"... you're right. This guy dropped his cell phone and I found it. I looked at the numbers and the names in it and the information told me that his name is Nick. Then a strange man called me on it and said that he was from a magic shop. A real magic shop, not a magic tricks magic shop."
"Oh, get real," said Mike. "A magic shop?"
"Yes, a magic shop." Nikki and Mike had wandered in it years ago, which meant recently to Mike. It was the same magic shop that she had seen later, that gave her the Amulet of Time in the first place. She hoped the proprietor wouldn't mind a little white lie, but at least she wasn't lying about it being a real magic shop. "He said that you and Nick had walked into the store and you laughed because the pentagram on the floor had six sides. He told you it was a Seal of Solomon."
"Wait," said Mike. "I remember that. You're not just making stories up. But we just walked out. Nothing happened there."
"He told me you were going to die unless I followed you. He also told me some things he couldn't possibly know if he was just a fake. And he said I needed to follow Nick's friend to save his life. Then he hung up. I tried to call him back, but his number wasn't on the recent calls list. And that's impossible."
"Pull the other leg. If you were making up a story you'd tell me that to explain why there was no record on the phone."
Nikki said, sadly, "There's a TV over there. Turn it on. I'm sure there will be proof." As she had heard the news on the radio during the cab ride, being on TV wasn't a far fetched idea.
Mike turned on the TV. It was showing an afternoon soap opera. There was no sign of any convenient news story. Nikki pushed Mike's hand aside and fiddled with the controls to change the channel. Eventually she found a cable channel that was mostly for ads and schedules but had a line of text across the bottom for local news reports. It read, "Limo driver shot to death at 11:30 AM".
"What?" said Mike.
"Something about me being with you made the limo driver look suspicious and he took us back to the airport. That Terry Sullivan person must have been involved in something bad. If I hadn't been there, you'd be dead!"
"I... I'm impressed. I'm sorry I doubted you." He suddenly leaned over and kissed Nikki. "That's for saving my life. So what's your real name? 'Nikki' is something you just got from Nick's name in the phone, right?"
"Right," she said. "My real name is Megan." She smiled at Mike. "I'm glad I could meet you for real."
"Will you still be staying with me, Megan? I'd love to have your company today."
"Of course I will. But I have to go in the morning. I didn't plan on being anywhere for ten days. My flight back's tomorrow morning."
"All right, Megan, would you like to have dinner with me?"
"Sure," she said, though she was a little reluctant. She wasn't really Megan and while she liked being with Mike it was as a friend. Besides, if she had really saved Mike, at some point Mike would meet the real Megan. Best to keep playing along, then go back home, to the right place if not the right time. It also occurred to her that unless the Amulet of Time started working, her plans of using the Medallion of Zulo would have to be put on hold. She had bought her plane ticket using Megan's credit card and Megan's old ID, after all. They wouldn't even let her on the plane if she changed back to Nick here.
