Chapter 133: Camaraderie

The set had just rounded up filming for the day.

To that effect, the crew was currently sorting out equipment here and shelving them properly and securely in preparation for tomorrow.

It also happened to be rather early in the evening, which by all accounts and purposes, had practically everyone on set feeling quite spent, hence why they were honestly taking their sweet time.

They had been here as early as seven in the morning and it had honestly been non-stop from start to finish.

Clearly having noticed this, Niall spoke, his voice audible enough for everyone to hear;

"So, I was thinking... new diner down the street? Tabs on me, of course. I hear they make some excellent--"

The young star hadn’t quite managed to finish that sentence before he got a resounding mix of ’Yes!’, ’Hell yeah!’ and everything in between alongside a general cheer of excitement.

To that effect, it really didn’t take long before most of the crew occupied the expansive, family-style diner, sumptuous, buffet-style meals on each table they occupied.

Some of the crew members swiftly grabbed their meals in takeaways, gave their appreciations, said their goodbyes and dipped... not that anyone seemed to mind.

It was either they had families and wanted to be home as early as they could, or just wanted to decompress after a long day of work, alone.

Both valid reasons, honestly.

Engaging with the most of the cast on set today alongside the director for the camaraderie, all of whom were currently seated around a diner table while discussing the most mundane of things, Mary-Beth took a sip of her wine, a light smile on her features.

Usually, the young actress would never be caught in a gathering such as this.

However, with how much of a great time she’d been having on set, she actually found herself wanting to spend more and more time with the crew.

It didn’t mean she believed she’d suddenly found some sort of passion for acting, but, to a certain extent, it made her realize that there were moments in her life where she could simply, just, be in the moment without her guard up.

"You know, you were especially great today on set." a familiar voice reached her from across the other end of the table.

In response, Mary-Beth replied with a genuinely appreciative smile, her fork fiddling with her food, though she didn’t quite feel she was deserving of it given she had only put in a little more effort than usual;

"Thank you, Niall... but I pale in comparison to you and Johnny,"

"No, no. Niall’s right." Johnny cut her off with a relaxed smile as he munched on his steak.

"Usually, your acting is always top-notch. You’re like a chameleon, almost..." Mark casually picked up from there as he popped open a bottle of fruity, non-alcoholic wine.

"But today... with that scene in the Outlands... I get the sense that you brought something more..." the director added as he poured himself a drink.

"Passion. That’s what you brought." Niall simply said, then added a moment after whilst cleaning his mouth with a napkin;

"You made Alice your own in that very moment. And usually, that’s harder than even acting out your character."

For a brief moment, Mary-Beth couldn’t quite respond.

Yet, deep within, the answer couldn’t have been more crystal.

But, as was par for the course with people whom had pavlov-dogged themselves into believing something couldn’t be the case given their prior experiences, she simply gave a soft nod of appreciation instead and continued eating her meal.

Meanwhile, Niall had already risen to his feet and was already shuffling his way out as he said;

"I’ll see you all tomorrow."

In kind, everyone reciprocated his greetings as he waved them goodbye.

At the same time, one singular individual in the corner rose up, quietly making his way out as well without drawing any attention.

Stepping out into the cool evening breeze, arms tucked into his jacket as his dirty-blonde hair was tousled softly, Niall hummed to himself as he made his way over to his vehicle.

It was already pretty dark by now, though there was still enough visibility given all the lights around.

The parking lot however, just happened to be positioned in a much dimmer region behind the diner, hence making it considerably darker in comparison to everywhere else around.

Niall was just about to reach the vehicle, his hands retrieving his car keys when his enhanced senses flared up, adrenaline fueling his entire being.

From his periphery, he picked the silhouette of someone creeping towards him with an object that just happened to catch the faintest hint of light in the dark.

Instinctively, he ducked!

Then a crackling echo followed, shattering the window of his vehicle.

In sync, everyone in the restaurant jolted in their seats! Within seconds, they all seemed to process where they’d heard the gunshot from.

Like ants, they rushed out the door and towards the parking lot.

Upon realizing his murder attempt had failed though, the man in question proceeded to bolt out of the area in a frantic run!

Unfortunately for him, Niall’s physique was bar none the peak of human physicality, he literally caught up to his assailant in five quick strides!

As everyone rushed around the corner in a panic, what they were met with was Niall tackling a man in a hoodie to the ground!

Without giving him the avenue to try his luck again, Niall crippled the arm still holding onto the gun, dislocating it with a painful pop!

An agonizing cry echoed through the night and everyone simply watched in shock as their lead actor finally turned his assailant to face him.

Removing his hoodie, and seeing Adrian’s face contorted in harrowing pain... Niall’s gaze remained dead-cold.

Mary-Beth on the other hand covered her mouth slowly, her eyes widening in clear shock.

For a moment, Niall genuinely considered bashing the bastard’s face with one or two punches, one of his hands already clenching into a fist as he slowly raised it up.

Sure, he knew a punch with his full force behind it might as well leave the man paraplegic if not brain dead, but was he really supposed to just let this utter, scum of the earth go?

In just the span of a week, this same bastard had not only managed to utterly piss him off, but had also attempted to murder him?

All for what?

Because he was pretending to method act?!

Yet, with considerable control over his emotions, Niall heaved out a deep breath and lowered his fist.

Then he said to everyone watching, his tone reassuming its usual coolness;

"Can someone please call the cops?"

...

...

...

Paul and Victor arrived just as quickly as the cops had, all of them immediately locating Niall whom was giving an account of what had happened to the men in blue.

No sooner was he done with them, both individuals immediately walked up to him, Victor speaking first;

"Are you okay? Are you good?"

"Did he hurt you anywhere?" Paul immediately followed up, neither of them giving the young star the opportunity to respond.

Nonetheless, Niall replied to both of them as best as he could with a reassuring smile;

"I’m alright. Just a bit shaken is all."

"Still, I’d like to think I hurt him more."

To that, the thumping hearts of both agent and manager finally settled to its normal tempo.

Though they’d seen that he was hale and hearty when he’d been speaking to the cops, there was a sense of reassurance that came with hearing it from Niall’s mouth directly.

Niall hadn’t quite managed to say that when his phone buzzed in his pockets, this time from Henry.

Giving him the space to pick it up, Victor took to walking over to Mark, Johnny and Mary-Beth alongside several other members of the crew whom were still present to speak with them.

"I presume filming will be halted for a couple days now that this..." Victor gestured around before rounding up his sentence;

"... has happened."

"Apparently, no." Mark let out a concerned sigh as he and the rest of his colleagues glanced over to Niall whom was speaking on the phone.

"Niall’s adamant on us continuing as is. He keeps saying he’s fine and it won’t stop production so we shouldn’t be worried but honestly... I don’t how to feel about that." Mark continued as he briefly looked to everyone and added, seemingly on their behalf;

"We, don’t know how to feel about that."

"You can’t just shake off a murder attempt like that, can you?" he rhetorically concluded, his tone genuinely concerned.

To that, Victor glanced over to the young star whom was still on the phone with Henry, his expression notably relaxed despite everything going on.

Then the agent said with a small yet equally concerned sigh;

"I won’t make any promises, but I’ll speak to him."

As for Paul, he kept staring at the cop car Adrian Manchester was currently seated in, his hands clearly cuffed and his head seemingly lowered in dejection.

Yet, instead of his visage reflecting his remorse and fear, Paul could swear he caught the faintest hint of a smile on his features even in the dark.

Clearly, he seemed to have believed that he was going to get off pretty easy giving his connections.

Perhaps he also thought he could hide behind the fact that he had been ’method acting’.

Unfortunately for him, Paul had long tipped the dominoes that would utterly destroy him in court.

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/Caer07