Chapter 20: Show and Tell

As the helicopter rose into the air, the pilot said, "Look, guys, I don't know what is going on here. I was ordered to pick up a prisoner. That's all I know. All this other shit didn't have anything to do with me. Man, I got a wife and a kid, I don't need this, none of it, please." The pilot's hands trembled and the helicopter reacted unsteadily.

"Watch what you're doing," Amanda told him in a sharp voice. "Perhaps you're up to your neck in this whole thing, and perhaps you're not, I don't know. After what I have just been through, I really don't care. You flew them here in this thing and you knew they planned to kill me. So right now I don't care if your sweet young butt makes it home tonight or not. You will have your chance to go on television and tell your side of things. These friends of yours will have the same chance. Confession is good for the soul. Confession on camera is even gooder."

The captured guard snorted. "Fuck you. You don't dare do anything to us. They got the death penalty in this state, you remember that."

Billy rapped him in the head with a knuckle. "Shut up."

As they gained altitude Amanda told the pilot, "Follow the road down there. I'll point out my house. You land there." The pilot nodded.

As they came over Amanda's house, they saw Sam's hotrod parked to one side. Hartman's helicopter was off away from the landing area. The pilot came in for a soft landing. "Everybody out," Billy ordered and shoved the state cop out the door.

Amanda followed Billy. Mark ran up and grabbed her, "Oh God, Amanda," The governor said you were dead trying to escape. He ... he ... he said you jumped out of the helicopter with your hands still cuffed behind your back." He grabbed her tight against him. "And don't you tell me not to cry. I can't help it. Oh Honey I was scared you were gone forever"

"Babe, you just cry all you want to. I am thankful to be alive right now. I am so very happy. They intended to throw me out of the helicopter and say I suicided."

"Well, he screwed up royally this time. He has been blabbing how the pilot radioed you had fallen and were dead. What next?" He puckered his lips and said, "Kiss me."

She wrapped her arms around him and bent down to kiss him. As she came up for air, she took his hand and pulled him toward the inner gate. "I want Dirk to set up his camera in the living room. "Mike is going to interview me and the pilot and the five state cops. This time we're going to settle this once and for all."

"For your information the living room is all set up. Dirk has had his camera going since you landed. Smile, you're on Candid Camera." He hurried ahead and tugged at Amanda's hand. "Hurry."

Four of the capital police Billy's men had captured earlier by sat on chairs. Amanda recognized them. The fifth was a stranger. "Who's he?"

"That unhappy looking gentleman is the one who drove the transport van," Mike told her. "He was kind enough to stop after I put a slug through his engine block. My next shot hit the gas tank and this gentlemen voluntarily removed himself from the van and accepted our personal hospitality."

"Damn this camera," Dirk muttered half to himself as he slammed the camera down on the floor. He kicked it into the corner and turned to walk away.

As he left the room, one of the guards said, "Too bad your camera doesn't work. We wasn't going to say nothing anyway. Why should we? You might as well turn us all loose."

Another of the state cops turned to the scared pilot. "We'll take care of you, you gutless punk. You ain't goin' home to Mama tonight or any other night, I promise you."

"Hey, what did I do? I didn't know you were going to toss her out when we got over the city. That was you guys, not me." The pilot looked around at the others in the room in panic." Please," he begged. "I'm not a part of any of this, please,"

The other guard sitting next to the pilot slugged him in the mouth. "Shut up, pussy." Billy grabbed the guard by his hair and jerked him out of the chair.

"Cool it, Billy," Amanda told him. I want them unmarked for when Dirk gets back from town with a new camera. These guys are going to sing like choirboys.

"Not me," exclaimed the pilot. "These guys kill anyone who talks too much. They did it to that whistle blower last year."

"How do you know that?" Mike asked. He entered the conversation without the others aware he was interviewing.

"They bragged about it," the pilot said miserably. "I said I wanted to quit and he..." the pilot pointed to the driver of the van. "He said the only way I could quit was in a body bag. I didn't want to die."

"Why in hell did you try to kill me?" Amanda asked in a mystified voice. "I never did anything to you. Why?"

"The governor said do it and we follow orders," the driver answered proudly. "But if you think you can make us say that in front of a camera, you got a head full of rocks."

Another guard bragged, "You think you're the first one? Hell we lost count a long time ago. But Harry is right, we won't say anything if you have a camera on us. Fuck you. I can take any damn' beating you give me and wait my time. They don't dare have anything happen to us."

Mike interrupted, "Let me get this straight, you say you are hit men for the governor? Get out of here." His voice expressed total disbelief.

"That brain dead clown? He is too dumb to be anything but a mouthpiece. His job is to follow orders, just like us." The speaker was the one guard who had been silent up until then.

"I suppose you'll claim the New York Times pays you," Mike said derisively. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"You don't know anything," the driver bragged. "We get fifty thou from the state as cops and two times that much from Time Slot Mining and Oil. New York Times my ass."

Finally they ran down and shut up. Suddenly, Dirk popped in and announced, "Honey, I'm home! I have a brand new camera. Let's start the interview."

"Bull shit," one who did the most bragging said. "Confess what? You people took our prisoner away from us at gunpoint. You threatened us with torture if we didn't say what you want. You try your threats on someone else. We are all hard working cops doing what we are paid to do." He snorted again.

Dirk turned toward the pilot. "Do you claim we acted as outlaws too when we saved Amanda?" Mike asked.

"No!" The pilot jumped up out of his chair. "I've had it. I won't be a part of any more murders. These men bragged they were going to kill Amanda Lust and come back here and take care of her friends. I realize they are going to kill me but I can't go on any more." He buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

"Whining sissy punk," one state cop sneered.

"No," Mike said. "He is a man who just realized he was a man and acted like it."

From the den came the words, "I can't go on any further." The living room was suddenly silent.

Mark stuck his head through the door, "Smile, You're On Candid Camera." He grinned and came to stand by Amanda.

The one who liked to brag sneered, "You can't prove anything by that weakling. He's crazy. You don't have anything on us. He looked from Mike to Amanda and back. He leaned back in his chair and smirked at them.

"Yeah, you have nothing on us," the driver of the van laughed.

"I hate to bust your bubble, guys, but did you know there is more than one camera in this house?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, but the one in here was broke. We all saw him kick it," another said nervously. Suddenly they all felt the same sinking feeling at the same time.

The guard who rode back to the house in the helicopter said, "You still don't have anything. We were all just blowing smoke to scare this sissy pilot."

"Wrong, Dingdong," Hartman bounced into the room. Everything you characters voluntarily admitted to went out live to a television station. It was then shared with the others here in Los Angeles who piped it to their affiliates nationwide."

The TV in the den suddenly blared, "We have a news flash just in. The president of the United States is preparing a statement to disavow any knowledge of the alleged conspiracy to assassinate popular adventure film actor Amanda Lust.

"Wait! A White House spokesman has stated the President of the United States announced his resignation just minutes after writing and signing a blanket pardon for him and the Vice President. Both have vanished." The announcer looked off camera, "What in hell is going on here?"

He turned back to the Teleprompter, "These events transpired immediately after he received news the governor of the State Of California, Willard Pansy committed suicide under what a representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation called 'very suspicious circumstances.'

"Governor Pansy was informed Actor Amanda Lust was not only alive, but had assisted in an interrogation of the very state policemen who supposedly reported Amanda was dead. Can we break for a commercial? I am not cut out for this. Lieutenant Governor Wendell Pugh has been unavailable for comment."

Unaware he was still on camera, the announcer turned to one side and spoke to someone in the control booth, "Does anyone have any idea what in hell is going on?"

A muffled voice said, "You're still on, Genius."

The startled announcer exclaimed "Oh!" Then he continued, "We are still receiving a live feed from your house, Amanda. What do you have to say about this turn of events?"

Amanda answered in quiet, even tones, "We are going to be married next week. What else can I say? That is the important news from this house. All that other stuff is just another day in the life of a super hero."

"What else is there to say? " She frowned, "For all these months I, no we felt we have been acting in a badly directed movie with no script and the story line seemed to have been made up ad lib as the story progressed. This all started because of a crazy sadistic cop, a drunken judge and two jealous parents with more money than brains.