Chapter 18

"Hello."

Unlike the people earlier, Kara-Phis only gave a polite smile, pointed to Murphy beside her, and politely declined, "Sorry, my friend and I need to talk. We need a quiet space."

The tall black man was also very polite, "May I know your name?"

As if he didn't recognize this famous person in the Los Angeles area, a hint of impatience flashed in Kara's eyes, but she still said, "Kara-Phis."

The black man wanted to say something, but Kara-Phis turned to Murphy, "Honey, two sodas, please."

Murphy waved to the waiter standing by the beach. When the waiter came over, he said, "Two sodas, please."

After saying that, he pulled out a chair, gestured for her to sit, and after Kara-Phis sat down, he pulled out another chair and sat opposite her.

The black man didn't leave, seemingly still not giving up.

Kara-Phis was in the best age for a woman, tall and sexy, and dressed up, which indeed attracted the attention of all normal men.

In many people's minds, a beautiful and unfamiliar woman appearing in such a setting usually had a non-simple purpose.

Compared to the black man, Kara-Phis and Murphy were undoubtedly small figures.

"Hello, Miss Kara-Phis." The black man bent down and extended his hand, "I'm Kobe Bryant."

Kara-Phis politely shook his hand, "Hello, Mr. Bryant."

She didn't show any particular interest.

The black man was a bit embarrassed and turned to look at Murphy, "Hello..."

Murphy extended his hand, "Hello, Murphy Stanton."

"Let's talk another time." This black man wasn't stupid and took the initiative to leave, "I have friends waiting for me."

"Goodbye." Murphy waved to him.

Seeing the black man leave, Kara-Phis looked at Murphy with a hint of curiosity, "He's a hero in this city, why aren't you excited to see him?"

"Dear, I don't even understand the rules of basketball..." Murphy shrugged, "Why would I be interested in a basketball star?"

As a basketball novice, he only knew that Kobe Bryant was a superstar, but the fact that a person who knew nothing about basketball could remember his name was enough to show how terrifying Kobe Bryant's global influence was.

"You? I can see he's very interested in you." Murphy turned to Kara, "Why are you so indifferent? He's Kobe Bryant!"

Picking up the soda, Kara-Phis took a sip and looked up at the starry night sky, giving a powerful reason, "I do social and current news, not sports news."

"I'm not talking about work." Murphy raised an eyebrow, "Don't you think he would be a good partner?"

Kara-Phis收回目光，看了他一眼，“科比-布莱恩特已经订婚了，你觉得他过来寻求什么？”

这种答案不言而喻，话说回来，无论体育圈还是娱乐圈的明星们，在这种场合主动找上漂亮的女人攀谈，目的都非常的明确。

对于这种情况，墨菲也不觉得意外，全世界的明星其实都差不多，不管男女。

喝了一口苏打水，他主动换了话题，“记得我之前对你说的吗，那两个黑人和受害者可能都是毒贩，这是可以深度挖掘的新闻。”

卡拉奇怪地看了他一眼，“你竟然能把一条新闻主动送给我，而不是卖给我。”

墨菲换上一副情深义重的表情，“我们是好朋友嘛，应当互相帮助。”

“互相帮助？”卡拉-费斯眼睛微微上翻，“我就不说谢谢了，因为我短期内不打算报道这方面的新闻。”

“为什么？”墨菲不禁问道。

“这会减弱比尔路案件的影响力。”

稍稍组织了下语言，卡拉-费斯很认真地说道，“现在黑人不断抗议，无非是最后一名案犯在不具备反抗能力的情况下，被白人警察枪杀。还有一个黑人们不会说出口的默契，那就是黑人案犯杀死的是富有的白人，这会让黑人产生一种奇特的心理，但两名黑人变成毒贩，案件变成毒贩内部火并的话，就会打破这些心理默契，从而让洛杉矶地区轰轰烈烈的黑人运动迅速平息。”

面对墨菲，她丝毫没有掩饰，“我们需要持续性的轰动新闻，而不是一个平静安全的社会。”

墨菲轻轻点了点头，显然很认可卡拉-费斯的说法，“我们又不是政府部门，而且黑人运动一旦平息，对纪录片也会产生不利影响。”

一个充满暴力、不公、毒品、犯罪和种族歧视的罪恶之都，才是纪录片的主题。

这样的纪录片想取得广泛的关注，需要混乱的社会形势来配合。

不过，洛杉矶因为黑人运动带来的纷乱，丝毫影响不到这种高级派对，这里永远都是醉生梦死，衣着体面的男人搭讪漂亮性感的女人，妆容精致的女人勾引名声响亮的男人，甚至还有些名声赫赫的绅士和淑女们，聚在一起享受大麻和******。

性、酒精、毒品以及混乱的同性关系，永远都是这种派对不会过时的主题。

当然，派对上面自律的人也不少。

至少墨菲能看到，不少人像他和卡拉-费斯一样，只是将派对当成一个拓展交际的舞台，根本不会靠近那些能毁掉一个人前途的东西。

墨菲很明白自己该怎样走，更知道现在绝对没有到享受的时刻。

如今的他应该拼搏努力，而不是因为这些莫名其妙的东西，就停下自己前进的脚步。

派对上，墨菲和卡拉-费斯一起，认识了很多人，也与不少人交换了名片，虽然其中没有什么大人物，但交际圈都是这样一步一步建立起来的。

转眼到了凌晨时分，派对丝毫没有散去的趋势，墨菲两人却准备离开了，他们明天还有各自的工作要忙，不可能在这种醉生梦死的场合耗费一整夜的时间，只是走到奥迪轿车边准备上车的时候，墨菲却突然喊住了卡拉-费斯。

“你看那边。”墨菲用眼神示意了下左前方大概五十多英尺外的地方，一个黑人挽着一个漂亮的女人走在路边，“那不是想要追求你的篮球明星吗？”

黑人正是之前墨菲见过的科比-布莱恩特，他和一个年轻性感的红发女人走在一起，看起来很亲密的样子。

墨菲眼睛忽然亮了，问道，“那是科比-布莱恩特的未婚妻？”

卡拉抬头看了一眼，摇头道，“应该不是吧，我记得媒体报道过，科比-布莱恩特的未婚妻是一个拉丁裔，这红发女人明显不是拉丁裔。”

眼睛看着走在一起的那两人，墨菲脑袋里忽然想起了些东西，隐约记得这位篮球巨星曾经因为这方面的丑闻闹得沸沸扬扬，他跟这个红发女人一起离开派对，应该不止是聊天这么简单吧？

这段时间的自由记者从业经历，已经让墨菲的某些能力得到了锻炼，瞬间就唤起了职业嗅觉。

眼看那两个人走到了一辆悍马车边，墨菲忽然转过头，对拉开车门准备上驾驶位的卡拉-费斯说道，“可以暂时借用你的车吗，亲爱的。”

卡拉先是愣了下，接着就明白了过来，微微皱眉，“你打算跟上去吗？”

墨菲没有说话，只是耸了耸肩。

考虑了不到两秒钟，卡拉-费斯关上驾驶位的车门，“我搭别人的车回去，车后备箱里有我的尼康D1数码相机和长焦镜头。”

“谢谢。”墨菲转身走向驾驶位那边，“你帮我解决了大问题。”

本来他打算找机会去现买一台长焦相机。

卡拉-费斯的车里带着摄像器材，墨菲也不奇怪，对方是个敬业的新闻工作者，随车携带这些工具再正常不过了。

“墨菲，他不是一般的人，有些事你可以用在普通的凶犯身上，”看到墨菲拉开车门，卡拉-费斯提醒，“对待他你一定要谨慎和小心。”

墨菲慎重地点头，“我还没有疯，我知道该怎么做。”

即便能拍到什么，墨菲也不会直接卖给小报，面对科比-布莱恩特这种等级的巨星，有些事情做起来绝对不能肆意妄为。

那种认为自己做什么事都不需要顾忌的人，很容易被人踩死在向上爬的道路中。

墨菲缺乏资金，现在手里的美元对于拍摄电影这个无底洞来说，只是杯水车薪，他需要敛财的门路，也在之前的一个月里做过足够多疯狂的事情，但面对的都是相对意义上的普通人，而不是一个超级巨星。

作为一个从网络高度发达的时代过来的人，墨菲清楚超级巨星代表的绝对不是自己一个人，而是从经济公司到效力球队再到广告赞助商等一大批势力的前台代言人，如果自己真的触犯到他们的底线，这些势力轻而易举就能打趴下他这种默默无闻的小人物。

是的，跟上去的风险很大，但墨菲依然要去做，因为这样的机会跟上次一样，也非常难得，而且这种事也有在不触犯对方底线范围内解决的办法。

为了原始的资金积累，这样的风险也值得一试。

坐上驾驶位，系好安全带，墨菲对外面一直看着他的卡拉-费斯竖起一个拇指，在左前方的悍马车发动驶离后，也发动奥迪轿车跟了上去。

有了上一次的经验，墨菲不远不近地跟在悍马车后面，尽管前面的车子故意兜了几个圈，似乎想要甩掉可能存在的尾巴，他却一直吊在了后面。

翻页上AD开始

翻页上AD结束

---

"Look over there." Murphy gestured with his eyes to a spot about fifty feet to the left, where a black man was walking with a beautiful woman, "Isn't that the basketball star who wanted to pursue you?"

The black man was indeed Kobe Bryant, whom Murphy had met earlier. He was walking with a young, sexy red-haired woman, looking very intimate.

Murphy's eyes suddenly lit up, "Is that Kobe Bryant's fiancée?"

Kara looked up and shook her head, "I don't think so. I remember the media reported that Kobe Bryant's fiancée is Latin American, and this red-haired woman is clearly not."

Looking at the two walking together, Murphy's mind suddenly recalled something. He vaguely remembered that this basketball superstar had once been involved in a scandal that caused a lot of commotion. He and the red-haired woman leaving the party together probably meant more than just a chat.

His experience as a freelance journalist had honed certain skills, and he instantly felt a professional instinct.

Seeing the two walk to a Hummer, Murphy suddenly turned to Kara-Phis, who was about to get into the driver's seat, "Can I borrow your car for a bit, honey?"

Kara was initially taken aback but quickly understood, frowning slightly, "You're planning to follow them?"

Murphy didn't speak, just shrugged.

After less than two seconds of consideration, Kara-Phis closed the driver's door, "I'll get a ride with someone else. There's my Nikon D1 digital camera and a telephoto lens in the trunk."

"Thanks." Murphy turned to the driver's side, "You've really helped me out."

He had planned to buy a telephoto camera at some point.

Kara-Phis carrying camera equipment in her car didn't surprise Murphy; she was a dedicated journalist, and it was normal for her to carry these tools.

"Murphy, he's not just anyone. Some things you can do to ordinary criminals," as Murphy opened the door, Kara-Phis warned, "you need to be cautious and careful with him."

Murphy nodded solemnly, "I'm not crazy. I know what to do."

Even if he managed to get some photos, Murphy wouldn't sell them to tabloids. Dealing with a superstar like Kobe Bryant required extreme caution.

People who think they can do anything without consequences often get crushed on their way up.

Murphy lacked funds, and the dollars he had were a mere drop in the bucket for filmmaking. He needed a way to make money and had done enough crazy things in the past month, but they were all with relatively ordinary people, not a superstar.

As someone from a highly internet-developed era, Murphy knew that a superstar like Kobe Bryant represented not just himself but a front for a large group of forces, from management companies to teams and advertisers. If he crossed their line, these forces could easily crush him, an unknown small figure.

Yes, the risk was high, but Murphy still had to take it. Such an opportunity was rare, and there were ways to handle it without crossing the line.

For the sake of initial capital accumulation, this risk was worth taking.

Sitting in the driver's seat and fastening his seatbelt, Murphy gave Kara-Phis a thumbs-up as she watched him. After the Hummer in front of him started and drove away, he also started the Audi and followed.

With his previous experience, Murphy kept a safe distance behind the Hummer. Despite the car's attempts to lose any potential tail by driving in circles, he stayed right behind it.

---

翻页上AD开始

翻页上AD结束

---

Page AD starts

Page AD ends