“Sorry about that, English boy,” Wesley said, wiping his mouth.“I did try to warn you.”He got up, brushing dust off his knees.“Here—you'd best sit down before you fall.”Quite tenderly he tookhold of Laurie's armpits, lowered him to the ground.He gaveLaurie's face a mocking, stinging pat, looked once more into thedarkness towards that red eye.He gave a low chuckle, nodded andwaved.And then he was gone.
***
NicoleDelgado had taken Wesley's place.The world was slipping away fromLaurie, and he couldn't make much sense of her arrival.What didshe want of him?Were they still meant to be making love in the bigscarlet bed?A stir of the hot desert air reminded him that his zipwas down.He rectified this with hands almost too numb and clumsyto obey him.“God, sorry,” he said fuzzily.“Did I miss mycue?”
“Your cue?You're not at the Old Vic now.”
Shesounded amused.Distracted, too—more interested in the screen ofher mobile phone, which she was tilting critically back and forth.“This isn't too bad, actually,” she said.“The night mode on thecamera's not terrific, but...Yeah.You look hot.”
Lauriehad begun to like Nicole.He'd liked her neat analysis ofreactionary role models for women, and he'd welcomed her advice onmovie sex.With the vaguest idea that the moving figures on thescreen might be part of his next lesson, he looked over hershoulder.
Therecording was brief.Laurie saw himself in shades of silver andblack.His skin was pearlescent, his hair and eyes like coal.Hismouth was a passionate O.Wesley had been doing most of the work,but he must have triggered something: the tiny silver Laurie thrusthis hips, writhed in what could have been protest or ecstasy.Thescreen went dark.
Laurieswallowed.He was too far gone to understand the implications, buthe felt the closing of a vicious net.Desert dust caught in histhroat.“What are you...”He paused, coughing.“What are you goingto do with it?”
“Goingto?Nothing at all.Life movesmuch faster than that around here.It's already done.I've loadedit to YouTube.Sent a link to the news channel that broadcasts allour scandals before we even have them.”She gave the phone a deftflip into the air and caught it.“They'll love having somethingreal for once.It'll be viral by morning.”
Laurieknew that there were desperate and urgent reasons why he should beconcerned about this.Beneath them ran one comfort, enough to keephis heart thudding steadily for now in its bone cage: Sasha hardlyever watched TV, certainly not the channels that broadcast littleacts of celebrity misbehaviour.You'd never catch him surfing thenet for gossip.Certain of this, Laurie was able to keep breath inhis lungs—nothing else mattered.Only a vague curiosity tugged him.Yes, he'd liked Nicole—Wes too, for a drunken half minute when hisembrace had seemed kind.“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Him setting me up.You...You filming it.Why?”
“Oh, right.He said he'd give you a warning, but I'm guessingyou ignored it.He knew Doug was gonna find a way to write him outand make you the lead forBlood Moon4.Wes is a jerk, but he's not stupid.AndDoug will do a lot to cover for an actor if he can—”
“Like Bailey?”
“Yeah.Paid his legal fees himself.Drugs are one thing.Butthere's no way he can cover up a worldwide viral tape of Devlingetting sucked off by another guy.”
This wasall perfectly sensible.As long as it was all about Devlin, Lauriecould even view it dispassionately.“But he wasn't on hisown—Devlin, I mean.”He shook his head to clear it and made themoon dance.“I mean me.”
“You can barely see the back of Wesley's head.It could be anyguy.I thought about filming it differently and sending Wes downtoo.”She smiled brightly.“Hey, I could've set the date back on myphone and made out it was Bailey working away down there.He'd haveloved that.And it might give a reason to his parents and thegrieving world for why he took his life.”
Laurie had never in his life sworn at a woman.He turned toNicole, looked her in the face as best he could.“Youbitch.”
Shebroke into laughter.“Oh, man, how much fun are you?I never got tofuck with a Brit before.Don't worry—I'll leave little Bailey outof it.I've got what I came for.”
“I don't understand.”
“What?”she said indulgently.“Come on, blue-eyed Laurie, justas cute wasted as sober.It's a pity you're queer—I'd have had youmyself, and Wes could've held the camera.What can I explain toyou?”
“You hate Wes.Why not send him down too?”
“We would’ve lost the film.One guy dead, both his male leadscaught in an act of homosexual indecency—even Doug couldn't havestopped that train wreck.You know, I'm almost the same age as Wes.I've kept the weight off and I still look good, but I'm gonna bethirty next year, for God's sake.I saw some rushes the other dayof one of my scenes with you.I can't pull it off.Hell, after oneof Doug's secret meetings I saw twenty teenage girls who looked ateeny bit like Carmen Duprey trooping out of his castingsuite.”
“And you think you'd go next.”
“Right.You know Doug and his mighty morphing plots.There'sDevlin installed as lead vamp in the next movie, and...oh, Idunno, suddenly Carmen turns out to have a cute younger sister wholooks just great with Laurie Fitzroy against a green screen.Noway, English boy.I do hate Wes.But the two of us built upthisBlood Moonjuggernaut from nothing.We've both given it five years.Wewant to see it through—and if you're gone, Doug will have no choicebut to zip Wes up in his fat-boy vest and keep me decently backlitfor one more film.There’s still a market for a role model like me.I think there always will be.Do you see?”
Lauriesaw.His outer vision was failing, the drugs and the tequilafinally drawing his curtain down, so he turned with interest tothis new inner realm where Wes and Nicole sat, a tarot king andqueen on golden thrones, looking down onto a world where Laurie layin the mud with Bailey's corpse beside him in his arms.Nicolemoved her hands, and they were full of silver birds—birds made outof mirror glass, whose shiny wings held black-and-white nightfootage, tiny moving images of Laurie and Wes.She lifted her handshigh.Up went the birds in a flurry, thousands of them, circlingher head, seeking a direction.
“Laurie?”
He looked up.She must have left him and come back, althoughhe'd only been aware of the desert silence and moonlight.She had acouple of blankets and a pillow in her hand.“You're right,” shesaid, crouching beside him.“Iama bitch, and I can't say I gave a rat's ass aboutBailey Price.But two corpses in two days is embarrassing even fortheBlood Moonset.Are you stoned enough to die of it?”
Laurieshook his head again.This time the moon leapt right over him, andhis skull impacted gently with the pillow, a scent of desert dustfilling his nose.“No.”
“Well, there you go.Stay on your side like that, and if youpuke, don't choke.”She chuckled.“And that's the kindest thing Iever said to a guy, so think yourself lucky.”
