Page 22 of Nico

Isaac walked farther into the stunt area and paused near the fence, studying the top before looking toward the surrounding trailers and temporary structures. Then he glanced back at me.

“You reacted quickly today.”

I blinked.

“To the drone,” he clarified. “You found it and disabled it before it could get away. Not everyone can do that under pressure.”

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

“Thanks,” I managed.

“So,” he said after a moment, “you're staying out here all night?”

“Tomorrow's the last day of stunt training.” I held up a camera. “If I don't do it tonight, the place will be crawling with people and equipment.”

I could practically see the mental calculation happening behind his eyes. His gaze flicked toward the darkening sky before returning to me. “But that's in a few hours.”

“Well, you did emphasize that all IT-related matters should be handled quickly and efficiently so we don't disrupt the filming schedule,” I pointed out. “And therefore Logan's schedule.”

“I did say that, huh?” A laugh escaped him, and I chuckled too, though it faded quickly as I looked at all the boxes scattered around us.

“Do you want me to go?”

I blinked. “What?”

“If I'm in the way, I'll leave.” He gestured toward the boxes. “But I can help. I can hold a ladder or hand you a screwdriver.”

I stared at him for another second before a smile tugged at my mouth. “It's a little more complicated than that.”

“I figured.”

“But... I don't mind.”

Isaac didn't know the difference between a network switch and a router, and I wasn't about to let him anywhere near the configuration settings, but he was surprisingly useful when it came to everything else.

He carried the equipment while I worked, held the ladder steady, and passed me tools whenever I asked for them. After we'd finished the fourth camera, I started checking the connections.

Isaac looked at the remaining boxes, then back at me. “Can I do the rest?”

I hesitated for a moment. He did pick things up quickly enough, and he hadn't made a single mistake so far. I handed him the next camera.

“Try not to break anything.”

He snorted, then took the equipment from me and headed toward the next mounting point. The first couple of cameras needed some tweaking, but Isaac picked things up quickly.

Once he'd figured out what I wanted, he followed my instructions without complaint while I checked the new feeds from my laptop, adjusting angles and making sure the coverage lined up with the existing cameras.

I'd expected him to get impatient or question every change, but he simply listened and did what I asked. Between the two of us, the work went much faster than it would have if I'd been doing everything myself.

By the time Isaac finished mounting the last camera, I was still checking the newest feed when the trailer door opened.

He dropped into the seat beside me with a groan and leaned back, stretching his shoulders.

“More of a workout than I thought.”

I smiled and turned back to the monitors. The new feeds were coming through cleanly.

I made a couple of small adjustments, checked the coverage, and ran one final connectivity check before leaning back, satisfied.