26

The director returned after a few minutes and he was followed by four men. One looked like the boss and the tiger three like his body guards.
“Everyone, please meet Mr Queen Gray. He is the investor who gave us twenty million for the movie,” the director introduced and his brow was sweating. It was clear that he wasn’t ready for the impromptu visit of the rich man
Murmurs started going around the people who were there.
“Do you know him?”
“No. I have never heard of him either.”
“Macy, do you know him?” Another actress seated next to Macy asked.
“Never even heard of the name Queen Gray,” Macy said.
“Mr Director, may I see the script. Where are you shooting today?” The man, Mr Queen, asked and the director rushed to give him a script and a chair was provided for him.
“Here. We are at scene ten of act one,” the director said as he opened the script.
“Okay, let’s see what you all are doing,” Mr Queen said as he made himself comfortable.
The director briefed him about the movie in general as he waited for Angela to be brought.
She came out looking beaten and she walked towards the director and Mr Queen.
“Director, I am sorry. I really don’t know how I fell asleep,” she said as she looked at Mr Queen indicating to the director to introduce her.
“Oh, Mr Queen, this is Mrs Angela Philips – Cane. Daughter to Mr…”
“Shall we start? I am a busy person and when I want to know a person, I will. I don’t need introductions,” Mr Queen said making Angela want to dig a hole and burrow in it.
“Yes sir. All in position!” The director shouted as he went to his seat.
The actors and actresses involved in the scene all took their positions.
As was expected, this was the ninth take of this scene. Karo was kneeling and queen Mayo was towering above her and as Macy had expected, Angela didn’t slap her this time. She did it the way it was supposed to be at the first instance.
“Cut! Very good!. Very good! Next…”
“Excuse me director. I am not a director like you but I have seen and been around several shootings and I think we can improve this scene,” Mr Queen said.
“How do you mean Mr Queen?” The director asked baffled because the scene was shot as was in the script.
“From what you told me and from what I have gathered from the script you gave me, Karo is supposed to be a strong woman right?” Mr queen asked and the director nod in agreement.
“Good. Then, how about we meet her strong from the beginning. Instead of being slapped by the queen, how about she be the one slapping the queen?”
“But, Mr Queen…”
“May I Mr Director?” Mr Queen interrupted the director and asked.
“Certainly,” the director said because how could he ask someone who had invested millions of dollars no.
“Okay, You, come here,” Mr Queen asked Angela as he walked towards where they were standing where the action was taking place. “And you, Macy, right? Yes, Macy. You kneel the way you were kneeling. Yes, like that. Now, what I want you to do is when the queen is about to slap you, you stand and hold her hand and slap her hard across the face.
It should be a real slap so that the audience can see your power. Your face should be hard and focused. Also… are you following Macy?… good. Also, I want us to add dialogue here. As the king walks in, you should say, ‘no. You don’t why to slap me. I fight with men,’ so that the king can hear you and then for slapping his wife, the queen, the king will punish you by giving you to a man to be beaten.
That is when you will beat five men… Oh, what am I saying? You all know how it goes from there.
Are we all ready? Okay, positions!” Mr Queen yelled leaving the director and Angela and Julia flabbergasted. They never saw this twist.
Mr Queen took the Director’s seat and pit the ear piece in place.
“Okay, three, two… ACTION!” Mr queen yelled and as they had started, the queen started yelling at Karo and then she walked to slap her.
As Mr Queen had said, when the slap was about to hit Karo, she held the queens hand, pushed her on her knees and slapped her hard.
Angela screamed and Mr Queen yelled cut.
“Why did you destroy the shot with your ugly scream? Now we have to reshoot. Okay, positions! Macy, you did well but your slap was weak. Add more strength. Make it realistic. Okay, three, two…. ACTION!” Mr Queen yelled and they stared yet again.
This time, Macy slapped Angela hard but even before Angela could get her bearings back, Mr Queen shouted.
“Macy! I told you to put more strength to your hand. And you, the queen, don’t fall just like that like a sack of carrots. I want you to fall on your side so that when the king walks through the door he can see your pained face. Okay positions everyone! Three, two… Action!” And they started once again.
This time, despite the pain Angela felt from the two great slaps Macy gave her, she gritted her teeth and fell on her side with silent tears as everybody (the other actresess and actors who were her workers) gasped and the king walked in.
“Cut! Good! Good! Good! Director, you have amazing actresses here. That’s the way I want it done. You can take your seat now,” Mr Queen told the middle aged man who was standing there feeling the pain with and for Angela.
“Okay. I think we can get enough shots and angles from those three retakes. Let’s go to the next scene,” the director said but by the time he was finishing that statement, Mr Queen was shaking his head.
“No can’t do Mr director. No can’t do. I am not here to do your work for you. I was just showing you how I want it done. You have to direct yours. Now go,” Mr Queen said in all seriousness.
“But sir…”
“Are you questioning me?” Mr Queen interrupted him.
“No. Okay, everyone positions! Scene two act one take thirteen! Three… Two… Action!” The director yelled although he felt his heart break for Angela as he watched her bleed from the side of her mouth from yet another slap.
“Good. That’s good. Then, I will visit another day. Okay. It was nice meeting you all today. Let us work together for the success of this movie. Lunch is on me tooday!” Mr Queen said with a smile as everyone clapped and cheered.
“You and you and you, come with me and bring foof for everybody,” Mr queen said as he pointed, so he wanted everyone to believe at random people. These people were Angela, her assistant and her manager.
Everyone who has a straight head could tell that this man, Mr Queen, was there to take revenge for Macy on what Angela did to her.
The three women looked at each other and then at the director asking for silent help.
“Mr Queen? What I’d you take other people…”
“Yes director. You want to come and carry all the food by yourself,” Mr Queen asked.
“You three, follow Mr Queen quickly. I am sure we are all angry after a hard morning’s work. Don’t for get to thank Mr queen for his generosity,” the director told the three women who didn’t have an otherwise.
They followed the man feeling as if they would die due to. Embarrassment.
Mr Queen looked at May and winked on his way out.
“Serves her right. Let us see them try that shot again,” May said as she helped Macy stand up so they could go to their tent as they waited for lunch.
As they talked, the threw women came with a lot of boxes and everyone went to take their lunches.
Angela’s assistant walked with two lunch boxes and bottles of water towards Macy’s tent and told May, who answered when she called that she had brought them lunch. May could see through her and before May could answer, one of the men who came with Mr Queen walked towards them with a bag that showed the logo of Grand Hotel.
“Ma’am your lunch. Tell Ms Smith that boss says she is a natural born actress,” the man said as he handed May the bag and walked away.
May didn’t even say anything. She just smiled at the girl and left her standing there with her mouth open.
Back in Dela Cruz, Richard had managed to infiltrate President Antonio’s camp. He had figured here they were hiding the general and it wasn’t anywhere near De La Paz. It was in a forest that was more than three hundred miles from the city.
According to the information Richard had uncovered so far from the servers of the president, he had bunkers there were he kept prisoners of war. These were the people he just couldn’t kill because they could raise international awareness about what he was doing his own.
Richard left the State House to go for the general and what he did before he left was expose the servers to public.
He made sure, through Asher’s help, that even international media houses had access to them.
This was his first step towards crippling any efforts made by Antonio for his bid to go back in office for another term.
The good thing about Richard was that he was a master of disguise and that was why even back in DC, not many knew how he looked like.
As he left Antonio burning in the fire he himself, Richard, had lit, he took one of the presidents heavy machine vehicles and left with it.
He left as one who was going for a walk and thus, no one at the gates stopped him because by now, they and all thought that he was working for them. It was only after he had left that they discovered what he had done.
They went out looking for him but he was nowhere to be found. Even the tracking system on the vehicle he had stolen had been turned off.
Investigations to Mr Kano’s files proved futile because he never even existed. All the files they had been shown even the online files and the websites where they had checked for his verification were gone.
Antonio couldn’t believe that he had been played.
The man just left one word at the tabel: Dragon.
“If he is the one we think he is, let’s just be glad that all he did was cripple our servers and release that information. I am also lucky to be alive thenv,” Gorilla said still on a wheelchair.
Antonio looked at him and asked why, “don’t tell me you have never heard of Dragon, sir?”
“No. Who is he?”
“Let me tell you a story.”