Mainstream

On Location

Unimpressive: the word that best summed up the shooting location. When David pulled into the Motel 6 parking lot, Eddie hoped it was only to ask for directions. He was already on his phone before David could park.

"Whoa, wait, hold up, a Motel 6?" asked Andrew.

"That's what I said, moron, keep up," growled Eddie.

"I'll make some calls, alright? It's clearly stated in the contract that you're given a level of accommodation while on location. Maybe there's some mix-up. I'll talk to Jeremy."

"Don't call Jeremy, call me a better hotel, immediately, I'm not getting out of this car," said Eddie, before disconnecting the call. Eddie hit the intercom button. "Keep the car running, David, I'm not getting out."

"Yes, sir," came David's voice from the speaker.

Eddie sighed and pulled out his phone to peruse the latest industry news. He immediately stopped short when he saw the front page of his usual source.

Trager's Dirty Secret: Was a back room in the local industry hot spot used to coerce Hollywood-Hopefuls into giving up the goods?

Eddie narrowed his eyes. What a coincidence. That the same situation arose with Waylon when they had gone to Rick's.

Scrolling quickly, without reading the entire article, Eddie saw headers about the secret room and comments from anonymous victims of the practice. There were pictures of the door in the wall, and the dim lit room behind it with leather couches and video equipment. Eddie recognized all of them as originating from Trager's, and the realization turned his stomach.

A new call popped up on the screen, and the article blinked away.

"Ed, call off your agent, I don't have time to deal with his dick envy today," said Jeremy, groaning over the line.

"He's calling because I was driven to a Motel 6," said Eddie.

"Have you looked around, yet? You toured the town? You're shooting at a strip club adjacent to a brothel, the only other places for rent in the town are mom-and-pop motorway motels, or trying to rent a house from one of the real-life inspirations behind The Hills Have Eyes. So, how about you suck it up for a five-day shoot, yeah?"

"My contract..."

"Your contract says that you get preferential lodging, and the Motel 6 is it in that town," said Jeremy. "It's not in the budget to charter you a helicopter to and from Bel Air every day, unless you wanted to pay your own way."

Eddie closed his eyes and sighed. "I suppose, I've stayed at worse..."

"Do you even remember that roach infested beach house during Shallow Tides?" asked Jeremy, laughing. "I hope they bulldozed that place after we left."

"I had to stay outdoors in tents during some of the mountain shots for Return to the Summit," said Eddie, grinning into the phone.

"See? Where's that attitude," said Jeremy, chuckling into the phone. "Everything else is going well with the film, right? Dennis and the production manager seem satisfied."

"Yeah, everything's been going fine," said Eddie. No use in inflating Jeremy's ego by praising the production and thanking him for forcing him into the part.

"Look, if it goes over seven days, I'll personally roast Dennis' nuts, but until then, can you stay at the Motel 6?"

"Later, Jer."

Eddie's head jerked up when someone tapped loudly against the glass of the limousine.

"HEY," called Waylon, cupping his hands around his eyes and staring into the dark tinted window. Eddie pulled away from the door, his face inches from Waylon's only separated by the tempered glass. "EDDIE, you in there? I haven't gotten my room yet, where's yours? Let's be neighbors!"