Free WAR by Ira Tabankin Page B

buddy, it looks like you’ve made some high-brow friends out here. By the way, who is the surprise guest?”
    “Are you sure you want to know?”
    “Yes.”
    “Come with me.”
    The two walk towards the left corner of the room, they see a middle-aged man in a black tuxedo with a black shirt and black bow tie. “Brad, I’d like to introduce you to Commander Jack Lewis of the LSA DepLIES. Jack, this is my oldest and best friend, Brad.”
                  Jack extends his hand, “Hello Brad, any friend of Ron’s is one of mine. Welcome to Las Vegas the only sin city still open.”
                  Brad’s eyes widen in surprise. Jack laughs saying, “You’re thinking what’s a commander in the DepLIES doing in Las Vegas, aren’t you?”
                  “Yes I am.”
                  “We have many of our citizens visit Las Vegas every year. We’ve reached an agreement with your State Department to allow us to have a small group of agents in the city to help resolve any issues that might come up between our citizens.”
                  Before Ron can say anything else, two very attractive blonds grab Jack’s arms, saying, “You’ve got to try these new drinks the bartender made for us.”
                  Ron laughs saying, “He’s very popular in some circles. The Casino owners and Chief have an agreement with him to help keep order in the city. He does a lot of favors for the city.”
                  “I can’t believe there’s a nest of DepLIES snakes right here in the city and you’re friends with them.”
                  “Brad, things are not always what they appear to be.”
                  Before Brad can respond, someone yells, “Hey there’s something going on to the west, there're flashes of light.” Before anyone can respond, the shopping mall across the street from the hotel explodes. Ron stares out of the window from the 44th-floor ballroom. He turns to Brad, “Get Kathy and Bev out of here. Take them to the basement. There’s a VIP parking garage under the hotel take them there.”
                  “Ron?”
                  “Brad, someone just fired artillery or a rocket at the mall, or a terrorist struck the mall. We could be the next target. I don’t know what’s going on, so take our women to safety until we figure out what’s going on. The forty-four floor isn’t going to be safe. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
                  “Bev, Kath, come with me right now! We’ve got to go before everyone panics.”
                  While most of the other guests are staring out of the window, Bev and Kathy join Brad who starts leading them towards the service elevator; Bev asks, “What’s going on?”
                  “We have to get out of here as quickly and quietly as we can.”
                  “Why? They haven’t served dinner yet.”
                  “The mall across the street just exploded, Ron wants us out of here ASAP.”
                  Bev responds, “Oh, in that case, what’s taking you so long? Let’s go.”
                  The three of them ride the elevator down 44 floors, on the ground floor they see hundreds of people staring across the street, thousands more are on the street watching the mall burn. Brad says, “Ron said there’s a garage under the hotel.”
                  Bev replies while pulling at Kathy’s arm, “This way; there’s a VIP parking elevator around the corner. It’s hidden in a hallway marked no entrance. One needs a passcard to enter.”
                  Kathy asks, “How are we going to get in?”
                    Bev reaches into her handbag showing them a small gold colored VIP parking pass card. “Ron helps the casinos, they all give us special perks. This is one of them.