Chapter 90 - 91 The Rise of HD Security

Chapter 90: Chapter 91 The Rise of HD Security Inside the MGM film production studio, documentary director Burgess Morlan and his team were working overtime. For this shoot, they used eight cameras, ensuring ample footage. Now, Burgess’s task was to edit this footage into a tense and thrilling documentary. After two days and nights, a 68-minute documentary was completed. A screening was organized. Hardy arrived, along with MGM boss Mayer, President Johnston, Mayor Ross, and chief Ed. The big shots sat down together to watch. The film started with flashing newspaper headlines about the robbery at the Bank of America Los Angeles branch. This was followed by an overview of the entire robbery. After the robbery, many reporters rushed to the scene, capturing photos and footage. Innocent bystanders killed, bullet ridden cash transport vehicles, slain security guards, and the devastated bank hall—all depicted the brutality of the robbery. Next came newspaper reports detailing frequent bank heists in Los Angeles in recent years, giving the city a reputation as the "crime capital." Morris Johnston, the president of Bank of America Los Angeles, appeared on camera, infuriated by the robbery, offering a $20,000 reward for leads and vowing retaliation against the robbers to protect customers. Mayor Ross and chief Ed were interviewed, expressing their views and determination on the matter. Then HD Security officially entered the scene. The camera panned from the gatehouse to the office building and finally to the strategy room, resembling a military command center, where people in black tactical gear discussed the robbery. The plot unfolded consistently. The climax naturally focused on the siege and capture of the robbers. The capture footage was extensive, over 20 minutes long—bullets whizzing, machine guns firing, continuous explosions—as each robber was taken down, satisfying the audience. Throughout, HD Security personnel demonstrated remarkable combat capabilities, swift operations, and advanced command communications, overpowering the robbers. HD security personnel carried the only living robber out, the camera froze, and it finally turned into a photo in the newspaper. Internal personnel located the missing bank safe in the cellar, revealing stacks of cash, shot from various angles, thrilling the audience. HD Security personnel carried the safe outside, another photo opportunity for the newspapers. At the end of the film, HD Security handed over the safe and the robbers to the Los Angeles Police Department, with CEO Lancer and President Johnston shaking hands, formally signing an agreement for HD Security to take over Bank of America Los Angeles security operations. Lancer also shook hands with chief Ed, establishing HD Security as an auxiliary force for the LAPD, responsible for certain street patrols, emergency responses, and heavy firepower support. Hardy was very satisfied with the film, finding it intense and thrilling, comparable to an action-packed film, sure to captivate audiences. The film portrayed Bank of America and the LAPD positively, presenting HD Security as city saviors, akin to the Avengers, fighting crime and saving the city. As the film ended, the lights came on. The big shots applauded together. "Mayor Ross, chief Ed, President Johnston, what did you think?" Hardy asked with a smile. Mayor Ross nodded. "A gripping documentary, never dull, consistently intense. The part where they eliminated the robbers was the highlight." He was very pleased with the portrayal. "At least our image came across well," he thought. "Well done. Our Bank of America’s values were well represented," President Johnston added. chief Ed, however, hesitated, "The police image seemed a bit weak?" All eyes turned to him, thinking, "Do you even realize how bad you are? If not for HD Security, could you have cracked the case?" Ed cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness. With the documentary completed, Mayer informed everyone they would premiere the film in Los Angeles. If it performed well, achieving a 30% attendance rate, similar to other documentaries, they would expand its release nationwide. Three days later, eight cinemas in Los Angeles displayed posters. "The Great Bank Robbery of Los Angeles." The poster depicted HD Security personnel in full gear. "The true story of the Los Angeles bank heist—68 minutes of tension and excitement, a guaranteed thrill for just 10 cents." Considering current ticket prices, which ranged from 20 to 35 cents, Hardy intentionally halved the price to attract more viewers. Given the extensive newspaper coverage of the heist, many were curious and willing to pay to see the entire process unfold on screen. There was no grand premiere. It premiered at 1 p.m. that day. Cinemas used to show documentaries, but people’s enthusiasm for documentaries was very low. Usually only a few people would go into the cinema to watch such films, but today was different—the cinema was packed, similar to screenings of major blockbusters. Today, Hardy had time and brought young Taylor along to watch the film. Taylor hadn’t seen Hardy in days, thrilled to join him for the movie. Looking at the poster, Taylor asked, "Mr. Hardy, is HD Security your company?" "That’s right." "I read in the newspaper that HD Security effortlessly defeated the robbers and will maintain Los Angeles security. Mr. Hardy, you’re amazing." They entered the theater and sat together. The theater was almost full. It was beyond imagination. This was just a documentary. Even for a well made film, achieving a 70-80% attendance rate was impressive. The film began. "The Great Bank Robbery of Los Angeles" was anything but dull, avoiding excessive preaching and narration, focusing solely on storytelling, capturing the intense excitement. Taylor was deeply engrossed in the content, her eyes glued to the screen. The other viewers were equally captivated. In the final twenty minutes, the action peaked—the operation was explosive, bullets flew, guns fired, and the scenes rivaled any gunfight blockbuster movie, and were more authentic. There weren’t even edited out taboo violent scenes. As the film ended, the audience discussed while exiting. Many found it exhilarating. If modern people were to see this documentary, some would likely criticize the film company as unscrupulous, presenting the security company in too glamorous a light. This is basically an advertisement disguised as a documentary. The boss of this HD security company definitely spent money to bribe the director. That’s right, Hardy indeed spent money. Before editing, he gave the director, Moran, a content production process document, outlining the entire plot process and, of course, a $10,000 check. Moran didn’t succumb to the temptation of the check. He simply thought that the film process outlined by Mr. Hardy was better. He’s now working on two films, both scripts personally written by Mr. Hardy, definitely not an amateur. Screening for three consecutive days. The box office statistics surprised the MGM side, finding that it performed better than many movies. Mainly due to the strong early promotion and the sensational nature of the event, which attracted so many people to the theaters. Mayer waved his hand and had the distribution department put it in all theaters across America. Even if it couldn’t be on schedule, this documentary would still make a big profit. No matter how you calculate it now, this documentary about HD Security is definitely profitable, even trending towards a large profit. Soon, "The Los Angeles Bank Heist" was released in theaters across America. Although it wasn’t as popular in other cities as in Los Angeles, achieving an attendance rate of eighty to ninety percent, it was still much stronger than the average film, making money was absolutely no problem. Mayer called, laughing, "Hardy, I’ve discovered you’re a marketing genius. A simple bank robbery, and you’ve managed to pull it off so perfectly." "Based on the current box office trends, if it plays for a month, it should reach $2 million in box office. The costs for this documentary are extremely low compared to the profits, excluding theater distribution and release expenses, you’ll probably earn around $500,000." "More importantly, this incident has promoted HD security cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department and Bank of America, and through this publicity, everyone in America now knows about HD security. The future business development of HD Security will be very smooth. You’ve really taken this thing to the extreme." "MGM made quite a bit too, marketing costs just deducted more than half of the profits." Hardy smiled. "That’s just a small change, I’m sure you don’t mind." Mayer said. It is impossible for Hardy not to care about $100,000, it’s mainly because there are other gains that are greater. HD Security has now signed a contract with Bank of America. The Los Angeles branch of Bank of America has a headquarters with a vault, as well as five service halls and three cash transport vehicles, requiring a total of 85 security personnel. The contract signed by both parties stipulates that Bank of America must pay HD Security over a million dollars annually for security, including vault security, service hall security, and cash transport security. If a robbery occurs, HD Security promises to retaliate against the robbers free of charge. HD Security now has only about 120 people, and the Bank of America LA branch alone has taken up most of them. Hardy then instructed Lancer to continue recruiting vigorously. Hardy’s ideal is to develop HD Security into a company like G4S in the future. G4S has more than 620,000 employees worldwide, with business operations in 115 countries, and undertakes dozens of types of business. Now HD Security has taken a solid step forward, made a name for itself, and has control over its direction. Hardy believes he will definitely be able to develop it in the future. Just as the security company’s affairs were wrapping up, Hardy received some good news. The financial company called him and said the acquisition of shares in Wash Mining was complete. Wash Mining originally had four shareholders, two major and two minor. David Wash had previously driven the company into the ground, and with no hope of ever recovering, the shareholders were already desperate. At this point, the financial company came in for the acquisition, and with professional analysis and persuasion, the three shareholders sold all their shares. At least they can get some money back by selling now, but when it really drops to the point where it’s worthless, they won’t be able to get a penny back. The company still has external debts, and they might have to pay for it with their private money. The financial company also found David Wash, who was already in jail, awaiting trial. At first, he wanted to hold on to his shares and make more money, with money in hand, he could at least live comfortably in jail. The person from the financial company smiled and said, "We’ve acquired shares from the other three as well, totaling 31%, although a bit less than yours, Just randomly buying a little in the market will surpass you, What happens next, I believe you can imagine. People who play finance have many ways to deal with a listed company that is on the verge of bankruptcy. In the end, David’s shares can be made worthless. And he is still in prison and has no power to resist. Selling now will at least bring back more than $200,000 finally, David gave in. At this point, Hardy completely owned Wash Mining, as for what to do next, he wasn’t in a hurry, let it be for now, and let this financial company take care of the stock market. Hardy’s office had a globe, as tall as a person, extremely exquisite. He reached out and pointed to the globe: Brazil, Australia, Peru, Chile, and Africa, These places are rich in mineral resources. Later on, when he developed himself, he could buy the land with rich mineral veins, even if they had already been mined, he could still operate them. There’s also oil. It’s only 1946 now, and he still has a lot of room to maneuver, many major oil fields haven’t been discovered yet. Of course, all this will have to wait until he has the strength, having too much money or resources in hand before having enough strength, will only invite disaster. "Ring, ring, ring~~!" The phone on the desk rang. Hardy picked it up to answer. "Jon, it’s Sigel, I heard from Mayer that you recently invested a million dollars in a movie." Sigel’s voice came through the phone. "Yes, I made some money from stocks." Hardy said. Sigel hesitated slightly and said, "A few days ago I had a big argument with a few partners, they came to Las Vegas and were very dissatisfied with the progress of the project, saying I was too extravagant and idealistic." "I asked them for more money, but they refused to continue paying. The money I have now can only last for half a month, but it is still far from completion." "Mr. Sigel, get to the point. I don’t understand what you mean?" "My point is, are you interested in becoming a shareholder in the casino?" Sigel asked. ... 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