Wild Action

by Dawn Stewardson

For an instant, Nick tried to think of where his gun was. Then he remembered he no longer had one. He was a civilian now. He’d turned in his gun along with his badge.

  “If there’s really someone down there, why aren’t the Marx brothers barking?” he whispered.

  “They’re probably off in the woods. But who do you think it is? Jay? Come to murder us in our sleep?”

  “No, Jay might be a total jerk, but I doubt he’s a Freddy Krueger.” On the other hand. Jay was mad as hell at them. And hadn’t Barb told them that all directors were crazy?

  Barb. His imagination did a ninety-degree turn. They’d been the ones to blow the whistle on her, so maybe she’d come back seeking revenge. Maybe she was far more unstable than anyone had realized.

  Adrenaline pumping, he rolled out of bed and grabbed his jeans off the floor. “I need something to use as a weapon,” he said, pulling them on.

  “A weapon,” Carly repeated shakily. “There’s Gus’s rifle.”

  “Oh, jeez. And it’s hanging right beside the back door.” He told himself that whoever was down there might not spot it in the darkness, then said, “There must be something up here I could use.”

  “I don’t…Wait, I have a big flashlight. For power failures.” She quickly got out of bed and produced it from the closet.

  When she grabbed her robe off the chair, he said, “You stay here. And if there’s any shooting, crawl out the window onto the porch roof.”

  “Shooting?” she whispered, sounding terrified.

  Nick crept out into the moonlit hall and started down the stairs, the heavy flashlight in his hand, thinking that if the guys on the job could see his “weapon,” they’d laugh themselves sick.

  As he reached the landing, he heard someone stealthily moving around in the kitchen—undoubtedly looking for the biggest butcher knife they could find.

  He eased his way further down the stairs, then heard a tiny noise behind him. Startled, he glanced back. Carly was following him. When he waved her upstairs, she shook her head.

  Giving her an angry look she probably couldn’t see in the darkness, he continued on down to the main floor. Once he got there, he pressed himself against the hallway wall and began inching his way toward the kitchen, his heart hammering.

  He wasn’t used to going up against a gun or a rifle or even a butcher knife with only a flashlight for protection. And how was he going to play this? Shine his light on the perp and shout, “Freeze!"?

  Hell, he couldn’t think of any other approach, but he’d be lucky if he didn’t get his head blown off.

  He looked back at Carly and waved her away again, swearing to himself when it was every bit as effective as it had been the first time. The only other thing he could do was will her not to get too close to the kitchen doorway.

  His gut clenching, he edged farther toward it until he was able to see that the back door was standing open. He could hear Crackers muttering under his cage cover, but there was no other sound.

  Barely breathing, he waited for one. If there was even a hope of his plan working, he’d have to shine his light directly into the perp’s eyes.

  Finally, he heard a scraping noise near the kitchen window. His finger on the flashlight’s switch, he wheeled into the doorway, flicking on the flashlight as he aimed it and yelling, “Freeze!”

  Crackers shrieked. And from the counter by the window, Rocky Raccoon peered over at him.

  Nick exhaled slowly, turned toward Carly and gestured her into the doorway. “Right this minute,” he said, as they stood looking at Rocky, “I’m really tempted to make myself a coonskin cap.”

  She laughed, then said, “Come on, Davey Crockett Rather than playing hatmaker, let’s just put Rocky outside, lock the door, then go back to bed and pick up where we left off.”

  ONCE CARLY AND NICK had finished lunch, she sat down on the living-room floor with the Marx brothers to psych them up for the “prey” scene.

  Nick, she could tell from his skeptical expression, still wasn’t convinced they understood much English. But she always talked to them before they did a shoot, and she wasn’t messing with something that worked—especially not when this was their last chance to make Jay happy.

  “It’s going to go just fine,” Nick said after she’d concluded her pep talk.

  She nodded, telling herself he was right. Janet, Royce’s fiancee, had arrived early this morning and gone straight to work decorating the set. And the word was that her “prey” was far more realistic looking than Barb’s had been—realistic enough to satisfy Howard Langly, who’d finally climbed into his limo and left.

  “Looks like we’ve got company,” Nick said, gazing out the window. “Brock and Kyle—without a chaperon, so we’d better keep an eye on them.”

  When the boys climbed onto the porch, the Marx brothers hurried over to the screen door, tails wagging furiously.

  “Come on in,” Nick called.

  “We just wanted to say goodbye to the animals before we left,” Kyle explained as the screen slammed behind him.

  “Well, the dogs are obviously glad you did,” Carly said.

  The boys hugged the Marx brothers and stroked Blue. The other cats decided to hide behind the couch.

  “Can we go into the kitchen and see Crackers?" Brock asked.

  “Sure.” Carly followed along a few feet behind them, trying not to make it too obvious that she was watching their every move.

  “Company!” Crackers called, dancing along his perch.

  “Can he jump on my shoulder again?” Kyle asked.

  “Mine, too?” Brock said.

  She nodded. “Just don’t take him outside this time.”

  Crackers happily climbed back and forth from one boy’s shoulder to the other’s until Nick glanced at his watch and said, “I’m afraid we’ve got to go now, guys. It’s time to take the Marx brothers to the set.”

  “Can we stay in here and play with Crackers while you’re gone?” Brock asked.

  “No, I think he’s had enough excitement for the moment,” Nick told him. “But have you said goodbye to Paint and Brush yet?”

  When they shook their heads, Carly said, “They’re in their field. Here,” she added, reaching into the fridge. “Take a couple of apples for them. But they’re not saddled, so don’t try to ride them.”

  “Our moms already said not to,” Kyle told them. “They said if we were stiff for tomorrow’s shoot, Jay would kill us.”

  After ushering the boys out of the house, Carly leashed the Marx brothers—just in case the smell of the bones was too tempting. Then she and Nick walked them through the woods to the shoot site.

  The cameras and klieg lights were in place, ready and waiting, and the “prey” was a lot better than Barb’s had been.

  “Okay, showtime everyone,” Jay called, spotting them. “Now, you know what I want, Carly. Have them start to savage the ‘prey’ when I cue you, and let’s do this in one.”

  She nodded, her heart in her throat as she told the dogs to sit, then unleashed them. If they screwed up the first take, Janet would have to construct her ‘prey’, all over again.

  “Okay,” Jay said. “Bells!”

  The smell of the bones had the Marx brothers’ noses twitching, but they held their sit.

  “Clear the eyeline…and roll it.”

  Carly didn’t take her eyes off the dogs until the soundman called, “Speed,” and the production assistant said, “Scene ninety-eight—Take one,” and clicked her slate.

  At the sound, Carly looked at Jay.

  “Action!” he said.

  “Volcano!” She whispered the code command for “attack.”

  The Marx brothers dashed forward and wholeheartedly attacked the ‘prey.’

  She hardly breathed until, at last Jay called, “Cut! And print! Great take!” he added to everyone in general. “And that means it’s a wrap here. So let’s get everything that isn’t already packed ready to roll.”

  When he turned and started talking to Go
odie and Royce, without a glance in her direction, she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “Dogs!” she called. “Off!”

  Reluctantly they backed away from the bones. “Good boys,” she told them. “Now you head straight back to the house, because I left special treats for Dylan to give you.”

  “They were perfect,” Nick said, appearing beside her as the Marx brothers started off through the woods.

  “For all the good it did us.” She looked at Jay again. “You know, he isn’t going to say a word to us before he leaves. He’s just going to keep on sulking—probably forever.”

  “Carly? Nick?” Goodie called. “That was terrific,” he said, hurrying over to them. “But I thought I’d better check on something with you. Jay wants Royce to shoot some video footage of him with Attila before we leave. I mean, he’d stay outside the fence, so there’s no problem with the two of them going along to his field, is there?”

  She was tempted to say that yes, there was a problem with it, simply on general principle.

  But before she could say a word, Nick said, “Just remind Jay not to yell.”

  “Oh, he’s clear on that after all this time.” Goodie looked over at Jay and Royce and called, “It’s fine.”

  As the two men started off, Goodie fell into step with Carly and Nick. “I’m still working on Jay. So, hopefully, before we take off, he’ll stop being such an ass.”

  Carly nodded, but at this point she wasn’t holding out much hope. And she wished Goodie had gone with Jay and Royce. He walked far too slowly for her liking. She wanted to get back to the house as fast as she could, because the thought of a good, therapeutic cry held a lot of appeal.

  When they finally emerged from the trees, they could see Royce and Jay in the distance. They were already by Attila’s field, Royce with his eye to the camcorder’s viewfinder.

  For half a second, Carly didn’t realize anything was wrong. Then she took in the big picture and her heart began to pound.

  Kyle and Brock were inside the field, standing frozen—about a hundred feet from Attila. And he was staring straight at them.

  “Oh, jeez!” Nick whispered.

  “There won’t be any problem as long as they don’t yell or run,” she whispered back. “But hurry. I’ll go into the field. You get to Jay so he doesn’t do anything stupid, then talk the boys slowly over to the fence.”

  “What are you two whispering about?” Goodie said. Then he looked toward the field again and saw the boys.

  “Run!” he shouted. “Boys! Run and climb the fence!”

  Panic threatening to overwhelm her, Carly took off on the dead run, Nick beside her. But inside the field, the boys began to run, too.

  Attila lowered his head and flattened his ears back.

  “Attila! Sit!” she screamed.

  But she was far too far away to make him listen. He pawed the ground once, then charged.

  “Jay!” she shouted, her heart pounding even harder. “Jay, scream at him! Distract him!”

  For a fraction of a second. Jay hesitated. Then he screamed, “Attila! What the hell are you doing! Stop! Stop right now! You’re a horrible bear. I’ll cut all your scenes if you don’t stop!”

  Attila skidded to a halt and stood glaring in Jay’s direction.

  “Keep it up!” Nick shouted as they ran on. “Yell some more!”

  Jay began screaming again.

  Attila snorted. Then he growled. And then he charged at Jay.

  “Attila! Stop!” Carly shouted, her lungs burning. “Stop!”

  This time she was close enough to be heard. And, miraculously, the bear slowed his pace. Then he stopped.

  On the far side of the field, the boys were climbing the fence.

  “Good boy, Attila!” Carly called, the utter terror that had filled her draining away. “Good boy!” Totally out of breath, she slowed to a walk.

  Nick jogged the rest of the way, and by the time she reached the fence he was standing with one hand on Kyle’s shoulder, the other on Brock’s, and was talking with Jay and Royce.

  Jay said something to the other men, then turned to the boys. “Whatever possessed you to go into that field?”

  Kyle and Brock looked at each other nervously, then Kyle said, “We were sayin’ goodbye to all the animals. But when we got to the field we couldn’t see Attila.”

  “We thought you musta taken him somewhere,” Brock said, looking at Nick. “And we climbed the fence ‘cuz we wanted to wade in the pond. But then, when we were walking across the field, Attila came out of that thing.” Bryce pointed at the hibernation ‘cave.’”

  “We’d never have climbed the fence if we knew he was in there,” Kyle added.

  “Well, you’re just lucky Jay was so fast off the mark,” Nick said. “By thinking to yell the way he did, he saved your lives.”

  Carly glanced at him, wondering if he hadn’t heard her tell Jay to start yelling.

  He met her gaze and held it. For a second, she didn’t know what message he was trying to give her. Then it dawned on her. If they made Jay look good, maybe he’d do the same for them.

  “You’re a first-class hero, Jay,” she said.

  “Boy, you sure are,” Goodie agreed, finally reaching the rest of them. He was puffing so hard that his words were barely audible.

  “What did you get on video?” Nick asked Royce.

  “I’m not sure, exactly. I just kept rolling. But there’s got to be some of everything—Attila charging, the boys running, some of Jay. And the audio of his yelling, of course.”

  “What a publicity angle, eh, Jay?” Nick said. “Once you edit that, it’ll make a terrific promo piece for the movie.”

  Goodie gleefully clapped his hands. “It will, you know. Hell, Jay, I’ll bet we can get you on ‘Oprah’ with it. And maybe even a segment on ’Sixty Minutes.’”

  “Siskel and Ebert might use it, too,” Carly put in. “It’ll just be such a great bit of docudrama—a movie director risking his life to save a couple of child stars.”

  Jay eyed her for a moment, looking as if he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. “I didn’t exactly risk my life,” he said slowly.

  “Oh, Jay, don’t be so modest. You don’t expect us to believe you forgot that isn’t an electrified fence, do you? Why, we all know that if Attila hadn’t stopped, he’d have been right on top of you.”

  Jay went pale. Then his color began to return, and the way he puffed up his chest almost made her laugh out loud.

  “No, you’re right, Carly. Of course I didn’t forget. But what sort of man wouldn’t risk his life to save two wonderful boys like Brock and Kyle?

  “Royce?” he added. “Is there any footage left on that video?”

  “A little.”

  “Good, because I want you to shoot an ending for the docudrama right now, while we’re all still looking a little the worse for wear. Everyone except Brock and Kyle clear the eyeline.”

  When Carly, Nick and Goodie moved back, Jay dropped to one knee and gave the boys a warm smile. “Kids, when I say, ‘Action,’ you run over and give me a big hug for the camera.

  “Okay, Royce, roll the film…and action!”

  The boys raced over and flung their arms around Jay. He gave them each a hard hug, then turned his gaze toward the camcorder—and darned if he hadn’t managed to produce a few tears.

  He gazed in Royce’s direction for a long second, then slowly wiped his eyes.

  “Cut!” he said a moment later. “Good scene, kids.”

  Pushing himself up from the ground, he strode over to where Carly and Nick were standing. Resting one hand on each of their arms, he said, “Well, I’ve got to give credit where it’s due. The idea of a docudrama was positively inspired. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  Goodie cleared his throat. “They’d probably figure your recommending them to other directors would be a good way.”

  “Well, that goes without saying;” Jay said, positively beaming at them.
“And the next time I need animals for a film, we’ll be working together again.”

  Carly smiled at him, thinking, “Never in a million years.”

  WHEN CARLY AND NICK got back to the house, Dylan was still there.

  “I was just on my way home,” he told them. “All the animals have been fed, I cleaned the aviary and I gave the dogs their treats.

  “So…I was kind of wondering. Now that the filming’s finished, will you be needing me anymore? I mean, even once I’m back at school I could still work on the weekends. And maybe a couple of hours after school most days.”

  Nick nodded. “There’ll definitely be lots of work for you.”

  “Hey, great! And if there’s a real lot, Jonathan said to tell you he’s available, too. He really got a kick out of baby-sitting Attila.”

  Carly barely heard Dylan’s words. Nick’s were still echoing in her mind—causing a chill to settle around her heart. Nick knew that she and Gus had managed with just the two of them. So if he was intending to stay on, they wouldn’t really need help.

  Did that mean…

  Almost afraid to be alone with him, to hear what he was going to say, she ushered Dylan out and waved goodbye. Then, her heart thudding, she turned to Nick.

  When he smiled at her, she tried to imagine what it would be like if she couldn’t see him smile every day—and decided it would be unbearable.

  “Didn’t I tell you we shouldn’t worry about something that might not happen?” he said. “Jay’s so damn happy with us…Carly? Is something wrong?”

  “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “When you told Dylan there’d definitely be lots of work for him…”

  “Uh-huh?”

  She gave an anxious little shrug. “Well, I wondered if that meant you’d decided to go ahead with your plans. To go back to Edmonton and start up your agency.”

  “Hey,” he murmured, stepping closer and putting his arms around her waist. “The agency was my dream for a long time, but being with you has become far more important. Besides, I’ve worked with partners for years. I’d probably miss the company if I was on my own. Whereas, if I stayed on as a partner in Wild Action, I’d have you for company. Assuming that plan’s okay with you.”