We were called onto the set, and I finally figured out who the director was. I had a bad feeling when he gave me my first direction.
“You can’t help yourself from being arrogant, because you’re an American. But I need you to be timid and come across as a follower. We won’t find the true depth of your evil until the final two episodes. In this scene, I need you to act as if Haru is beneath you, that in your eyes, she is just a girl. You can’t be bothered to give her the time of day. Towards the end, you will somehow show compassion, and you will offer to help her find out what is happening. This will give you your ‘in’ to finding out what the police are doing to find the vile person who has taken the girls.”
The PC police would have him for lunch if he were back home. I just smiled and nodded as Hana translated. I was thankful she took her cue from me and didn’t react to his offensive remarks toward women and Americans.
Haru was quite good, and when we did our scene, I could see why people liked her. I thought I did well as the arrogant American who was timid and considered girls beneath me, but who would help because I was compassionate. This was a more messed up direction than I’d received in Cuba, where I was continually told only that I wasn’t ‘getting it.’
I don’t expect it would have mattered if I did understand his direction. We were declared perfect in one take and were off to the next one.
◊◊◊
Saul stopped by the set, and I complained about the nonstop pace.
“David, this is how much you’re being paid,” he said, showing me the contract.
“Oh, my! I’m frickin’ rich,” I said, dancing around.
“That’s yen,” Kent interjected.
Kent pulled out his phone and converted the currency. Well, that took the fun out of it. 1,000 dollars equaled about 110,000 yen. You could see why I’d gotten a little excited. It was still more than I would’ve made back home. It was almost as good as sunglasses money.
Kent then had pictures to show me.
“Cassidy said you would want to see this.”
I had a moment of complete jealousy. Brook, Megan, and Cassidy were in flight suits. The next picture showed Cassidy in the back of a training jet. Then I got one of Brook, sticking her tongue out at me as a jet took off in the background. A tiny part of me was happy for them, but the majority decided they were dead to me. I didn’t even bother looking at all the pictures.
After seeing those photos, I felt ready to play an arrogant American with a mix of surly teen. And I was right. I nailed the next scene.
◊◊◊
When we were finally done, I was mentally exhausted and starved. Learning lines by rote was harder than I had ever imagined. I was glad that Hana was there to help, or I would never have survived. I owed her a big bonus when we got home.
“Feed me,” I whined as they took my makeup off.
“Come home with me, and I’ll cook for you. It will also give me a chance to introduce you to my boyfriend,” Haru offered.
“I’m not sure meeting your boyfriend is a great idea.”
“If you don’t meet him tonight, you’ll see him tomorrow. He plays the detective you have the final scene with.”
“I have Paul and Hana with me,” I tried.
“Great. I’ll see you there.”
Saul had bailed on us to answer emails. Kent had met one of the actresses on set, and they planned an evening out. I guess you couldn’t take the Hollywood out of the boy.
Paul called our cars. Haru wanted to ride with us. Saul must have leaked where we were going because there was a crowd at Haru’s apartment. She looked a little worried.
“This all new to you,” I observed.
“I’ve had other roles, but My Butterfly has gotten the public’s attention. My publicist has gone bananas over the coverage you and I are getting as a couple. She says that alone, we would only be generating a third of this buzz. I just got lucky when we walked out of the club together.
“I suspect that you coming to my apartment will be a big deal,” she admitted.
“Did you call the media?” I asked.
She blushed. Here I’d been blaming Saul, and it was Haru or her people. When we arrived, Paul had us drive past the entrance so we could make a game plan.
“Is there another entrance?” he asked.
“Through the parking garage,” Haru admitted but didn’t seem happy.
I suddenly had an insight I should’ve had much sooner. It was about the circles of trust Uncle John had taught us last week. Haru was being nice, but she was also using me to build her career. While I’d done the same in the past, at least when I did it, everyone was clear that was what was happening. Haru had acted like a friend, and I felt deceived.
“We need to drop Hana off. I’m not risking her walking through that crowd,” Paul said.
I wasn’t sure how this was going to work, but Paul would tell me if it couldn’t be done safely.
After we dropped Hana off, Paul had a talk with the security people, and everyone agreed on a plan. We would pull up, and Haru and I would stay in the car until they created a corridor. Paul would open the car door only if it was safe to get out.
I watched as the protection detail formed a single line and forced their way through the crowd. Once the lead person reached the condo’s front doors, they turned and started pushing everyone back. When they had a five-foot-wide path made, Paul opened the door.
“Let me go first,” I told Haru.
This was just crazy. I was so glad I didn’t live here, or I would end up punching someone. When Haru joined me, there was a surge, and our path shrunk. I heard a child scream in fear and saw a little boy who looked to be four or five sprawled out on the ground. I walked over and looked as menacing as I could. The crowd took a step back as I leaned over and picked up the little boy. He had a terrified sister, so I picked her up too. I wasn’t happy their mother had brought them to something like this.
“Follow me,” I told her in Japanese.
Paul had waded in with me and led me out, with the mother bringing up the rear. When I came out of the crowd, I handed the little girl to Haru. The flashes about blinded us as we carried the two kids inside.
The little boy had scraped-up his hands. I took him to the bathroom to get them clean while the doorman found a first aid kit. The doorman said he had kids of his own and was good with the little boy.
While I dealt with that, Haru was on the phone with her publicist.
Hana was in the lobby and helped me talk to the doorman and the mother. They decided it would be best to take the kids out the back. The mother thanked me profusely for helping her. She had been in a near panic when she heard her boy scream in fear.
“It was amazing. He just walked into the crowd, and the next thing I see, he is carrying two little kids out to safety. He’s a hero,” Haru rattled on.
We said our goodbyes and took the elevator up to Haru’s condominium. I met her boyfriend, Ricky Nagai. He was a thirty-one-year-old actor who’d met Haru on set for a movie. Haru abandoned us because someone called to interview her. I could tell Ricky was irritated.
“She promised us dinner. I would bet we should order out,” I suggested.
“You’re probably right. What did you want?”
I turned him over to Hana. All I cared about was that it had to be filling. While Hana and Ricky talked, Paul and I relaxed in the living room. What jumped out at me was how small the place was. I would guess it was only 400 square feet, or about the size of a one-car garage. My apartment back home was twice this size.
“That wasn’t good,” I said.
“Crowds can be dangerous. I’m sure Fritz is going to kill me. Never, ever, ever go into a crowd like that again. Let me rescue someone if the need arises. If anyone had meant you harm, you were completely exposed to it,” Paul lectured me.
“We don’t need to tell him,” I suggested.
That’s when I received a Twitter alert: #DavidADawson, #SavesChildren. I showed it to Paul.