“Oh, come on! It isn’t a disease, it’s a…” I was the only person standing in the parking lot. There weren’t any bystanders to spill the beans on monsters. There were probably Las Vegas cops in range of my voice, but it was hard to tell with the lights. “You know what it is. See this?” I gestured at my armor. “Who else dresses like this? I know you’re watching me through a scope. Crank up the zoom.” I pointed at my happy-face patch. “See? I’m MHI. I know what’s up. Let me talk to Franks or Archer or somebody that has a clue. We’ve got a situation in here.” I began walking toward the cars.

“If you come any closer we will use force.”

“Just get Franks.”

“I’m warning you. Don’ t come any closer.”

“Listen, asshole—” I jumped when the bullet struck the pavement three feet from my boots. Fragments pelted my armored shins. “Shit! Okay, okay, I’m going back inside.” Turning, I walked back toward the front entrance. “Son of a bitch.”

There still hadn’t been any official word from the government as to why they’d locked us in here. All we knew was that they’d worked fast, completely containing the casino in less than half an hour from the initial alarm. The agents that had been staying here had been seen receiving calls and practically running out of the place. Someone had given them an order to pull out within minutes of the event. Who that someone was, and what they knew, was still a mystery.

My radio hissed in my ear. “Told you that would happen.”

She had warned me this wouldn’t work. “Thanks, dear. Any luck?”

Julie and a few other Hunters who had brought sniper rifles had gone up to the roof to get a better picture. “None of our regular MCB contacts are answering. They cut the landlines a few minutes ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get a jammer here soon and shut down everything else. I think they’re instituting a complete communications blackout. I got off a message to Grandpa in Alabama, so at least somebody on the outside will know what’s happening.”

“Aw, hell. I’ll be there in a second.” I took one last look at the outside. As far as I could tell, the authorities had locked this place down tight. Other people had tried to leave from some of the other exits, but they’d been turned back too. Some of the anti-Hunting activists had even been turned back with a tear-gas canister, and a Hunter from Jai Jiwan Security from New Delhi had a nasty welt from a rubber bullet. The fact that they’d launched a real bullet in my general direction wasn’t a good sign that they were getting more patient.