HOT SET: Playing with Fidelity (A romantic suspense novel) (24 page)

Soon they were sitting in front of a subdued Danny
. He was red-eyed and looked ruffled.

“
This is why they pay me the big bucks,” he began and Megan smirked at him.

“
It will require more time but I think I’ve found what you need.” He paused dramatically. “I first went through his bank accounts, credit card and phone records and found little of interest except that he’s not the actual owner of Luminous Pictures – his wife is.”

“
Really?”

“
Yep. He married an only child of a timber magnate and used her trust fund to start the company. The bank wouldn’t lend him the money, only her. So they put the loan and the company into her name. She’s a socialite and a housewife and doesn’t pay much attention to the company, which suits him. Although he’s grown the original money eight times its value, it looks like he hasn’t changed the titles over. Or Mary might be shrewder than I give her credit for and hasn’t wanted it changed.”

So that explains why he hasn’t left her, Amelia thought
. He gets his jollies sleeping around instead. She tried to appear nonchalant, “right, but that’s not unusual. Half of Hollywood is owned by the spouses, how’s that news? Is there anything else?” Amelia said impatiently.

“
Well, that’s only a tangent. Here’s the big thing. I also hacked into his email account and again, found a load of really boring conversations and emails with other directors and a couple of prominent society members that didn’t seem suspect at all. It was then I had an epiphany.” Megan rolled her eyes and Amelia kept her cool face in place.

Danny looked annoyed,
“you’re a boring audience you know that?”

“
Twenty grand, Danny.”

“
Right. Well, on second thoughts, the emails were actually too boring so I read through a couple of conversations and had a conspiracy theory they might actually be a code of some description. Well, I’m pretty clever, but not a code breaker so I decided to track these emails to see where they lead instead.”

“
Is this the short version?” Amelia spoke.

“
Yes. I’ve been working on this for two days straight and you’re hearing the process to appreciate me more.” They both sat back with a sigh. “So, I tracked some IP addresses of the other people and noticed some similarities and the fact they were visiting sites with similar IP addresses, the type that would roll through a sequence to disguise visits. It took ages but after a thorough detour that lead through Spain, I finally found a heavily encrypted VPN and a server back here in the States. The person who built this network was good; but not as good as me.” No reaction from Megan or Amelia so he turned to his screen.

“
What I found was a group called ‘The C Group’. ‘C’ as in the letter C… not the I see, C.”

“
Uh-huh,” said Megan.

“
Someone registered my unauthorised entry so they shut the server down pretty quickly, but not before I saw what it contained.” He again paused dramatically.

“
Oh come on!” both Megan and Amelia said.

“
Child porn.” He’d said the two words so quickly they’d almost missed them.

“
What?” This had their attention.

“
It contained enormous amounts of child porn. Really bad stuff. I was only in there for about 40-seconds before they shut it down but it was enough to see it was well-organised and locked tight. I’ve seen some awful things on people’s computers but this was serious shit.”

Amelia’s mouth was open wide and Megan just looked distressed.

“Can you get more evidence?” Amelia asked.

“
I tried to get back in several times but they’d locked it back to Madrid and I couldn’t get anywhere near it. They’ll be panicking now and will probably change everything so it’ll be a fluke if I find it again.”

They all sat quietly for a moment taking it in
. Never had their imaginations come up with this scenario but at the same time, they weren’t that shocked.

“
There must be some way. Those poor kids. Those disgusting men,” Megan muttered.

Danny ventured,
“a network is only as good as its weakest link. It looks like Bill was that link. How come you knew to look him up? It was a lucky break.”

Amelia spoke,
“we didn’t. He’d been…” she decided to come clean, “inappropriate to both Megan and me and it was a hunch.”

“
Shit. Sorry to hear that cuz.”

“
Yeah, me too.”

They sat quietly for another few minutes.

“Look, I need more time to search,” Danny said. “I’ll give you a call when I find something.” And with that, he turned to his screen and Megan and Amelia realised they’d been dismissed. They shrugged at each other and went sadly and quietly down the stairs to a fluttering Aunt Beth.

“
Not now, Aunt Beth, please,” said Megan.

“
Oh, I didn’t mean to but I was just so excited!”

“
Didn’t mean to, what?”

“
Well…” and there was a shriek as a gaggle of polyester-clad women spilled noisily around the corner from the lounge room and descended on them.

They were standing in an enormously long
crack in the red earth within the ancient folds of the Macdonald Ranges. Sunlight seeped through the expansive entry, lighting the cave’s craggy ceiling and thick misshapen walls. Tiny birds were nesting in tiny nests in the protective ingress; their tweets loud and their poo deep. The cave smelt dank, earthy and acrid, removing any adventurous thoughts from the staff filing their way in.

Lighting had already been there for a day and i
ntermittent, spooky equipment joined by black cables snaked in chaotic organisation over the narrow passage floor. In the next cavern, through a very narrow passageway, the echoes of an underground river resounded loudly, making talk difficult.

When they were all far enough into the compacted space, everyone was listening to Barry outline the shooting sequence
. They were filming the scene where Stephen is pushed into the underground river by the evil Dr Kinnen and is swept away, seemingly to his death, in front of his horrified team.

Nadia
was hyperventilating and Sam took up a lot of space as he skittered through his precious lighting. It wasn’t a fun place to be.

“
I don’t know why we can’t film this on a sound stage!” Nadia breathed heavily.

“
We’re already here and it’s cheaper than building an entire set,” said an annoyed Barry.

Truth was
, the movie was running out of money – fast. Despite careful expenditure monitoring and cut backs, the minimal budget was squeezed so tight there was little air left. Mac and his team had originally meant to film this scene on the sound stage but it was going to cost too much for the water, so some local guides were asked and this cave identified. It was perfect for the scene, practically custom made, and was written into the schedule.

“
I can’t stand this!” Nadia sat down on a rock and hugged her knees. No one paid any attention to her; her high-maintenance manner had made her no friends and everyone kept working or talking, not paying any attention.

By the way she was
sitting, her unflattering orange overalls were raised half way up her calves over some black and white stripy socks and a pair of buckled brown Birkenstocks. Her previously immaculate locks were pulled into a loose pony tail and a large streak of dirt had been rubbed across her face. She looked very odd but was the costume of the eccentric character Nadia portrayed.

Kate
sat down next to her.

“
I don’t like it here, either, but it’s not for much longer. Why don’t you walk around a bit?”

“
I don’t need your pep talks, Kate.” Kate raised an eyebrow at her rudeness.

Nadia
had spent most of the filming pissed off at Kate. Nadia was an excellent actor and when she’d had been offered the role, she’d had visions of running away with either an Oscar or a film star; preferably both. But there was no chance for an Oscar and the star hadn’t looked twice at her. Yet, to her dismay, he’d looked multiple times at the
married
woman sitting beside her.

Kate
talked softly to her, “Nadia, I’m only trying to help. Is there anything I can do?”

“
Yeah, leave me alone.”

“
How about some coffee?”

“
No.”

“
I can get you some food?”

“
For God’s sake-”

“
How about a spliff?”

That worked
. Nadia had smoked through her own stash weeks ago and was itchy for more, but because no one would talk to her, she didn’t know who to ask.

“
Where?”

“
Can’t tell you where but I can get it.”

“
Do you smoke?”

“
Nope.”

“
Then how do you know who does?”

“
I’m nice to people, Nadia. They tell me things. You should try it some time.”

Nadia
bristled at the condescension but the promise of a smoke was too enticing to refuse so she agreed and Kate left the cave to find Marcus, one of the Grips and negotiated some of his stash. Nadia nearly fainted with joy when the roughly rolled spliff was slipped into her pocket and forgetting her claustrophobia, found a side passage in the cave and a few minutes later, returned much friendlier and smelling of a sickly sweetness.

She smoothed her way over to
Kate, a serene glaze on her pretty face. She put her hand on Kate’s arm; the first time she’d ever touched her.

“
Thanks, you’re a champ. I’m feeling much better now.”

“
Sure. I just hope it helps with the claustrophobia.”

“
You know, you’re the only one who has been nice to me and I don’t even like you! What’s with that?”

“
I’m a sucker for punishment.”

Nadia laughed
too loudly.

“
Shhhhh,” Kate warned, “you don’t want Barry or Mac to know you’re high or you’ll get kicked off the movie.”

“
Shhhh, okay!” Giggle.

Barry called the actors
to attention and they quickly blocked the scene with Mac and the cameras.

Barry called,
“picture is up!”

Everyone settled into their positions whilst the poor crew jammed themselves into whatever crevice
they could.

The team lined up with
Rhys in the front, Kate behind, then Trystan, Nadia and George, the extra, following up the rear. Shane and his baddies were in the corridor behind and they waited for the cue. Nadia giggled again.

“
Quiet everyone!” Everyone in that cave dropped all sounds automatically, all well-trained. Even Nadia overcame her induced euphoria and snapped into character.

“
Roll sound!” Barry called. The production sound mixer, Ed Clarke, raised his microphone and hit the switches on his mixing console.

“
Sound speed!” Ed replied.

“
Roll camera!” was Barry’s next command.

“
Speed!” responded Jethro from behind his camera.

The clapper, Reggie, had already taken her position in front of the camera and she
called “marker!” and snapped it shut, the snap resounding loudly in the cramped space.

Finally it was Mac’s turn and in his split second, professional survey, he determined all to be well and he
called, “ACTION!”

Rhys
leapt forward into the bright lights, his long hair bouncing loosely around his face and glasses.

“
Hurry! They’re right behind us!”

A gun shot sound effect rang out behind them and the five actors ducked on cue.

Kate slipped and righted herself on a rock. It wasn’t scripted but must have looked legit because Mac didn’t call cut on the scene. Rhys reached behind him and grabbed her arm to steady her then they all ran around the corner and into the passage that led to the river cavern. As George’s dirty back was swallowed by the rock, ‘Dr Kinnen’ burst from the original corridor, his face a mask of black anger, his minions flanking him carrying large weapons. They, too, disappeared into the hole.

Mac called
“CUT!”

All the staff resumed their non-filming positions and began writing in their respective reports
. Mac turned to Barry and discussed the shoot whilst watching the footage. The actors filed slowly back through the gap.

Shane was rubbing his upper arm
and grimacing. “Got my bicep on one of those rocks. Must be because they’re so big.”

Nadia called
out, “my grandma has bigger biceps than you,” and to her amazement, everyone laughed, even Shane. That dope must have been a good batch.

The cast when out into the sun to wait for the next scene to be set up in the river cavern and they waited out the time keeping each other company
. When it was ready, everyone assumed their positions in the narrow tunnel between the two caverns.

“
I hope this doesn’t take long,” Kate murmured behind Rhys’s back and he leant back and gave her a little pat on the arm.

“
You okay?”

“
I will be once this scene is canned. This passage is too small and I’m half your size so I don’t know how you’re coping.”

Rhys
looked over his shoulder again, his hair covering part of his face and glasses. The sideburns were now thick on his face, along with some short stubble on the rest of his jaw.

“
I’m okay, I’m just thinking thin.”

Barry’s voice
broke in the underground grotto, “picture is up!” He again ran through his list of cues and gave the reigns to Mac.

“
Action!”

Rhys
broke into a sprint and Kate pushed off the tunnel wall to her right, propelling her quickly into the bright lights. Her loose hair bounced around her face and on the collar of her undone shirt. The other three poured through behind them and all came to a sudden, slippery stop at the river where they righted themselves dramatically. The underground river was only a couple of metres wide and shallow, but it looked sinister in the electric lights.

“
Where to, now?” Trystan asked.

“
We’re trapped!” yelled Kate.

Rhys
was frantically scanning the environment just as Shane exploded from the tunnel exit and another shot rang out. Rhys grabbed at his side and stepped backwards, skated on the water covered rock and rotating his arms, fell on his back with a splash that also wet the four standing on the bank.

Rhys
crashed around in the water for a bit, losing his glasses and purposely sending himself downstream whilst the others screamed and tried to reach him. He reached out a bloodied hand towards them with a cry (the colour had been painted on pre-shoot and he’d just kept his hand hidden) providing just the right drama.

“
Cut!” yelled Mac.

Rhys
bounded from the water and scuttled precariously to the bank.

“
God, that’s freezing!”

Stage hands
helped him to dry ground and Mira brought large towel to him. Rhys stripped off his shirt, his nipples and goosebumps elevated from his bluish skin. He dropped his pants on the floor and standing only in red boy-leg undies, he wrapped the towel tightly around himself, shivering. Kate subconsciously watched the entire it out of the corner of her eye, admiring the fine form. She justified her examination to appreciating artwork; you can look and admire it, but not touch… only to her shame, there were some moments when she really wanted to.

Everyone left the cave
to stand in the sun again while Mac reviewed the take. Rhys was dried off with a hair dryer, powered by the diesel generator chugging noisily along and changed into the next costume while everyone else had touch-ups done. They were called back into the darkness and the filming process was repeated over and over again.

By the seventh
take, Rhys was nearly hypothermic. His skin was icy and grey and despite warming in the sun between takes, he was visibly struggling, his teeth grinding together and his words slurring. Mira was getting noisy in concern for him so Barry called a halt to proceedings and those who had finished for the day climbed into the cavalcade of 4WDs that had brought them here.

When the 4WDs arrived at camp 45-mins later,
Rhys was still cold. He was in his regular clothes and wrapped tightly in an old blanket but was still huddled pitifully in the corner of the back seat, his normally commanding stature shrunken and weak. He went immediately to bed and when Mira couldn’t get him up for dinner, a doctor was flown in by helicopter from Alice. He wasn’t too concerned at that stage, but decided to take him to hospital for observation, just in case. It was a good thing he did.

The next morning, Rhys was very sick.

A
dormant virus in his system burst to life and a debilitating fever overloaded his body, knocking him flat. The hospital prescribed a series of treatments and he was closely managed. But, the only real cure was time and rest and Rhys was forced to stay in hospital until the virus ran its course and the fever subsided. Mira took a room in the closest hotel and hovered over her ‘charge’ all day, bothering the nursing staff and worrying. Two security guards were hired to keep the unwashed away and Sal was on the phone to Mira every few hours.

There were plenty of questions
and gossip circulating on how he was able to get so cold in the first place. Unfortunately for Mac, it was negligence. While the cave may have been perfect for the scene, the expedited change of location provoked a hurried risk assessment which hadn’t accounted for just how cold an underground river would be. Occupational health and safety were getting itchy and calls had been made to lawyers. It was going to get messy and Mac was stressed.