13
JAKE WAS HALF SLUMPED on his bar stool, while Jenny stood next to him, pushing his drink away. Teddy looked up and saw Heckel and Jeckel at the far end of the bar, watching them intently.
“Hi, Jake,” Teddy said. “I’m Ted Shirley, assistant to Dan Waters, the production manager.”
“Hey, Ted,” Jake mumbled.
“I think we’d better get you to your suite,” Teddy said. “You’re not looking well.”
“Okay,” Jake said.
Teddy and Sally got him off the bar stool and onto his feet, and the three of them headed slowly toward the hallway. Teddy looked over his shoulder and saw that Heckel and Jeckel were moving their way.
The elevator door was open and waiting and Teddy, Sally, Jenny, and Jake got aboard. “Which floor?” Teddy asked.
“The top,” Jake replied.
Teddy pressed the button and the door closed just as the two muscle guys reached it. They rode up, but it was very slow. When the door opened, Jake said, “That way,” pointing to his right.
They were halfway to the suite when Teddy heard the fire stairs door open and close behind them. “Hey!” a voice said. “We’ll take care of Jake.”
“I’ll need your key card, Jake,” Teddy said, but he didn’t stop moving. At the door to the suite, Jake was still fumbling in his pocket when Heckel and Jeckel arrived. Heckel, the larger of the two, hooked his fingers in Jake’s belt. “We’ll take care of this,” he said to Teddy. “Now get lost.”
Teddy brought the thick umbrella handle down sharply on Heckel’s wrist, and the man let go of Jake’s belt with a yelp. Jeckel came to his rescue, but Teddy rammed the umbrella handle into his solar plexus, and the man made a loud noise and sat down on the floor.
Jake came up with the key card, and Sally let them into the suite. Teddy backed in to be sure they weren’t followed, but the fight had gone out of the two men. “I think my wrist is broken,” Heckel said as the door closed.
Teddy turned and walked down a short hall to the living room, which was large and handsomely furnished.
“I need a drink,” Jake said.
“That’s the last thing you need, Jake,” Sally replied, and she and Jenny hustled him into the bedroom and onto the bed.
Teddy sat down and found a leather-bound copy of their script, with Jake’s name stamped on it in gold. He picked it up and flipped through the pages.
Sally came back into the room and sat down next to him on the sofa. “Whew, that was close,” she said. “I expect Heckel and Jeckel are on their way to report to Dax.”
“I expect they’re on their way to the emergency room,” Teddy replied.
Teddy found the marked page in the script that indicated how much they had shot. He continued leafing through the script to the end. “Sally,” he said, “can you call Dan Waters and ask him to come over here?”
“Do you really think he wants to know about this?”
“I think he will want to know.”
Jenny came into the room. “Jake is finally asleep,” she said. “He did manage to say that he had told Dax he was quitting the film.”
“Let him sleep it off,” Teddy said. “In the meantime, I think we’re stuck here until he wakes up.”
• • •
A FEW MINUTES LATER there was a knock on the door, and Jenny let in Dan Waters.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Teddy told him what had transpired.
“You took on Heckel and Jeckel?” Dan asked, amazed.
“It had to be done,” Teddy replied.
“Jake says he told Dax he’s leaving the picture,” Jenny said.
“Oh, shit!” Dan said. “This is a nightmare. We’ll have to reshoot everything, and we’ll be on this picture forever.”
“Maybe not,” Teddy said. “I’ve been looking through the script.”
“We’re nearly three-quarters through it,” Dan said.
“Jake has eight scenes left to shoot,” Teddy said. “I’ve read them, and I think his stand-in could do all the long shots, and, of course, the stunt double would be doing the climactic fight scene.”
“Which leaves what?” Dan asked.
“Ten two-shots and close-ups that require Jake’s participation—about seven minutes of actual screen time, maybe less.”
“What, you’re saying that Jake has only seven minutes of work left on the picture? The stand-in and stunt double could do the rest?”
“You heard me correctly.” Teddy handed him the script. “I’ve marked the places. Read it and see if you agree.”
Dan read the pages quickly. “You’re right. If we can calm both Jake and Dax down, we can have Jake on the way back to L.A. the day after tomorrow, and we can finish the shoot without him.”
“What time does Dax get up in the morning?” Teddy asked.
“Early—his car comes for him at seven AM.”
“Do we have any idea what time Jake told Dax he was quitting?” Teddy asked.
“I think I heard about it pretty quick,” Jenny said, “so maybe two hours ago.”
“Do you think Dax has already called our stand-by star?” Teddy asked Dan.
“I happen to know that our man, Kramer, weekends up in the Sierras somewhere, and there’s no cell service.”
“Okay, then,” Teddy said. “We’ve got two jobs to do. Dan, you tell Dax about our plan and get him to hold off on calling the stand-by star. When Jake wakes up, I’ll try to talk him into working two more days.”
“I’ll be there when Dax wakes up,” Dan said.
“Oh, and you’d better get the director to meet you at Dax’s place. He’s the guy who has to make this work.”
“I’ll call you,” Dan said.
• • •
TEDDY, SALLY, AND JENNY poured themselves a drink from Jake’s well-stocked bar and settled down to wait for him to regain something like consciousness.
“Hey, good morning!” somebody yelled.
Teddy sat up, blinking. Jake was standing in front of him, looking remarkably human.
“Ted, thanks for last night,” Jake said. “I remember some of it.”
“Jake,” Teddy said, “do you remember an argument with Dax?”
“I remember telling him to go fuck himself,” Jake replied. “Hey, I’ve got to call my pilot and get my airplane to Santa Fe. I’m off the picture.”
“Jake,” Teddy said, “why don’t you order some breakfast sent up, and let me tell you why you might not want to quit just yet.”
• • •
THE FOUR OF THEM were having breakfast.
“Let me get this straight,” Jake said. “If I do seven minutes of two-shots and close-ups, I’ll be done and home in L.A. for dinner Tuesday?”
“That’s right,” Teddy said, “and you’ll get your whole paycheck and avoid a very expensive lawsuit from Dax, which could have an unfavorable impact on your career.”
Jake took a sip of coffee. “Well, shit,” he said, “I guess I can put up with the fucker for another seven minutes. I’m in.”
Teddy’s cell phone rang. “Dan?”
“I’m with Dax. He buys it, and I got him to agree not to be on the set when Jake is working.”
“Jake’s on board, too,” Teddy said, “and he’ll be real glad to hear that news.”