Page 3 of Everybody Needs a Hero

“I know who she is,” Drew snapped, her tone surprising Tess even after the cold stare. “Most of the world knows who she is, and that’s the problem I keep trying to explain to everyone.”

Eyebrows raised, Tess didn’t immediately know how to respond, especially in the face of Drew’s brown-eyed glare.Intense and beautiful eyes actually, Tess thought for a moment.But she sure has it in for me.“Why exactly is that a problem?” she finally asked, working to stay as pleasant as possible, but Drew snorted a laugh.

“Really?” she said. “People know you and will never buy you in the role of the bitter nurse.”

Tess narrowed her eyes. The desire to remain pleasant starting to fade. “I disagree,” she said. “I can play any role.”

Shaking her head, Drew refocused on the script in her lap. “Not a chance.”

What the hell? She’s not even willing to give me a try, Tess thought. “Listen,” she said, having enough of her insults. “You don’t know me, but I have what it takes to bring the role to life.”

Drew’s head whipped up, and her eyes bored into Tess. “Oh yeah,” she growled. “How much time have you spent in the Emergency Department at LA General Hospital? Not as a patient, but as the nurse thrown into one crisis after another.” The venom in Drew’s words was nearly enough to make Tess step back, but she wasn’t done. “How about dealing with gunshot wounds? Abused babies? Drug overdoses? Seeing the worst part of humanity night after night.” The author looked so angry Tess thought she might spit at her. “So, let’s not pretend you have what it takes to make that come to life on the screen. Because you don’t.”

Singingalong under her breath to the classic indie song on the coffee shop’s playlist, Ashley pulled the hot milk from the steaming espresso machine before mixing in the chocolate. After a quick stir and pour into the pink mug, she made a perfect heart with the foam. The little girl eagerly watching her every movement clapped her hands. “You make it so pretty,” she said with a slight lisp. “And the best tasting hot chocolate anywhere. I tell everybody.”

Ashley laughed, loving the enthusiasm, as she leaned on the counter to be eye-to-eye with the girl. “Well, Kelly, not too many customers want our hot chocolate in March, especially since it’s been so warm,” she said. “But thank you. I’m glad you think so.”

“Thank you, Ashley,” the girl’s mom said, holding out a credit card. Once Kelly had scooped up the mug in her stubby fingers and started walking carefully toward a booth in the corner, the mom leaned closer. “She really does tell everyone about your hot chocolate. Thank you for always being so patient with her.”

Letting her eyes follow the child, Ashley couldn’t imagine anyone being anything but patient with the little girl. And it wasn’t because Kelly had Down Syndrome. For Ashley, that had nothing to do with it. The girl’s smile and cheerful attitude were infectious. She was happy to have the pair among her many regulars.

Moving on to the next called in order, Ashley heard the bell over the shop’s door chime and glanced up. A man she didn’t recognize wandered in, looking a little disoriented. Licking his lips while his eyes jerked left and then right, he shuffled his way toward the counter. Body odor rolled off him, nearly enough to make Ashley take a step back when he reached her. But she didn’t, knowing from experience it would be best to take his order, serve him a coffee, and usher him out. “What can I make for you?” she asked, plastering a smile on her face. “Maybe a cold brew? I hear it’s already getting warm out there.”

The stranger stared at her but didn’t answer. Ashley’s unease only grew stronger, and she was about to call her coworker, who was on break in the back, to come out. Even though Kim wasn’t more than five-foot four, there was strength in numbers. Before she could make a sound, the man mumbled something to himself a second before pulling a long, slender, kitchen knife from his hoodie pocket. “Money,” he barked. “Give it to me.”

An instant later, Kelly squealed from the table in the corner. “He has a knife,” she yelled at the top of her lungs while her mother pulled her onto her lap. As if spurred on by the noise, the stranger lunged for Ashley, grabbing her by the wrist and pointing the knife within an inch of her face. Ashley froze but couldn’t miss the crazy in his eyes. Maybe from drugs or insanity, she couldn’t tell. Fear made her heart race, and everything seemed to speed up as her brain tried to comprehend the real danger she was in. Then, in the mix of the man yelling in her face for money and Kelly screaming in the corner, the bell over the door rang again. Not sure if the new arrival would make things better or worse, Ashley was surprised when she heard three quick steps, and then the stranger yanked backward away from her.

The force was enough to break the man’s grasp on her wrist but not before his dirty fingernails clawed into her skin. Crying out in pain and surprise, it took a minute for Ashley’s overly excited brain to comprehend that someone else indeed was in the coffee shop with them. Someone who came to her rescue. A person who had grabbed her attacker from behind by the hood of his sweatshirt and swung him across the room. With the stranger’s back to the counter, Ashley couldn’t see the face of the woman with long dark hair, but she could see the man with the knife clearly, and he was furious.

Resting gentlyon the balls of her feet, Bryce waited to see what the crazy man would do next. His face flushed red, and his unfocused eyes darted everywhere. She had no doubt he was a drug addict.Hoping to steal a few bucks from some shop owner to buy his next fix,she thought with frustration. People died all the time in altercations like that, and Bryce’s throat tightened at the thought of what could have happened to Ashley. If the man had done anything to her, Bryce would have snapped the man’s neck in a second. That wasn’t the case though, and instead, she needed to subdue him without anyone getting hurt. She turned her head just enough to keep her eyes on the addict but still able to talk to Ashley. “Call 9-1-1,” she said. “Tell them we have a man armed with a knife threatening people here.”

“Okay,” Ashley replied with a clarity in her voice Bryce appreciated. The fact the woman kept a level head helped. While Ashley dialed, Bryce used her peripheral vision to take in what was happening in the corner. Thankfully, the coffee shop was nearly empty. A girl whimpered in the arms of who Bryce guessed was her mother. It wasn’t much noise, but Bryce didn’t like the way the man’s eyes kept creeping in that direction. The last thing she wanted was for him to try to take anyone hostage.

“And you two in the corner,” Bryce said to the mother and daughter, keeping her tone gentle but authoritative. “I want you to hurry to get with Ashley behind the counter, okay?”

As the two scrambled from the booth and rushed toward Ashley, it was clear the man did not like how Bryce had taken control of the situation. He started to fidget, shifting the knife from one hand to the other. “I should stab you,” he muttered. “I have the knife.”

Bryce didn’t answer while waiting for the woman and the child to get behind her with Ashley. When the others were out of harm’s way, Bryce prepared to talk the guy into putting down the knife or at least stall him long enough for the cops to arrive.No one has to get hurt today, she thought.I only need to keep him calm.

Before she said a word, a door near the back of the coffee shop opened, and a young woman dressed in a red apron that said Landish Coffee walked out. “Hey, I was on the phone with Christopher, and I thought I heard a scream—” she said, and before Bryce could call out a warning, the crazy man grabbed her by the arm. Thankfully, the woman struggled to break free, giving Bryce the few seconds she needed to close the distance between her and the attacker. Noticing her coming, the man tried to lunge with the knife, but he was too slow. Using her Marine Corps training, Bryce gripped his wrist with her strong hands and, with a practiced twist, felt the man’s hand open in reflex to the pain.

The knife clattered to the floor while the man wailed in agony. “You hurt me,” he cried as Bryce kicked the weapon out of reach and then guided the crying man to the ground.

“Down on your stomach,” she said, thankful to hear a police siren in the distance. Soon the whole wild scene would be over, and she could go back to her original plan—simply ordering a cup of hot coffee from Ashley and hoping to be recognized. Releasing the man, she knew he was no longer a threat. The fight had gone out of him when she sprained his wrist. Bryce wished he hadn’t forced her to do it, but there was no other choice. People’s safety was at stake.

As she ran a hand through her dark hair, hoping it wasn’t a mess from the commotion, she felt someone come up beside her. Looking, she found herself staring into the face of the beautiful young woman she hadn’t stopped thinking about for six years. “Bryce?” Ashley asked, and when their eyes met, the woman covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh my God. It is you. You came back.”

4

Sitting in a director’s chair outside a corner grocery store cordoned off for shooting in downtown Los Angeles, Drew watched the camera monitor the crew set up for her. She could follow the scene unfolding inside the building through the same lens as the cameraman. The movie director stood watching over her shoulder to see how the final scene of the first day would play out. They were on the fifth take, and everyone involved was ready to nail it so they could wrap for the day.

Much to Drew’s surprise, the problem wasn’t Tess but rather her male costar flubbing his line. If Drew was being honest, Tess’s acting had been impressive all day. A person who didn’t know any better would never believe she came to the script cold. She had none of the preliminary read-thru with the cast and minimal staging in advance. Virtually zero of the usual preplanning prep, yet the actress knew her lines and brought the right emotion and demeanor to the role. Not that all those things were enough for Drew to start singing praises. Aside from the last scene they struggled through at the moment, the first day of shooting focused on relatively easy setups with Tess playing the part of being a cynical bitch. Most people could channel that, especially herself. Thinking of being a bitch, a twang of guilt made Drew shift in her chair. She was aware her verbal attack at the start of the day wasn’t fair to Tess. The fact the actress was there at all wasn’t Tess’s fault. The producer offered the woman a role, particularly a powerful one, and she wisely accepted.

What Drew needed to do was apologize for being rude while explaining in a more levelheaded approach why Tess couldn’t play the part.Talent or no talent, the chemistry necessary for the role wasn’t going to work, she thought. The problem for Drew was how the woman looked. Even with no makeup and her hair an unkempt mess, barely pinned back with barrettes, she was gorgeous. Not the plain Jane Drew envisioned when she wrote the character. There were no hard frown lines dug into Tess Landish’s face. Hers was a mouth made to smile and melt hearts. Looking at her, it certainly did for Drew, a fact she tried hard to ignore.That makes it worse actually, she thought and resolved to find Tess after shooting wrapped and talk to her. If she had to, she would go to the actress’s assigned trailer and make her understand it wasn’t personal.

Refocusing on the camera viewer, Drew held her breath as the line the costar kept screwing up was next. It was a simple enough statement, so she didn’t understand what the problem was with him. The scene was the first meeting of the two characters. Tess buying cigarettes when the costar would interrupt and tell her cigarettes would kill her. The comment would mount a pivotal moment between them. The annoyance and disdain Tess generated for her character all day played well on screen, but the scene would require her to dig deeper. Assuming the costar could deliver his line.

“You don’t even know me,” Tess said as she whirled on her costar’s character. Her voice was tight, and her eyes narrowed while she pinned him with a glare. Drew held her breath as she waited for the response. The next line was crucial to the scene and needed to be delivered with a mixture of insult and pity.

---