Chapter 3 Anxiety

Anita heard that the producer of the series The Fifth Capital is to appear on the set today. She didn't know much about him. The man was less than thirty (or maybe he was already over?) And terribly rich.

She never cared where the money came from, but she heard rumors that Radosz had made a fortune on some internet project. Because Radosz, while still a teenager, was very active on the web, he learned a lot about e-commerce, e-promotion and all kinds of e-goods, about the needs of the consumer market, and he boldly decided to kick the moldy old stuff of Polish cinema and television in the ass and invest a large sum of money in the show they were just shooting. He met the audience's expectations to such an extent that he offered the main male role to an unprofessional but talented actor like Rafał Brylski.

Rafał never talked to Radosz, he never met him. The contract was signed with someone else. However, he heard - and Anita with him - that it was Radosz who was the initiator of this idea and the whole project.

So Anita did not know Rokosz and did not even know what he looked like, but she guessed that the young man with blue eyes and dark brown hair standing in front of her was him. Who else could have been on the set as a "VIP Guest" today?

“How is he feeling?” The man asked and Anita Janiszek could clearly hear the concern in his voice. She was so grateful for it that she could hardly hold back her tears.

The girl took a deep breath to answer as calmly as she could and straightened her clenched fingers.

"Doctors don't say anything," Anita replied, trying to hide her frustration. “You know how it is. They took him outside that door and all I could do was wait, but the emergency doctor said that if he don't have a head injury, nothing bad should be going on. First aid was provided on time. Thank you.”

The man standing in front of Anita shuddered and smiled faintly, strangely intimidated by her thanks. He seemed unaware of the great deed he had done to save someone's life.

At this point, Anita found him quite handsome and likeable, and really cool.

The man was not very tall, probably not even one hundred and eighty centimeters tall. If he stood next to Rafał, he would probably be a bit shorter than him, but he would certainly have a stronger build. Rafał was slim - after all, as an actor, he had to fit into the current canons of beauty and everyone knew that the camera added kilograms. This man obviously didn't have that kind of pressure on him. Rather, he looked like a person who likes to build his body, but he doesn't go to extremes and he definitely doesn't look like a bodybuilder. He was just nice, well proportioned.

His face was not too bad either. His jaw and chin were clearly defined. His eyes were a calm blue-gray tint, and the color of his fashionably trimmed hair could be described as brown. He looked very pleasing to the eye, especially since he wore a certain amount of nonchalance, which had something appealing about him. The hint of shyness that appeared in his smile at thanks from Anita gave him a little boyish charm. But there was something else about him, something that screamed from a distance that Anita was dealing with a strong man with a tough character.

"I... haven't introduced myself yet," the man grunted, contrasting with his aura of confidence. “I'm Damian Radosz. I'm sort of a... producer.”

Anita got up and shook his hand.

“Anita Janiszek” she introduced herself. “I'm something like… an assistant.”

Her answer made him curious.

"I'm not hired," she explained. “I am helping Rafał, who is my friend, so the director tolerates me on the set.”

Anita was not able to read what reaction her statement provoked in Radosz, but it was probably not the worst. However, she did not have time to think, because a doctor who was supposed to treat Rafał emerged from behind the door.

"Doctor," Anita ran up to him. “Rafał Brylski, what about him? I came with him by ambulance...”

The doctor stopped.

“The heat stroke wasn't serious. The x-ray did not show any fractures or cracks either, but we'll leave him overnight. I heard he fell from the roof.”

“Yes, he passed out and fell.”

“He was very lucky. He's got a bit of a bruise, but it's nothing serious. If nothing unexpected appears that night, in two days he will be as fit as a fish, only...”

“Only?”

“Heat stroke a heat stroke, but his body looks exhausted. Blood results could also be better. I absolutely recommend rest. We will provide more information to the patient himself.”

Anita pursed her lips. Rest, yeah, of course! Rage and remorse hit her just as hard. Of course, Rafał should rest, but this director is a slave slayer, who probably only wants to produce as much as possible at the lowest possible cost.

Of course, at the lowest cost for himself, because the actors, or at least Rafał, didn't count anymore. Otherwise…

But no, Anita couldn't blame everything on the director. After all, she was on the set to take care of Rafał, meanwhile she led him to such a state. Here, definitely not only the director was to blame.

The doctor left busy, so Anita only said, "Thank you, doctor," and turned to face Radosz.

***

An accident on a film set, especially with the actor playing the main role, is not just any event. The whole team was able to talk and think only about it.

While everyone understood that the actor could indeed have suffered a heat stroke (the heat was taking its toll on everyone), no one could understand how it happened that he fell all the way to the ground. This was what he was wearing a harness for, and he was tied down with ropes so that, in the event of an accidental fall, he would hang from the ropes instead of hitting the ground. Meanwhile, at one point something had failed. Whether it was equipment or a human being, it was a question that tormented everyone.

“The safeguards  were ok” said Tobiasz Mońka, the guy responsible for all the special effects on the set, including the stunts. Tobiasz was thirty-three years old and had worked on films for fifteen years, so no one could accuse him of lack of experience. He was damn handsome and fit, so he even got offers to come to the fore, but that had nothing to do with the accident on the set of The Fifth Capital. “I checked three times. The pulleys worked. The only explanation is a loose carabiner in the harness, but the spring is working fine. Before I left him on the roof, I checked absolutely everything.”

“So what?” Asked the director Różycki, boiling even with rage. “Any magic work? Some fucking miracle?”

Tobiasz Mońka shook his head, clearly biting his lower lip. This behavior was quite suspicious.

“Well?” The director urged him.

"I can only see one possibility," Tobiasz said. “Rafał loosened the carabiner himself.”

Różycki looked at him with disbelief and then rage.

“This is how you work with amateurs! Damn it!” He exploded and foam appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Didn't that idiot know how dangerous it was? He didn't know, imbecile, what are all these safeguards for? He thought, that idiot, for decoration?”

"He didn't do it on purpose," the guy overseeing the crash review, who was also an editor, cut in. “Look, here” he pointed to the screen where Rafał Brylski was visible. "Looks like when he started having a stroke but hasn't passed out yet, he was already, how to say, well, he wasn't thinking rationally."

Mońka and Różycki leaned over carefully analyzing the picture in which the actor, with a slightly unconscious eyesight, tampered with his harness.

"It looks like he was already leaving," Tobiasz Mońka said grimly. “He looks like he's trying to shed his clothes in the heat, but his brain is already drained.”

“Is it even possible?” Różycki was incredulous.