Reality Hero

by Ashlynn Monroe

  After several more grueling hours, Dina decided on a thirty-two-year-old divorced woman with more life experience. Regina Books would balance out the cast as a contrast against the younger smuttier contestants. She had frosted brown hair, blue eyes, and a nice, curvy figure.

  That left Dina with one spot to fill. She’d been at this for ten hours. It was dark outside, yet a sea of women waited for their chances. Dina didn’t want to be hasty, but she wanted to go home and shower off all the body glitter, perfume, and sweaty desperation that seemed to have found its way to her.

  She was interviewing women three at a time, but couldn’t find her number ten. Just when she considered giving up a woman with red-gold hair and green eyes entered the room. The woman’s bio stated she’d been a missionary before coming home to take care of her sick father. She worked part-time as a receptionist for an insurance agency and volunteered at various charities. The girl even listed living organ donor on the future aspirations question. Purity Faithful was a helluva moniker. She wondered if the name was real. It didn’t matter, she was a keeper.

  “Congratulations, you’re going to date a superhero.” Dina held out the ceremonial mask, preparing for the typical shriek of joyous success. Unlike the other women who’d shouted and jumped up and down, Purity shook Dina’s hand and thanked her quietly. This girl’s reaction was so different than she’d expected. She flinched slightly as she tentatively took the small pale hand in hers.

  With her last spot filled, Dina called it a day. When the announcement went out to the remaining women that they wouldn’t be able to audition, an angry riot broke out. Ervin had hired extra private security that afternoon, but even the extra muscle was no match for the crazed mob. Erving, Dina, Ana, and two of the guards barricaded themselves in the conference room, calling the police. Ana wept, her dress torn. The security guards were pale. Ervin had fled down the fire escape. Groaning, Dina knew the spin team would have fun using this to bring extra attention to the show. She didn’t doubt they’d planted someone to start the insurrection.

  Glass outside the room shattered. Ana screamed as if she were auditioning for a horror movie. The sound was eardrum piercing. The frazzled intern slumped into a chair, sobbing her heart out.

  “Calm down, we’ll be okay,” Dina shouted, but she didn’t know if she believed the words. Something heavy thudded against the door. She was tempted to call Zane, but realized that would only incite the mob to a greater frenzy. She needed a hero—one with a big ass can of mace. Sirens blared in the distance.

  “Thank God. Do you think that’s the police?” Ana’s eyes were wide.

  “We’ll be fine.” Dina patted the other woman’s hand reassuringly.

  Ana trembled, and gripped Dina’s hand. They heard more clattering sounds of violent destruction from the other room. The occasional obscenity was clear enough to understand. A few moments later, there was a loud knock on the door.

  “Police. Open up.”

  One of the rented security guards opened the door. Dina stepped out into the destroyed green room. Tables were overturned. Art hung crookedly. The snack trays lay upside down. Food covered the mauve carpet. It was a mess. She shook her head. Ana was holding herself around the middle, and looking around with dismay. “Could you call Ervin and tell him we survived, but the place is trashed?” Dina asked the traumatized girl.

  She nodded as she pulled out her cellphone. Security was giving a statement to the police. Thirty-six women had been arrested, the rest had fled. Ana handled the call to the cleaning service. Dina wanted to weep with relief when she realized she could finally go home. It was late. Her stomach growled, but she was too tired to consider finding food. She grabbed her purse and gave Ana a small hug. “You did great. I bet you had no idea television was this exciting.”

  Ana shook her head. Her eyes had a vacant, numb look.

  “Do you need a ride home?” Dina asked.

  “My…My boy…boyfriend is coming.” Ana’s teeth chattered as she spoke.

  “I think you might be in shock, sit down.”

  Ana sat, and Dina put her light blazer over the woman’s shoulders. She waited until a young man with a big smile came into the room and ushered Ana away. The police left too. She and three guards remained. The cleaning people had already arrived and a stern-faced, middle-aged woman gave her a dirty look as she passed. Dina shook her head. It wasn’t as if she’d made the mess, but she had the urge to apologize to the woman. She bit her lip and gave the disaster a final glance before heading to the parking ramp.

  Dina stumbled to her car, utterly exhausted. All she wanted was to go straight to bed.

  “Hey, TV lady, stop, tell us about Mind Man. Whatcha have to do to get him on your show?” shouted a thin man with dirty, blond hair. He wore a red TMZ t-shirt.

  A man with a camera waited by her car, his excited shout made her jump. Paparazzi. She hated those vultures. Tired, but seeing a chance for some free promotion, she gave them a nibble. “I guess he was lonely. Everyone needs to find true love.”

  Giving them anything was a mistake. More of them came out of the darkness. They swarmed around her like hungry piranhas. She was having trouble getting into her car. One of them pushed her car door shut as she tried to open it.

  “Give us the story. Tell us what Mind Man is really like.”

  Panic began to swell in her chest when one of them grabbed her arm. Dina’s self-defense training kicked in. She had the man on the ground quickly. The other cameramen backed up, but not far enough for comfort. Tears pricked her eyelids, but she refused to let them fall. She didn’t want to bawl like a baby for their tabloid TV show.

  “Damn, woman, were you in the army or something? I ain’t never seen nothin’ like that ’cept on TV,” said a pudgy man. He stuck his camera right in her face.

  “Back off, now,” she demanded quietly. They did. She let go of the first idiot.

  After getting into her car, she sighed with relief. She managed to back out of her space without running any of them over. One of them slammed her back window angrily, but she managed to get away without further incident.

  Dina drove home. She fought her need to give into tears. Pulling into her space cautiously, she looked around for more cameras. No paparazzi waited for her, but she hurried in just in case one hid in the bushes. Once she was inside, she made sure her door was locked securely.

  Her body felt as if she’d been run over by a bus. Emotionally strung out and world-weary, she let go of a single, shaking sob, but pulled herself together quickly. Dina went into her bedroom and peeled off her clothing, ready to take a bath. Just for noise, she turned on the television. Her cable always came onto the same channel when she turned on her seldom used TV. Horrified, she saw herself taking down the cameraman who’d touched her. Groaning, she began to count silently. One, two, three— Her phone rang. Ella must have seen it too.

  “Oh my God, what were you thinking, Dina? Those men are animals. You work in television. You should know better. Is this a ploy for attention or for ratings?”

  Dina opened her mouth to defend herself, but Ella rushed on quickly. She didn’t seem to want an answer, just to vent.

  “I just loved your comment about how you convinced him to be on the show. ‘He was lonely’. What was that supposed to mean? It sounds like you prostituted yourself for his consent. Jesus, sis. Isn’t the show bad enough? Now you’re besmirching his reputation. You make me sick. Bridget is going through hell. Her husband is dead and now all she can do is worry that this show will out her or hurt Zane. Why don’t you try to think about someone other than yourself for two seconds?”

  Dina groaned. She should’ve expected editing on her comment and kept her mouth shut. For a moment, she was quiet as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts. Exhaustion wasn’t helping her think. She didn’t want Ella to feel as if she’d been trying to hurt Zane—or any of her friends.

  “Ella, they edited what I said, which was, ‘I guess he was lonely. Everyone needs to f
ind true love’. As far as my takedown of the camera guy, he came at me from behind, and you know how much I hate that. It reminds me of the way they handled me in the lab. You would’ve been jumpy too if you’d just been running for your life because of an angry mob.”

  “I saw that on the news. What did you expect when you offered up the most mysterious and eligible bachelor on the planet to every attention-seeking fan-girl who could get to the studio? Did you think no one would show up? Dina, you’ve always been someone to think before you act, but lately I’m starting to think you’ve had a lobotomy. What happened to you? I don’t even know you anymore.”

  Ella hung up on her abruptly. Tossing the cellphone on her dresser, Dina considered calling Zane, but changed her mind. If he saw all the garbage on the TV, she’d have a lot of explaining to do.

  Chapter 5

  Zane watched the tabloid TV show. He’d seen it playing when he stepped into the bar. The other two people present didn’t pay any attention to him. This wasn’t a good neighborhood; he’d been there many times to prevent robberies. The bartender glanced up when he noticed Zane looking at the TV. He turned up the volume before returning to stocking the bar. Shock mingled with horror as Zane saw Dina acting completely out of character. Her words made him wonder if she’d changed while he wasn’t paying attention. He kept holding on to his good memories of her instead of seeing who she’d become.

  He couldn’t move after the scene of Dina and the paparazzi ended. He stood in the corner of the bar, wearing his costume and feeling like an idiot for not seeing how much the woman he loved had changed. Glaring at his cellphone, he thought about calling her, but it was late, and honestly, he had no idea what to say to her.

  His phone rang. He took it out of his utility belt and stepped outside into a deserted alley. Ella’s number displayed. “Hello,” he said tightly.

  “You saw it.” This wasn’t a question.

  “Yeah.”

  “I talked to her.”

  “Yeah.”

  Ella made an annoyed sound. “She said they edited her comment. This whole thing is bullshit. Don’t do it. I don’t care about her job, but I do care about you.”

  Zane didn’t reply right away. He was angry with Ella for interfering, but he was also angry at himself. He was pathetic. He longed for Dina beyond reason. She’d left him—walked away. He should be over her. Should of, would of, could of, was a game he knew all too well. He wished he’d been able to make her feel safe with him. She’d run because she didn’t think he could keep her safe and protect the city. Sometimes he wished he’d just walked away from being a vigilante. When he saw how much people needed him he knew he’d done the right thing, even if it’d cost him everything.

  “Zane?” Ella’s voice had softened.

  “Yeah.” His hadn’t.

  “Call her.”

  Ella hung up the phone. He looked down at his contact list for a while before scrolling to her name. Her Facebook page profile picture popped up. He smiled. She was hugging her cat and making the fat, marmalade-colored creature wave at the camera. His heart swelled. He just couldn’t hate her. He’d tried.

  Zane clenched the fist that wasn’t holding his phone. “What the fuck?” he mumbled, then hit send.

  “Zane? Oh God, I didn’t say what they made it look like I said,” Dina rambled quickly.

  “I know.”

  “Ella?”

  “Yeah.”

  She was quiet and so was he. He thought he heard her mumble the words “meddling brat”, but he wasn’t sure. His lip quirked up at the side. Even pissed as hell, Dina had that effect on him. Damn it.

  “I’m still doing your show,” he finally said.

  “Zane, I don’t want you to do this anymore.”

  His heart beat wildly. He wanted the excuse to see her. “Why?”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’m superman. Remember?”

  She chuckled softly. “I… Thank you.”

  “Did they hurt you?” he asked with deadly serious vehemence.

  “No.” If she’d said yes, he’d have gone paparazzi hunting.

  “Good.”

  “I… It doesn’t matter. Goodnight, Zane.”

  He wondered what she was going to say, but didn’t push her. “Goodnight, Dina. Sleep well.”

  “After the day I had that won’t be a problem. Just promise me you won’t hate me when this is over.”

  As if he could. He’d tried hard to when she’d left. “I won’t,” he said confidently.

  “I’m glad. Goodnight.” The line went dead.

  He sat for a long time in the dim light looking at her picture while wishing like hell he could hate her. There was a cry in the distance. He stepped out of the shadows. His work wasn’t done for the night.

  * * * *

  Dina came into the office early and began working right away. As soon as it was an acceptable hour, she began to call her ten contestants with details about the filming. Her plan was to assemble them to sign the many forms and explain what they could expect as contestants. Her day was spent making calls and arrangements, and her focus was so complete she didn’t see Zane when he poofed into her office. Glancing up, she gave a startled shriek when she saw him sitting in a chair across from her desk..

  He didn’t look too happy.

  “What’s going on?”

  Zane said nothing. It was extra annoying because he’d chosen to come to her. Why show up, if he wasn’t going to talk? He should’ve stayed away. Dina looked at him for a long time. Her desk phone rang, but she ignored it.

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

  “No, this is more important. What is making you so angry right now?”

  He sighed and ran his fingers through his thick hair, pushing it back away from his face. Dina made a mental note to make sure he got a haircut before filming began. She liked his hair like it was, but his image required him to be clean cut, and shaggy hair would never work. Seeing him as a product made her inwardly cringe. As much as she wanted this show to be a success she hoped, deep down, he was there to tell her he wasn’t doing this anymore.

  Zane’s voice was raw when he spoke. “Have you seen the paper? I love the front page article about how you met me when I saved you from a burning building. When was that again?”

  She gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”

  He handed her The Diamond Gazette. The thing was a rag. In her opinion, it was unworthy of lining a birdcage. She unfolded it and gasped. There was a big article with a full color picture. It was full of lies about how he’d saved her life during the fire that claimed Aaron’s life. Worse, the story stated that she’d consoled him after he’d lost his comrade and that’s when he’d spilled his tale of woe and loneliness. Bridget would be pissed as hell.

  “I had nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with this.”

  His eyebrow rose and so did her temper.

  “You know me better than anyone, even better than my sister, how could you think I would say this crap?”

  His silence only added gasoline to her fiery rage. Someone in Public Relations was going to lose their job—if not their ass—for this. She was ready to march down there and start knocking heads together.

  “At least this will guarantee they’ll all want to comfort you after reading this garbage. You’ll have a nice selection to choose from, promise. I picked them myself.”

  * * * *

  Zane didn’t want any interesting women. He wanted Dina. But he didn’t tell her that.

  They sat in silence for a moment, then Zane spoke from his heart. “Di, I know that things have been different for you, and you’ve worked hard to carve a life out for yourself and be successful in your career. I just hope it hasn’t changed who you are.” He watched her face turn red and wasn’t sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. “You’re the most special woman I’ve ever known. I can’t stand by and watch you lose yourself to this hype-filled, corrupt, careless world yo
u’ve immersed yourself in. Is this really what you want...this job?”

  “I’m not like the rest of you. I don’t have a higher calling. I’m ordinary. I’ve been able to claw my way into my current place at the network with nothing but that ordinariness. I just can’t give it up. I have nothing else.” She frowned.

  “You have me. You have your sister. You have Bridget. She could have really used your support when we lost Aaron. I just wish you could see what you do have.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. She looked down at his hand, but the frown didn’t leave her face.

  “I don’t have any of you anymore, and you know it. I’m nothing but a danger to you all, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you died or were hurt because of me—any of you. So please, don’t talk like I can step back into the past. We can’t ever have the old days back.”

  “We can have today, and tomorrow, and make a new life together.” He squeezed the hand he held. She tried to pull hers away, but he held on tightly.

  “Zane, please don’t do this again. We’ve had this conversation before, and you know my answer already. What are you going to do about your job? Filming will take at least five hours of your day and possibly a few hours each night. For the contestants it’ll be twenty-four-seven, but for you I’ll be able to scale it down to the essential interactions between you and the contestants. We should be able to begin on the sixteenth. I’ll let you know if that changes. If you’re going to keep poofing in here, do it in your costume. I don’t want your identity to be uncovered because you’re helping me. I don’t want anyone connecting Mind Man and Zane Blair with each other.”

  “Can you really watch me date strange women?” he asked. He held his breath in anticipation of her response.

  “It’ll be Mind Man dating the women, not Zane Blair. I’d only be jealous if Zane went on the dates.”