41 Metallic Fear
“You should stay at the hotel,” Damian turned to the actor without breaking his fast march.
“No way. If help is needed, every pair of hands will count.”
“But...”
Damian wanted to explain to him that in this weather, with such strong wind, lightning and maybe a huge downpour, it might be too dangerous for Rafał on the set. He wanted to explain to him that as an actor, he should seek shelter for himself and not expose himself to injury. But...
Radosz saw determination in Brylski's eyes. The green flames burned with willpower. Rafał was not the fragile, naïve child or lamb that Damian had thought him to be at the beginning of their acquaintance. Rafał was a strong man with an even stronger will.
On top of that, Brylski was right. If help was needed in securing the plan, every pair of hands would be useful.
“Let's go!” Damian decided.
There was no reason to delay. The wind was so strong that it probably reached ten on the Bofort scale. If it got even stronger, it could even carry away cars and people.
This kind of storms happened in Poland, especially in summer time. They appeared out of nowhere, hit violently and hard, usually lasted no longer than an hour and had a local range, but could do no less damage than typhoons and tornadoes. The geographic scale was smaller, of course, but for the resident of the village where the storm destroyed all possessions the tragedy was the same.
Radosz drive quickly. If the storm came their way, it would be dangerous. The wall of water pouring from the sky will make it impossible for them to travel and with zero visibility on the road, they could easily run off the road and hit something, or hit the car in front of them. Damian had experienced such weather before, and although he is not a timid man, he had experienced moments of terror then.
Now he did not feel calm either. The trees by the roadside moved ominously, threatening to break off a branch and fall on the road. The clouds could break at any moment...
The situation was not safe and Radosz regretted taking Brylski with him, however. He really didn't want to put him in danger, which was exactly what the current situation was.
Damian pressed the gas pedal harder.
They were on the set in less than ten minutes. The wind wasn't raging so much here and it looked like Radosz's car was faster than the breakdown of the atmospheric front that was just approaching this place.
“It's a little calmer here” Rafał breathed a sigh of relief as he got out of the car and assessed the situation. They probably had a few minutes before the weather broke.
A few men from the maintenance crew were busy fixing the elements that were in danger of being blown away by the wind. Huge tarps were thrown over elements of the scenery that could not be removed to storage. Employees went to great lengths to secure everything they could.
“Damn it!” Damian cursed. “That's why such a set should be built in a studio!”
Actor's heatstroke, unpredictable weather conditions, and even a potential problem with thieves - shooting in the studio was much safer, since everything would be processed in the computer room anyway, and the unpredictability of the weather outdoors was just a pain in the ass. The problem was that in Poland there were no conditions yet which would allow such a large area to be used for the filming of the series.
For now. If things go well, that will change in the future. That, at least, was Damian's plan. But for that he needed this production not to be a failure, but a success.
A large, professional studio with proper lighting to imitate the sun and windmills to imitate the wind. A studio where an entire street could be built to look like the real thing. A beautiful, large studio, where the producer does not have to worry that half of his scenery will be destroyed by the wind and the other half will be destroyed by a downpour...
Damian wanted to set up a plan of action with Brylski, but Rafał was no longer at the car. He ran towards the working men and together with them started to fight the wind to secure as many elements as possible. Radosz only glanced at them and ran over to the other group.
“How can I help?” he asked.
“Hold this rope” instructed someone completely ignoring that he was speaking not to an ordinary worker, but to the manufacturer. “When I say, pull it with all your strength to that pile over there. See?”
Damian looked over. Like a tent, a stake with a rope handle was embedded in the ground.
“I see” he confirmed.
“All right. Here...” the man stepped aside and grabbed another rope. “Now!”
Several men simultaneously stretched the tarp and started tying it to the nearest stakes. Damian did the same.
“Thanks” the technician patted him on the shoulder.
“What now?” Radosz asked.
“Let's get out of here because it's going to rain.”
“And the set?”
“These were the last elements.”
Thank God, Radosz thought, breathing a sigh of relief. He looked around searching Rafał and noticed that the actor was helping to carry the last elements of the moving decoration to the warehouse. Damian ran in that direction. They met exactly at the moment when everyone was leaving the warehouse.
“Is there anything else to do?” he asked, eager to help.
“No, we've already finished” he heard the same answer as before. “Now secure yourselves.”
The man padlocked the warehouse and all the technicians ran off in the direction of their van. Damian checked everything with his gaze once more. It looked like everything had been secured.
“Let's go” he instructed Rafał and reflexively took his elbow. The actor nodded in response.
They started to run, feeling that in a moment it would pour and the car in which they arrived was at the other end of the set.
The wind raged tugging at their clothes and hair and making noises like banging. Suddenly, an even louder noise tore through the air, as if metal was being torn apart. Damian looked in that direction and saw that a piece of sheet metal had broken off the makeshift roof of the garage and was rushing towards them...
***
Anita walked around the hotel reception with the phone in her hand and terror in her heart. Every second, sometimes every two, she glanced towards the glass door behind which the elements were raging.
Rafał was not in his room. According to the information she had received from the receptionist, he was not at the hotel at all. He had left earlier with Mr. Radosz.
Anita Janiszek was not happy that Rafał was spending time with that man again. She didn't think Radosz was even the slightest bit concerned about Rafał's welfare, only the production he was starring in. Brylski was valuable to him as an actor playing a leading role, not as the person he was. This was understandable for Anita, but not acceptable. After all, she cared about Rafał's personal well-being and Radosz...
Anyway, never mind. That wasn't what mattered at that moment, it was that Rafał still wasn't at the hotel!
“Anita?” Janiszek twitched and turned when she heard a familiar female voice. “Why are you trampling the carpet like that?”
Marzena Skierska, like most of the crew working on the set of The Fifth Capital, was a guest of the hotel, but she occupied a room on a higher floor than Rafał. Now, with her phone in hand she was going downstairs and stopped curiously to see Brylski's nervous assistant.
Marzena shifted her gaze from Anita to the glass door, behind which a gale raged.
“Rafal is not at the hotel?”
“Yes. He left before the weather broke...”
Skierska smiled warmly at her.
“I don't think you have to worry about him so much. Rafał is a big man. He will be fine. It's only a storm.”
Anita felt her face flush. Could it be that her overprotectiveness was so apparent?
“I'm his assistant and...”
Marzena approached her and put her arm under her shoulder in a friendly, almost confidential way.
“... a friend," finished the actress in a soft voice. “You know, I am terribly lonely here. Would you like to keep me company while waiting for Rafał to come back? We could drink coffee or green tea...”
“But...” Skierska had never shown her such friendship before. Did she really feel lonely in this city or did she want to get some information about Rafał from Anita?
“We will take a table overlooking the entrance, so you will see when Rafał comes back. Come on, don't let me ask you...”
Janiszek swallowed her saliva. There was something unnatural about the actress' behavior. And something disturbing. Or was it just Anita who felt uneasy about Rafael's absence?