way down the hallway as the curious hotel guests went into self-preservation mode and slammed their doors shut.
“What are you doing? Get down here now!” The woman demanded from the flight of stairs below him.
“Someone came out of the other stairwell. He has a gun.”
“ No shit. I told you they were coming. The valet will not hold my car much longer. You have two seconds before I put a bullet in your head.” They dashed down the stairs without another word. Alex followed the woman like a dog being led around on a noose by its owner. There did not seem to be any other options. They raced through the casino, drawing annoying looks from gamblers, and loud reprimands from the pit bosses who barked at them to slow down. It was still quiet in the casino. The evening crowd was still a few hours from arriving.
As they approached the front entrance of the hotel he suddenly realized he may be an accomplice to murder. He could see a hotel employee holding open the door to an SUV. The young man was staring at them with a look of annoyance. Alex’s only hope was that this was part of the game. The woman pushed through the revolving door at a rapid pace, causing the doors to hit an elderly couple who were moving slowly on the other side of the circle. They toppled to the floor as Alex and the woman emerged from the interior of the casino out on to the front portico of the hotel.
She stuffed a wad of money into the valet’s hand and apologized for being late. With no one else to trust, he followed her lead as they climbed into a silver Toyota 4Runner that was idling at the front of the line of vehicles. She floored the gas, and the bulky vehicle shot out onto Las Vegas Boulevard, causing a limousine to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting them. Alex did not know where they were going and did not care. He just desperately wanted some answers.
“I need to know what’s going on here if I’m going to pass your test.” The woman shot him a look of fiery intensity with her eyes that told him to remain silent. Alex immediately thought of the dead man in the hotel room and shut his mouth.
Chapter 15
Aman stretched his portly figure across the massive purple couch, trying his best to make himself comfortable. The man just would not shut up. He held the phone away from his ear so he could clearly hear the sound of the East Coast accent, while not having to actually listen to the words. The man Zach chose to be his attorney general continued to read through a long list of things he wanted to do and people he wanted working for him. Attorney General designate Samuel Rodenbeck was a typical Northeastern personality who expected to get what he wanted as soon as it was asked for. He was currently rattling off a string of abuses that the previous administration committed, and how he intended to rectify them.
A top graduate of an Ivy League law school, which one Aman had purposely forgotten, Samuel liked to claim he had spent his entire life fighting for the rights of the poor who had turned to crime because s ociety rejected them. Now he was determined to reestablish the principles of the Warren Court of the 1950s and 1960s that had helped to bring fairness back to the judicial system. Those rights were slowly eroding over the last twenty years, but Samuel was sure he would be the one to put a stop to it. After five minutes of polite listening, Aman assured him that Zach was still in agreement with him, and Aman promised to talk with Zach regarding the additional appointments. Aman hung up the phone in disgust before the man could start in on another cause-célèbre.
After more than thirty years in the country he still did not understand the American thought process, especially among some of those in Zach’s own party. It
“What are you doing? Get down here now!” The woman demanded from the flight of stairs below him.
“Someone came out of the other stairwell. He has a gun.”
“ No shit. I told you they were coming. The valet will not hold my car much longer. You have two seconds before I put a bullet in your head.” They dashed down the stairs without another word. Alex followed the woman like a dog being led around on a noose by its owner. There did not seem to be any other options. They raced through the casino, drawing annoying looks from gamblers, and loud reprimands from the pit bosses who barked at them to slow down. It was still quiet in the casino. The evening crowd was still a few hours from arriving.
As they approached the front entrance of the hotel he suddenly realized he may be an accomplice to murder. He could see a hotel employee holding open the door to an SUV. The young man was staring at them with a look of annoyance. Alex’s only hope was that this was part of the game. The woman pushed through the revolving door at a rapid pace, causing the doors to hit an elderly couple who were moving slowly on the other side of the circle. They toppled to the floor as Alex and the woman emerged from the interior of the casino out on to the front portico of the hotel.
She stuffed a wad of money into the valet’s hand and apologized for being late. With no one else to trust, he followed her lead as they climbed into a silver Toyota 4Runner that was idling at the front of the line of vehicles. She floored the gas, and the bulky vehicle shot out onto Las Vegas Boulevard, causing a limousine to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting them. Alex did not know where they were going and did not care. He just desperately wanted some answers.
“I need to know what’s going on here if I’m going to pass your test.” The woman shot him a look of fiery intensity with her eyes that told him to remain silent. Alex immediately thought of the dead man in the hotel room and shut his mouth.
Chapter 15
Aman stretched his portly figure across the massive purple couch, trying his best to make himself comfortable. The man just would not shut up. He held the phone away from his ear so he could clearly hear the sound of the East Coast accent, while not having to actually listen to the words. The man Zach chose to be his attorney general continued to read through a long list of things he wanted to do and people he wanted working for him. Attorney General designate Samuel Rodenbeck was a typical Northeastern personality who expected to get what he wanted as soon as it was asked for. He was currently rattling off a string of abuses that the previous administration committed, and how he intended to rectify them.
A top graduate of an Ivy League law school, which one Aman had purposely forgotten, Samuel liked to claim he had spent his entire life fighting for the rights of the poor who had turned to crime because s ociety rejected them. Now he was determined to reestablish the principles of the Warren Court of the 1950s and 1960s that had helped to bring fairness back to the judicial system. Those rights were slowly eroding over the last twenty years, but Samuel was sure he would be the one to put a stop to it. After five minutes of polite listening, Aman assured him that Zach was still in agreement with him, and Aman promised to talk with Zach regarding the additional appointments. Aman hung up the phone in disgust before the man could start in on another cause-célèbre.
After more than thirty years in the country he still did not understand the American thought process, especially among some of those in Zach’s own party. It
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