Movie Stalkers And Real World Stalkers

Toby drove by the big house heading for the side garage. Pulling to the far side of the circular drive he pulled around back. Amy was standing in the opened garage door smiling. Toby took a deep breath and hoped he didn't have another Regina on his hands. He pulled up just to the door opening. He needs to be able to open both doors to remove his belongings. 

"I saw you coming," Amy told him and came around to help unload. Toby was embarrassed he only had one small suitcase to load his belongings in and the rest was crammed in black garbage bags. She made a beeline to Travis, who was sleeping, as was his usual MO for a car ride longer than five minutes. She slipped him out of the car seat and held him to her chest. Toby's jaw clenched as he watched her walk away with his son. 

"Amy put him on my bed, I can handle him." 

Her smile faded and he knew he hurt her feelings. He was doing well upsetting all the women he knew.

"Listen, I have had the sole responsibility of Travis all his life, and when I'm home and not busy I want him with me. If you want something to do, take his clothes and put them away," he said, dropping a bag close to her feet. "I appreciate that you take good care of him, but if you have him all the time, I don't have any time with him."

"Ok, how about I put him in his crib and when he wakes, I'll bring him right back to you," Amy offered, not wanting to put him on his father's high bed. She was afraid that if he fell, he would be injured.

"That sounds good to me and thank you for understanding. At this point, I see him so little that my time with him is precious. Before we were together all day every day," Toby told her and noticed Missy was standing at his door listening.

She smiled and said, "I thought you were here when I saw Amy run through the house. We are having lunch in the dining room in an hour, come when you're settled in and visit." 

Toby thought, "Perfect, is Rob going to be there?"

"Yes, we all wanted to welcome you here," Missy told him and gave him a fluttery wave and left. Amy took Travis and he was left to unpack and set up his stuff in this vast area. He changed his mind and put the crib on the far side of this bed, it was so high that he could drape his arm over the railing easily and still be able to reach Travis. Amy was right about not letting him sleep on that bed alone. The fall could hurt him badly and there is no way to push it against the wall as he had his at his apartment. He had a door to the pool on one side, the opening to the bath on the other, and then one to the garage.

An older woman dressed as if she were a maid stood at his door, holding towels and something long and white over her arm. 

"Sir, I have towels for you and Miss Collins had me bring you this robe. She is sure it will fit. You can use it after a shower or out by the pool," she offered and seemed to be waiting for the invite into the room. 

"Sounds good please come in. I was not sure what I would need to bring with me." He had gotten up early and washed his sheets and the dirty towels leaving it all clean for Bob before he left the apartment. That was when he missed Regena, she would have watched him while he washed instead, and he had to take him with him. Ok yes, she did come in handy. Bob showed up at 9:30 and Toby called the building's owner and told him the arrangement he made for his apartment. He knew it wouldn't be a problem if the rent was paid by money order each month. "You must drop it in a slot in a big metal door marked rent payment by the third of the month," Toby told him the deal. 

Alone again, he put his toiletries away and found where the robe was hung. He had a good fifty fancy black hangers in the closet, he brought his trash bag in and began to hang his clothes. Some of them had never seen the inside of a closet much less a hanger, Toby thought and felt his humor was good at his change of lifestyle. Light taps at his door brought him out of the bathroom. Amy stood at his door with a happy Travis. 

"I hear lunch is ready," Amy said as she passed Travis to him. He cuddled against his daddy's chest but started to fuss immediately. Toby knew he was hungry.

Passing his last unopened can of dry formula to Amy, he realized he needed to go to the WIC office for his appointment this week. He knew this would be his last time to go there at least for the next three months. Another thing he needs to talk to Rob about making time for that too. Following Amy out they made their way to a large formal dining room. The place was full of people, but seats were open for them. He took the one next to the highchair that seemed to be saved for him. Toby wondered if all these people lived here. They could, there are a lot of rooms in this house, he passed by four rooms just coming from his room. 

"Hey Toby, so good to see you here, are you getting settled in?" Rob asked as he passed him by on the other side of the table.

"Yes, sir, but I do have a few things I need to talk with you about," Toby said as he buckled a very anxious Travis in his seat, he could see food and wanted some. He knew people hated to have their meals interrupted by screaming kids, grabbing a bowl of fruit that had been pureed for Travis he sat quickly and spooned a mouthful into his fussy mouth. "Sorry he is past hungry," Toby told them as he sat down, turning his attention to Travis. 

"Is it something we could talk about here," Rob asked if he would love to talk about something besides this movie. It has been 24/7 the last few months around here. They have already talked it to death and have made several suggested changes. The writer would probably be pissed with all the changes they have made. Rob does feel it has improved the storyline. 

Toby scanned the faces, and they all looked trustworthy, but did he want them to know his whole life? Louise's voice telling him to let people into his life popped into his brain and it popped out of his mouth. "Sure, maybe one of you has heard of the problem. I had a one-night stand," he said, "I'm not proud of it and wanted the relationship to continue but she was starting her internship to be a doctor and didn't want anything more to do with me. She didn't ask for any information and I didn't leave any. I happened to run into her eight months later when I installed a big screen system in her parent's home. She informed me she just had a baby; it was mine and she was letting the State take him. 

Sweeping his hand toward Travis he said, "So I took him. Now we think she showed up at my old job asking for me. Louise told me to get an attorney and file for full custody of him. She didn't even care to know if he was a boy or a girl when he was born. She hadn't seen him at all. Her father came to the store when he was nine days old, and I told him I was keeping him. His only concern was that I am not asking for child support." 

Devon, who was down at the other end of the table said. "Yeah, that is a good idea, he is over six months right."

"Yeah, going on nine months."

"Ah, don't worry. I'll have an attorney here within the hour." Rob signaled his assistant Alex who rushed around to his side. Whispering in his ear, he took off towards what Toby called an office. 

"The other thing is Travis has an appointment at 3:00 on Wednesday that I need to take him to." 

"No problem, we'll try and finish with you quickly that day. Thursday we are working on the inside of the house scenes, I hope. They should have the whole thing reproduced by then. Travis will have to stay home with Amy; the noise level will be too loud for him. I expect you will be doing a whole lot of yelling," Rob told him and grinned. 

"Good," Toby said he was looking forward to throwing fits. He could let out a lot of frustration for the shoot. 

Alex came back to the table and told them, "He said he would be here in an hour." 

Toby relaxed and ate his fill wondering what would be for dinner. He hoped the salad would get fat at this rate, but still filled his plate. The workout room called to him. 

"Oh yes, I had a lady approach me at the store yesterday while I visited Louise and the girls. She knew who I was and said she had seen me in the newspaper the day before, telling me about the new movie being made in town. I told her I had no comment about any movie, but she seemed to know quite a bit. The picture was of me and Missy waiting for the limo out front of the studio. She said she worked for the paper and the stage guard told them who all are involved in this movie. That is how they found out my name. I guarantee you I'm not known in this town."

"In Thursday's paper?" Rob asked, sounding put out. 

"Yeah, the Star section I think," Toby offered, "So how am I supposed to handle the press or fans?"

"You handled it properly, just be vague. I'm surprised it happened so quickly," Rob said and looked at Alex as if to say fix this. He figures the guard has lost his job. He needs to guard, not blab. 

"I have a dozen clips for you to watch so you have an idea what the combat scenes are like we plan to film. If you could watch them over this weekend. Marty will be at the studio on Monday to go over the scenes. I'll have Alex contact the firing range man and see if he could have those men there for the shoot in Austin when we are ready." 

"Thanks, Rob, I think they would be great in the background or right out in front," Toby told him as he finished off his lunch. 

"Yeah, Marty told me they were great and had been in the fight many times in Afghanistan. They should know what they are doing."

"I think whatever you film, the battle will be better with them in the scenes," Toby offered. "And they have their fatigues," Toby added as a joke. 

"Sounds good, maybe we will extend the scenes and incorporate them more in the movie. Let's see what we can come up with." Devon nodded his head as if he was going to get on that. 

"People are interested in war footage and there are several films recently about the military," Rob offered, looking as if he was thinking about it. He knew he had a few weeks before the weather cooled enough to film for days outside. 

They had the scenes inside of the house to do on Monday. But everything and everyone in this movie was coming together slowly. Overruns on other movies are holding back his other actors and contracts with the unions are slowing production. That all stems from California, with the hope that on Monday things are supposed to change and they will hit it hot and heavy as the issues are promised to be resolved by the moneymen. 

Blanca the housekeeper, maid, or whatever the others call her was helping Toby clean Travis up after a very filling lunch. Travis fussed each time Toby tried to take him out of his highchair long after the rest of the people left the table, he was still shoving noodles in his mouth. Thank goodness he was good during lunch. Three wet paper towels down and his face was clean. The doorbell rang and Toby hoped it was the attorney, he was anxious to get on with the custody agreement. Louise's suggestion has him freaking out and desperate to get on with the custody case. What Candace wants he has no idea, but he is covering his ass, 

Blanca scrambled to answer the door before the ringing bell disturbed Rob. As Toby picked up the last of the noodles Travis had dropped off his tray. He seemed to enjoy watching them fall. Missy made the mistake of laughing and he thought it was a good idea to keep doing it. Thanks a lot, Missy. 

"Mr. Toby, you have a guest," Blanca told him. 

Snatching Travis up, he fussed but he would have to get over it was his attitude. He walked to the front of the house. An older man stood in the entry dressed casually. Toby was happy to see he wasn't in a suit; it made him feel more comfortable speaking with him. 

"Hi, I'm Toby McBride, are you an attorney?" 

"Yes, I received a call about a child custody issue. Please excuse my dress. We were just coming home from a soccer match for my son. I'm Don Bishop. It's nice to meet you."

"No problem, I'm just happy you could come over and help." Escorting him to his room, he had him sit as he put Travis on the floor and walked over to his dresser. Picking up a stack of papers he collected. He went over and sat next to Don. 

"Ok, what is going on here is…." Toby went into the sordid story. He handed him the names of the nurses at the hospital and the letter Candace wrote for him ending with, "She has never seen him, she didn't know if he was a boy or girl. She called him 'it' when she explained how she was abandoning him to the state."

"So, you think she showed up at your old job, but you're not positive it was her," Don Bishop asked. 

"No, but I don't know anyone that fits that description except her. I still need custody, right?"

"Yes, a judgment of custody would be good in your case. Ok, I will send out my investigator to talk to the nurses, get their statements, and present them to a judge. I'll let you know when to come to court. It will be easy as long as she hasn't filed for custody already." 

Toby's heart began to pound, he asked, "What if she has?"

"She has never seen the boy and has shown no interest until now so you should have no problems. He is over six months old."

"Yeah, he is. So please get this done as quickly as possible. He is nine months old; she can't take him now. He is my life. I'm doing this movie to make enough money to take care of him," Toby said, looking very concerned for his son as he played on the rug.

"I will get this started first thing Monday morning. I'll submit the paperwork to the court as soon as I can."

"Those nurses should be there this weekend. I picked him up on a Friday night. It was Christmas Eve actually," Toby told him not wanting to miss them and having to wait another week to catch them at the hospital.

"Perfect, I'll send my investigator out as soon as I get to my car. Toby don't get upset you shouldn't have a problem," the attorney assured him.

Toby picked Travis up. He was trying to go to sleep as they talked. Toby wanted to go to sleep after that meal too, but he knew he had to watch those movie clips. He walked Don to the door and knew if he made Travis a bottle and put him to bed, he could have a couple of hours of quiet. Maybe work out or try to watch a few of those clips depending on who is in the theater room. 

*

Baby monitor in hand he climbed the stairs. Louise bought it for use in her office but had him take it with him. Now he can listen for him and watch the clips and not worry about Travis. Stepping into the theater room it was full of the house members watching something. He turned to leave as Missy called out and Amy jumped up. 

"Toby come and see this. We got the Rushes of the stalker attacking me."

Toby stepped into the room and the screen was very dark. Missy called out, "Start it over," and Alex jumped up and did her bidding.

Amy offered him her seat and asked if she needed to go to Travis. Toby held out the receiver to show her he had it covered. 

"Come sit and watch, it is pretty good," Missy called out as he entered the room. Amy sat on the floor over to the side hugging her knees.

"So, this is the guy I'm supposed to protect you from," Toby asked as he sat next to Missy and the scene unfolded. 

"Yeah, we got this done before we knew you were going to be Hank. Like I told you we shoot out of order and when the site becomes available, we go."

Alex pressed play and Toby realized they used this house as the location. Another cost savings. Toby watched the scene of a lonely girl getting ready for bed. Outside a man slipped around the perimeter of the house looking for a way in. Finding the garage side door easy to unlock, the man slipped in. She was oblivious as she got ready for bed, she washed off all her make-up. Her fresh face looked so much younger as she slipped into her bed. The bad guy searched the house, and you could tell he was not there to burglarize the place because he passed up many valuable things. He was looking for something in particular. He climbed the stairs with a creak here and there. He carefully opened two doors before he found Missy lying in bed. 

The scene cut from her to him as he searched. She had been uncomfortable and fidgeting trying to get in a spot to be able to sleep. Right before the man entered the room she settled in place. He slipped in quietly, stood over Missy's bed, and pulled a small bottle and a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket. He dumped the liquid onto the cloth. Missy was lying on her side with her right leg on top of the covers. The smell of the chemical alerted Missy. 

She sniffed the air and knew something was not right and as the man leaned toward what he thought was a sleeping Missy she kicked out sending him flying back and landing on the floor. Making a mad dash towards her bathroom the bad man righted himself and chuckled. "You can't get far in a bathroom girlie," he said mainly to himself acting as if the whole thing was funny.

Missy ran to her closet and slipped behind her clothes opening a small metal door in the back of the closet. She slipped into the small opening and spun the lever encasing her in a large safe room and locked out whoever was after her. She was freaking out as three loud bangs filled the room; she grabbed a phone connected just to that room and called 911. 

She began to cry as she spoke to the operator. "I'm in my saferoom. I have had a problem with a stalker, that is why I moved here. I thought I left that all behind in California, but he attacked me in my room," Missy told the operator as she cried, acting scared out of her mind. Visions of her learning to kickbox, using a punching bag, and being as small as she was, she still made an impact. The last scene was a man with pads on his hands taking her punches. Showing how she has learned to protect herself. A loud bang echoed in the room and that brought the picture back to Missy as she talked to the operator. She had calmed down and was giving her information about how to find her once the police made it to her house.

The scene goes to the bad man slipping out the front door. He jogs down the street and ducks down behind some shrubs at the corner as two police cars make the corner with lights flashing. He pulled the latex gloves off his hands and tucked them into his pocket. He looked pissed as he watched the police officers enter the house. From the camera's position, you could see him now as he hid. 

They had a good shot of him with the blue and red lights flashing on his face. Toby had seen the man before in other movies. He plays bad men in lots of movies. He was a well-known actor. He thinks it was David Morse and Toby was excited he was in the movie. It raised the status of the movie for him. He still knew nothing about Missy's other movies he thought as the clip played on. He might want to watch one or two of them now. 

The front door of the house was open as the police entered and dispatch was telling them where to find Missy on the mic on their chests. Their body cameras flipped from them going up the stairs to the house shots as they progressed through the house.

The last shot was an officer pounding on the metal door. 

Alex jumped up and pressed stop as the picture turned to a blue screen and asked, "Well,"

"That is who I'm to protect you from. That shadowy guy?" Toby asked as he turned to the group. "Sounds like fun." He wondered if he was going to get to jump on him and hold him down and pretend to beat the crap out of him that would be fun. 

The monitor lit up in his hand and they all heard, "Oh look it is a baby. Is that why Missy came here to hide a pregnancy?"

Another voice said, "I don't think so no one said she was pregnant besides that is not a small baby," someone said over the monitor as Toby flew down the stairs the other men followed Alex was closest. As he came around the corner to the hallway two girls stood in the doorway of Travis' room and Toby stopped running and called out to them, "What are you doing in this house?" The girls turned and clung to one another. "We wanted to meet Missy and we figured out she lived here," one of the girls told him, eyes darting around the hall for an escape.

Three of the other men stood behind him assessing their stupidity. 

James stepped forward. "Wrong, they used my house to film a scene, nothing more. How did you get in my house?" James Lawrence demanded.

"We knocked and no one answered the door. It was unlocked so we came in," the lighter-haired blonde girl said, and they could see in her eyes she knew that was a stupid idea now. Toby knew it was his fault he hadn't locked it when the lawyer left. He must pull his head out to protect them all. He had to remember he was living a different life now. 

"We haven't done anything, we were just looking to speak to Missy," she offered as the sirens grew louder. Both girls were looking for ways out. Toby approached them to get to his son's door and close it, the girls backed down the hall towards his room. The darker-haired blonde opened Toby's door seeing their way out to the pool they both ran. James, Alex, and Brad went to the door and met the police as Toby ran after them. He watched as they tried to scale the eight-foot cinder block wall that was surrounding the backyard. Standing on his stoop he called out, "You should just come back in, you can't get out that way." 

The dogs from the neighboring yard barked, sounding like attack dogs at the wall. Toby thought it might have been interesting to hear what happened if they did scale that wall. He was that pissed he could toss them over if they would come to him. How dare they enter this house and jeopardize his son. This thing was becoming comical as he watched these two idiots try to scale the wall making no clearance at all. 

Their last-ditch effort was to go to the other side of the property as they jumped trying to catch hold of the top of the block wall. Toby watched as they slammed their bodies against the wall. The only way out of the yard was through his garage or back in the house as far as he knew. The urge to laugh quickly passed as he approached them. Cuffing his hand around their upper arms he escorted them back to the house. The police met him in the middle of his room and took them from him. James stood in the doorway watching how Toby handled it. If he was six foot four and two hundred and fifty pounds, he would have been right up in there with him. Rob stayed back not wanting to be associated with the mess. No one knew he was in town at this point. 

Rob knows Toby doesn't understand how crazy these women or the paparazzi can be when trying to get a look at their idol. He now knows he needs to hire security to guard this place just like the movie studio. Except he needed someone who knew how to keep his mouth shut, unlike the guard who was losing his job come Monday morning. The house was not built to have a fence built around the front. He loved the house. It was perfect for the amount of people he needed to house and a great location and price. He thought the security at the front gate should have stopped these girls. Thank God it was some young women not a crazed man like this movie portrayed. How they got past the guards at the front gate was beyond him. They probably live in the gated community and have seen the limos come and go. James thought as he watched the police deal with the girls from a second-story window. They were doing a lot of finger-pointing up his street. Sure, enough they lived up the street in an equally expensive home. The girls were hauled away in protest.

*

An hour later Toby lay on the floor in his room with Travis who seemed none the wiser to the drama that went on outside his room. He took Travis once he woke from his nap, and they played with a couple of toys. Toby pulled a toy truck back along the carpet and the truck lurched forward Travis laughed and scrambled after it. A light tap on the door sent him heading towards the door. 

Toby called out, "Come in," before he could get too close. Missy popped the door open and looked in. Travis stopped crawling and sat looking up at her with a big smile.

"Hi sweetie," Missy said and stepped into the room. Looking at him and then at Toby she asked permission with her eyes to pick him up. She had been dying to do it for days, but she knew Toby was possessive of him. He smiled, so she bent down and scooped him up with a grunt. "Woah he is thick, you're like your daddy all muscles," she teased and walked towards where Toby lay on the floor. He made a move to get up and Missy put out her hand to stop him. 

"I'll come down to you," she said, crossing her legs, sitting Indian style. Sitting Travis down in front of her, she ran her fingers through his hair and smiled. "That was scary, and we are sorry. James is hiring security. We had no idea our location had been compromised already."

"Is this how you have to live?" Toby asked as he ran the truck over the carpet. Travis watched and went back to him to play.

"The house I lived in is in California is surrounded by high walls and fences, they help a bit, but yes the fans are a problem. They seem to think they are entitled to invade our lives." 

"I had a stalker for a while. She would show up at my place all the time. I finally moved to lose her," Toby told her letting her know he understood crazies.

"The police didn't help?"

"I didn't call them, she thought she was in love and wouldn't take a clue I wasn't," Toby told her a little embarrassed he had treated her so badly. That was his only comparison to this problem. Why couldn't Candace have fallen for him, he would have hung on to her. He shook his head to clear that memory. Because she hadn't, she dropped him like he announced he had AIDS. 

"Yeah, I have had a few of them too," Missy said, and she shook her head to clear it too. 

"Are you Ok after all this excitement?"

"Oh yeah, I know after tomorrow we are going to be so busy that I won't be seeing my son much, so I thought I should spend some time with him." 

"Yeah, Rob has us both scheduled to be doing something all week. Have you read the script for the next scene?" 

"I have. You're kind of a mess in that first scene."

"I am, but I had been attacked," Missy said, almost acting out the scene. Toby laughed, "Ok I get it, and yes they gave me the script yesterday. I'm job hunting again with a much more impressive background. I get to be the lucky guard to protect you right after."

"Yes, lucky you, I'm glad you're ready," Missy told him, paying attention to Travis and his toys. She was feeling bad for bringing him into this crazy world he must live in now. She hadn't thought about what would happen to him, she just saw him as the perfect guy for the part. He can act or as he calls it 'react on cue', but as of now his world has changed. 

They spent the next few minutes relaxing on the floor and enjoying Travis's energy. "So, do you like Amy?"

"I do, she is good with him. I'm just not used to anyone taking care of him but me. He is my responsibility and if I can do the caring, I want to be the one to be there for him. I do understand I'm going to be busy, but he is number one with me."