Chapter Text
"This is actually a good plan," Claire remarked, her voice muffled through her mask as she carefully cut the strawberries and dropped them into the little plastic cups.
The catering tent was busy but not chaotic.
Crew members came and went in clumps, grabbing food, coffee, fruit, and whatever else they could get before the next call time.
Yes... Colt's plan was for them to do catering at the staff camp for the movie shoot until filming ended tomorrow.
Six hadn't liked it at first, because covering his whole face while doing catering had sounded suspicious on paper.
But apparently the catering lead preferred everyone handling food to stay covered for safety reasons, so masks, hats, gloves, and hairnets were all part of the uniform.
That was the only reason Six had agreed. He still didn't like it, but he had fallen for it anyway.
Claire slid another cup forward and looked up at him. "See? We fit right in."
Six said nothing as he handed a cup to one of the crew members and moved to the next tray. He was standing behind the table, masked, gloved, and hooded low enough that only his eyes showed.
To everyone else, he was just another quiet worker helping out.
To anyone who knew how to look, he was still tense.
Still watching.
Still counting exits.
Colt had said they would blend in here.
Six had agreed only because blending in was better than waiting in a motel room while the world kept moving without him.
Claire nudged his elbow with hers. "You are thinking too hard again," she stated, a little worried for Six.
"I'm working," Six said flatly.
"Same thing for you," Claire replied in a beat.
Six glanced at her.
Claire ignored the look and kept slicing strawberries.
Across the tent, Colt stood with Jody and Dan beside a folding table covered in storyboards, stunt diagrams, and half-empty coffee cups.
"The latest shot was fabulous," Jody said with a grin. "Exactly what I imagined for my big boy Jamie crashing into the scene."
Colt chuckled, one hand resting on his prop harness as he shifted his weight onto one leg. "Glad you liked it."
Jody flipped to the next page on her clipboard. "Now, for the next shot..." She pointed to a rough sketch of the scene. "It's a shootout. Do you remember the choreography, Colt?"
Colt answered without even looking at the drawings. "Jamie takes cover behind the overturned SUV." He said as he started counting with his fingers. "Three shots from the left, I return two, dive through the driver's window."
He then mimed the movement with one hand. "Roll out the passenger side."
He looked at Dan and pointed at him. "You cue the explosion after my second roll."
Dan nodded. "One-point-two seconds after you clear the vehicle."
Colt pumped the air and fist-bumped Dan. "Exactly."
Jody smiled. "I knew you'd remember."
Dan folded his arms. "Let's walk through it anyway." He stepped into the open space beside the table, using traffic cones as makeshift markers.
From the catering tent, Six watched his brother work.
He knew Colt had always been reckless, and now... he'd somehow turned being reckless into a career.
His eyes followed every movement.
Colt moved like it was second nature—no hesitation, no wasted motion, like the danger was already mapped out in his head and all he had to do was follow the lines.
Six’s gaze narrowed slightly.
That was the part that bothered him most.
Not that Colt was doing it... but that he was good at it.
Dan raised a hand. “Reset. Same timing, but tighter spacing.”
Colt nodded once and stepped back into position.
Jody tapped her clipboard. “And remember, the camera is going to be low on the passenger side. So your roll needs to stay visible but keep the face invisible.”
Colt gave a lazy salute. “Got it. Invisible face, visible suffering. My specialty.”
A few crew members nearby laughed.
Six didn’t.
His attention shifted slightly as Colt reset again, rolling his shoulders once like he was loosening up for something routine.
Routine.
That was the problem.
Danger wasn’t supposed to be routine.
Colt crouched behind the cone again.
Dan lifted his hand.
“Action.”
Colt moved.
Fast.
Clean.
Three shots.
Return fire.
Step.
Pivot.
Dive.
The motion was smooth enough that even Six had to admit it was precise.
Too precise.
Like a system.
Like something that had been tested too many times to be called improvisation anymore.
Colt hit the ground, rolled once—
Then twice—
And came up on one knee, exactly where he was supposed to be.
Dan nodded sharply.
“Good. That’s it.”
Jody clapped once. “Perfect.”
Colt exhaled and stood, brushing dust off his hands.
“See? Easy.”
Six’s jaw tightened slightly.
Easy.
He hated that word more than anything right now.
Because nothing about what he was watching was actually easy.
Not for Colt.
Not for anyone standing that close to controlled explosions and timed gunfire.
Colt walked back toward the table, still smiling like it was just another rehearsal day. He grabbed a bottle of water and took a long drink.
Then, without looking, he said, “You’re staring again.”
Six didn’t respond.
Colt tilted his head slightly, eyes flicking toward the catering tent. “I can feel it.”
Claire, still beside Six, leaned in a little. “Your brother has a sixth sense for being judged.”
Six finally spoke, flatly. “I’m not judging.”
Colt lowered the bottle. Colt smirked as he finally looked up at Six. “Sure you’re not.”
A beat passed.
Then Colt’s expression softened just slightly. “Relax, Court. It’s choreography. Not war,” he reassured.
Six’s eyes stayed on him. “That’s what people say before it becomes one.”
Colt giggled and picked up a bowl of sliced fruit from the catering table. He grabbed a strawberry with a plastic fork and tossed it into his mouth before pointing the fork toward Six.
"I've been doing this for years. Relax," Colt said, chewing casually. "There's a few injuries here and there, but never reached triple digits."
Six folded his arms, completely unimpressed.
"Why?"
Colt raised an eyebrow.
"Because I trained myself not to get hurt," he replied with a shrug. "I didn't just jump into lava and start swimming blindly, alright?"
Six's expression didn't change.
"You broke three ribs."
"Once."
"Your back."
"Compressed vertebrae."
"Your ankle."
"Healed."
"You were shot."
"Blank round debris."
"You were hit by a car."
"It was scripted."
"You fell off a building."
"There were airbags."
"You jumped through a window."
"Sugar glass."
"You let things explode next to you."
"Controlled explosions."
Six stared at him, as if his eyes could burn into Colt. "They're still explosions."
Colt let out a laugh. "They're controlled explosions."
"That's not comforting."
"It is to me."
"It shouldn't be."
Claire quietly snickered as she continued filling fruit cups, trying not to make it obvious that she was enjoying watching the two brothers argue.
Colt immediately noticed. "See? She gets it."
Claire shook her head. "Nope," She said, pop a slice into her mouth.
She pointed her fork toward Colt. "I get why he's worried." She then pointed at Six. "But it's your fault for disappearing."
The words landed harder than either brother expected.
Six sighed. "To protect their future, Claire. I already told you. So stop asking and continue slicing."
Six turned back to Colt, the brief moment of quiet between them almost immediately replaced by the familiar focus that came with planning.
"Where are we staying tonight, and when are we leaving to see Ryland tomorrow?" he asked, his tone returning to business.
Colt blinked at the sudden shift. For a second, he looked like he wanted to comment on how quickly Six could switch from an emotional conversation back into mission mode.
Then he remembered who he was talking to.
Of course he could.
Colt rolled his eyes. "We leave in the afternoon. Not sure what time yet," he answered, leaning against the catering table. "Tonight, you two can stay in my trailer with me. Very private. Jody has her own, and we rarely share one because she needs a lot of personal space to plan the story she's directing."
Six listened quietly, his eyes scanning the area around them even as Colt explained the arrangement. The answer wasn't what he expected, but it made sense. A trailer on set was safer than another motel, and being surrounded by a film crew gave them a level of cover that a random room never could.
"Private?" Six repeated, looking back at Colt.
Colt raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Private."
He gestured around the movie camp. "Actors, Jody as the director, some stuntmen... they all get their own trailers to stay and sleep. It's cheaper for production than booking a hotel for everyone."
Six glanced toward the rows of trailers parked near the set.
Colt continued, "Nobody's going to bother us. Everyone here thinks I'm just a stuntman with some guests."
Six didn't answer immediately.
His eyes moved across the area.
Crew members.
Security.
Equipment trucks.
Multiple exits.
People constantly moving in and out.
It wasn't a perfect location.
Nothing was.
But it was better than a motel room with one door and predictable surroundings.
Colt watched him analyse everything. "You know, most people would just say, 'Yeah, sounds good.'"
"Most people don't have enemies looking for them," Six snapped back.
Colt startled at the snap.
The words weren't loud, but the edge in Six's voice was enough to remind him that, despite standing in the middle of a bustling movie set, his older brother hadn't relaxed for even a second.
Six's eyes never stopped moving. One moment they were on Colt, the next they were sweeping across the catering tent, the crew, the nearby trailers, every entrance and exit. Even with Claire safely beside him, he looked like a man expecting trouble to appear from any direction.
Colt's expression softened.
He wasn't offended.
If anything, seeing Six like this made the last eighteen years feel even heavier. Whatever Court had gone through after disappearing, it hadn't taught him how to rest.
It had only taught him to survive.
"Yo, Co! Next shot!" Dan shouted across the set, pulling Colt out of his thoughts.
Colt looked over and raised a hand in acknowledgement.
"Coming!" He replied and turned back to Six and Claire. Since neither of them had been introduced to anyone on set, he kept his words deliberately vague.
"I've got to get back."
Six gave a single nod. "I know."
Colt hesitated for a second before speaking again. "Stay here. Catering's probably the least suspicious place on the lot."
"We weren't planning on going anywhere," Six replied.
Claire looked between them. "I'll make sure he doesn't accidentally adopt another mission while handing out fruit."
Six shot her a look. "I don't do that."
Claire raised an eyebrow beneath her mask. "You absolutely do."
Colt laughed quietly, the sound easing some of the tension that had built between them. "She's got you figured out already."
"I regret teaching her to think."
"You didn't teach me," Claire said as she reached for another container of strawberries. "I watched."
That earned the faintest twitch at the corner of Colt's mouth. "Good luck with that," he muttered to Six. "I've been saying the same thing for months."
Dan called again, louder this time, with a tiny voice break on the end. "Colt! Cameras are almost reaDY!"
Colt sighed dramatically, giggling a little at that voice break. "Yeah, yeah! I'm moving." He took a few steps backwards before pointing at Six. "And try not to interrogate the catering staff while I'm gone."
"I wasn't going to."
"I know that look."
"You don't."
"I do."
With one last grin, Colt turned and jogged toward the set, seamlessly slipping back into his role as the stunt performer everyone there knew him to be.
Six watched him go until he disappeared behind the overturned SUV where the next scene was being prepared.
Only then did he quietly fold his arms again.
Claire noticed. "You're going to watch the whole stunt, aren't you?" She asked, smirk on her face.
"...Yeah."
"You don't trust the safety team."
"I don't trust luck."
Claire looked toward the set, where crew members were making their final checks before filming.
Somewhere beyond them, Colt was joking with Dan as if he hadn't a care a thing in the world.
She looked back at Six.
He hadn't taken his eyes off the set once.