Mrs. Johnson swallowed hard as she stared at the million dollars in cash and the stack of gold bars before her. This kind of generosity far outshone anything from the American Paradise production team! There was simply no reason to refuse…
Sixteen-year-old Scarlett Johansson, dressed in a sky-blue knitted dress, looked curiously at the scene before her. She couldn't understand why the man the bodyguard spoke of valued her so much. A million-dollar paycheck—at her age, this was beyond generous.
---
A week later, at 10 a.m., the roar of a sports car suddenly echoed in front of Robert Downey Jr.'s house. As he stepped out with his luggage, he was stunned to see a fiery red Ferrari Enzo parked right at his doorstep, its striking appearance impossible to ignore.
Downey removed his sunglasses and carefully examined the limited-edition supercar. Although he was an actor, he wasn't yet in a position to afford such a luxury. At best, he could admire it from a distance.
"A Ferrari Enzo? I remember they just announced its production, right?" Downey muttered to himself as he looked at the car, still holding his luggage. At this point, there were fewer than three Ferrari Enzos in all of New York City. After all, Ferrari was still working to fulfill orders, and many buyers hadn't even received their cars yet.
Just as Downey was observing the car in awe, a familiar black Hummer slowly rolled to a stop behind the Ferrari Enzo.
"Mr. Downey, this is a gift from my young master. He hopes you'll like it," said the Russian bodyguard, stepping out of the Hummer.
"This… is for me?" Downey was momentarily stunned. He had planned to take a taxi to the airport, but instead, the young master had arranged for a Ferrari Enzo—one of the rarest cars in the city!
Just imagining himself driving this to the airport, looking effortlessly cool, made his heart race with excitement.
Downey couldn't help but feel a little emotional. During his three years in rehab, he had lost his agency and manager, and his career had hit rock bottom. Things were so bad that he had even sold his sports car and replaced it with a Ford.
What he didn't know was that Mavi had ordered three Ferrari Enzos from the manufacturer. One was meant to be blown up for fun—specifically, the one sent to pick up Downey.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Downey hadn't even met Mavi yet, but his impression of him was already sky-high. To be honest, in the past three years, Mavi had treated him better than most of his so-called friends in the industry.
"If you really want to thank him, you can do it in person," the bodyguard replied. He didn't dare accept Downey's gratitude—if his young master found out, he might just tie a bunch of helium balloons to him and send him flying to the North Pole.
---
Meanwhile, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Los Angeles, 16-year-old Scarlett Johansson was boarding a flight to Moscow with her mother.
Everything seemed normal as they prepared to board, but the moment they stepped onto the plane, they noticed something unusual—the entire first-class cabin was empty, except for them!
"Miss Johansson, my young master has reserved the entire first-class cabin for this flight, so you don't have to worry about being disturbed. If you need anything, we'll be seated in business class," the bodyguard informed them politely.
To make them feel more comfortable, Mavi had arranged for his men to sit in business class instead of first class. This thoughtful and generous gesture left both Scarlett and her mother feeling immensely grateful.
"Please thank your young master for his hospitality," Scarlett said. Compared to any film set she had been on, none had ever offered this level of care.
This also made Scarlett wonder—what kind of person was Mavi? Was he a prince on a white horse? A ruggedly handsome man? One thing was certain—he wasn't some old man with graying hair. After all, his bodyguards called him "young master," not "sir."
As Scarlett pondered, a pure-white Gulfstream G200 jet soared through the bright blue skies over Melbourne, Australia.
Through the aircraft's window, a man who bore a striking resemblance to Brad Pitt sat stiffly in his seat. This was Chris Hemsworth—the future Thor.
However, at this point, he had yet to start his acting career. He had been practically kidnapped onto the plane by Mavi's Russian bodyguards under the pretense of a job opportunity in Russia…
---
"Young master, all the guests are on their way. They should arrive in Moscow within the next twelve hours," one of Mavi's personal bodyguards reported after receiving updates from the other teams.
"Alright," Mavi responded lazily, lounging on the couch as a tiny tiger cub kneaded at his stomach.
He playfully tapped the little creature's cheek. "You're already causing trouble at such a young age!"
"Rawr!" The tiny cub, frustrated at not being able to nurse, swished its tail in protest before scampering off to play with its companion, Winnie.
In just half a day, he would finally meet these Hollywood stars from his past life. Mavi found his emotions difficult to describe. After all, the image celebrities projected on screen often differed from who they were in reality. And how they behaved around ordinary people was likely very different from how they acted around the wealthy.
---
Ten hours later, the Gulfstream G200 landed at Moscow Airport. Since it was already late at night, Chris Hemsworth was escorted to a nearby hotel.
Shortly afterward, Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr. also arrived and were each given their own luxurious suites so they could rest for the night. They were scheduled to meet Mavi the next morning.
At dawn, a convoy of Tigr armored vehicles lined up outside the hotel. The sight of these military-grade vehicles left Downey, Johansson, and Hemsworth in awe. It seemed that this mysterious Mavi was no ordinary businessman—he might even have ties to the Russian military.
Once everyone boarded the vehicles, the convoy rumbled forward, heading toward the filming location.
The upcoming Avengers teaser trailer was expected to be around three minutes long, with the most spectacular sequence being shot in Russia. Every actor was required on set.
Upon arriving at the set, Johansson, Downey, and Hemsworth still hadn't seen Mavi. Instead, they were immediately ushered into separate dressing rooms to change into their costumes.
Sixteen-year-old Scarlett Johansson had it relatively easy—her outfit consisted of a tight-fitting leather suit and a pair of prop pistols.
But for Downey and Hemsworth… things were a little more complicated.
Staring at the neatly arranged Iron Man armor before him, Downey hesitated before calling out to the bodyguard outside his dressing room.
"Uh… do I really have to wear this for the shoot? And… what if I need to use the restroom?"
(End of Chapter)