Chapter 16

We had a long drive from Yellowstone, down to Las Vegas. We stopped along the way to see things, but there wasn't a stopover on our agenda. Lou Ann needed a rest after all her activities, and our driving days started whenever she was ready to go and ended early. Lane and Lou Ann conspired against me all that first day out of Wyoming and I could tell Lou Ann was enjoying whatever Lane chose to share. They would stop and look at me, from time to time, which made me feel a little like a zoo animal.

Lane's parents were meeting us in Vegas for a three to four day stay, and they had a list of things to do that didn't include needing or wanting me tagging along. Since Lou Ann and Lane were doing their evil thing behind my back, I used the time to consider how to spend three or four days in Las Vegas.

The Cirque shows were a must. I was going to at least three of them, providing they all were still running, and I could get in. Celine had a show I hoped to catch, and then there were the local performers, some of whom were amazing. When I was all alone I called and booked a penthouse at Bally's for the time Charles and Bobby Jo were in town. It came with three king bedrooms, two of which were double king bed rooms.

If I had known what awaited me in Las Vegas, I would have opted for Miami, or Montebello, or Mauritania, or Montana, Maybe even Mars, but it wouldn't have been Las Vegas.

Lou Ann was clingy when I carried her to her chair and anxious for me to hold her naked body in my arms when I lifted her into the bathtub. Apparently, she had discarded her embarrassment in favor of exhibitionism, and Lane was content to let her grow out of it as if she was going through just another stage.

To be honest, I enjoyed letting Lou Ann see me peek at her breasts and see how fast her nipples would get hard. It was a kind of game, and as long as it was only a game, I was happy to comply. If she wanted more, we were going to have a problem.

Another change in Lou Ann's behavior was her desire to keep me with her in the bath and talk about her life. "As far back as I can remember, Grandpa and Grandma have always been there for me," she said, like we were talking about forty or fifty years ago. "Mom was kind of missing having a man in her life, and Grandma said that I had to be very sensitive to her moods, so she wouldn't get depressed." She chattered while I scrubbed her back and hair.

"I certainly didn't want to have my mother getting depressed just because my father, who I've never even met, doesn't like us anymore. I made sure I kept Mom busy with things that made her happy, so she wasn't sulking about things that made her sad.

"It was a good plan. Grandpa even said so. We all like to play Uno, and the three of us let Mom win just enough so she doesn't start to feel like she's a loser at cards just like men." That had to be her grandmother talking.

"Grandpa thinks he can do anything, and when he bought the big bus, we were all afraid he'd get himself and all three of us killed trying to drive it." Her eyes danced as she related her version of the way of life at their house.

She swished her head to try and flick her hair like she'd seen girls her age do on TV, but it wouldn't cooperate. That flummoxed her for a little while, and I had to help her out. "Here," I said. "Let me help you with that," and I loosened two of the hair clips that held everything tightly together up there. Once free of obstructions, Lou Ann could flick her hair and smile sweetly when she wanted to try and flirt with me. Lane saw what was going on and silently laughed behind us.

The drives were pleasant, even though the days could get rather long and tiring. We all enjoyed the mountains, and that was about all we were seeing at the time. Lou Ann got restless, and Lane suggested we pull over and take her for a little walk along the river that followed the road. I picked her up and just stumbled a bit as I got my legs under me. Lou Ann tightly held on, and when it was clear we weren't in any danger of falling, she kissed me right on the lips and said, "You're my hero!"

Rather than pull back and embarrass her, I kissed her right back and let her feel my lips on hers for little while. Lane smiled and rolled her eyes, but I knew it was what she expected of me, so I went along with it.

Lou Ann wiggled around so much in my arms, I stopped to see if I was holding her in such a way that it was pinching or hurting her. It was neither. She wiggled until her skirt was free of my forearm and dropped away from her bottom, letting her rest against my arms without the extra layer of fabric separating us.

She was definitely flirting.

Later, after we'd been back on the road for about an hour, I got a call from Doctor Abrams office about Lou Ann's availability to come in for evaluation. I handed the phone off to Lane and concentrated on driving rather than eavesdropping. I already knew why they were on the phone.

At one point I heard Lane say, "Oh ... really? Well then I guess we're all set then."

When she handed the phone back to me, she asked, "What trust did you contact to pay for Lou Ann's trip to Doctor Abrams in New York and Sweden?" She was just a bit testy about it, so I knew she was looking for a fight.

I pulled to the side at a bus turnout, and said, "It was my trust, Lane. I won an obscene amount of money in a lawsuit and put it in trust to help people with special health problems. The trust will fly you in to New York, put you up in an exceptional hotel, and fly you to Sweden when Doctor Abrams is ready, and maybe just maybe she beats this thing."

Lane harrumphed and withdrew into her shell to think about my gift. I knew it might cause her to lose respect for me, but decided to take that chance and live with the results. Lou Ann, on the other hand, wanted to tell me all about a dress she picked out to wear in Las Vegas to David Copperfield's show. She went on and on about picking it out all by herself and how grown up it made her look. With her little body, which was about the size of a small eleven year old, with just a hint of breasts, whatever dress she might wear wouldn't show curves that didn't exist, but I was supportive and excited for her, because it gave her so much pleasure to talk about it.

In the midst of her expose on the dress adventure, Lou Ann leaned toward me and whispered, "My Mom likes you. She said you were awesome to her last night." She giggled when she said it and blushed prettily, so we gabbed about the meaning of awesome for a while.

"I think your mom is pretty awesome, too," I said. "She kisses as good as you do." That caused her to blush even harder.

By the time we rolled into Las Vegas, it was just a few hours before Lane's parents were to arrive. I got them situated in their hotel, parked the coach at the RV Park behind Circus-Circus, and checked into my suite at Bally's.

The hotel was jumping as I walked across the lobby towards the tower elevators. I could see hundreds of people in line at the check-in counter, and I wondered how long they would be stuck waiting. When I mentioned I had booked a luxury suite, I was taken to a separate check-in and treated like a visiting king.

Lane called and let me know they were heading out for dinner and a show. "Will I see you later? Like maybe after Lou Ann goes to bed?" She asked it gently, but with so much promise, that I promised right back to call when things settled down.

Having some time to myself was a blessing that evening. I walked almost the entire length of the strip, enjoying going in and out taking in the sights, smells, sounds, and people that make up Las Vegas in the summer. Even as I enjoyed the solitude and crowds, I was on edge.

Something was wrong, and I couldn't put my finger on it.

When my internal antennae go up and stay that way, it is impossible to shake it off and have fun. Once my brain tweaked to the danger, I was on full alert and ready for anything. My Glock was where it would do me the most good, and I carried several extra magazines. It was a last second decision to go heeled, and I was very glad I did, even if I couldn't see anything wrong.

Lane called again and said they were going to the later show for Copperfield and it would keep them out very late, so an assignation wasn't the best idea. I wished her a good time and sent a kiss to Lou Ann. The knowledge that Lane was away from me and safe was comforting, because I felt certain something bad was about to come down on me.

When it came, I was not ready for it.

The explosion tore through the night air. I could hear screams above the reverberation of the explosives. Glass, steel, and concrete rained down from behind me, which meant the bomb went off in the area of the massive, MGM Grand.

People were running everywhere, some crying, some bleeding, and I found myself running right at the carnage. As I ran toward the big, MGM Grand sign, I caught sight of some people hurt, some unconscious, and others that had to be dead, but I kept running right at the blast site. I felt something wet running down the side of my face and realized I must have been hit by flying glass. It wasn't bad, just a nick, and I wasn't about to stop deal with it.

As I entered the blast zone there was a pall of smoke, dust, and haze obscuring much of the lobby. The sprinklers were running full tilt and adding to the unreality of everything. I felt my way, as much as I saw where I was going, and heard people screaming from the stairwell way off to the side.

The door was blocked by fallen debris, and I stopped to muscle it free, finally shoving with all my might to crack it open enough so the people could get out. I called to them as they passed me, "What floor did you come from? Where did the blast hit? Are there injured people above you on the stairs?" Nobody answered as they rushed past and towards the outside light.

People continued down past me as I climbed as fast as possible, looking out onto each floor, looking for the scene of the blast. After thirty floors, I could barely climb, but forced myself to keep going.

Soon after I passed thirty-six, I saw a small girl lying on her back, holding her ankle, crying and begging for help. She didn't look mangled, just unable to stand and walk, so I scooped her up in my arms. She clung to me, crying hysterically for her family. The child looked to be about eight, or ten.

When I could speak, I asked, "Are your parents in the hotel?"

She shook her head, still hysterical, and I had to force her to answer. "My mother and grandmother are at the Convention Center. My nanny knocked me down and ran away when the bombs went off. She and my bodyguard took my purse and mom's credit cards, and ran down the stairs, leaving me to die in the fire." Her hysterical crying was well founded, and I picked her up and started down the stairs, this time with her behind me, piggy-back style.

"I'm Noah," I said over my shoulder.

"I'm Kristine. My mother and grandmother are going to be really worried about me. Can we call them, please?"

She had a point but I was terribly worried about getting us to safety, so I suggested something. "If I give you my phone, can you call your mother while I keep going, so we can get out of here before the fire gets much worse?"

She loved that idea, and I handed her my phone. The stairwell was as empty as a tomb. Whoever could get out was long gone, and we were alone, possibly trapped, and the fire was right above us. That kept me moving, even though my legs and back ached like I'd been beaten by experts.

Kristine obviously knew her mother's cell number by heart, because she got through to her mother on the third try and shouted the news about her nanny and bodyguard. She was nearly hysterical all over again, just retelling the story. I kept running as fast as possible, but my legs were beginning to feel so heavy, I thought I was running in a pool of molasses. To ignore the pain I started to shout out floor numbers as we descended.

When I got to the floor that said, 'LOBBY, ' I kicked out at the door as hard as possible, and it flew open. Stepping over debris, fallen ceiling beams, gambling machines, and furniture, I fought my way toward the daylight just visible ahead. Coming out of the west tower, I knew that I was generally near the exits that were over by the Rainforest Cafe. The smoke was far worse than when I started up, and my lungs were rebelling so badly, I wondered if I wasn't about to pass out. Kristine coughed violently, and her distress drove me on.

When I got to the glass doors to the outside, I saw that we were trapped. To relieve some of the smoke going into Kristine's lungs, I stopped and wrapped her in my jacket, turned her around so she was in front of me, and mustered on.

The hotel facade had been blown loose and dropped right in front of the entrance we were trying to use. Looking around as I caught my breath, it was clear we weren't going to find a way out through all that damage. I had to reverse field and fight us through the smoke, fallen roof, broken floors, and falling water, to find another set of doors. We passed several bodies, and a few wounded tourists. I needed to get us to safety and get help for those who were still alive.

We got lost looking for the main entrances, and I spun around looking for another source of light. We were really and truly lost, when I saw a slight break in the smoke and haze, about five- hundred feet ahead. It took far too long to get there, and when I did, we were back at the blocked exit.

That's when I wondered if we were going to die in the MGM Grand Hotel.

Thinking about dying made me mad. I forced my exhausted body to obey me and head the opposite direction looking for a way out. A piece of the ceiling hit me on the back, if Kristine were still behind me, instead of in my arms, she would have been killed instantly. The pain was immediate and nearly knocking me unconscious. Through the pain, blood, ache, and darkness, I slogged on until I felt a set of arms wrap around me. Two firemen had me, each by an arm, and they were helping us over the remnants of the MGM Grand main lobby towards safety.

I tried to thank them but my voice wasn't working. All that came out were some truly frightening coughs. I stumbled as we entered a well-lit area, and more firemen came to our aid. Kristine was carefully lifted out of my arms and placed gently on a stretcher, even as another one was rolled over for me.