Epilogue: The Last Chapter

The completion and release of "Dragon Lore" didn't slow things for Looker Lass Productions, Five Friends Casting, Petal Technologies, Carter Creations and Subarctic Enterprises.

If anything, things got busier. The performers were in high demand and Veronica, Jackie and Reanna hustled to keep the schedules straight. Bringing in Tara Twain (Reanna) and Sheila Corvette (Jackie) had been a godsend but it also opened up a new problem that, coupled with the immediate dividends shown by the feature, threatened to consume the small company.

The agents finally did what they hoped they could avoid. They divided the roster between them, with each of the women taking care of certain performers.

Veronica handled calls for Adam, Timm, Leslie, Lucy, Meredith and Anya; Jackie worked with Allie, Rebecca, Shelly, Tyanna, Beth and Jason; Reanna was responsible for Sarah, Karlie, Elena, Ekaterina, Katey and Cameron.

Two more ex-performers – a male and a female (the former Cassandra Curtains) – were hired as agents-in-training to keep up with the influx of talent that called, e-mailed or wrote letters (who does that anymore, Adam wondered) to Five Friends seeking information and/or representation from the group.

The number of new starlets didn't surprise Adam. It was the number of established performers seeking to change agencies and the number of retired stars looking to get back into the business that made his head spin.

The influx started a couple of weeks after Betsy Hamilton signed. Ashley and Sahara had started the company after a rift with Elite, the industry bigwigs had believed, so they didn't count. Rita and Cassie's signings had been dismissed by most in the industry as a fluke. Neither had used an agency so Five Friends wasn't taking an established star away from someone else.

Betsy Hamilton was something else entirely. She had already been pegged by several big houses as the next "It" girl. Majestic had dropped out of the pipeline when it transferred ownership, so its talent was fair game for poaching. Two agencies, Summit and Silver Wing, were prepared to make Betsy a substantial offer to sign with them.

They didn't get the chance. Before either group could contact Betsy, she was off the market. It caught all the major players by surprise. It got worse for the larger agencies when word leaked about Five Friends' unusual fee structure. Suddenly major-name talent began actively seeking release from their contracts in order to give Five Friends a look.

The self-imposed quarantine lasted 45 days before RapidFire broke ranks with the larger studios and resumed production. It was too little, too late to do anything but draw the wrath of the Chronicle, which continued its assault on the cross-breeding in the industry. Adam found this amusing, given what he knew about ownership in the media markets.

Finding male talent was as difficult as ever. As the roster expanded, it placed additional burdens on Adam, Jason, Cameron and Timm. Not only did the females represented by Five Friends Casting insist upon working with them, but a host of other starlets (some that none of the guys had heard of and some they would never consider working with) also told producers they wouldn't do a scene unless he landed a Five Friends male. Veronica, Reanna, Jackie and Darla worked tirelessly to ensure that none of the performers found themselves working in a risky situation.

Then the feature film was released.

"Dragon Lore" made Looker Lass Productions one of the most prominent names in the industry only a few months after it came under the Subarctic umbrella and the Five Friends roster swelled to 30, two dozen females and six males, before Sarah decided that was the maximum number at any one time.

That didn't even account for the women that Anya and Katya were bringing over on an almost-weekly basis. Five Friends became the place to call if a producer hoped to find a major name or an unknown European performer for a scene. No one even balked about the unusual riders inserted into each contract.

Five Friends was honest and expected honesty in return.

If you dicked over one of their performers, they took it personally – and they had long memories. You needn't bother calling them in the future. They made it perfectly clear that there were groups they refused to do business with and if you didn't treat the talent well, you found your way onto it (and you never found your way off unless you sold the business to someone else).

Not surprisingly, Erin and Trinity chipped in wherever they could, doing whatever needed to be done that might have slipped through the cracks. Sean, Rachelle, Mary and Walt also found time to work the phones when the need arose, despite that fact that Petal Technologies and Carter Creations were growing as fast as Five Friends Casting and Looker Lass Productions.

But, as with Five Friends, Walt and Mary only had to look around once to find someone willing to help them.

The apartment complex helped immensely. Having Elena, Beth, Lucy, Tyanna, Veronica, Cameron, Timm and Jason nearby was not only fun but it was useful. None of them had any qualms about adding their talent or ideas to any portion of life. Wayne Carter said the new office building should be completed by the time the crew returned from Europe.

Adam wished there was a way to help Jackie and Reanna, but they found a nice apartment only a few blocks from the rest of them. The sad part of the whole situation for most of the group was that the agents became the first real Subarctic employees. They weren't almost like a family, as the rest of the people had become. They were simply employees who had lives outside of the rest of the group and went home at 5 p.m. each day to be with their actual families – husbands, wives and children.

Celina, Mike and Nora also were around a lot of the time. Weekends were almost always a time for cookouts, volleyball games, mini golf tournaments or trips to places someone wanted to see. Ben and Melody began to visit whenever they could and even Tate and Jerry were known to stop by just to visit.

Adult Medical Services foundered and couldn't recover. Wilma Scott decided the industry couldn't live without her – and she was wrong. The health department, along with Cedar-Sinai, USC Health Services and UCLA Medical Center – and funded by a generous no-strings-attached grant from an unnamed source – introduced ASH (Adult Safety and Health) Clinic with three offices in Los Angeles, one in Las Vegas, one in Miami and two in Montreal. ASH was run by a board-certified infectious disease specialist and had a much broader understanding of the needs of the people who worked in the adult industry.

Not only did it offer same-day medical screening, plans were in the works to provide other services including mental health counseling, addiction programs, financial planning and long-term career guidance.

ASH accepted no outside contributions from businesses but instead relied upon state, federal and local grants and in-house fund-raising to meet its budget. At the urging of its director, Dr. Celeste Brannon, ASH brought on board the entire staff of the now-defunct AMS – including its former administrator.

Wilma Scott's only role was as an unpaid member of the performer advisory board but at least it was something. Dr. Brannon decided Adam Walters was correct again. The woman did have some decent ideas. She just lacked the ability to implement them. ASH had that ability. Its medical decisions were dictated by a panel of health professionals. But its industry policies were put together by Dr. Brannon, Wilma Scott and a group of 12 performers – four each from the boy-girl, boy-boy and girl-girl segments of the industry.

Giving the performers a real voice in policies turned out to be one of Dr. Brannon's best ideas. The ones who worked in the business were able to spread the message in a way AMS had never been able to.

A large percentage of the new performers got together and decided they would refuse to work without a condom with anyone who did not have a same-day test from ASH. Workers in the higher-risk segments began to insist upon same-day broad-spectrum testing before agreeing to any bareback scene. Every time a studio would balk, the performers would walk.

The group's motto, suggested by Allie: "No job is worth dying for."

More than a few producers and directors heard those words for the first time when the quarantine finally broke industry wide a few days after RapidFire was handed its ass in the Chronicle.

Adam worked like a demon for the last weeks before school started. He appeared on numerous web sites – including scenes with Molly Caudill (Elena) and Emily Proper (Lucy). He had continued his work on "Bountiful Assets" and with Dazzle, Daystar and Goldwall. But once school began, he slowed down considerably. He had scheduled his classes to where he was on campus almost all day Tuesdays and Thursdays but had Monday and Fridays free. He still had a dreaded night class on Wednesdays (and he still despised it).

Many in the group had considered quitting college but, in the end, they decided to stick with the plan they had entered the year with. Sean had argued that everyone should continue. After all, larger businesses than Subarctic had tanked. There was no guarantee the company would be able to fulfill the lifelong monetary needs of the owners and employees.

For some the choice was simple. Leslie, who had decided the mental health field was in her future, along with Tyanna and Jason, who wanted to practice law in the future, would need many more years of schooling.

For others it was a matter of pragmatism. Sean planned to attain a master's in business administration because, if the worst should come to pass, he would need that to be taken seriously in the real world.

Mary, Walt and Rebecca were in the same boat. They had not reached a point in their career path where they could legitimately succeed without learning more. All had their elective classes finished so they would be working on the major course of study for the next two year. They needed the training that college would provide and adding three extra courses over two years to attain a degree wasn't a hardship.

For others, it was pride. Allie, Sarah, Shelly, Trinity and Rachelle discussed the relative merits of a degree. Trinity and Rachelle knew they could take specialized training and drop the bullshit classes they hated. But the girls working in the adult industry argued that, like it or not, people give more respect to those with college degrees. Allie was determined she was going to get at least an associate's degree. The rest decided that they would take it a year at a time and assess the situation each summer but for now, college was still fun.

For Adam, it came down to a promise he'd made – to himself and to his parents. Neither of his parents had attended college, nor had his sister. He was the first person in his family to make it this far and it had always been his mother's goal to see him with a college degree. Intellectually, he knew she was beyond caring. But he decided early on that he would stick it out and earn a degree if it took him 10 years.

Promoting the release of "Dragon Lore" had taken up much of his free time before school started. Adam, Allie, Sarah, Shelly, Tyanna and Cameron had spent many afternoons chatting with bloggers and taking publicity photos.

After much consideration, Dazzle, Daystar and Looker Lass decided to release "Dragon Lore" in multiple formats. They put together a DVD and a Blu-Ray disc that was available at adult video stores and from mail-order houses. But it was also available for download from web sites associated with Dazzle, Daystar and Subarctic.

Adam was surprised at how well the DVD and Blu-Ray discs sold. He had been the lone vote against using the format, figuring it was a waste of money to have them made. But the hard-copy discs had bonus features that made owning them worthwhile – include outtakes from the filming, interviews with the cast and contributors, a making of the video section and a blooper reel (that consisted mostly of Adam busting his ass during the fight scene from six angles).

Life was busy but it was good, Adam decided.

Life was equally good for the rest of the Five Friends Casting roster.

Allie and Sarah had rapidly grown into two of the most respected performers in the industry – much to the surprise of each of them (but not to the surprise of those who knew them well).

Allie had become the most recognizable talent at Daystar Studios, which was growing by leaps and bounds. She had turned up on a number of their sites and was in constant demand to pose for adult magazines. Her line of swimwear was an immediate hit with buyers. The major chains would not stock a clothing line from an adult performer, regardless of how tame the apparel, because they feared backlash from conservative groups. Instead she sold it online – until Wally Walrus contacted Celina about selling the Malibu by Design line from their stores. Her work with ASH had raised her profile even more, to the point where she was considered one of the foremost businesspeople in the industry.

Sarah was regarded in much the same manner. Several adult studios and a B-movie producer had offered to let her direct and star in any feature she would write for them. She turned down all offers, however, despite the fact that every member of the Subarctic board made sure to tell her that her creative properties were solely hers and did not belong to the company as a whole in any manner.

Still, she refused to offer her work to anyone but Looker Lass Productions. Her latest project, set to begin filming in about a year, was her most adventurous. She had decided she wanted to produce a musical – which meant Adam and Ashley would not be included in the cast.

Sarah hoped Emily Proper would still be in the business when the movie was shot because every time Sarah sat at the computer to write, it was Lucy Miller she pictured in the starring role.

Shelly had begun to limit her work to Daystar, Dazzle and her web site. She found that she didn't need a fantasy life because every day of her life was a fantasy. She worked with Jerry and Tate to completely redesign their lighting systems and had received calls from other producers asking her opinion on their stage set ups.

Karlie decided to take a break from anything but the "Sweet Things" web site. She had too much going on with helping Allie get Malibu by Design going and helping Sarah craft costumes for "Sundown in El Dorado." She steadfastly said that she hadn't retired from performing and that she fully expected to be considered for a part in Sarah's next feature.

Leslie picked up the slack from any of the other females who wanted to take a break from the industry. She had become the performer who worked with most of the new talent (both male and female). In that regard, she was instrumental in Five Friends' success. But her biggest contribution to the industry came from working with ASH. She turned down an offer to be on the performer advisory board but she attended every meeting and she was one of the few people whose opinion Dr. Celeste Brannon solicited on almost every serious decision.

Rebecca, perhaps, changed the most. She had come to realize that none of the personalities she had tried on for size were really her. She determined the she needed to be neither dominant nor a doormat. She could interact with people as equals and still be regarded as a success. By the time "Dragon Lore" was released, Rebecca had found what made her happiest: the people she loved and who loved her in return. Melanie Schott had approached Rebecca in late summer to ask if she would be the main director for shoots at "Fantasy Time." Rebecca had agreed and had performed only a handful of shoots in the following months.

Jason had landed a recurring spot on Dazzle's revamped websites, which caused his star to rise considerably. But he didn't forget the sites that helped him make his name. He worked "Bountiful Assets" every other week and was always available to help Ben, Tate or Melody if they needed it.

Tyanna was the undeniable star of "Dragon Lore," so much so that Tate convinced Sarah to write a series of scenes for Tyanna that appeared on Daystar's sites. A contract offer, almost identical to Allie's, came next. Tyanna worried that Allie would be offended but she was wrong. Allie was excited for her friend and happy to see her succeed. Her next project would be a multi-appearance non-sex role in a premium cable channel series.

Cameron's performance in "Dragon Lore" also brought rave reviews and produced a host of offers for starring roles in other features. He was selective but no one was surprised when a new web site, "Aesthetic Visions," made him its leading male star. Cameron loved the concept of the site, which focused on sensuality and not the actual sex act. A host of starlets were waiting their turn to appear on "Aesthetic Visions."

Timm had joined Leslie in becoming the most visible of the Five Friends Casting roster. His easy-going personality made newcomers to the industry comfortable and almost all the sites that focused on fledgling talent wanted Timm to appear as often as he was available.

Meredith did two boy-girl scenes (including one for "Fantasy Time" that had been rescheduled three times – and no, she couldn't convince Sean to appear) before moving exclusively to the solo and girl-girl portion of the industry. Her career wasn't as lucrative as Tyanna's but she was still happy. She was still taking things slowly with Sean and Rachelle but everyone seemed confident it would eventually work out. She spent a lot of her time working with Walt and Timm in the now-expanded garage.

Betsy, who possessed perhaps the highest earning potential of all the performers, moved away from boy-girl shoots from the outset of signing with Five Friends Casting. Another casting agency would have been appalled but the Five Friends agents simply shrugged and booked her where she wanted to appear. She went on a series of individual dates with Walt and Mary but, as with Meredith, was cautious about taking the final plunge into a committed relationship.

Beth appeared frequently with Jason on Dazzle's sites but she also worked with others. She and Jason still dated occasionally but both recognized from the outset that anything more serious would have to wait for their adult careers to end. Both had plans to work through college then retire from porn before they attended graduate school.

Elena found she didn't really enjoy the adult industry as much as she thought she would. Instead she spent her free time working with Malibu by Design. Like Karlie, she said she would return to performing if the role was right for her but, at the moment, she was more interested in designing swimwear than she was in performing.

Lucy fit seamlessly into the group – and into the adult industry. Her hook was irresistible to most web site owners. She acted so demure but that was left by the wayside once the action started. She became a fixture on another new site, "Her Naughty Side," and was asked for by producers as frequently as Allie, Sarah, Leslie and Tyanna were.

But Katya became the most requested starlet, not because she would do things the others wouldn't, but because of the enthusiasm she brought to her performances. But, as with the others, she turned down five or six offers for every one she accepted.

Anya also almost disappeared from the adult scene for several months. She would appear periodically on "Sporty Spinners" and similar sites but her focus turned to making Budapest Central Casting into a major player in Porn Valley. She and Katya worked tirelessly with the agents (who agreed to help without hesitation) to find the right sites for the influx of European talent. If the size of the bonus check the two women got in early fall was any indication, they appeared to be succeeding.

The second set of "Sweet Things" arrived in late August. The original cast worried there wouldn't room for everyone who wanted to join but it worked out in the end. Anya, Katey, Lucy, Meredith and Tyanna had expressed interest from the outset.

Beth, Elena and Katya had decided early on that they weren't interested in chatting with the members.

The group went from wondering if there would be enough spots to wondering if there would be enough participants to unveil the new members on Labor Day weekend. Erin vacillated for several days before deciding she would pass because of other commitments. Trinity decided she didn't have enough time to devote to the site.

Adam found that he wasn't surprised when Rachelle asked to become the sixth new member – with Sean's wholehearted support. The group offered a three-day membership for a dollar to the new sites over Labor Day weekend and they hit the ground running.

In addition to joining "Sweet Things," Rachelle managed to find time to buy advertising space for an adult movie, "Dragon Lore," in some of the unlikeliest of places. She didn't confine herself to the Internet and adult stores. She branched out into alternative newspapers and magazines. She found a station which would let the group purchase late-night time for a television commercial – so long as the content was relatively family friendly. The commercial was so well-produced that viewers only realized at the end that it was advertising an adult movie.

Mary was in constant demand, not only getting calls from adult and mainstream movie producers looking for her expertise but also from web site designers wondering if she had any tips they might be able to use. She briefly considered dropping out of college and devoting herself full time to Petal Technologies. The rest of the group immediately volunteered to help her in any way necessary to make sure she stayed in school. Lucy and Beth both became her protégés and both switched their majors to information technology and computer science.

Walt was making plans to take Carter Creations to a new level since Timm and Meredith were around to help him. He was working with Shelly to create camera trolleys for the next feature and looking for other ways to keep production costs down. Timm decided to return for a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, and Meredith chose organic chemistry, hoping she would be able to craft lighter-weight alloys to use.

Sean spent his time working with the outside contractors employed by Subarctic Enterprises. He was also tasked with finding fledgling companies to either purchase outright or to offer low-interest loans. Jack Simms (Renaldo) and Steve Rayburn were approached first and accepted assistance immediately. Both took low-interest short-term loans and both seemed to have made it through the tough times. By late-September, Subarctic Enterprises held an interest in 22 businesses ranging from adult web sites to a custom motorcycle shop.

Celina was preparing to move her office from her downtown location to a corner suite in the new office complex as soon as Walt's dad and the city gave the OK for occupancy. Retired Judge Walter Barrett would have an office beside hers. The partners of Barrett and Gomez didn't mind working next door to an adult industry casting agency, nor did they mind having the stars the agency represented live next door.

Matt Tolliver, the group's financial adviser, was given the unofficial role of "Devil's Advocate." He was surprised when the group paid attention when he made a valid argument and his advice saved Subarctic from several potentially damaging investments, although he still wasn't able to convince Celina to go on a date with him.