A/N: Not sure, but I believe we have two or three chapters to go before closing the door on "Stuntwoman."
Like I said, this was one of my shorter tales, but I had a blast stepping out of the norm writing a more shy and sensitive Jade and a much more physically intimidating and sexually aggressive Tori.
I've got the perfect ending in mind, and we will get there very soon.
I have some vacation time coming up in two weeks, so I REALLY want to bring this to a close before I leave. Then when I return, it's just "My Victorious Summer" until further notice. Still brainstorming in the background, so expect more in the future!
enjoy!
Just like that, the abandoned warehouse in downtown L.A. was no more.
The footage they got of the implosion was spectacular, but the demolition company refused to allow the filmmakers to go into the debris to shoot a scene. That forced Malcolm and crew to recreate the wreckage elsewhere to show a surviving Agent Jessica rising from the rubble.
A month after they departed "Xanadu," the production still had about another month to go.
As many of the fighting and action scenes were in the can, Tori had some days where her presence wasn't required. Sadly, Jade still had much to do, and the Latina lamented the hours before they could be together when work was done.
Tori tried to keep busy with going back to the gym. It was nice to see some of the old regulars again, but it felt different now. She missed having her little workout partner who talked as much as she lifted and ran. Who knew Shelby Marx would grow on her?
With this out-of-left-field friendship and even more unexpected romantic relationship; Tori didn't realize just how lonely she had been. She's been stoic and a bit of a loner for some time and now she's tasted real human connection and refused to go back.
(Maybe the problem was me. At least partially.)
Once she opened her heart to others, the rewards were great. Shelby was pretty cool and meeting Jade was the best thing to happen to her. Tori definitely could divide her life before and after this movie. But with a new friend and a new lover, one more lady could complete the trinity for Tori Vega: a sister.
After working out, the Latina hit the showers and changed into some dry street clothes.
Tori texted Jade that she would be contacting her sister for a meet up and that they would touch base later. Jade replied with a smile emoji with heart eyes.
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jade approves.)
She had fallen into the habit of instantly throwing away her sister's business cards when she would leave them after encounters, no matter how brief. Tori would never see it coming; her big sister was like a ninja with those things. She would be gone and wam! the familiar white rectangle would be on the table or even in Tori's own pocket. It was no wonder how she got to where she was; not being quick to say no. Not in a gross "casting couch" sense, but Trina was persuasive enough to entice a star to fit her little movie into their demanding schedule.
Tori had found the office building Trina resided in, one of many glass monsters looming over the valley like titans.
Security saw the muscle-clad female enter and locked eyes with her.
The Latina tilted her head.
"Barney?"
The large man grinned while thumbing his cap and extended his hand.
"Tori! It's been a minute, girl."
"How've you been?" asked Tori.
"Pretty good," he nodded. "Pretty good."
The Latina folded her arms with a smirk.
"Still moonlighting as Kevin Hart's bodyguard?"
It was tough being a comedian with Kevin's level of success and his stature. Doesn't help that he does all these action movies where he's the comic relief against studs like Dwayne Johnson. Makes a lot of bad dudes think they can take him.
"Nah, Kev's good. But he did call me last week that he might need added muscle for the premiere of his next flick."
Barney cleared his throat and straightened his stance.
"So, what brings you to the black tower?" he inquired.
Tori showed him Trina's business card.
"I'm here to see Trina Vega. She's actually my sister, believe it or not."
He stepped back and regarded his old gym buddy with more scrutiny.
"I knew there was something about little miss thang that reminded me of someone."
"Is she here?"
Trina was filling some forms when a knock came to her door.
"Miss Vega?"
The tan woman with perfectly styled hair looked up.
"Yes, Cristina?"
The mousy girl with bright blonde curls indicated behind her.
"You have a visitor."
"Whom?" asked Trina.
"She says she's your sister."
The revelation made Trina's hand go rogue and she scrawled a nasty black line across her paper.
"Fuck!" she muttered.
Trina then looked up to better address the secretary.
"What did you just say?"
"There's a lady who wishes to see you; says her name is Tori." Cristina leaned in so she could whisper, "She is humongous."
(That's definitely her.)
Cristina was a petite, even smaller than Jade. To be fair, nearly everyone was a giant to the girl. Tori was built but she might as well had been Brock Lesnar the way Cristina was describing her.
"Thanks Cristina!" she smiled disarmingly. "Bring her in."
The secretary nodded and retreated behind the door. A few seconds later, her "little" sister entered and closed the door behind her.
Trina was absolutely not expecting to be talking with her sister today and never in her wildest fantasies would she had thought Tori would seek her out.
"A secretary?" nodded Tori, impressed look on her face. "You really are moving up in the world."
The older Vega sighed and gestured for Tori to sit down. The stuntwoman obliged and sat across from her, the desk of adequate size situated between them.
"It's not what you think. Cristina works for the entire floor. She takes calls on behalf of about a dozen other producers besides me."
Tori eyed the desk.
"Well, you have a phone, too."
"Executives, actors' representation; people like that would rather contact me directly."
"I suppose..." Tori leaned back into her seat, holding her business card like a duelist in a game. "I should feel very privileged for the house calls when courting me to do a film."
Trina's eyebrow raised.
"Oh? Did you consider the offer? I kind of hit a roadblock with securing Shelby Marx. You two are apparently tight like glue, so she wouldn't get on board if you didn't agree."
Tori smirked.
(Guess being known as a star's stunt double does come with some clout.)
"I'm actually here for business of a different kind."
"What?" asked Trina.
"Family business," she answered sharply.
Trina's eyes darted down to her coffee. It was getting cold. Plus, she knew that her power bar supply (lowest left drawer, beneath the white binder) was depleted.
"Did you eat, Tor?"
The stuntwoman shook her head.
"How about we make this an early dinner if you don't mind?"
"Not a late lunch?" smirked Tori.
Trina shook her head.
"I typically have a high protein breakfast, usually eggs, and then fast for as long as I can. With the addition of you, I think today looks like an early dinner kind of day."
She stood to grab her purse and Tori waited to follow behind her out of the office.
"I'm leaving for the day, Cristina" she told the assistant. "Please reschedule my 4:00 with A24. Tell them I apologize, but something came up."
"Oh, uh, sure thing!"
"Thanks," Trina smiled back as they left. "You're a lifesaver."
The sisters were later sitting at Yamashiro Hollywood, a highly regarded Japanese restaurant.
It wasn't just a place to eat; it was a whole experience. The establishment was a beautiful recreation of a shrine, complete with a bridge overlooking a koi pond and a big Buddha presiding over the tranquil surroundings. Yamashiro was started over a century ago and still an attractive eatery, an Eastern diamond in the Western rough.
As it was a pretty day and the sun was setting, they opted for a table outside. These were immensely popular as you had the pleasure of dining in the midst of this gorgeous rural Japanese ambience. The inside was nice, too. But it didn't compared to these marvelous gardens and arches. You really felt like you were in a real shrine. Kind of made patrons unconsciously behave themselves as it felt like being on sacred ground. People were quiet and respectful for the most part.
"Still a nut for sushi," smiled Tori as the server took their menus away.
As expected, Trina ordered sushi. The woman had always been a sucker for the spicy tuna and rice creations. The seaweed wasn't her favorite, but she ate it anyway it quite literally held the presentation together. And she couldn't knock seaweed's nutritional qualities.
Tori had seafood on her mind as its been a while. She was considering ordering the Chilean seabass which is prepared in a Miso marinade. The prices made her hesitate, but Trina stopped her and told her to order it if that's what she wanted.
"Still don't understand why you chose such a fancy place."
Trina shrugged, sipping her Silk Whisper, one of the establishment's cocktails. It consisted of green tea infused Haku vodka with a few added ingredients. She licked her lips, tasing the sea salt they rimmed the glass with.
"It's not every day that you want to actually talk. No fighting, no screaming..."
"Yeah, well, maybe it's time we just stopped this bullshit."
Tori breathed in fully and let it out. She had to admit the peaceful surroundings did make this meeting more pleasant. Trina was wise to pick such a disarming place.
"But still, it's too expensive!"
Trina shook her head.
"I got it, don't worry."
"Let's at least go Dutch..."
"Nonsense!"
Tori sighed and relaxed her posture.
"At least let me get the tip."
"I believe it's considered rude in Japanese culture to offer to pay when someone invites you to dinner."
The stuntwoman scoffed and sipped her Roku gin and tonic. Even with a far east aesthetic, Tori kept her drinks simple.
"That's the rule, huh?" Tori asked.
Trina nodded.
"Went to Tokyo for a week and then stayed at a lovely house with a traveling family in the country for the rest of the time. If you ever go, Tori, don't just stay in the cities. You have to see the shrines and rivers and plains; all breathtaking. We even scaled Mount Fuji."
"Check you out!" nodded Tori. "What was the trip for?"
"An American distributor was looking to take on several titles from this up-and-coming anime studio, so they sent me to ingratiate with the locals."
Tori chuckled.
"I'm sure those businessmen didn't mind your company."
Trina rolled her eyes.
"They were very sweet. There's been some bad blood in the distribution pipeline in anime; overworked staff, artists not getting their due. It took me years to convince them that fans will respond to a company that treats its people well!"
Tori smiled at her older sister.
She had her pegged all wrong, thinking Trina sought power and status for...well, power and status. But it wasn't about that. Trina wanted to make movies and TV shows, but also wished to foster work environments that were not hostile. Hollywood had seen a lot of these stories of the mistreatment of actors, writers and more. Trina's eyes gave her away. Tori could see now that she was wanting to be part of the change.
"If I ever go to Japan, I'll know who to ask for guidance."
"You owe it to yourself!" Trina grinned. "How's the movie?"
"It's fine," Tori sighed. "I mean...it's fine."
The big sister made a noise.
"What?"
"Nothing," Trina replied, looking away.
"Come on, what is it?"
"They shot all of the action bits, didn't they?"
Tori took a big gulp of her drink.
That was all the answer Trina needed.
"Okay, okay, let's talk about something else. Like...seeing anyone these days?"
"Whoa!" coughed Tori, getting control of her swallow. "You don't waste time!"
Trina smirked and folded her arms.
"I'm sure your little lunch date wasn't just a coincidence."
She phrased it as a statement, not a question. Tori knew that lying would be pointless.
"Yeah, actually."
"How long?" asked Trina.
"It'll be...god...two months next week I think."
Tori reached for her glass of water and drank it. She enjoyed the drink she ordered but didn't want to overshadow her taste buds for the fish that was on its way.
"I'm happy for you," the older sister confessed. "Sincerely."
Trina picked up on who and what her sister was very early on, and she had no issue with it.
"What about you?" asked Tori.
The producer cleared her throat and leaned forward.
"Well...there's this guy. Tommy. He's a casting agent from William Morris. There was this meeting, and we got the talking."
"What's he like?"
Trina sipped more of her drink.
"We're both pretty busy most of the time but when we do meet...uh..."
She blushed and Tori noticed as she looked down to see Trina's fingers quaking.
"Don't tell me!" the stuntwoman held up her hand. "It's quality time."
A goofy grin came across Trina's otherwise well-put-together demeanor.
"High and mighty now, huh? I'm sure you and..."
"Jade," smirked Tori.
"Thank you...Jade...had a little fun, too?"
Tori rubbed her thumb along the corner of her mouth.
"I may have rendered her speechless."
Trina looked up with relief.
"Oh good! The food is here!"
The rest of dinner was terrific. Trina made the point of avoiding the subject of mother. She hadn't resolved the issue of her departure, but Trina understood that some things are just triggers for others and best left out for a fun evening.
Maybe someday they can confront their feelings on the matter for good, but for now burying the hatchet as sisters was important.
"You're sure you don't want me to give you a lift?" asked Trina.
Tori smiled and shook her head.
"I'm fine. I'll just text Jade to pick me up."
"Hey," Trina said.
"What?"
The big sister hugged her, and she hugged back.
"Thanks, Tori. I'm glad we did this."
"Yeah, well, I could have been nicer."
Trina playfully punched her shoulder.
"We both were cunty in the past."
Tori nodded.
"I'm over here," Trina pointed to her car. "Better you go toward the entrance so she can see you."
"See you, Treen" smirked the younger sister.
"See you around, Tori" she smiled back.
The stunt performer walked several yards away when she could hear a commotion.
"What are you...?"
(Is that?)
"Come here!"
"Get off of me!"
(That's Trina!)
"COME HERE! GIMME YOUR MONEY!"
Tori quickly turned around and ran to the scene, following the sounds of their voices.
"Somebody help!" yelled Trina, holding onto her purse.
The tan woman had a taser in her purse, but it was currently being ripped from her hands. The thief was struggling with the strap, which was tangled in Trina's arm.
"MOTHERFUCKER!"
Like a blindside, Tori knocked the wind out of the robber. He still held onto the purse as she got on top of him. Tori wailed on his face with a punch but before she could lay another...
BLAM!
Tori grunted, muttering something incoherent as she fell to her knees. Trina went over to her sister, ignoring the purse. The thief capitalized on the distraction and took off with his prize. Tori held her belly as Trina carefully rolled her onto her back. There was blood and lots of it.
(OH MY GOD, NO!)
"Tori! TORI! Stay with me, please!"
"It hurts so fucking bad!" she managed to get out.
Trina took out her phone and dialed 911. Reception was shit out here, but emergency phone calls could still get through.
""9-1-1, what is your emergency?
"Please, help! My sister's just been shot," her breathing became increasingly erratic. "We're at Yamashiro and... hello? HELLO?"
"Sorry about that, ma'am. We are sending EMT's to your location. Where is the shooter?"
Tears cascaded down her face.
"I... I don't know! Just send paramedics, cops, send everyone! He's still out there but please help my sister!"
"Remain calm, ma'am and stay with me until personnel arrive."
She held onto Tori's hand, usually strong, but wasn't so much as squeezing in return.
"Okay..." Trina shakily replied.
A/N: Don't worry! Don't worry! I don't plan to leave you hanging on this cliff for very long. Next chapter will be here sooner than normal.