations, but then those white people accused us of slander and maliciously defaming the image of white people, defining us as a black extremist organization and not allowing the community to donate money to maintain our operations. Now we can only find other ways to make money."
"So, now it's the black street gangs that are extorting black people. How are you going to drive them away?" Martin asked curiously.
Neighborhood mutual aid organizations are not uncommon in the United States, but Martin has never seen one that can be defined as an extremist organization.
"All of our members have security guard certificates and legal gun licenses." Albert smiled at Martin.
"We won't drive our compatriots away, but we can scare them away."
…
Spike Lee looked helplessly at the dozen or so black youths in the distance whose faces were filled with expressions of ignorance and fearlessness. What a black humor! His movie was about a black youth being beaten to death by a white youth, reflecting the story of racial discrimination. However, during the filming of his movie, he had to pay protection fees to the black gang in order to complete the filming.
And when they learned that they needed to reshoot the scenes, these greedy people came again and took the opportunity to force them to pay more money.
"Spike, Danny's flight is for tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Now that we can't finish filming tonight, you need to negotiate a schedule with us..." The assistant of the film's white lead actor Danny Aiello walked up to Spike Lee and reminded him in a low voice.
Spike interrupted the other party depressedly: "I know, I know! Give me some time, I'm trying to get someone to solve the problem!"
He now even hated himself for having to serve as producer, director, and screenwriter, which resulted in him having to deal with all kinds of issues on the crew. If he had known earlier, he should have earned money from those big companies. After all, when making movies for those big companies, he wouldn't have to worry about such troubles, as those companies had special people responsible for handling such matters.
Or to put it more bluntly, these black street gangs simply don't dare to cause trouble for those big white companies.
"My family can only give me 40,000 dollars, and it's all here. But I've made a deal with them, Spike~" His assistant director, who was also his younger brother, Sinclair Lee, hung up the phone and came over, handing his brother a bag of money:
"You'll get an IOU and the rest will be paid within a week at the latest. You sign it, and they'll take the money and the IOU and continue filming."
Spike looked at the crew members who were all waiting for him. He had no choice. If he didn't finish reshooting his scenes tonight, the lead actor Danny Aiello would go back to California tomorrow to shoot other movies. He didn't know when he would be able to find time. Moreover, he would have to pay the fees again, and there were other labor costs. Adding everything together, the loss would probably be much more than 100,000 dollars.
As for what Martin said on the phone before, that he would come over to help him solve the problem, Spike did not take it as true. Martin was only Tommy's driver and bodyguard, not Tommy himself.
"I called Susan, and she agreed to let me enjoy a three-day vacation in New York to accompany my parents, and then return to California after the vacation." Vanessa came over and said to Spike.
Spike looked at Vanessa gratefully. Vanessa was the female star Tommy had specially asked him to arrange a role for. Spike originally thought that Vanessa was too beautiful and not suitable for this realistic movie, but because Tommy was the investor who invested three million dollars, he hesitated again and again and gave the important role that originally belonged to his sister Joey Lee to Vanessa. He was even reluctant at the time. After all, he always took care of his family when making a movie. Since the shooting of the first short film, his own three younger brothers and one younger sister have been the most important parts of the movie.
But unexpectedly, Vanessa's records and the TV series she starred in were very popular among black people. The public opinion about her scandal in magazines and newspapers also changed from a black slut to a black woman persecuted by white people. She received a lot of support and sympathy from black people, which in turn brought more attention to her movie. Especially when she learned that there was insufficient material for the movie and additional shots were needed, Vanessa did not hesitate at all and immediately rushed to New York to start work. She did not have any star airs at all, which made Spike very grateful to Vanessa.
Now, the other party has specially bought three days for me.
"Just do as they say, we..." Spike made up his mind to write an IOU and start work as soon as possible.
Vanessa's phone rang again: "Vanessa, where are you?"
Vanessa immediately said to Spike Lee: "It's Martin, he really came!"
Then he asked into the phone, "Where are you, Martin?"
"My car is a white Lincoln stretched trim, the same model as Michael Jackson's," Martin said on the phone.
Vanessa and Spike began to pay attention to the cars on the street, and sure enough, a white Lincoln stretch limousine was slowly approaching in the distance.
Vanessa walked quickly to the curb and waved her arms toward the car.
The car drove up, the driver opened the door, and Martin walked out, followed by the unremarkable-looking Albert Kyle.
"Is Mr. Hawke also in New York?" Spike's first reaction was to turn his head and continue looking into the car.
But I found that the driver then closed the car door, which meant that there were no other passengers in the car.
Martin immediately noticed the bag of money in Spike's hand: "How much is this?"
"Forty thousand dollars," Spike said to Martin without reacting.
Martin took it over: "That's it, I'll take care of it for you, you owe me sixty thousand, Spike."
After saying that, Martin took the opportunity to open the paper bag and took a look at it. He took out a stack of money and put it in his suit pocket. He shook the paper bag and the remaining 30,000 yuan to Albert beside him and said, "Boy, come with me and say hello to those guys now."
Martin was in a good mood after receiving Spike's money. He followed his boss Tommy and seemed to have mastered the skills of making money. He only said that he would help Spike with 100,000 yuan, but he didn't pay any money at all. But now? He first got 40,000 yuan, paid 30,000 yuan, and made 10,000 yuan, plus Spike still owed him 60,000 yuan.
After all, this means that he doesn't have to spend the boss's money and he can make a lot of money. Martin even thought maliciously that if Spike dared to default on the debt, he would let this guy named Albert continue to do these street gang-like things to Spike's crew.
Martin took Albert and walked directly towards the dozen black youths from the Decepticon gang in the distance. Unlike Albert who was dressed simply, the dozen gang members had strange hairstyles and fancy clothes. At this time, they were all looking at the white Lincoln sedan and the two people who were getting closer and closer.
The leader of the other side, a young man with rotten teeth , grinned, exchanged glances with his companions, then looked at the two people who were gradually approaching, and said with a mocking smile: "Nigger, either give me the money or get out of here, otherwise..."
As he spoke, he lifted up his shirt carelessly, revealing the pistol at his waist, and threatened Albert: "Otherwise you will use your mouth to give my gun a blowjob, so that it will give me a reason not to shoot you."
"You don't even want to call me Nigger Boss." Martin said to the other party fearlessly: "If my white bodyguard Page was here, you would have your golf club stuffed in your mouth right now. You should be glad that I left him to grind the mill in the villa."
"You..." The other party wanted to curse a few more times when he heard the sound of several car doors being opened on the street not far behind him!
A dozen young men turned around and saw the doors of four shabby cars opened. Eight black men got out. They were dressed simply but holding various guns in their hands. They looked fierce and stood ten meters away from the dozen people, staring at them indifferently with guns.
Compared with the weapons in the hands of those people, the pistols carried by these young men seemed as ridiculous as toys.
So they wisely dropped their guns and raised their hands to face these eight big men who looked more ferocious than ordinary gang members.
There is no need for those rifles that look terrifying. All they need to do is pull the trigger on one of the two large-caliber shotguns the other party brought, and the shrapnel that sprays out will be enough to make all of them lie on the ground.
"Kneel down, niggers, I promise to give all the guns a blowjob, and maybe they won't shoot you." Martin straightened his suit, stood in front of everyone, and said arrogantly.
In the distance, Spike Lee and his crew members were all stunned, especially Vanessa. She knew Martin very well. The two of them had lived in the same villa for quite a while. She knew that he was Tommy's bodyguard and driver, and that he had friends in Los Angeles who could resolve some gang conflicts.
But no one expected Martin to be so domineering. On the streets of New York, the largest city in the United States, he gathered a group of men armed with various large firearms, and frightened the dozen young men who had just been arrogant to the crew, so much that they raised their hands and knelt on the ground.
"Who the hell are you guys?" asked nervously the young black man who was leading the group and almost had Martin give him a blowjob.
Before Albert could speak, Martin had already seized the opportunity to show off himself and shouted to the kneeling nigger:
"Martin's fruits, remember, they are Martin's fruits! And the one standing in front of you right now is their head of the family, Martin Hart."
The story about Spike Lee being threatened by a black gang in this movie is not fabricated. American filming also encounters similar problems as in the Hong Kong film industry. Spike Lee's solution at the time was to find the Fruit, an organization that was more terrifying than the gangs, to come forward and deal with the other party.
