you?’
‘Damn right, I will. I’ve got a mate at JTR that would be thrilled to have me there.’
‘Well, I hope they like their news looking like the bloody Blair Witch Project, then,’ Ashley told him.
Mac’s nostrils did an almighty flare that a bull might have thought a tad dramatic, and he spun on his heel and stormed off.
Ashley was left in the corridor, feeling demolished. Even by her standards, her desire to seek out a story had blown up in her face. She was down a camera operator. A shitty camera operator, but still. She was going to have to go right back into Bernie’s office and explain what had happened, get him to assign her someone else.
Whoever it was, she just hoped to god they weren’t going to be as maddening as Mac had been.
Two
Gina Tucker was slathering butter on toast on a Tuesday morning, wondering what her day would hold – not a lot, most likely - when her phone rang. ‘Gina, for the love of god,’ a frantic voice greeted her. ‘Tell me you’re free?’
Gina took the phone away from her ear to see who the hell was calling her with such a manic energy at this time of the day. It was Bernie Carter. He’d been the producer on her first job shooting promotional videos at twenty-one. Nice enough guy. She put the phone back to her ear. ‘Hi Bernie,’ she said. ‘Been a while.’
‘Yes, it has. Sorry. I probably should have started with hello, but I’m in a bit of a bind, and I can’t seem to… So, look, are you free or do you have something on at the moment?’
Gina was free, as it happened. She’d been second unit camera on a microbudget horror that had wrapped a week ago. Dreadful schlock, but it paid the bills. Just about. She hadn’t found her next job yet. Unless Bernie had a decent offer, that was. She’d sworn to herself, no more badly paid work. She couldn’t keep selling her stuff when things got tight. She was down to her last chair. ‘I just finished up a job, as a matter of fact, so I’m between things now.’
‘Oh, thank god. Look, I know you’re working in movies now, but how do you feel about shooting news reports for me?’
Gina raised an eyebrow. ‘The news? It’s kind of… I mean, it’s pretty different from what I do.’
Bernie was contrite. ‘I know it’s probably not as interesting for you as shooting movies. But it’s regular work and decent pay. I mean, if you’re at a loose end.’
‘What’s the pay?’ Gina asked, certain it wouldn’t be enough to entice her. But when he said the figure, Gina found herself more swayed than she would have liked. Regular money, regular work. She’d never really had that. Might be nice. ‘Hey, Bernie, why are you so desperate for someone anyway?’
Bernie paused. ‘OK, look, here’s the thing…. The reporter you’d be working with, Ashley, she’s a bit… Not just anyone could work with her. In fact, all my other ops have refused the job.’
Gina chewed the inside of her mouth. ‘Right.’
‘But that’s why I thought of you. You were always such a steady sort of person. No one could rile you. That’s what I need right now. It’s what Ashley needs.’
Bernie was right, Gina didn’t really do angry. She’d seen many a meltdown on set, but she stood apart, removed. Life was just too short to let it all get to you. Gina liked to do her job, go home, get in the bath with an alcoholic beverage and have some peace. ‘So you’ve got a reporter who’s so difficult that no one wants to work with her? Bernie, I’m not trying to put thoughts in your head, but I think most people woulda sacked her by now,’ Gina speculated, taking a bite of her toast. It had gone a bit cold.
‘Trust me, it’s crossed my mind,’ Bernie said.
‘So…’
‘Yes, she’s a pain sometimes. But I’m trying to hang in there with her. I see potential. I think I just need the right camera operator who can let it roll off their back, and she’ll be alright.’
Gina thought on that for a moment and concluded that a job was a job. Plus, it didn’t have to be forever if she hated it. If better work came along... ‘Yeah, alright, Bernie. I’ll do it.’
Bernie’s smile practically popped out of the phone. ‘Gina, you’re a lifesaver. Can you start today?’
***
Gina was at the offices of