Under the cloak of night in the storage room, Nicholson uncovered a waterproof tarp to reveal several huge packing crates beneath.
Martin kicked one and found it exceptionally heavy. He asked, "What’s inside? It’s not some beauty you’ve kidnapped, is it? Come clean, are the frequent disappearances of Mexican girls lately related to you?"
Leonardo sneered, "Do we even need to mention it? Jack has a record. He was seducing Jennifer Lawrence back when we were shooting ’Infernal Affairs,’ and how old was Jennifer then?"
"Shut up, you two scoundrels!" Nicholson, as if he truly were the boss, pointed at the boxes and commanded, "Hurry up and move these out. You’re not going to make a seventy-year-old man do it, are you?"
"If you commit murder to silence a witness, we’ll help as brothers." Martin lifted a large crate and walked outside.
Leonardo picked up another and followed him.
Nicholson said, "Put them on the backyard lawn, then come right back."
Martin and Leonardo came and went, moving two more crates outside.
Nicholson then grabbed two shovels, went to the backyard lawn, and threw one to Martin and Leonardo each, saying, "Start digging, and make it quick."
Leonardo was astonished, tugging at his nose and even getting close to the crate to sniff.
Nicholson smacked him, "What are you, a dog?"
Martin, swinging his shovel to dig, said, "Leo’s checking for the smell of a corpse."
Leonardo gave Martin a thumbs-up and said, "You understand damn well."
He noticed Martin’s proficient digging technique; a few shovel strokes created a large hole in the lawn, prompting him to ask, "How come you’re so good at digging holes?"
Martin chuckled creepily, "Of course, it’s because I’ve dug graves before."
Leonardo shuddered, "Stop damn scaring me!" Stay updated via freewebnovel
Nicholson patted the crate and said, "Stop the chatter and dig faster, a bit deeper."
With a few more shovels, Martin had dug down about thirty centimeters.
"That’s good enough." Nicholson said, "Leo, hurry up, you’re too pathetic. No wonder you can only run 100 meters in twenty seconds!"
Leonardo objected, "24 seconds! It’s 24 seconds, all right? Did you eat those four seconds?"
Martin looked at the depth of the holes and said, "Isn’t that too shallow? It’s still really hot outside, it’ll start to stink soon after being buried. Then your whole house will reek."
Nicholson, tired of wasting words with these two idiots, opened a crate to reveal the dark, round barrel of a multibarrel launcher.
Leonardo immediately let go of his shovel, "Are we bombing the White House now?"
"It’s a wedding gift I’m preparing for someone, this is just a prototype!" Nicholson patted the multibarrel launcher, "We’ll test how it works today."
Martin asked, "Custom-made?"
Nicholson said, "I’ve racked my brain for Depp and Amber’s wedding."
Leonardo laughed heartily, "They’ll definitely thank you properly."
Martin moved out the multibarrel launcher and saw that it was a bit rough. For safety reasons during launching, the bottom part needed to be buried in the ground.
Nicholson reminded him, "Be careful, don’t blow up my house."
Martin buried the multibarrel launcher, "This thing is no good, it’ll be useless after two launches."
Nicholson said, "The metal one is still being made, it hasn’t been finished yet, but it will be ready for Depp and Amber’s wedding."
Leonardo checked the instructions before loading the launcher.
Nicholson reminded him again, "Don’t be an idiot and load it backwards, or you’ll blow us all to the sky."
Martin came over to help, asking, "What kind of fireworks are these? Don’t let them off beforehand. Without the surprise, how will we celebrate for Depp? How is that fair to the wedding he painstakingly prepared for?"
"Don’t worry, I’ve kept the surprise," Nicholson said as he finished loading and carefully checked everything once more.
This was his home, and he didn’t want fireworks flying everywhere, turning his home into a rubbish dump.
Martin and Leonardo, not trusting Nicholson, kept their distance.
Nicholson connected a wire to a switch, dragging the wire along as he caught up with the other two, like a demolition expert.
Then, he pressed the red button.
Bang bang bang—
The multibarrel launcher emitted smoke as streaks of sparks with tails of flame shot into the sky and burst open loudly.
The exploding fireworks, like a dazzling scroll, unfurled in the sky, weaving together to form three giant, shining portraits.
In the center and slightly higher, one could make out the figure wearing glasses with slicked-back hair, unmistakably Nicholson.
To his left and right, the two Great Protectors were Leonardo and Martin.
After the three portraits briefly lingered in the sky, another multibarrel launcher made a series of bangs as more tailed sparks shot into the heavens.
The sparks exploded again, forming a line of text.
"Trio of Scoundrels, eternally divine!"
At that moment, Martin and Leonardo had finally stopped their relentless mocking of Nicholson.
When the fireworks had faded, Nicholson asked, "How was that?"
Martin gave him a thumbs-up: "Worthy of our leader."
Just as Leonardo was about to speak, a voice amplified by an electronic loudspeaker came from over the neighboring wall.
"Jack Nicholson, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Martin Davis, you three scoundrels dare shoot fireworks into my house, I’ll throw dog poop over to your side!"
Warren Beatty’s voice was tinged with hysteria: "I’m coming over to kill you guys myself!"
Leonardo patted Nicholson on the shoulder: "Look what you’ve turned Warren Beatty into."
Martin remarked, "He’s going nuts."
Nicholson raised his voice, shouting back at Warren Beatty: "A free fireworks show for you, and you’re still complaining?"
Warren Beatty yelled back, "Marlon has been waiting for you with the butter!"
Nicholson, without a megaphone and unsure to argue further, called Martin and Leonardo back into the villa.
Once in the study, Lorraine had already hung up a map.
"Are you targeting someone again?" she asked.
"Messing with people is where the fun is," Leonardo said. "Or what, should the three of us mess with each other?"
Martin took a look and realized it was a nautical chart.
"After finding out the exact time and place of Depp’s wedding, I swiftly devised an action plan!" Nicholson stepped up to the map like a general commanding a battle and slapped his hand down on an island.
He smacked the map a few times: "Depp, to avoid media disturbances, set the wedding on this little island west of Santa Monica, inviting less than 100 guests from both sides to attend."
Leonardo questioned, "They didn’t send us an invitation? Amber Heard didn’t invite us to her pre-wedding bachelorette party?"
Nicholson sneered, "You have quite the taste! Aren’t you afraid that when you’re in the act, she might suddenly..."
Martin chimed in, "Leo’s not scared because he only needs twenty-odd seconds."
Leonardo pointed at these two scoundrels: "I’m going to stuff you into the fireworks launcher!"
Lorraine, seeing that this conversation was getting nowhere and they wouldn’t reach a conclusion by the next morning, slammed the table forcefully and said, "Hey! Hey! We’re discussing a serious operation plan, can you guys be a bit more serious?"
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All three scoundrels closed their mouths.
Nicholson, still playing the role of the chief in command, said: "Even though Johnny Depp and Amber Heard didn’t invite us, as their dear friends, we must deliver a special wedding gift that Depp will remember for a lifetime."
Martin rolled up his sleeves: "You’re the boss, give the orders."
Nicholson pointed to the nautical chart: "The wedding’s on the island, so we can’t just land there recklessly, and since the wedding is in Depp’s favorite time, the evening, a small plane is inconvenient. Hence, the transport of choice is a yacht."
He looked at Leonardo: "You’ve been in Los Angeles for many years, find someone who can’t be traced back to you to rent a yacht fast enough, it doesn’t need to be too big, twenty meters is enough."
Leonardo nodded: "Consider it done."
Nicholson then instructed Martin: "Handling the multi-firing fireworks launchers is up to you."
"No problem!" said Martin, sighing. "I thought Depp would pick an estate for the wedding, so we could use a big pickup truck, mount a multi-barrel launcher in the back, and give them a blast during the ceremony!"
"You can have a blast on the boat too!" Nicholson assured.
Leonardo added, "We also need a few single-barrel ones, it’s been ages since I fired one, let’s make this count."
"Rest assured, everything’s prepared," Nicholson said before turning to Lorraine: "You bring the photography equipment, you’ll be responsible for capturing the footage, selling the news videos and pictures will cover the costs of the operation."
From a second-generation celebrity to a paparazzi photographer, Lorraine felt no decline in her social standing; instead, she was raring to go: "I’ve updated the gear, shooting long distance at night won’t be a problem."
With a clap of his hands to catch everyone’s attention, Nicholson said: "Now, a word about discipline, this is a covert operation, and no one is to leak any information. On the day of the operation, you must disguise yourselves and not reveal your identities, got it?"
Three lackadaisical voices jumbled together in response: "Got it."
The chief commander Nicholson shook his head; the quality of his soldiers was indeed lacking, and the operation was at risk of failure. He emphasized specifically: "I’ve seen too many pests like Depp, wanting to be dignified in spirit on their wedding day, they will definitely indulge themselves beforehand, and once provoked, their emotions will skyrocket."
The wedding of Depp and Amber was about to start, and as dear friends, they wanted to give a present that would be unforgettable, they had to be well-prepared.
In the following two days, Leonardo had had the yacht rented, and the fireworks ordered by Nicholson were ready.
Martin, along with Bruce, both in disguise, mounted the multi-firing fireworks launchers onto the deck of the yacht, and stowed the single tubes in the cabin.
Lorraine spent two consecutive nights at the Griffith Observatory, practicing shooting the Los Angeles nightscape to ensure crisp news videos and photos could be taken.
Nicholson, as the chief commander, naturally kept in center coordinating.
On the day of Depp’s wedding, just as the sky had darkened, a few cars of a South Korean brand arrived at the Santa Monica Yacht Club. People dressed in black boarded a coastal yacht and, under cover of night, set off for an island not too far from the shoreline.
Nicholson, with his wealth of yachting experience, took the helm himself.
Still far away, Martin could already see the spectacular lights above the island through the telescope.