Chapter 3

I took my injured side into consideration, and decided to pass on joining the throngs of people weaving in and out of the daylight-bright casinos of the Strip. I walked off the Boulevard, and down the block to my apartment building. I would have been hard pressed to find a more decrepit building this close to the strip, but any place fancier would have attracted notice. When I wanted comfort, I circulated among the the fancier suites of the myriad resorts of the strip. I unlocked the door to room 404, and opened the door to an unexpected amount of noise.

Crap was playing on the radio, loudly enough that it drove the pain of my side out of my mind. I walked into my apartment, closing the door behind me. "Elise?" I called, guessing as to the source of the noise. No response. "Elise!" I shouted over the music.

"Hi, honey!" A blond head ducked quickly out of the door to the apartment bathroom. I regretted once again giving her a key to my apartment. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Elise knocked the bathroom door shut behind her as she walked out. The sheer garment she had on -- I believe she would have called it diaphanous -- would have been a pleasant surprise on any other night, but my aching side left me uninterested in what was underneath it. She cooed, "Good evening, sugar. Do you see anything you like?"

"Not tonight, Elise," I said, perhaps coldly.

Her face fell. "What?"

I tried to recover; she was my girlfriend, after all, and was satisfied with my hole in the wall apartment. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I just had a long, rough day."

"I was trying to make sure you had a long, rough night," she responded, frowning. "Apparently, though, your desk job was too strenuous." I briefly regretted lying about my job, but didn't feel inclined to fully explain to Elise exactly what I did for a living, or how much I would have preferred to be roughed up by her now than by George at the start of the evening.

"Honey, I appreciate the offer--" I corrected myself as I saw her eyes flash into anger, "I mean thought. Just come here, and give me a hug, and let me make it up to you later."

Elise came over, and went to hug me, then froze. "You were with that bitch."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"That redheaded bitch who keeps trying to steal you away, what's her name at the bar..."

"You mean Shauna?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Oh, so you know who I'm asking about?" Elise stepped back from me, hands on her hips, projecting anger. The posturing was ruined by the fact that she was wearing solely that transparent nightgown. "I can smell her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you denying it?"

"No, I stopped by the bar for two minutes to try to see if a coworker was in. I spoke to Shauna when he wasn't there, but that was it. What exactly do you smell?"

"Her cheap-ass cigs. What exactly did you say to her?"

"Hi!" I answered, aggravated. The louder I got, the more my side hurt. This night was going downhill. "Elise, darling, I can assure you. I have never, and will never date Shauna. We're friends, and have been for years."

"You check out her chest every chance you get."

"It's hard to miss!" The moment I spoke, I knew it was the wrong answer. Elise was well-built, as well, but her leggy blonde look left her a mite sensitive against implications that she wasn't feminine enough. "She's just a friend. A friend! I've known her for almost a decade, but I don't come home to her, and I don't want to."

Elise's head tilted curiously, and unexpectedly a grin broke across her face. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

The mercurial shift in her mood left me bewildered. "I... am not sure. What do you think I'm saying?" I smiled back, hoping that the conversation was headed back to happy effectively- naked girl mode, rather than furious soon- to- be- ex- girlfriend mode.

"You are! I'd love to move in with you!" Elise squealed, then grabbed me in a hug.

Oh shit. "Well, dear, let's not be too hasty..." I didn't want to ruin the relationship, but I most definitely didn't want a roommate -- especially this week. "I mean, it's late, and I'm really tired. Tomorrow's looking really bad as well, some last minute meetings." I fleshed out my plan as I went. "Let me just get to bed, and then through the day tomorrow. We'll get together for dinner on Wednesday night and talk about it..."

My backpedalling went unnoticed, and Elise swooped in to hug me. Apparently, she could overcome the Shauna's taste in cigarettes, but my ribs couldn't handle the hug. Elise was so happy she missed the agonized expression on my face, and swirled back into the bathroom, where she threw on clothes, chattering all the while. Her words swirled over and around me; I just wanted to lie down. I waited patiently by the couch, not trusting myself to sit down. Elise finally finished up in the bathroom, and came out in jeans and a sweatshirt, her long hair pulled back into a harsh pony tail. No one outside would know how phenomenal she looked a few minutes earlier, which was far safer in my apartment complex. Elise came over, murmuring, "Good night, my sleepy boy. I'll see you Wednesday, and we can discuss when I'm moving in." I muttered agreement noises, as she swished out of the apartment. The door closed, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I walked over to the still- blasting radio. A quick twist, and blessed silence filled the room.

I poured myself a shot of Talisker, served on the rocks with a splash of water. I sipped it slowly, holding an ice bag to my side. I pondered how to setup my work for the next day. I poured myself a second shot, then let myself out of my aparment. I crossed the hallway and let myself into my other apartment, 403.

I flipped on the lights, and walked across the mostly empty apartment. I carefully circled around the mystical symbols on the floor, and walked over to the second bedroom. I paused at the doorway, and stepped ever so carefully over the boundary lines drawn on the floor. I have never been able to effect magic, but I had copied the lines studiously from some hard to find texts; I could only hope they worked. The modern numerical significance of 403 did mean, however, that I would be able to do what I was about to without risk.

I placed my drink down besides my humming desktop. I logged in, and connected to the reservations system for the Bellagio. No, I shouldn't have been able to, but the travel agent who's account I was coopting had that access. Over three years, and she still hadn't changed her password. I scanned the list of guests, focusing on the high roller suites, and for a few special names. I made my notes, then moved on to the Wynn, then the Mandalay Bay. I went through the Vegas hotels, starting from the Strip and moving out to build up my list of current interesting individuals in town.

I gave up after thirty hotels, and realized I could probably get what I wanted to from the Strip alone. I picked up a clean cell phone, and dialed a number from memory.

"Jack Styles."

"Hi, Jack, this is John from the control room of the Tropicana." There was always a John who might work in the control room. "I was just reviewing the new arrivals, and wanted to make sure that some people had been flagged."

"Go ahead."

I listed off the people who had checked into the various Strip hotels. Styles listened, and I could hear a pen scratching in the background. "Our systems aren't integrated into the rest of the strips, so I found your number, and I just wanted to be sure..."

Styles spoke in his gravelly voice, "Thanks, John. I'll make sure we keep our focus on them."