The next morning Gerald put on one of his nicer suits. Since the weather had been a little warmer lately, he chose a grey suit. With the right watch and glasses already picked, he packed a bag and stored it in the car he had borrowed from the military base.
By six in the morning, he was already on the road.
Around noon he could see Grove city in the distance. The movie and entertainment capital of the world.
What might be hard for others, wasn't much of a challenge to Gerald. He had already found out where the movie was being filmed. For the next few days, the movie would be shot in a studio before they left to shoot on location.
Gerald drove directly to Wonder studios.
His first challenge was the parking lot. Only certain people were even allowed to park there. He didn't have a parking pass and it was harder to enter the studio from the street compared to the lot. He circled the area a few times and then spotted his target.
The east entrance of the second lot. The man working the parking booth was young. Not exactly young, he was in his thirties. But compared to the white-haired men in the other booths, he was practically a newborn. The man stood ramrod straight and still wore his standard issue crew cut. He was fresh out of the military.
It was time to see if his new I.D. would be of any use.
Gerald got into the line of cars and waited for his turn to come. He eventually pulled to a stop in front of the parking booth.
"Parking pass." The man said.
"I am Gerald Acers, I should be on the list. I haven't gotten my actually pass yet."
"Acers, Acers. I am not seeing you on the list sir."
"Damn it. What are those asshats doing? They are filming my movie here. Is there someone you can call?"
"I am sorry sir, even if I could call, it wouldn't be able to help. I get the list from the studio in the morning, if you don't have a pass, I can't help you. You can turn around up front without entering the gate."
"I am Gerald Acers, they are filming my movie here. I wrote the boke for Delta Force. Don't you recognize me?"
"I do sir, and I am a fan of most of your books. But rules are rules."
"Okay, I understand. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble. You seem military, are you fresh out?"
"Yes sir, now I am just a civilian. As much as I would enjoy talking to you, I have a job to do and there are several cars behind."
"Understood." Gerald said as he reached into his wallet. "Here, copy down my I.D. information. If anyone gives you any shit later for not letting me through just have them call me. I will tell them you did everything by the book and in a very professional manner. This mistake isn't yours."
"Thanks sir. I appreciate it." The man said as he took the I.D. He faltered for a moment when he saw it was a military I.D. He copied down the information and then passed it back. He then looked left and right. "Major General, since you are supposed to be here anyway, I don't see the harm in letting you through. Just think of it as a favor from a former marine."
Gerald took back his I.D. with a smile. "Once a marine, always a marine soldier."
"Oorah."
The parking booth security guard answered.
"You got a card?" Gerald asked the man behind the booth.
He didn't but he wrote his name and number on a sheet of paper and passed it to him, along with a one-day parking pass. "Delta Force is filming in studio twenty-two." The man said while flipping through his clipboard.
"Thanks, I will treat you to a meal when I am free." Gerald said before he drove through the open gate.
He felt a little bad, like he was impersonating a military officer, but he was technically a part of the marine service now. They wanted his name on the books and in their ranks, so it was the price they had to pay.
Step one was complete. Gerald parked his car and walked towards the entrances to the sets.
A large table with a spread of name badges was set up while one of the studio administrators watched over them. Gerald walked up with his phone in hand. He began to search the table as if he was looking for his own badge.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked.
"Studio twenty-two, my name is Gerald Acers."
She flipped through her own clipboard while he continued to search for his name. Gerald then spotted a familiar name. Tom George. He placed his phone on the table and covered the badge. He smiled to himself. He got an I.D. and inconvenienced a dick head. It was a win-win.
"I'm sorry sir, you are not on the approved list. Are you sure that you are supposed to be here today?"
"That's what they told me. I wrote the book the movie is based off of and they wanted me to come by and check things out. Honestly, I doubt they care about my opinion, they are probably just doing it to give me face." He said.
The lady nodded and checked her list again just to be sure. Gerald lifted his phone back up off the I.D.
"I double checked and you aren't on the list. You won't be able to find an I.D. If you like, I can make a call for you."
"That's strange." Gerald said as he picked up the I.D. card that had his name on it and showed it to the lady.
"Oh, umm…"
"Don't worry about it. Mistakes happen. Can you point me in the direction of studio twenty-two?"
She picked up a radio and made a call, a moment later a golf cart came to the gate. "Mr. Acers needs to head to studio twenty-two."
"Sure, no problem. Wait… Mr. Acers. Gerald Acers. You are the author, right?"
"That's me." Gerald said with a friendly smile.
"Ha, ha, great. Do you think I could get your autograph?" The young man asked. "I have read all your books. I am a huge fan. How do you even come up with so many ideas? Most authors are lucky to come out with a book every year or two, but you put out one every month or two."
"Yeah, no problem. I have never actually given out an autograph before." Gerald said as he took the booklet from the young man that was already filled with star studded names.
"Ha, ha, no way. I am your first? Could you write that?"
"Sure, but technically, my mom might try and fight you for that honor."
"Ha, ha, awesome. Everyone knows that moms don't count when it comes to autographs."
"Ehm, hmm." The lady cleared her throat. "Studio twenty-two." She repeated.
"Oh yeah. Sorry ma'am." The man then stepped on the pedal and they started to drive past the buildings.
"Don't mind it." Gerald said. "I am happy to meet a fan. Tell me, what is your favorite book?"
"Honestly, I really liked that collection of sci-fi short stories you just put out. But all time favorite, it's got to be the King and the Keep. I don't know why these guys are making Delta Force, it's good, but it can't compare to some of your other works. Oh sorry, no offense." The young man said as he drove between the people who were walking to and fro while carrying props.
"I completely agree, but you probably know how it is better than me. All the sci-fi and fantasy stuff doesn't look good unless you pump in the big bucks. With Delta Force, they can make it with out spending crazy money. Well that depends on how much they shell out for the explosions."
"Ha, ha, that's true. I love science fiction stories, but most of the movies that are based on books bomb because they fail to live up to expectations. The same goes for fantasy. It cost a lot to make a good CGI dragon."
Gerald nodded in agreement. The two continued to chat while they drove. Gerald noticed that the young man seemed to take a couple of detours. But Gerald didn't mind. He always enjoyed talking to a fan who appreciated his work. After fifteen minutes, they arrived at studio twenty-two. A red light was lit outside of the door. The young man informed Gerald that it meant filming was happening and he had to wait for it to shut off before he could enter.
The young man was happy to stay and wait with him.
After another fifteen minutes, the light shut off and he was allowed in.
Gerald walked into the large warehouse like structure and found that a plane's fuselage was cut open to allow filming of the scenes inside the airplane.
Since he had the proper badge on, no one stopped to question Gerald as he walked in. The actors sat at the side with scripts in their hands while the director was instructing the crew on what he wanted next.
Gerald walked to the craft services table where a whole spread of food was provided. Since he had driven straight here, he hadn't had lunch yet and was a bit hungry. The old man at the table highlighted his wares and chatted with him for a few minutes.
"What's good?"
"The hoagies are the freshest, but the burritos aren't bad either."
"That's some nice ink you got on your arm."
"May be a bit faded, but its a badge that never loses its meaning."
Gerald took a good-looking sandwich and a bottle of tea.
He munched as he walked closer towards the set. Since he was already inside, he took off his name badge and stored it in his pocket.
It was his first time on a movie set and he was a little surprised. Everyone was so busy that they treated him like air. He was practically invisible without even trying. But that was fine by him, it let him get a closer look at the operation they had set up.
He was surprised to see a big-name actor actually playing the lead character. He smiled while thinking that a million-dollar grove city star was actually pretending to be him. Gerald finished his meal while he stood behind the cameras and watched the set and director.
He threw away his paper plate and then drank his tea. As he was taking a sip, the actors got into their positions while the director moved behind a bank of computer screens that were connected to the cameras.
"Action!" The director yelled.
The lead actor leaned close to the woman next to him and whispered. "If we don't make a move now, we won't have another chance."
"Marcus, we can't, it's too dangerous."
The man shrugged her off as a terrorist hijacker passed by him. He sprang up and snapped the man's neck before taking his gun and shooting another terrorist. He then moved toward the front of the plane while the other passengers screamed.
*Bang*
He took down another.
"STOP!!!" Shouted someone at the rear of the plane, the main character, Marcus, turned around to see that a man had a gun to his sister's head. "Drop the gun now or the woman dies."
"Woah, take it easy." Marcus said while holding up his hands. "You don't want to do this."
"I said drop the gun!" The man yelled.
Marcus began to lower his gun as if he was placing it on the floor, then he suddenly aimed and…
*Bang*
The man who held the hostage was shot directly between the eyes. Marcus the spun and shot another man.
"CUT! CUT!"
"Damn it! What is wrong now? We have done this over ten times." The actor who played Marcus asked.
"It just doesn't feel right." The director stared. "In the book it was a powerful scene, but now, it just seems cliché."
Gerald nodded in agreement.
"Then what do you want me to do different? Give me some direction, I don't know how to make it better."
"It needs more…" The director started and then trailed off because he was not exactly sure. He just knew that it didn't feel right.
"You need to be more determined." Gerald said. "When you spin around and see your sister is a hostage you keep your gun aimed at the terrorist's skull. You don't let your bead drop for even a moment. Yes, you are concerned because her life is at risk, but that isn't nearly as important as your mission. You are flying to the congo to take out your target when you are inconvenienced by this terrorist scum. What frightens you isn't that she will die, but that these insects will cause you to fail your mission. Both you and she know that your own lives mean nothing compared to the goal you must accomplish. The first chance you get, you blow out his brains without any regard to her safety and then kill the last one. You are an alpha predator, your mate, your cubs, nothing compares to the fate of the whole pack. The next meal is your survival, without it, everything else is meaningless."
"Yes, yes! That is it." The director said while standing up form his chair. "That is what is missing." He then turned around to look back at who had spoken. He saw a man in a suit standing behind him. A man he hadn't seen on the set before. "You are…"
"Gerald, Gerald Acers."
"Acers… Ah, you are the author. I have been bugging those tools from Freemont publishing to get you out here, but they keep giving me the run around. It looks like they finally came through."
"Well…"
"Alright, I think I understand." The actor said while everyone got into position again and the bad guys changed to new clothes and equipped new dye packs to simulate blood.
The director went to the actors again as they prepped for the scene.