Take Two (33 page)

She hesitated, but then she returned to the kitchen, her body language proof she wasn’t happy about being put off. Chase had
no choice.

He went to the den, pulled out his laptop, and powered it up. He was on the Internet in seconds, tapping out the address to
Fox News. All the while, Keith remained silent. Completely silent — as if there was nothing he could say that wouldn’t be
absolutely clear once the news page loaded.

Chase saw the headline about NTM and immediately called up the story. It took less than a minute for him to understand what
had happened. “This is crazy! They can’t steal our story!” Fury ripped through him and he clenched his fist. “Are you kidding,
Keith? Nothing’s over. Stephanie’s agent won’t stand for this, and neither will Luke. This is a bunch of garbage.”

“I talked to Ben Adams. He says NTM can do pretty much what they want. They have teams of lawyers to cover their tracks.”
If Keith had been angry earlier, he wasn’t now. “There’s more.”

A sick feeling grabbed hold of Chase. Had everyone lost their minds? Of course NTM couldn’t do this. They’d sat down at six
different meetings with Ace Rustin and his cronies. The proposal, the storyline, everything about the movie was already in
place. They couldn’t just recreate the plotline and go their own way now. He directed himself to focus, to listen to whatever
else Keith had to tell him. “Go ahead.”

“Ben talked to his accountants today, and his people have convinced him not to sell stocks in order to finance a movie. Not
until the market improves.”

The air seemed to leave the room. “That’s not possible.” Chase was on his feet again, his head hanging, knees trembling. He
tried to grasp at the first question to surface. “He’s still with us, right? He still wants to invest in our movies?”

“He can cover half the P&A, but that’s it. Even if by some miracle we wind up with the Brandon Paul movie, he can’t help us
out.”

The reality was immediately clear. Without investor money, what did Chase and Keith really bring to the table? Producers had
to have money to work with, otherwise they weren’t producers. Chase began to shake, shivering as if overtaken with a high
fever. “So that’s it; we have no movie.”

“It doesn’t look that way.” Keith hadn’t sounded this down in a long time, maybe ever. “We have
The Last Letter
, of course. But even if it does well, we won’t have profits to reinvest for at least a year or eighteen months. By then
Unlocked
will be a thing of the past. One more movie that’s already been done.”

They talked for a few minutes, and Keith explained that they would still fly to LA in the morning, still take meetings around
town. They still had rights to the novel, so if not NTM, other studios would still be interested. Even without Brandon Paul.

“What if the studios cancel? I mean, we no longer have the star.”

“We have the book.” Keith’s tone showed some sense of rebounding. “Either way we need to meet with Luke and Kendall, then
Stephanie and Brandon. We need to find out how this crazy announcement happened, and move on.”

“That’s it? We find out what’s behind it and give up?”

“Of course not.” Keith’s intensity was back. “We’re missionaries first, remember that?”

Chase felt the chastisement straight to the depths of his soul. It was the first time since the phone rang that he’d even
thought about God. He sank into the living room sofa chair and stared at the ground. “I remember.”

“Okay, so we pray. We remind ourselves that no ground is ever gained for Christ without great effort. It’s a battle, not a
land grab. The world owns the movie industry, so what makes us think anything about this job will be easy?”

Slowly Chase began to nod. “You’re right.” He wanted to cry out to Jesus, apologize for having such a human response instead
of immediately turning to his faith. “You’ve already prayed about this, I take it?”

“For the past half hour. But I want to pray together. Back in the jungles of Indonesia, we prayed as often as we breathed.
We would rather miss a meal than a chance to pray together for the people we were preaching to.”

Chase could picture that old life, and suddenly he longed for it, for the simplicity of knowing that his job was clearly spelled
out: tell people about Jesus, one after another, as long as he drew breath. This world, the world of Hollywood, was much more
complicated. Especially in moments like this. In the back of his mind he wondered what he would tell Kelly. An anxious sigh
filtered between his teeth. “You start.”

Keith took a quick breath and began. “Lord, we are Your witnesses here on earth, Your missionaries. We left Indonesia to take
the message of hope and faith to the world of Hollywood. We’ve felt Your presence every step of this journey, back when our
actress was threatening to run and our food truck burned down, back when we were out of money and not sure how we would finish
one film, let alone more. But we stood firm, believing in You then, and we stand firm, believing now. You know all things,
and You know why NTM would make such an announcement, and how things with Brandon Paul fell apart. We ask You now for clarity
and vision, for wisdom and direction. Without You, we don’t know where to turn.”

A moment of silence separated their cries for help, and then Chase began. “I’m sorry, Father. I heard this terrible news and
all I could think about was myself. The work I’ve invested, the money and hope. All of it lost. But You’re a God of miracles.
We can only follow where You lead. So lead us now, dear God … Lead us now. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.”

There wasn’t much more to say. They made last-minute plans for the morning drive to the airport and ended the call. Chase
could hear Kelly in the kitchen, putting away dishes. He wondered if there were visible weights on his shoulders, or if they
just felt that way.

Be with me, God. Help her understand. Keith is right. There must be something great on the other side of this mountain, or
the battle wouldn’t be so fierce.

I am with you, Son … I am your strong tower.

The verse was from something Chase had read the day before. He clung to it as he walked to the kitchen.

Kelly turned around, her eyes anxious. “Well? That didn’t sound very good.”

“It isn’t.” He leaned on the refrigerator, and the old machine groaned in response. He shifted his weight away from it and
made himself look into Kelly’s eyes. “We lost the Brandon Paul movie.” He didn’t wait for her questions, but rattled off everything
he knew about the Fox News story and the similarities between
Unlocked
and the movie NTM was calling an original. Then, barely taking time for a breath, he told her about Ben Adams and the funding
crisis.

Slowly she dried her hands on a nearby towel, never once even blinking as she stared at him. “Without funding, there’s no
movie anyway. Isn’t that right?”

“I’m not sure which piece matters most — the NTM announcement or the realization by Ben that he could no longer invest in
our film.” Chase tried to sound as positive as possible, but his voice failed him. “Either way, we have to accept the obvious.
We no longer have a Brandon Paul movie.”

Chase expected Kelly to fall apart. She would start crying and rail on Chase for ever believing that God had called him and
Keith to the mission field of Hollywood. Of all things. But none of that happened. Instead she straightened and for the first
time in a long time, a tender smile tugged at her lips. “Everything’s going to be okay. We still have our faith.” She held
her hands out to him. “We still have each other.”

He went to her, trying to figure out where she was coming from. All along she’d been doubtful of their movie ventures. So
then why now was she so calm, so sure that things would work out? He pulled her close and stroked her back. “You’re not mad?”
His voice was a tentative whisper. This Kelly was the one he’d fallen in love with, the one who had all but disappeared these
past months.

“I’m heartbroken. But I’m not mad.” She ran her hands over the back of his head and whispered close to his ear. “This means
you can stop traveling and be home with us. You tried your best, Chase. What more could God ask of you?”

Gradually, he began to realize what was happening. Kelly wasn’t mad because she thought he was giving up, wholly and completely.
With this single closed door, she figured the game was over. No more movie-making, no more traveling. No more wondering whether
they’d be in financial ruin a year from now. He could get a real job and they could find their way to normalcy.

He drew back, feeling the shock in his eyes as he studied her. But before he could set her straight, she brushed her fingertips
against his face. “My dad called yesterday. He knows someone at the post office. Most branches are laying off, but this one’s
hiring. Just a few miles from our house.” The enthusiasm in her voice was new, something she hadn’t allowed for a long time.
“His friend promised to put in a good word for you. If you’re interested.”

Chase felt like he was being ripped apart, like the floor had become a deadly sea of knives. “Are you serious?” He pushed
back from her, not wanting a single minute more of her pity or easy answers. “I’m not looking for a job at the post office.”
He spat the words like they were laced with poison. “Keith and I are flying to LA tomorrow, where we’re taking meetings on
Unlocked.
Without Brandon Paul. We’re moving ahead, believing with everything we are that God will clear up the details.”

Kelly’s calm, collected veneer shattered like a cheap piece of glass. “But you just said it was finished. There’s no Brandon
Paul movie, right? So that means you come home and get a real job.” Her tone grew intense, her voice louder than before. “That’s
what fathers do — they provide for their families.”

“And wives support their husbands.” He scowled at her for a long moment and then rolled his eyes. “We’re not finished making
movies. If God closes this door, He’ll open another one somewhere. It’s our job to find it.”

“What if the door is right here in your own house? Huh, Chase? What you’re doing scares me to death. Did you ever think about
that?”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Kelly. I won’t let you down.” He stared at her, alternately hating her and longing for her
understanding. Finally he brushed his hand in her direction. “Never mind.” He turned around and headed back to his laptop.

The headline still screamed at him from his computer screen.
Brandon Paul Agrees to NTM Movie Deal.

For almost an entire minute he stared at the words as doubts began to crowd in around him. What if Kelly was right? At what
point did they wave the white flag and surrender their dreams of making movies in lieu of earning a regular living? If he
was honest, this news scared him too. The announcement was strange and unexpected, and for that reason maybe it
was
a sign. Maybe God could use him better as a mail carrier.

He felt angry tears in his eyes and he slammed his laptop shut. No! Kelly was wrong. This wasn’t a sign. It was a mountain.
Nothing more, nothing less. If this were a sign to quit making movies, Keith would’ve felt that way, too, right? He would’ve
said something about having a meeting, just the two of them, and deciding whether they should call it quits.

But that wasn’t how Keith felt. During their conversation he had even reminded Chase of Jeremiah 29:11. Jeremiah Productions.
God knew the plans He had for them, to give them a hope and a future. If they felt led to Hollywood, convinced God wanted
them to make movies that mattered, then they would follow that dream until every door was closed and locked. He would mention
Kelly’s fears to Keith, but he could almost hear his friend’s response.

Trust God. We have to trust.

The Brandon Paul movie was just one door. Keith had even said they should feel excited, that the battle was only fierce because
God has something better for them in the long run. So why couldn’t Kelly see that?

He clenched his fists again and released them. A mail carrier? Was she serious? He’d rather go back to Indonesia.

He needed to talk to someone — Luke or Stephanie, someone who believed in their projects. Certainly Stephanie would be furious
when she saw the NTM announcement. She was an early riser who turned in each night around eight o’clock. Otherwise he’d call
her right now. NTM could put Brandon in an original film, but the screenplay would have to, indeed, be original. A story about
a mentally challenged boy finding freedom in music? It was almost exactly the same plot as
Unlocked
. NTM or not, they’d never get away with it.

Even so, he needed to talk. He thought about calling Keith back, but his friend was clearly exhausted, and they still had
their early flight in the morning. He racked his brain, wondering if he could reach Luke at this hour, and then deciding against
the idea of even trying. It was much later in Indiana, and Luke was a professional. They would talk at length tomorrow, Chase
had no doubts. But tonight …

The idea hit him in a rush. He could call Kendall. She would know about her father’s financial trouble, and she’d have a sense
of how things would go tomorrow at their first meeting. She was used to the highs and lows of Hollywood.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed her number without stopping for a minute to consider whether doing so
was right or wrong. She was their business partner, their teammate. They needed to talk now more than ever.

The call almost went to her voice recorder, but at the last moment she answered. “Chase …” Her voice held compassion and understanding.
“You saw the news?”

“That and the situation with your dad.”

“I know. I talked to him.” She sounded down, but not out. “I hate this part of movie-making, how quickly things can fall apart.
But I know this —” Determination rang in her voice. “God is still on His throne, and He’s still working miracles. He didn’t
bring us this far to let us down.”

Chase closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose. This was what he needed, a confident, trusting voice on the
other end assuring him that they might have lost a round, but they were still in the fight. “What’s the deal with NTM? Any
ideas?”