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The interview started before I had a chance to respond. While Nolan greeted the energetic interviewer on the screen, I concentrated on keeping an open smile on my face while I talked myself through a centering mantra.
I am the rock, and the rock is fearless.
“Finn,” the reporter said after the standard greetings were over, “we have reports of a deranged gunman threatening you last night in an armed standoff. Can you tell us how you managed to subdue him?”
I blinked at the screen and felt my polite smile falter. “I… I didn’t subdue him. The man was apprehended by the Rockley County Sheriff’s Department. The sheriff and his deputy are the real heroes.”
She gave me the kind of look that said she thought I was being deliberately humble. “Come on now. We’ve seen the photos of you standing next to the suspect while he’s being loaded into the vehicle. It’s clear you were more involved in the takedown than you want to take credit for. Why don’t you take us through the event minute by minute?”
I hadn’t gotten close to Gene Stanner until after he’d been handcuffed and read his rights. If I was photographed anywhere near him, it was because I shadowed Declan like a hungry tick right after everything had happened.
“I…” I was at a loss for words. “I didn’t…” My media training kicked in, and I remembered who I was. I was an Emmy Award–winning actor who’d been interviewed like this hundreds of times. “I’d rather talk about this production and how proud I am to be bringing Nolan’s vision to life. We’ve been on location this week here in the Rocky Mountains, and I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting for filming. Crystobell and Logan have already shot some amazing scenes, and I’m especially excited for the chance to get dirty on the side of the mountain when we shoot the climbing scenes.”
Before the interviewer had the chance to bring me back around to last night’s incident, Nolan jumped in. “We are thrilled to have Finn on board doing all of his own stunts. One of our goals with Gold Rats is to present the action as realistically as possible. That’s what the audience expects in a Nolan Trainor film,” he said with a zealous gleam in his eye. “Not only will Finn be doing his own climbing scenes, but he’ll also be doing his own stunts in some hand-to-hand fighting scenes and our climactic scene involving pyrotechnics and a daring mountainside chase. We’re thrilled to have the incredible talent of Finn, Logan, and Crystobell. The three of them are professional, dedicated performers, and they’ve already spent countless hours training for these challenging scenes.”
I smiled weakly and tried to appear like a “professional, dedicated performer,” but I didn’t feel particularly prepared for a pyrotechnic chase scene. At all. It seemed Declan had been right about the explosion situation, and I’d been left out of the loop. I needed to call Iris as soon as the interview was over and find out what the heck I’d agreed to.
Nolan kept the interview focused on the prep work and filming for the next several minutes, but he finally allowed another question about the shooting the night before.
“Is it true the gunman took a shot at you as soon as he realized who was in the sheriff’s vehicle?” Nadine asked.
I opened my mouth to deny it, but I realized I didn’t really know why he’d shot at the passenger-side door. Declan had explained it as a wild shot taken at the moment the deputy rushed the suspect, but since I couldn’t see what was happening, I couldn’t really say.
“I don’t think the suspect would have had any way of knowing I was there,” I said instead. “I was out of sight. From what I was told, it was a wild shot rather than one aimed at a specific target.”
The woman pursed her lips and lifted her eyebrows as if to call me on my humble bullshit again. “The only shot taken during the standoff was aimed at the most famous celebrity in town, and you think that was a coincidence?”
I nodded. “I do. Yes. And I’m not the only celebrity in town,” I added with a smile.
She went on to ask me if I’d met other famous residents of Aster Valley like Tiller Raine and Gentry Kane. I told her I’d met them briefly the night I’d arrived since Tiller and Mikey were kind enough to host the cast and crew at Rockley Lodge. “And supposedly Gent and the rest of GUS will be performing at a small music festival while we’re here. I’m looking forward to seeing them play.”
I continued singing the praises of the charming town of Aster Valley and all it had to offer. Part of the reason Tiller and Mikey had agreed to let Nolan film on location here was to help give the town and the mountain some positive media exposure before they opened the new ski resort. Hopefully, interviews like this helped.
