Paul Tradez walked through the conference room door three minutes late and went right to the coffee service to pour himself a huge cup of caffeine before sitting down in his padded chair at the head of the table. Fin, Ruben, Sal, Kay, and Jair were already seated, their eyes as red and bleary as his were.
“It’s only Day 2,” said Paul, “And you look wiped out already. I told all of you to get some sleep, at least the first two days. You’re going to have a hard time making it five days if you look like this after day one.”
Fin cocked her head at him in disbelief and gave him an austere glare. She sat ramrod-straight in her seat, her dark skin contrasting with the cream-colored, lace-trimmed 19th century dress she wore. Her hair was a mass of curls piled atop her head beneath a matching cream-colored hat that sported a single pheasant feather. Only her bleary red eyes belied the image of composed control that she projected. “You are the worst of us,” she said,
“I saw you dancing with a woman dressed as a green-skinned alien at three a.m.!”
“To be honest, that was body paint. I couldn’t tell you if she was dressed at all.”
“It’s just like every year,” said Ruben, who lounged as if sitting was an art form he had to lend his own style to. His hair was black and red. From above he would appear as a ladybug.
“I couldn’t go to sleep,” said Paul, “The energy this year is unlike any other year we’ve done the con! I am really excited! And I think we’re going to make a killing!”
“About that,” said Kay, her fluffy blonde hair cascading down the shoulders of her rumpled clothes. Paul was sure she was still wearing the same slacks and shirt as the day before. “I have some grim news.”
“Is something wrong?” asked Paul, “I saw that Programming had to put the Dresden Files Cosplay Contest off until Saturday. That’s bad but I wouldn’t say grim.”
“I would call it an inconvenience,” said Fin.
“In Registration our numbers are down by at least a third from last year,” said Kay.
“That’s impossible!” said Paul, “I’ve never seen the vendor hall so packed!”
“Everywhere is packed,” said Jair, “My security guys can’t keep up with the crowds. And Registration’s numbers are down because most of the crowd doesn’t have badges. I’ve got eyes on all the access points and I can’t keep the extra people out. It’s like they’re appearing out of thin air!”
“That’s not the worst of it,” said Fin. She set a device on the table that looked like an antique bulky flashlight.
“What's the problem?” asked Paul.
Fin picked up the object and turned it on. The device hummed as a meter long shaft of brilliant light extended from the end.
“That is the most amazing replica I have ever seen!” said Paul.
Fin brought the shaft of light down and effortlessly sliced through the table.
“Oh.”
Sal took something that looked like a screwdriver out of his pocket. “You should see what this can do,” he said, “It’s amazing!”
“Stuff like this is all over,” said Jair. He held up a red and yellow toy blaster. When he pulled the trigger, a beam shot out and Paul’s coffee disintegrated. The table fell silent.
Paul stood and went to the coffee service again. He returned with another coffee. When he sat, he was neither smiling nor seemed amused. “Better coffee up, team. This is going to be a real meeting.”
Comments