Chapter Three- "Camera..."

*****[About an hour after getting their assignment]

Bosco and Faith were assigned to sector 8, which is one block west and south from the main set with the pyrotechnics. They are sitting in their RMP still eating the food that they took from the buffet table. Faith is peeling an orange while Bosco munches on an apple. "Sully would have loved this, huh?" Faith says.

"That's the only good thing about this whole ordeal, I can taunt Sully with how good the food was. What was in those rolled up things, shrimp?"

"I think so. We better hurry up and finish, it'll be dark soon."

"So." He says, tossing the apple core out the window.

"So, we should get out and walk around. To make sure none of these freaks get over to the set. Don't ya think?"

"I'm not getting out of the car. Look at that guy over there." He points up the road to a bum that is climbing into a dumpster. "Can you imagine the diseases he is carrying. He looks like he's about seventy years old. I'll bet he's in his early thirties. And look at those kids across the street. Here they all come now, just before it starts to get dark, they crawl in from the city."

The sudden knock on Faith's window makes them both jump. Faith turns to see the face of an old woman looking in at them. She rolls the window down and asks her what she wants.

"You got any food for my baby? My baby's hungry."

The woman is carrying a doll that has only one eye, one arm and a half a head of hair. It is wrapped in a dirty blanket and she is cradling it in her arm. Faith holds up the orange, and the woman grabs it with her dirty fingers and runs away.



Finally the radio crackles to life. "Sector 8...Your presence is requested back at the set."

Faith says, "Isn't that us?"

Bosco grabs quickly for the radio, fumbling it for a second. "55 David...I mean sector 8...10-4" Then he smiles at Faith. "I believe it's time for your date."

*****[Back at the set]

Bosco pulls up in front of the security trailer and a young girl walks up to the car. "My name is Pam, and I was sent to get you."

They climb out of the car and Bosco says, "I'll wait for you here."

"Come with me." Faith says nervously.

Pam offers, "You can both come. We're going over to the make-up trailer."

"Make-up trailer? No thanks...I'm good here." He folds his arms and leans against the car door.

Pam leads Faith into a trailer, where Polly is sitting in a chair while some guy painstakingly paints her face with make-up. She is wearing a police uniform that looks authentic right down to the police issue boots. Even the badge looks real. Polly smiles and waves to her. "I'm glad you chose to come. I'm afraid I won't have as much time as I thought I would though. Editing killed three scenes that we shot yesterday and now we have to re-shoot them, so I have to be on the set in a little while. But, since you're here, you can come over and watch if you'd like."

"Sure, that sounds interesting." Faith looks around uncomfortably.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you, is that I'm trying to research my character. And so far, all the female cops I've talked to are either single, gay or they're married to a cop. I was hoping you could give me a little insight. For instance, your husband isn't a cop, neither is mine on the show...does that cause problems? Is he ok with you being a cop?"

Faith feels more relaxed, now that she knows what Polly wants. "Oh God...he hates that I'm a cop. We argue about that all the time."

"Great...I mean...that's the kind of thing I need to know. I also wanna know stuff like...ok...you have a male partner...do you have to try to keep up with him or does he do most of the rough stuff? Or does it piss you off if he does? That sort of thing."

*****[Back at the RMP]

Shortly after Faith leaves with Pam, Jay comes out of the make-up trailer, and as he walks by, Bosco says out loud, "You make cops like me look bad."

"Excuse me?" Jay says turning to Bosco.

"You heard me. You make us look bad." Bosco says sternly.

"Hey, if you don't like the show, deputy dog ...just don't watch it." Jay says annoyed.

"I didn't say I didn't like the show. But your character...you play it all wrong. You always let your partner make a fool of you. You play it off like she's a better cop than you. You make guys like me, with female partners, look bad. Like we're henpecked."

"You think she makes me look foolish? Coz I've been telling the director that, but he don't agree."

"God Yah. In reality...I'm the top cop in my RMP. She listens to me...she respects me. I'm the cop, she's my back up, see? She knows that I'm stronger, faster, and smarter than she is. Don't get me wrong, my partner's a good cop...but she knows her place."

"So I should play it more like I'm the star and she's the supporting actress." Jay says, becoming interested in what Bosco has to say.

"Exactly!" Bosco says. "For instance, my partner wanted this fluffy assignment. So I let her have her way, but I told her, one day...that's it. Tomorrow...we are back doing real police work. I drive...she rides. Unless there is a chance we have to go on foot pursuit, then she drives...I chase. She does most of the reports...I help her a little, so it don't take her all night. I hope this information helps."

*****[Back in the make-up trailer]

Faith is telling Polly, " I'm like the adult in charge of our RMP. My partner is like a little kid playing super cop. He always runs into a situation with out thinking. It's like how you always have to remind a child to look both ways before crossing, ya know what I mean?"

Polly nods attentively. "So you're the brains behind the team. Is he more the strength?"



"You don't really need strength in most situations. But...he thinks that he's faster than me...and as long as he thinks that, he does all the running, and I get to chase after the bad guys with the car. But when there's no one to chase, he wants to do all the driving. So I get chauffeured around all day, and let him deal with all the traffic. That gives me time to do the reports in the car, 'coz if he helps me do them, he screws them all up. As far as being the strength...yah I guess he's stronger than I am, but he's afraid of me when I get mad. He knows his place."

Faith and Polly are talking like they are old friends. But suddenly, the trailer door opens and a guy yells in that they have fifteen minutes to be on the set, and it's as if the guy yelled 'Fire!' The make-up guy and his two assistants start hurrying around filling make up bags, then run out the door towards a van, that is now parked outside.

As Faith and Polly step outside, the same scene is happening out there. There are several young people, Pam included, running towards the van, carrying outfits on hangers, duffel bags, and books that look like scripts. Everyone is rushing around except the actors. Apparently, that is what they have assistants for.

Polly tells Faith that her and her partner can ride over to the set in the van, but Faith tells her they need to stay with their RMP. "Well, just follow the van to the set. I don't really know where we're going to shoot these scenes."

Bosco is watching everyone rushing to the van, and he asks Faith what is going on. "They're going to film now. We have to follow the van ."

"We...have to get back on patrol." Bosco says, climbing into the car.

"No, we were invited to go watch." Faith says excitedly.

"We can't just leave our sector."

"Yah we can. Polly cleared us, she said we..."

"We don't work for Polly. We have to check in with Peterson."

"Bosco...since when do you worry about following orders? Lieu put us on this assignment as a reward. Enjoy yourself. I am. Now follow the van or I'm gonna drive!"

Bosco follows the van through the abandoned streets, hoping that Jay didn't hear that last conversation. Then they drive into the area that he and Faith had originally driven to. They are setting up some sort of explosives now, in and around the staged car wreck. But the van drives right on by. Right up the street that Mr. Clipboard told them earlier, to stay off of. This pleases Bosco, and he makes a gesture towards the guy as he passes. They pass right through this fake city and back into the desolate area.

"Where the hell are we going?" Bosco asks annoyed. "We're off the security map that Peterson had. There's no sectors here."

"I don't know. Polly said they needed to re-shoot. This must be where they were yesterday."

Finally, about three blocks up the street, Bosco can see a few cars and people. As they approach and park, they notice that this block has not been fixed up the way the other two areas had been. They just cleared the garbage and placed a few cars near the curb. There is a skeleton crew preparing only one camera and a few other pieces of equipment, as if this set was an after thought. Standing in the middle, is the producer.

They are running over budget because of the pyrotechnics in this episode, and they are running out of time. The director explains that he decided to re-shoot one of the scenes before it gets dark, with just one camera, while they are waiting for the fire scene to be set up.

Bosco looks around the area as they wait, and he mentions to Faith again, that this area was not on the security map.

"Well they didn't know they were filming here earlier. They must have added it after we left."

"But I don't see any one wearing black security shirts."

Faith looks around. "You're right. There's none here."

Bosco gets on his radio and calls in to the base. "This is sector 8 to base"

"What is it sector 8?"

"We are located three blocks north of sector 1 and it appears we have no other security."

"That's because you are in the wrong sector. You should be..."

Bosco cuts him off. "I know where sector 8 is...but we are here with the film crew and there is no security."

"Sector 8...you need to get to your assigned post. You are not...I repeat NOT allowed to be following the film crews around."

Bosco is getting angry. "This guy is a moron." He says to Faith.

"Let me try." Talking into her radio she says, "Peterson...we are standing three blocks north of sector one, and we appear to be the only security on this set. I think you should send someone over."

"Sector 8...you are in the wrong sector. You are in sector 1, with the film crew. If you don't return to your sector I am relieving you of this assignment."

Faith clicks her radio off and tips her head towards Bosco. "You're right...he's a moron. He has no idea they are filming here. And ya know what? I'm not gonna miss the filming, arguing with him."

The director is telling the actors how he wants to shoot this scene. "We are only going to film part of the chase. Everyone will come racing down this street and turn into that alley a block away. Since our 'perp' actor isn't here today...Polly, you just run like you're chasing him. We'll add him in later. Then I want the squad cars to come from the corner behind us, make a left in front of us, and then go up to the next block and turn right into the alley. Polly, you'll go first. Just run from this corner to that corner, turn into the alley, and stay there. The squad cars will come in shortly after you, so go in pretty far. We should get this all in one take."

Jay, with the other two actors from the show, Skeet and Corey, walk around the corner behind the film crew, get into the cars, and wait for their cue for action. Polly walks over to the corner in front of the crew. The make-up people are doing some last minute touch ups on all the actors, and when they walk out of the scene, they will begin filming. What happens next is totally unexpected.