I could a tale unfold - 9

Ross frowned as he walked into the costume shop, seeing a young man he didn't recognize holding the doublet for Hamlet's first act costume. "May I ask who you are and what the hell you think you're doing?"

The young man spun around, wide-eyed, dropped the doublet, and then sprinted towards the back of the shop, disappearing in between the fabric racks.

Stopping just long enough to pick up the doublet, laying it on a cutting table, Ross took off after him. When he reached the rear wall of the shop, he realized the young man had vanished. He quickly checked to make certain he wasn't hiding somewhere before deciding the guy must have back-tracked down one aisle while he was going up the other.

When he returned to the front of the shop, Beth and one of the other girls walked in. "Did either of you see a man, dark-haired, maybe five nine or ten, in the hallway?"

Both of them shook their heads. "It was empty, except for us and a couple of the tech crew guys," Beth replied. "Why?"

"Because he was in here when I arrived, messing with one of Kirk's costumes." Ross went over to pick it up; checking it carefully to make certain the young man hadn't damaged it, before hanging up back where it belonged.

"Maybe a tourist? They do try to sneak in to see the backstage area if they can, you know," the other girl said.

"I might agree, if the building was open for the day, but it's not. Mucho strange. Well, hopefully, whoever he was he's long gone by now."

The rest of the day passed in a flurry of activity, Ross and his crew working to finish the basics on the costumes for the lesser members of the cast. Those for the leads were completed, just waiting for a final try-on in case they needed some last minute alterations.

By the time Ross sent his crew home, he was ready to drop. He had the feeling Kirk was probably in the same shape, so he stopped to grab two Styrofoam cups of coffee from the break room before heading towards the auditorium.

As he turned the corner, he felt as if someone was watching him. Looking back over his shoulder, all he saw was the empty hall. Putting it down to nerves and tiredness, he continued on his way.

Half an hour later, tossing his empty cup in a trashcan at the back of the theater, Ross started on the one he'd gotten for Kirk. Chandler was still giving notes, but at least things had gotten that far. Kirk was sitting on the edge of the stage as he listened, Hildie on one side of him, Tracie, who was playing Ophelia, on the other. They all looked as if they'd been run through the wringer, but the women still managed to chuckle at something Kirk said.

Finally, after a few closing words, Chandler let the cast go. Kirk jumped down, striding up the aisle to join Ross. "My coffee?" he asked with tired amusement when Ross handed him the half-empty cup. "At least you saved me a bit." He downed it in one gulp before crumpling the cup, throwing it at the trashcan, and then putting an arm around Ross' waist, saying, "Let's get out of here."