Chasing Gold

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

They wandered the floor of the casino, despite all evidence to the contrary. They asked the staff if there were any machines around with the name ‘gold’ or ‘golden’, and found more than half a dozen. They were led to the Golden Slots, the Golden Tiger and the Golden Ball 777. It was a fool’s errand, Alicia knew, but it was an imperative one. One of the more talkative blackjack dealers told them that the Stratosphere was owned by Golden Entertainment.

That name struck a chord with Alicia, but she couldn’t figure out why.

“He didn’t get chance to leave the clue,” Caitlyn said once, a catch deep in her throat. “We lost them.”

Alicia didn’t believe it. She replayed Crouch’s trail across the casino again and again in her mind, even remembered him walking carefully in the center of the walkway, but came up with nothing.

A tall, dark man approached them right then, clearly in a hurry. “You Merriweather’s team?”

Alicia frowned, but knew the answer that would get cooperation. “We sure are.”

“Got a report — those bastards crossed the Strip, then went downtown. The eye in the sky went up pretty quick but there was no sign of them. Must have ducked into an underground lot or a multi-story. Maybe even a container. At this point, we don’t even know if they’re still inside the city limits.”

Alicia thanked him and then swore. Ricci had planned well for the very worst, it seemed, but then he was Special Forces. He would always plan for the worst and hope for the best. Ops usually fell in the middle ground. This was a highly dangerous individual they were dealing with.

“Crouch walked from there—” Russo pointed in vain at the elevator doors “—to there.” He indicated the exit. “I think Caitlyn’s right. He didn’t get chance to leave a message.”

Alicia blinked as her mind suddenly entertained a new possibility. She didn’t follow Russo’s motions, but let her eyes fasten onto the elevator.

“What is it?” Caitlyn saw something in her stance.

“It just occurred to me. We haven’t followed Crouch’s entire journey.”

They strode toward the doors; Russo grumbling and explaining that Crouch would hardly have had the chance in the crowded cubicle. Alicia agreed, but refused to leave any stone unturned. She stood there and jabbed the button into submission, pressing continuously until it began to chime.

Once inside, she saw immediately what, earlier, had struck a chord with her. The small white, silver-framed plaque on the wall that was headed: Golden Entertainment. It was a small print note; some kind of waiver perhaps, or a disclaimer.

None of that mattered though.

Alicia saw it immediately and slumped in relief. “Dammit if we didn’t come down in this earlier and never noticed.” She punched the wall.

“It’s not like we were looking for it,” Russo said. “I just assumed the message would be around the slots.”

Alicia punched the wall once more in frustration, knowing now that their clue had been here the whole time and that the terrorists were over an hour in the clear. After a moment she stood back and read the clue aloud:

“AM. LAX to HNL, then to Turtle Bay and waveriders to the Shoshone Star.”

As she finished, the elevator doors began to close. Russo pressed a button to stop the thing from going anywhere.

“Thoughts?” Alicia asked.

It was imperative they solve this quickly—now.

Caitlyn took it instantly. “Well, LAX is pretty self-explanatory. That’s the airport code for Los Angeles International. Now — HNL? I’m not so sure.”

The team waited whilst Caitlyn tapped at her phone. Austin quickly told them the time it would take to drive and fly from Vegas to Los Angeles.

“Four hours by car, ninety minutes by plane.”

Caitlyn clucked a little when she discovered her answer. “Well, it’s the city of Honolulu, Hawaii. The terrorists are heading to the main tourist island, Oahu.”

“And Turtle Bay?” Alicia asked. “Must be some kind of neighborhood, I guess.”

“It’s a resort situated on the north shore of Oahu, quite an expensive one. You think that’s where they’ll stay?”

“That depends,” Alicia said, “on what the Shoshone Star is.”

Caitlyn tapped for long minutes. “Have to admit,” she said finally, “it beats me. It’s nothing connected to Hawaii.”

“Waveriders?” Russo asked.

“Some Hawaiian water craft,” Austin said, then shrugged. “Sorry, I’m guessing.”

Alicia thought it through. “We know where they’re going. We know how they’re getting there. Question is — how do we play it?”

Caitlyn checked her watch. “It’s been roughly ninety minutes since they escaped.”

Austin leaned back against the elevator wall. “In all honesty they could be halfway to LA by now.”

Alicia tended to agree and, even if they weren’t, by the time they managed to secure some kind of jet their enemy would almost certainly be in Los Angeles.

Would it not be better to be waiting for them at their destination?

A gamble, for sure, but she didn’t think they would have dragged Crouch and Terri out of the Stratosphere without an end game in mind. And that end game definitely included Hawaii.

“To put another slant on things,” Russo said. “They could also be lying low for a few hours, or even days. Maybe they’ll head out later.”

Another reason to aim straight for Hawaii. Alicia laid it out for Caitlyn and asked her to run it by Merriweather. Then, the five of them walked back into the casino.

“Last chance,” Alicia said. “But we’re gonna get ahead of them this time. Stop the murder of Crouch, the sale of Terri and the burning of…” she didn’t finish, sensing people all around.

“… everything,” she concluded.

The Americans were still in the dark, and the FBI wanted it kept that way. Merriweather sounded as grim as he’d ever been, aware of all that had happened in Las Vegas. He ordered them to McCarran where a private jet would be waiting and explained that Hawaii’s top authorities would be on hand to help.

“It’s not a terrorist threat, per se,” he told them. “As in violent action. But it is still a threat on American soil. And agents were killed today. You’d better go find your man, Crouch, and save him because I personally want to shake his hand.”

They ended the call. Alicia decided then that they had to go find the Special Agent in Charge and use the local FBI vehicles to fully tool up. It would be better to get armed now than when they were in Hawaii.

“The full works,” Alicia said. “Leave nothing to chance. Once we’re on that plane we’re on mission. Nothing can slow us down. Not even you, Cutler.”

The American thief just looked glum.

“Still in the chase,” Russo muttered as they walked. “All the way from DC to Vegas.”

“It’s been a long chase,” Alicia admitted. “And I’m totally knackered. But Rob — I always save the best for last.”

“Somehow,” Rob said, “I think we’re gonna need it.”