In the Club

by Antonio Pagliarulo

  20

  The Queen’s Revenge

  The front of St. Cecilia’s Prep looked like a fortress: crowds of reporters packed one side of the street and a line of uniformed police officers formed a blue wall across the sidewalk. The school had totally beefed up security in preparation for the prime minister’s arrival.

  “There’s probably a damn sniper on the roof!” Madison said, jumping out of the limo.

  “Good! We need all the help we can get!” Park grabbed Lex’s hand and together they raced to the edge of the sidewalk.

  Madison shoved her way past a cluster of reporters, using her elbows to knock their microphones and cameras out of the way. She kicked at a tripod. She ignored the petite woman calling out her name and shouting a question.

  Park and Lex tried to follow suit, but they made it only halfway through the crowd before a sea of bodies washed over them. “Move!” Park screamed. “Please get out of our way!”

  “Emergency!” Lex cried.

  But the cluster wouldn’t break. Park felt one of the reporters reach out and grab her shoulder, and she nearly lost her purse.

  “Park!” someone shouted. “Where’s your friend Concetta Canoli today?”

  “Lex! How do you respond to rumors…”

  With a burst of energy, Lex slammed herself against Park and simultaneously shoved two reporters out of her way. Microphones jutted out from every angle.

  “This is insane!” Park said.

  You have less than two minutes to stop a bomb from exploding, a voice screamed in Lex’s head. Hurry!

  The old body-pushing approach wasn’t working. As the panic swelled inside her, Lex did the only thing she could. She circled her fingers around the strap of the heavy magic purse, lifted it over her head, and swung it propeller-style.

  “Get down!” someone yelled.

  “Oh my God! Watch it!”

  The purse knocked every microphone out of the air in one fell swoop. The reporters bent down to scoop them up, and for a few precious seconds, a path cleared.

  Park and Lex raced past several police officers and met Madison at the top of the stairs.

  “Excuse me,” a male voice said from behind them. “I’ll need to search your bags. We have a security checkpoint and—”

  “Come with us!” Madison screamed at the security guard. “There’s no time to waste!”

  “Hey!” the man shouted, chasing the girls down. “Get back here!”

  They dashed through the entrance and down the main hallway. Music flooded the air.

  “Oh no!” Lex shrieked. “The ceremony’s started!”

  “Twenty seconds!” Park snapped.

  Madison was at the head of the line. She kicked up her speed, her eyes trained on the closed double doors straight ahead.

  A bomb. The school. The prime minister. All the students and guests.

  Hurry.

  Breathless, Madison slammed against a security guard manning the hall and ignored his shouts of protest.

  “Oh!” Park said, biting down on her lip. “Sorry, sir! We’ll explain in a minute!”

  “Faster!” Lex cried.

  Madison reached the double doors to the auditorium first. She shoved them open with a grunt. The music came to an abrupt stop and all eyes turned in her direction—a sea of shocked, startled faces.

  Park and Lex jumped on either side of her.

  As Madison turned her gaze to the stage, she saw David Gordon, the prime minister, staring at her awkwardly.

  He didn’t stop walking toward the podium. His right hand went out, mere inches from the microphone.

  “Prime Minister Gordon!” Madison shrieked, her voice booming across the auditorium. “Don’t touch the microphone! There’s a bomb rigged to it!”

  The prime minister jumped back.

  Secret Service agents jumped up like rockets, shoving Madison, Park, and Lex aside.

  And every guest started screaming in the mad dash to exit the building.

  Madison nearly fainted from fright. Every ounce of energy drained from her body. She felt Park and Lex holding her up as they searched for a way out of the converging mass of bodies.

  Someone grabbed Park’s arm. She glanced up and saw Sister Brittany looking down at her.

  “Are you sure?” Sister Brittany asked nervously.

  “Yes!” Park said, lifting her voice above the commotion. “Where’s Emmett McQueen?”

  “Emmett?” Sister Brittany shook her head. “He left here about two minutes ago. I saw him heading for the side exit.”

  “He killed Damien—and he rigged the podium with a bomb!” Lex screamed. “We have to find him!”

  Sister Brittany’s face contorted with rage. “What?”

  Madison experienced an odd resurgence of energy. Adrenaline hit her nerves like a double espresso, and she grabbed Park and Lex and bolted out of the auditorium. Instead of heading for the main entrance of the school, however, she hung a sharp left, bypassing the music room.

  Ahead of them was the little-known side exit.

  The door was already open.

  They rushed through it and ran out onto the avenue, thankful that the overflowing crowds had engulfed most of the reporters. As they ran across the pavement, thunder cracked overhead, and a sudden downpour drenched the streets.

  Lex pointed and said, “Look!”

  Madison and Park followed her finger. They both caught a glimpse of Emmett McQueen running into Central Park.

  “Get him!” Park screeched.

  Lex led the zigzag run through the gridlocked traffic. She stepped on the bumpers of several cars in her mad race to catch up with Emmett, holding tight to the magic purse. The rain beat down hard on them as windshield wipers flicked on and pedestrians hurried into cabs or buildings.

  “Be careful!” Madison said, her hair matted to her forehead. “Those heels are gonna break!”

  Park was totally drenched. “Come on!”

  They made it across to the west side of the avenue, and Lex was the first one to dart into the park, stepping into a huge puddle that splattered her with more water.

  “Emmett!”

  He was a good distance away, but Lex saw him freeze and spin around.

  “Don’t move!” Park screamed, picking up her pace.

  All around them, the park emptied as the few lone joggers and dog-walkers ran for cover from the downpour.

  Emmett realized what was happening. He turned and broke into a run, but he stumbled and went down on the ground.

  “He’s gonna try to make it across the park!” Madison said.

  “He won’t!” Park shot back.

  “Ouch!” Madison stumbled and stopped, her hands flying to her right leg. “Charley horse!”

  The path in front of them forked, and they all knew from experience that it converged again just past the meadow. Lex ran right. Madison and Park went left, Madison breaking into a weak limp-trot.

  “Stop running, Emmett!” Lex shouted, her own feet pumping the ground. “Everyone knows! You can’t get away!”

  He powered along the path ahead of her.

  Lex was surprised by her own physical stamina. She gulped in huge breaths of air and picked up her pace until she was finally within an arm’s length of Emmett’s backside. But instead of reaching out and trying to grasp his shirt, she pounced and took to the air—slamming against him with a hard grunt.

  They stumbled to the ground in a splash of mud.

  “Shit!” Lex screamed, thinking of her clothes and the magic purse.

  “Let go of my arm, bitch!” Emmett screamed.

  When Lex finally caught her breath, she realized she was under him, his weight pressing down on her and his elbows resting on her shoulders. She tried to squirm and fight, but his body was too long and—surprisingly—too strong. “Just give up!” she said. “Why…the hell…are you…fighting me?”

  Emmett managed to yank his arm from her grasp long enough to reach into his back pocket.

  A moment
later, Lex saw the dagger in his hand; the blade caught a glint of light as the sharp point came down at her.

  She flung her body to the left, gasping as the blade dug into the dirt beside her right shoulder. Rain poured down the side of her dirt-streaked face. An image of a healing mud mask flashed before her eyes, and she stopped worrying about any potential damage to her skin. “You little creep!” she seethed. “Did you actually think you’d get away with it?”

  “Revenge,” Emmett grunted, “for what that nun did to my family!”

  Lex tried to nab him with an uppercut, but missed.

  Emmett lifted the blade again.

  And in the flash of an instant, everything shifted.

  There was a loud whoosh, and Lex saw Emmett literally skid off her with a yelp.

  Park had used her own body as a battering ram, knocking him onto his back.

  “My head!” Emmett screeched, placing a muddy hand on his scalp.

  “How could you do it?” Park yelled. “How could you try to blow us all up?” She was kneeling on his chest, angrily batting him with her fists. “That’s for Damien!” she screamed, striking Emmett in the jaw. “That’s for trying to blow up the school. And that’s for ruining our clothes!”

  Emmett’s face registered pain. “It would’ve worked!” he panted. “If you little bitches hadn’t butted in! I knew I should have killed you in the Chamber with my sword when I had the chance!”

  Park grabbed him by his muddy shirt collar. “And you even betrayed your best friend!” she shrieked. “Concetta would’ve fried for killing Damien! You pathetic little wimp!” She let go of him and slammed both her fists down on his chest again.

  With a loud grunt, Emmett bucked his entire body. The movement threw Park to the ground. He shot to his feet and held the blade out.

  Park jumped up too. She didn’t take her eyes off him as she hunched her back and held out her arms like a wrestler who had just entered a ring.

  Lex did the same. She took Emmett’s left side, blocking his path of escape.

  They circled him slowly.

  “So,” he said between breaths, “which one of y’all wants to get cut first?” He slashed the dagger to his right.

  Park jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blade. “Ha!” she said. “Not quick enough, McQueen!” She ran a muddy hand through her muddy hair. “Not smart enough and not quick enough!”

  “Like hell I’m not!” In a lightning-quick move, he lashed out at her again, this time grabbing hold of her wrist and nearly pulling her against his chest.

  But before he could complete the capture, Park elbowed him in the ribs and broke free. She ducked when she saw the dagger swooping toward her.

  “Damn!” Emmett steadied himself on the wet ground. He was out of breath, rain dripping into his eyes and down his face. He stared at Lex—and the stare held a gleam of determined evil.

  Before she could even scream, Emmett’s left hand grabbed her shoulder. She felt herself being spun around. Then she felt fingers close around her jaw and the sharp tip of the blade against her throat. “Park!” she screamed, helpless.

  “Don’t struggle!” Park answered back.

  Emmett laughed. “Now who’s not fast enough, huh?” He pressed the dagger deeper into the flesh at Lex’s throat.

  Park froze. For a still, silent moment, she actually felt a spark of panic in her chest. She didn’t know what to do. She stared at Lex’s tear-streaked face. She stared into Emmett’s cold, gleaming eyes. She—

  “We got him!” Madison yelled, appearing out of nowhere. She stopped limp-running as she reached the scene, but her shoes slid out from under her and she skidded forward, slamming directly into Emmett, knocking the blade from his hand.

  He slammed into Lex.

  Lex slammed into Park.

  They tumbled to the ground in a knot of arms and legs. Thankfully, Lex landed flat on the magic purse.

  “Ouch!” Park screamed. “Get off me!”

  The instant Madison rolled onto her stomach, something caught her eye. She wiped the mud from her face and stared across the gray, rainy light of midday. As if in slow motion, she saw the figure powering down the path, coming toward them with all the speed of a rocket.

  Sister Brittany ran like an athlete in her Roger Vivier platforms. The long ends of her black habit swished and swirled and the Dolce & Gabbana rosary beads bounced against her hip.

  Madison was so startled by the surreal image that she didn’t see Emmett fish the dagger from the little puddle of brown water.

  In one final attempt to salvage what was left of his vengeful plot, Emmett arched over Park. He clasped the dagger between his palms, pulled it up and took aim.

  “Don’t!” Madison screeched. She lunged forward onto Park, purposely placing her own body in the path of the oncoming blade.

  Lex thrust her muddy magic purse up and out, and it caught the blade’s impact completely.

  Emmett gritted his teeth.

  “Freeze!” a voice behind them screamed.

  Breathless, exhausted, the rain pooling over their muddy faces, they all turned and stared up at Sister Brittany.

  The fingers of her right hand held a gun, and it was pointed directly at Emmett. In her left hand was a gold badge. She was FBI.

  21

  A Star Is Born…Again

  On Friday afternoon, Park reported to the set of Short Fuse for her first official day of filming. It was sunny and hot and busy, a typical June morning in Manhattan. As she stepped through the doors of her own personal trailer, she felt relief wash over her in the form of air-conditioning and several bouquets of red roses. The card in all of them was the same: Love, Jeremy.

  On the small counter beside the window, Park found a gift basket filled with beauty products, courtesy of Madison and Lex; they hadn’t overlooked a single item. Park laughed out loud when she saw the huge tube labeled Facial Mud Mask. It was a joke and a reminder of all they had been through.

  Park had spent the last three days reading over the script for Short Fuse and recovering from her violent and unexpected duel with Emmett McQueen. Madison and Lex were recovering too, but they were looking forward to vacation and the beginning of a very restful summer. Park, on the other hand, would be working for the next six weeks: first here in Manhattan, then out in Los Angeles, where the last quarter of the film was being shot. It was an entirely nerve-wracking experience—memorizing lines, learning how to get into character, fearing that her performance on-screen wouldn’t live up to all the media hype—but Park wasn’t sweating it. And when the jitters did seize her, she thought back to Sunday evening and her performance in the Chamber. How exhilarated she’d felt playing that role, how she’d been able to capture all the little nuances of a character. She hadn’t merely been playing a game; she’d been acting out a scene, feeding off everyone else’s words and movements and emotions. She’d lost herself in the thrill of it.

  So maybe Jeremy was right. Maybe acting really was in her blood.

  A knock sounded on the trailer door.

  “Come in,” Park said.

  A woman wearing a headset poked her head in. “We’ll be ready for you in five minutes, Park. Hair and makeup in trailer four.”

  “Thank you.” She took a deep breath and reached for the script in her purse. She flipped through it, smirking at the irony of it all. The explosions and mayhem and danger that were all central to the movie. The stunts. Hell, she’d lived this script in the past week. Maybe life really did imitate art.

  She went and stood before the full-length mirror at the front of the trailer. She was pleased with her reflection: it radiated strength and confidence and a slight edginess. There was no sense in worrying about her feature film debut. Jeremy had been right all along. A lot of her life was about acting. But there was a huge difference between art in front of the camera and life behind it. She was ready to do both.

  She opened the door of her trailer and stepped outside. Three photographers were waiting just behind the bl
ue barricade. Park didn’t bother to shield her face as the flashes erupted. There was no point in hiding on a movie set. Several onlookers waved and called her name excitedly, and she smiled and waved back.

  Jeremy was waiting for her outside the makeup trailer. “Hey, babe,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Hey.” She slipped into his embrace and held her face up for his kiss.

  “So,” he said. “You ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Long day ahead of us. Press conference after we finish shooting.”

  She nodded. “Sounds typical. I think I can handle it.”

  Jeremy stared into her eyes, then arced a finger across her cheek. “We’re officially a power couple now. If you really don’t want to do the press conference, we don’t have to. They wait for us, and not the other way around.”

  She laughed. “It might take me a while to get used to the Hollywood stuff, but I will eventually.” She glanced over his shoulder and saw Madison, Lex, and Coco McKaid walking toward her.

  “I brought you some extra moisturizer,” Lex said. She had a little trouble digging into her new magic purse—it was bigger than the last one, which had been damaged by the mud and Emmett’s dagger—but she was handling the change well. She held out the tube of moisturizer. “All these lights, and being outside in this weather—it’ll be hell on your skin.”

  Park took the tube. “I know. I can already feel the dryness beginning around my eyes.”

  Madison held up a file folder. “Well, it’s all here. The police and the FBI and the ATF finished their investigation.”

  “Oh!” Park’s eyes widened. “So what happened?”

  “Everything happened while I was away!” Coco wailed, disappointed. “I swear, I’m never going to a Zen monastery again. They even confiscated my iPod.”

  “Emmett broke into Mother Margaret’s office back in March,” Madison explained. “He stole the documents and they confirmed his suspicions—it was Mother Margaret who sparked the investigation into his father’s bad business dealings. In fact, Mother Margaret had been cooperating silently with the IRS throughout the whole scandal, but she never thought Emmett would resort to this. It apparently never occurred to her that he would want to take revenge on her or St. Cecilia’s Prep.”