Chapter 11
1115 Words
“Follow me. I think Stefan is in the film studio going over stuff,” Magnús said lightly, touching her arm to get her attention.
Excusing themselves, Magnús and Gemma made their way through a side door of the sitting room into a large room with props and a stage setup.
“This is where we film,” he explained.
“What film is being worked on?” she asked, gawking around in amazement.
“A romance show,” he said with a wink.
She tilted her head in confusion, as if she was supposed to know what he meant by that.
“Magnús,” a man around Magnús’s age walked over to them from behind a camera. “I was wondering when you would arrive. This must be Gemma.”
The man she assumed was Stefan shook her hand warmly with a big smile.
“I’m glad to meet you,” he said, grinning brightly. “Magnús has told me a lot about you.”
“Is that so?” Gemma giggled and looked at a blushing Magnús.
That was probably the first time she’s seen him blush. It made her feel good to know she wasn’t the only one to blush anymore.
“All good things,” Stefan added with a chuckle, realizing his friend was red in the face. “Come check out what I’m doing over here.”
Gemma followed him to the camera that was filming. They set the scene under a bridge and a young girl around her age was sitting under it hugging her knees crying. Gemma looked at the scene, confused.
“Someone she loved was playing her and her parents won’t let her return home,” Magnús explained, whispering in Gemma’s ear to not disturb the filming. “This scene she’s found under the bridge by a man walking by, someone whose friend zoned a long time ago when they were in high school.”
Gemma watched intently, and a thought came to her mind. A guilty thought. She wanted to tell Magnús the real reason she came to Iceland and the real reason she stayed at his house while she was here. Fear of him being angry with her made her push back this guilt once again.
“What will happen to her?” Gemma asked, pointing at the scene.
Magnús smiled. “You would have to watch the show to find out.”
Gemma pouted and followed him and Stefan out of the room and into another room with more seats, a TV, and a snack bar.
“I know I’ve said this before,” Stefan began, taking a seat in front of Gemma. “But I’m very excited to be meeting you after hearing about you continuously from Magnús.”
“What exactly was said about me?” Gemma asked, glancing at Magnús, who was at the snack bar listening to the conversation about him.
“I was told how you two met and how beautiful you are,” Stefan winked. “But him talking about you and your beauty doesn’t do you justice. You’re astonishing.”
Gemma blushed and looked at Magnús shyly as he took a seat next to her.
“I mean, I guess I’m guilty for talking about Magnús to my friends,” she admitted.
Magnús raised his eyebrows curiously.
“I’m not speaking of what we’ve talked about, though, so don’t ask,” Gemma laughed.
“That’s your secret,” Stefan chuckled, and sat back to get comfortable.
A little beep noise from Magnús’s pant pocket stole Gemma’s attention right away.
“There’s a problem onset,” he said, looking at the device in his hand. “I will be right back. Stefan will get you anything you want.”
“I’m at your service,” Stefan said with a salute.
Before leaving, Magnús and his friend exchanged glances. Gemma tilted her head curiously.
“I hope everything is okay on the set,” she said, turning her attention back to the dark-haired man.
He smiled reassuringly. “It’s nothing Magnús can’t fix, I’m sure. The people here love and respect him. He’s a good man.”
Gemma smiled. She made another mental note about Magnús Scheving. This would be a good time to ask Stefan, someone close to Magnús, about what he knew about Sportacus or if he believed he existed.
“Stefan, can I ask you a question?” she asked, leaning forward as if to tell a deep secret.
He nodded.
“If I were to tell you Iceland’s mysterious superhero rescued me yesterday from the ice, would you think I was crazy?”
His eyes shifted nervously as if he knew something, but shrugged. “I don’t think you’re crazy at all.”
“Have you seen him before?” she asked.
“I’ve glimpsed an airship before, but that doesn’t mean it was his. There are a lot of airships around here,” he shrugged.
“What if I told you I got a picture of the airship? Could you identify it?” she pulled out her phone and flipped to the gallery.
Stefan’s body tensed. He had a feeling she knew something she wasn’t supposed to know.
Gemma showed him the photo that was well taken at Magnús’s house and she watched him closely. His body remained tense as he stared at the picture.
“Is this what you’ve seen?” she asked, pushy this time.
He nodded with clenched teeth. “Yes, that’s it. I guess you are right. He exists.”
She smiled, proud of herself. She was getting somewhere, at least. It made her feel better to know she wasn’t the only one who’s seen the ship, but she was the only one to see him.
It was time to do a little snooping, but she couldn’t do it with Stefan around.
“I need to use the restroom,” she abruptly said after putting her phone up.
Stefan’s body relaxed, glad they changed the subject. “It’s down the hall on the right.”
“I shall return,” she grinned and sashayed out of the room.
She didn’t go to the bathroom. She went in the opposite direction, towards an enormous warehouse.
“It’s time to see if I can get some kind of evidence,” she said to herself and she quietly opened the door. “There has to be something here proving anything at all.”
Gemma still didn’t believe Magnús was Sportacus, but Kim made her promise she would dig deeper with a minor threat of losing her job.
In the end, Gemma would have to make a hard decision. Her job, or Magnús.
- Writer
