….
"So... it's her first, and Regal is second?"
"Yes." Rock stated with absolute certainty. "Absolutely."
David let out a cough, nearly choking on his own breath as his brain tried to understand the equation.
In the high-stakes world of celebrity bodyguards, openly declaring on a global broadcast that your employer, the billionaire director sitting right beside you who signed your paychecks, ranked second on your protection priority list was practically professional suicide.
David instinctively glanced over at Regal, half-expecting to see an awkward grimace, or a flash of wounded ego.
Instead, Regal didn't look offended in the slightest.
In fact, both Regal and Keanu had identical smiles plastered across their faces.
Regal simply chuckled, watching Rock with complete affection.
"Don't look at me like that, David." He said. "I wouldn't ask for a better man to protect her in times of need."
David looked back and forth between them, his hands spread in total bewilderment. "Wait, Regal, you're fine with being second place in your own security detail?"
"Fine with it? I am the one who approved it." Regal laughed softly. "If trouble starts, I can duck, I can run, and I can take a hit if I have to. But Gwen is my whole world. If anything ever happened to her, I wouldn't care what happened to me anyway. So if Rock puts her first, he's doing the exact job I want him to do."
Over by the soundstage exit doors, Rook and Rocco gave a synchronized nod of approval, their stone faces completely aligned with the statement.
David looked at Rock, thoroughly fascinated. "Rock, does Regal really come second, or are you just teasing the boss?"
"The boss has functional situational awareness." Rock explained with deadpan, technical logic. "He is agile. Lady Gwen, however, is prone to working long hours at publishing desks, skipping lunch, and wandering into crowded spaces without checking sightlines. Her risk profile is significantly higher. Therefore, primary defensive priority belongs to her."
Keanu burst out into a warm laugh, slapping his knee. "See? Pure risk assessment, David. You can't argue with the dude."
"Unbelievable." David shook his head, smiling with admiration as he looked at the trio. "People in Hollywood surround themselves with 'yes-men' who tell them what they want to hear. Regal surrounds himself with a man who will publicly demote him to second place just to make sure his fiancée is safe."
"That's not a demotion." Regal smiled, his eyes calm, steady, and grounded. "That's called family."
David chuckled softly. The word 'family' was something he rarely heard in conversations like this, almost strange in its simplicity.
As Regal leaned back into the leather armchair, perfectly satisfied to leave it at that.
Behind his calm expression, he had every intention of keeping the bizarre, hilarious story of how he and Rock actually met tucked away as a private memory.
Keanu, however, had entirely different plans.
Sitting in the middle chair, Keanu leaned forward, his eyes twinkling with pure mischief. Because of non-disclosure agreements, he wasn't allowed to drop a single spoiler about Train To Catch, and he couldn't talk about any upcoming scripts.
His inner child was practically begging for an outlet.
Besides, Gwendolyn had already told him the entire story over dinner, laughing until she cried while describing Regal's offended expression.
Keanu had sworn to himself right then and there that if the topic ever came up, he was going to share it with the world.
"You know, David..." Keanu began smoothly, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Regal makes it sound all noble and philosophical. 'Family.' 'Risk assessment.' But that's not why Gwen is number one."
Regal's head snapped toward him, his eyes narrowing in immediate warning. "Keanu..."
"Oh, come on, brother! The people deserve the truth!" Keanu laughed, waving him off before turning toward David's microphone. "I can't talk about the movie's plot, and I can't spoil the ending. If I don't give you something entertaining, my head's gonna explode."
David leaned forward immediately, sensing a story. "Wait... there's an origin story?"
"A legendary one." Keanu said, settling comfortably into storyteller mode. "Gwen told me the whole thing, and honestly, it explains everything."
Regal groaned under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, while Rock sat beside them like an ancient monument, completely indifferent to what was coming.
"About two years ago, Regal and Gwen were driving home late after our editor Zack's kid's birthday party. It was around two in the morning, the streets were practically empty, and suddenly this massive guy staggered straight into the road."
David's jaw dropped. "You're kidding."
"Of course Regal slammed the brakes." Keanu continued, throwing his hands up as he reenacted the moment. "...and he misses the guy by inches. Then Regal jumps out, ready to tear into him, but the second he gets close, he smells the alcohol. Rock was completely, catastrophically drunk."
David immediately burst out laughing.
Keanu grinned. "Regal was ready to get back in the car and leave him there, but Gwen gave him that look. So the poor bastard sighs, throws out his back hauling nearly three hundred pounds of muscle over to a park bench, gets him some water, and when a cold draft blows through, Gwen makes him take off his favorite jacket and wrap it around Rock. Then she slips some cash into the pocket, and Regal quietly adds some of his own."
David leaned forward, completely hooked. "And then?"
"Regal figured that should have been the end of it." Keanu said, pointing dramatically toward him. "Except the next day, this seven-foot shadow tracks him down and starts following him around like some giant stalker. Regal eventually catches him red-handed, probably expecting something along the lines of, 'Thanks for saving my life, man.'"
David turned toward Rock. "So what did you actually say to him?"
Rock calmly adjusted his shirt cuffs and stared directly into the camera, his expression utterly serious.
"I informed the boss that approaching an unfamiliar lady directly in public would be improper and contrary to basic social decorum." Rock said in his deep, matter-of-fact voice. "Therefore, I determined that the appropriate course of action was for the boss to act as my courier, return the jacket, reimburse the money, and convey my formal gratitude to Lady Gwen."
David completely lost it, clapping his hands together as he howled with laughter. "You turned him into a delivery boy?!"
Regal threw his hands up, laughing despite himself. "I wrecked my shoulder dragging your dead weight onto a bench, gave you my favorite jacket, and you couldn't even come thank me yourself?!"
"Protocol required an intermediary." Rock noted calmly, his expression never shifting by a millimeter.
David wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and leaned back, still laughing. "Man... you seriously couldn't write a story this ridiculous."
They laughed about it for a while, the playful banter echoing around the studio while the camera crew chuckled behind their monitors.
But as the laughter slowly settled, Regal shook his head, a fond, thoughtful smile touching his lips.
"Honestly though, it really wasn't a bad day." Regal said, his tone turning reflective. "In fact, it's the exact same day I got to meet Zack's nephew... Andrew Garfield, who eventually became our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. So in that way, I have to agree that Zack's youngest daughter is kind of a lucky charm for me. Not that his other girls are any short of that, of course. Before Zack comes after me in the editing bay for playing favorites."
David's jaw dropped slightly as he connected the dots. "Wait... you're telling me that on the exact same night, you found Peter Parker and your co-star for Train To Catch?"
"Just good timing." Regal chuckled softly. "And very good luck."
David shook his head in pure admiration, glancing back toward the center camera with a wide, infectious grin.
"Well, from runaway trains to swinging through Queens, it seems like everything this team touches turns into pure magic. On December 20th, the world finally gets to see what happens when Rock takes the front line. Train To Catch hits theaters everywhere… And whatever you do, make sure to bring extra tissues."
David extended his hands across the table. "Regal, Keanu, Rock... Thank you so much for an unforgettable afternoon."
"Thanks, David," Regal nodded with an easy smile.
"Thank you, brother." Keanu said warmly.
Rock offered a crisp, respectful nod. "Stay safe, David."
"And cut!" the floor manager called out, and the studio lights softened into a wrap.
The minute the cameras powered down, the studio relaxed.
David got up immediately, walking around the table to shake Rock's hand again. "Man, honestly, you were incredible. That was one of the most honest interviews I have done in years."
"Thank you." Rock said, nodding politely. "You asked fair questions."
As David turned to grab his notebook, his elbow bumped an open plastic water bottle off the edge of the low coffee table.
Without looking down, Rock's left hand snagged the bottle out of mid-air by the neck before it could hit the floor, and set it right back upright on the glass top.
Not a single drop spilled.
David stopped in his tracks, staring at the bottle, then up at Rock, completely speechless.
Rock just smoothed the front of his shirt and turned toward the door. "Carefull, David."
Behind him, Rook and Rocco stepped into place, falling in behind Rock as they walked out into the hallway.
….
.
When LIE Studios posted the full, unedited fifteen-minute interview to MeTube later that evening, nobody expected what happened next.
Within three hours, the video had over two million views. By midnight, it had completely taken over social media feeds.
People weren't just talking about the movie or Regal's Golden Globes sweep; they were completely obsessed with Rock.
Short clips spread across social media platform:
—----------—
-Clip 1: Rock explaining how he accepted the role just to help out his friend-
-Clip 2: The blooper clip at the end where Rock catches the falling water bottle without even looking-
-Clip 3: Rock's deadpan pause before saying. "I just thought about what it would feel like to fail the people I care about."
—----------—
The comment sections were full of pure love:
| @MovieFan92: "Other actors give a 20-minute speech about their deep emotional journey. Rock says 'Regal told me not to let people through the door, so I didn't.' GIVE THIS MAN AN AWARD IMMEDIATELY."
| @HollLore25.1: "Gwen giving Regal 'that look' and Regal immediately sighing and giving up his favorite coat to a 300lb stranger is peak married-couple behavior and they aren't even officially married yet.
| @KeanuLover: "Keanu looking at Rock like a proud older brother is the purest thing on the internet today. These three are such an amazing group."
| SpideyFan_94: "Also, shoutout to Zack Barg's youngest daughter for accidentally being the good luck charm that birthed both Train To Catch and Spider-Man in one night. That kid deserves producer royalties on every LIE Studios movie forever."
….
.
The next morning, up on the eighteenth floor of LIE Studios, Samantha Cross was already on her fourth cup of coffee, her desk phone ringing non-stop.
She picked up the receiver with a sigh. "LIE Studios, Samantha Cross."
"Samantha! It's Greg from UTA." an agent's excited voice blared through the speaker. "I saw the interview last night. Does Rock have representation? Is he looking for an agent? We have a major studio looking for a lead in an action thriller shooting in Europe next fall!"
Samantha looked out her large office window down at the parking lot below.
Down on the pavement, Rock was currently holding the back gate of a delivery van open with one hand while carrying two massive crates of bottled water in the other, helping the delivery driver with an easy expression.
Nearby, Rook was chatting with a security guard by the barrier gate.
Samantha smiled softly, shaking her head.
"I am sorry, Greg." Samantha said smoothly into the phone. "Mr. Rock isn't taking any meetings right now."
"Why not?!" the agent pleaded. "The guy could be the next huge action star!"
"Because." Samantha said, watching Rock gently set the heavy crates down by the studio entrance. "...he already has a full-time job."
"Doing what?!"
"Taking care of us." Samantha said, and gently hung up the phone.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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