Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"Knock, knock..."

A knocking sound emerged from outside.

Luke withdrew his thoughts, "Come in."

The door opened and a middle-aged Caucasian woman entered the room with a bunch of colorful flowers in hand.

Luke sized her up, with a gun in hand under the sheet, "Who are you?"

Luke had two guns, the Glock was still at the Las Vegas Police Station, but the other backup pistol had already been returned.

"I am Barilla Skar, Vice President of MGM Group. Mr. Lee, are you feeling better?" The Caucasian woman placed the fresh flowers on the bedside table.

The Mandalay Bay Hotel is an MGM Group property.

Luke raised an eyebrow, "Ms. Skar, what brings you here?"

"I have heard of your heroic deeds and came specially on behalf of MGM Group and Mandalay Bay Hotel to visit you.

Thank you for your contributions in protecting our hotel."

Luke was surprised, "Ms. Skar, you are very well-informed. How did you know about this?"

"The shooting occurred at our hotel, so we also have some understanding of the incident, knowing that you were the first to rush to the gunman's room and stopped him from continuing his rampage."

Luke smiled, but he didn't believe her story—even if she had reviewed the hotel surveillance, she could not possibly know the detailed circumstances.

Moreover, only a few colleagues and people from the Las Vegas Police Department knew he was in the hospital, and his colleagues in Los Angeles couldn't possibly have contacted MGM Group. It must have been an internal leak from the Las Vegas Police Department.

These bastards really aren't reliable, making him sign a confidentiality agreement and then selling him out behind his back.

Screw that.

Barilla Skar expressed concern, "Mr. Lee, are you feeling better?"

"My chest hurts continuously. What do you want?" Since he had to play his part, he might as well play it fully.

"I came here firstly to see how you are and secondly to express our hotel's gratitude." Barilla Skar pulled out a black hotel card,

"This is a Diamond VIP card, valid for free lodging at any of the group's hotels for ten years."

Luke thought for a moment, "I appreciate the gesture, but no thank you for the card."

Barilla Skar continued, "Mr. Lee, MGM Group is a global chain of hotels, we have properties in many countries, you can stay at any hotel for free."

"Thank you, but really, I don't need it." Luke declined once again.

He had two reasons for refusal.

First, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Luke indeed helped the hotel, but the world itself is unequal, and it doesn't mean you will definitely receive something in return for your efforts.

Second, free lodging for 10 years sounds nice, but it's not practically useful.

Luke is 26 this year, and he will be 36 in ten years; these ten years are his prime time for career advancement.

He wouldn't have so much time to travel every day.

Even if he did travel occasionally, he wouldn't go alone—what about the lodging costs for others?

It's not that significant.

Moreover, going on vacation is about the mood and the attractions, not the hotels.

It doesn't make sense to check for MGM Group hotels before deciding where to go.

Though ten years of free lodging seems like a big deal, it's not practically useful for Luke.

To put it bluntly, Luke wasn't impressed.

Barilla Skar was also observing Luke, as a corporate executive for many years, she was perceptive.

"Mr. Lee, if you have any requests, you can mention them."

Luke smiled, "Ms. Skar, what an interesting thing to say. Your group doesn't owe me anything, what right do I have to make demands?"

"Our group indeed owes you nothing.

But you stopped the gunman, protected our hotel guests, and saved the hotel from certain damages. We are truly grateful.

You might not know, but our group now faces huge compensation claims.

If you hadn't stopped the gunman on time, the compensation would have been even higher.

So, we are sincerely grateful." Barilla Skar shifted her tone, "If you don't want the free Diamond VIP card, our hotel is willing to offer you $500,000 as a reward for your bravery."

Luke smiled, "Do you need me to do anything?"

"No, not at all."

"Tell me what benefits you get out of this, I don't believe you would give me money just out of gratitude."

"As I mentioned earlier, our hotel faces huge compensation claims, which could be astronomical. You had a certain influence on the case.

We won't ask you to say anything or do anything; merely having a good impression of our group means your unintentional actions might have a positive impact on the whole situation.

This $500,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the astronomical compensation,

but even the slightest positive influence is worthwhile for us." Barilla Skar glanced around and lowered her voice,

"Actually, even if you say nothing, I still think it's worth it."

Luke thought about it, he actually had no negative impressions of MGM Group and the hotel; their service, attitude, and environment were quite good, his only complaint was losing $3,000.

Regarding the compensation Barilla Skar mentioned, Luke could guess some of it—the gunman had opened fire in Mandalay Bay Hotel, so the victims and their families might claim compensation from the hotel.

Luke became curious, "How much compensation might the victims claim from your hotel?"

Barilla Skar sighed, "The group's lawyers estimate the claims to be at least one billion US dollars, and possibly even several billion dollars.

We're not saying we won't compensate, but we hope the compensation remains within a reasonable range. If we meet their demands, our group and insurance company would be drained, and still, it wouldn't satisfy them."

"I don't want to be involved in your lawsuits; it's none of my business." Luke hated trouble.

"OK, that's your freedom, just like it's our freedom to offer you a bravery award."

Luke made it clear in advance, "If I take the reward, I might not necessarily speak well of your hotel."

Barilla Skar joked, "I believe it's still better than not taking it at all."

"Half a million US dollars in reward money?"

"You protected the Mandalay Bay Hotel, it's what you deserve."

"After taxes?"

"No problem."

"Thanks for the generosity of your group."

"Wish you a speedy recovery." Barilla Skar left these words and turned to leave the hospital room.

Luke laughed, the mindset of executives from big corporations really was something else, giving him money for nothing more than to make him happy.

When someone gives money simply to delight him, Luke couldn't think of a reason to refuse it.

Truth be told, when the incident happened, it was all so sudden, Luke hadn't anticipated the case would garner such a big impact.

Now that he had the time, and seeing the attitude of the MGM group, Luke also had to think carefully about how to maximize his benefits.

First, the incident occurred in Las Vegas, not Los Angeles, which had pros and cons for Luke.

The upside was, Luke's actions would be declared heroic, and he could naturally receive the MGM group's reward money.

If the incident had occurred in Los Angeles, then it would have been within Luke's jurisdiction.

Luke, as a police officer involved in the case, couldn't claim to act heroically in that scenario, and accepting money would have been inappropriate.

Of course, if the incident had happened in Los Angeles, Luke wouldn't find it awkward to be hiding in a hospital either.

Directly, Luke could gain financially from the shooting incident, but he wanted more than just that.

This shooting incident has been the deadliest in American history in terms of the number of people injured.

Whenever people mention a shooting, they will definitely recall this event.

And Luke, being the one who subdued the gunman, could gain immense renown through this event.

He might even get a Medal of Valor or a Freedom Medal.

That would depend on how Luke's actions were characterized: he was a police officer, and traditionally, that would mean a Medal of Valor.

But the issue was, Luke wasn't a Las Vegas police officer; he had no law enforcement authority in Las Vegas and could say he was acting as a private citizen.

The final decision rested with the Great Commander.

This was also why Luke refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement; he didn't want to jeopardize his interests for the sake of the Las Vegas Police Department.

"Buzz." Luke's phone rang.

It was a text from Little Black, 'Watch CFP News TV.'

Luke turned on the TV and found the CFP News channel.

The screen showed a black woman in professional attire, her voice choked up as she said, "Good evening, I am Pari Jones from CFP News TV.

You all must have heard about the Las Vegas shooting by now. After gathering information from various sources, I've uncovered the latest developments in the case.

According to the latest reports, the number of casualties has exceeded eight hundred, which is heartbreaking news.

My heart is heavy just like everyone else's, and the shooter's brutality is beyond condemnation."

Pari Jones wiped her tears, then continued, "Based on what I've learned, the shooting occurred last night at 10:06 PM. A gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. I must condemn his actions once again.

The gunman used an automatic weapon to massacre the crowd.

Many unsung heroes at the scene voluntarily helped the injured tourists.

The shooting lasted nine minutes until a responding officer barged into the gunman's room, where a shootout occurred, wounding the gunman and stopping further shootings.

Afterwards, realizing there was no escape, the gunman killed himself.

From confidential information I gathered, this officer was not from the Las Vegas police.

He was a Los Angeles police officer vacationing in Las Vegas.

He prevented further deterioration of the shooting incident.

I want to applaud this Los Angeles hero officer.

He is a hero.

Also, it's hard not to ask, what took so long? What was the Las Vegas police doing?

This case raises too many questions, and we will continue to follow this most severe shooting in history to uncover the truth behind it.

Please keep tuned to CFP News channel, I am reporter Pari Jones."

After the news, Little Black called, "Buddy, what do you think?"

"Wasn't she on CBE TV? Did she switch networks?"

"Yes, she's a really visionary woman."

"Does she know it's me?"

"I haven't told her yet, but she's been pressing me for it. Should I tell her?"

"That depends how sincere she is."

Little Black said, "She mentioned that if she could verify the news, she'd pay me twenty thousand US dollars for the tip.

And she promises another twenty thousand US dollars if I reveal the officer's name."

"That's too little, given the magnitude of the news event drawing global attention and delivering this scoop, it should at least be fifty to seventy thousand US dollars to show sincerity."

Little Black sounded worried, "What if she doesn't pay?"

"There's more than one TV network in competition; competition breeds motivation. Try contacting other networks."

Little Black asked back, "Is that okay?"

"There's nothing wrong with that, giving in to women like Pari Jones only makes her take you for granted.

You need to make her understand that in this relationship, you're the one in charge, not her."

Little Black's eyes widened, he nodded slowly, "You make sense."

"Buddy, I'm rooting for you."

Luke laughed, he had just come to realize this himself; it was a good chance for Little Black to see if it would work.