Hey kids!
I remember watching 'Panic Room' a few years ago, and I thought it was pretty good, so I figured why not change the main characters to Beck & Jade? :)
I think the main thing to point out for the purpose of the storyline is that - like the girl in Panic Room - Jade is diabetic and she wears a monitor on her wrist to keep track of her blood sugar level.
So... yeah! I hope you like it!
"I wrote it all down; 4200 square feet, four floors - perfect -, courtyard and back south facing garden. Perfect"
Beck Oliver held tightly onto his girlfriend - Jade West's hand as the young couple followed their estate agent - Lydia - down a busy and unfamiliar street on the west side of Manhattan. It was Autumn, and the sidewalk was covered in a blanket of red and orange leaves which had fallen from the tall trees which lined the sidewalk. Numbers of people bustled past the young couple, often bumping into them - making Jade curse them under her breath.
"Um, shouldn't we just wait for the car service to get here?" Beck called to Lydia who was power-walking ahead in front of them, as an old man shuffled into Jade - making her mumble something under her breath which sounded a lot like "Move it or lose it, grandpa."
Lydia laughed, "No! We'll sit in traffic for hours. Plus, this way you get to see the beautiful sights of New York!"
Jade scoffed as she spotted an overweight man going to the bathroom against a brick wall, "Yeah, beautiful," she rolled her eyes. Beck chuckled and squeezed her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand before calling forward to Lydia again.
"Is that the listing sheet?" he asked, referring to the yellow post-it note in Lydia's hand.
"There is no listing sheet. I heard about this place this morning, it'll be gone by this afternoon," she told them.
Jade sighed, "Well how many more after this one?"
"None! You know how tight the market is!"
Jade rolled her eyes and narrowly avoided a cyclist as he sped past her, almost knocking her off her feet, "I hate people," she grumbled.
Beck smiled amusedly, "I know."
Lydia suddenly called upwards to a man standing at the top of some steps as they rounded a corner. The man turned and sighed as Lydia approached him. Beck and Jade didn't both running to catch up with her, they took their time.
"This is a nice little place," Beck commented as they approached the bottom of the steps of what was clearly the house they were going to view imminently. Jade nodded in agreement as she looked around the street before they followed Lydia and the man inside the town-house.
"Built in 1879. This is the middle of the house; the parlour floor. Here is the living room. Formal dining is in the back, casual dining below, renovated in '94..." Beck and Jade tuned out the monotone voice of the man showing them the house as they began to look around.
Jade's perfectly shaped eyebrows raised in astonishment as she and Beck wandered around the floor they were on. Her high heels clicked on the mahogany floor as she walked around, gazing up at the high ceilings and the cream walls which surrounded her. It was beautiful.
"It's amazing," Beck commented as he and Jade walked over to the patio doors.
"It's got a yard," Jade commented as she looked out of the glass doors at the seemingly tiny garden, "Sorta..." she added.
"Working elevator," the man pointed out, walking over to it as Beck and Jade followed him, "The previous owner was disabled in the last years of his life. Highly unusual having an elevator in a house like this. Shall we have a look at the rest?" he finished in an extremely bored voice as he began to climb the staircase.
"I think you should make an offer," Lydia commented to Beck with an eager smile.
Beck sighed, "It costs a fortune."
"Beck, it's not Barney's - you don't have to pay the price on the tag," Jade told him, making him chuckle and shake his head.
"It would be so lovely if I could show you the property before I leave," the man's voice came from above them after noticing that they weren't moving from their positions at the bottom of the staircase. Jade rolled her eyes and made a face before they began to climb the staircase to the next floor.
"Hardwood floors throughout, as many as six working fireplaces. This is the top floor, two bedrooms - one at either end, they share one small bathroom," the man droned on as he guided them down the hall, clearly wanting to be anywhere but where he was at that moment in time.
"Third floor - spare bedroom or den, it was previously used as an office. May I ask what you do Mr..."
"Oliver. I'm an actor, but I'm doing other jobs on the side just to keep the money coming in," Beck answered with a smile.
"Ah... an actor..." the man raised his eyebrows before turning away, "Moving on..."
Jade rolled her eyes once again before they followed him through the doorway.
"Walk in closet," the man pointed out as they passed through.
"Oooh..." Jade commented, looking around at the spacious closet as she admired it. Beck chuckled and shook his head before pulling her along.
"And here we are in the master bedroom," the man's monotone voice droned again.
As Beck looked around, he noticed something different about the room. He dropped Jade's hand and stepped forward, looking through the second door down the hall as he measured in his head, "Is this room smaller than it should be?"
The man smiled for the first time, "You're the first person to notice," he said as he stepped forward and pushed on a certain section on the wall in front of him. As if by magic, a secret door swung open, revealing a small room. He made his way inside before Beck, Jade and Lydia followed him.
"It's called a panic room," he continued once they were inside as he turned on the lights, "One really can't be too careful about a home invasion."
"This is perfect," Lydia smiled as Beck and Jade looked around at the miniscule room.
"Concrete walls, buried phone line - not connected to the house's mainline; you can call the police and no one can cut you off. You have your own ventilation system, a bank of surveillance monitors that covers nearly every corner of the house."
Jade leaned forward to look at the several monitors which were embedded in the wall, "This makes me nervous," she commented, hoping they would never have to use this room.
"What's to keep someone from prying open the door?" Beck asked as he looked around.
"Steel. Thick steel. Very thick steel. Full battery back up, so even if the power is off, it's still functional," the man explained before pressing a button, making the door suddenly slide shut.
Jade frowned, suddenly feeling the room closing in on her, "Open it, please," she breathed.
The man shrugged and opened the door once again before letting Jade rush out. Beck followed her to the middle of the room and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into him, "That seems way too dangerous, the door is a hazard," he pointed out.
"Not at all," the man smiled before pressing the same button and sticking his arm out. The door started to close but suddenly froze when he stuck his arm out. "Motion detectors - the door won't close if something's blocking it. Couldn't be safer," he explained before moving his arm and letting the door close before the mirrored door closed on top of his, concealing it perfectly.
Beck and Jade turned to look at each other, both of them unsure of what to do.
Lydia smiled at them, "I know they'll take asking price."