Vermeer Interrupted

Chapter 5: Azathoth Strikes Back

Seville. Thursday, September 19, 2005.

On Wednesday, Sara and Neal flew to Seville with fellow musketeers Richard, Travis, Aidan, and Keiko. The hard work of completing the Red Sands trailer was over, and Sara resolved to put thoughts of Rolf behind her. After the stress of the past few weeks, she and Neal both needed a break.

They spent the next day visiting the palaces and gardens of Seville, liberally interspersing sightseeing with visits to tapas bars. They were staying in the Santa Cruz neighborhood in a charming house within easy walking distance of the sights. That evening they went to a restaurant famed for flamenco dance performances.

At the end of the evening, the six of them gathered in the living room for nightcaps.

Keiko sighed expansively as she dropped onto a couch. "We need to do this more often. I realize that the number of cons we'll be able to participate in as the Black Diamonds will be limited, but nothing prevents us from creating shared adventures."

Everyone enthusiastically supported her idea. Soon they were all tossing out ideas for future trips.

"We could connect them to Red Sands expansion packs," Travis suggested. "Mozzie has a long list of planets to be explored in addition to Mars." He turned to face Sara, and added enticingly, "Some of them are water worlds."

She raised her wine glass to him. "You're speaking my language. How many are interested in a scuba diving vacation?"

Helped along by the excellent wine, the musketeers were all ready to sign up even though she and Neal were the only ones who knew how to scuba dive.

"Add Paris to the list too," Aidan said. "As musketeers, it's high time we returned to the scene of some of our most famous adventures. I don't even care if it doesn't have a connection to another planet."

Richard smiled. "I'm sure Mozzie could dream up something. Besides, isn't Paris known for tunnels?"

Neal nodded. "Vast underground regions await the intrepid explorer. Catacombs of ancient tombs, subterranean mines—"

"All excellent sci-fi source material," Travis interrupted. "I'm sure you remember the Star Trek episode of the Horta."

"Speaking of which," Richard said with an affectionate smile at his husband, "we'll need to allocate time for Comic-Con next year."

Keiko's mouth dropped. "Do you think Red Sands will be ready for a demo by then?"

"That's Ian's goal," Richard confirmed. "What we've been working on is simply the first iteration. Our version of a Mario game. But Ian hopes to start promoting a much more advanced video game at Comic-Con with a teaser trailer."

Aidan turned to Neal. "Does Mozzie know about this?"

Neal nodded. "He's already planning a future TV series. Mozzie's convinced Red Sands will have the success of Doctor Who, and he should know."

"If we return to Comic-Con, this won't be like two years ago," Travis declared. "No tricks from Rolf allowed."

Aidan frowned. "I can't believe we still have to deal with him. He's beginning to assume aspects of a supernatural foe. I'm sure he'll be eventually captured, but won't he just escape again?"

Sara sighed inwardly at how Rolf had slipped into the conversation. But maybe it was for the best Travis brought him up. She knew he was in the back of everyone's minds. Venting might make them feel better. "Two years ago, you didn't have me along," she pointed out. "Rolf won't dare try anything now."

"My knight in shining armor," Neal said, squeezing her waist. "Rolf doesn't stand a chance." He turned to the others. "We should go ahead and plan for Comic-Con. Mozzie would point out that the last time wasn't official since he wasn't there. This time he will be."