Even though the door in between the hotel hallway and the offloading area was still closed, the screams were loud enough to attract the attention of the gunner in the Humvee and the pair of men who had been walking down one side of the building, checking the doors on the exterior to see if they were open. The gunner swiveled his gun and trained it on the billowing smoke and flames that erupted out through the partially opened loading dock door and the pair of men began jogging towards the sight, wondering what was going on.
“Now or never.” Rick whispered quietly and held out the bottle for Jane to light the rag. It, like the first one, also caught fire immediately and Rick peeked up over the edge of the loading dock to see where his target was. The appearance of a new bit of smoke away from the building caught the eye of the gunner in the Humvee who swiveled slightly and fired several rounds that tore through the metal and concrete of the dock. Rick nearly dropped the Molotov as he ducked back down to avoid the fire.
When it stopped he scuttled several feet back down towards the building, masking himself slightly in the billows of smoke pouring out, then stood up and threw the bottle in a long arc, aiming not for the pair of men next to the Humvee, but for the vehicle itself. Rick’s hope was that the bottle would shatter on the windshield or front grill of the vehicle which would hopefully distract the men long enough for him and Jane to make their escape.
Rick watched the bottle as it soared end over end through the air as if in slow motion, finally coming to rest not on the front of the vehicle but on the very top. The bottle splintered and shattered across the machine gun turret, dousing the gunner, the exterior and the interior of the vehicle in alcohol and flames. The screams from the two men inside the Humvee were instant and horrifying. The driver kicked open his door and fell out on the ground, rolling around as he tried in vain to extinguish the fire.
The gunner took the brunt of the impact from the Molotov and tried desperately to put out the fire while still being trapped in his seat. Retreating into the Humvee only exposed him to more flames and climbing out was nearly impossible due to the level of trauma he was experiencing. As both of the men in the vehicle screamed out in pain, the two outside the Humvee froze in shock at what they were witnessing.
“Help me!” The driver, still rolling around on the ground, managed to get a couple of words out which snapped the two on foot into action. They both dropped their guns to the ground and one of them started using his hands to try to pat out the flames on the driver. The other one began running around the Humvee, alternating between trying to climb up onto the vehicle and jumping back off as the flames continued to grow more intense. It was obvious that he was trying to find a way to help the gunner, but was unwilling to risk his own life in the process.
As the gunner slowly burned to death, Rick and Jane made their escape. As soon as the first screams came from the direction of the Humvee, Rick had hissed at Jane. “Follow me and don’t fall behind!” After that single instruction Rick took off, running full tilt to the left down the service road as he aimed for a small path that led between two buildings on his right. Jane stayed close behind him and as the pair ducked into the path between the buildings, Rick risked stopping for a second to take a glance back.
As he watched the two men burning and their companions half-heartedly trying to help them, he felt a slight twinge of guilt that was immediately assuaged by thinking about what the men had been trying to do to Jane and himself. He briefly thought about getting out the hunting rifle and ensuring that all four of the men were dead, but the knowledge that there was another vehicle and more men somewhere close by made the decision for him.
“Come on.” Rick whispered to Jane, tugging at her shirt as she stared slack-jawed at the scene.
“Those men…”
“Tried to kill us. Let’s go.”
“But…”
“Let’s go. Now.”
Jane followed behind Rick as he wound his way down the narrow path between the buildings. They traveled parallel to the Strip for a few hundred feet before the path ended at another service road. Rick glanced both ways down the road before pointing to the right. “Nellis is that way. Are you good to keep walking for a while more? I want to get as much distance between them and us before we stop.”
Jane nodded but stayed silent, still thinking about the sight of the two burning men. Rick’s brutal efficiency in dealing with the attackers frightened her and she wasn’t sure what she thought of the strange man anymore.
Chapter 9
Three Days Before the Event
In the oil fields a hundred miles north of Las Vegas, a pair of seismologists sit in the back of a camper. They both wear glasses and loose-fitting clothing. Their brows are moist with sweat and a small oscillating fan hung from the ceiling of the camper does little but push the hot air around the room. The pitiful air conditioning unit hanging out of the back window hasn’t worked in weeks and there is no time in the schedule to get a new one.
A pair of monitors are mounted to each wall of the camper, and the seats the seismologists sit in are offset so they can each face in a different direction. One of them, wearing a white shirt and shorts, takes a gulp from a tall glass of water. The other, wearing a grey shirt and shorts, taps furiously on his keyboard. Every few seconds he glances between his two screens, watching as the data displayed on the black and white command line interface changes in response to his inputs.
“Gary?” The man in the grey shirt speaks.
“Hm?” Gary doesn’t look away from his screens as he finishes his glass of water.
“Look at this, would you?”
“What is it, Jacob? I’m in the middle
of—what the hell is that?” Gary swivels around in his chair with a sigh, rolling his eyes until he catches sight of Jacob’s screen. Gary’s glass drops from his hand and bounces on the carpet of the camper, rolling under the table and depositing a few stray drops of water on the floor and wall.
“That’s what I’d like to know.” Jacob taps the back end of his pen against the monitor and shakes his head. “Sure as hell isn’t normal, is it?”
Gary stretches his arm out and grabs a mobile phone off the table next to Jacob. He holds it up in front of the monitor and snaps a picture before sending it in a text message. A few moments later the phone’s screen lights up and a call comes through.
“Hello?” Gary answers the phone.
“What kind of bullshit games are you two trying to play with me?” The voice on the other end is gruff and annoyed.
“No games. This is the real deal.”
“How many sensors are picking it up?”