AN: As promised yesterday, I'll release 1 more chapter in a bit.
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[The shoot continues...] [Night time]
Scene:Exterior suburban block to moving car sequence
Rig: Exterior of house dressed with concealed camera mounts for continuous coverage. Long zipline rig on both street sides for tracking shots at vehicle pace. Safety team on standby.
Rachel and the assistant director had pressed hard for a stunt double for Alex. He refused, stating he wanted the physicality to feel authentic. Angelina and Alex had rehearsed the route twice without cameras rolling.
"Scene 23. Take 1," Lexy said.
The slate clapped, and Alex stepped into John's headspace.
He exited the room with a handgun in his hand. He carefully looked around the hallway.
"Janie! Honey!"
At that moment, Jane put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb. The tires gave a low growl as Jane sped off.
John noticed the car leave through the glass window. "C'mon." He ran out of the house and yelled. "Jane! Stop!" But Jane kept driving. He cut across the lawn, vaulting the first fence in a clean jump. The cameras on the zipline caught the smooth transition from sprint to leap as he landed in the neighbor's yard.
He tore through a hedge, branches catching at his shirt. "Jane! Stop!" His voice was part command, part plea.
Jane kept her eyes forward, one hand gripping the wheel tighter than the other. Under her breath she muttered, "How could I be so stupid," though the mic on the dash still caught it. Her jaw stayed tight, eyes narrowing as she rounded the corner, the street blurring past the rigged cameras.
John hit the second fence, climbed it in two moves, and dropped down with a hard exhale. His momentum carried him through a back garden and out another gate.
The car kept moving until the end of the block where Jane finally slowed. She braked to a stop, the camera on the street catching the moment just as John came stumbling through a section of broken fence on the right and shot a bullet by accident. The bullet part will be added with sound effects during editing.
"Ahh!" Jane moved her head, barely dodging the bullet.
"Cut," Lexy called from the monitor. The feed replay showed the continuous shot working exactly as planned, each rig-to-rig camera handoff invisible.
Angelina leaned out of the driver's window toward Alex. "You okay?"
Alex nodded, adjusting his grip on the prop gun. "Better than the fence."
The crew laughed lightly before resetting for a second take.
The safety team jogged over, a couple of medics giving Alex a quick once-over. He waved them off with a grin, rolling his shoulder just to prove nothing was out of place. "All good. I'm fine."
Since the rigs were still hot and the street was already locked down, Lexy made the call to roll straight into the next setup. The stunt coordinator ran through the marks with Alex and Angelina, checking distances and timing for the hit-and-flip.
"Scene 24. Take 1," Lexy called.
John stumbled through the jagged opening in the fence, his breathing ragged. "Oh dear God," he muttered, the prop gun clutched loosely in one hand.
He froze for half a beat, then took off toward the middle of the street where Jane's car idled. The headlights flared against him, making him squint.
Jane sat behind the wheel, her hands steady, eyes narrowing in a way that spoke louder than words. Every muscle in her face said, 'You are dead.'
The engine growled as she revved it once.
John threw both hands up, the gun dangling harmlessly by his finger. "Wait! No, no. Accident."
The camera cut to Jane's face, catching the cold focus in her eyes. Her lips didn't move, but the message was clear.
Back on John, his voice softened into something almost pleading. "Honey? Accident."
The tires barked as Jane stomped the accelerator.
John shouted, "Jane. Stop the car, now."
The impact was fast and clean, his body flipping up onto the hood with ease as he rolled over to the car's roof. The car carried him forward in one smooth motion before coming to a stop.
"Cut," Lexy said, the call sharp but satisfied. "Perfect. That's the one."
"Oh my God!" Angelina quickly got out of the car. She was worried about hitting him too hard. "You alright?"
Alex jumped down the car's roof and cracked his fingers. "Yup! All good. It was fun."
Angelina sighed in relief.
The medic team was about to rush, but Alex stopped them.
"Worried?" He said with a smirk.
"What do you expect? I was against this part from the start. Anyone sane would have used a dummy and used editing to manipulate the scene. But you... Haaa..." She shook her head in relief and gave him a tight hug.
"Ok," Alex hugged her back with a smile.
...
After a fifteen-minute break to reset cameras and recheck the rigging, the crew took their positions again. The night air had grown colder, and a fine mist hung in the light from the streetlamps. Lexy gave the nod to roll.
"Scene 25. Take 1."
The car sat in position at the start mark with Alex already lying flat across the roof, his hands gripping the edge of the windshield frame. Angelina sat in the driver's seat, jaw set.
"Action," Lexy called.
The tires chirped as Jane slammed the accelerator. The camera rig parallel to the driver's side kept pace as the car picked up speed. John's coat flapped in the wind, his voice raised over the rush of air.
"Jane, you are overreacting," he said, his tone a mix of disbelief and coaxing.
Jane's eyes stayed forward, the muscle in her cheek twitching.
"Let's not get carried away," John continued, his fingers tightening on the edge of the roof as the car swerved left, then right.
For two seconds, Jane's eyes flicked upward toward him, the streetlights reflecting in the glass.
John leaned closer to the sunroof, meeting her gaze through it. "We don't want to sleep angry. We can talk this out."
Jane's lips pressed together in a thin line. She suddenly lifted one hand from the wheel and drove it into the sunroof glass.
"God!" she shouted, the sound carrying through the car and the exterior mics.
The second and third punches followed fast, the thud of each hitting the glass. Her face was hard, her expression reading like a coin flip between fury and reluctant restraint.
"Pull over," John said, calm but firm.
She kept driving.
"Pull over," he repeated, the tone unchanged.
Her eyes flicked to him again, jaw still tight.
"Pull over."
Jane reached up, grabbed the sunroof cover, and slid it shut, cutting him from view.
"Cut," Lexy said, the word sharp against the night air.
The stunt coordinator stepped forward immediately to check both of them, but Alex just sat up slowly on the roof, flashing a thumbs-up toward the crew. Angelina tapped the wheel once, exhaling before breaking character.
"You good to go for the next scene?" Lexy asked Alex.
The next scene will be the hard one, as Alex has to break the side window and slide inside the car while Angelina has to open the door and jump out of the car.
"Yeah! I'm good to go," Alex replied. "Set up the safety pads around." He jumped down the car's roof and had a quick talk with Angelina. "Drive slow. We'll use effects during editing. Then carefully jump out. No need to rush. Take your time. Just make sure to land on the safety pad."
"Yeah, no worries. I got this," She said with a thumbs up.
The crew moved quickly, setting crash mats along the driver's side lane and a second row on the passenger side for Alex's entrance. The car was rolled back to its start mark, and the rig team adjusted the tracking camera to follow the window break in one smooth shot.
The stunt coordinator gave a final walkthrough. "Alex, glass is candy glass, so you'll feel a bit of a pop when it goes. Angelina, when he's halfway in, open your door, pivot out, and aim for pad two."
"Scene 26. Take 1," Lexy called.
John clung to the roof with his knees locked, inching toward the driver's side window. Jane's face was set in stone as the car picked up speed.
"Jane," he said through clenched teeth. "Enough."
Her hands stayed on the wheel. She did not even glance up.
The glass exploded inward with a sharp crack, the shards scattering harmlessly. John's arm came through first, then his shoulder as he forced his way inside, his boot scraping along the door frame of the back seat.
Jane twisted the wheel hard right, the tires shrieking as the car swayed. The momentum threw John inside.
"Now listen..." But before he could say anything...
She snapped the door handle, pushed it open, and rolled out in one clean move. The camera caught her fall onto the pad in perfect focus, her hair whipping across her face as she came up on one knee. She stood up and looked at John, who made a hand sign and said, "We need to talk."
That's the scene.
Alex grabbed the wheel and stomped the brake. The car jerked to a stop, the camera rig coasting past before pivoting back for the close-up.
"Cut," Lexy called, walking toward the car with a smile.
"Phew!" Alex took a deep breath. He never imagined it'd be so fun to do his own stunts. In the past, he was kinda sick of his monotonous life. But now, he got a new rush.
He got out of the car.
"Alright, guys," He said loudly. "Time to crash the car and wrap it up for the night."
...
The street crew worked fast, setting up the final rig of the night. The crash mats were pulled away and replaced with thick safety rails on either side of the lane, each one wired to a quick-release mechanism. The target point where the car would burst through was dressed with lightweight breakaway metal painted to match the existing rails. Beyond it, the downhill slope had been softened with dense foam hidden under a layer of fake brush to match the suburban terrain.
The stunt coordinator did not waste time voicing his concern again. "Alex, we've got the professional driver here for a reason. This is high speed. The handoff timing is tight."
"I know," Alex said with an easy grin. "But I want to do this. And not to worry, everyone is getting paid. So, no worries there. Just put a long mat there." He pointed at the location.
Angelina crossed her arms. "If you break your neck, I swear I'll..."
"Oh, c'mon. Have some faith in me. I'm a pro racer. I can do this scene. Trust me," Alex said with a wink.
Lexy made the call to keep every camera running for the crash, including the rooftop drone, the street-side rig, and the downhill slope cam to catch the fall from below.
"Scene 27. Take 1," Lexy said into the mic.
The slate clapped.
The tires shrieked against the asphalt as the car shot forward, the camera rig keeping perfect pace. Streetlights streaked past in a blur. The railing loomed ahead, painted shadows breaking under the beams of the headlights.
Ten feet from impact, Alex sped up and then just before the impact, he threw his body toward the open driver's side door. His feet hit the mat and rolled over before standing up with a large and satisfied grin.
The car slammed through the safety rails, straight into the down slope.
Jane stood in her previous position, looking at the car falling down before she turned back and began to walk.
"Cut!" Lexy's voice cracked over the radio. "Perfect! We got it!"
The crew broke into applause.
Alex was already on his feet, brushing off dirt as the medics jogged over. "I'm good," he said, breathing hard but grinning wide. "That was incredible."
Angelina walked over slowly, shaking her head. "You're insane."
"Insane sells tickets," Alex said.
Lexi announced. "That's a wrap for tonight."
The crew began packing up the rigs, the night air buzzing with the kind of quiet satisfaction that only came after nailing a dangerous shot on the first try.
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