Movie Magic - Chapter 3: Not Just A River In Egypt
Title: Movie Magic
Author: LaughtersMelody
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Dark Angel
Disclaimer: It’s still not mine, but my birthday is coming up soon…maybe, someone will be generous? *looks hopeful*
Genre: Romance/Humor/Mystery/Action
Pairing: Max/Alec
Type: Multi-chapter
Spoilers: Takes place sometime after “Love Among The Runes,” but before “Freak Nation.”
Characters: Max, Alec, Logan
Secondary Characters: OCs
Summary: Max and Alec go undercover on a movie set, and things get…complicated.
A/N: This chapter was actually as far as I had gotten on the fic until about a month or two ago. Then I wound up getting sick, and didn't feel well enough to do much, but writing turned out to be a great distraction. Who knows, maybe if I hadn't gotten sick, I wouldn't have the story finished now. It just goes to show that the Lord can use anything for good. :)
I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!
~*~*~*~*~
Movie Magic
Three days.
They’d been on the set for three days. Three very long, very frustrating days.
The message Logan had found was, so far, a dead end, and the other searches they’d managed to do of Malone’s trailer hadn’t turned up anything else.
It wasn’t the first time a mission hadn’t gone down as planned -- actually, that was pretty much the norm. Missions that went off without a hitch were usually the exceptions to the rule. But that didn’t mean Max had to like it.
She sighed, leaning back in the rickety chair she’d claimed, and tried to focus on the script in her lap. It didn’t work. Glaring down at the pages in front of her, Max burrowed deeper into her jacket. It was a pretty warm day, considering, but it was still a far cry from summer weather, and her costume didn’t help. She’d been able to ditch the pink waitress’s outfit the day before, thankfully, but now she was stuck in a sundress with sunflowers plastered all over it. Why they’d picked a sundress when it was September, and they were in Canada, she had no idea.
Alec’s costume -- of course -- was layered, a long-sleeve shirt with a button-up over that and a leather jacket. He didn’t seem cold at all, and he actually looked good. How unfair was that?
Realizing she’d gotten lost in her thoughts again, Max forced her attention back to the script. A genetically-enhanced memory wouldn’t do her any good if she couldn’t concentrate. But just when she thought she’d finally cleared her head enough to actually read what was in front of her, a feminine laugh made her look up, and she scowled.
Alec was standing across the set talking to Teresa, and Teresa was laughing at whatever Alec had just said.
Teresa. Little miss “hot” actress. Max snorted. Yeah, right. She wasn’t so great. So what if she wasn’t stuck up at all? So what if she seemed like a genuinely nice, friendly person? Max still didn’t like her. Alec did, though, and had been flirting with her for the last three days straight. And Teresa flirted right back. It was pathetic. Not that Max cared. As long as Alec had the sense not to flirt with Teresa in front of Logan, he could do whatever he wanted.
Teresa laughed again, and pushed Alec playfully, shaking her head.
Okay, that’s it, Max thought. Before she knew it, she’d stood up, and was stalking across the set towards them.
“Hey, Brian,” she called.
Alec turned, an eyebrow quirking questioningly.
“What’s up?”
“I wanted to ask if we could run lines.” She motioned to the script in her hand, and managed a tight smile at Teresa.
Alec nodded.
“Sure.”
He told Teresa he’d see her later, and Max grit her teeth. She relaxed a little as he fell in step beside her.
“So, what’s the real reason you wanted to talk to me?” Alec asked when they were out of ear-shot. “Did Logan find something?”
Max’s mouth opened and closed a few times, her mind racing to think of an excuse. Not that she needed one, because she’d had a perfectly good reason for getting Alec away from Teresa. She just…wasn’t totally sure what that was yet.
Thinking fast, Max managed a nonchalant shrug. “We’ve got a couple hours to kill. I figured we could look around again, try to find something useful.”
“Sounds good to me. Where do you wanna start?”
Max paused, mentally going over what they’d learned, trying to come up with an idea that didn’t sound as spur-of-the-moment as it was.
“You said you think you figured out the guard rotation, right?” she asked eventually.
Alec nodded again.
He’d spent most of the last couple nights gathering intel, watching the guards around the parameter. When Max had asked why he was suddenly all “Mr. Responsible,” he’d said that he’d gotten tired of listening to Logan snore.
She hadn’t asked if there was more to it than that, because she didn’t want to think about the tension between Logan and Alec. This was her drama, and Alec, for once, hadn’t actually done anything to deserve Logan’s attitude. Not that she could really blame Logan for feeling the way he did, either.
“And the guards come from the north?” she continued, forcing her train of thought back on-track.
“North, north-west. I’m pretty sure there’s a road up that way, but I haven’t gotten close enough to look.”
It was Max’s turn to nod. That made sense. After all, the guards had to come from somewhere, and there was no way Malone was hiding forty guards on set. That meant they had to have a base of operations somewhere nearby. Problem was, actually getting to that base would be risky, and she had a feeling they weren’t going to figure out what Malone was up to until they did. So, chances were, they were gonna be stuck on the set for a while. Just great.
Worse yet, she still hadn’t figured out what to tell Alec now, and he was starting too look at her funny. She was just about to ask him if he had any ideas -- yeah, so, she was desperate -- when she heard it.
Voices.
And one of them sounded angry.
She glanced at Alec, and he nodded. He’d heard it, too.
Max folded up her script and shoved it in her pocket -- at least the stupid dress had pockets -- and moved closer. Alec followed behind her. They stuck to the shadows in case anybody happened to be watching, but thankfully, this part of the set was quiet, and the trailers were good cover. It didn’t take long to get near enough to see what was going on.
Malone and Skip were standing in front of Skip’s trailer, Malone’s face twisted into a scowl as he stared down at the director.
“I want to know what’s taking so long,” he growled.
“Mr. Malone, sir, with all due respect,” Skip started, looking pale and nervous under the other man’s glare, “we’ve already doubled the shooting schedule. We’re almost caught up. In another week-”
“You don’t have another week. You’ve got five days. Five days. Any longer than that, and I’ll scrap the project.”
“Sir-”
“You’ve got a family, right…wife, kids?”
If it was possible, Skip got even paler.
“Y-yes, I do, but-”
“And you want to get paid, don’t you? If I scrap the project, your pay goes with it to cover costs. It’s in your contract.” Malone smiled coldly. “You don’t want me to scrap the project, now, do you Skip?”
“N-no, sir.”
“Then in five days, I can expect to have a finished film?”
Skip nodded adamantly.
“Yes, Mr. Malone.”
“Now, that’s what I like to hear. I knew I could count on you, Skip.”
He slapped Skip on the shoulder, making the smaller man wince, and walked off. Skip sat down hard on the steps in front of his trailer and didn’t move.
“Well, Malone’s a shoe-in for producer of the year,” Alec muttered, still watching the shell-shocked director.
Max snorted.
“No kidding.” She frowned. “Question is…why does he wanna rush production? Movie gets made, he gets paid. What’s so important that he’d risk losing that much cash, and probably getting in hot water with the studio too?”
Alec shrugged.
“Don’t know. But whatever it is, we’ve got five days left to figure it out.”
Max nodded, thinking about how frustrated she’d been earlier. Well, at least now she didn’t have to worry about being stuck on the set for much longer.
Figuring they’d seen everything they were going to, she turned and started heading back the way they had come. Alec fell into step beside her. He didn’t say anything for once, which surprised her. She was even more surprised a second later, though, when his arm slipped around her shoulders.
She stiffened and tried to twist out of his grip, but Alec tightened his hold on her, tilting his head imperceptibly.
Max followed his gaze and immediately forced herself to relax. Malone was standing outside his trailer, watching them. Keeping up the act, she leaned into Alec’s side a little more, and tried not to squirm. It wasn’t uncomfortable…but that was the problem. It was actually kind of…nice.
Max blinked. She had not just thought that. She hadn’t.
Had she?
“I knew it. You do like me!”
Max froze.
“W-what?” she managed.
Alec sighed.
“Let me guess, you forgot your line?”
Her line?
Max blinked again.
Oh, yeah. Right. Her line.
Alec was just following the script. Made sense, since that’s what they were supposed to be practicing.
Max tried to dredge up the next line from memory.
“I…I don’t like you,” she refused finally.
“Sure you do. You just don’t know it yet.”
This time, Max did shove him away -- she was actually supposed to do that so it didn’t look strange. She ignored the small pang she felt at the loss of warmth, and glared.
“You’re delusional,” she spat and stalked off.
A minute later, Alec appeared beside her again. She glanced at him questioningly.
“We’re clear,” he assured. “Malone went back inside.”
“Think he’s suspicious?”
“Yeah. But a guy like that is probably suspicious of everybody. As long as we stay out of his way, I don’t think he’ll pay much attention to us.”
Max nodded, feeling some of the tension drain out of her shoulders. If there was one thing they didn’t need, it was another complication. She started walking again, and she felt Alec’s eyes following her…but that was it. He hadn’t moved.
“What?” she demanded finally, turning back to face him.
Alec just looked at her, his gaze more scrutinizing than usual, like she was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. “You tell me. You’ve been acting weird the last few days.”
“I have not. I’m just…tired.”
“Tired,” Alec repeated.
Max glared at him again, this time for real.
“Yeah, tired. It happens,” she defended. “Besides,” she sneered, “checked yourself out in a mirror lately? You look like you’ve got raccoon DNA.”
Alec shrugged.
“Maybe, but I’ve got Mr. You-Stole-My-Girlfriend as a roommate. Like I said, he snores. What’s your excuse?”
Before Max could come up with an answer -- and what was it with people interrupting her today? -- Teresa’s annoyingly cheerful greeting cut her off.
“Melissa! Brian!” she called, running up. “I’m glad I caught you. We’ve still got an hour before filming starts, and I thought I’d grab some lunch. Do you guys wanna come with me?”
Max gave her a thin smile.
“No, but thanks anyway.”
Teresa turned to Alec. “What about you?”
“Lunch sounds good to me.”
Oh, of course it does, Max thought, aggravated. We finally get somewhere with this stupid mission, and Alec wants to take off. Typical.
Teresa hesitated, biting her lip.
“You’re sure you don’t want to come with us, Melissa?” she asked.
Like I’d want to spend my lunch watching Alec flirt with you. I’m nauseated enough already.
“I’m sure,” Max said aloud.
Alec glanced at Max as if to say, “have it your way,” and turned to Teresa, giving her his most charming smile.
“After you,” he said with a flourish.
Teresa laughed, and they walked off together, probably headed for the picnic tables that doubled as the crew’s cafeteria. Max watched them go, trying to ignore the irritation she felt. Yeah, Alec had ditched her, but Teresa had invited her too, and she’d said no. Besides, Logan wasn’t around, so there wasn’t any reason for Alec to play the loyal boyfriend. He could do whatever he wanted, with whoever he wanted.
Glaring at Alec’s retreating back, Max turned, and started for the set again. This time, she actually made it. She knew she should really find Logan and tell him what they’d learned, but she just didn’t feel like dealing with him right now.
Logan could wait.
She took her wrinkled script out of her pocket, and sat back down in the chair she’d claimed earlier. Might as well make sure she actually had the thing memorized.
Her eyes unconsciously fell on the section Alec had picked to play out for Malone’s benefit.
“I don’t like you,” she muttered under her breath.
And she didn’t.
She didn’t like Alec at all.
Really.
~*~*~*~*~
“You okay?”
Teresa’s question was enough to pull him from his thoughts, and Alec blinked, looking up from the weathered picnic table and his half-eaten lunch.
“What?”
“You just look like you have something on your mind,” she explained.
Alec sighed. Teresa was right, sort of. He did have something on his mind. Or someone, anyway. He just couldn’t figure out what Max’s problem was. She’d been acting weird for the last few days, and it was bugging him enough that he’d actually called her on it. Not that it had done much good.
He could usually snap her out of it when she got like this -- even if it did earn him a few more bruises -- but, then, Logan and their on-again, off-again relationship was usually the reason for her bad mood, so that made it pretty easy.
This time was different somehow though, and Alec wasn’t sure what to do.
“Earth to Brian?”
Alec blinked again. He really had to stop doing that.
“Sorry,” he apologized, automatically giving her an easy smile. “You’re just so beautiful I can’t concentrate.”
Teresa stared at him for a second and then snorted, rolling her eyes. “Wow, that was cheesy. Where did you dig up that line from?”
“Hey, I happen to like that line,” he defended. And he did. It was apparently great for distracting beautiful actresses when they caught you thinking about your irritable pretend-girlfriend.
Teresa just smiled, shaking her head at him, and took a bite of her sandwich. The silence that followed was comfortable, and Alec let himself relax a little.
“So,” he asked finally, wanting to change the subject and figuring now was as good a time as any to bring it up, “do you know what the deal is with all the guards?”
“I take it you mean all the military guys?”
Alec nodded.
“I’m not really sure. Mr. Malone said something about there being threats made against the movie, so he hired extra security.”
“Kind of over-kill, don’t you think?”
Teresa shrugged.
“I guess. But better safe than sorry, you know? And after he moved the set, he probably didn’t want to take any chances.”
“Wait a minute, he fired the lead actors and moved the set too?”
That didn’t sound like something a smart producer usually did. And Alec was pretty sure that Malone wasn’t stupid.
Teresa nodded.
“Yeah, Mr. Malone insisted that the other location wasn’t ‘rural’ enough. But my agent told me that he’s managed to keep it pretty quiet. He didn’t want the studio to worry about budget issues. Makes me wonder where he found the money, though. Moving everything and everybody that far couldn’t have been cheap.” Teresa shrugged. “I’m not complaining. I was cast early, and I was on location when he announced the move, so I’m getting paid extra for travel.”
“Where was the set supposed to be originally?”
“A few miles outside of what used to be Winnipeg, before the Pulse.”
Alec frowned, going over the geography in his head. Considering that they were at the foot of the Canadian Rockies, that was pretty far.
He was tempted to push a littler more, see if Teresa knew anything else about what was going on, but he didn’t want to risk making her suspicious.
“Winnipeg,” he said instead. “Can’t say I’ve seen it. What it’s like?”
Pretty soon, they were trading stories about the places their careers had taken them. Alec didn’t even have to lie, he just…edited the facts a little. So what if Manticore hadn’t sent him to Russia to film a movie? He’d still been there.
He was just about to impress Teresa by speaking a few words in Russian, when he spotted Skip’s PA, Amy, coming towards them.
“Teresa!” she called, hurrying over to their table. “Skip asked me to find you. He decided to start early, and he wants to do a run-through with you before they set up the next shot.”
Teresa nodded.
“Thanks, Amy. I’ll be right there.”
The busy production assistant headed off, and Teresa turned back to Alec, offering him a smile. “Duty calls,” she said, pushing herself up from the picnic table. “See you later.” She paused. “That is, unless, you and Melissa already have plans.”
Alec almost choked on his sandwich. He hadn’t seen one that coming.
He forced himself to swallow and cleared his throat. “Why would Melissa and I have plans?” he asked, managing to sound casual.
Teresa arched an eyebrow at him.
“Because for someone you just work with, she seems awfully upset that we’ve been hanging out so much.”
Alec grimaced. She’d noticed that, huh?
He thought about saying that they used to date and Max was a jealous ex, but decided against it. No telling what Max would do if she found out. He went the safer route instead.
“Look, it’s not what you’re thinking. Melissa and her boyfriend called things off a couple months ago,” he explained, leaving out the fact the he was her pretend-replacement. “It was a bad break-up. She’s been biting everybody’s head off ever since.”
“Really?”
He nodded, and Teresa studied him for a long moment, frowning. A minute later, though, she relaxed, apparently willing to accept the story.
“So,” she said finally, “Melissa won’t mind if I ask you to have dinner with me tonight?”
Alec grinned. “She might, but I don’t.”
Teresa smiled back.
“8:00, same picnic table?”
“Sounds good to me.”
Teresa’s smiled grew, and she winked at him before turning and walking in the direction of the set.
Alec didn’t let himself lose the grin until she was gone. Man, that had been close.
He didn’t mind playing Max’s boyfriend for Logan -- well, he did, but he was willing to go along with it. Teresa was different though, and he didn’t plan on letting her think he was already taken. Besides, “Melissa” and “Brian” were supposed to be coworkers, nothing else. Changing their story now would only attract attention they didn’t need.
But, at least it wasn’t all bad. He’d gotten some new intel they could use, plus the added bonus of a date, and if anybody else noticed Max’s attitude, he could just give them the same story he’d given Teresa.
Alec frowned.
Max’s attitude…
That was the weird part. Max had always been on his case about the women he went after, sure, but, well…if he didn’t know better, he’d think Max really was jealous.
He snorted.
Right. Sure. Max was jealous, and Logan was gonna swear-off pasta and pre-pulse wine for life.
The funny thing was, though, even if by some wild stretch of the imagination Max actually felt that way, she didn’t have anything to be jealous of.
Yeah, he liked Teresa. She was just as hot in person as she was on screen, she had a good sense of humor, and she appreciated the fine art of flirting. It wasn’t like he was gonna turn down a date with her. But, strange as it sounded -- especially coming from him -- he wasn’t really interested. She just…
Isn’t Max, some part of his brain unhelpfully supplied.
Alec almost groaned out loud.
It wasn’t the first time he’d caught himself comparing a woman to Max. It had just been happening more and more lately. He’d brushed it off at first. After all, he spent more time with her than just about anyone else, at work, at Crash, on missions, at TC… It made sense that he’d think about her a lot.
But then Max had started creeping into his thoughts at other times, too. Funny things would remind him of her -- like he’d see cherry lip gloss and think of her, ‘cause that was her favorite kind…and he hadn’t even realized he knew her favorite kind of lip gloss. Those moments he’d started writing off as some weird side-effect of Max declaring him her “boyfriend,” and Logan’s speech about “treating her right.”
But it was getting harder to ignore, the way his thoughts kept turning to her, and Alec wasn’t sure what to do about it, or even really why it was happening.
It wasn’t like he was interested in Max or anything. Yeah, he enjoyed taking a few cheap-shots at Logan sometimes, but that was just a little not-so-friendly rivalry…
Alec paused. Rivalry? Had he seriously just thought of Logan as his rival? Who was he kidding? Rival for what? Max’s affections? He snorted at the thought. Her idea of affection was to hit him upside the head. Why would he want to be with someone like that? No thanks. He was happy with things just the way they were. Well, okay, he could have done without the hitting part, but nothing was perfect.
Yep, he was absolutely fine with being Max’s…whatever he was right now.
He didn’t want things to change.
Really.
TBC…
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: The next chapter will be up soon. :)
Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
-Laughter
~*~*~*~*~
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |
~*~*~*~*~
Author: LaughtersMelody
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Dark Angel
Disclaimer: It’s still not mine, but my birthday is coming up soon…maybe, someone will be generous? *looks hopeful*
Genre: Romance/Humor/Mystery/Action
Pairing: Max/Alec
Type: Multi-chapter
Spoilers: Takes place sometime after “Love Among The Runes,” but before “Freak Nation.”
Characters: Max, Alec, Logan
Secondary Characters: OCs
Summary: Max and Alec go undercover on a movie set, and things get…complicated.
A/N: This chapter was actually as far as I had gotten on the fic until about a month or two ago. Then I wound up getting sick, and didn't feel well enough to do much, but writing turned out to be a great distraction. Who knows, maybe if I hadn't gotten sick, I wouldn't have the story finished now. It just goes to show that the Lord can use anything for good. :)
I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!
~*~*~*~*~
Movie Magic
Three days.
They’d been on the set for three days. Three very long, very frustrating days.
The message Logan had found was, so far, a dead end, and the other searches they’d managed to do of Malone’s trailer hadn’t turned up anything else.
It wasn’t the first time a mission hadn’t gone down as planned -- actually, that was pretty much the norm. Missions that went off without a hitch were usually the exceptions to the rule. But that didn’t mean Max had to like it.
She sighed, leaning back in the rickety chair she’d claimed, and tried to focus on the script in her lap. It didn’t work. Glaring down at the pages in front of her, Max burrowed deeper into her jacket. It was a pretty warm day, considering, but it was still a far cry from summer weather, and her costume didn’t help. She’d been able to ditch the pink waitress’s outfit the day before, thankfully, but now she was stuck in a sundress with sunflowers plastered all over it. Why they’d picked a sundress when it was September, and they were in Canada, she had no idea.
Alec’s costume -- of course -- was layered, a long-sleeve shirt with a button-up over that and a leather jacket. He didn’t seem cold at all, and he actually looked good. How unfair was that?
Realizing she’d gotten lost in her thoughts again, Max forced her attention back to the script. A genetically-enhanced memory wouldn’t do her any good if she couldn’t concentrate. But just when she thought she’d finally cleared her head enough to actually read what was in front of her, a feminine laugh made her look up, and she scowled.
Alec was standing across the set talking to Teresa, and Teresa was laughing at whatever Alec had just said.
Teresa. Little miss “hot” actress. Max snorted. Yeah, right. She wasn’t so great. So what if she wasn’t stuck up at all? So what if she seemed like a genuinely nice, friendly person? Max still didn’t like her. Alec did, though, and had been flirting with her for the last three days straight. And Teresa flirted right back. It was pathetic. Not that Max cared. As long as Alec had the sense not to flirt with Teresa in front of Logan, he could do whatever he wanted.
Teresa laughed again, and pushed Alec playfully, shaking her head.
Okay, that’s it, Max thought. Before she knew it, she’d stood up, and was stalking across the set towards them.
“Hey, Brian,” she called.
Alec turned, an eyebrow quirking questioningly.
“What’s up?”
“I wanted to ask if we could run lines.” She motioned to the script in her hand, and managed a tight smile at Teresa.
Alec nodded.
“Sure.”
He told Teresa he’d see her later, and Max grit her teeth. She relaxed a little as he fell in step beside her.
“So, what’s the real reason you wanted to talk to me?” Alec asked when they were out of ear-shot. “Did Logan find something?”
Max’s mouth opened and closed a few times, her mind racing to think of an excuse. Not that she needed one, because she’d had a perfectly good reason for getting Alec away from Teresa. She just…wasn’t totally sure what that was yet.
Thinking fast, Max managed a nonchalant shrug. “We’ve got a couple hours to kill. I figured we could look around again, try to find something useful.”
“Sounds good to me. Where do you wanna start?”
Max paused, mentally going over what they’d learned, trying to come up with an idea that didn’t sound as spur-of-the-moment as it was.
“You said you think you figured out the guard rotation, right?” she asked eventually.
Alec nodded again.
He’d spent most of the last couple nights gathering intel, watching the guards around the parameter. When Max had asked why he was suddenly all “Mr. Responsible,” he’d said that he’d gotten tired of listening to Logan snore.
She hadn’t asked if there was more to it than that, because she didn’t want to think about the tension between Logan and Alec. This was her drama, and Alec, for once, hadn’t actually done anything to deserve Logan’s attitude. Not that she could really blame Logan for feeling the way he did, either.
“And the guards come from the north?” she continued, forcing her train of thought back on-track.
“North, north-west. I’m pretty sure there’s a road up that way, but I haven’t gotten close enough to look.”
It was Max’s turn to nod. That made sense. After all, the guards had to come from somewhere, and there was no way Malone was hiding forty guards on set. That meant they had to have a base of operations somewhere nearby. Problem was, actually getting to that base would be risky, and she had a feeling they weren’t going to figure out what Malone was up to until they did. So, chances were, they were gonna be stuck on the set for a while. Just great.
Worse yet, she still hadn’t figured out what to tell Alec now, and he was starting too look at her funny. She was just about to ask him if he had any ideas -- yeah, so, she was desperate -- when she heard it.
Voices.
And one of them sounded angry.
She glanced at Alec, and he nodded. He’d heard it, too.
Max folded up her script and shoved it in her pocket -- at least the stupid dress had pockets -- and moved closer. Alec followed behind her. They stuck to the shadows in case anybody happened to be watching, but thankfully, this part of the set was quiet, and the trailers were good cover. It didn’t take long to get near enough to see what was going on.
Malone and Skip were standing in front of Skip’s trailer, Malone’s face twisted into a scowl as he stared down at the director.
“I want to know what’s taking so long,” he growled.
“Mr. Malone, sir, with all due respect,” Skip started, looking pale and nervous under the other man’s glare, “we’ve already doubled the shooting schedule. We’re almost caught up. In another week-”
“You don’t have another week. You’ve got five days. Five days. Any longer than that, and I’ll scrap the project.”
“Sir-”
“You’ve got a family, right…wife, kids?”
If it was possible, Skip got even paler.
“Y-yes, I do, but-”
“And you want to get paid, don’t you? If I scrap the project, your pay goes with it to cover costs. It’s in your contract.” Malone smiled coldly. “You don’t want me to scrap the project, now, do you Skip?”
“N-no, sir.”
“Then in five days, I can expect to have a finished film?”
Skip nodded adamantly.
“Yes, Mr. Malone.”
“Now, that’s what I like to hear. I knew I could count on you, Skip.”
He slapped Skip on the shoulder, making the smaller man wince, and walked off. Skip sat down hard on the steps in front of his trailer and didn’t move.
“Well, Malone’s a shoe-in for producer of the year,” Alec muttered, still watching the shell-shocked director.
Max snorted.
“No kidding.” She frowned. “Question is…why does he wanna rush production? Movie gets made, he gets paid. What’s so important that he’d risk losing that much cash, and probably getting in hot water with the studio too?”
Alec shrugged.
“Don’t know. But whatever it is, we’ve got five days left to figure it out.”
Max nodded, thinking about how frustrated she’d been earlier. Well, at least now she didn’t have to worry about being stuck on the set for much longer.
Figuring they’d seen everything they were going to, she turned and started heading back the way they had come. Alec fell into step beside her. He didn’t say anything for once, which surprised her. She was even more surprised a second later, though, when his arm slipped around her shoulders.
She stiffened and tried to twist out of his grip, but Alec tightened his hold on her, tilting his head imperceptibly.
Max followed his gaze and immediately forced herself to relax. Malone was standing outside his trailer, watching them. Keeping up the act, she leaned into Alec’s side a little more, and tried not to squirm. It wasn’t uncomfortable…but that was the problem. It was actually kind of…nice.
Max blinked. She had not just thought that. She hadn’t.
Had she?
“I knew it. You do like me!”
Max froze.
“W-what?” she managed.
Alec sighed.
“Let me guess, you forgot your line?”
Her line?
Max blinked again.
Oh, yeah. Right. Her line.
Alec was just following the script. Made sense, since that’s what they were supposed to be practicing.
Max tried to dredge up the next line from memory.
“I…I don’t like you,” she refused finally.
“Sure you do. You just don’t know it yet.”
This time, Max did shove him away -- she was actually supposed to do that so it didn’t look strange. She ignored the small pang she felt at the loss of warmth, and glared.
“You’re delusional,” she spat and stalked off.
A minute later, Alec appeared beside her again. She glanced at him questioningly.
“We’re clear,” he assured. “Malone went back inside.”
“Think he’s suspicious?”
“Yeah. But a guy like that is probably suspicious of everybody. As long as we stay out of his way, I don’t think he’ll pay much attention to us.”
Max nodded, feeling some of the tension drain out of her shoulders. If there was one thing they didn’t need, it was another complication. She started walking again, and she felt Alec’s eyes following her…but that was it. He hadn’t moved.
“What?” she demanded finally, turning back to face him.
Alec just looked at her, his gaze more scrutinizing than usual, like she was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. “You tell me. You’ve been acting weird the last few days.”
“I have not. I’m just…tired.”
“Tired,” Alec repeated.
Max glared at him again, this time for real.
“Yeah, tired. It happens,” she defended. “Besides,” she sneered, “checked yourself out in a mirror lately? You look like you’ve got raccoon DNA.”
Alec shrugged.
“Maybe, but I’ve got Mr. You-Stole-My-Girlfriend as a roommate. Like I said, he snores. What’s your excuse?”
Before Max could come up with an answer -- and what was it with people interrupting her today? -- Teresa’s annoyingly cheerful greeting cut her off.
“Melissa! Brian!” she called, running up. “I’m glad I caught you. We’ve still got an hour before filming starts, and I thought I’d grab some lunch. Do you guys wanna come with me?”
Max gave her a thin smile.
“No, but thanks anyway.”
Teresa turned to Alec. “What about you?”
“Lunch sounds good to me.”
Oh, of course it does, Max thought, aggravated. We finally get somewhere with this stupid mission, and Alec wants to take off. Typical.
Teresa hesitated, biting her lip.
“You’re sure you don’t want to come with us, Melissa?” she asked.
Like I’d want to spend my lunch watching Alec flirt with you. I’m nauseated enough already.
“I’m sure,” Max said aloud.
Alec glanced at Max as if to say, “have it your way,” and turned to Teresa, giving her his most charming smile.
“After you,” he said with a flourish.
Teresa laughed, and they walked off together, probably headed for the picnic tables that doubled as the crew’s cafeteria. Max watched them go, trying to ignore the irritation she felt. Yeah, Alec had ditched her, but Teresa had invited her too, and she’d said no. Besides, Logan wasn’t around, so there wasn’t any reason for Alec to play the loyal boyfriend. He could do whatever he wanted, with whoever he wanted.
Glaring at Alec’s retreating back, Max turned, and started for the set again. This time, she actually made it. She knew she should really find Logan and tell him what they’d learned, but she just didn’t feel like dealing with him right now.
Logan could wait.
She took her wrinkled script out of her pocket, and sat back down in the chair she’d claimed earlier. Might as well make sure she actually had the thing memorized.
Her eyes unconsciously fell on the section Alec had picked to play out for Malone’s benefit.
“I don’t like you,” she muttered under her breath.
And she didn’t.
She didn’t like Alec at all.
Really.
~*~*~*~*~
“You okay?”
Teresa’s question was enough to pull him from his thoughts, and Alec blinked, looking up from the weathered picnic table and his half-eaten lunch.
“What?”
“You just look like you have something on your mind,” she explained.
Alec sighed. Teresa was right, sort of. He did have something on his mind. Or someone, anyway. He just couldn’t figure out what Max’s problem was. She’d been acting weird for the last few days, and it was bugging him enough that he’d actually called her on it. Not that it had done much good.
He could usually snap her out of it when she got like this -- even if it did earn him a few more bruises -- but, then, Logan and their on-again, off-again relationship was usually the reason for her bad mood, so that made it pretty easy.
This time was different somehow though, and Alec wasn’t sure what to do.
“Earth to Brian?”
Alec blinked again. He really had to stop doing that.
“Sorry,” he apologized, automatically giving her an easy smile. “You’re just so beautiful I can’t concentrate.”
Teresa stared at him for a second and then snorted, rolling her eyes. “Wow, that was cheesy. Where did you dig up that line from?”
“Hey, I happen to like that line,” he defended. And he did. It was apparently great for distracting beautiful actresses when they caught you thinking about your irritable pretend-girlfriend.
Teresa just smiled, shaking her head at him, and took a bite of her sandwich. The silence that followed was comfortable, and Alec let himself relax a little.
“So,” he asked finally, wanting to change the subject and figuring now was as good a time as any to bring it up, “do you know what the deal is with all the guards?”
“I take it you mean all the military guys?”
Alec nodded.
“I’m not really sure. Mr. Malone said something about there being threats made against the movie, so he hired extra security.”
“Kind of over-kill, don’t you think?”
Teresa shrugged.
“I guess. But better safe than sorry, you know? And after he moved the set, he probably didn’t want to take any chances.”
“Wait a minute, he fired the lead actors and moved the set too?”
That didn’t sound like something a smart producer usually did. And Alec was pretty sure that Malone wasn’t stupid.
Teresa nodded.
“Yeah, Mr. Malone insisted that the other location wasn’t ‘rural’ enough. But my agent told me that he’s managed to keep it pretty quiet. He didn’t want the studio to worry about budget issues. Makes me wonder where he found the money, though. Moving everything and everybody that far couldn’t have been cheap.” Teresa shrugged. “I’m not complaining. I was cast early, and I was on location when he announced the move, so I’m getting paid extra for travel.”
“Where was the set supposed to be originally?”
“A few miles outside of what used to be Winnipeg, before the Pulse.”
Alec frowned, going over the geography in his head. Considering that they were at the foot of the Canadian Rockies, that was pretty far.
He was tempted to push a littler more, see if Teresa knew anything else about what was going on, but he didn’t want to risk making her suspicious.
“Winnipeg,” he said instead. “Can’t say I’ve seen it. What it’s like?”
Pretty soon, they were trading stories about the places their careers had taken them. Alec didn’t even have to lie, he just…edited the facts a little. So what if Manticore hadn’t sent him to Russia to film a movie? He’d still been there.
He was just about to impress Teresa by speaking a few words in Russian, when he spotted Skip’s PA, Amy, coming towards them.
“Teresa!” she called, hurrying over to their table. “Skip asked me to find you. He decided to start early, and he wants to do a run-through with you before they set up the next shot.”
Teresa nodded.
“Thanks, Amy. I’ll be right there.”
The busy production assistant headed off, and Teresa turned back to Alec, offering him a smile. “Duty calls,” she said, pushing herself up from the picnic table. “See you later.” She paused. “That is, unless, you and Melissa already have plans.”
Alec almost choked on his sandwich. He hadn’t seen one that coming.
He forced himself to swallow and cleared his throat. “Why would Melissa and I have plans?” he asked, managing to sound casual.
Teresa arched an eyebrow at him.
“Because for someone you just work with, she seems awfully upset that we’ve been hanging out so much.”
Alec grimaced. She’d noticed that, huh?
He thought about saying that they used to date and Max was a jealous ex, but decided against it. No telling what Max would do if she found out. He went the safer route instead.
“Look, it’s not what you’re thinking. Melissa and her boyfriend called things off a couple months ago,” he explained, leaving out the fact the he was her pretend-replacement. “It was a bad break-up. She’s been biting everybody’s head off ever since.”
“Really?”
He nodded, and Teresa studied him for a long moment, frowning. A minute later, though, she relaxed, apparently willing to accept the story.
“So,” she said finally, “Melissa won’t mind if I ask you to have dinner with me tonight?”
Alec grinned. “She might, but I don’t.”
Teresa smiled back.
“8:00, same picnic table?”
“Sounds good to me.”
Teresa’s smiled grew, and she winked at him before turning and walking in the direction of the set.
Alec didn’t let himself lose the grin until she was gone. Man, that had been close.
He didn’t mind playing Max’s boyfriend for Logan -- well, he did, but he was willing to go along with it. Teresa was different though, and he didn’t plan on letting her think he was already taken. Besides, “Melissa” and “Brian” were supposed to be coworkers, nothing else. Changing their story now would only attract attention they didn’t need.
But, at least it wasn’t all bad. He’d gotten some new intel they could use, plus the added bonus of a date, and if anybody else noticed Max’s attitude, he could just give them the same story he’d given Teresa.
Alec frowned.
Max’s attitude…
That was the weird part. Max had always been on his case about the women he went after, sure, but, well…if he didn’t know better, he’d think Max really was jealous.
He snorted.
Right. Sure. Max was jealous, and Logan was gonna swear-off pasta and pre-pulse wine for life.
The funny thing was, though, even if by some wild stretch of the imagination Max actually felt that way, she didn’t have anything to be jealous of.
Yeah, he liked Teresa. She was just as hot in person as she was on screen, she had a good sense of humor, and she appreciated the fine art of flirting. It wasn’t like he was gonna turn down a date with her. But, strange as it sounded -- especially coming from him -- he wasn’t really interested. She just…
Isn’t Max, some part of his brain unhelpfully supplied.
Alec almost groaned out loud.
It wasn’t the first time he’d caught himself comparing a woman to Max. It had just been happening more and more lately. He’d brushed it off at first. After all, he spent more time with her than just about anyone else, at work, at Crash, on missions, at TC… It made sense that he’d think about her a lot.
But then Max had started creeping into his thoughts at other times, too. Funny things would remind him of her -- like he’d see cherry lip gloss and think of her, ‘cause that was her favorite kind…and he hadn’t even realized he knew her favorite kind of lip gloss. Those moments he’d started writing off as some weird side-effect of Max declaring him her “boyfriend,” and Logan’s speech about “treating her right.”
But it was getting harder to ignore, the way his thoughts kept turning to her, and Alec wasn’t sure what to do about it, or even really why it was happening.
It wasn’t like he was interested in Max or anything. Yeah, he enjoyed taking a few cheap-shots at Logan sometimes, but that was just a little not-so-friendly rivalry…
Alec paused. Rivalry? Had he seriously just thought of Logan as his rival? Who was he kidding? Rival for what? Max’s affections? He snorted at the thought. Her idea of affection was to hit him upside the head. Why would he want to be with someone like that? No thanks. He was happy with things just the way they were. Well, okay, he could have done without the hitting part, but nothing was perfect.
Yep, he was absolutely fine with being Max’s…whatever he was right now.
He didn’t want things to change.
Really.
TBC…
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: The next chapter will be up soon. :)
Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
-Laughter
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| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |
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