(Thanks to @DarkSkyFalcon for this stunning art!!)
“Ms. Glory!”
Tina had never gotten used to her stage name, even though she’d been using it on legal documents since she began her inauspicious career in Hollywood.
“I’m sorry. What was the question?” Tina spoke softly but even so, her out-of-place Kentucky twang seemed to affect this California jury like fingernails dragging on a chalk board. The gathered himself and continued.
“Ms. Glory, you just described a harrowing ordeal. You said you were kidnapped. You said you were tormented mentally. You said you were tortured. You said you were forced to watch the same things done to Ms. Bankcroft…”
“Objection! Your Honor has already ruled on this. Amber Bankcroft has decided not to press charges. She is not a witness and Ms. Glory’s testimony about her is pure hearsay!” the public defender declared. The Prosecutor responded.
“Ms. Glory is not being asked to testify as to Amber Bankcroft’s statements or thoughts, your Honor. I’m only asking her what she, herself, witnessed. This is different than your earlier prohibition on Ms. Glory testifying to statements she heard from Ms. Bankcroft.”
“The Prosecution is correct. The witness can testify to what she personally saw. The objection is overruled. Please continue.”
“Thank you, your Honor. Ms. Glory. You and your friend went through 2 days of this nightmare. Who did these things to you?” Tina kept her eyes down on her knees. She’d been held captive for 4 days, not 2. She wanted to correct him. She wanted so badly to speak up.
“John Dailey, Sir.” Tina’s voice was barely more than a whisper. Tina’s mind was elsewhere. It was replaying a memory. Cold stone walls. Barely any light. She and Amber, both stretched tight, suspended between the ceiling and the floor. They were both bound hand and foot with hemp rope. The tethers from their bound wrists went up through a metal ring in the ceiling and connected to a hand cranked winch. Amber groaned through the cleave gag tied between her teeth on each agonizing crank of the winch. Tina couldn’t believe how tight Dailey had her stretch, and he kept on turning it. Tighter. And tighter. Poor Amber could only whimper, spit and snot running down her face. Satisfied that he’d done as much to Amber as he could, Dailey turned, grinning, to Tina’s crank…
----------------------------
Tina could hardly believe she was back in a Hollywood dressing room. This was not at ALL what she thought she would be doing when she boarded her west-bound plane from Lexington, Kentucky.
“Mrs. Bankcroft, I don’t think I can do this.” Tina was practically pleading.
“Pish Posh, Tina. Of course you can do this. You were ALWAYS much more than just a stunt performer.” Honey Bankcroft sat across from Tina on a plush love seat. This was her trailer from when she was a Hollywood A-lister. Amber used it when she was working her way up, although she never achieved the success of her mother. Mrs. Bankcroft had it updated from the style of her day, but it had been unused now for years as Amber had not been working much. It’s surprisinghow quickly styles change. But Honey insisted on one thing remaining: that armchair. It was her happy place. It was her safe place. It was where she retreated to after fighting off, or somethings caving in, to advances from her co-stars, directors and movie executives who turned her into a brand. Honey was more at home in that chair than anywhere else in Hollywood.
“No. I mean, this isn’t acting. You don’t want me to play a character. You want me to be Amber. You want all of these people working on the set to ACTUALLY think I’m Amber.” Tina wished she was in her own clothes instead of wearing a “jogging suit” from wardrobe. She ESPECIALLY wished her Glock was still on her hip. Her hand reached down to tap the weapon’s hilt and found only the smooth moisture wicking material of her active clothes. “Mrs. Bankcroft…”
“Call me Honey, Dear.”
“Mrs. Bankcroft! You’re not listening….”
“Tina! That is enough!” Tina was stunned into silence by Honey Bankcroft’s tone. “I am sorry, Tina. I truly am. I do not mean to raise my voice. But this is show-business, and the show must go on. And as I told you, this movie is Amber’s first star vehicle since Quest. This was going to bring her back. This IS going to bring her back. But the movie needs to finish on schedule. We can’t have another movie just disappear into the ether. Like Quest did.”
Tina felt a pang of guilt. After Dailey’s conviction, Tina was awarded the rights to the remake of Quest for Camelot as restitution because Dailey had used up all of his wealth to pay for it. Tina could have sold the movie and with the media attention from Amber’s kidnapping, she’d have probably made a mint. But Tina swore she’s never let that son of a bitch have the satisfaction of seeing his movie on the big screen, no matter how much money it might be worth.
“I know Mrs. Bankcroft. I’m sorry.” Silence hung in the air for longer than it should have.
“Don’t you dare, Sugar. You can’t feel sorry for anything. You didn’t ASK for that animal to do what he did. None of that was your fault. I’m just so glad that you and Amber found each other. The friendship you have is EVERYTHING!” Tina exhaled.
“I know Mrs. Bankcroft. Thank you for understanding. That movie. Making that movie, it was. It was hell. It was REAL hell. For Amber and me both. I can’t stand thinking about what he’s putting her through now. That sick fuck.”
“Well don’t worry, Tina. The FBI will find her. And what you’re doing now, filling in for these last reshoots, it’s going to keep the movie on schedule. Amber will finally have the place in Hollywood she deserves. The one John Dailey stole from her. Her birthright as a Bankcroft.” The thought of Amber getting another shot at stardom WAS a happy thought.
“And he’ll get what he deserves too, Mrs. Bankcroft.” Tina stood up and looked in the mirror. Tina could do this for Amber. She needed to do this for her.
“Yes, Tina. He’ll be locked away. This time for good.” Honey Bankcroft stood up and took Tina by the hand. “Come one Lovely. Let’s get you to set.”
“Wait, Mrs. Bankcroft. Where’s the script? I haven’t even seen the lines.”
“It’s OK my pet. You won’t have to learn any lines. This is just a stunt sequence. It’ll be right up your alley.”
---------------------------------------
“Is that OK Amber?” the stunt coordinator asked as he finished tying Tina’s wrists behind her back. Tina twisted her wrists back and forth inside the rope loops easily.
“It’s fine….” Tina started to say, using her best midwestern accent to keep the crew in the dark about the fact that she was not Amber. But Mrs. Bankcroft stepped in.
“How is she supposed to act like a damsel tied like that? Seriously? This is a classic ‘Damsel tied to the train track’ sequence. She’s supposed to be facing inescapable doom. That is amateur. Take that off and do it again.” The crew member quickly slipped the ropes off of Tina’s hands and started over. “You have to cross her wrists. Cross your wrists for him Dear.” Tina crossed her wrists placing the contour of one against the concave curve of the other. Her wrists now fit together like two spoons. “Now you can tie her much more effectively, and she can FEEL like a damsel instead of ACT like one. Yes. That’s better.”
“It’s kind of tight, actually.” Tina blurted out, forgetting to hide her southern accent. Honey glared at her.
“Back in my day, a leading lady could be tied up MUCH tighter than that for days and days of shoots and reshoots.” Honey Bancroft pulled the zipper of Tina’s top down enough to reveal a healthy amount of cleavage. “There, now you look the part of the damsel. Wiggle your ankles why don’t you. Make sure you can’t get loose.” Tina was becoming quite uncomfortable, but this is how movies are made, and she had to do what Amber would do. Which meant she did as she was told. Tina wasbound quite effectively now. Laying next to these real train tracks, she was feeling how she imagined her character might feel. A sense of dread was building. “Let’s finish with wardrobe and get our shot everyone. Chop Chop.” Mrs. Bankcroft declared. And she turned away from Tina to consult with another crew member. Tina had her mouth open, preparing to ask exactly what the scene was supposed to be about, when she felt the presence of the other wardrobe assistant behind her.
“That’s great. Thank you.” A large cloth was pressed into Tina’s open mouth. She tried to bite down out of surprise but was prevented from doing so as more of its length was pushed between her teeth until her cheeks nearly bulged. Honey heard the activity and glanced back over her shoulder, and then returned to her conversation, seemingly pleased that wardrobe was completing the damsel ensemble. Her mouth now thoroughly stuffed, Tina tried to look back at the assistant, but her head was held in place. “Try not to move now.” The assistant had started wrapping tape around Tina’s mouth.
“MMphhhffff. Mrrmppfff.” Tina complained. She bent her legs and roller her hips and clenched her hands into fists. She was held tightly by the simple cinched rope loops. The tape continued to be layered around her lower face. Tina was not happy with this degree of realism, but she was determined to do this, for Amber.
“I’m so happy you’re back Tina. You and Amber are really meant to be a pair. I’ll have you back together soon.” Tina froze. The voice whispering in Tina’s ear was one she’d never forget. She remembered the last time she heard it…
------------------------
“John Dailey, Sir.” Tina’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“And who was John Dailey to you? How did you know him?” the Prosecutor was perking up now. He was coming to his finale.
“He was the director. And he was the producer.”
“Thank you! And you stated before, this was your first movie. So, Mr. Dailey was a powerful figure to you, wasn’t he?” Tina’s eyes were welling up is tears. She’d probably never work in Hollywood again after this. She nodded her head up and down. “You have to give a VERBAL answer, Ms. Glory.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, that John Dailey was a powerful person to you? That he was a dominant individual from your perspective?” Tina found that a strange choice of words.
“Yes. Yes, he was.”
“Do you see this powerful, dominant man that tormented yourself and your friend Amber Bankcroft here in the courtroom today, Ms. Glory?” Tina wiped tears away but kept her eyes down. “Ms. Glory? Tina! Do you see him here today?”
Tina slowly lifted her head and turned from the jury and the prosecutor to the table to her right. The table she’d been avoiding the entire 4 hours she’d been testifying.
“He’s there,” Tina blurted out. “The defendant.” Tina hadn’t actually looked up enough to see Dailey. Her eyes remained down, below the table. She could only see their legs and feet. Even so, Dailey’s legs were distinctive. Each one was like two barrels connected by a knee. He was like a bear.
“Ms. Glory, please describe him for the jury so there’s no doubt that you see the man that attacked you…”
Tina had no choice. She raised her eyes.
--------------------------------
“What a performance! Are you getting the close angle? Get the ropes in the frame.” Honey Bankcroft sang Tina’s praises as she writhed and bucked. Bound and gagged, she’d been hoisted up onto the train tracks. She was tied down onto the rails at her ankles and throat.
“MMMphhfff!!! MMMrphhhhhhfff!!!” Tina couldn’t believe it. Dailey was standing right there with the crew, and nobody but she knew it! She pulled as hard as she could against her ropes, in true desperation. Her eyes watered as she nearly choked herself trying to pull away from the tracks.
“Keep rolling! This is Oscar worthy, Darling.” Honey Bankcroft extolled. “This film is going to top the box office for weeks!” She laughed happily, not realizing the man that kidnapped her daughter was practically standing right next to her.
The more furiously Tina fought her bonds, the more determined the crew was to keep the scene going. So, she kept screaming into her gag and futilely wrenching her arms and legs against her rope bindings until complete exhaustion reduced her to a whimpering, limp puddle. The crew stood and applauded, and Honey beamed proudly as if it were her REAL daughter putting on a performance for the ages.
But Tina had no interest in the praise. The only thought in her head was, “Get your Glock and kill that goddamned son of a bitch.”