not close the entry door to the room all the way. He slid off the bed to take care of it.
Alex placed the palm of his hand against the door and started to give it a shove. As he did so, he felt a slight pressure pushing back. The door would not budge, as if someone was trying to open it from the other end. He peered around the crack in the door and caught a glimpse of a large man in dress slacks and an open collared shirt leaning against the door. It was the same man he had seen several times in the casino.
The man hesitated, surprised at being caught in the act. “Uh, hotel security, sir.” The voice did not convey authority. He sounded unsure, as though he were trying to remember a script he had been rehearsing. The thought of the cell phone and the strange woman flashed across Alex’s mind. Was this part of the test that he had been nervously waiting for?
“Is there a problem?” Alex asked. The man’s only response was to take a step back, and then crash his portly body against the door with all the force he could muster. The impact sent Alex flying back into the room, his body sprawled across the floor at the foot of the queen size bed. His mind raced, trying to come up with a plan of action. Was he supposed to fight back? His shoulder throbbed from the blow, but nothing appeared to be broken. He tried desperately to regain his normal breathing pattern as the man stepped inside the room, using his meaty paw to slam the door.
“Am I supposed to fight back, buddy? You have to tell me what the plan is.” The man answered by reaching into his sport coat and pulling out a gun. Alex lunged for the dresser to the left of him, reaching for a bottle of cologne to toss at the man. He hurled it at his attacker, but the man’s gun already was poised for the kill, its single black eye looking at him with no emotion. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion as a gun went off, the noise echoing in the hallway. Alex stared dumbfounded as the intruder stopped in his tracks and looked down at his chest, which now had a black stain in the middle of his white shirt. The shot did not come from the fat man’s weapon. Another shot erupted and the man’s knees buckled, his pistol falling harmlessly on the carpet and landing just a few feet from Alex. The bulky carcass of the man crashed to the floor. Instinct told him to grab the dead man’s gun. His confusion now turned to fear. The man was certainly dead. Two rapidly increasing dark spots enveloped the large man’s back as his twitching body lay face down on the hotel floor. Standing in the threshold of the open doorway, already holstering her weapon was the beautiful woman from the airport.
“ Alex, grab your wallet and the cell phone I gave you. We’re leaving right now,” she demanded in a tone that was very calm considering the situation.
“Who the hell are you, and what the …” Alex got cut off in mid-sentence.
“No time to talk. We need to get out of here or we’ll both be dead. More men are on the way. Grab the phone or I’ll shoot you as well.” The shocking comment and serious look on her face stunned him into motion, and he rushed for the bathroom sink to get it. She grabbed it from his hand and they raced down the hallway to the staircase.
“What about the elevator?” Alex blurted out as they ran.
“No way. This is faster. Besides he may have men controlling it. Not sure.”
The metal door leading to the stairwell closed behind them. Alex glanced back, peering through the small glass square at the top of it. A few people had poked their heads out of their rooms, trying to ascertain the source of the noise. Alex watched as another man exited the stairwell at the opposite end of the floor with his gun raised. The man purposefully made his
Alex placed the palm of his hand against the door and started to give it a shove. As he did so, he felt a slight pressure pushing back. The door would not budge, as if someone was trying to open it from the other end. He peered around the crack in the door and caught a glimpse of a large man in dress slacks and an open collared shirt leaning against the door. It was the same man he had seen several times in the casino.
The man hesitated, surprised at being caught in the act. “Uh, hotel security, sir.” The voice did not convey authority. He sounded unsure, as though he were trying to remember a script he had been rehearsing. The thought of the cell phone and the strange woman flashed across Alex’s mind. Was this part of the test that he had been nervously waiting for?
“Is there a problem?” Alex asked. The man’s only response was to take a step back, and then crash his portly body against the door with all the force he could muster. The impact sent Alex flying back into the room, his body sprawled across the floor at the foot of the queen size bed. His mind raced, trying to come up with a plan of action. Was he supposed to fight back? His shoulder throbbed from the blow, but nothing appeared to be broken. He tried desperately to regain his normal breathing pattern as the man stepped inside the room, using his meaty paw to slam the door.
“Am I supposed to fight back, buddy? You have to tell me what the plan is.” The man answered by reaching into his sport coat and pulling out a gun. Alex lunged for the dresser to the left of him, reaching for a bottle of cologne to toss at the man. He hurled it at his attacker, but the man’s gun already was poised for the kill, its single black eye looking at him with no emotion. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion as a gun went off, the noise echoing in the hallway. Alex stared dumbfounded as the intruder stopped in his tracks and looked down at his chest, which now had a black stain in the middle of his white shirt. The shot did not come from the fat man’s weapon. Another shot erupted and the man’s knees buckled, his pistol falling harmlessly on the carpet and landing just a few feet from Alex. The bulky carcass of the man crashed to the floor. Instinct told him to grab the dead man’s gun. His confusion now turned to fear. The man was certainly dead. Two rapidly increasing dark spots enveloped the large man’s back as his twitching body lay face down on the hotel floor. Standing in the threshold of the open doorway, already holstering her weapon was the beautiful woman from the airport.
“ Alex, grab your wallet and the cell phone I gave you. We’re leaving right now,” she demanded in a tone that was very calm considering the situation.
“Who the hell are you, and what the …” Alex got cut off in mid-sentence.
“No time to talk. We need to get out of here or we’ll both be dead. More men are on the way. Grab the phone or I’ll shoot you as well.” The shocking comment and serious look on her face stunned him into motion, and he rushed for the bathroom sink to get it. She grabbed it from his hand and they raced down the hallway to the staircase.
“What about the elevator?” Alex blurted out as they ran.
“No way. This is faster. Besides he may have men controlling it. Not sure.”
The metal door leading to the stairwell closed behind them. Alex glanced back, peering through the small glass square at the top of it. A few people had poked their heads out of their rooms, trying to ascertain the source of the noise. Alex watched as another man exited the stairwell at the opposite end of the floor with his gun raised. The man purposefully made his
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