Chapter 12 Paparazzi

12. Paparazzi

- Finally! What happened to your phone? We've called you over a thousand times, we've been trying to reach you for almost two hours, David! Jesus Christ! Have you seen the websites, the news, and everything that has been published about your adventures in Italy in the last few hours?

David's agent, Paul, handed him a tablet where they were running stories and stories, links, and news reports about David Nichols' secret escape in Italy that had echoed on absolutely every social network?

At this point, Nina had gone to the bathroom. There was not a drop of blood on her lips. She couldn't think of anything other than the possibility that they had photographed her. She thought of the attacks she would suffer, she thought of the unbridled exposure, she thought of the millions of comments and judgments that anonymous people all over the world thought they had the right to make, using the telephone as a weapon of oppression. She was so nervous that she sat dazedly on the toilet machine and upon hearing the two's conversation at the door, she almost panicked. David quickly came to check where she was and saw that the bathroom door was closed. Her agents kept talking non-stop:

- For God's sake, David! What were you thinking? The paparazzi have had pictures of you since the first day you set foot here. I'm referring to every careless step you've ever taken! What is happening to you? Thank God we managed to suppress the story of the fight in the nightclub. David calmly replied:

- There was no nightclub fight.

The other agent, Tony, kept talking:

- All those years of discipline thrown away for a pair of panties and a bra? Who is this girl? I hope you didn't pick her up on the street, because you haven't been you for a few weeks. We don't doubt anything anymore!

At this point, David felt his pride insulted. He looked at them so seriously that I could have sworn he was going to forget his English education:

- Paul. Listen to me. That's enough! Don't speak in that tone.

They were talking while the pictures of David and Nina in the nightclub, getting into the car, going to the opera, all the steps they had taken since their first day, were passing by. In all the pictures there was only Nina's silhouette. Either her back was turned, or the pictures were blurred and out of focus.

- And there is more, David. - Paul said. They didn't get the security camera footage from the spa, we did, or we would have ended up with the place in a lawsuit. They gave it up. Do you know what was on the footage? Scandals! Ammunition for the media! Her barefoot, holding glasses and wine on the street? What kind of a woman is this that got wet and half-naked wandering around in a place like this in all the security camera angles? Holding her clothes? You are not used to this kind of people. Where are your exquisite, discreet, sophisticated models? You have always been surrounded by women and you have never leaked anything to the press that they themselves did not give to the paparazzi. How could this happen now? We have everything with us here for you to destroy... - The agents kept passing the photos around.

- Pictures on the balcony? On the balcony?" asked Paul.

- Private verandas! A private spa restricted to patients. No cameras are even allowed...replied David.

- Don't you know that some employees of a place might not give a damn about losing a job they probably hate if they had the opportunity to get rich selling pictures like these?

- Are you taking a good look at these pictures, David? - asked one of the agents.

- Yes.

- These photos here are amateurish. Still, they must have been worth a lot of money! They are all over the Internet. All the positions look very strategic, you standing, the woman with her head on your chest on the balcony of the room, always hiding her face... always on her back, in this one you are helping her up in the restaurant here... The focus was on your face! She was sleeping on your shoulder in the car, her face always turned away? - asked Tony, continuing to flip through the pictures.

- Something doesn't fit! They couldn't take pictures of this woman's face, her plan must have gone wrong, if it was a fame she wanted, it backfired! It was an employee who took these pictures. - Paul added. - Or she made a deal with the paparazzi to split the money. Did you know that they are blackmailing us? They want a lot of money so that they won't show her face in the rather sexy scenes with you. Why wouldn't they? Think! She was the one passing on all the times and places where you would be, so it's obvious that she had a deal with the paparazzi. They knew everything! A con artist! It wouldn't be the first time. You know what the scandals that some of your exes cooked up to have cost us. - Paul reminded him.

David didn't hesitate when he heard all these insults against Nina, even more so because he knew she was listening, so he exploded screaming:

- Enough Paul! Enough Tony! Wow! Stop cursing someone you don't even know! I understand your concern, but no matter what came out anywhere, it's not her fault! It's already done. It's my fault, not hers. After all, do they have pictures of her or not?

- Are you listening to yourself? They are paparazzi... if they were watching you of course they have pictures of her! What has this woman done to you? She's taking advantage of your fragile moment to get fame and money! They are professionals! - said, Tony.

- Whoever she is, she's messing with your head, she must be... And don't look at us like that. In all the years of your career, you have always been the most careful. You have an image to uphold! Just now, with the premiere of so many things together... the apex of your career, don't get involved in scandals! Remember what is happening with Johnny and Amber, the couple with so little time together ended up exposing their marital fights, violence, abuse and so many other accusations, which now cost John his career! - said Tony, trying to warn him against Nina.

- You have always been the most correct, the most polite, the most professional. Whoever this is, end it now, and come back with us to wherever it is you need a few more weeks of vacation, but end it now! We will fix and reverse all of this. I guarantee it. - Paul said. And they continued to analyze the events together with Paul and David.

- We already have a strategy for everything. I don't know what this woman is planning, the paparazzi are blackmailing us, they said that there are pictures of you in very sexy scenes on the balcony rubbing yourself with the same woman for the last six days... badly taken pictures, which means that the paparazzi didn't know about the spa, or they infiltrated as clients and God only knows what they took. Everything indicates that it was some employee sent by her. - Every minute the agents had a new conclusion about how those pictures leaked to the press. - I am already taking the necessary steps. Some badly taken pictures in a park, at a fair, in a cinema, in a theater and so on. We will use heavy force to turn this to your advantage. You are already the darling of the ladies anyway, and after we use this to solidify your image as the underdog, they will go crazy? - said Paul, vibrant with his ideas.

- I can already see the title of the article: "David Nichols, people like us! I'm going to use his adventures this week to get as many interviews as possible, and we're going to heavily publicize the new series and films to come. Let's do all the projects at once. And this con artist, besides not getting any fame or money, will help us! Can you believe it? No pictures of her face, always hiding her face, looking at the ground, it seemed that she already knew! Hat? Hood? Specific walks in public? Did she want mystery? She wanted the world to wonder, "Who is this woman?" Well, she did! All the gossip outlets keep asking that question. All setup, David! A strategist! We will not pay the amount the paparazzi are demanding not to publish the woman's pictures. We will turn everything against her. If we have to, we'll accuse her of setting the whole thing up! You will be a hero! - said Tony with the full support of the other agent, Paul.

David was so angry with those insults against Nina, at the same time he was stunned with all that news, he had not taken his eyes off the tablet since the agents entered the room, his head was spinning with the things he was reading and rereading... And meanwhile, Nina was crying desperately in the bathroom when she heard such accusations. She had a towel over her mouth so as not to make any sound, while the tears kept dripping. The agents were psychologically "machine-gunning" him with their antics and strategies, while he didn't know whether to continue hiding Nina from the agents or to open the bathroom door and comfort her. He didn't want to fight with his team that had always been by his side since the beginning of his acting career, but he couldn't let them offend Nina like that. He didn't want the agents to see her there, but he had no choice...

- This someone is called Nina Dahl. And David walked to the bathroom door and knocked on the door, asking Nina to come out. She was terrified. She heard the whole conversation and didn't know how she was going to face those people who had just called her a whatever, a career-breaker, a con artist, and many other insults.

- Nina. Please open up!

Nina didn't say a word. The agents were perplexed to learn that she was there with him.

- Please, Nina. It's me, David. I'm asking you. Open up!

He kept knocking and knocking passively. He put his hands on his head, the agents talking, Nina locked in, suddenly everything spun around for him, all that mental exhaustion he had felt at the shootings was coming back to the surface in that instant, the agony of hearing them talk, all that verbal venom, the pressure, the pictures, the whole situation. David put both arms up with his hands clasped against the door where Nina was standing, leaned his face against the door and, already panicking, asked her one last time to come to his aid:

- Nina. I'm not well. Open the door. Please help me!

And Nina got up running from the bathroom floor and opened the door immediately. The two of them looked at each other with such a sad and pained look on their faces that they couldn't resist hugging. Nina's face was all red and wet from crying, and he was feeling sick. The two of them leaned on each other and sat on the edge of the bed. Nina wiped her tears, pulled herself together again, and ran to her bag to get her first aid kit.

The two agents were standing there watching them.

- Are you a doctor? Paul asked, giving them a contemptuous look.

- No, sir. I'm a nurse.

Soon the agents tried to push her away and take control of the situation. They offered medical help, wanted to call an ambulance, or the trained staff at the spa rest clinic, but David refused. He asked the two to step aside and let Nina help him. Nina measured every possible vital sign with her instruments and knelt in front of David, asking him to listen to his officers.

- Is there something wrong with me?

- Your measurements are outside normal parameters, blood pressure quite high, pulse unregulated, temperature. Please let a doctor examine you.

- Tell me what you think first.

- Maybe you are having an anxiety or stress crisis, I say this because of the previous pictures, it must be an incidence because of all this now, the shortness of breath, nervousness, a bit of mental confusion.

At this point, they both gave each other a slight smile.

- And their heartbeats are racing. Your stress may be cumulative, that has built up over time, or because of this sudden situation, you may be experiencing anxiety. These crises can have physical and psychological consequences. Nina was inducing David to lie down as she spoke, she was explaining the terms of his possible nervous breakdown to divert his attention from the problem, so that he would shift his focus, calming himself down. He followed her every move attentively, staring into her face.

- Do you have medication?

- It's against regulations, David. Even if I did, I can't give you medication without a more detailed examination. You need specialized service. Not to mention that you've been coughing all night (he looked at her frowning) - Yes, I heard, and I found you very warm a few minutes ago before all this happened here. You were sweating. - Nina explained, not for an instant looking at the two agents.

- Are you taking any medication from the clinic? - asked one of the agents.

- No. Only therapies and the rest you know.

- So, let's get this over with, shall we? Let's make sure it's nothing major, okay? Let's go to the hospital by ambulance. - Nina ordered.

- Only if you promise to stay with me. - he begged in a desperate tone of voice.

- David.

Nina looked at him and saw that his face was trembling, his lips were trembling, and she didn't have the heart to bring up the fact that she had to catch a plane later.

- Promise, Nina. He wouldn't let go of her hand. His pupils were clearly dilated. She wasn't sure if that shaking was due to fever or if he was in a phase of emotional delirium, she only knew that he needed urgent help.

- Promise me! Promise me you won't get on the plane to Norway today. - David was talking quite upset. - Give me your word of honor. I know you don't lie. I know. Just stay here. Promise!

- I promise, David, I promise. Calm down. Help is on the way.

- You're coming with me. I'll protect you, no one will be rude to you, I swear. I won't let anyone hurt you. Nobody!

And within minutes, David was being treated by specialists at the best clinic in town. They had to sedate him. All possible tests were done to rule out the possibility of any disease. He would have to remain under observation in a hospital clinic until the results came back.