Caught on Camera

Chapter 21, Part 34

Chapter 21

She's All That

Thirty minutes of excruciating stop and go rush hour traffic later, Mickey impatiently stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the television studio, a dozen red roses clutched in a fist, and dismissed Halden's rented limo and driver. Flashing his agent credentials convinced a security guard to let him slip in to the small EJ! Canada studio. In vain he scanned the audience for an empty seat. The burly bald guard motioned him to stand to his right against the rear wall beside the exit.

Down on the set under bright metal halide lights, in the returning champion position behind the console, stood Rachel, stunning in a green dress.

"This Canadian actor starred in Speed with Sandra Bullock." The game was in progress, the tape rolling, the audience quiet as it waited for a contestant to answer the host's question. Rachel clicked the hand-held signal device in an imperceptible lightning movement. "Who is Keanu Reeves," she said, not a hint of a question in her confident tone.

"Correct," responded the host, a younger clone of Alex Trebek, the Canada-born long time host of Jeopardy!

"Hollywood or Bus for three hundred," Rachel requested.

Few squares remained under the six categories on the massive game board behind the host, indicating the double round to be in the final stages. Mickey noted the dollar values on the board were half those of the flagship U.S. version of Jeopardy! He surmised the Canadian producers didn't have equivalent access to syndication revenue. California had a larger population than the entire country of Canada.

Concentrating intently, Rachel appeared oblivious to the cameras, the two grim male contestants to her left, the audience applauding every correct answer. One by one, Rachel knocked off the remaining squares, adding hundreds to her runaway lead.

During the break between the Double Round and Final Question, Mickey shifted his focus from Rachel to compare the contestants' scores and anticipate the bets. Rachel ranked first, with $9,900. The scores of the two male contestants were $1,300 and $2,800 respectively. Would Rachel minimize her bet to walk away with almost ten grand in case she lost, or would she risk it all in a bold attempt to maximize her winnings?

He thought back to their time together. At the gazebo before the wedding rehearsal, Rachel hung back, shy and lacking confidence. But he held no illusions that he seduced her after the wedding reception. When she wanted something, she went for it.

The Final Question flashed on an overhead monitor visible to the audience. "Three sci-fi television series -- The X-Files, Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica -- have this in common," intoned the handsome host.

The studio audience hushed for thirty suspenseful seconds as Merv Griffin's Think! tune played over the speakers. The three contestants scribbled on their pads.

Then it was time for the first reveal. The male contestant on the far right shook his head and frowned as the bet on his incorrect answer, "Who is Producer?" was deducted, dropping his total to $650. The middle contestant correctly answered "What are filmed in Vancouver?" and his all-or-nothing bid of $2,799 increased his score to $5,599.

The audience held its breath until Rachel's neat handwriting appeared. "What are all filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia?"

"Correct," the host enthused.