The fire was out, but the smoky, charred mess on the lawn had the whole crew worried sick.
Dunn didn't get why everyone was so shaken. Sure, he's famous now, but deep down, he's still a newbie in Hollywood.
Most of the crew were people Dunn had pulled up from the bottom, and they were already freaked out. The only ones who'd seen big scenes like this were Nicole Kidman and Sofia Coppola—and they're both women.
All the pressure was on Dunn's shoulders, and it weighed him down heavily.
Sofia, a pampered rich girl for over 20 years, was pale with fear, standing behind Dunn, biting her lip tightly.
But Nicole Kidman showed the independence and strength she had when she first broke into Hollywood. She grabbed a towel and walked over to Dunn gently. "Didn't we call the police? Don't worry too much. America's a country of laws."
Dunn took the towel, wiped his face, and thanked her.
Nicole tried to reassure him. "Maybe reach out to Brian. For something like this, it's better if he steps in."
Dunn smiled. "Thanks, Nicole. I'll keep that in mind."
Nicole sighed softly.
At the end of the day, he's just a 19-year-old kid. The whole crew is relying on him, and with all this pressure and responsibility, he's still calm and cracking jokes. Honestly, Nicole couldn't help but admire him deep down.
Dunn didn't rush to call AA's agency. He didn't want the crew to see him panicking. If he started asking for help over every little setback, even if it got solved, it wouldn't make him look strong.
This is his core team's first movie, and he needs to build their trust and unity.
A few minutes later, an old police car pulled up, and out stepped two detectives—one skinny, one fat.
Dunn frowned slightly and walked over first.
"Everything's handled?" the fat detective asked, glancing around lazily, not looking concerned at all.
Dunn's voice was heavy. "Can't you see how bad it is here? Those gas cans cost us at least $500,000 in damages. I want a reasonable explanation from the police."
The skinny detective scoffed. "Who are you? You want an explanation, so we just give you one?"
He patted the gun on his hip and smirked coldly.
Dunn immediately sensed something was off.
Cops and crooks working together—it's something you see everywhere in the world.
For the movie, they needed to show a middle-class family setting, so the crew rented a house in Chicago's poorer west side.
It's a melting pot of different ethnic groups—not just the Greek community from the movie, but also Irish, Swedish, Polish, Italian, German descendants, and more.
That mix naturally makes things a bit messy.
Before coming here, the crew had already cleared things with the city government and police department, and they'd been welcomed and assured everything would be fine. They never expected trouble like this at the local level.
"So, you're saying you're not going to do anything?" Dunn's face darkened, his anger rising.
The skinny detective's eyes flashed with irritation, annoyed by Dunn's stubbornness. The fat detective, trying to play peacemaker, said, "Mr. Walker, we really can't do much here. They're Italian, you know. Besides, it's not like there was major damage. Let's just let it slide."
Dunn's heart sank. This was worse than he thought.
They clearly knew he was Dunn Walker, the hottest young director in America right now, and they still acted so brazenly. Whoever's behind this must have some serious backing.
Sure enough, the skinny detective sneered, "I know you, Dunn Walker. But this isn't LA. This isn't Hollywood. This is Chicago! Forget you—even if Spielberg showed up, he'd have to suck it up!"
Dunn's face went from livid to calm, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Fine. If that's how it is, you two can leave."
The fat detective let out a relieved breath. The skinny one's harsh face forced a smile, nodding approvingly. "That's more like it. You're a director—stick to making movies. Don't stir up trouble you can't handle. Honestly, I watched *Titanic* five times! When your new movie comes out, I'll bring my whole family to the theater to support you!"
Dunn clasped his fists in mock gratitude. "Thanks for that!"
The two detectives jumped, startled by Dunn's unexpected gesture. Seeing him clench his fists, they thought he was about to fight. The skinny one reached for his gun, his face darkening, while the fat one quickly tried to smooth things over. "Haha, Mr. Walker, learned that from Bruce Lee, huh? Pretty funny. Well, if there's nothing else, we'll head out."
…
The police car came in like the wind and left just as fast.
No compensation, no talk of punishment, no extra security—everything was the same as before.
The whole crew felt crushed, humiliated, but forced to swallow their anger. What could they do? Even Dunn Walker himself stepped in, and they still didn't give him any face.
Nicole, worried that Dunn's young, stubborn temper might make things worse, quickly said, "Dunn, maybe let it go this time. The scenes here are almost done anyway. Let's just finish shooting, wrap up, and get out of this awful place."
Despite their current cold war, Dunn could feel Nicole's genuine concern.
"Thanks, Nicole. But trust me, I can handle this."
Dunn's youthful face showed his usual confidence.
"Alright… just be careful." Nicole, being a woman in an unfamiliar place like this, was genuinely a bit scared.
Dunn stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, then gave her a gentle hug. "I promise."
Sofia was genuinely terrified. A rich girl like her had never experienced anything this scary. Even the police wouldn't help? Was there no justice?
Seeing Dunn approach, Sofia's panic erupted, her voice trembling with tears. "Dunn, what's going on? Let's just go back. We don't need to shoot this movie—it's too scary!"
Dunn put his hands on her shoulders, lowering his voice. "Hey, Sofia, calm down! Calm down! I'm here, okay? We can't let the crew see us fall apart, understand?"
"But…"
"It's fine. Maybe it was just some kids messing around, or maybe… we didn't pay the right people to smooth things over locally. But it doesn't matter. As long as we work together, we can fix this." Dunn comforted Sofia gently.
"Me?" Sofia blinked, confused. "I can help too?"
Dunn smiled. "It's simple. I want to make a private call to your father. Can you help me get in touch?"
"My father?" Sofia's eyes widened, puzzled. "Dunn, what are you planning?"
Dunn's answer was sharp and decisive, laced with a hint of menace. "Simple. Just two phone calls. This… isn't over!"
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