Julie heard my approach and quickly turned to see who or what was coming towards her. Relief flooded her face. She was just as jumpy as the rest of us. “Hey. Glad you’re here.”

“You should keep somebody close by to watch your back,” I chided her. “Remember what happened to Hugo.”

“I’m not stupid,” she answered as she slung her M-14, her manner suddenly defensive. That usually only happened when I was right, which wasn’t very often. “I’ve been doing this longer than you have.”

“You pulling rank on me, dear?”

Julie frowned. That had been a cheap shot, though as MHI’s business manager she did outrank MHI’s accountant. “I’ve only got four people and a really big area to watch.”

“Then I’ll go ask for some more,” I answered gently.

“Fine.” Julie relented. “Sorry, I’m touchy is all.”

“Me too.” I took a spot next to her at the railing. Looking over the side made me dizzy, but it didn’t seem to bother her any. Her dark hair was loose and blowing in the wind. There was something I was worried about, but I wasn’t ready to broach the topic yet. “Anything new and exciting?”

“There are snipers on the casino’s other rooftops. They’re watching us right now.” I looked around but couldn’t see anything. “Don’t bother. They’re pretty well hidden. Down here,” Julie pointed to the right, “is the pool and the gardens. You might want to have the staff lock those doors, because people are still wandering out there looking for a way out, but I’m not seeing any of our patrols, so I don’t think we knew that part was still open. Oh, and I know where Presumptuous Trout went.”

“Huh?” It took me a moment to realize that Julie had decided to jump on the bandwagon and start making fun of Paranormal Tactical too. “Those jackasses? Where?”

She nodded at the barricades on the street. “Stricken has hired some contractors to work security.”

“Son of a bitch.” I didn’t have the scope, so would have to take her word for it. “What douchebags.”

“The word that came to mind for me was whores. Other than that, from here I can see in the windows to the conference center and walkway over the concourse. I saw Earl walk through there a minute ago, looking madder than usual.” Somebody had already given her a brief summary, but I told her all the details from the grim conversation with Stricken. “So do you think the science experiment in that containment unit was the thing that’s supposed to end the world that your dad has been trying to tell us about?”