We had no heavy weapons. We had almost nothing left as far as explosives. The ammunition supply would be sufficient for maybe one decent engagement, and we were sorely regretting all the silver .308 we’d wasted on a nearly empty gas station. Cooper had been given the assignment of improvising some explosives, so he had drafted a few other Hunters, some of the staff, and even one of the strippers Holly had invited, and was teaching them how to make IEDs. Hotel security had one arms locker that they were very proud of, but which was relatively lame by our standards. Mitch had claimed its contents for his staff who were guarding the casino’s vault.

Trip and I had gone back out on patrol. There weren’t nearly as many of us wandering around now. Rumors were spreading like wildfire amongst the trapped guests, and it had started getting really heated. One tourist had lost his temper and taken a swing at one of the Brazilian Hunters, who had promptly choked the fellow unconscious. It is never smart to get into a wrestling match with a Brazilian. That had gotten a few more people riled up, and so now all of our more diplomatic Hunters were occupied babysitting.

This whole situation was really bugging me, but there was one thing in particular that was eating away at my calm. We took the elevator up to the roof to check on my wife’s team. Team was a real overstatement, since basically Julie had grabbed anyone who had brought a rifle with a high-magnification scope and stuck them where they could get the best view. I knew she had collected four people, two who didn’t speak any English, and an orc that wouldn’t leave his helicopter.

We’d procured a key card from Mitch that let us access the areas that were normally restricted. It was windy and surprisingly cold on the roof. The morning sun was a pale globe over the desert. Las Vegas was a different animal in the early sunlight; a big, lethargic, sleepy, decrepit, sleazy animal that had stayed up too late drinking the night before and woke up grumpy. Since the Last Dragon was one of the tallest buildings in the city, Julie had a commanding view of the strip from here.

I spotted my wife at the far corner of the roof. She had her back to us, and was braced against the railing, watching something far below through her scope. I wanted to talk to her alone. “Do me a favor and check on Skippy,” I told Trip. “See if there’s a phone up here and he knows to answer it if it rings.”

“Does Skippy even know how to use a phone? Guess I’ll find out.”