The Grey Zone (Black Noir / The Boys Fan Fic)

Ch 17 Magic

A sudden sharp clap caught everyone's attention. "Magnificent!" cried Phil from behind his director's chair. "Simply magnificent." He squeezed his hands together, forgetting to move them into follow up claps. For a moment, he just wanted to feel the texture of his skin, distracted by the power behind his hands.

The sound engineers looked back at him and they managed to muster a smile, despite his odd behaviour. It wasn't often that praise was dished out on set. Even rarer when it came from Phil Madison.

There was a sense of excitement in the air; Phil was in a good mood for once, the production was making steady progress and the actors we finally receiving good feedback on their performances. The on-location shooting was proving a success, despite eagle-eyed crowds in the distance jeering now and then. It didn't slow production. Today was the perfect day to shoot. Without a cloud in the sky, the natural light made continuity a breeze, so the crew tried to shoot as many scenes as possible whilst the conditions were just right.

Phil's demeanour came as such a pleasant surprise that no one seemed to question what had put a pep in his step. Instead of sitting down and barking orders, he was on his feet pacing between the monitors and his director's chair. Occasionally he would grip the back of the canvas chair material, as if he was experiencing a rush from the performance unfolding in front of him. His stubby fingers curled into the canvas material, leaving it warped.

Despite still filming outdoors in the breeze of Central Park, the heat of the mid-day sun created a somewhat stifling workspace. The production team were all feeling it, but the general buzz on set kept them going. Filming only took short breaks for the makeup artists to blot the sweat off the actor's faces, before springing back into action for another take.

But whilst the crew seemed to be experiencing only a slight level of discomfort from the heat, Phil looked as if he had run a desert marathon.

His shirt was dripping wet - despite already changing it 2 hours prior - and his face was as red as a stoplight. Noseblind to his own body odour, he was unaware that the ample Tom Ford cologne he'd dowsed himself in only slightly masked his musky stretch.

Nobody appeared to find this out of the ordinary. Or perhaps they dared not say anything for fear of breaking the good vibes on set.

But Chrissy had noticed.

She had been waiting on the sidelines to greet Jess when she arrived, but it never happened. In fact, it had been a couple of days since the two had seen one another. The last time she had seen Jess was following the clean up for Phil's trailer break-in.

As she stared out across the busy set, her mind ruminated over the situation she'd found herself in. She clutched her clipboard in a bid to look like a normal member of the crew, but if someone looked twice at her they'd notice she was lost in thought. Physically present, mentally on another planet.

Chrissy still had no idea why there was blood in Phil's trailer, but she'd been looking at him differently ever since. She had her suspicions that Jess wasn't really a 'Spiritual Advisor' but since the trailer break-in, her head was full of theories about voodoo witchcraft. Something sinister was going on and whilst she liked Jess' company, she didn't like the feeling of being involved in something she didn't fully understand.

She also didn't appreciate losing her regular responsibilities for the production. Another day was unfolding in front of her. As her co-workers rushed around carrying out their duties, she stood on the sidelines like a spare part. Unlike them, she didn't seem enthused to be there. Even the makeup artists who she'd usually gossip with were unusually busy given the circumstances on set.

Everyone around her had a purpose. Chrissy was left on the bench.

Despite not answering to anyone directly or having a clear role, she was afraid of looking unprofessional so she wandered in between the trailers to check her phone.

"Hello, Are you due to arrive on set today?" Message unread. No response from Jess.

Her arms fell limp in disappointment. Chrissy didn't take it personally, but it was starting to irk her. She had been so excited to start her internship with Vought Media, but she wasn't getting the full experience as Phil had side-lined her for his own benefit.

To a degree, she had expected to be used for just about anything but this wasn't beneficial for her career overall. She was missing out.

She tucked her phone into her back pocket and readjusted her ponytail. There was no need to rush back to set with nowhere to go, so she hovered between trailers. 

"And what do you call this?" An annoyed tone asked from behind her. Chrissy spun around and dropped her arms from her hair. "I've met some lazy interns in my time but you are truly..."

"Mr. Madison. I can explain." She interrupted him, immediately regretting her decision as he only seemed to become more irate.

"Save it! There is magic going on out there. Magic! You are so lucky to witness such art." He started to reel off on her. Thankfully for Chrissy no one else was around to witness, which saved her some embarrassment.

"I am. I really am, I just don't have anything to do right now with your Advisor's absence." She tried to explain without dropping Jess in hot water.

Phil paused for a moment, letting the cogs of his mind turn. "Oh I see what's going on here then." He clutched her arm forcefully and dragged her further into the small village of trailers. Chrissy winced a little, caught off guard by his physical domination. Everyone on set knew he could be verbally volatile, but laying his hands on someone was something entirely different. "Mr.Madison I'd just like to do my job." She protested as he continued to tug on her arm, his porky fingers digging into her bicep.

"Well, here you go." Phil stated as he shoved her towards a trailer door. "That's what you're here for isn't it?"

Soothing her arm, Chrissy looked around confused by what Phil was talking about.

"Do 'your job'. Here's my trailer she sent you to spy on." He used air quotes as he spoke about her job and finished by leaning further into her face. Chrissy was still struggling to comprehend what Phil was talking about and now she was confronted with not only his intense body odour but also his hot breath in her face. She tried desperately not to grimace too obviously as she continued to cup her arm where Phil had accosted her.

"Sir, I really don't know what's going on. I just want to work on the set." Chrissy politely spoke, trying to calm him down.

"Don't play me for a fool girl." He spat as he spoke, only inches away from her face. "I'm well aware that you're her little sidekick and she's asked for you to invade my life."

This was a whole new level of paranoia from Phil. He had employed The Agency to investigate his stalker, but this meant an agent had to investigate him. He didn't like that. Now he was starting to believe that Jess and Chrissy were conspiring against him, not working together to solve his stalking issue.

"Mr. Madison I can assure you I want no involvement in whatever is going on I just want to complete my internship and learn about..."

He inched closer suddenly "Silence! You're insufferable. You're incompetent. You're weedy. You are insignificant." Chrissy had no choice but to stand still and take the abuse, like an army recruit receiving a reprimand from their Sargent.

Phil finished by nudging her to the side so that he could access the trailer door himself. That's when Chrissy flinched, not knowing what was on the other side.

"Happy now?" Phil asked dramatically, as he stood in the doorway of the trailer expecting Chrissy to peer through the door. "No secrets to be found in here. So you can carry on with your day." and with that he slammed his trailer door shut.

Chrissy remained in place, bewildered by what had happened. She considered knocking on the trailer door to claim her innocence further, but it was no use. It would only annoy him more. From the outside of the trailer, she heard one long, strong, nasally sniffing sound from the other side of the door.

"That explains a lot," Chrissy muttered to herself.

She whipped out her phone instantly and walked around the corner, in case Phil came back out of the trailer and crossed her path again. She frantically began to text Jess.

"Hi again, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing on set without you but Phil is not in a good way and I think he's under the influence."