In a hotel with four stars...
He has managed to include all our wishes, even that of the rest of his staff. He took care of our diets and allergies.
It was an observation that made the man satisfied and relaxed. He and the rest were having breakfast in a secured and private section of the hotel. Everyone was talking and their faces were more energetic than when they had arrived in the country. everyone's face, except his own.
There were staff members who wanted to try out new things and so, there were some local specialties brought in, like chocolate sprinkles and high-quality cheese. The rest of the breakfast was almost completely western, the scrambled eggs, sausages and cereals, with only one exception added to it: rice.
Their manager was trying out something new and quickly founded a good combination by adding a local ingredient to peanut butter.
The man himself, chose for a warm bowl of rice, with additions of the western version.
"It seems there are no paparazzi here," Ruri observed at the opposite side of the table. She brought a whole bunch of papers with her, which appears to be her script. Her other-worldly eyes saw how the sky was covered by clouds; the sun didn't reach the ground with her beams.
Just like I said, I prefer the peace of being unknown in the rest of the world. I don't need international fame.
He saw the clouds too, which remembered him to the more shady and dangerous days of Ikebukuro. The days that he and his older brother were accused for assaults, which appeared to be false at the end. The police man who released his brother from his cell, managed to do the same with him, only a few days later and apologized for the harsh treatment they got.
He couldn't feel a difference between these clouds and these at home, however, they looked different. The clouds over here, had a more chilling atmosphere.
In contrast with the clouds, Max Sandshelt the manager delivered a chaotic aura into the room.
"What a catastrophe, even the end of the world in his most cruel form, would have been less painful than this!", he shouted over the phone with his iconic quirky and dramatic voice.
"He could have gone with us, but he preferred to take a little vacation here, before he begins with his work on the project," he explained to the person at the other side of the line, still in his overdramatized way.
"But serious, how long would it take him to recover?", he requested about the man he spoke of.
He is in the hospital? I don't know if I am surprised by it.
Their cat, Yuigadokusonmaru, had survived the flight and enjoyed at this moment of his daily portion of milk, while being petted by Kasuka himself.
"A month? Come on, isn't that a bit too pessimistic about him? Of course, he needs to rest, but not for that long, isn't it?", Max reaction was genuine and he didn't swing his arms what he normally would do when he heard such nonsense. This was serious business to him, if the person was unavailable for that long of a period, then it would be a huge lost.
The time that he listened to the report of the local hospital, was worth to worry about. The falling jaw of Max added a serious, but also humorous side to the report.
"I understand, excuse me for the reaction I gave a few minutes ago. So, in summary, his face has a lot of injury, bones broken in arms and legs and his stomach disfunctions due to the injuries. That's a worrisome, but agreeable amount of damage for a time period to take that long to recover," the overreactions of him started to fade out, though, the conversation was still moving. It wasn't that Max didn't have the energy anymore to act overdramatic, it was because it didn't suit the mood of the conversation.
"That is lucky for him, that he had managed by himself to report the assault to a restaurant and requested an ambulance."
The person from the hospital, got a formal report of the questioning. The attacker appeared to come from Poland, but the victim couldn't describe the face of his attacker.
Kasuka knew the name of the victim, who was going to play a major role in the movie. Kujiramiga Fushigati, Kasuka had worked with that actor before. Their roles were most of the time the opposites of each other, with Kasuka being the protagonist, the hero and Kujiramiga the antagonist, the villain of the story. Fushigati's smirky face, was his main selling point and gave him many opportunities to play as the bad guy. Kasuka remembered that Kujiramiga didn't minded about the roles he got, he would just play them, so that he would get paid for it. Before he was scouted by Max, he had no experience in acting, but he managed it well, by just partly playing as himself and due to that, he wasn't that loved by staff members.
It appears he founded a real villain this time, maybe he was ambushed or got robbed.
The thoughts of Heiwajima didn't make any sense, so he corrected himself.
The best option would be that he evoked the assault in the first place, you could intimidate him simply, due to his weak and thin body.
"Where could I even find an actor with the same kind of smirky face of him?", Max questioned the issue openly to the rest of the crew, after he had hung up the call. It was for him an effective way to get answers and solutions, some people doubted if he was experienced in the job, but after a while it just felt like him being open about the problems and his staff appreciated that.
The problem was simple to understand, but difficult to solve. Even he knew that he couldn't simply wait on the recovery of Fushigati, even praying won't heal him faster.
The staff didn't had answers to his question and started to head back to their rooms, preparing for the first day on the film set. Kasuka saw how Ruri was still reading her script, trying to remember all the lines she got as one of the main characters.
Her mind seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of words, this doesn't look good.
"Maybe it's better to put the script away for a time, you could the time to relax a bit."
It was the feedback that astonished her, where after she observed the surroundings. She looked down onto the papers and putted them away.
"Thanks," she declared and closed her eyes.
I didn't mean that, however, I will wake you up when we are leaving the hotel.
And Kasuka's eyes returned to the grey clouds, wondering if they were really that chilling.
In a redacted hotel room...
People are lying when they claim that they are clean, as in the way of their soul being clean.
Normally, her clients would give her work around 10 pm, but there are always exceptions to the rule, this time it was 1 am when someone called her. The alcohol that she had drunk, made her work a little bit less difficult and more durable, but it wouldn't always work and she knew that.
The morning has started for her, this time in a luxury room of a hotel with five stars. It was the surprise factor of her job, one day she would wake up in a small, but practical hotel room and the next day in a penthouse outside of the city, where privacy was natural.
The blanket was almost on the ground, hanging just a little bit under the snoring man next to her. The man who had experienced an enjoyable night, wasn't her husband, though, it was her client. He said to her that he got a boring day and wanted something wild, so she gave it to him. That was her work that she chose for.
People would ask her twice why she did the work, trying to get the real truth out of her. However, it was the real truth and she didn't regret her choice.
It's always the high class who are willing to pay for my services, they seemed to have no romantic life, only being busy with work, with money. Not that I hate his kind of people, at least, they are paying huge amounts for me, so I can't complain.
She grabbed the pile of money on the chair, next over the bed. The man with who she had slept tonight had a smile on his face, not a fake one, but a real satisfied expression. That was the reason why she did this work, it wasn't the unrealistic payment of her clients, but the drive to entertain them and giving them a night that they wouldn't forget for a shaming long time.
The clock showed her the time and it surprised her that it was earlier than normal. The voucher of the hotel communicated to her with the text, that she could get a breakfast.
He paid for one night and a one-night stand, so he has paid also for my breakfast.
She headed to the bedroom and took a shower; the soap was as expensive as a carafe of champagne and the shower gave a nice warm infra-red light to her skin. She had putted off the long sharp nails, so that it couldn't hurt her soft feeling skin.
He paid loyal, so I guess I will take a break at home and prepare myself for today's night or maybe I will take a day off. However, I will decide that after I have dinner with my husband.
After she had finished the shower and had dried her hair, the man still wasn't awake. She took the notebook of yesterday out of her handbag and wrote her number down, which she gave to her newly found client. She didn't do always that, if a client discomforted her or their wishes were to absurd, then she would just leave without any note.
"My client hasn't wake up," she explained to the receptionist of the breakfast hall, when she was asked about the reason why she was alone. She didn't shame for her work and she was even open about it.
It is a legal job after all, at least in this country.
She was registered and got a half yearly check from a specific functionary, who after the check requested her number. If she wasn't registered, then they will get suspicious and ask for your passport. If it was a foreign one or under age, then they will bring you to the police, who will investigate which criminal circuit brought you to this country in the first place. If that wasn't the case, then you will get escorted to the police office, but then to register yourself after a check from a psychologist.
The warm pastries tasted excellent as always, the fresh squished orange juice gave her tongue the sour, but delicate taste of her daily dose of vitamin C. To be sure of her daily dose, she peeled and cut an apple with the knife that she had brought with her. The eggs were boiled perfectly, the proteins were denaturalized, while the egg yolk was still liquid.
He chose the right hotel, it's always top notch here, he sure is man with a good heart and taste.
After she had finished her breakfast, she checked out by the main reception and they wished her a good day, because she was a loyal client of the hotel.
Like herself, the wind in the city was fresh. The wind came from the west and as a result, the air smelled salty and was refreshing after a hot night of work. Her walking style was straight forward, both feet were pointing towards her destination, which was her home. Due to her work, she had developed a second walk style for her clients, which was more provocative and appealing to them. It wasn't a practical style, though, and she only used it if necessary.
The bus stop appeared to be an ordinary one and wasn't used that much often. A couple was waiting for the bus too, just like that guy at the other side of the bus stop. She had an urge to look to someone feet and shoes, these were telling a lot of information about the person, which she used to determinate a new client for her service.
The couple wasn't interesting for her, however, the man who was standing alone, could be interested in her. His feet stood from each other, like if the noses were positively loaded and were repelling each other. His pose was loose, supposedly, his life didn't go well, which means that he could use a good night.
"Good morning gentleman, how is your day going?", she spoke to him in Dutch, not expecting the horror that she got, when he turned his face to her.
Don't judge him, he still can be a client, he still can be nice.
"What did you say?", the man replied in English. His face seemed to be confused, while still remaining the strange look he wore. The eyes were black as tar, sticking to your mind for a couple of minutes, while his cheeks were as white as bleach and they didn't get much skin to it.
"Excuse me, I didn't know that you're a tourist. Are you on a city trip, if I may ask?", she responded, with a normal face and a practical attitude, ready for just a normal chat.
"I am not a tourist here, I am an exchange police man, who just arrived here yesterday," he responded with a neutral face. His tone sounded forced, trying to speak normally.
A cop? I didn't expect that from a fragile body like him, however, he's acting normally, so I don't have a good reason to not talk with him.
"Where do you come from? Every country got their own accent, so it's difficult for us to tell where you have born and raised up," she questioned him with normal interest, trying to move the conversation forward.
The bus stopped and both of them were stepping in, while their chat also began to move. Their transport cards checked in by the device in the bus, releasing a simple beep.
"I lived in Washington DC, United States of America, but I was born in Winburn, Pennsylvania. You are coming from here?", his words had a sense of suspicion sticking to them, but the question he asked wasn't a weird one.
"Not from the city, but I do come from the Netherlands, just a few towns to the east, Oostgaarde," she replied.
Two seats next to each other where free and so their conversation was proceeding.
"That must be a long ride."
"Oh, don't think that big, it's like 7 kilometres from the centre of the city. Americans are having the tendency of thinking everything big, a given example is one of my American clients who wanted too much, so I couldn't deliver it." The intention of the last sentence didn't fulfil his purpose and was lost through astonishment.
"Well, Winburn was small and due to that comfortable, the forest nearby gave me great- "
The man stopped his sentence, probably realizing that he could give sensitive information away.
Well, as I thought, everyone has secret which they want to keep to themselves. However, that doesn't matter.
"Before you arrive at your destination, may I ask you for your name? I want to contact you again, I am having a nice talk with you and I like to have it a few times more," she proposed, while he gave him a friendly smile.
"It's Uthan Calem," the man answered, standing up to check out with his card.
"Nice name that you have. Mine is Astrid Meijster, it was a pleasure to meet you."
Astrid could see that he had a question for her, but he took the responsible priority of stepping out of the bus.
That was an enjoyable conversation, I haven't felt that intense in a long time. Maybe…
Her eyes were going to her handbag, where she had her knife. As the bus proceeded to move, she wondered what the reason was for that feeling.
"Good morning, I am home!", she let her husband know that she had arrived from her work.
"It's early for your doing, what's happened?", her husband, William Frandward, asked.
"I had a short night and woke up early this time. I don't know what motivates them to hire a luxury room just for me, but at least I enjoy the time there," she explained.
It was a marriage with trust, they knew each other's profession and they both had now issues with the job of their partner.
William's body appeared to be built for a fight, his arms had scratches all over them and his skin was injured a bit. He hasn't shaved himself for a few days, that was visible to her, and the slightly curling hair made him look like a hard worker.
"You can't guess what kind of an interesting person I have met at the bus stop? I give you one hint: he was nice to me, but he wasn't Dutch," she gave her husband a riddle, that he couldn't solve.
"Then it must be a stranger completely lost, a tourist would want to take a picture with you," her man replied.
"Wrong, it's an exchange cop."
"Damn it, you know that I hate their kind, so don't tease me with them," he grumped.
"But he came from the United States," she defended her pointed, though, she throwed oil in the fire.
"I said, don't tease me! They are even worse! You don't demand respect, like what they do, you must earn it. I am lucky to don't live in the United States, because then I would been shot at least a hundred times."
He was grumpy already, but now he also started to become furious. She knew what to do and walked to the kitchen to let him cool down.
While she observed the inventory of the refrigerator, her man started to blow steam off through cursing and insulting the police, which he only did when he was alone. As much as he hated them, he held his principals high and never cursed when she or everyone else was in the room.
The cabbage was fresh, so he had done his part of the household and so, Astrid began to prepare the cabbage for today's salad with a knife purposed for vegetables.
"I am really in the mood to send someone to them, just someone who will kill a few of their kind," he said. She was out of the room, but she could still hear it, however, this wasn't against their agreement.
Astrid stopped abruptly with the preparations for the dinner, her heart started to pump her blood faster. She couldn't see her husband, but they have been so long together to exactly know how he said it. He said it with a wide smile on his face and she knew exactly who he meant.
He was right, I need to change my course, by myself.
She kept herself quiet, switched to her own knife and commanded her head to stay cool. Her legs were trembling, while her head had already made the decision that would change her life for the better or the worse.
At the local police office...
The exchange rookie seemed to have slept well tonight, he could use an energetic start to flourish his life a bit.
He observed the excited face of Uthan, a faint smile was coming through the pure bitterness of his face.
"Nice, I didn't expect you this early. It's ten o'clock, I thought the youth of today started to be awake early at noon."
The police officer, the matured version of a man, got enough life experience to write a whole book about his work and the remarkable events he had witnessed. However, getting famous for a book that he wrote, was the last thing he wanted to happen.
"Your face is looking a bit darker, so you have slept enough for today?"
The last years, he started to pay a lot more attention to the subtle and little details and now it came handy for people's faces and body, it gave a good impression about their state of mind.
"I did, I don't what is different here, but I got more sleep than normal, so I am going to catch up with my sleep shortage," the rookie stated, neutral at all cost.
Not being afraid, that was the trick. Even when he tried to sleep, his body couldn't rest, burglars and murderers seemed to be common place over in the United States, while he was also worried if one of his so-called colleagues started to show up with a flagon of oil and a lighter.
For now, his body was still feeling uncomfortable with all the new pairs of eyes, looking to him, eager to judge. Their faces were friendly and they seemed interested in him, their uniforms were almost unformal, it was just a white blouse and blue jeans.
Everyone here is now looking to him, so I can also take a closer look to him.
The man started his observation with the Rookie's pose.
His laid-back pose is communicating an athletic body, which is quiet surprising with his pessimistic walking style, like yesterday. Not that his mood is optimistic, it's still a slow mood, however, it suits him well.
"You got quiet an interesting and mysterious look. Why I don't to say shady, isn't known to me yet, but it doesn't fit you. At least you're not average, that's a good point for me."
It was one of the colleagues, who commented first. He was black haired, a healthy brown skin and wore some necklaces around his neck.
Uthan seemed to be startled, this time not because the man's English was great, but because he couldn't find any negative context in his words. He used even words, that he hadn't heard in a long time and Uthan seemed to like them.
Especially mysterious, a word with an air of secrets and imagination surrounding it, that his body was an expedition that they won't forget in a long time.
Gerard gave him a cup of coffee, which didn't seem to come from a vending machine. When the door of the office was opened, everyone's attention was pointed towards the person who wore a more formal uniform, even when it wasn't worn correctly.
"Ah, our new colleague has arrived, welcome in the Netherlands!", the voice was surprisingly young and got a motivated tone.
"Daniel Wassman is the name, nice to meet you."
Shake his hand, that's how you behave normally to a stranger. You have a lot to learn.
It appeared that Gerard was the oldest of the bunch and that he could easily be in charge of this bunch of police men, mixed in all kind of ways. However, he preferred to be called an experienced agent, not an old one and so he was teased because of his age, ripe for retirement.
"I assume that you can guess who your partner is going to be, you are lucky if he isn't going to retire this year," the more formal one said, which indicated that he was the chef of the office.
He got poked in the side and gave Gerard a hat pat, which seemed off for a higher-up to do.
"It would be luckier if you aren't going to be fired, due to sexual contact with your employees. We can all gave a statement against you and you know that," Gerard reacted and made fun of the chef's behavior.
These were the things of which Uthan didn't expected completely and it gave him a little chill. The different relationships like this boss and his own boss at the other side of the sea, was perfectly clear to Calem. The chef here didn't get angry when you made a joke or gave him feedback, while the American one would go furious.
"You still can go with retirement due to an accident; your bones aren't that strong anymore." The comment wasn't harsh and was said with a blink.
"However, we are eager to learn more about you, you seemed to be a rather interesting one."
On Uthan's face, as a new member of this police squad, appeared a confused expression combined with a hint of shock.
"How much do you know about me?"
The face of the chef, who was just called Daniel by everyone, turned to a rather confessing one.
"Honestly, not that much. Your department over in the United States gave us almost nothing. We only received the basic papers, passport and your job description, which stated only that you are a cop," Daniel said with a bit of embarrassment.
"We even know nothing about your family, your hobbies or your principals."
Gerard got it right, they got almost no information about him and even the simplest pieces are going to be huge revelations for the squad.
Something didn't fit well, Uthan was sure about it. They gave no information about him, to the police here and even not a warning to watch out for him, at least he expected that.
"What do you mean with principals?", Uthan asked, his brain was still sorting the little clues around the lack of given information.
"See it as your morality, what do you see as inherently good or bad? When are people crossing the line for you and what is your attitude towards problems, how are you going to solve them? Police work isn't always that clear and is especially nuanced when something close to you has happened," Gerard explained it clearly and gave some examples.
Examples as what are you going to do when someone is threatening your closest friend, are still trying to calm the intimidator or do you choose to shoot? Or if a child committed a crime and you knew the unsafe situation at home, how are going to approach the kid then?
These little situations felt much closer to home and relatable, then the terrorist attack or bank robbery, which they warned him about over in Washington. The cases he was given now, where more realistic and like his partner said, more nuanced than the cases around the real bad guys.
I am curious what kind of work he did over in the USA, he's still thinking about it. Hopefully, I don't have to give him the question why he has chosen for the police or if it's even suited for a person like him.
"I don't what the slogan over at Washington was, but we are the police to help people, even with the simpler things. Enforcing the law is for us the third priority, after helping and protecting people. And due to that, you need to earn respect from the citizens, not demanding it."
It seemed logic for these people, but Uthan wasn't sure if his former colleagues could understand it. He needed to adapt a few more habits than thought when he arrived here. He realized that if he wanted to change his life, he must change his life style and behavior.
"However, back to business. First a sorry for Gerard, the patrol of the neighborhood needs to wait, it's about an order from the commissioner, who got it also from higher. It's about securing a film set, a complex of two warehouses, with their private security together."
Normally, the police would keep their distances from companies and corporations. However, one of the city's councillors has managed to strike a deal with the film company to use the harbour as the scenery and so, the city itself was involved with the project. And because of the involvement, they arranged some police men to secure the film set and the actors. Responsibility was the keyword here, the city was convinced that if something went wrong, then the city would be partly responsible for that accident.
"We are going to make it a swapping job. Every week, a next couple from this office will secure the place, starting with Gerard and the newbie Uthan. Next week, Jerry and Mohammed will take the responsibility."
The two chosen cops looked into each other eyes, there was a relaxed attitude on Gerard's face. The delay of patrolling the neighborhood, was just a week, so it didn't bother him.
That's okay, so let's started.
"In that case, we are going to visit the warehouses, letting them know that we also care about the movie. Uthan, take a cup of coffee, put your sugar and or milk in it and hold your jacket on. When you're finished, we will go to the harbour, to the warehouses."
It wasn't a command, like Uthan was used to, it sounded more like an agreeable invitation for some sightseeing.
Let's have a talk on the way, there is a lot of the unknown hanging around you, so let clear that a bit.
Veteran Gerard stood already at the front door of the office, waiting for the fresh wind outside this building. He saw how Uthan took the time for his coffee, it was life essence after all.
I wonder if he's happy here, I can't figure out why, but something is bugging him and so that same matter is bugging me too.
On their way...
"Aren't we going to be late?"
I guess it would be a strict time schedule for the patrols. At least, that's how it used to be. But it seemed completely different over here, which is almost unreal in my opinion.
"Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha! This isn't a must or a request from the company, but a nicely token from the city's side. We haven't told them that we are coming and if we did, then we didn't pick a specific time for our arrival."
Uthan got enough info to assume the age of Gerard and so he was rather surprised that the legs were still at their strongest.
I will sink into my thoughts, like now, then I can't follow his pace. His head seemed to be completely empty.
He focused on the tempo of the legs, who were resembling an up-beat rock song, energetic and lively. At their way, Uthan felt uncomfortable when Gerard greeted random people on the street, who didn't greet back.
What are they thinking about? Hopefully it is not about me. I am tired of all the comments I got, of the people will look always to me when I don't see them. It's even worse than just telling that I look terrifying.
The distinction between the neighbourhood and the harbour was simple to recognize, the amount of people walking around was decreasing with the minute and the colourful gardens from houses, where replaced with joyless buildings of concrete or steel.
The coffee was cooled down enough to drink it without burning your tongue and when Uthan was finished with the coffee, they arrived at the film set. The complete film set contained out of two large warehouses next to each other and a few mobile homes for the actors and the important crew.
"Hey guard, we are going to help you with the security!", Gerard shouted modestly towards the security guard, who seemed to be happy with the reinforcements.
"They will send some cops from the other offices too."
"That's great, if one of our actors has made enemies in the city, then I don't know if we could stop that person."
The private security was twelve men strong, so they were divided all over the terrain. However, just one guard wouldn't be enough to hold back a fanatic fan or an angry person.
While the two chatted further about the weather, which seemed to be a common overly used topic to talk about, Uthan's attention was drawn to a person, who seemed to be an American.
"So, you couldn't find a replacement for his role, even with that much scumbags in Ikebukuro?"
Ikebukuro, I have never heard of that town or city. In which of 51 states would it be?
"May I ask who that eccentric person is?", Uthan asked to the security guard, who wore a short beard and got a healthy skin color, slightly brown.
"That American dude with the blond afro haircut? That's the manager of the actors. Don't be thrown-off by his looks, the film industry is a magnet for these types of people," the guard answered with a smile. He had seen him just once, but the impression he got is already solid.
"Do you know which actors are going to play in the movie?", Gerard gave him another question to answer, this time it was much harder for the guard to be correct.
"They appeared to be famous, but I don't know who these actors are. My supervisor said that they came from Japan, so it seemed strange to me, normally they would stay in their own country."
"Japanese actors? I am already interested, if I could determine the schedule, then I won't mind to plan myself here all along," Gerard said with a blink to Uthan, who was wondering about the amount of work.
At least, it would be less busy than I thought. Washington was almost no rest, even for the job that I did. If I could live the first month in this tempo and atmosphere, then I would surely enjoy my time here. We will have enough time to-
He couldn't finish his thoughts, due to the poke that Gerard gave him. His partner and supposedly his mentor too, pointed to the manager, who was waving to them if he wanted something from them.
"Go ahead, it seems to be about something important," the guard said and opened the gate for the duo.
"Is there something wrong, sir? Can we help with something?", Gerard started the conversation politely. He took the lead to show Uthan how they handle thing over at this side of the ocean. Both of them remarked the controversial expression that the manager wore. He would expect him to be worried or stress, but his face was booming of happiness and excitement.
"My Saviour, my Angel!", the manager started to cry from joy and prepared himself to hug the duo with all the right intentions. After his hug attack, which was awkward to feel from a man, he did a step back and started to take some stereotypical poses of an artistic painter who was sketching the model he had before him.
He bowed swiftly his head towards Uthan, who bounced a bit back, and stopped on the last second before he touched Uthan's skull. His energetic eyes face the emptiness of the man before him and questioned with a certain childish feel how good Uthan was in remembering text.
"Well, I had to learn almost every law over in the United States, so I guess it's pretty good," he stuttered. He didn't understand the reason for the question, which was reasonable if a weird looking manager just ask it to you, while the gap between their faces is just a few millimetres. Uthan could even hear Sandshelt's breathing and it felt kind of embarrassing for him.
"Well then, in that case, I have found a replacer for him!", Max shouted enthusiastically to his secretary, who was annoyed by the ridiculous choice he had just made. His abrupt head swing did cause a small, but sensible gust of wind.
"Are you confident, sir?", the secretary questioned his decision, while adjusting her glasses a little bit to the front.
"He doesn't have that smirky face where you were looking for. I must confess, he has more a scary face, that of a skeleton to be precise."
The tone of the manager changed to rather serious, while he gave simple head nod.
"You're right about that," he commented. He saw how uncomfortable the man before him was and started to smile again.
"But this face is even better suited for the role!" This time, he didn't got determination to be serious the whole time and slipped into his own personality.
"Well, young lucky fellow, what do you think about the deal?"
Deal? Where is he talking…
The comment of the secretary helped him a lot with figuring out where this conversation was about. The poses that the manager made, contributed also to the conclusion and after some thinking, he had figured it out.
This is about my face, I am getting now an advantage with my face for being terrifying, but why just now? Why didn't get I the advantage earlier, like when I was bullied?
He noticed of course the man's accent, which was clearly American, supposedly New York or Boston, and started to wonder why this man gave him an offer, a role for in a film. The calculating and assessing in his mind were taking every part of his random-access memory, so the functions for moving his eyes was shut down and stared towards the manager.
"Why?", Uthan's mouth moved autonomous, in sync with his brains.
"It's about a role," Max said to explain a thing that Uthan already had figured out.
"We are staying on a film set, you know? One of our main actors has fallen out and you are the perfect substitute to fulfill his role in the movie."
So, he is saying, a major film role and I am the right person to replace that actor? What kind of character was he going to play then?
"Wait, me?", his respond had a small delay with his brain, due to the registration of the couple who just walked towards the manger. His brain instantly focused all the attention on them and got immediately the information that it was a man and a woman. The face of the lady had a mystical vibe to it and rang a bell in his mind.
Wait, is that miss Hijiribe?
On the police department over in Washington DC, he got a lot of questions around the fact if he was a monster or not. He only registered the remarks, but didn't react on it, because it won't stop if he did something against it. His library with harsh comments was enormous, it archived more variations of harassments then someone else will ever receive.
"From which horror movie are you coming? Because you are needed on the film set."
"You don't have to dress yourself up with make-up, there are make-up artists for that job."
"I only want to ask you an often-spoken question to you, how much centuries have you lived already?"
They treated him standard like a monster, he knew all the references that they threw at him. Because he already had read lots of books and articles about his assumed kind, about monsters. His colleagues got even the courage to ask if he was one of Hijiribe's newest creations, a new freshly made monster of Frankenstein.
She wasn't a well-known idol from Japan, but she still had some recognition for being a respectable make-up artist all over the world. Directors were eager to get her working for them, especially in the horror genre, where her specialty as sculptor of monsters was unreplaceable, however, she worked only on Japanese productions.
Why do I feel some disturbance? I have never done something to her or even met her? For heaven's sake, what am I sensing?
It was for him a feeling close to goosebumps, but without the physical appearance of the correlated reaction. His whole body was stunned out of astonishment, which only contributed to his awkward stance.
"So, would it be yes or no? Do you want the role or not?", the American manager asked him with a concerned expression. It wasn't urgent and it didn't sound like a commando, but Uthan got the impression that it was a question, which required a necessary answer.
He could and did turn his head towards his freshly appointed mentor for some advice and help. However, the smiling face gave a sign of that I didn't look good for him, that there was no choice for him to make.
"You've got my permission and that of the chef, I've just called him about the offer and he stands completely behind your decision," Gerard stated, while pointing with his left hand to his phone.
There is no decision to make, the only thing I can do now is accepting it.
"Just take it, this is a golden opportunity, even the project on his own will be a life changer," Gerard added unconsciously some extra weight on the decision.
It would be a life changer, but I don't know what is coming next. I don't know exactly what they wanted from me.
His whole brain shouted towards him, almost forcing him to take this once in a live time chance.
If this works, then it can give people a new perspective about me. They will at least see me as normal, but why am I getting this opportunity? I am still nervous.
"Okay, I will do it, I accept your offer," he said. The words came out of his mouth, even when he hadn't decided it completely in his head.
"Marvelous, Mia, can you deliver Fushigati's script to this new born actor. Because then he could read and learn his lines for his first film shooting over two days," Sandshelt ordered in his own flamboyant manner. He shook Uthan a hand to congratulate him with his new occupation, which only made the situation more uneasy for Calem.
He received the script in the few minutes after that and started to scroll through the script. It took him a short period to realize where he had signed up for, he was shocked about his role by only reading some of his planned actions and especially his dialogue, which wasn't that much for an important role as a main character.
Wait, is this going to be my script? No way that this is real, I hope this is a mistake, this couldn't be true.
With desperation in his eyes, he looked to the manager to expect that this was a joke. However, he didn't get an explanation and due to that, it hit him hard.
I am right about it, I am almost certain about it. This is the script for the antagonist, the villain of this story, which seems to be a detective story. Which means…
To be sure of his assumption, he searched and found his character description together with the designs of his character.
What the hell, what have I done. This is the script of the bad guy in the story.
It was the chance that he needed, but he didn't expect that his live would take this route.
I am going to play as the bad guy, as the serial killer, which means that I am going to play as a monster.
In the portable home at the film set...
There are more words then I ever had read before.
Her brains tried to copy and paste most of the information that she read, trying to cramp it all up. She had learned to read, like almost every person do, but the flood of words was too massive for her to comprehend.
"Just try to focus on one chapter and imagine how it should play out in reality." In the chaos of words, screaming through her head, a calm and monotone advice came as a thunderstruck in her mind. These were words, spoken by the other person in the mobile house, who wore an expression as blanc as new page of white paper.
The story, for what she had read until now, was a decent one about a poor detective couple, who are privately investigating the mysterious murders behind the back of the police. It wasn't a remarkable story or something completely new, however, it was good enough to engage the audience.
Some things don't make completely sense, why does he need Japanese actors for example?
She has worked in the film industry before as make-up artist and has sculptured monsters for the countless horror movies she had worked in, so she always got to read the script to get a grasp on the plot of the movie. That was necessary for making the monsters and the effects, you need to know where you are working on.
The film will start with two murders already committed; two victims dressed up like saints with runes scattered all around the walls. The director, a good old college friend of Max, has said that it was based on European and Norse mythology. The only tale that Ruri knew was that of a Dullahan, a headless woman from Celtic folklore, who came by to announce someone's death. It was a piece of folklore that wasn't fiction, just like herself.
"My Saviour, my Angle!"
For some reason, the random yell from outside was enhancing her thoughts.
Both of the actors were turning to this joyful shout out of Max, who sounded enthusiastic after the dramatic event of losing a famous and main actor.
"Well then, in that case, I have found a replacer for him!"
The statement made it very clear what the reason was for his happiness.
Does he mean for Kujiramiga Fushigati? How has he found someone and who?
The two looked to each other for a small period and immediately understood each other, as if they were telepathic. They both remained silent, keen to hear the conversation between the new actor and their flamboyant manager.
"Why?", a voice responded full of confusion.
It was a calming voice like Kasuka's, but it was surrounded by a sweet and charming aura. The mouth of the person seemed to be completely drenched in honey, or even royal jelly, while still being able to talk elegant as a man from high class. It didn't matter if he was from the higher class, however, Ruri and Kasuka felt themselves attracted to the voice and stood up at the same time to go outside to see their new co-actor.
Where is the actor? I am only seeing a police duo, what is happening here?
That was the thought she got when they walked to the ongoing conversation and it was an accurate one when you only observed them. However, when they stood behind Sandshelt, who was still in ecstasy, they could see who was going to be the co-actor.
While Kasuka was thinking why Max made such a ridiculous offer, Ruri sensed a familiarity with one of the police. It was a sensation that she didn't had for quite a while, a feeling that was completely accurate in what it meant. For her, it had always resembled the nice transporter that she has spoken with. They have communicated with each other on occasions and once in her apartment, where she faintly sensed a second aura that she couldn't locate.
However, the feeling's meaning has changed from one person to a specific group, a group with a vibe of loneliness surrounding it.
What's going on with him, what is he?
The older police man started to make a call, while the younger one seemed dazzled because of her presence. It appeared that he sensed the same thing as she did, but in contrast with her, he didn't know the meaning of the feeling that they got. He switched looks with his partner and was scared by the fact that he got the permission for taking the role, it bugged him deeply.
"Okay, I will do it, I accept your offer," the young one said, the eyes started to express surprise and were started to widen themselves, which gave Ruri an impulse of curiosity to look him in his eyes.
What is wrong with him? His eyes are like outer space, empty until infinity, with just a little spark of light, lingering in the far distance of that universe of him.
She got the strength to focus her sight on the other features of his face, which looked way more realistic that it should be. His cheekbones were surprisingly well hidden with the amount of skin that he had.
If Sandshelt asked him only for the appearance, then he made the right decision for the role, such a face is priceless. I am starting to get jealous; I wish that I could sculpture his face.
The new appointed co-actor was still nervous because of the deal, it seemed that he got a feeling of something that was odd, a feeling that something wasn't right.
Mia, the secretary of Max, who always wore a serious expression of a business man, came back with the script and gave it to him.
When he received the script, his eyes were already usurping the words on the front page. He browsed through the fair amount of paper and with a pair big wide-open eyes, he started to realize the role he has assigned for. Ruri saw it perfectly, the pages were scrolling too fast for a normal person, but he wasn't reading it, he was scanning it.
How many books does he have read, how much paper work has he done? He scanned almost lightning fast through the pages.
She saw how he was looking for the character description. Almost frightened, he started to form desperate thoughts in his mind and became unmovable for a short period.
He seemed to be shocked about his role. Kasuka told me once that you aren't the character, you are playing the character. Your role never resembles you as a person.
Max had noticed the presence of her and Kasuka and decided to move on with the introduction.
"These two here are the main actors for the film, the heroes of the story.' Like an announcer from the circus, he spread his arms wide to introduce them to their new villain.
"We can pretend that you are the original actor of the movie, replacing your real name with his. You don't have to get the credit for the role, we can disguise it if you want it and you don't have to decide it now," Max proposed to calm him down. With a honest smile, he looked to the older cop to apologize for picking the colleague.
"You can take your day off, your new job is way more important to you now," he said and wore a real expression of gratitude on his face.
"Of course, we will first proceed with these two actors. I will only ask you to prepare for number zero, one and four. These are the scenes that we are going to shoot over two day with you," Sandshelt explained and he wished the new actor a good and calm day.
The newly assigned actor didn't know what to do and as a result, started to follow his older colleague who was heading back to the police office.
"Are you okay? You seemed dazzled about him," Kasuka asked her, when they police men were out of sight.
Wait, I looked like that?
She knew that he didn't meant to scare her, he questioned her because he was worried about her. However, at the moment, she couldn't answer the question due to having no good explanation for her reaction towards the young actor.
"There is nothing to worry about Honey-chan, I got the thrills too, he looks terrifying with that face of him. But I always try to see the bright side of things and this time, that empty frightening expression of him is priceless. Sorry if I hurt your feelings Honey-chan, but he got the right face for a film like this."
Max gave his honest observation and seemed to be a little bit embarrassed by expressing it. It wasn't harsh though, they all three knew that it was the truth.
Ruri had learned from a weird befriended couple that you don't have to read facial expressions to know in which mood the other person was. You could tell it by small and subtle differences, hints of which yourself won't be aware off.
Though, what was going on between her and the young cop wasn't normal, she knew that well enough to describe it with a different term than abnormal. She would call it by the term that she could give only to a few people that she knows and the correct description would contain the word supernatural.