Wendy gave Elliot a change of clothes so he would be less conspicuous, and drove him back to his apartment. It was now almost 8:30 but he still had plenty of time before work. He decided to get an hour of sleep, but instead only stared at the blank walls of his small room thinking about how he could possibly get himself out of the horrible mess he had gotten himself into.
After his designated hour he got up and showered. He didn’t have to be at work until eleven but it always took time to do his makeup. He hated wearing the stuff, and wore long sleeves and frequently turtle necks to keep from having to apply too much, but there were always way too many questions when he wore masks. He knew. He tried many different things to try and disguise his horrible skin blemishes. He was grateful that his skin had regained some color since the experiments nearly ten years ago; the layer of makeup was much thinner now. But even then he preferred the makeup to being paralyzed.
He was also grateful that his work seldom forced him come into contact with people. It was in fact one of the reasons he became a writer. Today, however, the director of his next play wanted him there to help with the casting. While the process did bore him, and sometimes drove him nuts, he appreciated the chance to have some say even after the play was sold.
He finished getting ready and drove across town to the auditions. As expected the auditions were not only boring but also painful. The first person up for the male lead started with Shakespeare’s famous soliloquy. Before the third word Elliot spoke up, “Excuse me. Can you tell me which scene starts with ‘To be’?”
“No, but…” he began, his voice wavering. After a brief pause he became more firm, “Didn’t the casting call say Shakespeare was a plus?”
“Of course it did,” said the director, a middle aged man named Craig. “But does the name of the play look like Hamlet to you?”
“Well no but…”
“Then maybe,” Elliot interrupted, “the Shakespeare reference doesn’t mean we want to hear Shakespeare but rather want someone who is familiar with the complexities and subtleties found it his work and use that in the interpretations of the characters in this play. If you have ever been to another audition maybe you would have know that.”
Craig seemed satisfied with Elliot’s explanation and simply called out, “Next.”
The next several hours didn’t go much better, but when Elliot left at six o’ clock they had managed to find a good selection of actors for the three main parts. He was particularly pleased with the two women that were in the running for the female lead. The part required her to be beautiful, and he was worried because it was hard to find an attractive woman who could actually act.
He was also pleased that during the monotony of the auditions and the awful monotone blabbering of the so-called actors, he was able to spend many hours pondering his current situation. He decided that his best course was to try and find this Pronto, track him, collect evidence and take it all to the authorities, hopefully with Pronto as well. Elliot was now convinced that he could not persuade the officers of the truth without any evidence, and if he was locked up who would find that evidence. No, Pronto’s charade could last a long time if Elliot wasn’t there to catch him. After all, this was a big town, and most of the other heroes didn’t come within miles of his turf.
Elliot was decided. This was a job for Brute Force.
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