Champions of Justice (dbspock & GuardianAngel)

[dbspock]

I don't like this. David Brown thought as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. it wasn't that the seat was uncomfortable...far from it. He was sitting in the executive conference room with the owner of the studio, frank Castiglione. So of course the seat was comfortable. David just didn't like the subject of the meeting that was scheduled. Namely the possible cancelation of 'Champions of Justice'. Not that he was surprised. He'd seen the declining ratings, and the rising costs. He'd called in favors, taken a pay cut, got his friend John to give him a discounted rate on the special effects work, and he'd managed to keep the show off the chopping block for the past two years, but now management had changed, and he was out of ideas. Frank had a few ideas of his own, and secretly Dave thought they might work...at the very least, it would get management to give them another year (letting them reach the magic hundred episode syndication market number), and there was a good chance it would increase the ratings and give the show who knew how long, but it came with a major downside, the reason Dave hadn't suggested the move himself.

Edith would have to sell her body.

it wasn't quite as bad as it sounded. It wasn't like his friend, the one he'd taken a huge chance on and cast in the role that had made her a household name, at least in the comics fan world, was entirely opposed to that kind of thing. He'd seen the workout video she'd posted, the photos of her in the bikini she'd taken in Hawaii...she wasn't ashamed of her body, but how would she feel about doing it on national television as opposed to social media? Dave wasn't sure, but he had a feeling she wouldn't be enthusiastic about the matter, which is why he hadn't suggested it himself. Frank had no such compunctions, though.

Dave glanced at the digital clock on the wall as he loosened the tie around his neck a bit. It felt a bit warm in her, but Dave knew it was just his nerves. It was 11:55...five minutes until the meeting was scheduled to start, and Edith would be here any moment. Dave suspected she had some inkling what the meeting with the studio head and his two peons was about...he tried to shield her from office politics, but the press had published a few articles wondering how the show was still on the air, so she had to have some idea the show was in consideration of being canceled, but he doubted she had any idea what Frank's solution might be, and Dave wasn't looking forward to finding out.

********************************************************

I was right...new in town. The cab driver thought, and he would have chuckled if he hadn't been afraid it would make the young woman in the back seat think things were not as they appeared.

This wasn't the first time he'd pulled off such a scam. Get a decommissioned cab, spruce it up a bit with new numbers and plates, then head to the airport and pick up a single passenger that looked a little lost. Put their luggage in the back, take them to some address in a normally deserted part of town, and take them for everything they were worth. easy peasy. The driver didn't even recall where she had said she wanted to go, he just knew full well where she was going.

Close enough. He thought as he stopped at a stop light. There wasn't another vehicle in sight, and the street was lined with old warehouses. No activity there either. The only people he saw was a trio of gang members approaching the vehicle, and they were nothing to be concerned about. They were working with him, after all.

"Get out." He told the woman in the back seat coldly. He wasn't sure if she'd comply or not...it was fifty/fifty in his experience. But if she didn't...he pressed the button that ensured the back doors woudl remain unlocked no matter what she did. If she didn't get out, the guys would come in after her.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith had heard about how the views were declining for 'Champions of Justice', a sad thing truly. But in the end it was what it was. It was something that seemed to happen to all of the tv shows. The first season or two did really well and from there things just started to go downhill. But in the end even Edith had somewhat seen it coming even before everything started to be published about how the show was still being aired. There was a small part of her that also questioned that same thing, wondering why the show was still on the air. The last season that they had filmed had gotten a bit more repetitive to say the least and there hadn't been anything to really wow the audience. Which definitely had her wanting to make her own suggestions when she was told about this meeting. Suggestions about what they could do to bring the dying show back once again.

Her suggestions were definitely far more innocent than what the head seemed to have planned, not that she had any idea whatsoever about it. No she was thinking that they needed to bring back an arc that had started in season one but had never really been finished. The season one villain that the heroes had faced had been something of a menace, and it had been quite action packed. But it had ended rather suddenly with the villain having just seeming to fall off the face of the planet without any explanation. Sure it was because the actor had needed to take a step back due to medical reasons but now that he was back... they could revive that arc. Return that villain and find a flawless way to explain what had happened.

It wasn't long until a tall woman with deep chocolate brown hair and green eyes was walking into the office, the faint flick of her heels being heard. Even for being in her early 30s, Edith Anderson, truly didn't look all that old at all. Even being that old she was one of the veteran movie stars that many up and coming movie stars looked up to. She held her title at that point as one of the top female actors; but she honestly wasn't going to be hurt if she eventually lost that at all. "Sorry I am late, gentleman." she was speaking in a soft almost musical voice as she walked into the room.

-----
Charlotte had just arrived in town after a long flight - having spent the last couple of years studying abroad and learning more about acting. Even as a child that had been her passion, acting. She had been in many school plays and had gone auditioned to star in nervous small shows that just seemed to look for outside help. Then eventually she had gotten an unique offer to study at a college in London, so that is where she had decided that she was going to go. It was a full scholarship for the four years to earn her degree. Sure she had needed to leave her family but it was an amazing opportunity for her to achieve her dream.

She had managed to get her degree and had decided that she was going to return home so that she could visit her family and see her brother once again, tell him the exciting news. After all her family didn't really know anything... other than that she was going to go study in london to become an actress.

The young woman was lost in her thoughts and didn't even seem to notice that the taxi had come to a stop until she heard the taxi driver telling her to get out in a rather cold voice. Well that definitely startled her and had her shaking out of her thoughts, just looking around a little bit. No this was definitely not where she had been wanting to go - no this was the opposite side of town.

"W...What?" she was asking after a moment in time before her eyes were going towards the trio that seemed to be approaching the taxi and her eyes seemed to go a bit wide. No she had no idea what was going on at that point in time.... other than she was in danger. That was the only thing that she was certain of. No she did get out of the taxi; it would be easier to run rather than get herself cornered in the taxi.

 

[dbspock]

"hey, Edith." Dave rose to his feet and gave Edith a quick hug. Professional? Not really, but under the circumstances Dave felt he needed to give Edith a bit of extra support. Besides, it wasn't like their friendship was a secret...he actually had a tabloid that said they were married in his office. They'd gotten quite the chuckle out of that one. Dave took the seat next to her, and he tried not to think of it as forming a united front against the enemy, but it was a hard train of thought to ignore.

The meeting got off civilly, at least. Frank, and his two companions, rose, and the studio head stuck his hand out to shake Edith's. "Miss Anderson. Delighted to meet you. Huge fan of your work." He said, and a small frown flickered across Dave's face. That had almost sounded...sincere. Of course, no reason it shouldn't be. Dave supposed if Frank wasn't a fan he would have just canceled the show without fanfare instead of going through all this. "May I have your autograph?" Frank asked, and Dave's eyes widened in surprise again. This was certainly not how he expected the meeting to go. On cue, one of the assistants (damn guys looked almost identical) opened up his briefcase and removed a 8x10 photo, sliding at across the table to Edith, and Dave winced when he saw what the photos was. Naturally it was about the sexiest one she'd ever published on social media. That was more the tone Dave had expected the meeting to take.

Frank, for his part, acted like there was nothing unusual in the photo as he took his seat again, copied almost identically by his two shadows. Frank then smiled, and Dave tried no to imagine a shark about to eat its prey. "First off, to assuage your fears, this meeting isn't to fire you. Though I do have some concerns about the audience of your show. You may not be aware, but the ratings have been declining." The other man removed another piece of paper and slid it across the table. This one Dave was quite familiar with...it was the ratings of their show, and indeed it showed exactly what Frank had said. "I do have some ideas to generate some media buzz for the show, and bring in some more audience members, but they will require a modification of your contract." Another removal from the briefcase, this time it was a sheaf of papers that Dave recognized as a contract.

"Would you be willing to renegotiate said contract?" Frank asked, and though he didn't say it, the implication that she could either sign or be terminated was obvious.

*******************************************

If anyone heard Charlotte's question, there was no indication of it. Certainly no one answered her, not even the cab driver, who exited the vehicle as soon as he saw his passenger do so. The trio of men approaching her broke off, and soon formed a semi circle around their target, a practiced move they had clearly done many times. There was no where for Charlotte to run that didn't pass by one of the men, and she couldn't even get back in the vehicle as the driver closed the door behind her.

The driver didn't seem to be the leader, though. A young man, who appeared to be about her age, though clearly with a rougher life, as the scars (or were they track marks/ Or both?) attested, seemed to be taking that role as he took a step closer to her...then slapped her. There was really no reason behind the action, she hadn't done anything to provoke him, and it wasn't a hard slap, it left no mark on her smooth skin. it was clearly a power play. He'd done it, just because he could.

"Wallet, Phone. Money. Credit cards." The man barked at her. If there'd been any doubt this was a robbery, his demand, issued without so much as a please, cleared it up.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was just giving Dave a hug back although made it seem more like a professional thing between coworkers. Not all that abnormal for her whatsoever to be giving coworkers hugs. It wasn't long before the other man in the room was speaking to her and telling him who he was, which had reaching out to shake his hand in greeting. No she had the feeling that something was up at that point in time yet she kept her calm, her eyes just going towards the picture that was pushed over when he was asking for her autograph. Oh one of her more risque photos that she had taken a few months back and posted on social media. This had her looking towards the man before she was actually outwardly stating that he must be a huge fan of hers if he was looking through her social media as such and printing off pictures of her. No Edith Anderson had never been somebody to be backed into a corner, not without a fight. Instead of signing the photo she was actually going over so that she could sit down in a chair, snagging the contract so that she could read through it regardless of if they were wanting to wait for her to read it or not.

"Here I was under the impression that this meeting was about voicing suggestions to up the ratings of the show.... Not make me feel like I have no choice in resigning a contract or risk losing my job." Edith was speaking after a moment in time as she was dropping the papers on the floor before her eyes were flickering towards the man that was in the room, her green eyes just locking onto his before she was stating in a firm voice that he had been start verbally explaining what he was wanting from her. No she knew contracts and all of the things that were intentionally left out, or worded in a very different manner were it didn't work towards the person signing it at all.

"And I have an idea that is so much simpler than me... essentially selling my body as though it seems this contract reads. And that is bring back a simple character that we had in season one that nobody knew what happened to. A fan favorite. But if you truly insist on me selling my body.... I am in control of when I decide to do it." was all Edith said in a firm voice. No he was going to lose out on quite a bit if she decided to terminate her contract with him and went with another company. She wouldn't hesitate to bring to light what had been propositioned either. He wanted a negotiation then he also had to listen to her terms.

-----

Charlotte just found herself being encircled by the men with no place to run at that point in time, which had her shaking a little bit in fear. No she wanted nothing more than to run away but she had nowhere to run. She was more than startled when the young man was stepping up and seemed to be slapping her across the face - not hard enough to cause a mark but definitely enough to tell her that he was in charge. Soon it was being demanded that she hand over her stuff which just had her handing over her purse with shaking hands. Inside of her purse was her wallet, her phone, all of her cash. Yet it was hard to carry any of that on her person when she was wearing a sun dress. After all the weather there was nice, and the weather had been beautiful in London before she had left as well.

The other thing that didn't get handed over was the necklace that was hidden around her neck, hidden beneath her hair and her dress. About the only way it would be revealed easily is if her dress was removed or her hair moved. But at that point in time she didn't even thing about it. "T...That is all I have. N...Now let me go...." she was speaking in a frightened tone.

 

[dbspock]

Oh crap oh crap oh crap. Dave paled slightly as Edith essentially told the most powerful man on the premises to fuck off. He'd known she wasn't going to like the contract, but he hadn't expected her to disrespectfully throw it on the floor. Frank didn't appear to be a fan of her behavior either...not that he frowned, but the smile vanished from his face. Dave's fears were confirmed when the man almost silently said "I was." when Edith stated he must have been a big fan, clearly implying he wasn't a fan anymore. Any goodwill Edith might have had with the man she'd burned up in the span of seconds. Why the hell didn't she just sign the damn photo?

"I'm not going to dump anymore money into a sinking ship if I don't have a guarantee the lead character is onboard. Recasting's almost never work, and lets not beat around the bush. Your fan mail is double that of the other cast, and your merchandise moves at a far faster rate. Without you, there is no show, and everyone knows it." Frank replied coldly, then looked at her blankly when she mentioned some mysterious character.

"Deathwalker." Dave finally spoke up. he had no idea if he could salvage this or not, but he had to try. At least Frank nodded a bit when he mentioned the character...it seemed he'd seen the show, at least. Dave didn't mention the fact that he'd tried to sign Stephen last season, but with the budget cuts they just hadn't been able to afford him. Maybe Dave should have told Edith that instead of trying to shield her from the realities of running the show.

"I'm certainly willing to listen to any ideas you have." Frank told her. "But as far as the beach bikini scenes go...my people have assured me that is the only way to generate enough buzz to bring our audience back. If you can't agree to that...I'm not sure there's anything else to talk about." he certainly had the stats to back up his claim...the highest rated episode of the first season had been when Edith flashed some skin, and the amount of people who'd viewed the photo he'd given her rivaled the ratings of last weeks show. But Frank figured she either already knew that, or wouldn't really care.

**********************************************

The leader snatched her purse away from her and didn't even bother to look inside. He just handed it off to the driver, who tossed it into the window of the cab. That. along with the luggage she had in the trunk, would be coming with him. Mission accomplished...but the leader seemed to have other plans, and the driver frowned for a bit. The sundress didn't appear to have pockets, and her hands were empty...what else could the leader want?

"I give the orders here." The leader informed her. He'd noticed her shaking...his eyes were locked on her chest as her fright caused her boobs to jiggle a bit, at least in his imagination. The other response he gave to her order was to remind her he was in charge with another slap to the face, this one a little harder. "Don't lie to me...you have more." he pointed out, but he figured she was too dumb to realize what he meant.

"Give me your dress." He commanded her, and the drivers mouth dropped open in shock. No, this wasn't part of the plan.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was just looking at the man for a moment in time before she was speaking, "I have been gawked at enough by men throughout my curfew and pushed around just because I am a woman." With that she was looking towards Dave as he was mentioning Deathwalker. The villain that had disappeared from season one and had never returned. A fan favorite of everybody until he had left due to medical needs. That had been a disappointment for his character to be honest. Even his character had been a favorite for Edith alone - yet the male definitely knew how to play a bad guy that people couldn't help but wonder about. Deathwalker had been quite the strange character - truly having the audience wondering if he was actually a villain or if he was a hero.

Soon her eyes were flickering towards Frank for a moment in time at the mention of bikini scenes and how it would be the only way to generate enough buzz to bring back the audience. With that she was stating, "I will do it as a test trial with the next episode that we film. I am also planning to reach out to Stephen to see if he would be willing to come back as Deathwalker as well. Even if I have to pay him myself." No there was a chance that the man would come back on his own - he had voiced many times how he missed his old role, how he would love to take it back. And he would have but it had been more his manager who had turned it down not so much him; his manager deciding on how much he "cost".

-----

Charlotte was just looking towards the men for a moment, hoping that they would back off now that she had handed over her items. She didn't have anything else on her at all, she had no pockets to hide anything in. All of her items were either in her purse or in her bags, which were still in the trunk of the taxi - and she was more than aware that she wasn't going to be getting anything back.

There was a small cry escaping her when he was slapping her across the face once again, although this time far harder than the last time and he was commenting that she had something more. Then came the command to hand over her dress. Well that definitely had her going a bit wide eyed and a little pale. No way in hell was she doing that! She wasn't going to just roam around in nothing but her bra and underwear, and no way to call for any kind of help.

She was actually shaking her head and wrapping her arms around herself a bit more tightly, taking a step backwards only to collide with the door of the taxi. No there was nowhere else to run. And she hadn't even told anybody that she was coming back to town that day either, it was suppose to be a surprise for her family. Perhaps now that was a stupid thing to have done.

 

[dbspock]

Why was she looking at him when she mentioned being pushed around for her sex? he had always tried to treat her respectfully...hadn't he? Sure, he'd stared at her cleavage a bit, but it was only for a second when she wore a revealing dress. He hadn't thought she had noticed...or was she just looking at him because he finally spoke? Was he hoping he would say more? he would be happy to side with her if he thought it would help, but he had to admit Frank had a point. Sex sells. Even Edith seemed to agree as she stated she would put on a bikini for one episode. But Frank shook his head.

"I'm afraid that won't be enough." He told her. "I was hoping you'd sign the five year contract so we could really discuss the future of your show, but if you won't do that...I'm afraid I'll require at least a ten episode commitment. We are going to have to revamp your show for the next season...new cast members, new sets, not to mention the writing and production staff. That's too large an investment for a single episode...plus I'm not sure we can get the media department to push a single episode. They were counting on a number of clips from the first few episodes of next season...a what to look forward to for the next couple of months, at least."

Frank didn't appear to care about what character was the villain of the arc, and Dave didn't really blame him. That would be up to the writers, but if Edith could get Stephen to come back, even at the sacrifice of her salary, Dave had confidence the writers would easily come up with a great story. Of course, whether any of that happened at all would be up to Edith.

*****************************************

Oh that was perfect. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, which meant she understood him all too well. But of course she refused, he hadn't really expected anything else. She also clearly didn't know anything about self defense. Despite the fact he had already slapped her twice, she was protecting her torso, not her face. That oversight got her another slap to the same cheek, and this time he backhanded her, for the first time striking her other cheek. And just in case she didn't get the point...he made a fist and aimed a punch at her stomach. The implication was obvious...comply, or get hit again. And again. Until she was either so badly hurt she was unable to comply...or resist...and lose the dress anyway. And who knew what else might happen to her if she was reduced to such a state.

But he didn't try to hit her again. Not yet, at least. He'd give her a moment to recover and consider her options before he started to beat her again.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was just looking towards Frank for a brief moment in time before she was just thinking about it for a brief moment in time. No she really didn't want to see the show go downhill at all, and it wasn't as though she truly cared about being shown half naked. No she knew that she had a great body, she wasn't ashamed of her body at all. The issue was that she didn't like being forced into something like that at all - and that is exactly how it seemed to be at the time. Either do this or terminate her contract. Truly not that fair of options. After a brief thought she was letting out a breath of air before she was commenting, "I'll do it but... Only because I want to and not because I feel like I'm being forced to do it."

With that she was actually looking at her phone as it was dinging but for the most part she ignored it. It wasn't anything important at the time, at least not as important as this meeting. Her eyes were flickering towards the contract for a brief moment in time before she was commenting, "I'll sign the contract but I'm adding my own terms and conditions." Completely fair to be honest. And it was a way to protect herself as well. Her condition was that in episodes were she was more on the exposed side she didn't want to do that for more than ten minutes of screen time in those episodes. Obviously if there was an episode where writers thought that it would do better if it went over that time frame they could take it up with her, and that was added as well. That with her verbal permission she would do more as needed.

-----

Charlotte was definitely beyond terrified at that point in time and there were already tears forming, especially when being backhanded again by the male. Tears and a small cry was escaping her all over again. Then there was implication that she would be hit again if she didn't do as she was told; which is the exact reason why she was shakily taking off her sundress. Her hands were wrapped around herself as though to cover herself more from these men seeing her. Her bra and underwear were pretty simple - matching black with a little bit of lace trimming to give it a bit more flair, but nothing overly sexual or anything like that.

Now that her dress was off and laying on the ground, a necklace was falling free and now visible. A simple small locket on a golden chain and if one opened up the locket there was a picture of an elderly woman hugging the young woman. The last picture that she had ever gotten with her great grandma when the woman had been alive. The locket having been specially prepared for the young woman and given to her while her great grandma had been on her death bed. Even her brother had gotten something similar. As a reminder - an important thing to Charlotte as she had been close to her grandmother.

 

[dbspock]

Frank met her gaze levelly. Truth be told there were literally dozens, at least, wannebe actresses who would leap at the chance he was offering Edith. True, it would be easier for an established actress to be the face of the show, but he felt he had more options than she did. His face remained impassive when Edith finally accepted the modified terms, though Dave got the impression Frank had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Frank glanced at one of the suits sitting next to him, and that man took over the meeting. The implication was clear...Frank no longer felt like wasting his time talking to her.

"I will take the contract to legal and have them modify it with the terms we discussed." The man said, then glanced down at the photo that was still lying on the table, awaiting Edith's autograph. The man didn't look at Frank, but it was clear he was interested in pleasing his boss by obtaining a signature. "Now...there is also the subject of public appearances, autograph's, and fan mail. The studio would be willing to continue handling your fan mail...in exchange for a set amount of autographed photos a week. Shall we say...fifty?" The man...who hadn't bothered to introduce himself, thinking either Edith was too important to care, or not wanting her to remember he was involved in this project. He picked a number that he didn't think would be burdensome to her. "As for public appearances...would an average of two a month be acceptable? We would, of course, request more during sweeps and premiere weeks, and would compensate by giving you the month of December off, for example." he thought that sounded reasonable. He could only hope she did as well. With the major points of the contract signed, Frank hadn't given him much to work with.

***************************************************

The thug actually felt a bit of disappointment when she began to peel off her dress. She'd made a nice little sound when he'd punched her in the gut, and he was curious to see what other noises he could get her to make. But either he had a sense of honor and kept his word, or he was too distracted by all the skin she was showing to think about hitting her again. He did, however, kick her dress over to the driver, who frowned, but, clearly unwilling to risk the ire of the gang leader, knelt down and picked up her dress, removing any temptation she might have felt to change her mind and put the dress back on.

The locket around her neck escaped their notice, at least for the moment. Everyone was too busy ogling either her tits or her ass, each barely covered by her underwear. But the leader soon decided even that bit of modesty was too much. "Put your underwear in the cab." He finally ordered her. He didn't want her to just strip it off and drop it to the ground, then cover herself with her hands. He wanted to not only get her naked, but see her move around in obedience as well. The cab driver opened his mouth as if to protest, but clearly thought better of it and closed his mouth again.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was just listening to them for a brief moment in time although after a moment in time she was actually snagging up the picture so that she could autograph it. Mind as well be polite at that point in time since they were at least some what listening to her own demands, even if they were upset about it. Yet while there were a lot of wannabe stars out there - there were far too many that just allowed themselves to be pushed over. Some never bothering to read the contracts and usually ended up getting screwed over quite heavily in the end. Her eyes did flicker towards the man that was speaking to her about how the studio would continue to handle her fan mail, her public appearances, and her autographs. Honestly she truly had no issues with being seen in the public, nor did she have any issue with giving out random autographs. But none of them truly needed to know any of that. No let them handle all of that stuff so that they could get this meeting done and over with.

"Yes that all sounds acceptable to me." she was commenting after a brief moment in time before she was pushing a bit of her hair that had fallen into her face out of her face. No typically she didn't argue too much about stuff, she really wasn't all that difficult of a woman to appease. But she didn't like feeling like she was forced to do something, such as the aspect of either signing a contract or losing her job. Not that she wouldn't just go to a different company if that had happened, but that was also more hassle than she wanted to deal with.

-----

Charlotte was just watching at that point in time, just wanting to run away and hide at that point in time. Why did this have to happen on the day that she was coming back home for the first time? And she didn't even have any way to call anybody for help at that point in time. Nobody even knew that she was back in town even! That was perhaps the worst part about the whole thing... nobody even knew to expect her; or to know that if she didn't arrive somewhere at a certain time that they should be worried. Her plan had been to have a taxi take her to her brother's work - having kept in contact with him throughout the years via letters and phone calls. So at least she had a general place where she could go to see a familiar face.

Her eyes were going a bit wide when she was being ordered to take off her underwear and put them in the cab. She could see that even the cab driver seemed against this whole thing, but there seemed to be some fear about saying anything. No she was shaking her head when she was demanded to do this. Hell no she wasn't going to allow these men to see her naked! At least not willingly. Yes there was that fear that she was going to get hit again but.... she couldn't just break down and fall victim to what they were doing. "N...No! I...I refuse. You should l...let me go. My brother is expecting me... I...If I don't arrive he will come looking for me." Charlotte was speaking. No her voice was shaking, but she was terrified at that point in time. She hoped that they wouldn't realize that she was lying at all, hopefully the fear would help cover the deception.

 

[dbspock]

"Really?" The man's eyes widened as Edith not only gave in to his requests without so much as an argument, but even signed the photo Frank had given her. The man took a deep breathe and tried to compose himself. It seemed he'd have a job when this meeting was over after all. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Frank heaved himself out of the chair, clearly indicating the meeting was over. "Uh..." The man said, but his 'twin' was also rising to his feet, and the man felt he had little choice but to follow suit. "I'll have legal work up the revised contract. it shouldn't take long...I'll have it delivered by courier tonight, and you can drop it off at the front office in the morning?" He asked, not really giving Edith a chance to answer as the other two were already leaving. Still, the man hesitated for a moment, and allowed a wide grin to cross his face once he judged Frank out of earshot. "Huge fan, Miss Anderson. And if you could spare one of those fifty autographs for my daughter, I'd appreciate it. She'd love it." he stuck his hand out for her to shake if she chose, then dashed out of the room after his boss.

Dave, for his part, let out a long breathe once they were alone. "Well...looks like we're employed for the next couple months, at least." He said as he likewise rose to his feet. "So...did you want to head down to the writers room and talk to Joe about the new direction? Make sure it's something your comfortable with?" Dave had a feeling the memo Joe might have gotten bore more resemblance to the original contract than the revised one.

**************************************************

The thug didn't seem at all surprised by her refusal. Her head shake and words were really unnecessary...her lack of compliance was all he needed to escalate matters. Even before she finished speaking, he had pulled out a butterfly knife and expertly exposed the blade. "I'll let you go...once your naked." He promised her, then shrugged when she said her brother was coming. "That's fine...he can see you naked to. Only question is...are you going to take your underwear off, or do we get to? I'm sure my boys would love to get their hands all over you, but there's no telling what kind of shape you'd be in when their done. Sure would be a shame to cut up that pretty body of yours, but if that's the way you want it, I'm happy to slice you up a bit." There was no sympathy...there wasn't much of anything...in his eyes as he stared her down. All indications were he meant every word that he said.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was just watching although it seemed like already Frank and one of his suits were getting up to leave, about leaving the other man behind as he was still trying to talk at that point in time. This had her looking towards the man who was still speaking to her before she was nodding, "Yes that all sounds good. I'll take a look through it after I receive it and let you know if there happen to be any issues at all." Although it wasn't long before she watched as the other two men were leaving and it seemed like this man wasn't leaving right away - instead he was making a comment about how he was a huge fan then asked if she could spare an autograph for his daughter. "Of course I can do that. Although... Why don't you find a picture that she really loves and I'll sign that. I'll make it a special autograph." she was commenting after a moment in time. No there were times where if there were particular pictures that a fan was wanting an autograph with - if they mentioned it in fanmail or something, she would go out of her way to send them a copy of that picture. She did tend to write her fans back - or she tried to write back as many as she could anyways. After that she was taking his offered hand for a handshake.

Soon enough the man seemed to be leaving and it seemed like it was just herself and Dave at that point in time. With that she was commenting, "Hmmm... Yes lets go and talk to him about it. Then I don't know about you but... I'm ready for lunch." It was around lunch time anyways, and she definitely hadn't eaten recently. Not like it was abnormal for them to go out and get food together either.

-----

Charlotte was going wide eyed when he was pulling out a knife but she was just still shaking her head. No she was shaking at that point in time but she really didn't want to be exposing herself like that at all. This whole situation wasn't something that she was wanting to deal with at all! And she wasn't sure how to get out of it... unless she did what they were wanting. But she really didn't want to strip and expose herself like that. What was happening was degrading enough as it was. Now she was seriously wishing that she had called anybody before she had come home - to give them an idea that she was coming back. Her fear was bad enough at that point in time that she did actually have a few tears falling.

No while she wanted to fight back she also didn't want to get up getting hurt! Especially not with a knife! So in the end she was taking off her panties to avoid that and was tossing them into the cab as she was told, just standing there in her bra and trembling like no other.

 

[dbspock]

The man nodded, promising himself he'd personally review the contract before it got sent out to ensure it matched with what they had talked about. he hated to think it, but he had a feeling Frank wouldn't be above trying to add an extra clause or something. He wasn't used to being refused.

If possible, the man's smile broadened as Edith agreed to give her autograph. The man's face lit up as Edith suggested a special photo. "How about a poster..." He mused almost to himself. His daughter had a poster of Edith in her combat uniform hanging on her wall...getting it autographed sounded perfect. When Edith shook his hand, he shook it enthusiastically. This meeting was ending on a far better note than he hoped.

Dave nodded when she agreed to talk to Joe, then got a thoughtful look on his face when she said she was hungry. "Just a minute." he said as he fooled with his phone a bit, then grinned up at her. "All right...I got us a conference room, and Joe will meet is there. I'm also having the commissary deliver us lunch...what would you like?'

*************************

The man frowned when she kept shaking her head. Was she really going to make him cut her? But no...she was soon sliding her panties down those nice legs of hers, giving him a nice view of her pubic region, and when she turned to deposit the panties in the cab, he (as well as the others) got a good look at her butt as well. But of course he wasn't satisfied with just that. "Your bra too." he reminded her.

The nice thing about her removing her panties was that it drew even more attention away from the locket around her neck, but there was no telling how long that would last.

One of the other thugs grinned as he got a view of her butt, but his gaze dropped even lower. "What about her shoes?" He pointed out, and the leader laughed.

"Yeah...take those off too." he insisted. After all, the goal was to get her entirely naked.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was telling the man that he would certainly sign a poster before he was leaving the room, having no problem at all with giving autographs. No she really didn't have an issue with giving autographs, unless you were rude about it or rather pushy. After the man left he was turning her attention towards Dave fully when he was commenting that he was going to have commissary deliver lunch and he was asking what she was wanting. This had her thinking for a brief moment in time before she was stating, "Honestly Chinese food sounds absolutely amazing right now." That is what she had been wanting since that morning as it was - and it had been her plan to stop and get that for lunch whenever she had been able to leave.

-----

Charlotte was just swallowing a bit but in the end she was slipping her feet out of her flip flops, they were easy enough to take off. It was most definitely a struggle to keep calm at that point in time but she was forcing herself to remain calm regardless. No it would be best to just do as she was told... it would hopefully prevent them from hurting her in the long run. There were still some tears that fell as she was shakily taking off her bra and that was being tossed into the cab but she was moving to hide herself behind her arms. At that point the necklace was about the only thing that she was wearing.

 

[dbspock]

"Chinese food it is...for you at least." Dave chuckled. It wasn't a mean chuckle, of course, but rather one born from familiarity. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd ordered Chinese food for it, and he knew damn well she knew he was going to order something entirely different. in fact, he didn't even bother to tell her he was going to order burger, fries, and root beer. either that or pizza was what he got for practically every working lunch they had. After securing their lunches, Dave headed with her down a couple floors to the commissary level, where they just happened to meet Joe, a bit overweight short man who was losing his hair. And judging by the look on his face, he was on the verge of losing the rest of it.

"Have you SEEN these script changes the front office sent over?" Joe asked as soon as he saw Frank. "Plus I heard we were getting budget cuts as well. And no location shootings? How we going to pull that off?" He glanced up from the crumpled script in his hand as he noticed Frank was not alone. "Oh...hi, Edith." He said as he began to blush. "The shower scene wasn't my idea...honest..."

****************************

"Oh good...very good. How big are your tits anyway?" The man demanded, though he did finally pocket the knife once Charlotte no longer had any clothing on.

The other man laughed...from his angle at her side, he got a good view of the side of her boob and ass. "You may have put that away too soon...maybe the bitch needs a haircut."

The leader laughed as well. "Maybe...all right, bitch. Put your hands down to your side and spin in a circle. Give everyone a good look at that nice body of yours."

Her tits were more than distracting them from her necklace, but it was unlikely the reprieve would last long.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was just chuckling before she was following after Dave so that they could go and speak to Joe. Already they could hear some complaints from him the moment that they were walking up, although it seemed to take a moment for him to realize that Dave wasn't alone at all. This just had Edith giving a small wave before she was commenting, "We will figure it out. Luckily I do have a few favors that I can pull in myself and can probably figure out the location shooting rather easily." With that she was however raising an eyebrow at the mention of a shower scene. Wait they already had the new script sent over... this news actually had her laughing a bit as she ran her fingers through her hair. Of course she probably should have expected that to be honest. everything had seem way to planned when she had walked into that room. "Hmm... it is fine. Although I am curious as to how bad it is." she was commenting.

-----

Charlotte was just quivering quite a bit at that point in time, just trying to control her breathing to keep herself calm. No she wanted to just run away but there was no way that she would get very far at all. She was a shapely young woman with a pair of C cup breasts, not super big but not small either. They were the perfect size for her delicate figure.

In the end she was shakily lowering her arms and spinning in a circle for them. 'Just breath, Charlotte. Everything is going to be alright.' she told herself mentally, using that as something to try and calm herself down.

 

[dbspock]

"Wait...seriously?" Joe stared at Edith for a few moments. She'd never lied to him before, and he had no reason to think she'd be lying to him now. But if it was true...Joe's mind was already racing, trying to figure out if they could pull this off after all, without it looking like crap.

"Wait...seriously?' Joe repeated as Edith didn't flip out about the shower scene. But instead she...laughed? At him? That seemed cruel, and not like her, so that probably wasn't it. But her agreement to the shower scene distracted him enough he didn't pursue why she was laughing.

"Wait...seriously?" Joe said once again as Edith actually agreed to the scene. "Uh...well...." Joe's blush was a pretty clear indication of just how bad the scene was. "I guess...it'll be up to the director. I just can't figure out the motivation behind it. I mean...you don't say anything, there's no one else there. All the script says for that scene is 'your character showers', and they blocked out five minutes for it. I don't get it." Even after years in the business, Joe was still too naive to think of the obvious reason behind the directive he was given.

***************************************

The men...with the exception of the cab driver, but even he stared...whooped when Charlotte dropped her arms, baring her breasts to their greedy gaze. And when she turned to display her backside to them, the leader gave her a sharp swat on said ass. "I asked you a question." He said when she refused to react to either their threat or demand for information. But as she finished her spin, the locket swayed a bit, finally drawing their attention to the only other thing she had on.

"Holding out on us?" The leader demanded as he reached out a hand, brushing at her breast, before he flicked her locket, sending it swaying again. "Everything off...including jewelry. Give it to me." Sure, he could just take it, but it was more fun getting her to cooperate.

 

[GuardianAngel]

"Sorry Joe, I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at the situation. It honestly seems like this was more so planned before the meeting was even held." Edith was commenting after a moment in time before she was shaking her head a bit before she was just listening to what he had to say. Oh so it was just a normal shower scene, nothing else seemed to be happening at all. With that she was just looking towards him before she spoke, "The motive behind the scene is to get more viewers." No pretty simply put at that point in time but she wasn't going to let it bother her at all. No this wasn't the first time that she had done a shower scene at all... but blocking out fives minutes for it. Now that seemed a bit excessive. Last few scenes she had taken like that it was perhaps a minutes or so - or just long enough to get a look at full body before moving onto something else.

-----

Charlotte was giving a whimper of pain when he was swatting her ass before she was stating in a small voice that she was a C cup. Although it wasn't long before he was making a comment that she was holding out on them and soon his hand seemed to be brushing her breast... to flicker the locket. This had her taking a step away and she was putting a hand over her necklace, just holding it close to her chest at that point in time. No she had no intention in handing that over, it was far too precious to her.

 

[dbspock]

"Meeting? Did I miss a meeting?" Joe asked, and Dave shook his head.

"Just contract negotiations, Joe. Good news...we got a ten episode arc approved." Dave told him, and Joe frowned.

"Ten episodes? I thought it was a five year arc." He said with a frown, not sure how he was going to fit all the studios demands in only ten episodes. He blinked at Edith when she stated the motive, then blushed. "Oh..." He realized, then frowned. "Wait...they didn't run the scene by you first?" Joe hadn't thought to ask...usually ideas were vetted before they were presented to him, but he got the impression that wasn't the case this time.

"Let's talk about the details over lunch. It should be here soon." Dave suggested as he opened the door for the conference room so they could enter.

*******************************************

"What was that? I didn't hear you." The lead thug claimed, even though he'd heard her perfectly well. She was clearly embarrassed by talking about it, so of course he wanted her to repeat it...loudly. But she soon distracted him with refusing to hand over the necklace, and he didn't bother to wonder why she was refusing. The very idea that she was annoyed him, especially as she tried to get away from him. Not that she had anywhere to go...between the cabs and the men surrounding her, she was trapped. Especially when the lead thug stepped forward to close the distance she had created. he noted her hands were up protecting her chest...leaving her crotch wide open. So he brought up his knee, aiming for the sensitive spot between her legs. That'd teach her.

 

[GuardianAngel]

Edith was just watching and listening to them at that point in time, although she wasn't truly bothered by it. Ten more episodes and hopefully their audience would increase again. Hopefully then they could film more and get in some of the things that they had already planned as well. She was however looking at her phone as it was chiming at her to see that she had a message from Stephen, who she had messaged about possibly coming back as Deathwalker. There was a grin on her lips when she saw the response before she was commenting, "Perhaps then everything will work out for us after all. I had message Stephen as we were walking down here about coming back as Deathwalker potentially and his response was there was absolutely nothing stopping him, he would even do it for free if it meant playing his beloved character again." No he had definitely fallen in love with playing that character - yet everything about that character had all been his idea. He had crafted that character from top to bottom with that had been seen in season one. From his back story to how he became a villain. All of it.

With that she was following after Dave towards the conference room so that they could sit down and eat some food, and discuss more about the details then.

----

Charlotte was just trying to tell herself on repeat that everything was going to be fine, she was even trying to tell herself that eventually somebody was going to show up and make this all stop. Her mind was being wishful at that point, thoughts trying to be a little more comforting to try and put herself at ease while everything was happening. Her eyes were going towards the man as he was asking her to repeat herself and while she did it was still a mumble, not wanting to repeat it again. No she didn't want to deal with this at all. There was however a cry from her when he was kneeing her in the sensitive spot between her legs. That was painful, and just like if a man had been kneed in the groin, she was slinking down to the ground a bit in pain.

Yet Charlotte didn't do well with pain at all. She was a baby when it came to pain.

 

[dbspock]

Joe didn't even notice when Edith didn't answer his question. When he heard Deathwalker might be returning, he was too busy spinning story ideas in his head. Joe was almost on autopilot as Dave ushered them into the conference room. "Wait...seriously?" Joe muttered once again as he settled into the seat Dave guided him into, then he sat bolt upright in his chair. "Wait a minute...what if Deathwalker attacks you in the shower?" Joe said excitedly. That would resolve his concern about fitting the shower scene into the script, and a beloved character returning, along with a sexy scene from the star of the show...well, PR wasn't Joe's primary concern, he just wanted to write a good story, but he also wasn't blind to the realities of the TV business.

Dave moved over and politely pulled out Edith's chair for her, but he found himself nodding at Joe's idea. He wasn't happy about the shower scene, but if Edith was okay with it, Frank wasn't blind to the possibilities either. "I bet we could get Nathan to direct it." Dave assured her. He knew Nathan was one of her favorite directors, and if anyone would handle the scene tastefully, it would be him. Dave then cocked his head thoughtfully. "Or maybe Caity would like another shot at directing." He wasn't sure if Edith would prefer being directed by a female in that type of scene. "As long as she isn't featured heavily in the script, I think she could handle the responsibility."

**********************************

The man considered admonishing her for mumbling her answer again, but after she cried out from his blow, he forgot about it. "Oh, that's not happening." The man said as he stepped forward. He grabbed Charlotte by the hair to try and keep her on her feet, and he couldn't resist jerking his other hand forward to try and insert it between her legs. Seeing the opportunity, two of the other men stepped forward, each grabbing hold of one of her arms to keep her in place.