Although no one died, LAPD officers still arrived at the scene with utmost speed, involving a top Hollywood production. McLain, who had dealt with Martin during the incident at Burbank Middle School, also appeared on set.
McLain sought out his acquaintance Martin first, "What exactly is the situation?"
Martin was just as confused, "I was waiting in the rest area to go on set. The scene being shot was a gunfight, and on the fourth trigger pull, the blank in an actor's pistol turned into a live round."
He pointed at his ear, "You know, I'm a good shot, I can tell the difference."
McLain lowered his voice and asked, "Not a Russian spy?"
Martin thought for a mont and replied, "I don't think so."
He gestured towards the prop departnt, "My manager Bruce, you know him, Old Cloth knows so of the details and is over there giving a statent."
"Let's go have a look," McLain led the way over.
Martin followed.
By the mouth of the alley where the prop departnt was located, they could see a detective captain from the police departnt asking Bruce sothing.
In response to the detective captain's questions, Bruce spoke the truth, "You know Martin's situation. Therefore, when Martin plays the lead, it's a necessary condition in negotiations to have appointed as the deputy director in the prop departnt."
His words were factual yet could give rise to different interpretations, "Before shooting started this afternoon, I did a routine check of the firearms. The gun Tom Hardy was using was supposed to be part of my check, but he refused. He only unloaded the first three bullets from his magazine and had confirm they were blanks..."
A detective was taking notes, and after Bruce finished, a female officer whispered, "His account matches the prop master's."
The two detectives went on to question another prop master wearing sunglasses.
The prop master with sunglasses swore confidently, "After work this morning, I've been here the whole ti, never left for a mont, absolutely no one touched the bullets, I swear to God! And the prop bullets were loaded into the magazines together by and two others, as per the crew's rules, so we could monitor each other."
He appeared serious and responsible, "My professional integrity and ethics don't allow any irresponsible behavior."
The detectives had already questioned the other two prop masters separately. Combining the reactions from Bruce, they asked, "So you think the problem didn't originate from your end? What about Bruce?"
The sunglass-wearing prop master replied, "Bruce was checking guns and bullets, and I and another person were right there with him, he didn't tamper with anything. But Tom Hardy refused to let Bruce check his gun and magazine."
He would never tell anyone about taking a nap at noon; that would place the bla on him, and he wouldn't be able to work in the industry again.
Even if he changed industries, he would be rejected.
The detective asked, "The British actor Tom Hardy?"
Speaking of Tom Hardy, a thought flashed through the brain of the prop master with sunglasses, "Tom Hardy wouldn't let Old Cloth check the gun he took, and he left with it alone. The problem might have occurred during the ti he was gone."
After the detectives finished their inquiries, a brief eting took place at the scene. The prop masters monitored each other, and Bruce conducted daily routine checks; there seed to be no issues, and their statents matched up.
Tom Hardy's refusal to have his firearm checked was, however, a bit odd.
Cases of self-directed sabotage weren't few and far, especially when the other party was a star-level actor, adept at acting.
The officers went to find Tom Hardy.
In the set design departnt, Clayson and his colleagues curiously played the part of the qualified onlookers.
He didn't exhibit any abnormality, doing whatever his colleagues did.
Yet, he felt a bit of a pity inside, the one who caused the accidental shooting wasn't Martin Davis but the unfortunate Tom Hardy.
If it had been Martin, given his often violent handling of guns, it was highly likely to provoke a dia backlash.
But Clayson had tried everything he could, and he would not attempt a second ti. He had repaid his debt to Brad Pitt.
Martin waited outside for a while; Old Cloth went to gather so information and ca back.
"I have so good news," Old Cloth said in a low voice, "Tom Hardy is going to be taken to the police departnt."
Martin replied, "That's not good news. If a leading actor gets into trouble, production will halt, and Director Nolan definitely won't be pleased."
Representatives from the actors' guild, directors' guild, cinematographers' guild, and third-party insurance companies all arrived; the production would definitely be suspended for a few days.
Bruce said, "You can take this chance to rest. Isn't there a Sect Hierarch eting to attend? Now you've got the ti."
Martin went to a secluded area, and when Bruce caught up, he asked in a low voice, "Are there any signs this was targeted at us?"
That was his real concern.
Bruce thought hard, "It's difficult to say right now. I've checked all the guns, bullets, and magazines, except for the ones in Tom Hardy's hands. Soone loaded the bullet into his pistol magazine, not yours."
He pondered the sequence of events, "I've discussed the situation with McLain. Combining everyone's feedback, either soone is lying, or there were issues after Tom Hardy took possession of the gun."
Martin enquired, "Did they find anything unusual in the prop departnt?"
"Nothing for now," replied Bruce, who had also asked around, "Even during lunch, the prop departnt made sure soone was on guard. That person said that after work in the morning, he never left, and others have confird that."
Martin felt sowhat uneasy, "You and the bodyguards should be more vigilant. Sothing doesn't feel quite right. It's not just a hunch, I hope."
Bruce uttered a painfully true statent, "This is the hangover from ssing with too many people. We've screwed over so many, and we can't just toss them into the Pacific to feed the fish."
That made too much sense for Martin to argue with. Not to ntion his rise in Hollywood upon arriving in Los Angeles, stepping on others' heads, but even in Atlanta, he had to play people to make a na for himself.
From the mont he arrived in Arica, he was either ssing with soone or on his way to ss with soone.
The first few he ssed with in Los Angeles, he could barely even rember their nas now, like the idiot bitten by a rattlesnake.
And on this path he took, it was impossible to humanely eradicate all the trash he'd dealt with; inevitably, so persistent ones would pop up and complicate his life.
All of a sudden, Martin felt weary, but when he thought of wealth, beautiful won, and status, he was instantly filled with fighting spirit.
The joy of battling wits with others!
Martin said, "Pay extra attention to any behind-the-scenes movents within the production."
When it ca to investigation, ten of him and Old Cloth combined couldn't compare to Los Angeles' greatest force, the LAPD.
The only thing they could really compete with the LAPD on was the speed at which they emptied their magazines.
Bruce responded, "I will."
Life had to go on, and Martin walked forward, "Let's go and console Director Nolan."
The two hadn't approached the director's team yet when they saw Nolan full of energy and high in spirit.
The renowned director seed to be barely affected.
Nolan had just sent away the representative of the Directors Guild and called over his capable assistant Anderson, saying, "Record the real behind-the-scenes, a gun-shooting incident occurred during the filming, a photographer was accidentally wounded by a bullet, yet endured the pain and finished shooting the scene before seeking help!"
Anderson wrote fervently, for behind-the-scenes footage pursued authenticity!
Nolan continued to ponder, the shooting had happened, and negative impacts had arisen, unavoidable as they were.
But the sa incident could still be exploited for publicity, making more people aware of the movie.
Having experienced nurous events, the marketing guru Nolan was taking shape. He continued, "Keep recording, Director Nolan remained calm in the face of danger, commanding with composure to prevent chaos in the crew and avoid further injuries."
Anderson finished writing and looked up at his boss.
Nolan thought for a mont and said, "Let's stop here for now, we'll wait for the police to give their investigative results before proceeding."
Another idea sprang up, and he saw Martin, "Co over for a chat."
Martin approached, "Chris..."
Nolan valued Martin's opinion highly when it ca to marketing and asked, "Could we edit so of the footage from the incident and sell it to TMZ or other entertainnt dia to create buzz for the film?"
Martin, more cautious than Nolan, said, "We need to guide public opinion properly."
"I know," Nolan said. Ever since shooting in Morocco, he had been eager for a big splash. Finally, a kidnapping case ca along, only to be constantly nagged by damn Jews every day, nearly driving him to explode.
Those bastards wouldn't spend a penny on cover-ups, only using their influence to press people into submission.
As for the promised conditions, Nolan didn't believe a word.
Now, with another major incident at hand, Nolan wanted to turn the bad into good, "I trust the professionals at Warner Bros. can handle this well."
"Then it shouldn't be a problem," said Martin, who had collaborated with Warner Bros. led by Barry yer for several years and found them reliable.
Nolan still had so ideas but didn't dare share them with others.
He suspected the incident might be related to the Moroccan kidnapping case.
Those bastards, what wouldn't they dare do?
But considering the Jews' influence in Hollywood, he could only keep his thoughts to himself.
Turning his head, he caught a glance from Bruce and followed his gaze to a short distance away.
Tom Hardy was being invited by the LAPD for a coffee interview.
Nolan got busy again.
With such an incident occurring, the shoot could only be halted.
The project had to co to a temporary stop as well.
When the day ended and everyone dispersed, Emma Thomas ca over to notify Martin to await further instructions.
Martin and Bruce went straight ho.
The LAPD had gathered information from all around the set that didn't bode well for Tom Hardy. Bruce and the prop masters had seen him unload three blanks, but there was a problem with the fourth.
During shooting, he should have fired near the stunt actor, but he turned too far, aiming the muzzle at the photographer's assistant instead.
So detectives even suspected Tom Hardy of preditated murder.
The English actor wasn't released from the LAPD until late at night, after much communication from the production team.
...
In Burbank, in a car parked by the roadside, Cassie saw Tony's car turning the corner and dialed her brother Ben's phone, "She's coming back from the supermarket."
Ben moved his car, apparently having just returned from outside, parking it.
Tony, driving her car, pulled up and parked in a spot ahead.
Ben got out of his car just as Tony also got out of hers.
Seeing her take items from the back seat, Ben quickly walked over and offered, "Let help you."
Tony, seeing it was him, stepped aside, supporting her stomach, and without any pretense said, "Thank you, Ben."
Ben took two shopping bags, "We're friends, and it's lucky I was here."
Together, they entered the building, took the elevator to Tony's apartnt floor, and naturally, Ben helped deliver the items to her doorstep.
Tony unlocked her door and then invited him in, "Would you like to co in for a bit?"
Ben acted the perfect gentleman, "May I?"
Tony smiled, "Ben, we're friends."
Ben followed her into the apartnt and imdiately noticed the pervasive presence of Martin Davis.
It was as if he had walked into a specialty store dedicated to Martin Davis-related products.
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