12. The Arrival of The Inner Circle.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works. If you recognize it from somewhere else, surprise, it isn't mine.

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Recap of the previous chapter –

Mark met up with Donna, tells her about his dream. He meets Uncle Steve and discusses setting up his studios. Then gets introduced to Harry Clarke, Steve's best man who is now a legal consultant for his day-to-day needs.

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~ Third Person POV ~

April 12th, 1990, same day, 7:24 pm, outside Steve's office.

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Mark was outside Uncle Steve's office and walking towards his car, ruminating about how plans will have to be changed.

'I should grab a quick meal for dinner. Maybe some chow mein from that place, Evelyn has been raving about.' He thought to himself.

He knew it must have been the MSG that got her hooked on the food. Most Chinese-American restaurants use it for the addictive umami flavor.

"Ah crap, I am getting side tracked while thinking about food. I must be very hungry, let's get a side of dim sums and two spring rolls to go with it as well." Mark said while making his way towards the place in his car.

Hmm, I got to call Jess and tell her about how I will have to scrap the horror movie plan for a while. I hope she won't be too bummed out about it.

Before Mark awakened his system, he had already planned out how he would go about starting his Hollywood career as a Director and Studio owner.

His plan was to start off with a few horror movies at the beginning as they were cheap to produce didn't require that high level of skill to direct and with his future knowledge about classic horror films that haven't been shot yet.

He could easily build himself a reputation as a reliable director and producer of horror films, from there he would slowly transition into directing and producing a few rom-com movies to grow his filming repertoire.

Finally, after a decade of gaining experience and honing his skills, he would start producing and directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But now all that has to be scrapped, he didn't need to go about directing horror & comedy films to gain experience and reputation.

Not when he has the character template item, with that he could instantly gain the skills of any great Hollywood director, producer or actor.

Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, etc - he could copy the skills of anyone he thought was the best to direct his current movie.

And the best thing is that due to using the item, his rate at which he refines his skills also rises rapidly. The only downside is that this template item is hard to earn.

1 billion dollars in box office collection, it's not an easy task but with his dream team, his future knowledge and assistance from the system. He knows, he can do it. It will be super easy, barely an inconvenience.

I need to regroup with the others as soon as possible. They will need to get their bearings, as Evelyn should be done gathering my prospective film crew in a few days. I have to address some issues with them and the changes to things moving forward.

I also need to ensure that we are all on the same page, I know that they all look up to me and choose to follow me. But I don't want to be seen like I take them for granted and don't listen to their opinions.

Mark finally got home, the L.A. traffic was an absolute dumpster fire to navigate through. He thought about getting a driver for himself if it's always going to be this bad. He quickly re-heated the food and was ready to eat it when his phone rang.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

"Hello, this is Mark."

"Mark, it's me Janet, Eva contacted us regarding an employment opportunity. Said that it was from you, that you're starting the plan ahead of time." Janet asked in slight worry, as it hadn't been what they had planned before.

"Yeah, Jan, about that listen, the current plan will have to be scrapped, don't worry, it's for a good reason. Everything is going to be fine, I promise." Mark spoke in a calm and collected manner, trying to appease Jan.

Mark continued with confidence in his voice, "I currently have a good film crew being put together, sorry I didn't have the time to discuss that with you guys. But I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to grab any of these guys."

"Trust me when I say this, they are very good at their job and I believe with their help we can make a film that will be a box office sensation and get rave reviews by the press and media."

Mark said consoling her, "I know Jess is going to be mad at me for a while. Just tell her that the horror film plan is not being stopped but only being shelved for a later date, and I promise we will work on it eventually."

"Jan, I need you to contact the others if you haven't already. I need you guys on the next flight to L.A., a lot of work needs to be done, and you know I can't trust anyone else with this kind of sensitive information." Mark finished in a pleading tone.

"Don't worry, Mark, I will talk to Jess. She might pout and whine, but we both know she will come around. After all, she just can't say no to you." Jan replied in a light-hearted way, teasing Mark about Jess's crush on him.

"As for the flight to L.A. the tickets have already been booked. Unfortunately, it is an early morning flight, and you know how Mel and Sarah can be in the morning, so I expect you to personally pick us up at the airport mister or else I will not be able to guarantee your safety." Jan said as she tried to crack a joke.

Mark knew that humor was her coping mechanism for stressful situations.

"Absolutely, ma'am, I will be outside with a board with all your names written before the plane even lands." Mark answered in an exaggerated manner, playing along with her joke.

"All jokes aside, thanks for trusting me Jan. I know it must look so weird that after expounding upon you guys the importance of gathering experience and starting small, the whole final year."

"Here I am throwing all of that right out the window and diving head first with a big investment movie as my first feature film. Thanks for believing in me." Mark expressed how touched he was by their trust in him.

"Let's talk more when we meet tomorrow, I need to know about this surprise that you have been building for us" Jan said trying to change the topic.

"Hmm, so Eva told you about it?" Mark asked in a flat tone.

"Don't worry we don't know what it is, just that there is a surprise." said Jan, trying to play it cool, "The wait is killing me though, you know I am not good with surprises."

"I know, well I will see you tomorrow. Good night, Jan." Mark said, wishing her.

"Good night, Mark." Jan said, cutting the call.

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~ The next morning outside the airport ~

Date: 13th, April, Time: 12:18 pm.

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~ Mark's POV ~

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Mark had just made it to the airport, he had bought some coffee on the way for his friends in case they were feeling sleepy due to the jet lag.

Mark was standing with a board raised high with the words INNER CIRCLE written in all caps. It was what Sarah had named their group.

He hears his name get called in the distance, he tilts his head slightly and finally sees his friends through the crowd.

"I see you still look happy after putting us through that hellish flight. Seriously, who gets up at 4:30 am just to catch a flight, Mark." Jess complained to Mark, clinging onto him, handing him his luggage.

Mark knows he is at fault, so he doesn't go for his usual snarky rebuttal and just quietly guides his group towards his car.

Meanwhile, asking if they had any difficulty in their journey except for the horrible flight timing.

Jan replies, "It was okay, the cabin crew were nice even with Jess's cranky attitude."

They made it to the van. Mark had rented a Chevrolet G20 conversion van for a few days for traveling to and from the estate, till they figured out what car they would be buying or renting for themselves.

Mark handed them their favorite beverages (coffee) and took a seat next to Jess, "Chris listen could you please drive to this address." He requested whilst passing him a note with directions to the estate.

After they started moving, Mark turned to Jess and began to apologize for not being able to keep his word. "Jess, listen, I am sorry. I know we decided to go with the safer option before, the horror film whose script you were working on. But with the new crew I am hiring, I believe we don't need to delay going for the bigger films."

"As Jan must have already told you, I am not giving up on your horror movie script. I am just delaying it for like 2–3 years." Mark finished, promising Jess to just wait a few years.

Jess replied calmly, "I know and to be honest I don't blame you Mark, if I could go for my dream with no unnecessary delays I would do the same."

"Also It's not like I won't be credited for my work, we are friends. I know you wouldn't do me dirty like that. But what am I supposed to do in the meanwhile, Mark?" Jess asked Mark for her next task.

"Well, I am going to put your special talent to some good use." Mark said with a cheerful tone.

"You are going to help me finish the script for our first movie. I have discovered some plot holes and continuity breaks in my script that I want you to fix them. And then go over the entire script again to see if you can find any problems." Mark finished with confidence.

"Why do you think that's my special talent Mark? I thought it was my gift for writing horror, suspense, psychological and crime-thriller storylines." Jess asked with some uncertainty.

Mark replied showing his wisdom, "Well your talent in writing scripts in your favorite genre is evident. But your special talent is actually sniffing out problems in the plot, aka plot holes and continuity errors."

"And unsurprisingly whilst writing this script I made some small mistakes as I was on a time crunch, but I am currently busy writing a book, so I don't really have the time to focus on the script."

"You have begun writing a new book?" Kevin asked with some anticipation.

"Yeah, I recently started writing it. I should be done with it before the film officially starts shooting." Mark confidently replied, having already written ten bestsellers.

"So, what's it going to be called? What is it about?" Sarah asked interested to know more.

"Well, this time I am going for a fantasy genre but with lots of other genres hidden beneath the surface. It's basically the story of a fantasy world called Runeterra, told through the eyes of its legends or the people surrounding those legends."

"Legends are going to be the special named characters that will become legends through their deeds gaining immense renown, fame or infamy from the population."

"I planned for it to be a grand epic fantasy world where factions battle for supremacy and survival. And the legends hold enough power to turn the tides of battle, bring about victory or ruination.

It's going to be called -

The Legends of Runeterra"

Mark continued with a sense of excitement, "I have a preliminary draft of over fifty legends, with more to come in the future. I'm going to need your help in writing alongside me, Mel." He said as he looked at her earnestly. "You possess a remarkable talent for capturing the world of fantasy and bringing it to life through your words. I will be counting on you."

Melissa said, "I am just happy you finally changed genres, Mark. You have already written tons on sci-fi, adventure, horror, survival, mystery and crime-thriller. I love those works as well, but my favorite genre, as you know, has always been fantasy."

"It will be such a pleasure to work with you on this new work. And it seems like this is going to be quite the long one as well."

Mark replied, calculating in his head. "Well, yeah, there are going to be around atleast 3 legends featured in one book, so I already got enough content in the drafts to write at least 17 books."

"17 books?!" Kevin exclaimed, gasping, he knew very well just how many of his books, Mark's sold worldwide. This new series of books would generate Mark at least $1.2 billion through the years, as his current books on average gross around 25 to 30 million in sales.

By the time this conversation had died down, they had already arrived at their destination. Mark hadn't put a nameplate on the gate, so they didn't think of this as anything else, but Mark's house in L.A.

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{Author's Note: And bam, here we are introduced to the Inner Circle of Mark's group. The six new original characters briefly shown were -

Melissa Cline (Script-writer) (Co-writer for Legends of Runeterra),

Jessica Lichtner (Script Supervisor) (Will help to finish the script of knives out),

Chris Kepler (Second Assistant Director),

Janet Lynn (Second Assistant Director),

Kevin Stacy (Line Producer)

and Sarah Walker (Line Producer).

All of them will be featured in small scenes throughout my book. They will be shown throughout the story more frequently as they will help Mark in all his day-to-day managerial production work and also help him in writing scripts, buying copyrights, introducing new characters, etc.

Anyways, Thanks for reading my work. I am entirely motivated by interaction, suggestions and feedback. Please leave a comment or review about what you liked or disliked about my book.

If you like my work please throw a power stone my way so my book can climb the rankings. I hope you all have a beautiful day

Update schedule for this book: 1 chapter every 2 days.}