“Okay, I’ll bite. What kind of job at which con? And most important, who told you I was looking? You haven’t even seen my show yet.”
“It’s fulfilling work,” said Warrior Guy in that beautiful voice. “Life-changing stuff. Your science background is impressive, and we’d like you to start immediately.”
“My science background?” He’d published two papers, both in midlevel journals. Not exactly a NASA-level résumé. But he supposed to most people, even being in a PhD program was an accomplishment.
“We looked at your papers. The ones on carbon chains and um…. Look, I didn’t understand a word of it, but—”
“I did,” interrupted Doctor Strange. “And we need your help. We offer excellent benefits and—”
Josh laughed and held up his hand to stop them from talking. Whatever this was, it had already eased his nerves before the show, and he was grateful for that. But they were about to open the doors, and that meant he was in the last few minutes of preparation. He was beyond excited for his big con moment, and these guys were distracting him from living his glory to the fullest.
“Mr. Collier—” Doctor Strange said.
“Guys, I have no idea what you’re trying to do, but I don’t have the time to discuss it now. You can buy me a drink afterwards and—”
“It would be really better if we talked now,” Warrior Guy said. “This is going to happen, Josh. You’re going to love this job, but it has to happen now.” There was a clear note of desperation in his voice as he added, “Please, just come with us. Take the pill, step through the magic mirror, grab on to adventure with both hands.”
Josh smiled. He had to hand it to Warrior Guy. He certainly delivered corny lines with true passion. “Okay, sure,” he said. And at the sudden brightening in the warrior’s eyes, he laughed. “Right after the show. I promise, you guys get to buy me the first drinks.”
“Wait—” the warrior began, but Doctor Strange shook his head.
“Save it,” he said. “We can’t give him enough details to convince him of anything. It has to happen the hard way.”
That sounded threatening, as did the way the warrior’s face shut down before he gave a clipped nod. Josh frowned and then gestured to the stage manager. Her name was Megan, and she couldn’t do anything to either guy, but she had a walkie-talkie and a direct line to hotel security. “Megan, you need to call hotel security. I don’t think these guys are registered attendees.”
Megan nodded from as far back as possible. She knew she was no match for these guys if they ended up belligerent, but she was quick with her walkie-talkie. Fortunately, there was no need. The warrior held up his hands in surrender.
“No security necessary,” he said in that still-beautiful voice. “We’ll find our seats.” His expression was so locked down that his glorious eyes seemed even brighter.
Not one to be a full pushover, Megan nodded. “That’s great, but I’ll need to see your con badges first.”
The warrior shot a dark gaze at his wizard companion. “I told you we needed to buy badges.”
“For thirty minutes?” the other one countered. “We have a flight to Seattle in three hours.”
The warrior grimaced. “Josh, please help us out. Look, my name is Nero, and this is Wiz. We came here just to meet you.”
“Me.” The word was heavily laced with skepticism. “Why?”
“To offer you a job. On the level.”
Josh didn’t believe a word of it. This was not how his life worked, but his game-loving soul wanted to believe it could happen. Wasn’t that how all good stories started? With a call to adventure? He still thought it was a joke, but he wasn’t immune to the flattery of it all. These guys had gone to a lot of trouble to do whatever-it-was to him. He could give them a break.
“Megan, let them watch the show.”
“They don’t have badges—”
“I’m allowed a couple guests.” And since his family wouldn’t be caught dead at a fantasy convention, he was here solo. “Put them in the front row, keep an eye on them, and I’ll make sure they leave right afterwards.”
She frowned at him. “Are you sure?”
No. He hadn’t a clue how he would get these guys out if they resisted. But that was a worry for after his show. “Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay,” she said. “This way, gentlemen.” She started escorting them away but then paused long enough to wink at him. “Break a leg, Josh.”
He grinned at her. “Thanks.” He watched as she led them to seats in the front row, far left. They got there just in time, because a moment later the doors opened and people filed in. People, fairies and elves, heroes and heroines from a wide variety of literature, and a whole bunch of Star Wars and Star Trek characters. Not everyone was in costume, though. Some people didn’t bother until tomorrow, but the cool ones did. And Savannah was front and center in her Wednesday Addams outfit. Thank God he’d reserved her seat, because otherwise she’d have been stuck in the far back.
He wanted to wave to her but couldn’t step out from behind the curtain, so he distracted himself from his nerves by checking out costumes and hot guys. No one compared to the warrior who ought to have gone with the centurion costume, assuming his name really was Nero. It just made sense. What didn’t track was the way the guy was sitting mountain-still in his seat, his expression so tight it could have been carved.
