A Hero's Life

           They were three weeks into filming the latest and greatest action movie, and the Director, Arthur Coolidge yells repeatedly into the darkened set for one of his actors who was late once again for his scene.

           Beth, the 1^st Assistant Director scrambles through the darkness asking everyone on-set if they had seen Walter anywhere. She knows that if she doesn’t get him onto the set soon, the axe will fall on her, not the actor.

           Knowing his love for gin and tonic, Beth sent the 2^nd AD out to any of the local pubs, but before he could walk out the door, a familiar voice bellowed his existence for all to hear. Mr. Coolidge was infuriated by this point and yelled for the make-up team to prep Walter immediately. They worked with precision and speed to have the actor ready within five minutes.

           Walter walked nonchalantly onto the set and took his place for the next scene. The Director could smell the alcohol on him from ten feet away and knew that it was going to be a long day.

           “Walter, if you are ready, we need to get moving on this,” the Director said. “Just take your mark by the fire hydrant.”

           “I was born ready,” shouted Walter. “Let’s begin, shall we?”

           “Okay, Walter, in this scene, you need to launch yourself over the fire hydrant to take down the bank robber. You got that?”

           “Yes, sir,” Walter called back sarcastically with a salute.

           “Is our stunt double ready?” Mr. Coolidge asked. “Alright people, let’s try to get this in one take.”

           Walter waits for the word, “Action!” to be called out, then he makes a short run toward the fire hydrant, but instead of stopping when the Director shouts, “cut,” Walter continues to leap forward and knocks over the plastic hydrant, crushing it beyond repair. The Director calls for the Art Director and asks him to find a replacement for the fire hydrant. While waiting, he called Walter over for a chat.

           “Walter, I thought we had discussed your drinking habits while on-set, and yet here you are, reeking of gin once again. Children look to you as a hero, but how would they feel if they saw you like this?”

           “For the record,” Walter retorted. “I did not drink while on-set. I walked across the street to Benny’s lounge.”

           “Well from now on, if you show up on-set drunk or even smelling of alcohol, you will be off this picture. I don’t care if you are the star. Look how many times they changed the leading role in the Spider Man films! Now, will you please let your stunt double take care of the falling from here on out?”

           After the hydrant was replaced, Walter continued with the script as written and left the stunt work to the experts. They managed to complete three scenes that day despite the blunders.

           The film was an action picture where Walter played a veteran police officer that goes above-and-beyond the call of duty to catch the bad guys. It was being compared to a cross between Die Hard and Dirty Harry. Walter played Captain Joe Halliday, and hard-nosed cop who was tired of the bureaucracy in his city. Most of the scumbags he arrested ended back on the streets before the paperwork was complete, so he sought out justice in his own way, with his fists and his .45 caliber Colt.

           On the set, Walter portrayed a brave officer of the law, but in reality, he held a secret that nobody else was aware of; a secret that could ruin his career for good.

           This was to be the fourth installment in a series of films about Captain Halliday, but at this rate, production may not be completed in time for its release. The last film did very well and received several awards including Best Actor going to Walter. From then on, he was almost unbearable. The sudden notoriety made his ego swell so much that there was hardly room on the big screen for his big head.

           When the Director called for the final cut of the day, Walter headed back to his dressing room and washed all the stage make-up from his face. He then slipped on a black hoodie and black pants before disappearing into the night sky.

           He walked at an even pace along the busy sidewalk with his head faced down toward the ground to avoid being identified. Three blocks away, he entered a 24-hour storage facility and stopped in front of a garage unit.

           Pulling keys from his pants pocket, Walter leaned over and removed a padlock from the garage door. He grasped the handle and pulled the door fully open. Inside, he climbed into a dark blue Chevrolet Impala from the 1970s. He fired up the powerful V-8 engine and it rumbled as he inched it out of the garage. Shutting the door behind him, he jumped back in the car and rode off into the night.

           Walter drove across town to a liquor store. He parked the car on the next block and walked back to the store. As he opened the door, a chime rang to inform the employee that someone had entered. The young lady at the counter looked up momentarily, then returned her attention to the text message she was sending.

           Walter walked up-and-down the aisles before approaching the counter. Seemingly annoyed by the interruption, she asked him what he wanted. Without raising his head, Walter demanded all the cash from the register. She thought he was joking at first, but after he pulled out a gun, she did as he asked. Little did she know that the gun was only a prop that he borrowed from the movie set. He backed up slowly toward the door with the gun facing the girl, and once he was out the door, he ran toward the car and drove away.

           After returning the car to the storage facility, Walter walked back to the studio, leaving the hoodie behind in the car. At the studio, he climbed into another car, a red Corvette convertible and drove out through the gates, making sure that the guard knew he was leaving.

           In his apartment, Walter pulled the cash from his pockets and counted it out. He had $534 that he added to a stack of money hidden away inside the ripped lining of an old coat. To his estimate, he had accumulated over $3,000 since he started his crime spree a few weeks ago. He realized that he did not actually need the money, but he enjoyed the thrill of being the villain instead of the hero for a change.

           The following day while on-set, Walter was surprised to see two police officers talking to the 1^st Assistant Director, Beth. She was pointing them in the direction of his trailer, so Walter hid behind one of the props and observed. The two officers walked up to the trailer door and knocked. With no response, they returned to Beth, spoke for another moment, then left the lot. Walter waited a few more minutes then let on that he had just arrived. Beth spotted hm and called him over.

           “Walter,” she began. “There were two police officers here a few minutes ago looking for you.”

           “Really?” Walter replied, trying not to sound nervous. “Why could they possibly be looking for me?”

           “Oh, don’t worry. They are just big fans of the Captain Halliday movies, and they wanted to ask you for an autograph. I told them I would ask you when you arrived.”

           “Certainly, I am always happy to do what I can for the boys in blue,” he said.

           Back on the set, Walter showed up on time for filming, but he would continuously ask the Director for a short break at which time, he would sneak outside and have a sip of gin from the flask he stashed under a bush. After his fifth break request, Mr. Coolidge had enough and denied anyone anymore breaks until they finished at least two more scenes.

           Once filming had ceased for the day, Walter wandered off the studio lot, and headed back to the storage facility. Once again, he donned his black hoodie and went out in search of his latest thrill.

           Walter pulled the car up in front of laundromat and walked back toward another liquor store. When he entered, there was an elderly man behind the counter who greeted him as he walked in. Walter said nothing but nodded. Down one of the aisles, he spotted a man in his mid-twenties scanning the shelf for a bottle of whiskey. The man glared at him suspiciously before walking to the counter to make his purchase.

           Walter waited until the man left the store before approaching the cashier. The old man asked him politely how he could help, and with a raspy voice, Walter replied, “Put all the money from the till into a paper bag and hand it over,” as he pulled out his fake gun.

           Terrified, the man did as he was told but before he could finish, the man clutched at his chest and his face turned gray. Walter didn’t know what to do. Just then, he heard the chime ring as the door to the store swung open. The customer who had left earlier had returned, and this time, he had a gun of his own. He announced himself as a police officer and demanded for Walter to put down his gun and step away from the counter. Then, after ordering Walter to kneel on the floor, he slapped the handcuffs on him.

           The officer called for back-up and medical assistance for the old man before dealing with Walter. After removing Walter’s hood, the officer immediately recognized him. He read Walter his rights and waited for back-up to arrive to take him into the station.

           At the police station, Walter came face-to-face with the two officers that were looking for his autograph at the studio. One of them shook his head and walked away, while the other went up and asked what he was being charged with. The arresting officer named off the list of charges, and the other officer told Walter that he hopes the judge throws the book at him.

           Word of Walter’s arrest reached the studio sometime later, and the Director, along with the rest of the cast and crew were in shock. They all thought Walter was a jerk, but they didn’t think he could commit a crime, let alone a series of crimes. All production was put on hold pending the trial, but Mr. Coolidge had already requested for the Casting Director to begin searching for a replacement, preferably someone without a drinking problem.

           When the trial finally happened, four months had passed, and Walter’s role had been replaced with another actor who was still virtually unknown. Walter was charged with seven counts of armed robbery, even though it was a movie prop he used, and was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. He spent the rest of his life doing productions for the prisoners of the State Penitentiary.