Starfleet insignia. That he knew what it was already boggled his mind. “What about you? You aren’t dressed up, and no one’s staring at you.”
“I belong here. I have the word ‘nerd’ written all over my face. I don’t need to dress the part. Besides, everybody knows me.”
She could say that again. She’d been greeting people from the second they’d arrived at the convention.
“I never come dressed up,” she continued. “I was always the designated driver. One of us needed to look normal on our way here from LA in case the cops stopped us.”
Christy took his hand, and they started navigating the horde of aliens, robots, and people attired like they were in a medieval fair. A group of people with long hair, pointy ears, and capes speaking some language he couldn’t make any sense of caught his attention.
“Elvish. What they were speaking¸” Christy explained.
“Nuts.”
“Don’t worry. My friends don’t wear plastic pointy ears.”
Well, that was reassuring.
“They’ve gone through surgery. Pointy ears are a good investment for geeks. A two-fer. They can be elves or Vulcans, depending on their mood and the event.”
Cole halted. Fuck him. Where was the end of the world when he needed it?
Christy giggled. “Kidding. Jeez, you turned white.”
Aside from the Vulcans and Klingons and Starfleet officers, all uniforms extremely familiar to him already—which was crazy, really—there were Star Wars characters all over the place.
“Geeks are solidary people. Whatever sci-fi show rocks your boat, we dress up for it. Farscape, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings. Last year we had a treasure hunt on the Strip. Trekkers against people from Middle Earth. Hilarious.”
Sure. His stomach already hurt from so much laughing. “Fuck.”
Christy turned to him. “You don’t have to come to the convention if you don’t want. You can stay in the hotel. I’m used to it. Todd always—”
Cole interrupted her with a short but possessive kiss. “Don’t give a shit what that fucker used to do. You’re my woman. I’m not leaving you alone, in Vegas, during Valentine’s weekend.” She loved this convention, so he was going to grow to love it too. Or to fake it really damn well.
She caressed his face, her expression soft. “I wasn’t comparing you to him. I’m just saying I’m used to ‘normal’ people bailing out on this kind of event. This is Vegas, after all. Most prefer staying in the casinos to gamble and see shows.”
“Not much of a gambler, sweet thing.”
“Okay. Now, about my friends. D4C is a famous YouTuber. Don’t piss her off.”
“D4C?”
“Her nickname. Long story. I’ll tell you later. Just remember not to piss her off. She has several million followers. I think only the Gangnam Style guy has more traffic on his channel. I love her to death, but she can be extremely mean if crossed, and she has an army of Internet minions at her disposal.”
Cole snorted. “I survived in Afghanistan. I think I can handle a YouTuber.”
Christy’s doubtful glance wasn’t too reassuring. “The guys are very easygoing. Brett is a hard-core Vulcan fan. Do not get the Vulcan salute wrong, or you’ll hear about it for a long time.”
“What makes you think I have a clue what the Vulcan salute is?”
“True. Pete is his partner. He always comes to the conventions dressed up as a Klingon. More than anything, to annoy Brett. Vic is our wild card. He changes outfits every year.”
“What… He has a closet full of costumes?”
“Outfits, honey. Or uniforms. Geeks take offense at their outfits being called costumes.”
Jesus fucking Christ. “How did you meet this bunch of lunatics?”
“Internet,” she answered. “Back when the laptops weighed two tons. Oh, and remember, don’t call them or anyone here Trekkies. They’re Trekkers. Some are Niners. This is important. You don’t want to start a feud. And last but not least, never mind what you hear, don’t question Star Trek science. Very tricky subject. Extremely touchy.”
God, he’d better keep his trap shut. He’d managed to deactivate IEDs for twelve years without losing a limb, but he wasn’t sure to leave unscathed from this Star Trek convention.
Suddenly, he heard a high-pitched scream.
“Christy!” A girl dressed up like…he wasn’t clear what, came running at them. She hugged Christy and then looked him over from head to toe. “I didn’t know we were chipping in for a bodyguard.”
Christy laughed. “We aren’t. This is Cole.”
“Oh, wow. Nice to meet you. I’m the Borg Queen.” Borg Queen? To him she looked like a psycho dominatrix from the future. His face might have given him