A/N: Hey, guys!

Here's one of my lighter stories to tied us both over while I work on the BIG ONE.

This was inspired by several sources: one was a documentary I was watching on daredevils and stunt performers. Another was recent things I've read that had fun with the "Tori looks like Shelby Marx" thing. Then there was my own fic where Jade had a dream where Tori was this hulking heroine. Finally, the episode where Tori had to do a simple stunt and was a big chicken for the most part. I was pondering, wouldn't it be fun to go in the other direction?

Here, Tori is not a fraidy-cat but a professional thrill-seeker.

Tori Vega in this story is inspired by the likes of Zoë Bell and Amy Johnson.

Another catalyst for writing this story was I haven't written or read many stories that dealt with the filmmaking process. Or at the very least, I didn't try to show things on a real Hollywood movie set.

I've got other stories cooking in my head but at least I can put out something while I write VictoriNEXT 2 (not the real title!).

This will likely be shorter, on a par with my earlier stuff, but I promise it will be a thumping good read!

Hope you enjoy, please drop a like or a review.

"Water! How 'bout some water!"

Tori's request went on deaf ears as the crew raced around her to set up the next take.

"The fuck," she groaned to herself.

If she could move on her own, she would rehydrate herself, but she was tied down to the hood of this car.

Suddenly, a hairy arm entered her view.

"Ari?"

"I gotcha, Tori!"

He came up with a red thermos with a long, flexible straw. Ari positioned it so it would reach the woman.

"Tilt your head," he instructed her in that Greek accent that made him sound fatherly and wise. "You don't want to choke."

Tori was flat on her back, so drinking sideways was the only safe way to go.

She obliged and she sucked the cold, refreshing liquid through the straw.

"Oh, man!" Tori coughed. "You are a lifesaver!"

Ari smiled, "Anytime."

The two had become close, having worked on this show for three weeks. He had told Tori how she reminded him of his daughter, who was much younger. She ran a restaurant back in Santorini and Ari said when filming was completed, he was going home to pay her a much-over-due visit.

Ari Gavras was one of the best stunt drivers in town. He was as essential to Tori's craft as the one who packs a skydiver's chute. Trust was paramount to this line of work, because one small error could mean catastrophic consequences.

"We ready to go?" came the assistant director, clipboard in hand.

"How about it, Tori?" asked Ari.

Tori smirked and replied, "Let's do it."

The AD was a little miffed that she refused to address him and instead ref to her fellow stunt performer.

"Think you pissed him off," he whispered with a giggle.

"Gotta grow some thick skin," Tori said, shaking her head as she was incapable of shrugging. "If you're gonna work in this business."

Tori had something of a reputation.

She was punctual, professional and never complained when multiple takes were asked. However, she regarded the lackeys of the director with contempt. Production managers and ADs didn't mean much to her. She saw them as only an extension of the director. And the bigger the production, the more of these assistants milled about. Tori would much rather talk with the grips, camera operators, electricians, people on the front lines of filmmaking.

And that included the young things fresh out of college who ran to fetch coffee and whatever else the actors needed. They were at least doing something. If Tori caught anybody mistreating one of those gofers, they would have to answer to her, and she was no shrinking violet.

To Tori, someone who seemingly just stood there paled in comparison to someone in her position that is risking life and limb for the sake of a shot.

Maybe not life, because the stunt coordinator on this project was well-respected by her fellow daredevils.

In the distance, Tori could hear the unmistakable snap of the clapperboard, signaling the start of the next take.

For the editors who had to sift through hours and hours of footage, having that visual aid to indicate when a shot was about to begin really streamlined the process. It's been a staple on film productions since forever. Now, more sophisticated clapperboards have electronic numbers to indicate shot, take, and roll (if shooting on film) though the whiteboard had about replaced the old chalkboard model. In very massive productions, a person would be standing with a humongous version of the clap part of the board in order for the snap to be heard for yards around.

Ari revved the engine and started skidding away.

Behind him was another car, with a man leaning out of the passenger side window, shooting dummy rounds at them. They tried to use normal "movie bullets" to get that spark and puff of smoke. But the speed at which the chase was taking place made the desired effect hard to see. So, the director opted to just go for dum-dums so that the actor shooting could stay on his mark. The smoke from the barrel would be added later digitally.

Another thing to add in post were going to be the holes being made in the car Ari was driving.

Tori's character was the girlfriend of the other car's driver. Her new love interest was the one driving the targeted automobile. Obviously, the actual actors playing the lovers couldn't do this tricky stunt, so Ari had to stand in for the guy and Tori needed to be the girl. Being in the car for these wide shots, Ari was hard to make out. All they had to do later was add a few insert shots of the male lead and just cut back and forth. Movie magic would sell the illusion that the actor is the one driving.

For Tori, though, she had to wear a blonde wig. She refused to dye it, so a wig was necessary. In the first couple of takes, the wig flew clean off. The director called in for the hair and makeup department to conjure up a solution. They ultimately settled on good, reliable gaffers' tape. They tied Tori's luscious brown hair into a tight bun and taped the underside of the blonde wig to hide her natural doo. Now the yellow strands could wave wildly and stay fixed on Tori's noggin.

"This is gonna be a bitch to take off, I just know it!" she told one of the hairdressers.

Through contrived shenanigans, Tori's character was stuck on the hood of this car with no time to get inside safely. Apparently, it was easier to just keep driving while she held on for dear life. She didn't write these things, just fit her with the rig or point her in the direction of the jump.

She had done it all at this point: car chases, escaping while trapped underwater, falling from as high as six stories. Tori was even lit on fire, well her arm anyway, and it held for a few seconds before being extinguished. What they don't tell you is that movie sets use this gel to keep the burn under control. However, it must be kept ice cold at all times, so when they applied this to her, it was like sticking her arm in the Arctic Ocean. The freezing from the gel was so intense, Tori couldn't wait to be set ablaze. She hasn't done a full body burn stunt before, but she didn't have the certification for one of those. Only an elite few is trusted with that dangerous of a feat.

But between that and getting shot out of a cannon, there wasn't much Tori hasn't faced.

Apart from the more brazen stunt work, Tori was also an expert fighter. She was trained in hand-to-hand combat by a former Marine on one of her earlier movies. That included disarming an armed opponent as well as being able to properly handle firearms. This began a habit of hers when the weapons wrangler handed her a pistol (barrel pointed down per safety protocol) Tori would double-check the weapon to see it was both in working order and that the proper rounds were inside. She heard stories of actors getting shot by mistake due to the simplest of the fuck ups.

But Tori's fight training didn't stop there.

She also studied under a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master who set up his own school in L.A. Tori's gym of choice was also frequented by MMA fighters and even some professional wrestlers. Even outside of making movies, Tori was super into it. All of this training turned the Latina into one tough lady. Now when she does fight scenes with her male co-stars, they sweat as much as her. Tori really puts them through their paces.

SCREEEEEEEEECH!

Tori gritted her teeth as she got to the end of the speed run and heard the echo of the director yelling "CUT!"

The tan woman sighed as she prepared herself for the inevitable request to do it one more time.

Fortunately, the director gave the thumbs up, and the scene was in the can.

"Fuck, YES!"

Ari ambled into her vision and smiled.

"Would you like me to untie you?"

"Please."