Patriot Smith, page 37
part #1 of Patriots Series
Being brown and moist with small white specks of vermiculite in it for water retention and drainage, there was an earthy scent to the whole room, hidden under the powerful yeast smell. The woman actually touched it, then traded places with Rene, so the other girl could look at the example as well.
Then he walked them through what to look for as far as tomatoes and peppers, then got a small handful of fresh onions as well. Rene looked at Karen’s pot plants, which were about three feet tall now and kind of bushy. That was nearly twice as big as the last time he’d looked at them, himself. The woman touched the leaves and then laughed a bit.
“I keep feeling like we should be raided for having these. It’s hard to remember that it’s legal now. I’ve never really smoked any, you know? We could bake some into brownies or something. More of those cupcakes? Those looked good.”
She seemed wistful, and touched the plant in front of her again. Then dropped her thin hand back to her side. Chloe smiled, which looked painful. Her voice was normal enough.
“Maybe we could do that. What’s the plan for later, Sebastian?” She looked at him then, like it was his responsibility to make up work assignments for people.
He didn’t really have anything.
“Um… Well, we have to get the next script for Patriot Smith done. It looks like we’re actually going to get a full season on it, by the way. Have you seen it?” He glanced at Rene, since she was in the thing, only to find her shaking her head.
“Not yet. We started watching some of the stuff at Frank and Jan’s but the others there found it all too pro-America, so we had to turn it off. No one there wanted to try watching something called Patriot Smith after that. It was probably just as well. We should do that before we work on the script, so that we stay as consistent as we can on the writing side of things.”
That made sense, which got Mel to nod.
“I need to come up with something, too. I don’t… You were going to help me with that, right Sebastian? After Doug and I decant and clarify the first of the apple cider, I mean. We can look into ice distilling as well.” The words sounded strange, coming from the woman. Since her having information, about almost anything, seemed off.
The other man, who was messing with some of the white buckets and trying to listen to them for some reason, just let his head bob a bit in response.
“I was thinking that as well. We can also try real distilling. Wine and cider are safe enough but we don’t want methanol in our spirits. If we can get rid of the first bit coming out of the still, the first hundred milliliters or so, that will be enough to leave the rest being pure and without any pesky going blind or anything like that. Then we should be able to collect a lot more of the alcohol out of the remainder than we’d get using ice. Ice distilling gives you a stronger flavor, so we might try both. We can also do some vodka or even rum, once we have some empty buckets. We also need to get back to making fruit syrups. I’ve let that slide a bit, lately, since it’s a pain to do it alone.”
Their soccer mom actress smiled at him, in a way that seemed like she was pleased with the litany of things to do. It was also related to some of her favorite things, so it could simply be that. Or maybe she just liked the guy. They’d slept together before, so it could be that one. Sebastian thought they had at least.
The truth was that he wasn’t up on who had done what with whom in the past months. None of it was with him but other than that and a bit about Sara’s love life, he really didn’t have much. Karen and Rene had been hooking up, apparently. That didn’t sound serious, if what the other actress had said was correct. Not that it was a big problem either way.
The taller blonde woman took an armful of tomatoes and some peppers, and started to walk out as Sebastian did. He was carrying more but they all had something with them. Doug had the most, carrying a large five-gallon bucket filled with cider like he was. That was heavy enough to slosh around a bit, even though he was cradling the thing to his chest like a baby, instead of using the plastic handle for it.
As they walked, the trip not being all that far, Chloe spoke.
“We can work on the Patriot Smith script in the kitchen, after dinner?”
That was fine really, except that they had more than one writing team that needed to be working that night.
“No? I’ll get with Rene in the Coldwater for that. You should be with Karen on Neighborly, since we need to do that one first. It’s easier to shoot, for one thing. Then… We all should help Hal on his variety show. We’re a few ahead on Sebastian and Chloe, thankfully. Paul is working on a music video right now. We were creative while you were gone.” It all felt like a good plan to him but there was a bit of a negative sense coming off of Chloe just then. She touched his arm as she moved past him. Just with her shoulder, since her hands and arms were full.
“Rene… Might be feeling a bit… You know, scared? Things were kind of tough there and she was basically threatened with rape for a few days. I mean, we all were, including the guys but she’s a lesbian, so…”
The girl looked away, actually seeming annoyed by the words, instead of like she was afraid that Sebastian would abuse her.
Looking over at her, he shrugged. His shoulders weren’t massive but he managed to do enough exercise that they filled out his medium weight long sleeved pullover pretty well. He noticed that, since Mel was watching him closely as he did it. The whole thing made him feel a bit self-conscious really. Not that she was salivating at him or anything. It was more like she wanted something else from him.
“I… Well, that needs to be up to Rene, really. I promise not to make any unwanted passes at you, if that will make you feel good about it? I mean, I haven’t so far, so you should feel all right about it, intellectually at least. If it gets to be too much for you, then you can always just leave. I won’t be offended by it or anything.” It was tempting to make a joke about sex then, since he didn’t really think that the girl had a problem with him that way.
Sebastian wasn’t her type but he’d also never even hinted that she should consider him that way. It was a known thing, too, which meant that her instant response was to nod.
“That’s true. I’ll be fine. I have some new ideas for the script, that will work with the established arc that we have set up. I should see the edited version first, in case that changes things. That… We can do that now?”
He nodded.
“We could. I’ve seen it though, so should actually try to do something useful, if I have the time. Like work on a real set or two for some of the projects. That or check my email. See if the White House tried to get in touch with me again or anything.” He smiled at it, while the others all looked at him funny. Except for Paul, who was at the computer close to the front window and the door. He didn’t have his headphones on, so had heard what they were saying as they came in.
The slightly balding man glance in their general direction, making eye contact with Rene.
“It’s true. FEMA and the DHS got in touch with him as well. A lot, for Homeland. That was about them stealing our programs like they did, without even paying us for the work. Not that it wasn’t good exposure. The White House just thanked us for being decent human beings, basically. Some secretary, I think?”
That was right, though the man hadn’t seemed that engaged with it all at the time. Paul tended to seem very driven by his work, or had been lately. It meant he could ignore some of the rest of what was going on. At least it had seemed like that. It was possible that Sebastian was just wrong on that score. It was a thing to pay attention to, in the future.
“About like that. I should send Agent Brevet the new musical piece when you have it ready Paul. It’s going to be an instant classic, I bet.” His tone was joking enough not to feel bad about the fact that it clearly wasn’t going to be that.
The words got Paul to nod at him and then wrinkle his nose. It made him look a little like a ferret.
“One second here… Let me get that cued up…” That meant closing what he’d been working on, which wasn’t a cartoon at all, though Sebastian didn’t recognize the project. That the man had his own things to work on was fine. It wasn’t even porn, though that would have been all right as well, as long as it was the legal kind.
Some of the women might have had a problem with that in the living room. Then again, they might not. It wasn’t as if Sebastian had ever asked anyone’s opinions on the matter. They weren’t that kind of studio, so it hadn’t come up at all. No one had even suggested any of their actors or actresses work topless. It wasn’t going to be coming up in Patriot Smith, he didn’t imagine. Neighborly, either. That left the variety show, which probably didn’t need that kind of a draw, unless it was going to be on cable television.
Just in case, Sebastian decided to work on his abs just a bit more from then on. He was lean enough but a little extra definition wouldn’t harm anything, if it came up. The thought seemed vain, until he recalled that it was literally part of his job to look as good as he could manage.
In front of them the computer monitor came to life then, a decently hard instrumental coming up, along with a title screen that had small words on the left hand lower portion. Like a real music video. Then there was a scream. It was musical seeming but was clearly Karen’s voice.
Until the singing started.
The room stopped then, as Sebastian’s voice came at them, demanding that they wash their freaking hands. Cartoon Karen danced around, washing her hands six times during the song. The whole thing seemed nearly abusive toward the small character on the screen. It looked good. Different but professional. The sound quality was very high end.
When it was over, everyone laughed at the joke.
Then they went and washed their hands, after setting the veggies down on the counter.
Sebastian decided to call that a win.
Chapter twenty-four
He was up for making dinner again that night, as soon as the kitchen was free again. Mainly due to the fact that Chloe was still babysitting Rene and Mel like she thought they were going to run off and join the Black Masks that night. That or the circus, which was at least a more viable option as far as life choices went. Even when one of them went to the bathroom, she stood outside the door with the other. Hovering. Nervously. She’d even insisted the Rene and herself sit at the kitchen table, doing nothing, while Doug worked with Melissa to siphon the good wine out of the plastic bucket, then run it through coffee filters, so that it would be somewhat clear. That kind of worked and was interesting to see happening. Sebastian stood back, and only came into the room a few times.
Technically he was playing on the computer in the other room, having checked his email and answered the things he’d found there. Three of them were from his new buddy, Agent Brevet. There was a return message from the White House as well, from the same secretary as before, who mentioned having seen some of their work in the previous days.
There was even a positive mention for Patriot Smith in it, which got him to smile. Like almost everyone, he liked praise. It was much better than hearing all about how much he sucked at any rate. Since Paul had it up, a three-minute video not taking forever compared to an hour-long program that way, he emailed the links to everyone that had bothered to get in touch with him.
By the time that Doug and Mel had the cider put in bottles, with caps placed on them tightly, using the old screw-on’s they had left first, it was kind of clear that everyone was getting a bit tired of Chloe’s mother hen act. It was enough that he nearly scolded the woman for doing it, since the other ladies weren’t any more fragile than anyone else there. Vina had been choked with a rope, after all. However it happened had to be more traumatic than some threats.
Even scary ones that involved rape. No one was going to love that kind of thing but in the battle between hearing some unwelcome or intimidating words and nearly being killed, Sebastian kind of knew which one he was going to pick. Chloe wasn’t sitting with Vina though. No, she was with the two who seemed to have been touched the least by whatever had gone on.
Clapping his hands, he waved everyone away.
“I’m going to make some food. If you don’t want to help, then get out. Go on… Shew. Be gone with ye!” The words were meant to be funny and earned a smile from everyone, including Chloe. It was the first time she’d done that all day, as far as he could tell.
Her face looked like she’d taken at least two or three good hits to it. Vina and Marcus were both a lot worse off but she’d certainly gotten her share of the negative attention.
They were going to have pasta that night, with a red sauce that was mainly filled with fresh vegetables. There was a lot of prep needed for it but that was mainly in the simmering time for the sauce. They were also going to have garlic bread, he decided. It was filling and they had fresh garlic. Canned margarine but the rest would be enough to cover for that. It wasn’t the healthiest thing ever but they could follow the meal by eating treats. That would offset the chemical poisoning from the fake butter with a bit of refined sugar and a lot of extra fat.
Also, hopefully, some good will. Everyone still seemed tense and more than a little bit down. That made sense to him, anyway. When the table was set, with the goodies sitting on the counter, in their boxes to help them stay fresh, Doug walked in with two large bottles.
“This is a little young and it will be better once it’s had a chance to set for a while but it isn’t too bad. I figured we could have it with dinner?” He seemed sheepish about it, as if sharing his efforts was him bragging or something.
It wasn’t. Really, it was a nice gesture and showed that they weren’t really going to be lacking anything that the others thought of as important. Even as the winter months came.
“That sounds good. Thanks. It’s a holiday, after all.” Normally Sebastian didn’t drink. On special occasions but not every day. Part of that was due to having years of training to fight. You didn’t get black belts in five styles and then go on drinking binges. Not if you wanted to avoid prison. That was a part of his life that he’d never really mentioned to anyone else there.
As a rule, he didn’t talk about himself much. Or ask the needed questions of everyone. That last part was going to have to change, sooner, rather than later. Things were getting too hot in the world just then for him not to be aware of what the people he was living with had going on in their lives. Their pasts, as well.
Out of all of them he knew the most about Rene and he was hardly her best friend. It probably left him seeming distant and cold. Like he didn’t care about them. The truth was that, even before things had gotten bad, before any of the people there had joined the studio, Sebastian had been too busy for things like that. First, he’d been working to earn money for the land and to get his dream started. Then after that had happened, everything had solidly gone into keeping it all together and working to find a way for them to be successful, as a group.
He didn’t start trying to learn more at the table that night, since everyone was still acting like they might be under siege at any moment. Rick kept looking at the front door and Marcus jumped twice, when someone made too much noise. One of those was Karen, making her chair scrape on the floor tiles as she scooted in. They all drank and had matching glasses of hard cider.
That was crisp tasting and actually reminded him a bit of apple juice. True, some that had gone off and was now badly wrong but the others seemed to enjoy it a lot more. Melissa even smiled at Doug, finally seeming to mean it.
“This is good! I was thinking we’d be having something a bit more like turpentine out of those buckets. I really like this. You can do vodka and rum, too?”
Looking a bit less boxy than he used to, the black-haired man finished the bite in his mouth before speaking.
“Yeah. Those are no harder than this. We should distill them for best effect. I can get some help making a stove top still, Sebastian?”
It sounded reasonable enough to him. The whole thing might be a little makeshift, being made of found parts but as long as no one insisted on pretty, it could be made workable.
“Sure. Get me the specs on what you want for it? Then I’ll have it for you about a day or two after we have all the parts we need.” If they could get them.
Sipping the cider, which did go well with the pasta and garlic bread, as well as the small salad he’d put together to prevent the whole thing from being too heavy, he just sat back and listened for a bit. Normally they all spoke about work while they ate. Most times about what they’d done that day or planned to do that evening. This time people just sat and talked about what was going on in the news.
Marcus seemed a bit scared about it. Nervous at least. Then, they were killing white men in California and gangs had moved out, as far away as Texas, randomly going after light skinned people. Asians as well, for some reason. There was no rhetoric out against them, they were just being killed at the same time. It hadn’t really been noted by anyone yet. He would have missed it if Hal didn’t bring it up.
When he did, Rene answered.
“That’s because Asian people are successful. Like white people. White men, anyway. That’s the party line. So they’re seen as having white privilege as well, even if they’re people of color. It’s been part of what Antifa has been saying for years. Even back when I was in it. I’m glad I got out. It was stupid. People are dying now because pampered college kids are afraid to go and find a job on their own.”
Karen made a snorting noise at the words.
“Like we have jobs? We play make believe for a living and if it wasn’t for Sebastian busting his ass constantly most of us would be living at home with our parents about now. That or living off some other guy, trading sex for food and a place to stay. Which would be hard on some of you guys. Being straight and all that.”
The words weren’t really mean and not totally true. Some of them would have made it on their own, just fine. Karen was good looking enough that she would have always been taken care of, too. Possibly by living off of a boyfriend or lover, sure but that would always be one of her real options. At least for the next twenty years or so.
