Page 10 of Maliea's Hero
Reid: Already at the set. Tell him there’s a key under the mat on the back porch. He can make himself at home until I get back.
Reid glanced up from his cell phone at the movie crew setting up cameras in the valley below. They’d started early to beat the forecasted rain that was predicted to move in after eleven that morning.
His position was high above the actual movie set as a lookout for any trouble or overzealous fans who might try to sneak in on four-wheelers or horses.
Normally, Kualoa Ranch offered adventure tours to tourists who wanted to see the old WWII bunkers built into the sides of the hills or to see where movies like Jurassic Park and King Kong had been filmed.
The production company had reserved the ranch for two weeks to record the sequences they needed. They’d made good time the first week and would wrap up that morning if the weather held off long enough to get good footage.
Thus far, Reid and his team had had very few problems to deal with. They’d steered a group of teens away who’d heard Jason Momoa was one of the movie stars on location at the ranch.
Rex Johnson, dressed in a black polo shirt, black trousers and mirrored sunglasses, had run interference on that one. Looking like a man from the set of Men in Black, he’d informed them that Momoa wasn’t one of the stars. He was working on a movie in the Bahamas for the next two months and wouldn’t be in Hawaii anytime soon. He'd also informed them that the ranch was closed until after the movie crew left. Of all of them, Rex was the most likely to know the truth of Momoa’s whereabouts, having come from a wealthy family out of LA. He’d gone to high school with some of the current movie stars who had a legacy of family members in film.
A stray cow had wandered onto the set at one point. Logan Atkins, Reid’s team member with the most experience with cattle, had shooed the bovine out of the scene and back through the gate someone had left open.
All in all, it had been an easy assignment. One Logan and Rex could have handled without Reid. He could miss a few hours on the set and go check out the friend Tish had sent his way.
He spoke into his headset, “Rex, Logan, Sitrep?”
“Watching grass grow here,” Rex responded.
“Was kind of hoping a rogue cow would find his way through the fence about now,” Logan muttered.
“Bored?” Reid asked.
“Understatement,” Rex said. “I’ll be glad when the chase scene comes close to my position.”
“All’s quiet on the Hawaiian front,” Logan concluded. “Why? What’s up?”
“I got a text from Tish.”
“The hot model?” Logan asked.
“The one you babysat while she was in a coma?” Rex clarified.
“That’s the one,” Reid said.
“Does she need a bodyguard for a beach photo shoot?” Logan continued. “I could sacrifice my position on a movie set to keep an eye on women modeling bikinis on the beach.”
“Sorry, Logan,” Reid said. “She has a friend who needs help.”
“Another model, like Kiana?” Rex asked.
“She didn’t say,” Reid said. “I’m going to meet him at my cabin.”
“Him?” Logan sighed. “I was hoping for female models in bikinis. Yeah, you go, Reid. I might as well stick to the movie set. At least I hear the word Action, even if I’m not getting any.”
“What are you talking about?” Rex said. “Weren’t you chatting up the cute blonde at the Burger Bar in town last night? Did she shoot you down?”
“Crashed and burned, man,” Logan said. “Crashed and burned.”
Rex chuckled. “Probably recognized you as the player you are.”
“Bite me. Besides, we weren’t talking about me,” Logan groused. “Reid has a date with a dude. Talk about that.”
“I don’t have a date. I’m going to meet with a potential client. Can I trust you two to be serious and keep an eye on things here?”
“You bet,” Rex said. “We’ve got things under control here. Let us know if it turns into an assignment. We’ll be wrapping up here soon.”