“Uh, okay,” Ashley said, as if her agreement mattered. She went to makeup first, and Powder did the works: base, lip stain, false eyelashes. Next came the red wig, and last a trip to the costume area, where Cutter handed her a feminine, dreamy sundress with a tight bodice. Over the sundress, he clipped on a suspension harness. The green straps circled her waist and hung over her shoulders like suspenders. At each shoulder and the front and back of her waist hung metal clamps that would attach to wires once she got to the set.

This was Ashley’s first visit to the green screen studio. The AD, who’d walked her over, said, “Once you’re in place, you’ll pull backwards, lift two feet off the ground, then lower to the floor. We’ll do the action slowly and make the cut look fast on film.” The AD eyed her sundress. “Cutter wants to go with a dress, but we may have to switch to pants if you need a full body harness.”

Ashley wasn’t worried about the harness; she just hoped the dress didn’t fly up. She moved onto the center stage and a stunt coordinator’s assistant joined her.

He said, “The cameraman will fill you in front of this green screen. Later we’ll digitally remove the ropes, straps, and wires, then edit in background shots of an exploding car.” He explained each detail as he hooked her up to the wires. “Walk forward and when you hit your mark, we’ll lift you up backwards and down.”

“Picture is up.”

Next, she heard some information about the shot, “Roll camera,” and then “Speed.”

The clapper guy called out, “Marker” and clicked the clapperboard shut.

“Action.”

Ashley took a step forward.

“One.”

Ashley neared the mark. Suddenly the harness jerked and lifted her backwards into the air. The straps dug into her waist, pressing the little pearl buttons that ran along the front of her sundress into her skin. Once in the air, the harness suspended her there for a few minutes then lowered her to the ground, where she lay flat out.

“Cut.”

“Good, good expression. The shock then the pain was perfect. Let’s go again.”

Grabbing hold of the green wires, Ashley pulled up. When she was upright, Powder got beside her, touched up her makeup, and ran a hairbrush through parts of the red wig. During each touchup, Powder described a trapeze artist she used to date.

Ashley performed the stunt several times and the lying AD never went on the count of three. She couldn’t blame him, though; if she knew the lift was coming she’d tense and not give him the right expression. Appearing to be in pain became easier with each take. The straps hurt and she hoped the filming would end soon. The restraints had become creepy and the waist kept tightening, threatening to cut off her ability to breathe.

“Okay, good job, that’s a wrap,” the AD said. “Powder, they need you on stage B.”

Powder waved and headed out.

Ashley smiled and tilted her head against the strap, relieved. She’d needed a break but hadn’t wanted to ask. This experience would make it much harder for her to mock actors in the future; some of their work was hard, and she definitely understood why Petra refused to do wirework. The stunt coordinators were ruthless.

She hung from the air while the wire guy did something technical over by the wall. The harness jolted, digging the pearl buttons deeper. Torn between the desire to screech at the technician to get her down and the desire to not sound like a diva, Ashley didn’t know what to do. She wiggled and tried to shift the strap that pinched the most.

The pain lessened when she used her arms to pull her weight up, but her arms weren’t strong enough to hold the pose consistently. She’d opened her mouth to give in and call the technician for help when Caz walked on set. Thank God. “Caz, come here.”

After murmuring something to another actor, Caz joined her. He eyed the equipment. “So this is where you’ve been. I was shooting with Petra, and I asked, but no one knew.”

“This thing hurts. See if you can move the strap or unhook the clasp.”

“Where?”

“Waist, that claw thingy and those pointy buttons.”

Caz slid a hand under the metal clasp and Ashley felt instant relief. She groaned. “Thanks.”

He frowned and jerked at the clasp, but the belt didn’t unlatch. One arm slid under the back of her thighs and he held her against him. The new position took all the weight off her waist. Heaven.“Ohhh, thanks.” Ashley lowered her hands to his shoulders and flexed her fingers against them. “Thank you, thank you. This makes up for all your random errands.”

Caz fiddled at the claw.

Ashley poked at one of the pearl buttons. “It’s these stupid buttons. Cutter will have to change them out for Lorene.” Tucking two fingers into the gap between buttons at her waist, Caz pulled the fabric apart. One button pinged to the floor.

He stared a moment, then yelled at the stunt coordinator who was jotting notes. “Get my assistant down, now.”

For once, she didn’t mind being called his assistant; not when his demands got someone to leap up and help her. Wanting to be free, she also didn’t correct Caz by pointing out that the coordinator had assistants who did tasks like latching and unlatching.

The stunt coordinator said, “Sure thing.” With a few jerks of his hands, the harness released and she fell against Caz. The straps dropped, dragged down by the clasps. They clanked against the floor.

“Oh, good.”

Caz lowered her to her feet.

“About the chase scene —” the stunt coordinator said.

“I need a minute.” Caz led Ashley to the side of the set. He hooked a finger in the waist of her dress and parted the fabric.

Ashley looked down curiously. Her skin had livid red marks from the straps, and small scratches from the pearl buttons. She’d be bruised tomorrow.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Caz brushed over the spot with his index finger.

Ashley shrugged and sucked in her abdomen in response to the electric sensation caused by his touch. Her reaction had nothing to do with pain.

A crew member called from across the set, “Hey, Caz, you ready?”

“Your turn,” Ashley said. Caz nodded, and she was sorry when he withdrew his fingers. She folded her arms over her waist and watched as they put him in a car suspended on a metal frame, the green screen behind him. His hands gripped the wheel and his expression became tense as he checked the mirrors and spoke in a cell phone. The mood intensified, and he shifted and jerked the wheel.

Caz was an amazing actor, exciting. Ashley had no doubt that his fake expressions were better than her real ones. Were all actors good at being expressive or did they actually feel things more intensely? She put her back against the wall and lowered herself to the floor so she could see the rest of the scene.

***

Shooting required careful camera positioning, microphone placement, and lighting adjustments. Today’s scene was set in a police headquarters, so they fitted the stage with desks, mug shots, and a number of extras.

Lorene’s character, Aurora, would drop by to see her true love at work. Caz’s reaction to Aurora would expose his weakness in front of the villain, giving him the idea of how to destroy Caz’s character—harm Aurora.

The AD paced and glared at his computer tablet, his nose close to the screen. Lorene hadn’t shown up. “Ash, get in costume so we can shoot this.”

Ashley’s head tilted and her mouth opened. Then she shook her head no.

The AD didn’t care. “Sit and wait for Caz then bring him a cup of tea. I’ve seen you do that every day, so I know you can handle it.” His words were slow and his tone was patronizing.

Ashley felt her face flush and palms sweat. She didn’t want to, but everyone was looking at her, and there were so many people standing around, ready to go. She swallowed and nodded. Powder and Cutter got her dressed in record time and she wished it had taken them longer. Taking a deep breath, she sat down and stared at the extras while winding her fingers together. Cutter had kitted them out like the dregs of society and they seemed quite comfortable with the role.