Alexander Plansky - Arcadia

“Wouldn’t it fall to a county sheriff’s office then?”

“Yeah, but he can probably get access to their system.”

Lewis massaged his temples. “I can’t believe I’m really going out there tomorrow and doing this shit.”

Ricky laughed. “Neither can I, pal. But you and Jenna do me a huge favor and watch your fucking backs out there, alright?”

Sunlight brushed across the tops of the palm trees lining the Strip, bathing the sides of casinos in an early evening glow. The road was cast in shadow by the structures on the west side of the thoroughfare. A smile came to Lewis’s face as he took in his surroundings.

The last time he’d been in Vegas had been for a trip the summer just before his final year of college, once he and all of his friends had turned 21. Lewis, the youngest of the group, hadn’t come of age until a week before the trip. What little he remembered of the weekend had been very good; the rest was an intoxicated blur in his memory.

The rented black Corolla cruised past Planet Hollywood, Bellagio and its famous fountains coming up on the left. Lewis glanced over at Jenna, who sat behind the wheel. A pang of nervousness shot through him as he saw her briefly glance down to check something on her phone.

“Jenna!”

“What, I’m just quickly checking my–” Her eyes widened and she looked ashamed for a moment, her attention returning to the road. “Right, sorry I forgot how big a deal that is to you. Especially after what happened.”

“It’s really just a safety concern, nothing personal.” But they both knew it was very personal for him. “How far is it now?” he asked.

“With this traffic, no more than five minutes.” She’d been here more often than he had for championships and conventions.

And she was right. Roughly four minutes later they took a left and pulled up the main tropical foliage-lined drive to the Mirage complex. Lewis could see a giant glass dome and the hotel itself, which had three wings going off so that it looked like a giant Y from the air. The large porte-cochère was split into two areas by a divider laced with jungle flora, one for taxis directly outside the sliding doors of the front entrance, and the other for valet parking.

Jenna pulled up into the parking area, and a hotel staffer opened the door for her. Lewis stepped out of the passenger side and took a deep breath of chilled air as he looked around. The temperature was in the low 60s, but it was expected to drop down to the 50s or even the high 40s this evening. He’d always found it interesting how the desert could be blisteringly hot in the summer and frigid in the winter. Vegas had even seen snowfall on exceedingly rare occasions.

The valet popped the trunk and pulled out their suitcases. “Thank you,” Jenna said, handing him the car keys. She and Lewis pulled up the handles on their luggage and walked over to a path that cut through the divider and led straight to the entrance. Taxis stopped, giving them the right of way.

Lewis began feeling a strange sensation as he and Jenna strolled across the walkway. Once they reached the curb, he stopped and looked back. He could see nothing out of the ordinary, but he could have sworn it’d felt like he was being watched.

“Des!” He turned to see her gesturing for him to follow her inside. “Let’s go!”

Taking one last look behind him, he joined her again and together they stepped into the indoor oasis.

Directly ahead was a tropical botanical garden beneath the glass dome, a walkway snaking through it. The area to the left led off into a vast sea of slot machines and gambling tables, while to the right the long reception counter stood in front of a glass aquarium that ran its entire length.

They checked in and received their keycards for a room on the 19th floor. As they walked to the elevators past the casino, Lewis felt the strange sensation again. A quick glance around yielded no apparent stalkers, but this did little to ease his fears. A professional would be highly skilled at blending into a crowd. He quickened his pace.

“Whoa, slow down,” Jenna chuckled.

He pressed the button for the lift and tapped his left foot impatiently. The doors finally opened, letting out a businesswoman and a man in a Hawaiian shirt. Lewis and Jenna entered the elevator and he rapidly pressed the Close Door button.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked, half-joking.

Mercifully, the doors closed before anyone else could slip in and the steel box lurched upward.

Lewis breathed a sigh of relief. “Nothing. Travel sometimes makes me a bit anxious.”

“I know you’re lying.”

“I just want to get to the room, that’s all.”

“Still lying,” he heard her mutter under her breath, but the conversation ended there.

The room’s window faced south. Lewis saw they had a clear view of the Coliseum of Caesar’s Palace and the Eiffel Tower replica across the street. Further down the Strip, Lewis could see the sleek, modern architecture of the Cosmopolitan, and in the far distance, part of the Sierra-Nevada mountain range. He knew the sights would become even more breathtaking once everything lit up for the night, but they were still about an hour from sundown.

“What’d you say we go out on the town tonight?” Jenna’s voice called behind him. “Vegas nightclubs are legendary, but I’ve only been to a few.”

Lewis turned around. She was lying on the bed with her hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. “I’d like to, but…” He used the first excuse that came to mind. “I’m feeling pretty tired and I’d rather not be around crowds. There’s lots to do here, why don’t we just stay at the hotel for tonight?”

She propped herself up on one elbow and gave him an understanding look. “Okay, sure.” It had, after all, been only two days since his near-death experience. He would be able to coast on that for a while longer. Lewis didn’t want to tell her he was worried about them being followed if they left the casino.

Or worse.

Several hours and three drinks later found Lewis sitting beside her at a bar, staring at the wavy wooden paneling that undulated across all the walls around them. The place was called Stack and located on the Mirage’s main floor, just out of reach of the smells of cigarette smoke and desperation that characterized the casino.

They’d had an early dinner at another restaurant, then played a couple rounds of low-stakes blackjack. Between the two of them, they’d made a small profit of $20 and had decided to celebrate their luck.

Sitting to the left of him, Jenna downed the rest of her third G&T and asked for another. “How much of this can you expense?” she asked with a grin as she turned to him.

“A fair amount. We shouldn’t go crazy, but I’m sure my boss won’t mind too much given recent events.” And if he was truly onto something, the story he’d write in the aftermath of all this would pay enormous dividends.

He was starting to feel the buzz now, but too many thoughts weighed on his mind for him to enjoy it. Lewis’s gaze focused on the wall as his mind shifted through information. The Andromeda website, Victor Zhao’s smug grin taunting him, the delivery man trying to warn him as he lay dying in a pool of his own–

“Hey,” Jenna said, nudging his shoulder. “You look bummed.” She looked a little tipsier than he was.

He briefly smiled back at her, then picked up his glass and examined the remainder of his Blue Hawaiian absent-mindedly in the dim lighting of the bar. “It’s just been a big week, that’s all.”