especially if she wanted to get that coffee.
Gathering her items, her purse tipped and the contents rolled on to the bed. The two bronchial inhalers clanked against each other, Sharon debated on tossing them in her checked luggage but opted against it. She did feel better, but on the outside chance she relapsed, she wanted to have them handy. After shoving them back in her purse, Sharon grabbed the rest of her belongings and lugged them out of the hotel room.
She had a flight to catch and a coffee to get first.
<><><><>
Wally hated being early for his shift. He didn’t mind being on time, but early... he hated it. He wasn’t crazy about his job as a security monitor at the casino, but it paid the bills and had decent health benefits. Plus, they gave him a free meal.
The free meal was never enough. Wally was a healthy build man in his twenties with an appetite of a football team. That was why he also packed a lunch. One he could eat while doing his job.
He knew he was going to be early for his shift, his clock was wrong and he didn’t discover the twenty minute difference until he go into his car. He even stopped at the local gas station for a slushy.
Still he was early.
After saying hello to the guys at the security desk, Wally made his way up to the third floor. He punched in, signed out a radio, tested it and headed to the back room.
“Jesus,” he said, punching in his code to get in. “Seven minutes early.”
At least he was working with John. John was funny. He made the nightshift go fast and did crazy voices to match up what they saw on the monitors.
“Dude, you’re early,” John said.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Totally missed sex in elevator two, tower two.”
“No way.” Wally pulled out a chair. “I never see anything good.”
“Chick is puking in the trash can by the front doors.” He pointed. “Monitor three.”
“Oh man, that’s disgusting. She would be hot, but hot chicks puking are just gross.”
“Ever notice they all wear tight skirts and really high heels. As if that’s the required outfit to blow chunks in Vegas.”
“Let’s call the floor, have them get her.”
John picked up his radio. “Oh, too late, they’re on it.”
Wally glanced up to the monitor, security had made their way to the vomiting girl. He sat back in the chair and placed his lunch sack on the counter.
“What did you bring?”
“Ham sandwich.”
“They have Grilled chicken on the employee menu tonight.”
“I’ll eat both,” said Wally. His eyes were on the wall of monitors. There were twenty of them. He was pretty good at his job, he never missed a trick. He earned a gift card when he spotted a man stealing a woman’s wallet from her purse.
Things were relatively calm, but Wally didn’t expect them to stay that way. It was Friday night.
He was twenty-minutes into his shift and three bites into his sandwich when he noticed monitor nineteen. He sat up.
“What do you see?” John asked.
“Nineteen.”
Wally watched a man at a slot machine, his body jolted and jerked and his hands went out.
“Is he choking?” John asked.
“I think so.” Wally lifted his radio. His eyes staying on the monitor, people gathered around him trying to help. Wally called into his radio. “We have a player in distress. Mega Slots Section A4.”
“We’re on it,”
Wally was about to place down his radio, when his eyes lifted to monitor twelve. A similar scene, only with a woman. “She’s choking too. On twelve.”
“Holy... Look Wally, Monitor Seven.”
Wally’s eyes went to monitor seven, then five, then one … all of them had similar scenes. All of them showed people choking, struggling, holding their throats, reaching out. There was no sound, no way to determine. But within seconds, there was commotion everywhere.
“I wonder if there’s smoke or something down there,” said John.
“I’ll check it out.” Wally grabbed his radio. “Stay here. Keep calling these in.”
“Dude, I
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