by Newbiel
It was true, now that he had the President as support and he had recruited Lina and Scott in his team, a mountain of work was waiting for him. He needed to supervise the work being done to the bomb shelter underneath Lyndon tower and coordinate with a defense contractor to install every security measure he had in mind. After that there was recruiting the rest of the team, some of whom were not even in the US which implied long distance travel. And finally training them to become what he had in mind. There was no way in hell he would go into hostile territory without people trained and knowing each other. It was much easier to simply shoot himself in the head, and a more direct way to die.
"Nathaniel, can I speak with you for a moment in private, please?" Maggie asked.
"Of course, excuse us for a moment please Marc." Nathaniel said.
"No problem, take all the time you want."
Getting a little afar, Maggie did not lose time.
"What the hell are you doing?" She asked, clearly pissed off.
"Telling the truth, that's why. I barely have time these days to even see my mothers and it's because we are living under the same roof. I don't have the time to do another movie right now Maggie and you know it." Nathaniel answered calmly.
"I know that but don't you realize what an amazing opportunity this is? It could set you for life!"
"What do you mean?" Nathaniel asked, surprised.
"Did you not watch Avengers, the movie? It kind of broke all records in the box office." She questioned.
"No, I did not watch it but I saw a couple of pictures of the movie. It was with Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk. No SpiderMan."
"It's because the movie was not out at that time! Do you not read Marvel comics? Spider Man is a member of the Avengers!"
"No, I never read comics, don't like it. I prefer real, good books." Nathaniel said.
Maggie just gaped at him, trying to form words with her mouth but failing each time. The whole incident seemed to have pissed her off even more and she almost growled the last part.
"Listen, normally I would let you decide as it's your life, I get paid anyway but this time this is too important. If you deny that once in a lifetime opportunity, I promise you I'm going to shove my foot so far up you ass that you are going to taste my socks on your tongue! And after that, I will quit!"
Nathaniel almost wanted to laugh at the threat but the glint in Maggie's eyes told him it would go very poorly. He also realized something else looking at the expression on her face.
"Wait, you are serious? You really would quit if I were to turn down that offer?" Nathaniel asked, surprised.
"Of course I am! If you are dumb enough to let that offer pass, I will leave you without any remorse. I don't have time to work with retarded people." She said fiercely.
That made Nathaniel pause. In ordinary times he would never let himself be given an ultimatum but in this case it concerned Maggie. She was the reason he could juggle between being a singer/actor and being a college student. Without her, his life would be in an ever more turmoil than if he were to take the gig. And he did know her, she would never force him to do something against his will if there was not a very good reason to do so.
"Okay I will accept the role but it's going to seriously mess with the plans I made for the next year so make them pay when signing the contract. At least, I would have a little money to move along some things."
"Oh, don't worry about that, they will pay alright." She said with a creepy, sadistic smile that made him shiver. He was really glad right now that he would not be in the room when they were discussing about money.
"Alright, let's go back." Nathaniel sighed.
"So?" Marc asked, seeing them moving in his direction.
"I will take the role. It will seriously mess with my life but my agent convinced me it was for the best. I just hope she's right."
"I promise you, she is and you are making the right choice here Nathaniel. The studio will be thrilled that I finally found my main actor. Expect things to move fast, maybe even before the next year. You should also start training to boost your agility and your strength. You will need to do some stunts."
"Don't worry about this, I'm good." Nathaniel said.
"Excuse me?"
"I do Parkour every morning and I'm fit physically." Nathaniel explained.
"You will need to be evaluated by my stunt guy but if what you said is true, that could move forward our planning even more. You are really the man for the job." Marc said excitedly.
Nathaniel could only sigh quietly.
Chapter 116: :
"You were awfully quiet all the way back sweetie." Mary remarked.
After talking for a while with Marc he agreed to come see him the next day in the studio to meet with his stunt guy while Maggie was going to discuss the money with the director and the studio representative. It was going to be a really tough conversation and with the instruction he gave Maggie, the two men had no idea what was coming to them but Nathaniel was sure of one thing, he was very glad to miss that particular meeting.
After that, he had passed the rest of the night thinking about moving and rearranging his schedule to take into consideration the shooting of the movie. He would need help to deal with a couple of issues but he had an idea of whom to call for help. Still, it was a pain that he had to mess with all of what he had scheduled for the last few months.
Now they had come back to the hotel where he and his mothers had one suite and his grandparents had the same one, just beside them. These two particular suites were richly decorated and the food was amazing too. He did not even want to imagine how much they cost for a night. Even if he himself was wealthy, he was still not accustomed to see so much opulence. When he was in DC, he had picked a simple room in a good hotel as he did not see a purpose to blow money for the sake of blowing money. It did not make any sense to him.
"Sorry about that mom." Nathaniel excused himself.
"What is going on and who was the man you and Maggie were talking to?" Karine asked.
"His name is Marc Webb, he's a film director. He wanted me to be the main actor in his next movie."
"What did you say?" Mary asked.
"I had to say yes." Nathaniel sighed.
"Had to?" Karine picked on.
"Yes, Maggie threatened to quit if I were to not take the job. I had no choice, really."
"I know Maggie is overbearing sometimes but strong arming you into doing something you did not want to do does not sound like her sweetie. What is the role in question?" Karine asked.
"I'm going to be the next SpiderMan mom."
Hearing that, both women stopped what they were doing and just gaped at him. Exchanging a stare, the two women explode in laughter. Looking at them, saying that Nathaniel was surprised was to put it mildly. He had expected many reactions but laughter was not among them.
"What is going on?" He asked.
"Oh come on sweetie! You really haven't thought about this?" Karine said between bouts of laughter. "Among all the young actors in this country, it had to be you to incarnate a character with a secret life. That's rich."
"I did not think of this." Nathaniel said dumbfounded. He had neglected that part of the story, too focused on his schedule.
"You were really going to turn down being SpiderMan? Are you crazy!?" Mary shouted.
"I did not know it was so important! You know I never liked comics and so never read about Iron Man, SpiderMan and the likes!" Nathaniel defended.
Even Marc's memories inside of him could not help him in this case as he was a huge fan of the DC Universe and was snobbing Marvel because of it. He never understood why people liking one needed to snob the other but it was not the time to dwell into that topic.
"We are not good mothers, we failed to educate him in the simple things." Karine said, shaking her head.
"I believe you are right love, we need to teach him everything he needs to know about MCU. Our reputation as mothers depend on it." Mary nodded gravely.
>
At first, Nathaniel thought his mothers were messing with him to point out his lack of knowledge, it turned out he was wrong when they made him sit down and started giving him a lecture to know everything he needed to know about the Marvel Universe, going so far as showing some movies. That night, all three of them got to their bed very late.
*****
Hollywood. 22/11/2012. 16:30.
"Wow, you look like hell came down on you." Kyle Minoda said chuckling, walking inside Marc Webb's office.
Raising his head from his screen and seeing who had talked, Marc slumped even more in his chair.
"You don't know how apt your analogy is. I just passed three hours in a room with the most ferocious and vicious woman I ever met where she squeezed us out of all that she could. Please, tell me the kid is worth it because if he's not, we are fu**ed."
"I put him through some basic agility moves and he passed them like they were not even there. So I upped the difficulty until it was so high that even my stunt guy would need several attempts to pass it and he still breezed through it. That kid is unbelievable. If he were not already an actor, I would try to hire him as a stuntman. You made an unbelievable find you lucky bastard."
"Please, tell me you are not joking with me right now."
"No, this is one hundred percent legit. That kid is a monster." Kyle reassured his friend.
"Thank god, finally good news. You said he was good, do you believe he can pull off what we discussed without needing someone to take his place?"
"With a little work, yes, no problem but the studio will not agree to this. If he were to injure himself that could be a potential nightmare for the movie and for the responsibility of the studio. And even if they agree, his agent would insist on a risk bonus in case of injury." Kyle said, happy to notice the terrified expression on his face.
"Oh no, please no. I don't want to see that woman ever again." Marc lamented. "But it would certainly be a plus to the authenticity of the movie and it could reduce our budget in special effects." He started to think out loud.
"Fu**it, we are going to do this but I'm sure as hell I would not be in that meeting room again with her. I'm going to send one of my assistants in my stead. I'm sending Edward, that fu**er keeps saying shit behind my back, it is time for him to pay." Marc chuckled darkly, Kyle joining along. He too was not a big fan of that pretentious assistant.
"Yeah, I agree that shithead had that coming."
"What did you think about the kid?" Marc asked.
"He's nice but there is steel in him, I could tell. He's confident but not arrogant or overbearing in any way. He was listening to my advice when passing the block and barrier but kept enough free will to adapt on a second notice. It was scary how fast he could adapt, I have never seen the like in my career." Kyle said with awe in his voice.
"I'm not that surprised by the steel part. His grandfather and mothers have that reputation and they are not the type of people you want to piss off, especially concerning family matters. For the rest, this is a good surprise. I was right to trust Jillian experience and advice." Marc nodded, satisfied.
"Yeah, you did good finding that kid." Kyle complimented him.
"When will we be ready to start shooting?"
"Not before next year I'm afraid. Early january is the earliest we can have based on the studio availability."
"Good enough I guess." Marc nodded once. The more he was thinking of his lead actor, the more he thought he needed to adjust the script to Nathaniel strength. He would need to talk about it with his writer.
Chapter 117: :
New York. Central Park. 24/11/2012. 07:45.
"Come on Katty! Run faster!" Nathaniel shouted, running ahead of her.
Not bothering to answer to save her energy, Katty just put everything that she had in her leg, trying to pass him but it was to no avail. Each time that she had upped the pace, he had done it too, keeping himself just at her reach but far enough to show her he was leading the race. That was infuriating her to no end and so she was giving her everything to try to pass him. In her mind, Nathaniel was turning slowly into a dragon that she needed to slay.
They were not racing like that often, sometimes they were just jogging calmly, talking about everything that came to their minds but when they were racing, their competitive nature was showing for everyone to see. They were not the only ones to jog in Central Park even at that hour on a saturday but they were the only one who could run this fast and this long.
Passing the finish line that was designated by a bush and a three, Katty slump on the ground, completely exhausted and soaked in sweat. Nathaniel did not let her be still on the ground and brought her to her feet.
"Don't do that! Start stretching or you are going to be sore tomorrow." Nathaniel said.
"I hate you!" Katty shouted resentfully but still doing what she was told, following Nathaniel in his stretching exercise.
"This is not nice of you to say Katty. I'm hurt inside you know." Nathaniel said with mock chagrin.
"You are not even breathing heavily anymore! I win track tournaments more easily than I do running with you. This is so infuriating."
"Come on, don't be a sore loser like that. Let's walk to a coffee shop, I'm buying."
"You better be." She grumbled.
Walking side by side outside of Central Park, they took a seat at their usual coffee shop and ordered two oranges juice. As a student athlete for the NCAA, Katty was paying attention to what she was eating and drinking to keep her body in peak physical condition. Nathaniel on this part had to have his body in perfect condition to be able to use the power of his soul on his body without risking long lasting injury. He even had to drop eating pizza to stay healthy, that was one of the hardest decisions he had to make in his lifetime.
"No but seriously, why are you not in our track team? Our male team really sucked, with you in it you could bring trophee to our school and with that up our ranking." Katty asks.
"Yeah it sounds good on paper but did you read the contract you are forced to sign to enter into the NCAA? They exerce a stupid amount of control over their players, some of these close are even anti constitutional. Sorry but not sorry, I like my freedom more than I like trophees."
"Wait, you really read that manual? It's almost five hundred pages long!" Katty said, astonished.
"Katty, I'm a law student. Trust me when I say this is not the hardest thing I had to read. The thing that is more concerning is you, signing a contract without even knowing what you sign." Nathaniel shakes his head.
"Nobody ever read that manual before signing." Katty tries to justify herself weakly.
"Yeah, they're counting on that. They figured out the ugly truth about America. If you want to do something evil, put it inside something boring. Do you even know that the term 'Student Athlete' their using was crafted by the NCAA as a means to not give you any salary and not pay for your medical bills if you were to hurt yourself on the field?" Nathaniel explained.
"Really? That's fu**ed up! Why does nobody do anything to fix that?" She asks with indignation.
"Because the NCAA is an extremely wealthy and influential organisation. The ones who can change things won't and the one who want can't. The system is rigged, there is nothing new about that. That's why I'm a law student, I want to change things once I'm a lawyer." Nathaniel said with conviction.
Looking at him right now, full of determination, Nathaniel was looking even more handsome than usual as a new side of him was shown to light. That also reminded Katty that she needed to talk to him about something.
"Nathaniel, listen. I'm sorry to ruin the mood but we need to talk about Madison."
The reaction of Nathaniel hearing that name was light but still there. His eyes and demeanor turn completely neutral, emotionless.
"No, we really do not."
"I'm sorry but yes, we do. She's doing badly since you guys broke up. She stopped going to class, did not party anymore and just stayed in her room all day crying. It got
so bad that her mother came to pick her up yesterday and she took a leave of absence from Columbia. I know what she did is shitty to put it mildly but you should talk to her, that could help both of you to move on."
"Listen Katty, I know you are trying to help but there is no way this is going to happen. I'm done with her. She made her choice and now I made mine." He said in a slightly cold voice.
"Nathaniel, she made a mistake and now she regrets it! Trust me, I saw her cry all the tears that she had in her body all day long for almost a week as you were not answering her calls or text. I know you are kind and caring, I'm just asking you to talk. Nothing more."
"You do not understand what you are asking Katty. A few hours before I found her kissing another man, we were talking about doing something together for my birthday!" Nathaniel shouted, gathering a couple of stares from the other clients.
Seeing the expression of surprise followed by consternation, Nathaniel continued.
"Now you get it. I'm born on the first of December. I got cheated on two weeks before my birthday. Yes, I'm all of what you said except in case of betrayal and in that case all disappear. What she did to me was the most despicable thing imaginable." He said, a tinge of emotion in his voice.
"I had no idea Nathaniel, I'm so so sorry." Katty apologized.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it. If I can just ask you one thing. Do not bring the topic again, okay?"
"No problem, I will not mention it again." Katty promised.
After they had parted ways, Nathaniel was still thinking about what his friend had told him. He had been honest with her, after what Madison had done, he had completely forgotten about her. In fact, he was treating her as she was a stranger now, the little affection that he had for her had vanished like it had never existed in the first place.
He had never received the calls and text as he had blocked her on his phone the same night they had broken up and he had no remorse for having done so. That was better like this anyway. He had no time any more for girls, good things, great things were coming and he needed to prepare for that.
