"What suggestion?" Matthew was the first to ask.
He had just overheard Tom West and Kate Jeffery earlier in the day and couldn't help but wonder if they were planning something against him.
"Yeah, James," another male actor loudly inquired, "what was the suggestion that has you thinking we're doomed?"
James McAvoy, looking extremely annoyed and exaggerating his expression, responded, "Tom West thinks we've been having it too easy."
"Too easy?" Michael Coulthard interrupted, "My bones nearly fell apart this afternoon!"
"Let James finish," Michael Fassbender interjected.
Michael Coulthard shut up, and James McAvoy continued, "That bastard said the training isn't tough enough and needs to be more intense. He wants us to move out of the hotel and into those old military barracks at the airport, eat only canned food for every meal, practice crawling in the mud, and even sleep on the cold, muddy ground..."
Hearing James McAvoy's words, many actors' faces fell. This was November in London; such conditions would be brutal!
James hadn't finished, "As if sleeping outdoors wasn't enough, he wants to increase the weight during our marches from thirty to forty pounds, extend the distance from three to five miles! Plus, he said in order to get us to think like soldiers, for the last ten days, he plans to have us stay near the pyrotechnics team's test site where they do explosion trials, allowing us only three hours of sleep a night..."
After he finished, the room fell silent, and even Matthew felt a chill down his spine.
He pulled on a jersey and asked James McAvoy, "Did Gary Gozman agree to this?"
"That's the worst part," James McAvoy looked despondent, "Gary thinks it makes sense and told him to draft a new training plan."
"F@@#K!"
A loud curse broke out, followed by a flurry of swearing from others.
Leaning against his locker, Matthew suddenly felt this might have something to do with him.
But then, he thought, surely Tom West wouldn't devise such a draconian training plan just to target him?
Perhaps he really was a serious and responsible military instructor, just thinking about the needs of the TV series.
But in November's English weather, the idea of eating canned food, practicing in the mud, and sleeping on the cold, muddy ground was chilling.
"Inhumane... just inhumane..." Matthew muttered intentionally as he watched the group get worked up, "Absolutely inhumane!"
The days of marching, formation, weight-bearing, and push-ups were becoming more intense, yet there was no sign of the weapon and tactical training that interested the actors most. It was impossible for the twenty-five men not to have grievances against Tom West.
Indeed, from the attitudes of Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Michael Coulthard, it was clear that actors from North America as well as locals from the UK, just like the soldiers of Easy Company disliked Captain Sobel in the script, all had no love for Tom West.
This was a common outcome for any overly strict military instructor.
Back in the changing room, the air was filled with curses against Tom West.
"Keep it down! Keep it down!" Matthew gestured for them to lower their voices, "Tom West's changing room is right next door. We'll be in trouble if he hears us."
James McAvoy waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry! When I came in, I saw him leave with that crazy woman, Kate Jeffery. They're probably hooked up by now."
Those two were often seen leaving the airport together after work, and their relationship was an open secret within the crew.
However, only Matthew knew that these two seemed to have a peculiar hobby of rendezvousing in the warehouse.
Another British actor who seemed very prejudiced against them commented, "Bless those two dog-men and women with a car crash when they go out!"
"I like that blessing."
Everyone in the changing room knew about Matthew's conflict with Kate Jeffery, and he didn't hide it, "Better yet, may their Land Rover break down too."
He put on a serious face, "Brothers, we better brace ourselves."
"What kind of preparation?" Michael Fassbender asked.
"Prepare to suffer," Matthew shrugged and spread his hands, "Tom West is our instructor, what can we do? Just grit our teeth and get through it, it'll be over soon."
Many cast disdainful glances at him. In their view, Matthew seemed to be someone who could endure a lot; after all, he had managed to bear that crazy woman's arrogance at the entrance, so the training hardships probably seemed minor to him.
James McAvoy shook his head at Matthew again, "You endure too much, mate."
Michael Fassbender stood up and patted Matthew on the shoulder, "With
this weather, it's easy to fall ill. The shooting is about to start. What if someone gets pneumonia or something? Will the production wait for us?"
Matthew was speechless, realizing he didn't need to do much to stir these spirited young men against Tom West.
These were actors, after all, dreaming of stardom, not soldiers accustomed to physical hardships. The idea of being treated like military personnel was bound to stir up emotions.
Masochists are a minority in this world.
After a session of complaining about Tom West, the actors gradually left the changing room. Matthew walked back to the hotel with Michael Coulthard and Ian Bailey. When they reached the temporary exit of the airport, Matthew deliberately fumbled in his pocket.
"Damn!" He frowned, "I left my phone in the locker. I'll go back and get it."
"Should we wait for you?" Michael Coulthard stopped.
Matthew waved them off, "You go ahead. I'll meet you at the hotel restaurant."
After they left, Matthew returned to the changing room, retrieved the phone he had intentionally left behind, and then went to Tom West's locker room next door. He put on rubber gloves he had prepared earlier, checked for any abnormalities, and then entered.
Since it was a male changing room, like the one the actors used, Tom West's room wasn't locked.
Matthew opened a few lockers to look inside but didn't touch anything. When he opened one locker, he found a large box of condoms with a recent purchase date, clearly bought not long ago.
This changing room was recently used only by Tom West, and Matthew guessed the condoms were definitely his.
He noted the box's placement and orientation, took the box of condoms, opened it to see, and noticed three were missing—exactly matching the number of times he had observed Tom West and Kate Jeffery heading to the warehouse.
Looking at the box of condoms, Matthew suddenly recalled a piece of news he had seen on a smartphone, thinking it might be worth a try.
If successful, the parties involved would certainly be quite upset; if it failed, he had nothing to lose.
Decided, he placed the box back exactly as it was, looked around the locker room a bit more without finding anything else of value, carefully exited making sure not to leave any trace, took off his rubber gloves and stuffed them into his coat pocket, and left with his phone.
After returning to the hotel and having dinner, Matthew specifically called a taxi, went into downtown London, and bought several boxes of the same brand of condoms from a large supermarket, making sure they were from the same production batch. After returning, he studied them carefully to ensure his idea was feasible.
In the following days, in addition to completing the training satisfactorily, he continued to observe Kate Jeffery and Tom West, noticing they went to the warehouse every two days, like clockwork.
Meanwhile, James McAvoy's words became reality. Including Matthew, the twenty-plus actors participating in the training were all moved into the old military barracks at the training base, under the demands of the crew and Gary Gozman. Fortunately, they weren't required to sleep on the floor; every two actors shared a dormitory room.
Since Ian Bailey had spoken with Michael Coulthard beforehand, Matthew had no choice but to room with Michael Fassbender.
The old barracks were far less comfortable than the hotel, and with Britain's dreadful weather, damp and cold, Tom West's training intensity only increased. The crew's meals gradually became canned military food, which looked okay but tasted terrible.
The new training plan was underway. As Tom West put it, to create an authentic filming effect, the actors needed to give one hundred percent, so the crew also made appropriate modifications to the training grounds. Next to where the actors practiced formation coordination, new pits were dug and began to be filled with water.
Although this part of the training had not yet started, a medical support team was specially assigned to be on standby. Still, the actors were increasingly resentful, growing more and more dissatisfied with Tom West, the initiator of it all.
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