Down Among the Dead Men Read Online Free Page B

eleven they're on schedule and with some good material safely filmed. The scenes Quinner's sweated on train journeys, in cold flats, at cafes and bars, are brought to glowing, vibrant life right there in front of him. Noone delivers on take after take. He might have been a wildcard casting with some questionable social habits – Quinner has heard a whisper that Alix isn't doing his make-up any more – but he has to admit that Soames and the others had been on the money about the American. When Quinner had first seen Noone he'd had doubts about the actor being ableto play a period piece but he seems to inhabit the costumes and role flawlessly. There's an unforced quality to his work that Quinner has only previously seen with experienced performers. Noone's a natural, perfect from the first take.
    'Break,' calls Susie Burrows. 'Set up scene six.'
    The technical crew begin dismantling the tracks and lights and moving them to the second location, just a few metres round the bend of the tunnel. The actors wander to chairs, reading their scripts. Noone drifts to the table set up by the caterers and fusses over a coffee. He selects a pastry and stuffs it into his mouth.
    'Happy?' says Josh Soames and Quinner nods.
    'Working really well, mate. I don't have anything useful to add.'
    Soames, looking every inch a director – glasses, two-day beard, expensively rumpled clothes – wanders off, happy. 'It's having a good script, Dean,' he says as he goes, 'that makes my job easy.'
    Quinner sits back and stretches, pleased enough to take the compliment whether Soames means it or not.
    As he does, he sees Noone moving in a shadowy area behind the set. A leather jacket is draped on the back of a chair and Quinner watches Noone slide his hand inside and remove something. Noone slips what he's taken into his pocket and drifts away to make easy conversation with Bea, the continuity girl.
    Quinner looks around.
    What the fuck?
    No one apart from himself seems to have witnessed the theft. For a few seconds Quinner runs through the sequence again to check it had really happened. He knows the jacket isn't the actor's. Their clothes are in the wardrobe and make-up trailer parked outside the tunnels.
    Quinner sits back. This will take some thinking about.
    An hour later and he finds out whose jacket it is.
    Chris Birchall, one of the sound men, is cursing that he's lost his wallet. The theory is it's been dropped during the setting up and Nicky is detailed to see if he can spot it anywhere.
    'You seeing everything all right?' Noone's voice is low in Quinner's ear and he jumps.
    'What?'
    They're standing ten metres or so from the little knot of excitement around Birchall.
    'You getting a good view of all the action? From here, I mean.'
    Quinner looks at Noone closely. The guy doesn't seem to be worried. Amused, if anything.
    'Are you all right, Ben?'
    Noone laughs softly. 'Never better, Dean. I'm just asking you if you like what you see.'
    Quinner steps a little closer to the American. He can feel the challenge on a basic, instinctive level and Quinner's never been slow to back himself. 'Yes, I did,' he says, looking directly at Noone. 'I've been watching everything very closely. Good performance. Very smooth.'
    There's a pause in which the two men hold each other's eyes in the way which usually precedes a confrontation. It's Noone who breaks the moment.
    'Well, best get back to work, Dean. No rest for the wicked.'
    Quinner reaches out and puts a hand on Noone's upper arm.
    'That last take you did?' says Quinner. 'I reckon you could do that again. Make it better.'
    Noone looks for all the world like he's considering Quinner's suggestion as a menu choice. Fish or lamb, sir?
    'Nah,' says Noone, smiling a movie star smile and shrugging Quinner's hand off his arm. 'I got it.'
    Although they've been speaking in code, both of them know the score.
    You saw me and I don't care. What's going to happen to your movie if you kick up about this?
    Quinner's been