The next day, Alex and Neil were at the pool and saw another player character sitting in the hot tub. This character was a Caucasian male with spiky black hair and a black beard. He was wearing a pair of blue swimming trunks.
"Hi there. Mind if we join you?" Alex asked.
"Sure, don't see why not." The black haired male said. Alex and Neil nodded and they sat down in the hot tub.
"So, who are you two?" The black haired male asked.
"Alex Jackson, Level 126." Alex introduced himself.
"Neil, Level 116." Neil introduced himself as well.
"Wow, your player gave you an actual surname?" The black haired male asked Alex.
"Yeah, he did. He also has a second character named Nancy DeGraw, maybe we'll introduce her some day. So, who are you?" Alex asked the black haired male.
"Merrick, Level 250." The black haired male introduced himself.
"Well, it's nice meeting you. So, what do you do when your player controls you?" Neil asked Merrick.
"Meh, I'm a cargo griefer when controlled by my player." Merrick replied.
"A cargo griefer? Man, sounds tough." Neil replied back.
"Yeah, don't remind me. My player has a whole arsenal at his disposal to grief cargo. A Mk II Opressor, an Orbital Cannon, a Hydra, anything he can use to grief other players' cargo and screw them over. I can't believe there's players that scummy out there. It's fucking infuriating." Merrick said.
"Yeah, I bet you really don't like griefing cargo." Alex said.
"No, not at all. Usually when I grief cargo, I tend to get an earful of threats from other players over their headsets. It's a real bitch." Merrick replied.
"Okay. So, what do you do for a non-player role?" Alex asked.
"I'm an actor at Richards Majestic Studios. I'm actually in the middle of shooting a movie while dealing with the online life. If you want, I can take you to the studio." Merrick offered Alex and Neil.
"Sure, I don't mind. I'd love to see what movie you're shooting down there." Neil replied.
"Yeah, me too. Let's go." Alex said.
Later, Alex, Merrick and Neil arrived at Richards Majestic in Merrick's blue Benefactor Schafter V12. Merrick was behind the wheel, Alex was riding shotgun and Neil was sitting in the right back seat. Merrick was dressed in a blue suit with a red tie and black loafers. Alex was dressed in a white suit with a pink dress shirt and black shoes. Neil was dressed in a gray suit with a red tie and black oxford shoes.
"Hey, who are those two, Merrick?" The security guard asked Merrick.
"They're two guys I befriended, Henry." Merrick said to the security guard, whose name is apparently Henry.
"...Okay, but if they try anything funny, we'll toss them out of here." Henry replied.
"I'll keep an eye on them, Henry. Don't you worry." Merrick said as he drove the car into the lot and parked it. Merrick, Alex and Neil then got out of the car.
"So, where do we have to go?" Neil asked.
"Follow me." Merrick said as he began walking towards a filming location. Alex and Neil followed him. They then arrived in a lockup where they were gonna be filming.
"So, is this where the magic will be going down?" Alex asked.
"Yes. This is one of the places we'll be filming. And you're probably wondering what movie we're filming for, right?" Merrick asked.
"Yes, we are." Alex and Neil replied in unison.
"Well, I'll explain. This movie we're filming is called A Murder In Morningwood. According to my director, it's gonna be a movie with a plot so tangled, you'll still have no clue what's going on even after watching it five times. I actually have the lead role in this movie. Do you guys want to watch the filming of this next scene?" Merrick asked.
"Of course." Alex replied.
"Yeah. We didn't come here for nothing, did we?" Neil added.
"Okay, the people here at the studio are fine with you guys being around, but keep quiet during the filming of the scenes." Merrick said. Alex and Neil nodded to show that they understand.
"Okay. Here goes." Merrick said. A little while later, they were filming a scene for the movie.
"Inspector Burns, the LSPD is not sure if they want your assitance any longer after that incident during the case of the murder of Savanna Macintosh." One of the actors said.
"The LSPD doesn't have a clue how they would solve this case without me. If they want me gone, they're making a huge mistake." Merrick, in his character of "Inspector Burns" replied. Alex and Neil looked on at the filming of the scene with interest. Later, after the filming of the scene was finished, everyone applauded at Merrick's great acting.
"Okay, that's lunch, people!" The director said. He then walked up to Merrick. "You did great on this scene, kid."
"Thank you, sir." Merrick told the director.
"I knew I made a good decision when I casted you in the lead role. They called me crazy for it, but it really paid off." The director told Merrick.
"Thank you." Merrick replied once again.
"Well, time for lunch. Anything I should get you and your friends?" The director asked.
"A pizza would be nice." Merrick said.
"Yeah, I would like a pizza too." Alex said.
"And me too." Neil added.
"Alright, I'll make sure you'll all get a pizza. What flavor do you want?" The director asked.
"Pepperoni." Alex, Merrick and Neil replied in unison.
"Understood. Hey, get Merrick and his friends a pepperoni pizza each!" The director told a crew member. The crew member nodded and proceeded to go and get three pepperoni pizzas for the trio. "We'll call you when we need you on set again, Merrick." The director said. Merrick nodded and he, Alex and Neil walked off.
"Well, that was certainly interesting." Alex said.
"Yeah, you're a really good actor, Merrick." Neil said.
Merrick chuckled. "I've heard that so many times before. Not that I don't like it." He said.
"Well, let's wait on our pizzas." Alex said. Merrick and Neil nodded in agreement.