The man being interviewed was a tough guy in a suit with a short haircut, which pretty much screamed MCB. “You know, that guy looks like he’s in really good shape for a CDC spokesman.” Trip found the remote on top of the bar and turned the volume up.

“There’s no need for alarm. Everything is safe and contained. One of the guests at the casino showed symptoms of a very rare type of African hemorrhagic fever.”

“Is that like Ebola?” asked the nervous reporter.

The agent looked right at the camera. “Yes. Exactly like Ebola. Which is why we suggest that everyone stays well back from the containment area. It is very contagious.”

“Is there any danger of it spreading?”

The MCB agent gave a fake laugh. “Oh, no. Everything is perfectly safe and there is no danger at all to the city of Las Vegas. The people inside may be inconvenienced, but our doctors are testing them now. Once we are certain that no one else is infected then they will be released. The whole procedure should only take a few days at most.”

“Great. We’ve officially got Ebola.” If the hundreds of innocent people trapped in here hadn’t been freaked out before, they would be now. I looked over at Trip. “How much you want to bet somebody at the MCB is getting screamed at for forgetting to shut the cable off into here before that aired?”

The TV turned to static. “Jinx. Way to go, Z.”

“Sorry.”

We continued walking through the oddly lit neon wonderland of beeping and clicking slot machines. It felt odd being so empty of people, but the entire casino floor area had been closed off. There had been some argument about what to do with everyone stuck here. Some of the casino staff had wanted to try to stick to business as usual, but Earl had been rather persuasive that that was an incredibly stupid idea. Since word had arrived from their management that they were to cooperate with us, they had acquiesced.