A Binding Contract · Part 1 (1/2)
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Lucy scrutinised the small ad in the local newspaper for a second time, not quite believing her own eyes. If what she’d just read was for real, then it was a dream come true. It just couldn’t be, could it? But there it was in black & white before her very eyes:
Wanted.
Aspiring actress, aged 18-25, for lead role in a local independent film production.
No acting experience necessary.
For those interested, there was a mobile phone number to contact in order to arrange an interview & audition.
And Lucy was most definitely interested. Ever since she was a young girl she’d dreamed of being a movie star, although to date the opportunity had never presented itself. At twenty three years of age, Lucy was beginning to think that maybe the chance had passed her by, so the excitement that she felt at seeing this advertisement sent shivers of delight coursing up her spine. This was it. The moment she’d been waiting for all her life. She simply had to make sure that she was the one who got picked for the role. Okay, so it was only a local, low budget film that she would be making her screen debut in, but everyone had to start somewhere. This could be her big break; her foot on the first rung of the ladder to international stardom.
Eagerly, her heart pounding with expectation, she dialled the number. She figured that, as it was still early morning, then she would hopefully be the first to show any interest. Such enthusiasm, she hoped, would stand her in good stead when the producers made their decision as to the most suitable candidate.
For several seconds the phone rang, before a man’s voice answered: “Wrapped Up Productions, how can I help?”
Lucy heard herself blurting out (at far too fast a pace, she decided with hindsight), that she had seen the ad in the paper & would love to be considered for the part in the film. The man asked her a few questions about herself and, despite Lucy’s nervousness & her susceptibility to over elaborate & give far more detail than was strictly called for, the man – who gave his name as Rob – seemed impressed with her. The fact that she’d done some modelling work in the past seemed to appeal to him.
“We have to work fast on this,” he told her, “as we need to start filming as soon as possible. Would you be available for an audition this morning?”
It was a Tuesday & Lucy was due at work in less than an hour, on what was going to be a very busy day in the office. For a second or two she hesitated. Should she phone in sick & go to the audition, letting her work colleagues down in the process? Or should she decline his kind offer of an audition, & say she couldn’t make it today? The latter course of action would undoubtedly see her losing out on what could possibly be her big break. It was no contest.
“That’s not a problem,” she heard herself say, “where do you want to meet?”
Rob suggested a small café in town that Lucy knew.
“We’ll meet there, have a chat & a coffee, before going on to the filming location where we can do a screen test to see how photogenic you are. Is that okay?”
With growing excitement, Lucy told him that it was. She was just about to hang up, when she realised that she had no idea of the name of the production or what would be expected of her.
“It’s called The Kidnapped Heiress & you’ll be playing the title role. I’ll tell you more about the part when we meet”
The time for their rendezvous was set for ten o’clock, which gave the extremely nervous young lady very little time to prepare herself. Firstly though, she had to ring into work, sound poorly on the phone & explain that, due to a suddenly developed bad cold, she wouldn’t be in today. She was sure, from his tone of voice, that her boss didn’t believe her for a second, but right at this moment she didn’t care. If I make it big in the movies, she told herself, then who needs a boring 9 to 5 office job anyway?
In her flustered state, Lucy dashed around making herself look as good as she possibly could. What was she to wear? In the end she chose a tight fitting black dress that barely reached her thighs & with a plunging neckline. A pair of sheer black tights & high heels finished off her outfit. Being warm out, she wouldn’t need a jacket. She put on her make-up, did her hair, squeezed into her dress and by half past nine she was all ready to go. For a few seconds she stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom & tried a few poses. The image that stared back at her was of a five foot five inch tall slim, attractive young woman, with long blonde hair falling around her shoulders. Her long legs & shapely figure couldn’t fail to land her the part. At least that’s what she kept telling herself.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy dragged herself away from the mirror, picked up her small handbag & hurried out of her apartment. It would take her around twenty minutes to get to her destination, she estimated, & being late would not make a very good first impression. Luckily, the bus into town was on time & she arrived on the street where the café was situated with several minutes to spare.
Lucy’s flustered demeanour must have given the game away as to her identity, for no sooner had she stepped inside the café, than a man stood up from his table & introduced himself as Rob. After the formality of introductions, & with drinks ordered, Rob got down to the serious business of why they were here today. The title of the film – The Kidnapped Heiress – was, he informed her, basically an accurate summary of what the film was all about. The chosen actress would play the role of Lady Stephanie Shackleton-Roper, who falls prey to a ruthless gang of criminals who abduct & hold her to ransom for a week whilst demanding £1,000,000 from her multi-millionaire parents for her safe return.
The majority of the scenes in which she would be involved, Lucy was informed, would be as a captive in an abandoned warehouse. There would be very little dialogue for her to learn, as most of her scenes were visually orientated. There were a lot of twists & turns to the plot, she was told, but these needn’t concern her right now. All that was required today were a few minutes of filming, to check if she possessed the credentials that they were looking for in their heroine. Was she still up for it?
Lucy told him that she most definitely was. Rob had been friendly & easy to talk to, & she thought that she would have no problem working with him. He too seemed quite taken with her, & Lucy was hopeful that she had turned on the charm sufficiently to get herself the part. Before they left for the audition, however, Rob produced a contract from his briefcase for her to sign.
The agreement ran to four pages & was, he informed her “a lot of legal jargon, health & safety regulations & other tedious stuff like that. It’s just really confirming that you agree to us filming you today & that we won’t use that footage in an improper manner. Basically, it safeguards us both, should any problems arise. You don’t really need to read it all, just sign at the bottom of the final page.”
For a second or two, Lucy baulked at the idea of signing something she hadn’t fully read. But the print was so small & there was so much of it to scrutinise, that it would have taken ages for her to go through each paragraph with a fine-toothed comb. She was anxious to be getting down to the real business of the day, namely the audition, & she really didn’t want to try to focus on a lot of legal issues, most of which would probably have been beyond her comprehension anyway. Without further ado, she took the pen that was offered to her & signed her name.
The journey across town to the old warehouse which was to be utilised as the leading lady’s place of incarceration in the film, took no more than twenty minutes or so in Rob’s car. The building to be used was, Lucy soon discovered, an abandoned warehouse on a former industrial site. At least ten storeys high, the windows in the lower floors had all been boarded up, whilst the higher ones all seemed to be smashed & open to the elements or, in a few instances, covered with steel mesh. All of the other buildings in the area had been demolished, leaving this one building standing alone in a wilderness of broken concrete & rubble, through which grass & small shrubs were now growing uncontrolled.
The whole site had been cordoned off with fences topped with barbed wire to discourage would-be trespassers. However, when Rob stopped the car at a large padlocked gate, he was able to unlock the gate & drive onto the site. Once inside, he relocked the gate behind them.
“Authenticity, that’s what I always look for in a film.” Rob explained as they drove the few remaining yards up to the derelict but still imposing monolith. “So, if I want to do a scene in an old, abandoned warehouse, then I have to find the real thing. If you compromise & try to make a studio or another location look like its derelict when in reality it isn’t, then it just looks false & lacks credibility as far as I’m concerned.”
They had rounded the side of the building now, & the car came to a halt beside two others that had been parked beside a large steel door.
“Ah good, Andy & Mike are here already. Andy’s our cameraman today, & Mike will be looking after the lighting & sound. Hopefully everything should be ready when we get in”
Lucy got out of the car & stared up at the deserted building. For some reason she shivered. It might have been due to the cool breeze, which seemed to have risen since they’d left the town, but then again it could be that, for the first time, Lucy was feeling the first seeds of unease creep up on her. Here she was about to enter an isolated building with a man she had met less than an hour ago. Was this really a wise move? She quickly banished such thoughts from her mind. Rob was a nice guy, & besides, she wasn’t going to let some stupid unfounded fear ruin what might turn out to be her one shot at the big time.
Pulling the heavy door open with some difficulty, Rob ushered Lucy inside before closing it behind them. It was dark in what had obviously once been the main reception area of the building, until Rob pulled a large powerful torch from the hold-all he was carrying.
“No electricity in here,” he explained, “we’ve had to bring in our own generator to light the room we’re going to be shooting in.”
The beam shone out into the blackness, illuminating a flight of stairs that disappeared up into the darkness above. And it was towards these that he now guided her. At this point Lucy began to wish that she’d brought a coat of some description with her, as there was a distinct chill in the building, not to mention a damp musty smell that seemed to pervade everything. It also felt rather incongruous being in a run down, dirty old building in her little black dress & high heels.
Their footsteps on the metal stairs echoed eerily as they climbed upwards. At the top of the first flight, they turned to the right & walked along a short corridor, before climbing another similar staircase. This continued several more times, until Lucy lost count of exactly how many flights they’d ascended. They must, she guessed, be on about the seventh or eighth floor by now. Finally they reached their destination; a large room with a metal door situated on one of the landings. Lucy was glad there were no more stairs to climb, as the ascent had been rather an ordeal in high heel & in the semi darkness.
By contrast, however, the room they entered was lit by several bright lights strategically placed on tripods around the room. There was a camera, also on its own stand, & various other items of equipment on the right hand side of the room, The left side of the room, the area onto which the lighting rigs & camera were focused, was, by contrast, an empty space save for an old mattress lying on the floor. On the far wall, a piece of sacking or some similar material concealed a window.
Rob introduced Lucy to Mike & Andy, who both briefly looked up, smiled & said hello, then continued with whatever task they were involved in, leaving Rob to explain the exact nature of how the audition would work.
“As I explained earlier, in most of the scenes you’ll be involved in, you will be a captive. This set will be your place of incarceration. So what I want to do today is have you tied up & gagged, then film you struggling & trying to escape”
The expression on Lucy’s face must have shown alarm at this development, so Rob immediately added, “Don’t worry, you’ll be quite safe. We won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Rob led her over to the mattress & opened the holdall he had been carrying. With some trepidation, Lucy watched as he produced a rolled up length of white rope & began to unwind it. She knew that allowing these three strangers to tie her up was not a wise move & that the sensible option was to flee. But the realisation that if she pulled out of this venture now, then any hopes of stardom would be extinguished forever, served to cloud her judgment. So when Rob gently put his hand on her shoulder & bid her turn around & place her hands behind her back, she complied without even the merest hint of protest.
She felt the rope being wrapped once around her wrists & tighten significantly. He then wound the cord around several more time, each circuit becoming tighter & more restrictive still. Finally, he cinched the rope between her wrists, tightening the whole ligature up so that it cut into her flesh. Lucy winced at this & tried to pull her hands apart, only to discover that they were securely bound together. Placing his hand on her shoulder again, he turned her around to face him. He must have seen the concern etched on her face, so sought to reassure her: “Like I said earlier, authenticity is the key to my work. How many times have you seen a film or television show where someone is tied up, & you think to yourself ‘it wouldn’t take more than a second or two for them to get out of that’. That sort of shoddiness really annoys me.”
He was looking Lucy straight in the eyes. His voice was soft & calming, almost hypnotic in fact, as he tried to put her at ease.
“So, if I shoot a scene where someone is tied up, I make sure that they really are bound securely. Now sit down on the mattress while I put some rope around your legs”
As if in a dream, Lucy did as she was asked. She watched in silence as Rob removed her shoes then reached into the bag & produced several more lengths of rope. The first of these he used to tie her ankles together as tightly & securely as the rope currently restraining her wrists. She looked on with a mixture of fascination & fear as he then went on to bind her legs in two further locations; just below & just above her knees. Each time he cinched a rope & secured the final knot, Lucy gasped; not only due to the rope biting into her flesh, but also because she realised that, with each added bond, she was becoming more & more of a helpless prisoner. Focus on the prize, she kept telling herself, it’s possible that these few minutes of discomfort could be a big stepping stone on the road to stardom.
With her legs now bound in three places, Lucy found herself left to her own devices for a moment or two, as Andy called Rob away to help him with some problem that he was experiencing with the camera. Tentatively, she stretched & tried to work her legs out of her bonds. This proved unsuccessful, but did cause a soft swishing sound, as her tights rubbed together on her calves & thighs. It was such a faint sound, but Rob was obviously alerted by it. He glanced over & smiled at her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back with you in a minute. Don’t try to get out until we’re ready to roll. Just try to relax”
If Lucy had thought that the binding process was complete, she was soon forced to think again. With the camera problems now were seemingly fixed, Rob turned his attention to her once more.
“Okay, just a few more adjustments then we’ll be ready to film. Firstly, we need to gag you.”
Upon hearing this, Lucy squirmed in her bonds. She didn’t like the sound of this at all; it seemed to be getting a little bit sinister for her liking. Once more, however, it was Rob’s calming reassurances that lulled her into a state of submission.
“It’s going to be fine, you’ll see. Now open your mouth wide.”
Against her better judgement, Lucy found herself complying, as Rob slipped a large piece of bundled up rag into her waiting mouth. The cloth was large enough to fill the cavity behind her teeth & ensure that she couldn’t fully close her jaw. She doubted that she would be able to work this foul tasting speech restrictor out with her tongue, & Rob’s next action made this a certainty. Lucy could only watch as he produced a reel of two inch wide grey duct tape, the end of which he placed over her lips before smoothing it down from left to right.
He then commenced winding the tape in one complete circumnavigation of her head; ensuring that he lifted her long flowing tresses out of the way first. He repeated the process three or four more times, each circuit covering her face slightly higher or lower than the previous one, so that once he had torn the end from the spool & smoothed the whole thing down, Lucy’s face was invisible from just below her nose to just under her chin. Smiling, he looked her in the eyes.
“Comfortable?”
Lucy tried to say that she wasn’t particularly, but found that her powers of speech were now almost non-existent.
“Okay, just one last piece of rope, then we’ll be ready to see how you move.”
From the second he lifted it from the bag, Lucy could tell that this rope was much longer than the ones he’d used so far to bind her wrists & legs. And the reason for this soon became clear. Winding the cord around Lucy’s torso, Rob proceeded to fashion a strict rope harness that also incorporated her arms within its bounds. Once complete, & with the final knot secured, Lucy found her arms lashed to her back from above her elbows right down to her already secured wrists.
With his handiwork complete, Rob stood up & walked the short distance to the far side of the room, where he deposited not only his hold-all, but also Lucy’s shoes & handbag. Adjusting one of the lights so that it fell directly on her, he came back over to the mattress, crouched down & began to explain the scene that they were about to film.
“Okay, so here’s what I want you to do. You’ve just been drugged & kidnapped. You wake up on the mattress & for a minute or two you’re still groggy & you don’t know where you are or what’s happened to you. Then, as you gradually regain your senses, you realise you’re tied up & start to struggle for all you’re worth, at the same time screaming & calling for help. After a few minutes though, you realise that you’re helpless & start looking for a way out of the room. Firstly you crawl & squirm over to the door. I don’t mind how you do it. Just improvise as best you can. Then when you get there, lean your back against the wall & try to stand up – hopefully you should be capable of doing this.
Then grab the door handle with your hands & try to open it. You’ll find the door locked. In despair, you slide back down to the floor & do a bit more screaming. Kick out at the door with your feet if you wish, I really don’t mind what you do so long as it looks as if you’re in distress & desperate to escape.”
He paused for a second, allowing her to take this all on board.
“Then, I want you to make your way in whatever manner you find easiest, over to the window. You can slither across the floor if you want, or try hopping over if you prefer, although if you choose the latter method, be careful you don’t fall & hurt yourself. Finally, when you reach the window, I want you to prop you
A Binding Contract · Part 1 (1/2)
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