The Road to EGOT Season 02 Pt. 23

We were in the back of the venue. The catering company was using this area as a staging area. We were running food in and out, setting up chafing dishes and getting glasses and drinks ready for the guests.

"Didn't we become writers so that we wouldn't have to do this sort of thing?" Mark asked as he brought in another case of drinks.

"If we're being honest with each other. The chances of us failing as writers and ending up doing this full time were always pretty damn high." He took a beat to think about it.

"Man we're so lucky."

"Damn straight we are." I replied as I watched the room fill up.

"Hey guys." Marty said in my ear. Kara had gotten us bluetooth earpieces so we could stay in touch. "I can only imagine how hard it is to lift a few boxes." He said laughing at us.

"You want to come down here and switch places?" Mark threw back.

"I would if you could take over my side of the operation." Marty mocked.

"All you have to do is upload a video through the venue's entertainment system."

"And dim the lights, Mark. You forgot that part. If the lights aren't dimmed, this whole scheme goes to hell. So you've already failed."

"Guys, stay focused." I reminded the two of them. "The place is beginning to fill up, it's almost show time. Kara, how are we looking?"

"We're looking good Duncan. Better than we had hoped!"

"Good, good. We need to get Marty in his spot."

"I'm on it!" Alex's voice came through into my ear. I was able to see her from my spot in the back. She looked incredible.

"Alex, don't give him a heart attack. Just a distraction remember."

"Are you spying on me?" Alex replied flirtatiously.

"How could I take my eyes off you."

"Hey, remember Duncan. Focus." Marty's voice coming in crystal clear.

"Hey you two, we still have plenty of things to get off the truck." The head chef yelled at Mark and I. "Stop staring at the beautiful people and get to work." We both nodded, apologized and went back to work.

We headed back to the truck and began unloading more cases. I kept an eye out for Stamp's security. I had to keep a low profile. If they saw any of us, we'd be found out.

"Oh, sorry! This isn't the restroom." I heard Alex say through the earpiece.

"No, no.. it isn't...aren't you?" I heard a voice I didn't recognise.

"Yes!" Alex said in a fake drunken slur. "Could you help a girl to the lady's room?"

"Oh yes, yes of course!" I heard him say. I smiled proud that Alex had been able to come through.

"You are such a gentleman, and so darn cute." I heard her say. I nearly grunted. Mark was smiling and laughing at me.

"Gotta hand it to your girl Duncan. She's pretty good." I heard Kara through the earpiece.

"You think she's acting Kara?" Marty chimed in. "I think she may actually be into this guy. He's taller than Duncan."

"And has much better hair." Kara added.

"Are you guys done?" I said.

"Alex is leading him away, I'm heading in." Marty finally said. Mark and I continued to offload the truck. We continued to listen to Alex keep the entertainment guy busy. "I got it. It's uploaded." Marty finally said.

"Perfect." Mark said.

"Duncan! Stamp is making his entrance." Kara said.

"He's got two bodyguards with him." Alex said after she had gotten rid of the guy.

"Glad to have you back with us." Mark joked. "We were worried he would draw you away from Duncan."

"He almost did. He was incredibly charming."

"We are working here right?" I asked a little exasperated.

"Aww don't be jealous." Marty said.

"I'm not. Just want you guys to remember what we're up to." I said.

"He's totally jealous!" Three different voices said in my ear piece.

"Okay, children! People are taking their seats." Alex cut in, acting like the grown up. "Kara start setting up on the back exit. I'm going to take my seat. Mark, Duncan, keep a low profile."

"Yes, boss." Mark and I said at the same time. Both of us wondering when the hell Alex became the head of this operation. The next hour or so was pretty uneventful. Mark and I continued to pretend to be hard at work, while we could hear guest after guest stroking Derek's ego.

"Okay guys, Derek's coming up next." Alex said. "Get ready."

"Marty?" I asked

"I'm in position." He answered.

"And now, the man of the hour." The announcer finally said. "A man who has given so much to this industry and to so many of us who are present here tonight. DEREK STAMP!" I could see him from my vantage point. He stood up and took in all of the praise. He took his sweet time swaggering to the stage. "Before you make your speech." The announcer continued. "We have a very special video presentation to honor you."

The lights went dim. Marty had to be in position, if anyone else were, they could stop the feed when they saw that it wasn't the right tape. My heart was in my throat as it began to play.

"LET HIM GO!" Jennifer's voice could be heard coming through the speakers. "shut up." A voice told her menacingly. I had gotten closer to the stage. I was close enough to see the look of horror spread across Derek's face as he realized what he was watching. It was a security feed of the night he broke into Jennifer's house. When he forced her to sign the contract by beating me repeatedly. I could see his security detail head for the control room.

"I can't shut it off." I heard the attendant yell. The tape ended. The crowd was talking shocked and angry. The lights went back up and I was on stage, a few feet away from Derek.

"This is the man you're honoring!" I said into the mic. Derek shot me the darkest look I had ever seen. It was full of anger and hatred. I was more than satisfied. "This cruel, narcissistic man has been acting this way and gone unpunished for far too long. He has blackmailed, lied, cheated and committed fraud time and time again. Only for his own benefit." The cameras were on me. I could feel the entire room on the edge of their seat. Not believing what was taking place in front of them. "I have been trying to bring him down and get rid of his bully tactics. But i've come to the end of my rope. I realized that I can't do this alone. Hollywood is far more than just one man. Than just me. Or you. It's all of us. Together, we make this industry what it is. What it can be. It is so much more than what Derek and others like him would like it to be. A place for intimidation, where only the dollars matter. We can have more. We can build a place that brings hope and positivity to the world. Not this unrecognizable monster that thrives on beating you down and getting the better of our insecurities." I had them. I could tell. They were hanging on my every word. "I need you. The talent, the executives. Anyone who allows him to control you, waving your careers in front of your faces. If you ever want to be free, if you ever want a change. It's now. Stand up now. Speak and fight for yourselves."

The room was silent. Deadly silent. Across the room, I could see some of the people that were on Derek's hard drive. They were squirming in their seats, hesitant.

"See, Duncan." Derek finally said. "There's no one here that believes a single word you say. That tape was probably doctored."

"I can prove it! Kara, bring them in." I said into the mic. With that the doors to the venue opened up. A stream of people filled in, led by Kara. The moment Derek saw who was in the group there was no denying the fear. "All these people have been hurt by you Derek. It's time to pay." I told him. I could see the press and the cameras trying to do their best to take in as much as they could. Danielle Panabaker was at the front of the line and ran towards the stage.

"Where's my daughter you son of a bitch." She yelled out. Connor was holding her back. I thought the look Derek gave me was wicked. But the one that Connor was giving him, could kill someone twice.

"It wasn't doctored!" Came another voice. I smiled, as I heard Jennifer's voice. She was walking towards the stage, looking more determined than I had ever seen. "I was there. He beat on Duncan and forced me to sign with him."

"He sent goons to beat up my husband." Scarlett Johansson said also joining us on stage. "He's in France with our daughter because he's afraid of what this asshole might do to him."

"He tried to pimp me out to some russian. So he could strike a deal with him." Ashley Greene threw in.

The look on Derek's face was beyond satisfying. He looked scared and angry all at once. Connor walked onto the stage. The two men stared daggers at each other.

"You took everything away from me. You lied. You were the one stealing from our clients and you know it." Derek had heard enough. He quickly snapped his fingers and his bodyguards quickly jumped the stage. They made their way for Connor. I quickly pushed one and threw a punch at him before he could reach him. He fell back. I hit him again while he recuperated from the first blow. This one dropped him to the floor. He reached into his jacket pocket, clearly going for his weapon. Before he could get to it, Brad jumped on top of him pulling the weapon from his grasp. We nodded at each other while I looked for the other guard. I saw him sprawled on the ground. Ronda Rousey was standing near his limp body as she turned her attention to Derek.

"You drugged me. You stupid asshole." Derek knew the situation was dire. He crouched down towards his bodyguard and removed the gun he had in his holster.

"You're tough, but are you tougher than a gun you dumb bitch." He practically growled at her. "You people don't understand. NONE OF YOU WOULD BE WHERE YOU ARE IF NOT FOR ME. You want to hate me. FINE! You want to try to break me? FINE! BUT YOU WILL NOT JUDGE ME!"

"Don't worry, a jury will do that." I told him. "All of these people here tonight are ready to stand up and testify. They're ready to stand and fight you. They aren't scared of you anymore. You're just another guy in a suit."

"NO. I am not! You don't know what I've sacrificed. What I'm prepared to do." Stamp said now on the edge of the stage.

"Duncan." Kara said in my earpiece. "Holcomb just called. The Bureau are on their way to arrest him. He said to just keep him busy until they get here."

"Derek. It's over." I told him walking closer to him. "Just put the gun down. Don't make this worse than it already is."

"IT'S OVER WHEN I SAY IT IS." He yelled. He was scared. He was losing it. He knew that he didn't have many options. He looked around the room and realized there was nowhere for him to go. He lifted his arm and shot two bullets into the air. The people got scared and started to run for cover. I held my ground. Derek pointed the gun at me. Our eyes met and in that moment I saw just how much he hated me. I was sure the hatred was mirrored in my eyes. "FUCK YOU BRYANT!" He yelled before leaping off the stage. He grabbed a woman from the crowd. She was wearing a floral knee length dress...FUCK! I shouted in my head.

"Derek! Derek, Don't you dare." He looked at me, holding the gun to the woman's head. She looked at me, her blue eyes filled with so much fear.

"If you don't let me out of here Duncan. She dies." I looked around trying to find a solution, a way out. There was nothing I could do. The entire room was still and silent watching the events unfold.

"If you hurt a hair on her head. Just know the world isn't a big enough place for you to hide from me."

He looked at me as he continued moving towards the back exit with a gun to Alex's head. I stood still.

"Mark, he's coming your way. Anything you can do?"

"Sorry. I'm not close enough. If I make a move he could shoot her before I reach him." I watched helplessly as he pulled Alex out towards the exit the catering crew had used. Fuck it. I thought as I jumped off the stage and chased after him. I ran through the staging area and found myself outside faster than I had expected. I looked around not sure which way they had gone. I heard a car engine turn on and I ran towards the sound. I saw a black mercedes speed out onto the street. I ran as quickly as I could after it. It took a sharp left, and by the time I reached the street corner, the car was gone. Stamp had taken Alex.

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I ran back to the venue. Holcomb had arrived with some other agents and the police in tow. They were talking with the attendees and taking everyone's statements.

"Duncan, you okay?" Holcomb asked me as he saw me walk in.

"He took Alex, he had a gun to her head. It happened too fast. I couldn't do anything." I cursed as I slammed my fist into the nearest wall.

"Hey, i'm sure you did what you could. It's not your fault. We'll get him. He won't hurt her. She's his only chance of getting out of this. She'll be fine."

"What can we do?" I asked breathlessly.

"We are going to put up roadblocks, and follow him on the traffic cams. Don't worry, he won't get far."

"We gotta get her back Holcomb."

"We will. Go see your friends. I'll let you know the moment we have something."

I walked to where they were all grouped together.

"We're sorry." Marty spoke up.

"No need to be. You guys were great. The plan worked. We got him where we need." I told him before I turned my attention to Kara. "Can we reach her through the bluetooth?" I asked.

"No luck. She's out of range."

"Do you have any idea where he might have taken her?" I asked full of hope.

"He has a few properties around the city."

"Okay how about you relay those with Holcomb. Maybe they can send someone to check them out."

"You got it." Kara said before heading towards Holcomb.

"You were great up there Duncan." Maiara said. "Everyone was hanging to your every word. You did it. Derek is finished in this town."

"Thank you Maiara. But we can't celebrate until we get Alex back. I mean what would he want with her?" I asked to no one in particular.

"It's you. He's just trying to get to you. Get you off balance. Make you make a mistake." Brad offered. It made sense. We sat down and waited. There wasn't much we could do.

"You okay?" Mark asked me a little later.

"Not really. I can't stop thinking about Alex. I hope she's okay. I never should have brought her in the middle of this."

"You can't blame yourself. She choose to get into this. We all did. She believes in you and in what you were trying to do."

"I know. I just... Damn this asshole." I said feeling the frustration rise.

"We'll get him Duncan. We're almost there. So how are things between you two? You seemed really good." This was Mark's way of getting my mind off things. To try to get my mind off just how dire the situation was.

"We're good. But Alex says she doesn't want to be with me."

"Really? She seems so in love with you."

"She is, but she's worried about the fact that i'm not done."

"Done with what?" Mark asked me.

"When this whole thing with Derek is over. There'll be more Mark. This is just the start of something."

"What exactly?" I was about to tell him when my phone rang. I didn't recognise the number. I stood up and walked away to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Duncan. You listen and you listen well. I have her." It was Stamp, he sounded angry.

"Derek is she okay? Did you hurt her."

"She's fine...for now. Duncan.. The Hard Drive. Give me the Hard Drive and you can have her. Give me the hard drive and it'll all be over."

"What the hell do you want with it? At this point? Everyone in the country is talking about you and what you did. There's no need to drag this out. Just let Alex go."

"Duncan... there's no way you can talk me out of this. Meet me alone, bring me the hard drive. I give you Alex. No authorities. "

"Where?" I asked. He gave me the address. I thought about sneaking out and going to meet him. But that's how I use to do things. I walked back towards Mark. "He just called me. He wants the hard drive. He'll exchange it for Alex."

"Let's go tell Holcomb." Mark said.

"We can't. If we show up with the authorities, he'll kill her."

"Okay, so what do we do?" He asked me clearly not liking the idea.

"Kara." I called her over. "Do you know this address?" I asked showing her the address that Derek had given me.

"Yeah, that's one of the houses Derek owns. He uses it when he has clients coming in from out of town. He hosts parties there."

"Can you talk to us about the layout? Rooms, entrances. Is there a basement."

"Is this where he's keeping Alex?" Kara asked. Mark nodded.

"You guys go over it." I told them. "I'll call Gary and have him meet us with the hard drive."

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An hour later we were a block away from the house. Mark, Gary and I met around Gary's car.

"What's the plan?" Gary asked.

"I'm going to go through the front door, meet him head on. I'll try to keep him distracted while you guys look for and get Alex out of the house. I don't know if he has a new set of bodyguards." I explained.

"We probably won't be sure until we get in there." Gary finished. He popped his trunk and gave Mark and I each a gun. "You know how to use one of these?" He asked Mark.

"Never had to before." Mark answered honestly.

"Just point and pull the trigger." Gary said simply.

"How come our lessons weren't this easy?" I joked to try to ease the tension.

"You really, really needed help. You hit yourself with the gun."

"That happened once." I told Mark. Gary continued to look at me. "Okay twice. Can we please go help Alex?" They both nodded. "We can use the bluetooth earpieces again. Gary take this one. For some reason, Alex's is off. They might have found it. Let me know your progress. You can hear what's going on on my end." I jumped behind the wheel of Mark''s car. I was going to drive up alone, and they would sneak in through the back. The gate wasn't too high and wouldn't be much of a jump from what Kara had told us.

I parked the car in front of the house and slowly walked up the driveway. Every light in the house was turned off. I got to the door and pushed it open. The door creaked loudly. So much for me making a quiet entrance. I took my time walking through the foyer. My heart was beating in my chest. I was scared, but knowing that Alex was in danger was more important than my own safety. I held the gun with both hands. You would imagine that the weight of it would make me feel safer but it did not. It was a constant reminder that I was in a dangerous situation where anything could happen at any given moment.

"Duncan we just jumped the gate." Mark said in my ear. "The whole house is dark." I didn't dare answer. I didn't want to give anything away to Derek until I saw him.

"In here Duncan." It was Derek. I followed the voice and he was in the living room. He was sitting on the couch with his gun firmly in his hand. Alex was tied up in a chair near the kitchen. "Put your gun on the ground." He told me as I came into his line of sight. I did what I was told. "Walk away from it." He told me as he pointed his gun to me. "So here we are." He said in a low somber voice. "This is how my story ends."

"Doesn't have to be over Derek." I told him as I kept my eyes on Alex. "Let me just walk towards the kitchen, untie Alex. And then you and I can talk. Figure all of this out."

"Don't patronize me. You did this. You couldn't just leave me alone? You couldn't just let me do my work."

"No Derek. You were hurting people."

"FUCK THEM! They aren't people."

"Yes they are Derek." I said trying to keep things calm.

"People care! People take responsibility. All they care about is themselves. All they give a shit about is their careers. What's being tweeted about them. Who's trending! Who's wearing what? No one gives a shit about the people they hurt. The ones they abandon."