Sudden Death

by Michael Balkind

  They arrived at the studio right on time. David met them in the reception area and told Reid how to get to make-up.

  The cosmetician was a beautiful young girl named Missy. She was 22 and loved her job. She told Reid to change in the dressing room, handing him a blue shirt with a Freeze logo, a pair of khakis, a new pair of golf shoes and socks. “What, no underwear?” he kidded.

  “Just go get changed,” she said with a grin. “I’ll have you know, they told me not to put up with your nonsense, Mr. Clark. Your advances either.”

  “Alright, alright, no shenanigans. But please call me Reid.” He did as she asked and came out of the dressing room wearing his new duds.

  “Okay, Reid, please sit here,” she said, pointing to a barber’s chair. He sat down and she lowered the seat to work on him. She started with a base, saying, “You really don’t need much work, but we have to keep the glare down.” “Yuk,” he said, “I don’t understand how you guys do this everyday.” “I guess you mean women?” she asked with attitude. “Oh, forget it.” He could tell he was headed for trouble, so he shut his mouth instead. After a few minutes, she said, “Okay, you’re done. Go on up and try not to sweat before the shoot. I’ll be up soon in case you need touching up.” “Touching-up, what am I a car? No, seriously, thank you, that was the best makeover I’ve ever had.” “You’ve done this before?” “No,” he said with a grin. “Oh, shut up and get out of here.” She threw a towel at him as he walked out the door.

  The studio was very active. People were everywhere – photographers, elec tricians, refrigeration crews, caterers, set designers and many more.

  Reid approached Aimee. “Ready?” she asked. Today her clothes were less revealing; baggy jeans and a tee shirt were covered by an unbuttoned denim shirt. Her shoes clicked as she walked.

  Looking down at them, he asked, “Are you actually wearing golf shoes with metal spikes?”

  She nodded. “Yes, they’re great on the ice; the whole crew is wearing them.” “Great idea, but what about me? Shouldn’t I be wearing them too?” “Aren’t you? We got you a pair. Missy was supposed to give them to you.” “No she gave me these; they’re soft spikes.” “You can’t go up there with those; you’ll be on your ass more than your feet. Give me a minute, I’ll call and have her bring them up.” Reid’s spikes were found and delivered. He put them on and Aimee once again asked if he was ready. “As I’ll ever be.” “Follow me,” she said as she climbed a short metal ladder up onto the set. “Be careful, the ladder is really slippery with the spikes.” He climbed up while making a racket with his spikes and followed her to the tee. Two photographers were there, and after quick introductions, they asked him to pick up a club and just start swinging it. They snapped pictures, asking him to pose in various positions. Next, they walked down the white turf-covered fairway, taking shots of him as they went. They continued on the green. Then they moved over to the icy areas that were not turf covered and it looked exactly like a glacier. They took roll after roll of pictures. They had Reid swing his club on the bare ice. They had him hit balls of ice off a tee, taking pictures as they exploded on impact. They took shots of him holding FREEZE balls while standing on ice. They took shots with a fog machine blowing in his direction. It was easy to pose as long as he didn’t have to think. Thinking was going to be difficult because he had Shane on his brain.

  They worked until 1 p.m., then took a lunch break. Joan, Hunter and Betsy had arrived and had been watching for the past hour. Stu walked in with the new bodyguards, Alan and Mike, otherwise known as Mench and Greeny. Both were thin and of less-than-average height, but both also had a wild look in their eyes that sent a strong Don’t mess with me if you value your well-being message to anyone they encountered. After quick introductions, Reid asked, “So guys, how’d the job go in Italy?”

  With a sparkle in his eye, Greeny said, “It was a little hairy, but only one dead body in the end. I can live with that.”

  Reid said in a slight panic, “Your client is dead and you’re okay with that? Joel, Stu, I need to talk to you both, now!”

  “Calm down Reid,” Mench chimed in with a laugh. “Greeny was talk ing about the perp. Our client is fine. Our track record is perfect. You’re in good hands on our watch.”

  “Okay then.” Reid lowered his voice and settled down a bit. “I guess I misunderstood. No offense, Greeny.”

  “I’ll let it go this time,” Greeny seethed. “Just don’t let it happen again.” He gave Reid an evil glare. “Uh, yes, sir,” Reid answered, glancing at the other guards wide-eyed. Greeny, Mench, Joel and Stu kept straight faces as long as possible; then they all burst into laughter. Greeny walked over to Reid and shook his hand saying, “Only kidding, Reid. I’m looking forward to watching your back.” “Good, you had me worried there.” “Comes with the job.” “Well, it’s good to have you aboard.” Greeny gave Reid a quick nod. After about an hour, Aimee said, “Reid, I want to start filming. You need to go back to make-up to get redone. How are you doing with your lines? They’re pretty easy right?”

  Reid just nodded. Oh shit, he thought, I forgot all about the damn lines. I knew Shane was going to mean trouble. He didn’t say a word. He just got up, grabbed the script and headed for the make-up room. He jumped into the chair and said, “Take your time Missy; I need to study my lines.” “It won’t take long. You just need a little work.” He repeated in an edgy tone, “Please, take your time. I need to study these.” He picked up the script and started reading out loud. His voice was shaky. He was obviously nervous.

  Missy said, “Oh my God. You haven’t even looked at those yet, have you?”

  “No, but please don’t tell Aimee. She’ll kill me if she finds out. Anyway, there’s not much here, only four or five lines. I can memorize them in a few minutes. Let me concentrate.”

  He read, “Hi, I’m Reid Clark and I use Freeze. Do you have Freeze balls in your bag? Use Freeze when you want to ice the competition.” He looked up at her with a look of shock; “Did you hear that? I can’t say that in a commercial. Who are they kidding?”

  He continued to the second script. “Hi, I’m Reid Clark. I use the Freeze from Eagle. Use Freeze only when you want to ice your competition. Freeze, the balls that fly like an Eagle.” He finished, “Okay, now that’s better, what do you think?”

  Just then, the intercom buzzed, Aimee’s voice came through the speak er “Hey, what’s going on down there, Missy? Where’s Reid?” “I’m almost done with him. Sorry, I needed to change a tone.” “C’mon, finish up; we need to get started already. We’re wasting big money with every minute we lose.” “He’s on his way,” Missy said. The intercom clicked off. “Thanks for covering for me,” Reid said. “I owe you one.” “No problem. You better get up there quickly, though.” “Yeah, I guess so.” As he was walking out the door, she added, “Break a leg.” “God forbid!” he said grinning. When he got back up to the studio, things had changed. The lights were brighter and something was making an awful lot of noise. Two huge cameras were attached to a cart that traveled on a track the length of the set. One camera was fixed directly to the cart, the other was on a platform raised by a hydraulic extension arm. Aimee ran over and said something, but the noise drowned her out. He pointed to his ears and shook his head. She got closer and yelled, “The heat from the lights makes it necessary to run the refrigeration system full blast, so the glacier doesn’t melt. They’ll turn it off when we start to shoot. Are you ready?”

  “Which lines am I supposed to say?” he yelled. “I’m not going to say the first ones. Please tell me we’re using the second lines.”

  She screamed, “We are, but we want to shoot using both scripts.” He followed her onto the set to a guy on the camera platform. “This is Craig Barton, the director,” she yelled.

  The two men shook hands. Craig yelled, “Okay, I want to do the first take with you at the tee box. Hit a ball, then look up at the camera and say your lines. It’s that simple. Ready?”

  As Reid was yel
ling, “No, I’m not ready. Which line am I reading?” the refrigeration machine was turned off mid-statement. He finished his sentence, yelling at the top of his lungs, realizing too late that the noise had stopped. Everyone began to laugh and clap. He took a silly bow and said, “Thank you, Thank you.”

  “Well, folks,” Craig announced, “I think he’s a natural, maybe a ham, but a natural, nevertheless.” Then he said to Reid, “Let’s try the second script first and see where we go from there.”

  Reid kept repeating the lines in his head. He was a nervous wreck. He walked over to the tee, picked up a club and started swinging it. Missy came over and dabbed some make-up on his chin. Craig’s assistant yelled, “Quiet on the set.” “Okay, Reid,” Craig said, “when I say action, I want you to hit the ball, then look up here toward the camera, look right at this red light and say your lines. Got it?” “Got it.” “Okay, here we go. Three, two, one, action.” Reid swung and hit the ball, looked up and said, “Hi, I’m Reid Clark.

  I use the Eagle from Freeze.” “Cut,” Craig yelled. There were some giggles around the room. “Why’d you stop me?” Reid asked curiously. “You don’t have any idea what you said, do you?” Craig asked. “I said my first line. Why?” “You said the Eagle from Freeze.” “No way,” Reid said. Craig and Aimee nodded. “I did?” he said with a look of embarrassment. “Sorry.” “Ready to try again?” Craig asked. “Yeah, let’s do it.” “Positions,” yelled the assistant. “Quiet on the set.” Reid was back at the tee with a new ball teed up. “Three, two, one, action.” He hit the ball, looked up and said, “Hi, I’m FREEZE, I…” He stopped and groaned, “Oh, Shit.” “Cut.” “Sorry.” Reid shrugged. “Okay, Reid, I want you to practice your lines once, right now.” Reid closed his eyes and everyone could see his mouth moving as he said the lines to himself. “No, Reid, out loud, out loud.” Craig was a little agitated. “Alright. Sorry!” Reid exclaimed, also a little annoyed. He closed his eyes for a second, took a deep breath and said loudly, “Hi, I’m Reid Clark. I use the Freeze from Eagle. Use Freeze only when you want to ice your competition. Freeze, the ball that flies like an Eagle.”

  “Very good,” Craig said. “Okay, one more time in front of the camera, ready?” Reid nodded, took another deep breath and exhaled. “Positions! Quiet on the set!” “Three, two, one, action.” When Reid looked down, a new ball had been placed on the tee. He took a deep breath and exhaled. He hit the ball, looked up at the camera and said his lines perfectly.

  “Cut, that’s a take. Good job, Reid,” Craig said triumphantly. “Okay. Let’s do it one more time,” he said loudly.

  Reid looked up at him curiously. “What! I thought that was good. We need to do it again?”

  “I want three takes of each segment. Two more here, then three on the fairway, then three more on the green. And I want to try the first script in all three spots as well. I hope you don’t have any other plans for the day.” “No, I’m all yours, Mr. Director, sir,” Reid said sarcastically. “That’s more like it,” Craig played along. They made it through the rest of the takes with only a few mistakes. It was 7 p.m. by the time they wrapped for the day.

  Craig announced, “Thanks to Reid’s perseverance, we knocked off two days of work in one. I want to thank you all for a job well done.” He walked over to Aimee. “I have to get out of here. I’ll talk to you in the morning. Let’s reconvene at 9 with the editing team.”

  “Thanks, Craig, see you in the morning. By the way, nice job,” Aimee said.

  “We got lucky. Don’t tell him, but for a first timer, Reid was unbeliev ably smooth. He could change careers tomorrow and be in film. I guess some guys have all the talent, huh?” “You’ve got plenty yourself, and you know it. See you tomorrow.” “Bye,” he said and kissed her on the cheek. “Goodnight all,” he yelled to everyone else. The camera crews had another hour of breaking down and packing up. The caterers were just about done. The lighting people would be working late into the night.

  “I made reservations at Nobu,” Carl said. “It’s just around the corner. Why don’t we all go have dinner and relax?” “Good thinking,” Buck said. “Let’s go, everyone.” “I’m bushed,” Reid said with a yawn. “I think I’ll just go home.

  Thanks, anyway.” Betsy piped up, “No way, you’re not going home yet. It’s only 7:30.

  Come join us. Pleeease.” “Okay, if you’re going to twist my arm. But I need to make a call first. Can I borrow someone’s cell?” All at once, about 10 cell phones were offered by outstretched arms. It was a funny sight.

  “Now that would have made an excellent cell phone commercial,” Reid said. He looked over at Aimee, who was already writing it down.

  He grabbed the closest phone and walked away from the group. He pulled Shane’s card from his wallet and dialed her cell. To his disappointment, her voice-mail came on; just hearing her voice again gave him a chill. He left a message that they were heading to Nobu. “Okay, let me go change and we can leave,” he said to everyone.

  Chapter 23

  They walked to the restaurant and were led to a private dining room in the back. The subtle yet distinct scent of hot sake filled the air. After they took their seats, a waiter described Nobu’s famed Omakase dinner, a multicourse meal of the restaurant’s best and most exotic signature dishes. In front of their place settings were personal sake flasks, each resting on a flame warmer.

  During the second course, there was a quiet knock on the door and Shane entered the room. All heads turned. A little embarrassed, she gave a quick wave and quietly said, “Hi, everybody.”

  Reid jumped up, knocking his chair over. He hurried over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t believe you came, I’m thrilled.” Everyone was looking at them and whispering quietly. Shane wore an olive-green silk blouse, black capri pants and sandals. Her long hair was braided down her back. The only make-up she wore was lipstick. She was breathtaking. Reid turned toward the tables. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Shane.” He brought her to his table and, after a quick seating adjustment, they sat next to each other. A moment later, Joan came over and said, “Reid, don’t you want to introduce me to your friend?”

  Reid rolled his eyes and said, “Of course. Mom, meet Shane; Shane, this is my mom, Joan.” They exchanged hellos and agreed to talk more after dinner. Reid was relieved his sisters hadn’t lined up behind their mom. Shane listened intently as he told her about the commercial shoot. He felt very good with her next to him. She actually seems interested in what I’m saying, he thought. Finally, a girl who might not only be attracted to my bank account. He asked if she would join them tomorrow evening for a classical concert at Caramoor, an outdoor theater on a beautiful estate. To his delight, she accepted the invitation. Shortly afterward, the party broke up.

  Heads turned to admire Shane as they left the restaurant. Reid was glad the attention was on her instead of him for once. The group squeezed into the waiting vehicles. When they dropped Shane off at her apartment, Reid jumped out and walked her to the door. They stepped into the vestibule, out of sight of the others. He thanked her for coming and gave her a quick goodnight kiss; he wanted more but he was determined to prove himself a gentleman. As he started to back away, she quickly put her arms around his neck and pulled him back for another, more passionate kiss. She smiled and said, “Thank you for a wonderful evening. I can’t wait for tomorrow.” She gave him another quick kiss and said goodnight, then turned and walked to the elevator. He smiled and watched in silence thinking, I guess Jamie is out of the picture.

  He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he got in the van. Nobody said a word for a while. “Okay, you can resume talking now. And to answer the question you’re all dying to ask, yes, I really like her.” He paused. “A lot.”

  The drive to Westchester was uneventful. Most of the group was asleep when they pulled into Joan’s driveway. Security team four had been waiting for them at the house. They dragged themselves to their rooms. The other security teams drove back to the h
otel.

  Reid’s mind had been racing the past few nights in bed. At least he had something good to counter the distressing thoughts of the threat. He only hoped he would be luckier than Romeo in the end. He finally drifted to sleep around 4 a.m.

  In spite of the rough night and limited sleep, he woke up in a good mood. Thoughts of Shane left no room for anything else in his head. Looking into the bathroom mirror, he repeated a phrase that he used to say to himself as a kid. “Look and feel like the star you are.” He laughed as he thought about how many times he had said those words into this mirror. Who knew, maybe it helped. He knew his life was about to change. Shane made him feel… He thought, How does she make me feel? Complete. Yeah that’s it, complete. As silly as that phrase had always sounded to him, he finally understood the feeling. He had never felt like this before and, although it made him nervous, he liked it.

  He threw on some old shorts and a college T-shirt that looked more like an old rag. Hunter and Jeff were in the kitchen. “Good morning,” he said cheerily.

  “Good morning,” Hunter said. “Someone’s happy this morning! Coffee’s ready if you want some. Are you going for a run?”

  “Yeah, just a quick loop around the reservoir. Jeff, I hope you don’t mind. It’ll only take half an hour.” “No problem. I could use it myself.” “You’ll love the run. It’s quiet and really beautiful.” “Great. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready.” “Take your time.” After Jeff left the room, Hunter said, “You’ve really fallen hard for this woman, haven’t you?” “Is it that obvious?” “Hey, you and I may fight a lot, but there is nothing you can hide from me.” He wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. “I guess you’re right. If there’s anybody who can read me, it’s you. Well, it is mutual you know. I’ve seen the way you act around Keith. You can’t tell me you don’t have a little crush on him.” “Shut up,” she said grinning. They both laughed. Jeff came back in and he and Reid left for their run. They started slowly but kept pushing each other faster. Both were very competitive; by the end, they were racing back to the house. When they got to the front lawn, they collapsed, sucking wind.