RAILROADED - THE HEIST

We only had a slim to vague idea of the latest request from our friend and film producer Terry Traynor when he reached out at the last minute to ask to have us work an angle in his latest storyline. Bourbon Street Films was his calling for years and we stepped up on occasion to lend a hand or twirl a skirt or whatever was needed for his next cleverly dreamed up storyline. It always proved to be the best time spent in a most fun and creative way ever imagined. Just a different type of art scene for me and he made it click. The latest movie angle he was working, on had some pretty sketchy characters. Were they real people that he needed due to the nature of the theme? I mean who could pull off true crime, make it look so bad ass real and get away with it. The call that came in the middle of the night was not pretty and he seemed way off in what he said. The decision was made to set up in a questionable part of the city and that might have had some part in the hand he was dealt.  

“Sally! You’ve got to make it here by next Tuesday or their coming to rip my head off!” He was in panic mode I could tell and calmed him down as best I could at two in the morning. “I’m on it.” I told him with no uncertainty that my buddy and I would show up and play our own role in a sense, to find out more about what was going on. 

He picked an old, abandoned train station on the lower east side to use as the setting for his latest film. RAILROADED – THE HEIST, had already been chosen and he worked the theme to mimic an impact of how the drug trade was cleverly using this important mode of transportation in moving their product. But it seemed that the ones who were really using this as their business front had found out about his film. They were none too happy with his angle on letting the world know that he had, unfortunately for him, latched onto the real McCoy; aka them. They were a behind the scenes and under wraps group by the name of SUBTILE T’s. It seems that they were using the train depot as their stash spot and now they were none too happy with this encroachment on their turf with the film. Targeting the film maker was their way of squelching what no one needs to know. They told him to pack up and get out of the depot or there would be no one left to remember who they were, where they were, or why they were there. He would be back to pay a visit with his boys. 

Terry trusted us as; we had been involved with undercover scenes before. We both worked for government agencies in our real lives, and we knew a bit more than the average person.   

Terry met us at the train depot early the next day. He was pacing the area and we told him one thing. “Don’t. Don’t let them know that we are anyone other than two women who should be home doing mundane things and that is final.” He nodded and agreed. Meanwhile, we decided to walk the area in a wide circle to get a sense of the trail. It seemed that nighttime was the time that random vehicles would show up. Unloading bags of their inventory came in disguised bundles of clothing marked by the dry-cleaning business being used as another supply location. No one would be aware and that was their aim. CLEAN HOUSE was the name of the dry-cleaning business. How clever.  

Terry had already set up props and camera locations a week ago. “How do I change everything I’ve already gotten together. My crew is due in from the bus station. What do I do now? These creeps said if I don’t pack it all up and get the hell out, the price would be not what I expected.” Terry knew that to keep everyone from suspecting anything he would have to meet them somewhere else.  

“Hey, Terry.” I winked to my buddy and said, “We are meeting the bus with you. This is where you will devise a new scheme, sort of a change in the plan. Here’s what we can do to work the act in a different, yet successful way.” He looked worried until I went on to describe the scenario, I dreamed up to offset the bad guys. “Wow!” Terry shook his head and smiled. He was good with the plan. It was awesome and a playacting twist in the matrix. He hoped that they would never know they were bamboozled. Now to make it seem like the SUBTILE T’s had won.  

We made sure we had slipped out of sight not to be seen. The head honcho came back and threatened Terry with one final gesture. “Tonight. Your gone or it’s the end. Got it?” Terry replied in panic mode and assured him no one will ever say one word. They would be told otherwise that the film was not happening at the train depot, and a new location was in the plan. 

We had a better scenario soon to unfold. Meeting the bus at the city lot, Terry got out first and brought everyone together. The news was out about the film dilemma at the train depot. Everyone was alarmed and shocked. “This can’t be happening! We are so ready to get on this, Terry. You came up with such a great theme. The heist, the bank robbery, our smooth exit in a clever switch up playing a bunch of average joes.” He thanked everyone and said to wait for the new theme to unfold and introduced us as his new stagehands. Both of us went over the new act and made sure everyone was okay with what was about to happen. Before we knew it, there was a shout, and everyone reached up and high-fived each other. “We got this!” 

The sun was almost set by the time we got back near to the train depot. We stayed out of sight and slowly made our way to the planned spots each would have with their new role. From a distance we saw several cars, and CLEAN HOUSE vans approach the area. The train was still our acting stage regardless of the danger we were putting ourselves into. As the stash was being unloaded into the train as discreetly as they thought they were, Terry took it to the next level. We gave him the thumbs up, and he turned on every stage light blazing the area with high intensity. The actors jumped out and created turmoil, grabbing pistols, machine guns and holding each gang member as sirens blared in the distance. The police were tipped off and aided the standoff in full military gear breaking the chain of a dope ring gone wrong. It was the right thing at the right time. 

Later, when there was a moment of looking back on this crazy scenario, Terry only smiled like I have never seen him do. He laughed so hard and revealed a small detail to us. “How’d that all turn out? Pretty awesome. Right?” The real Terry paused in his usual smug way and told us the whole thing was planned, all of it. Our chins dropped, we shook our heads, smiled and said, “you got us.”