[EMS Training. Inc. ]

Ian, Raelynn, and Niko followed by several more people walked inside the huge hall of the training center.

It had been a couple of weeks since they’d decided what should be their next move–in the decision of movies.

With Ian settling with creating John Wick which had become a huge innovative franchise in his previous world, he wanted more impact when he released the movie.

The next step he followed was to create the proper mindset, and physique to suit John Wick. As Keanu Reeves was a person who used to sit and write the whole day, experiencing and reading ideas, it was a given that the needed potential to do certain scenes for the movie wasn’t there.

In Ian’s original world, it was said according to Keanu Reeves that he’d done 90% of the stunts by himself. This was also why the statement, ‘He’s just the face now’ escaped his lips when everyone looked at him shockingly.

Walking inside the huge hall-structured building, Ian saw a man walking left and right. The guy was wearing a uniform, and the others surrounding him were wearing trainees.

Although the air conditioner was blasting enough for everyone to cool down, the center of attention made it impossible for Ian to cool down.

There was Keanu and another man who stood head to head, arms tangled with each other, and in a very awkward position—if that’s what it takes to defeat one another.

The trainer blew the whistle and the two men came to ease. Without any more glances, Keanu walked to the treadmill and started running.

“He is working hard, I feel bad for him,” Rae whispered to Ian.

“Bad- why?” He asked back.

“Not everyone must just eat and sleep like you, Rae. I think now that we’re here, you should sign in to just... You know-”

“Are you calling me fat right now?”

Ian chuckled at her response. Niko and Raelynn are truly good friends, and if anything, their little banters made everyone around them laugh.

Walking further inside the training grounds, Ian met with the trainer.

“How is it going, Tether?” Ian asked as soon as they got closer.

Keanu who was on the treadmill glanced Ian’s way and waved to which he reacted.

“It’s going great, and Keanu… His dedication is truly something. Not even a single sick day was missed, and the schedule he’s working is on spot. I can’t say that I’m not impressed, because hell yeah, I’m. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have to ask him to become permanent here, because man is inspiring a lot of people around here.

“All the kids here today, around 20% of them skip a lot of days even for no reason—but ever since Keanu showed up. I’ve got to say, not just himself but also he’d made quite the breakthrough for even people to see.”

Ian smiled at the trainer’s words. It was true, there’s a lot of influence that a person can have. But for that, they’ve got to make it through for themselves first. Hence, the rest of the world adjusts, admires, and creates space to give more space for the person.

“I know he can be truly dedicated to his work. Not just here, he's shown a lot of progress in the acting field although he’s quite the newbie.”

“Ah, I see. Two more weeks, and he should be perfectly in shape to perform all the stunts you asked for. Although not one hundred percent, I think he’d be ready enough to roll on with heavy physical activities,” the bald trainer said with a smile looking at Keanu who kept sweating through his running.

Ian nodded and walked away from the trainer to meet Keanu who immediately got distracted from his heavy focus.

“How are you feeling?”

With the arrival of Ian, Keanu slowed down and stopped the treadmill, and stepped aside. With the towel wrapped around his neck, he cleaned the sweat dripping down his neck.

“Oh my God, I didn’t know why I didn’t do this before!” he exclaimed as he watched Ian smile at his reaction.

“You were more into script writing back then, and it’s alright. All in good time, Keanu. So, the trainer is saying that you’re ready to get on with acting, are you sure about it? In my opinion, there are several scenes that we can slim down and do the shooting, if you’re in, of course,” Ian said while looking at everything around them.

They were discussing all the information in front of a huge wall of mirrors, and at the same time, he couldn’t help but notice how he needs to get going to the gym too.

“I think if it’s possible, we should do it. Delaying wouldn’t do any good. And I’ve got to say, I wouldn’t disappoint you in any way…”

“Oh please, you’ve already proved your side of the acting career a while ago. And if anything, I’ve got to say that I’m the one that should not be rushing you into anything. As you know, you’re the main face of John Wick. So for that, I’ll gladly wait until you’re perfectly okay with everything,” Ian said with a comforting smile.

It isn’t every day he goes around making people feel at home with what they’re doing. But with the man who was in front of him, he did feel a hint of responsibility towards the person and his career.

Maybe it’s because of how he knew the face from his previous universe, or maybe it’s because of how he had gotten to know the person—in person, as time made them grow fonder and closer.

“It’s all good, I’ll be waiting till you send the next notice for me to be there. I bet the schedules are yet to be arranged?”

“Yeah, they are. As I just found out, I still have some stuff to do so that I can officially start shooting, you know,” Ian said with a smile.

“Yeah, uh, I also have a request, Mr. Renner-”

“Call me Ian, please, and go ahead,” As Ian was asking what his request was, he felt a presence behind him just to notice it was none other than Raelynn. Just walking behind him, and standing there.

“I need the Sundays off. No matter how tight the schedule is, Ian, I need them off. And I also know how you like to do things quickly, and when we start shooting, I’m pretty sure there’d be nothing stopping or getting into your way, which is why I’m putting this request-”

“Consider it done.” Ian smiled. “You don’t have to explain anything. This is practically how things get done here. No matter how much power I’ve over the movie, the star asks something, and I give. So don’t even hesitate as you did here,” Ian said with a nod and walked away with Raelynn beside him.

As Ian walked over to the trainer to bid his goodbye, the rest of the people stood still in the corner of the room, scanning the hall and the people in it.

“Thank you so much, I’ll see you soon,” Ian said and shook his hand.

-

[Renner’s Office - CA]

It was already 3 pm, and Ian was in his office, checking the schedules and everything that was prepared by the producer—Mark Hamill.

“I think this should be fine, and if everything is alright, next Monday is perfect. Also, I’m so glad that you took this opportunity to produce the movie because normally it’s the other way around, you know….” Ian chuckled at his own words.

“Yeah, but this is going to be a great step ahead for me too. Working with you- It’s been amazing, thank you, Ian,” Mark said with a smile for which Ian nodded.

He stood up and walked outside the office, leaving Murphy who stood by the door the whole time to look at Ian and wave.

“Come in, Murphy. How is it going with the deal? I hope it doesn’t take any more time because every second is a risk. I can’t afford to waste millions of money in vain, you know,” Ian said while sipping his afternoon coffee.

“About the deal…. I had to talk to Mr. Gunnerson and Mr. Jr. Brooks.”

“You bribed them?”

“I had to,” Murphy said, making Ian smile. “If not, we would have left with just the media companies, and I know how much Feazel means to you-”

“Thank you. But I’m sure Jeff is going to figure everything out sooner or later, let me know as soon as the paperwork comes in. Check them with the lawyer.”

“Will do, sir.”

It was amusing, even for Ian. Bribing wasn’t the option he’d have gone for, nevertheless, the fact that Murphy had done something to close the deal finally gave him more confidence in his choice of selecting him as the assistant.

‘If this goes on how I planned… Creating video games wouldn’t be the only thing I’d have a hand in,’ he thought to himself and sipped another sip from his coffee.