Grey Skies in Mourning

© 2010 Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Chapter Two

edited 12/12/201

Setting down the teaser page’s the Kodiak brown bear known as K.L. shivered in repressed anger. “This is... This is what she came up with?” he asked. “I paid six big ones for this? I could have come up with somethin this trashy.”

Charleen van PugPug looked up from the copy that she was reading for him. “Sir” she answered softly, her trained voice hiding her emotions about the bear. “You paid for a blockbuster horror Petunias Perils serial. Twenty four episodes, scripted out and ready for filming. That is what I have brought you, thirty copies, one for each speaking character printed by the best Spontoon printer available and honest enough not to have kept a copy for himself. Which we both know is unlike what happens to our scripts here in Hollywood. Nothing will get to the tabloids that cannot be tracked down to the exact fur that released it. All you have done so far is hear the first teaser, shall I explain the entire story to you or simply continue reading?”

“Yer certain this thing will draw them into the theaters” the bear asked.

Shrugging the vixen allowed her carefully brushed tail to flicker behind her. After his interest in what lay directly below a woman’s chin, K.L. was a fluffy tail man. “Lucy has delivered a true horror and signed a contract to write ten complete scripts for Republic after she has finished Songmark. Jean signed a contract to play Silver Star, though camera shots will have to hide her advanced pregnancy the first few weeks. She also agreed to play my counterpart in Revenge of Dracula’s Daughter should I get that part. K.L., you have everything you asked for and more. We both know how much Jean hates working in the movies even though she is, in Republics stable, the very best actress for adventure stories. I truly should know, I’m the one that is paying for it in the long run.”

K.L. silently studied his favorite B actress for a few minutes before responding. This act had always managed to make her fidget before and it didn’t fail this time. He did though, carefully note the ring on her left paw. “Marriage between women isn’t acknowledged in tha States” he finally said.

Charlene shrugged, glancing at her ring before answering. “I know” she admitted. “That is why I have already applied to the United Moro Chiefdoms for citizenship there.” She looked down at the script in her paws. “They are relatively open about who can be a citizen you know. Enough gold and it’s probably a done deal. Their idea about marriage is, it isn’t any religion‘s business who marries whom as long as it is consensual between both parties and both are of legal physical age.”

His eyes almost bugging out the Kodiak bear struggled to accept what the vixen had just announced. “You... You renounced yer American Citizenship?” he asked.

Laughing the vixen lowered her ring paw. “Oh please K.L. It wouldn’t be like I was the first foreign actress on Republic’s payroll or the last and in any case my current contract remains valid. In the least I will stand by my word and though Lucy will have to establish a residence there for me, it isn’t any big deal. But to answer your question sir. No. I have not renounced my American Citizenship. Not as yet. I need to wait and discover if I am accepted then finish all the paperwork first. At the best that still takes months you know. The mail does not simply magically appear a third of the way around the world in a few short seconds and even should I be accepted I cannot file the paperwork renouncing my citizenship from within the borders of the United States, that is the law.”

She randomly flipped through a few pages of the script before continuing. “You ordered me to get the script no matter what I had to do. Agreeing to marry Lucy Ullrich and take citizenship in a country that such marriages are legal in was what it took. Honestly K.L., I would have preferred Spontoon. Its is closer to America and I do love my country but they refused my application. You see, I have ‘Nothing of special interest to offer.’ They suggested the United Moro Chiefdoms, so I went to their shared consulate and filled out the paperwork. After we marry, which will be after she finishes Songmark, I hope to become a citizen of that county. So you see K.L. I followed my orders no matter what it cost me.”

She look past the bear out his office windows, looking at the hills in the distance. “I’m a good little studio girl K.L. I really am, aren’t I?” she asked softly. “You know what this will do to me when word gets out, it will when Wilkerson gets a sniff of it. His Hollywood Reporter lives for such things. I’ll be thrown out of my church for starters.”

“Yeah. Yeah you are a good studio girl” the bear admitted. “And you will be thrown out of your church. Maybe any church that won’t accept a believer just because of who they kiss shouldn’t be a church. I donno. I shouldn’t have been so damn strong in my demands. When tha time comes I’ll see myself that your work visa gets done. Ullrich will be joining yah?”

“Oh no, she loves her Texas too much” the vixen laughed. “I become the foreigner, she remains an American citizen that was part of her demand. That and..” She held up her left paw. “There is another ring just like this, and a set of special jewelry will join them when we marry to prove her ownership of my heart, and body. Lucy was very demanding about the conditions of our marriage, you would only see that set if I worked for DAKA. Say, do you think that Miss. Goring would like the same? Or would it be worth asking her opinion on the matter.”

The last was a lie, but the bear didn’t have to know that. It was the image that planted itself in his mind that Charlene needed to set, to help weaken him for when Nikki finally arrived to make her play. K.L.’s mind was easy to understand once you realized that he loved his work almost as much as he loved women, which was why he had never married. With his wandering eye he knew that he could never be true to any woman and he absolutely hated lying. Watching the emotions wash through his face was entertainment for Charlene. Unlike K.L., she had spent over half her life taking acting classes. She could twist the simplest words into a snare but had been careful not to show this talent. She knew exactly what would happen by the weekend, a certain doe would be sporting new jewelry in very private places wither she wanted too or not. It was the Depression and jobs were hard to find, good paying jobs, easy jobs like being K.L.’s secretary were rare. Behind every employed woman was a hundred unemployed women, all just as qualified and pretty, some even beautiful. They were a penny a dozen so Rose Goring, being intelligent would accept, or find herself looking for a job with no letter of recommendation. Somehow Charlene couldn’t see the busty doe giving up her job. Not after what the dominate woman had already allowed herself to endured at K.L.’s paws.

K.L. though tried to play it straight. It might be common knowledge what happened in his office at lunch time or on his private and very secluded ranch, still he tried very hard not to slap it in peoples faces. “I guess we will never know” he answered. “Kinky woman, your bride to be. So. Which one will wear the pants in the family?”

“Lucy of course” the vixen admitted. “I certainly won’t be anymore but please, can we get back to the business at paw?”

K.L. took several deep breaths, looked at the synopsis in his paws and realized he had two choices. Go through with this or kiss six big ones good-bye. If he did the latter, Yade would have his pelt for a rug. Besides, there were twenty-four separate scripts piled on his desk. One for each chapter, with a crate holding the other 696 copies already in secure storage on the lot. A lot of real work had gone into this, along with the life of his favorite B actress. All at his orders, so he at least owed her that much.

“Short and curly” he said as soon as he had made his decision. “What happens, why. How are Petunia and Star drawn in what makes it a big draw, who survives and why Meeker Colorado.”

“Buddy Roosevelt, the cowboy stuntman?” Charlene asked. “He is why Meeker. Remember sir he is from Meeker and he’s worked for Republic several times but never as a major character, only as a stuntfur. Taking him home, then giving him the role of Sheriff would make things easier for us. The Sheriff is one of the few lawmen to survive and it gives us an opening should you ever want to make a sequel there.” She stretched, not caring that the bear might find it a suggestive move. She had been sitting over an hour and needed to move. “This will sell” she continued.

Setting her copy of the first script aside she stood. “Sorry sir, I really need to move around. Now, you ask What happens. One of the meteors is a cargo pod sent by who knows whom, it carries two monster snakes. Both are black, like a mamba and their mission is of course to replicate and wipe out Earth’s dominate lifeform. Us. We discover at the end that they had been aimed for Indonesia and fell into the high mountains by accident. It’s the altitude and cold that save the day.”

She twisted her body this time, her spine popping in several places. “Petunia, answering her sixth sense is how she gets involved. That is a previously well grounded fact that our fan base is well aware of. She arrives in Meeker by aircraft to find out what is going on, immediately after she reads a report that the National Guard has been sent to Meeker that is. Unused to the high altitude she becomes a unneeded drain on a squads resources, so they leave her behind during a patrol. Unfortunately they do not return for her. In fact, they are never seen again. But Petunia goes looking for them, though hampered by her altitude sickness. That will not be a hard illness to act out as I am not used to high altitudes myself. Petunia discovers the solders ruined equipment and the tracks those snakes leave. But she doesn’t really understand what she is looking at so she takes pictures and returns to town.”

She paused, taking a drink of water before settling down in the chair again. “Upon returning to Meeker and being screamed at by the officer in charge, she returns to her hotel room and uses a device given her by Silver Star to contact her. After explaining to Star what she saw the mouse orders her to remain in her room until she arrives. Now sir, here is the trick you asked for regarding ‘The Master.’ That night Petunia has a altitude sickness fed nightmare. One where she is made a slave and made to do things. This we cut directly out of that horrid Haster film. Just unrelated scenes, a dozen or so that tell our audience exactly what they are seeing. It explains ‘The Master’ in a way that will destroy any credibility Haster’s boy has while making that whole project nothing but the money wasted nightmare it really is.”

She looked out the window again as a bird flew past, its bright plumage catching her eye for a moment. “Silver Star arrives a few days later in her own craft. After talking to the Sheriff and Petunia she decides to make her own investigation. By now furs have been vanishing right and left and anyone within ten miles of Meeker is now in Meeker or missing. There have been two large landslides that have closed the road to Meeker and people are panicking. We show the Sheriff as a strong, capable Great War hero here exactly as the Hays office demands. Likewise the Mayor and a few other important citizens are shown as strong leaders, we can get Buddy Roosevelt to tell us who to include. Lucy left several ‘local character’ roles available exactly for this use. Anyway the Sheriff won’t let Silver Star go out alone. Petunia, now better acclimatized won’t be left behind either. We all know the secret reason why of course, so Star and Petunia spend a day and night in Petunia’s room supposable planning out what they need to do and what will be done. Our fan base of course will believe that something quite different is going on.”

She grinned. “A few scattered clothing bits and a rumpled bed in the background might get by the Hays Office but never our fans. When they go out, they leave at night because the General has ordered everyone to stay in town. They stumble upon the remains of that craft that brought the snakes, see that there were only two chambers and find some Chinese style writing. Star mentions that it isn’t Martian, as they write in dots and to confirm this there is a flashback to the two looking at a sign in a Martian base. This of course refers to the previous series and will save a minute or two of film stock.”

She grinned, “When we were at that Convention I realized that our fans like it when we refer back to old stories. Something they refer to as a continual story thread or character growth. Its cheap, easy and by splicing in scenes from previous series we save filming time and money.”

“Getting back to the story though. Eventually, with the Sheriff’s guidance they find the Samson mine. Here it is that they discover the remains of all those missing people. We show this with tattered clothing while Silver Star reports bones in a large pile. European version shows the pile and evidence of the gazelle and doe from the very first scene. Probably their unique clothing, especially their unders. That adds a bit of sexual tension of course. Women being eaten alive I mean then digested but basically this is the snakes toilet.”

“And they win exactly how” K.L. asked, steepling the fingers of his paws.

“Those snakes were meant for a warm moist climate” the vixen explained. “They can’t move at night in the high altitude cold so they can only hunt by day. Star explains this as the sun comes up, so the three climb above the tunnel and watch helplessly as the two massive snakes leave to hunt. When the snakes are gone they sneak into the cavern where they discover a nest of eggs. Add in left behind unstable dynamite, a brave sheriff, Silver Star facing both snakes with her electro-gun and Petunia being swallowed alive.” Charlene giggled. “No worry, Silver Star cuts her out of the by then dead snakes belly just before she dies. But it should thrill our viewers as in the end of chapter twenty-three they watch as Petunia is swallowed alive by one of the snakes while Star is killing the other.”

“I see. And she managed to spread this out over twenty four chapters” the bear observed. “Talented.”

“Spread sir?” Charlene asked. “It was more compressing it into twenty four chapters. Now, when this is money in the bank she is willing to write you a real horror story. One about a giant spider that captures people to feed its young. Teenagers. You know how delinquent teenagers are always getting into trouble. A movie where all the towns bad girls and boys meet their fate is what the Hays office really wants.”

K.L. laughed, slapping his desk with the flat of one paw. “Giant Spiders? What’s next, Giant Ants?”

“Why not” the vixen asked coyly. “Why not all kinds of giant insects, maybe even a blob of jelly that eats everything or an intelligent carnivorous plant? Things known to exist in Cranium Island I am told by Alpha Rote and she should know, she was born and raised there after all. Its something no one else has done.”

“Because...” K.L. snapped as if to trump her card with a fact she didn’t know. Then he went silent for a very long moment. “Because Charlene. There may not be a Republic Studios in six months. Even if this mad story does draw in the paying crowd all it will do is starve off the inevitable.” He sighed, rubbing his balding head. “What I’ve got to say, well. The Board knows it, so maybe only half of Hollywood knows it by now. Haster’s kid isn’t our only problem. Two of the board have bailed out already, sold out at for almost nothing. Ones starting his own studio again, the other claims to have seen the writing on the wall. Our stocks at five cents a share and people are starting to get nervous. Why, they ask, are the big wigs getting out now? Its something sinister going on? Is the studio folding? They know we’ve sold twenty contracts already. What they don’t know is that six went to DAKA. The least useful dancers of course, the kind of sweet curvy young things DAKA eats up by the bale full. But the money stanched a leak. We, well Yade bought up a lot of common stock. I have to admit that the board sold too much stock at the initial offering. Six million shares? Sure, even at four cents a share the stocks still worth a quarter of a million but the average Joe only looks at the share price. His hundred shares of Republic have dropped from $10 to $4 in less than a month. He’s losing his shirt so the public is starting to sell off. Its slow yes, but if it catches on it will be a waterfall. Charlene, the studio hasn’t the money free to buy a tenth of that six million shares.”

He fingered an unlit cigar, thinking. “Yade says the only cure is to get rid of our excess stock then drop our public debt to a million shares. So he’s started buying, but he used the studio’s rainy day fund to do it and that’s gone now. That and the money that came from those contract sales. The moneys there for your serial but only because its already budgeted. Plus you will be going to film mostly out of state. That way we can leave most of the overpaid unions behind. That saves money and speeds thing up, Union workers want to be paid for drinking our coffee and yakking their heads off on our time.”

He shook his head in dismay. “I’ve signed off on the sell list Charlene, your contract will be in one of the last blocks mainly because of this serial and because Haster’s kid demands you take that part. But as soon as that is done your sold. There won’t be a vampire movie for you, I’m really sorry about that but it is out of my paws. I can’t do anything about it. Hell, DAKA already offered two grand specifically for your contract. Right out in the open they mention in their note that they might go as high as three so you know what Yade will do.”

Charlene shivered at those last words. DAKA? She’d be lucky to be worth marrying in eighteen months. She’d be lucky to be worth knowing in twenty. “Give me Jean and Lucy’s contracts” she demanded, standing. “They are too good for this.”

“And what will you pay for them” K.L. asked. There was no lear in his eyes, no suggestive smirk. Only a serious questioning look.

“I can slow down the kids movie. For at least a month probably two” she answered. “That will block his budget, saving the studio money. Give me those contracts and I will tell you how. No strings.”

Picking up the two signed and now valuable contracts the bear weighed them in his paw, then let one slip face down to his desk. The other he tossed to the vixen, who captured it with both paws. “One, and neither of us know which one at this moment. Republic folds, I personally sell the other to DAKA with your contract bound too it.”

“Deal” the vixen agreed, for in truth she had no other option. “The boy is writing and directing his movie himself. Correct?”

“On the money” K.L. agreed. He wondered where the vixen was going, but decided to wait and see.

“Is he a paid, in good standing member of either the Writers Guild or the Directors Guild?”

For long seconds there was silence in the room. “Oh my God. No. No he isn’t. It’ll take at least a month to pay enough people off that he’d be accepted by both. But... What if he...”

“Gives the director job to someone else?” Charlene laughed, her laughter a sweet sound in the room. “K.L. The kids a megalomaniac and he really believes he’s got talent. There is no way he’ll give up directing. As for the script, even if he could find a ghost writer in time it would take well over a month to put out a new version. You can bet your last dime that he’ll fight any changes to his work though. A month, and if you pull out the right favors, two. In that time the other projects can finish up.”

“You ought to be in Yade’s seat” K.L. observed. “You have a devious mind.”

“No. I’m an actress K.L.” the vixen countered. “If I end up at DAKA be certain that I will be acting until my disease filled body is dumped on the streets to rot.” She stood, looking at him. “If Republic is as bad off as you claim you better bail out before Yade sells you to DAKA.” With a final nod to the brown furred Producer, she turned and left. Still clutching the life of someone close to her in her paws.

When his door closed K.L. lifted the contract still on his desk with one finger-claw, read the name and shrugged. DAKA would find something profitable to do to her he knew and she’d have Charlene van PugPug as her co-star. Letting the contract fall he picked up his phone, waiting until his secretary answered. “Get me the Directors Guild, then the Writers Guild after I hang up with them. Then you and I are going out on a little shopping trip.” He hung up, wondering how long Republic would last if it wasn’t for the brains and foolish loyalty of people like Charlene van PugPug. He would be stunned if he ever found out where the vixen had gotten her information, or who had prompted her lines. This evening though he had to speak to Lord God Yade himself, it would give Goring’s new trinkets time to heal.