The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood! Chapter 63

"You're back just in time, Matthew," Michael Cudlitz said with a smile. "James did some digging based on your tip. Tom and Kate have definitely been meeting at that warehouse, and more than once."

Matthew set down his backpack and asked, "So what now?"

"What do you mean, 'what now?' We need to get rid of that bastard Tom," Michael Fassbender stated bluntly. "We'll find a new instructor."

James McAvoy added, "We met with Damian Lewis today. Their training is more focused on tactics and proper weapon handling. Their instructor is a retired military officer with years of experience in the film and TV industry, not a rookie like Tom. He said there’s absolutely no need for this level of intense training—all we need is a basic understanding. Any mistakes can be corrected during filming."

"We could report this to Goetzman," Matthew suggested, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

Michael Fassbender shook his head. "The contract the production team signed with Tom has a breach clause. If Tom doesn't violate it himself, the production will have to pay a hefty penalty to fire him."

Matthew frowned. "So we can't replace him?"

"We can," James countered. "We just have to make him resign voluntarily."

Michael Fassbender backed him up. "This show could make us stars, put us in the spotlight. Does anyone want to get sick from Tom's insane training? We're easily replaceable—we're not the leads in this series."

Matthew shrugged and pointedly reminded them, "There are only four of us. That's not enough."

"Who said there are only four of us?" James said confidently. "I've talked to the others. They all want to get rid of Tom and are ready to back us up all the way."

He looked at Matthew. "And crazy Kate... Matthew, don't you want to see her leave here in disgrace? You haven't forgiven her, have you?"

"I'm no saint," Matthew muttered. "I don't just forgive everyone."

"Well then..." James lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'll get the guys together tonight. Fassbender and I have a preliminary idea to discuss."

Then James and Michael left.

Throughout the entire exchange, Matthew never mentioned his own plan. With Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy now acting as the ringleaders, he could simply play a supporting role. That way, if anything went wrong, he'd have room to maneuver.

...

That evening, some twenty actors who harbored a deep hatred for the "Devil Instructor" gathered and gave their approval to the plan James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender had laid out.

In truth, Matthew suspected many were thinking just like him. Since James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were taking the lead, if anything went wrong, the production team would approach them first. It was impossible for them to fire over twenty actors at once.

Still, Matthew believed that for James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender to take such a risk, they must have something solid to back them up. There was a real chance their plan could actually work.

The training resumed, and Tom continued to drill the actors, ignoring their complaints. Matthew had been watching him for a long time and had begun to form a few theories about him.

There were likely several reasons for Tom's behavior. First, it was simply his personality. Second, having just been discharged from the military, he was still running on autopilot. And third, he was determined to be serious and responsible in his first civilian job.

The actors endured for three more days, but they weren't idle. Following Matthew's leads, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender confirmed several details. The most crucial was that Tom and Kate had a particular fondness for the warehouse—specifically, the one storing weapons and props—and would use their lunch breaks to meet there every few days.

Furthermore, Matthew slipped into Tom's locker room a few more times and confirmed that the box of condoms was still there, its contents once again diminished.

After making sure the coast was clear, Matthew left the dormitory building. He slipped on a pair of rubber gloves before approaching Tom's locker. Opening the backpack he carried, he pulled out his prepared equipment. He took the box of condoms and, just as he'd practiced, used a fine-tipped medical syringe to inject a substance into one of them. Afterward, he sealed the minuscule puncture with a dab of quick-drying, color-matched glue.

He inspected the condom wrapper carefully. Unless one held it up to the light, the tampering was invisible.

Matthew's main worry was the scent of the substance. Though he had added a few drops of liquid fragrance, he hadn't been able to mask it completely.

Fortunately, they still had James and Michael's plan to fall back on. Even if his own scheme failed, Tom and Kate were still in for a world of hurt.

He injected the substance into the front of each condom packet, then sealed the holes with quick-drying glue before placing them back exactly as he'd found them.

Matthew did one final check for any traces he might have left behind, then slipped out of the locker room.

Michael Fassbender, who had left to consult with James, still hadn't returned to the barracks. Matthew checked the time and dialed Britney's number.

"Hey, Matthew."

Hearing Britney's voice, Matthew felt the vengeful tension in his chest ease a little. "Are you done with rehearsal?" he asked.

"No," Britney replied, sounding furious. "The producer—that idiot—wasn't happy with one of the tracks and told me to change the whole thing. I've been so busy lately, I haven't even had time to call."

Matthew reassured her, "We'll have plenty of time once filming is over and your tour is done."

Her mood seemed to lift a little. "Then we'll go on vacation together."

Then she began to ramble, "This is my first tour, I can't mess it up. The record label is so strict, and the worst part is that I have to sing everything live."

"I believe in you," Matthew encouraged her.

He had heard Britney sing, and to be honest, there wasn't a huge difference between her live voice and the studio recordings.

Still, according to Britney, this was pretty much the norm for pop stars; not many artists could sing truly live and still sound just like their recordings.

In the studio, all kinds of equipment helped make every singer sound like a vocal sensation.

As for lip-syncing at concerts, in the hyper-competitive music world, the fallout was too great if an artist was exposed.

They talked for a few more minutes before Britney had to get back to work.

After hanging up, he sat by the window and picked up the day's newspaper. Despite the intense training regimen, he still kept up his habit of reading whenever he could.

It would be a pathetic state of affairs for an actor who couldn't even read a script.

After he finished reading The Times, the door to their quarters swung open and Michael Fassbender strode in. He walked straight over to Matthew, pulled up another chair, and sat beside him.

"We'll start tomorrow," Michael lowered his voice. "According to their established routine, Tom and Kate will meet at the warehouse tomorrow at noon."

He lowered his voice even further. "I've also contacted the assistant producer who brought us here. Apparently, Kate's been bullying him ever since he arrived, so he'll be happy to cooperate. That woman makes enemies wherever she goes."

Matthew nodded but said nothing, playing the part of a loyal subordinate taking orders from Michael Fassbender, the big boss.

...

The night grew deep. One by one, the lights in the dormitories blinked out, casting the building into an unusual silence. Outside, however, nothing had changed.

The grueling training continued the next day. A series of trenches had been dug across the training ground in a staggered pattern. Following Tom's instructions, every actor had to learn to move skillfully between them; running in a straight line was strictly forbidden.

When the morning session ended, Tom went off on his own as usual. The actors, however, were another story. Many of them now had conspicuous scuffs and tears on their paratrooper uniforms.

The group first headed to the mess hall for lunch. Once they received the signal from their lookouts, at Michael Fassbender's suggestion, they went together to find the assistant producer in charge of their actor group to request replacement uniforms.

The assistant producer—the same one who had driven Matthew and the other North American actors from the airport—inspected their uniforms, took a few photographs for his records, and then led the group out of the small office building toward the costume warehouse.

Matthew sat among the group, silent. He didn't need to do or say anything—just wait for Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy to make their move.