The thing was on him without warning. One moment, Duffy had been floating on his back beyond the surf, resting for the swim back to his Malibu beach home and dreading the thought of having to deliver the surfeit of inane one-liners the writers had managed to pack into the day's script. Then, in an instant, he was being sucked down into the dark, murky water, panic seizing him as he sank like a stone.