Rollie Tyler, Australian special effects wizard, stared dazed at the ugly face leering down at him. Abruptly coming back into focus, he recognized the gargoyle head. The head was actually a pot, the fangs hanging over the edge of a primitive altar. The lid could be removed by gripping its pointed ears and twisting slightly. The gargoyle pot was a small but essential part of the elaborate set he and Angie Ramirez, his assistant, had carefully built with the help of the prop crew in preparation for the next day's shoot of the movie's climactic scene. They had transformed the interior of a New York City warehouse into a primitive temple complete with altar, crude stone walls and arched doorways.

The work had been going smoothly and Rollie was calling the director to come and check their work, when three men dashed in waving guns around. They realized how dangerous these men were when one slammed his gun hand into the side of Rollie's face. Rollie dropped to the floor and the big man stomped hard on the cell phone in the lanky Aussie's left hand, breaking the phone. Fortunately, Rollie was wearing his special leather gloves and the bits of the phone had not cut into his hand, however it still felt like something could be broken. Angie tried to go help her boss, but was thrust roughly back. The warehouse had filled with the sounds of sirens as police units surrounding the place. The three men were bank robbers and sought refuge in the old building when they wrecked their getaway car trying to evade the police. Now with the movie crew as prisoners, the man who attacked Rollie demanded an unmarked van and safe passage. If the police did not provide it within half an hour, they would start killing their hostages.
 
Rollie and Angie recognized the voice of the police officer trying to negotiate with the robbers, Lt. Pete Stone of the Emergency Services Unit. Pete was a friend of Rollie's and both knew that Rollie's best mate, Detective Leo McCarthy and his partner, Francis Gatti, were likely out there as well. All of them would be looking for a way to rescue their friends, but it would be next to impossible to get inside the warehouse to take out the robbers without endangering the hostages. Also, it was unlikely the police could meet the time limit given, since rush hour had begun.

Unfortunately, the robbers did not care about the logistics of the situation. The leader roughly tied Rollie's hands together and once more slamming his gun hand into Rollie sent him sprawling in front of the altar and into full view of the open doors and the waiting police. In less than ten minutes, Rollie was scheduled to be sacrificed on the altar of violent crime.

A minute before the deadline was reached, imperceptibly at first, but with growing force the gargoyle head began to vibrate. A low hum filled the air, growing steadily in volume. The three robbers stared warily at the head when it suddenly erupted, the lid flying into the air. Blood gushed out of pot, pouring down on Rollie's head. With a loud rumble, the arches surrounding the altar collapsed, sending dust everywhere. E.S.U. officers poured in the open entrance, targeting the criminals with the red laser sights on their weapons. Shocked by the strange experience, only the leader managed to fire a single wild shot in the general direction of the helpless Tyler, before surrendering to the overwhelming firepower of the police.

Leo and Francis darted in, right behind the E.S.U. assault, guns at the ready. Seeing the robbers being secured by the other officers, Leo turned his attention to where he had last seen his younger friend. "Rollie! Are you all right? Rollie?" He waved at the dust only just now settling from the air, and moved apprehensively forward. Only the altar was clear of debris. The police detective was slightly surprised when the large stone he pushed shifted easily. Recognizing that the stones were light props, the detectives started to dig out their friend. They were quickly joined by Angie, paramedics and some of the movie crew. Moments later, Rollie was revealed, drenched in what Leo and Francis realized was fake blood. Remembering that gun shot, they hoped it was all fake and the bullet had missed its intended target.

Rollie stared up at Leo's and Angie's anxious faces, blinking rapidly, trying to clear the fake blood and dust from his eyes. He spluttered slightly, then gave a wry grin. "Do you think someone could get these ropes off me, mates?"

With a relieved smile, Angie immediately moved to cut off the ropes with an Exacto knife. The paramedics moved in to check the extent of his injuries. Leo just shook his head in exasperation and relief.

"Wow! That was something! How'd you do it?" Francis was amazed by the elaborate results that Rollie and Angie had created. "Angie, did you do that?"

"Not me." Angie replied casually, trying to act like she hadn't been worried. "That was all Rollie."

"But, how? You were tied up in front of everybody!" Gatti queried with a puzzled look.

Rollie waved his right hand, drawing attention to the PDA strapped to his forearm. He winced as the paramedic touched the bruise forming at his right eye, checking his pupils.

"Looks like you're going to have quite a shiner." Leo told his friend. "Are you okay?"

"Basically, but I guess I'll have to get my hand x-rayed. Make sure nothing's broken." Rollie glanced at the mess surrounding him and sighed heavily. "Man, now we're going to have to set it all back up. Looks like we've got a long night ahead of us, Ange."

Just then, a stout, balding man entered the building, looking around in astonishment at the cops and the mess. "Director on board." Angie murmured to her boss and slipped away, unwilling to deal with him or his probable attitude.

"Rollie! What's going on? Where did all these cops come from and what happened to my set?" Somehow, he managed to sound both angry and worried.

"Ah, well you see, Fred, there were these three guys..." Rollie started explaining.

Leo waved the weary man to silence. "Bank robbers decided to hold your crew hostage. Luckily, Rollie here distracted them long enough for us to capture them. Quick thinking on his part. It could have been a blood bath!"

Startled, the director rocked back on his heels for a second, trying to reorder his thoughts to this unforeseen circumstance. "Is everybody all right?"

"Everybody, except Rollie. They decided to beat up on him." Leo was laying it on a little thickly, managing to give the impression Rollie was hurt worse than he actually was without really saying so.

Fred gave a sharp look at his senior FX expert. "I think you better take at least a couple of days off, Rol. We can shoot filler and close-ups. We'll reschedule the climax for when you're up to it." With that, the director bustled away.

"Not bad, Leo." Angie was back and admiring the way the older man had handled the "important" man. She gave Leo a look of silent thanks, Rollie really did look wiped out and she was tired, too. Re-setting the effect and set was definitely not on her priority list right now.

"Yeah, Leo. If you ever decide you're tired of being a cop, I might put you to work handling our business relations." Rollie was thoroughly amused by his friend's expert dissembling. He also figured he was safe, no way Leo McCarthy would ever take over that job!