Stuart Woods' Blown Away

Chapter 1

Billy Barnett pulled up to the Centurion Pictures studio entrance in his classic 1958 Porsche D Model Speedster. With him was his personal assistant and producer-in-training, Stacy Lange. Billy himself was a film producer and the studio's unofficial second-in-command behind Ben Bacchetti, Centurion's president.

It was a gorgeous spring day, so Billy and Stacy had returned from their lunch at Spago with the vehicle's top down.

A guard leaned out of the hut next to the gate. "Welcome back, Mr. Barnett, Ms. Lange."

"Afternoon, Gavin," Billy said. "I'm glad to see the studio didn't burn down in our absence."

"We try to avoid things like that whenever possible, sir," Gavin said.

"We appreciate your dedication."

Gavin gave them a jaunty salute and opened the gate.

Billy shot Stacy a glance as they drove onto the studio lot. "If you have any questions, now's the time."

"Are you saying I can't contact you while you're gone?"

"I'm saying I'd love it if you did that as little as possible."

"So, only call if the studio really is on fire?"

"If that happens, you should call Ben, not me. And probably nine-one-one."

Billy's cell rang, Ben's name on its screen.

"Speak of the devil," Stacy said.

Billy punched accept, and before he could say hello, Ben's voice came through the car's speakers. "Where are you?"

"Just about to pull up at my office."

"Skip the office and meet me at stage seven."

That was the sound stage being used for director and screenwriter Regina Gideon's new film, Everything We Have, on which Billy and Ben were executive producers and Stacy was getting her first coproducer credit.

"Problem?" Billy asked.

"I'll tell you when you get here."

"See you in a minute." Billy hung up.

Ben was waiting for them near the stage door when they arrived. Above it was a light that, when activated, flashed red, indicating that filming was underway. At the moment, the light was off.

Billy and Stacy hopped out of the Porsche and joined him.

"What's up?" Billy asked.

"Something with Pike," Ben said. "Don't ask me what. I just heard about it myself."

The first thing Billy noticed once they stepped into the building was that the overhead lights were on, and all the lights used for filming were off. The second was that the film's other producer, Terrance Bennett, was trying to calm a clearly angry Regina near the camera.

Billy, Ben, and Stacy headed over to them.

"I'm not going to coddle him," Regina said.

"No one's asking you to do that," Terrance insisted.

"That's pretty much what you just said I should do!"

"That's not what I-"

Regina noticed Billy and the others. "Oh, good. You're here."

"What's going on?" Billy asked.

Regina waved a hand toward the back of the building. "Pike's locked himself in his trailer."

Pike Westin was the film's male lead. He had risen to fame through a series of crowd-pleasing rom-coms. This was his first dramatic role, one that they were all aware he was hoping would break him out of his typecasting box, and maybe even earn him a prestigious award.

"Why did he lock himself in?" Billy asked.

"Because he doesn't know how to act," Regina replied.

"Regina," Terrance said. "That's not fair."

"Isn't it though?"

"How about you tell us what happened," Billy said.

Regina explained how they had spent the entire day so far trying to film a single scene, but no matter what she said to Pike, he kept overacting. "I'm beginning to wonder if he understands the meaning of the word subtle."

"Can you show us?" Ben asked.

It took a few minutes to find the woman in charge of video playback. Once she joined them, they watched what had been shot of Pike so far.

When the last take finished playing, Billy said to Terrance, "What do you think?"

"I mean, he could have done better. But it's the first day. He probably just needs to get into the swing of things."

"I'd say 'could have done better' is putting it mildly," Billy said. "I didn't see a single good take."

Regina nodded and looked at Terrance. "See? I'm right."

"Have either of you tried to talk to him since he stormed off?" Billy asked.

"We both have," Regina said. "The only person he's let into his trailer is Tina Martin." Tina was Pike's agent.

"She arrived fast," Ben said.

"She was already on set," Terrance said. "She told me she always comes out for her clients' first days on a project."

Billy had worked with several of Tina's clients in the past, and not once had she shown up unless she'd been asked to. Which meant that she had feared today would not go smoothly.

He glanced at Ben. "Shall we see if he'll talk to us?"

"Lead the way."


While there were dedicated rooms in the building for talent, some stars preferred having the studio provide them with a lavish trailer. Pike was the only one on Regina’s film who had made such a request, and his trailer was parked in a quiet area behind the building.

Before knocking on its door, Billy activated the record function on his phone and slipped the device into his pocket. He did not secretly record every meeting he was in, only the ones his instincts told him were necessary.

Those instincts were well honed from his time with the CIA, under his birth name Teddy Fay. Billy Barnett was an assumed identity he'd created in the wake of the dramatic events that followed his departure from the Agency, to hide the fact that Teddy Fay was still alive. Billy wasn't his only alternate persona, however. He was also Academy Award-winning actor Mark Weldon, among others. But these days, he was Billy Barnett more than the others combined.

There were only a handful of people who knew his truth, Ben being one of them.

Teddy looked at Ben. "Ready?"

"Can't wait," Ben said.

Billy rapped on the door, and a few seconds later, a stylish woman in her fifties, with not a single hair out of place, opened it.

"I thought it might be you," she said, resigned.

"Hello, Tina," he said. "May we come in?"

"If you could give me a second, I would appreciate it."

"Of course."

"Thank you."

She closed the door, leaving the two men waiting.

Tina was a savvy agent, so she would have expected Billy and Ben to show up. Her client, however, had probably thought his visitors were Regina and Terrance and had been planning on ignoring them.

Avoiding the film's director and its on-set producer was one thing. Giving the cold shoulder to the head of the studio and the movie's Oscar-winning executive producer was something else entirely.

It wasn't long before the door opened again, and Tina said, "Gentlemen, please join us."

Billy and Ben stepped into the trailer.

"Good to see you, Tina," Billy said as they kissed cheeks.

"You, too. And, Ben, it's been too long."

She greeted him in a similar manner.

"Far too long," Ben echoed.

She guided them to the sitting area, where Pike rose from the couch. "Billy, Ben, thanks for coming," he said as if they'd come at his request.

Hands were shaken, and everyone sat down.

"So, Pike," Billy said. "I can't help but notice you're not on set."

Pike's smile faltered momentarily before he caught himself. "I have some concerns."

"Is that so? What kind of concerns?"

Pike donned the same serious expression he'd used in several of his films. "Centurion is known for their quality pictures. It's the reason I really wanted to be in one of your films."

"Why, thank you. That's very kind. We're proud of what we do."

"As you should be. Maintaining your reputation is why I'm so concerned."

"We're still waiting to hear what those concerns are."

Pike took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say was as painful for him to share as it was going to be for Billy and Ben to hear. "The bottom line is, I don't think this film is living up to that tradition."

Billy sat back. "That's a very bold take. Care to elaborate?"

"I realize it might have come off a bit rash, but I'm a firm believer in dealing with a problem while it can still be easily rectified, rather than waiting until it costs millions to fix."

"And the problem that needs fixing is . . . ?"

Pike's expression expertly morphed into one of grim resolve. "Initially, I thought it was Shay. But after some thought, she's only doing what she's being told." Shay Winters was Pike's costar. "As much as I hate to say this, I think Regina is out of her depth."

Billy raised an eyebrow.

Pike quickly said, "Don't misunderstand me. She's a wonderful director, but her specialty is smaller, indie films, not big-time movies like we're trying to make."

"I see," Billy said. "Do you have a solution in mind?"

"I really hate to be the one to say this, but I think she should be replaced."

"With someone who has big movie experience?" Billy asked.

"Exactly. In fact, I happen to know that Derek Morton is between projects. I'd bet he could just jump right in."

Derek Morton had directed several of the rom-coms that had made Pike famous and was known more as a formulaic director than an innovative one.

"That's an interesting idea," Billy said. "Ben, perhaps we should discuss this."

"Agreed," Ben said, then he and Billy stood.

"I appreciate you hearing me out," Pike said, rising to his feet.

"Of course," Billy said. "Hang tight. We'll be back in just a bit."

As Billy and Ben left the trailer, Billy caught Tina's eye, silently indicating for her to join them.

They exited the trailer and reentered stage seven.

Stacy and Terrance were just inside.

"Regina?" Billy whispered to Stacy.

"She's talking to the crew."

Billy nodded. That was good. Regina didn't need to be here for this.

"You two with us," he said to Stacy and Terrance.

He led everyone into an equipment storage room along the back wall.

Once everyone was inside and the door was closed, Ben said to Tina, "We seem to have a problem."

"We do," she said.

"I'm curious what you think that is?"

"Me? Oh, no. Pike's my client. What he thinks is what I think."

"Hold on," Terrance said. "What does Pike think the issue is?"

With his eyes still on Tina, Billy said, "Do you want to tell him or shall I?"

"Tell me what?" Terrance said.

Tina frowned, uncomfortable, but kept her mouth shut.

"Our illustrious star thinks the film needs a more experienced director," Billy said.

"He wants to replace Regina?" Terrance said, surprised.

Instead of answering him, Billy said, "Tina?"

Tina remained tight-lipped for another few seconds, then blew out a breath. "He's just overreacting. I'm sure he doesn't really mean that."

"It sounded like he meant it," Ben said. "Billy, did it sound that way to you?"

"It did."

Trying to act like it was no big deal, Tina said, "Give him a little time to calm down and he'll be fine."

"I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you haven't seen any of what's been shot today yet. Because if you had, you would know Pike needs to do a lot better than fine."

"It's his first day. He's just working out the kinks."

"And his reaction to 'working out the kinks' is to say he needs a new director?"

"Like I said, he's overreacting."

"Someone making Pike Westin money should come to work with the kinks already ironed out, don't you think?"

"Well . . . um . . ."

Ben and Billy shared a look, then Ben nodded for Billy to handle this however he wanted.

"I'll make this as clear as I can," Billy said. "If anyone is getting replaced, it will be Pike."

"Now, hold on," Tina said.

Billy raised his hand, stopping her. To Terrance, he said, "Can you shift the schedule around so that you won't need Pike until Monday?"

"Uh, I think so," Terrance said.

Beside him, Stacy nodded. "We can do Shay's shots for the basement scene. And the bookstore set is done, so we can move to that if we have time."

"Perfect," Billy said. He turned back to Tina. "Here's what's going to happen. Pike has until Monday morning to 'work out the kinks.' If his performance is still lacking, he will be replaced. If that happens, and as long as he doesn't make a big deal of it, our stance will be that he had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. If he does make it an issue, we will be forced to show the world exactly why he is no longer on the film."

Tina huffed a laugh. "Now you're the one overreacting."

Billy's stare wiped the smile off her face.

"This is nonnegotiable," he said.

He glanced at Ben, who nodded once in agreement.

"Any questions?" Billy asked.

Tina opened her mouth, like she was going to argue further, but then she deflated and shook her head. "I'll talk to Pike."

On his way back to his Porsche, Billy pulled Regina aside and gave her a condensed rundown of what had happened.

"Thank you," she said, looking relieved.

"I want you to think about who you'd like in Pike's role in case things don't work out," Billy said. "Preferably someone who could jump right in."

"Richard Evert," she said quickly. Evert was one of the group of actors she'd worked with over and over in her indie films.

"Is he available?"

"He is. He's also the one I wrote the role for in the first place."

"You might want to put him on hold. Just in case."

"I'll do that." She frowned and sighed. "I shouldn't have let Terrance talk me into casting Pike."

"Lesson learned."

"Indeed."

"Don't forget both Ben and I are leaving for Palm Springs tomorrow and will be there through next week. That means I won't be here on Monday. If at any time you decide he's not going to work out, let Stacy know. She'll get ahold of me, and I'll deal with Pike and Tina."

"Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Every production has its hiccups. All I want you focused on is making the film you want to make."

"I'll tattoo that to the inside of my eyelids."

"Maybe just write it down on a piece of paper."

"I can do that."

Chapter 2

Across the country, in an ABANDONED warehouse outside of Baltimore, Maryland, Victor Popov stepped to the side to avoid being splattered by blood.

"Careful!" he snapped in his native Belarusian and motioned at his suit. "This is Armani."

"Sorry, Mr. Popov," Grigoriy said, panting.

He'd just punched Simon Burkin again, this time in the gut, causing Burkin to spit the blood that had almost hit Grigoriy's boss.