Page 88 of Protector Unmatched

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Zoltan watched, from a distance of about five hundred yards, how one of his underlings was diverting a private coach by holding up a sign that read, Entrance moved. Turn left for overflow parking. Dutifully, the driver followed the demon’s instructions and drove into the area Zoltan and his demons had prepared: an empty warehouse. Zoltan had taken care of the lonely security guard and put one of his own men into the man’s uniform.

The fake security guard now stood at the entrance and waved the coach into the building. When the driver stopped and lowered his window, the demon said what Zoltan had instructed him to say in such a case: “Drive all the way in and park. There’ll be a shuttle in five minutes to take your passengers to the convention.”

The bus driver was gullible enough to follow the instruction. As soon as the coach was inside, Zoltan waved at two other demons who’d been waiting in the shadows and gave them the sign to push the heavy sliding gate shut behind them.

Inside, more demons were already waiting. Zoltan hurried inside via a side door and watched with satisfaction how the humans in their costumes waddled off the bus and looked around, still unaware that they had driven right into a trap. Even the fact that the men around them wore sunglasses, when inside the warehouse it was rather dark, didn’t seem to raise any suspicions. At least not for the first minutes, when it was crucial that all passengers left the bus. Zoltan couldn’t risk one of them staying back and alerting the authorities with a cell phone call.

Zoltan let his gaze travel over the humans. Several were dressed as large, hairy, animal-like bipedal creatures he recognized as Wookiees from the Star Wars franchise. Others wore the white uniforms of the Stormtroopers, an army of bad guys from the same movies. There was even a Darth Vader, a Spider-Man, several Klingons and Vulcans from Star Trek, as well as a lonely Batman.

“When’s the shuttle coming? I don’t wanna be late for the mock fights,” a man dressed as Chewbacca said impatiently.

Zoltan approached. “Yeah, about the shuttle. There’s been a change of plans.” He motioned to his demons, several of whom now came out of their hiding places. They surrounded the humans. “I’m afraid we’ll need your costumes. And your tickets.”

Shocked gasps went through the crowd, and several curses bounced off the walls.

“You can’t just take—”

A well-placed punch from Zoltan cut off the protest. The wannabe Klingon fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Any other objections?”

Their eyes filled with fear, the humans fell silent.

“Yeah. Didn’t think so.” To his demons, Zoltan said, “Strip them—make sure not to damage the costumes. Get the tickets, too, then gag them and tie them up.”

Several of the humans put up a fight, but the moment one of Zoltan’s underlings drew a dagger and flashed it, the humans became more docile than house pets. Weaklings. No wonder they had to dress up and pretend to be somebody else, somebody stronger.

“The Darth Vader costume for you, oh Great One?” Wilson, a short, stocky demon, asked, offering Zoltan the costume.

He stared at it. “A bit on the nose, don’t you think?” He didn’t see himself as a villain. He was a hero. And a hero needed a hero’s costume. He pointed to the lone Batman, who was still wearing his costume. “I’ll be Batman.” The mask would hide Zoltan’s face from those Stealth Guardians who might recognize him. Besides, who would assume that Zoltan, the Great One, would dress up as the crime-fighting Dark Knight? The character suited him. A playboy, a philanthropist, a rich man. He could be all that.

“Good choice, oh Great One.” Wilson was already marching toward the man, who quickly started taking off the costume, his hands visibly shaking, his face a mask of fear.

Zoltan chuckled to himself and started dressing in the black garb. The costume pinched a little in the crotch and around the shoulders, but luckily, the full-body suit wasn’t made of hardened rubber, but of a softer, stretchable material. It would also make it easier for him to move during a fight, should it come to that.

It took all of fifteen minutes to strip all passengers of their costumes and entrance tickets and for the demons to tie them and the bus driver up and lock them in a shipping container inside the warehouse. It took another ten minutes for all demons to be dressed in those costumes that fit their body type. Luckily, the costumes of the Wookiees and Klingons were the easiest to suit the demons, though several had managed to don the uniforms of the Stormtroopers, and one had decided to be Darth Vader, another Spider-Man. The Stormtroopers and Darth Vader wouldn’t have to worry about their green eyes. They were hidden behind their face masks. And the Wookiees and Klingons could get away with green eyes. People would assume they’d taken liberties with the costumes. Nobody would suspect them. Zoltan’s own demon eyes were hidden behind colored lenses, which would be good for another six to eight hours. Sufficient time to find the current owner of the source dagger and take it off him.

“Ready?”

All nodded.

“Then get on the bus. We’ve got a cosplay convention to go to.”

~ ~ ~

“Thanks so much, Claus. You have no idea how much you’re helping us,” Daphne said, and shook her hacker friend’s hand. They were in the VIP lobby of the convention center in downtown L.A. Claus had handed them their tickets and ushered them past security with little more than a wink and a nod at the stern-looking guards.

It was loud in the lobby, the constant music and announcements from the main hall reaching into this smaller space. Daphne could only imagine how loud it had to be in the hall itself.

Claus, a tall guy with untamed blond hair that hung down to his shoulders, wore a Yoda costume, his employee badge prominently displayed on a lanyard around his neck. She’d always seen him as something like an older brother and was relieved that he had been able to help.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, and leaned closer. “I mean it. Don’t mention it.”

Daphne understood, and she had no intention of getting him into trouble. “You’re the best.” She hugged him quickly.

“Enjoy the event,” he said, and nodded at the men and women Daphne had in tow. “All of you. Make sure you don’t lose your tickets if you want to come back for the second day. I can’t replace them. I mean that.”

Next to her, Pearce said, “Not a problem. Thanks again. You’re a lifesaver.” How true Pearce’s words were, Claus could never imagine.

Daphne folded out the map Claus had handed her. Each section of the exhibition hall was color-coded to make it easier for the visitors to find what they were looking for. She nodded to Pearce.

“Okay, listen up,” Pearce said. “Each team takes a sector. Manus, Ryder, you guys have sector red. Hamish and Thomas, you’ll do green. Aiden and Yvette, you comb through sector blue. Logan and Gabriel, you’ll get sector orange. Enya, you’ll take Grayson and Patrick and search sector gray. And Zane, Daphne, and I will be in sector pink.”

Everybody nodded.

“I’m assuming there’ll be plenty of guys dressed up as Indiana Jones. Make sure to get a good look at his face first to identify him. If necessary, just go up to him and ask him a random question. I’m sure the people here are all about connecting with one another. Use that to your advantage. Once you find him, use your communication device to call for backup. Then stall. Follow him, and if you have a good opportunity to get his dagger, take it. If not, wait for backup, and we’ll create a diversion. Understood?”

“Don’t worry, we got it,” Grayson said. “Let’s go already.”

Pearce rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah, and a special rule for Grayson. Don’t be a hero.”

Several of the men chuckled. Daphne had a hard time suppressing a laugh. Grayson was overeager, and she knew that such eagerness could lead to carelessness. And no matter how harmless the convention was, it gave too many people too many places to hide. If the demons had found out about James Harcott, they could easily be planning an ambush. That was why Pearce had drilled into them to remain inconspicuous and not draw attention on themselves.

“Let’s roll,” Pearce said.

Daphne met his eyes. “We can do this.”