In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 160):

OOC: You're quite right. I'll try to use Luck less.

"Sure, hop in," the officer said, moving to open the rear driver's side door for Katya to get in. A short drive later and they arrived outside a medium-sized hall, where Jenny was standing with the other female cast members.

"Door's locked," Jenny said, looking confused. "The director and the others were supposed to show up twenty minutes ago, but I don't know where they are. None of us have the keys to get in and we're not going to force the door."

"What's the name of the director?" the officer asked.

"Donald Carrington."

The officer's face gave a gesture of realisation and then slight sympathy. "You might have a problem making your movie. Carrington's just had a case filed against him in small claims court for non-payment on location rental in the spring. Hopefully it will get sorted out, though."

At that point, two cars turned the corner and parked up. The director got out and looked sheepish, along with some crew members. "Sorry I'm late. Had to change a tire."
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:01, Sat 02 Mar.

Ursula does her best to sit cross-legged in some way that doesn't get arrested for indecent exposure (one close brush with the overzealous American police is quite enough) and makes small talk until they arrive at their destination.

The news about Carrington don't sound too encouraging either. Ursula Lang might be worried about the implications for her acting career, but Katya Sokolova isn't all that concerned, as long as she still has a cover story for being there and taking an interest in Vanderburg.

But it's harder to skim from a production that's not even making rent.

"A wheel isn't the only thing changing around here," she remarks, strutting over and turning towards her fellow actresses. "The handsome officer over here says we might not get paid. So we, the talent, refuse to work until we're given half in advance," she adds firmly, in her most convincing Bolshie-in-a-minidress tone, holding Carringtons gaze.

Katya Sokolova rolled 3 using 1d8.  Skillful swindler (d8)*.

"So, we're going on strike?" Jenny said. "Sounds good to me. Not my first time on a picket line either. Perhaps we could make some signs."

Donald Carrington walked over, pulling some keys out of a jacket pocket and unlocking the door to the hall. He was an old man with a thin grey beard and thinning grey hair on top. He was dressed in a cream jacket, slacks and a loud Hawaiian shirt, carrying a large brown carpet bag.

"Follow me, girls," he said with a grin that was perhaps a bit too earnest. "We've got a bunch of stuff to do and not much time to do it."

Ursula crosses her arms and stands her ground.

"Is that bag filled with cold, hard cash, Mr. Carrington? Otherwise, we are not following you anywhere," she says resolutely.

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 164):

Carrington looked rather confused at this and then turned slightly angry.

"I'm sorry, can you please explain what you mean by the comment, Ursula? Because I get the feeling there is part of the conversation that I missed."

The others moved towards him.

"We want our money," Viktoria said firmly. "Or we don't work."

Carrington snorted. "You get paid when the film is completed, not before. That's the way most jobs work, sweetcheeks."

Ursula doesn't move an inch.

"The police says you haven't been paying the locations you rent. You're not going to pull that one on us. That's why we get paid in advance or we don't work. And I'm not seeing any money... so come, girls, we get back to the motel, looks like we're taking the day off."

She gestures to the others to follow and starts walking away.

"You wanna make that movie, you start taking your talent seriously, sweetcheeks."

Carrington stared at her, thinking about whether he was going to call her bluff.

OOC: Dealing with criminals roll, please.

Ursula holds his gaze, a look of challenge in her eyes. She can afford to not work in the movie, since it's just a cover story to her.

Katya Sokolova rolled 3 using 1d10.  Used to dealing with criminals (1d10).

Thank you, that was very neat :)

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 168):

"OK, OK," Carrington said, an air of resignation in his face. "Give me two days as I need to get some money out of the bank and you'll get half your salary as you asked. I don't exactly have it on me right now. The bag contains scripts and some other equipment."

"Well, you can start by emptying out your wallet," Jenny suggested. "That might help."

Ursula allows herself a shrewd smile.

"You heard the lady, Carrington. We need some pocket money for the two days of break we're taking before the movie. We start shooting when you give us that half, not a minute sooner."

She makes a give-me gesture with her hand.

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 170):

"Shooting? What about rehearsing?" Carrington said, pulling out around $150 in bills from his wallet and handing it to Katya.

Ursula takes the notes and passes them on to Jenny to share out.

"Rehearsing is work. See you when you bring us our money, Carrington. Leave a note at the motel. Have a nice day!"

She waves at him happily, leading the cast out of here.

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 172):

"Well, that was interesting," Jenny said as they walked away. "What do you want to do now?"

"Beach, bitch," is Ursula's concise answer.

That will do for now. The film would've been fun, but now she has more free time for her mission. She'll enjoy a beach morning, then go back to the motel for lunch and try to do something operational for the afternoon.

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 174):

As Katya arrived back at the motel, she saw that a bunch of suitcases and bags had been placed outside the entrance. A quick glance made clear that her own luggage was among the collection.

Ursula isn't particularly surprised, but it's a new pain in the ass. She goes straight to the reception desk.

"Yeah, lemme guess. Mr. Carrington hasn't paid for the room, has he. How much?"

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 176):

The receptionist looked confused.

"I thought you were all checking out and that your luggage was going to be placed by the entrance. That's what Mr. Carrington told us an hour ago. We've packed the cases as best we could."

Jenny turned to Katya.

"That b****rd is engaging in a lockout, isn't he? He won't let us back into our rooms until we return to work."

Ursula shrugs.

"Like this is the only motel in California. Mr. Carrington isn't paying, Mr. Carrington doesn't get to call the shots. I said, how much?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:32, Sat 06 Apr.

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 178):

The woman sighed. "Ten bucks a night per single room. I'll let you work out how much that is."

"I'm bad with numbers, and you wanna get paid, ja? Bring the lodged back to the to the rooms, bitte."

She slips the girl a ten note and yawns.

"He's gotta try harder that that."

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 180):

The woman placed the note on the counter and did not do anything else, giving Katya a look.

"So are you, Fraulein. I've already refunded him the excess money, so a sawbuck ain't going to cut it."

OOC: American culture roll, please.

Katya Sokolova rolled 24 using 1d30 ((24)).

"Why would you cut a bill with a saw anyway? Better use a scissor."

She takes a look at the bill.

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 182):

There was, to Katya's knowledge, nothing wrong with the banknote.

"I forget you're an alien," the woman replied. "A sawbuck is a ten-dollar bill. It's one of those, per room, per night. So have a think about how long you want to stay for and how many rooms. It's basic maths, or whatever you call it in Hungary or wherever you come from."

The telephone rang and she picked it up, ignoring Katya as she talked with someone else who wanted to book some rooms.

Ursula doesn't like the tone, the attitude, the name-calling and generally, anything at all.

She turns to Jenny.

"So, do we know another motel nearby where people like our money a little more?"

In reply to Katya Sokolova (msg # 184):

Jenny shrugged her shoulders and spoke in her most British accent.

"I am a stranger in these wild and savage lands, so I do not know where else we might find repast and a bed for our weary heads."

The receptionist looked singularly unimpressed. "Is that your best attempt at a British accent?"