BEHIND THE BADGE

by Karrie V.

© Karrie V. 2012


Disclaimers: See Part 1

Feedback: I enjoy hearing from people good or bad! If you have a comment or a question please let me know. Specific feedback is greatly appreciated. This is my first time at writing any sort of fiction and therefore would love to hear from you and whether or not you want to get to know these characters below better. You can email me klvach@yahoo.com


Part 4

April 1, 2012 - 6AM - Hollywood , CA - Paramount Studios

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Once both ladies were fully checked out and given the “ok”, they went back to the set where everybody was ready to start with the big fight scene. Kate was talking with the Stunt Coordinators while Beth was over in wardrobe getting changed into her outfit for the scene. They had decided on having Kate and another stuntman climb up the scaffold first with Beth and Travis' stunt double following behind.

As they climbed up the first time Kate looked back often to make sure Beth was ok. She was pretty impressed with how easily Beth worked her way up the scaffold with ease and grace especially with minimal training.

They did two run-throughs before actually filming the scene and shot it in several different angles. Travis refused to go onto the large scaffold and climb up at all so they decided to shoot close-ups of him first to get reaction shots on the lower level of the structure. It only took an hour to do but he still huffed that it was a complete waste of his time to come in this early since he wouldn't be needed till later in the day. Once he was gone things seemed to go much smoother.

Kate was surprised at the level of commitment the overall crew had and was stunned to admit that for the first time in a long time she was actually enjoying herself while at work. They finished the first segment in record time and decided to start the second segment to just prepare the staging for when they came back after their long weekend. One of the things Peggy had discussed with Kate right away was the fact that she didn't trust any of the previous Consultant's “expertise” and therefore wanted Kate to train the cast as if they knew nothing.

It became quite clear that she had to re-teach both Beth and Travis how to properly hold their guns and approach the suspect. When Kate questioned Peggy earlier about the previous "consultants" lack of knowledge Peggy simply began cursing under her breath about the "stupid piece of horse crap mall cops!" Kate could not help but laugh at Peggy's reaction. It was pretty clear to her that whoever taught them didn't know a darn thing about law enforcement yet alone how to properly hold a gun.  

As they began running through the second segment it also became evident that Travis looked extremely awkward with the police movements and procedures.  After going through the action for the fifth time, Kate decided to take the bull by the horn and ask him what his problem was. Annoyed with her tone, Travis replied "holding the gun this new way is ridiculous and uncomfortable, why can't we just do it like we have been since day one?"  Kate was losing her patience with him so she counted to ten before responding to calm down.  "Travis you were taught how to hold the gun incorrectly, the way I just showed you is the right way and since Peggy wants it to be as realistic as possible you're just going to have to deal!"

Travis wasn't used to people talking to him so curtly and if he wasn't so turned on by Kate's aggressive demeanor he would've been telling her off. Instead he decided on a different approach.  

Putting on the charm Travis replied, "You know I think you may have a point…I might need some extra help in learning these new techniques that you're teaching us. I'm probably going to need some personal assistance with all of this. Don't you think so Peggy?" Peggy wasn't even paying attention to the exchange but out of habit she replied, "Sure Travis, whatever."

Kate's head snapped up immediately glaring over at Peggy, totally baffled by her response.  

Pleased with himself, Travis got a big smirk on his face and continued to talk to Kate, "... I will make sure to have my assistant give you my address of where I am staying so that we can continue our training."

Travis' innuendo was not lost on Kate and only the bile rising in her throat stopped her from saying anything in return.  Beth looking on had seen the entire exchange and couldn't believe what had just happened. The fact that Kate wasn't flat-out refusing this crazy proposition that Travis had come up with blew her mind.  She was becoming angrier by the minute; first at Travis' blatant flirting, then at Kate for her lack of a voice and then lastly at Peggy for giving it the "ok".  She knew her reaction was irrational and she knew that deep down she was just extremely jealous of Travis at this moment.  She wanted personal time with Kate in fact she wanted a lot of personal time with her. She wasn't sure if she was more angry at herself for not thinking of this idea first or because Travis actually followed through with it and got it.   

Beth was brought out of her internal dialogue by Peggy's clap off the hands.  "Alright folks that's a wrap. Enjoy your two days off and I will be seeing you bright and early Monday morning".

Before Peggy could sneak away Kate stepped in front of her and asked, "Peggy could I have a word with you please?" Looking like a deer in headlights Peggy grudgingly nodded and followed Kate to her trailer. As they began walking away Travis waved at them and said "I will see you later Officer Nuccio!"

Peggy knew what was coming and completely dreaded it.  She hadn't meant to agree with Travis but she was distracted at the time and the spiny weasel knew it and used it against her.  At first she was prepared to put a stop to it and set him straight but something had stopped her. When she took a moment to think about it she had realized that in reality Travis really did need help.  To put it mildly Travis was a bit of a klutz and looked less athletic then Pee-Wee Herman. If anybody could fix that it was Kate. As Peggy turned around she could see the anger oozing out of Kate.  

"What the hell was THAT!?!" Kate bellowed. "I didn't sign on for this, especially anything involving giving "Mr. Klutz" a personal lesson. I'm not doing it Peggy, you can just tell him yourself.  Do you hear me? I am not doing it!" 

Peggy took a minute before saying, "look I know you didn't sign up for this but you have to admit the guy does need some serious help and to be honest you're the only one who can teach him. I am asking you, pleading if necessary. I don't have anyone else and you know how pressed for time we are."

Kate looked at Peggy's puppy dog eyes and took a moment to think of her pathetic plea. She couldn't help but feel a little bad. "Don't look at me like that. I've seen more pathetic faces than that and they don't work on me," Kate replied.

Peggy knew that sympathy probably wasn't going to work on her but she had to try. As she looked at Kate's folded arms and chin sticking up in defiance, a thought came to her. Being a good director meant you had to know how to approach and deal with all kinds of people and quickly. Kate's defiance made her a superb officer but it also gave Peggy the leverage she needed.  

"So are you telling me that you can't handle him? I mean come on. You can't tell me that you wouldn't love the opportunity to put that prick of a man down a peg. It's a win/win situation for you if you think about it. You get to teach him how to act like a cop, while at the same time showing him what cops are really made of!"

Kate's mind was reeling a bit. She would give a lot to put this jack ass in his place, but giving up her own personal time wasn't exactly what she had in mind. Then again she wasn't exactly enjoying her own personal time lately. Her lack of sleep was catching up to her and she started losing interest in hearing her friends constantly bugging her that she needed to get out and socialize more. An idea was forming in her brain.  She had to admit she was somewhat impressed with Peggy's quick change of approach and admired her tenacity and drive. She could now see why she was chosen to direct this film.  After staring her down for a minute, just to make Peggy nervous, Kate decided to let her off the hook.  

"Ok! I will agree to this absolute craziness, however, I have a couple of stipulations to this agreement.  One - this "training" will not be alone with Travis. A good number of the cast and crew could use some extra help so I might as well train them all at the same time. I promise to give you a list of those names within the hour. Two - this is going to be a professional training course therefore not only will I be paid, but so will whoever else is on this list. This is going to be legit and I don't want anybody to think otherwise. Three - you owe me, you owe me big! There will be a day when I will need a favor from you Peggy and when that day comes you're not going to be able to say no, no matter what I ask of you.  So do we have a deal?"

Peggy jumped at the offer and jokingly stated, "I would've given you my first unborn child if you wanted!" They both chuckled at that.  

Peggy continued on, "I can't promise Travis will be very happy about this arrangement but it's a deal!"

They both shook on it and Kate took her leave.

Peggy watched her go with a sigh. She admired the strength and tenacity of Officer Nuccio, along with her smoking hot body and natural beauty. She may be a happily married woman but she was still human and yes indeed, she found that she was really beginning to really like Kate.

She flopped down on her couch and mumbled to herself, "I don't know what I need first a cold shower or a damn drink!"

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TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 5…

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