Escaping Vegas

by Dennis Elder

  Claudio took Ivan’s last response as a sign that he and the other men could go inside. So, he slowly turned away from Ivan, watching him from the corner of his eye. When he was sure Ivan was satisfied, he began walking toward the Bellagio’s main doors. Just as slowly, the other 40 tired men turned and followed him. The broken bikes stayed where they’d been dropped – strewn chaotically around the entrance to the once famous hotel.

  Ivan stayed with the bikes. For the first time in his life he wasn’t sure what to do. Slowly the big man turned his face back to the Coleman lantern and started staring at the fluttering moths again.

  Chapter 129: Ten minute break

  The bike troupe led by Major Mark Harris was right on schedule. They had climbed the steepest segment of the nighttime ride. Since the first day they began riding their bikes, everyone had been getting stronger, and thinner. Mark noticed his own jeans were pretty loose around the waist. He’d dropped two belt sizes since leaving LA. Most everyone else looked like they were thinning out.

  He took a quick look at the digital readout on his watch. It was 0230 hours, or 2:30 in morning. For the last two and a half hours they climbed steadily. Thankfully it wasn’t too steep as they wound their way around the back road. The elevation maps Mark had studied earlier that week showed they were about as high up on the back road as possible. Most the remaining ride tonight would be downhill.

  They’d been rotating partnerships to the front every 15 minutes or so. The guys who rode at the front hit the wind head on and worked the hardest. Rotating the leaders every so often spread out the hard work. Susie had taught them this from the first day they started riding.

  “Break,” shouted Mark. “Ten minutes.”

  The lead riders now were Jake and Jacob. They hit their brakes and slowed to a stop. Everyone else did the same. It was pitch black tonight, no moon. But the stars overhead were bright and filled the sky in every direction. The peaks of the surrounding hills were clearly outlined by the white dots - like billions and billions of little LED lights in the sky.

  Mark opened the trailer door for Hampton and the dog shot off into the night. Then he pulled out an energy bar, took a big bite and walked among the group. Each partner helped the other. Tyrone made sure Jeremy and Little Sally had something to eat. Doc was rubbing Sylvia’s shoulders and she patted his strong hands as Mark walked by. Sam and Susie were laughing about something. As he walked he realized that had grown very fond of these people. They’d all become special to him.

  He laughed inside when he saw several of the girls disappear back down the road, obviously looking for a place to do their business. When you drink a lot of water to stay hydrated you tend to perspire and urinate a lot. And it seems like girls always have to pee more than boys.

  “Must be the plumbing,” thought Mark to himself.

  He pulled out a water bottle from his own jacket and drank the rest of it before throwing it away. Everybody tossed their empties to the side of the road on this trip, mostly because it saved weight. They knew they could always find more water bottles ahead. And nobody would care about a few plastic bottles these days. Green Peace and Save the Whales died too when the sun’s radiation fried the earth.

  Mark continued to think about challenges they’d already faced and the ones that would surely come in the future. He had a kind of mind that was hard to turn off. He thought through tomorrow’s ride again – thinking about each road, each turn, distances, water consumption, breaks, where to camp, towns ahead, everything. Then he thought of his friend Boon Seratan. Everyone would miss Boon.

  Tomorrow would be their hardest bike ride yet. If they could just get back to I-15 undetected, then they’d have a chance to get away clean. To get everyone safe again, he planned to push them all day long. He made a mental note that during tomorrow’s daylight ride, they’d need to check their back door every hour, to see if anyone was following. They’d hate him by noon tomorrow, but he’d drive them until it was almost dark. And he’d do it because he loved them.

  The ten minute break was up.

  “Mount up,” barked the Major.

  Connie, one of the younger teenagers immediately objected, “No way that was ten minutes.”

  Mark didn’t let anyone see his face, but he cracked a smile at Connie’s comment.

  “Come on people, two and half more hours and then we sleep a little,” said Mark, as he climbed on his bike.

  Everyone else did the same and the group moved forward again.

  Chapter 130: Thin man

  The Thin man that Ivan had sent up to the top of the Planet Hollywood hotel had never come down. The two guys that went up with him got board after a few hours and finally made the long trip down the stairwell around 3 am. They’d both had had enough. Nothing had moved for hours, no lights, no sounds, nothing.

  But the Thin man remembered what Ivan had said to him just before he began climbing the hotel’s stairs.

  “You are my eyes and ears,” the Thin man repeated to himself. “You are my eyes and ears.”

  The Thin man took that charge seriously. He’d never had much responsibility in his life and what Ivan told him made him feel important.

  So, the little guy stayed at his post all night. He nodded off for a few seconds once, but quickly shook off the sleepiness. Back and forth he walked the East side of the hotel’s roof top. Every twenty feet or so he’d raise his binoculars up and sweep the horizon for any lights or movement.

  “So dark,” he’d say to himself every so often.

  But he stayed at his post and kept looking. Kept searching.

  Chapter 131: Eighty one miles

  At 0400 hours Mark decided it was time to stop and give everyone a two hour sleep break. The caravan of bikes slowly pulled to the side of the road.

  Mark motioned everyone forward around him. When everyone was close he spoke.

  “Two hours sleep,” said Mark, to the relief of everyone.

  “You must eat something first and drink plenty of water, he continued. “Then pullout your sleeping bags and climb in. But stay on the road by your bike. Get as comfortable as you can and I’ll wake you at dawn. We’ll cook a good breakfast, pack up and hit the hardest leg of our ride.”

  Marylin was looking especially ragged. She and Kevin were the newest additions to their family and had the least time to get in shape.

  “How many miles tomorrow, Major?” asked Marylin, shyly.

  Mark wanted to tell them his plan in the morning, but there was no reason to hide it how.

  “Eight one miles” said Mark.

  That got everyone’s attention. The farthest they’d every ridden so far in one day was sixty two miles and at the end they were completely exhausted.

  Jake gave out a long semi-protesting whistle.

  “Eighty one miles,” questioned Sylvia. “That’s a long way in on day.”

  “I know,” continued Mark. “But consider our situation.

  The Major drew a breath and began.

  “There is a strong possibility that we will be spotted sometime tomorrow between here and when we finally get back onto I-15 North. But whether were spotted or not, the remaining men from last night will most likely come North and try and catch us.”

  “Why’s that?” questioned William.

  But before the Major could answer Jacob spoke up.

  ”Because we killed their buddies,” said the young teenager.

  “That’s right,” added Mark. “Because we killed a lot of their buddies they will be all the more motivated to come after us.“

  “But eighty miles, major,” said Susie.

  “The main reason we need to go that far is that there is nothing, and mean nothing for the next 80 miles until we come to the town of Mesquite,” said Mark.

  “Nothing at all?” asked Mary, suspiciously.

  “Nothing on the map at lEast,” replied Mark.

  Nobody had much to say after that.

  “There is one incentive though,” offered the Major, wi
th a little mystery in his voice.

  “What’s that,” asked Gracie.

  “Hotels, Beds… and a bath,” offered Mark.

  “A Bath,” sighed several of the girls and women in unison.

  “Ah huh,” promised Mark.

  “If we make it to Mesquite by dark tomorrow, I will personally heat enough water for every woman in the group to take a bath in four inches of hot clean water,” continued Mark.

  “Hot water,” whispered Pam. “Been a long time since I’ve been in hot bath.”

  “Sounds good to me,” said Teresa. “Count me in.”

  “Me too,” said Caroline.

  “And me,” shouted Little Sally from her nearby trailer.

  That got the entire group to turn and point their headlamps toward the little girl’s personal trailer. Everybody laughed at Sally’s enthusiasm. Then as if on cue, Sally stuck her head out the trailer’s side window.

  “I want a bath too,” repeated Sally.

  “And you’ll get one,” shouted back Mark.

  The Major saw smiles all around his charges. It felt good to see them laugh again. It had been a long time. Then he turned back to business.

  Everybody take advantage of the remaining one hour and fifty minutes,” said Mark as he looked at his watch. “Everybody’s up again in at 0600 hours.”

  That sent everyone scrambling for a handful of food and their sleeping bags. Only Frank hung back to talk to Mark.

  “How you planning on heating that much water?” whispered Frank.

  Mark looked around to make sure no one could hear him.

  “I have no idea yet,” whispered back Mark, out of the side of his face. “But we’ll figure something out.”

  “What about guard duty, Major,” asked Frank, on a more serious note. “You want me to assign somebody?”

  Mark looked at his faithful Lieutenant and smiled.

  “I’m ordering you into your sleeping bag, Lieutenant,” said Mark. “No arguments. I’ll stand watch tonight. Besides, not much chance of running into anything out here.”

  With that Frank headed off for a couple of hours of much needed shut eye. Mark walked to the back of the group and stood in the middle of the road. As he passed the team most were already in their sleeping bag and out cold. He pulled his Bushmaster up into a firing position. He looked through his Smart Scope and rotated through the scope’s seven settings, sweeping through the blackness. Nothing showed, no heat, nothing magnetic, not even any resonance interference.

  When he was satisfied he shouldered his rifle again, pulled his wool hat down tight over his ears and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. But he kept his eyes pointed South along the road, just in case. Just in case.

  Chapter 132: Jerk Chicken

  Mark stamped his feet again to ward off the cold. The temperature had dropped several more degrees during the night.

  I was still pretty dark, but the red glow of the coming sun was just beginning to lighten the Eastern skyline.

  “Probably upper thirties or so,” he thought to himself, trying to blow warm air across his numb fingers.

  Nobody in the troupe had moved since hitting their sleeping bags at 0400 hours. To the Major the last two hours had been nothing but slow motion. He passed some of the time by heating up some hot chocolate. It tasted good. He took another look at his watch. 0600 hours. Time to roust the gang and get things ready to move. He flipped up his Bushmaster one more time, scanning the hills and road to the South. Through the darkness no movement showed on the infrared setting.

  “OK,” he said to himself. “So, they definitely didn’t follow us.”

  With that, the big man turned on his heals and started barking commands.

  “All right ladies,” shouted the Major. “Its 0600 hours. Time to rise and shine and get ready for the day.”

  As he walked along the line of his friends all bundled up in their dirty sleeping bags, he heard several objections. If somebody didn’t move in the first 30 seconds Mark gave them a nudge with his shoe. Slowly the entire group got up and climbed out of the sleeping bags, turned on their headlamps, and struggled to put back on jackets, shoes and hats. They were still wearing their athletic shoes, but it wouldn’t be much long before they’d be grateful they brought their heavier boots.

  They’d been doing the same wake up drill for a few weeks now and everybody knew their duties.

  Frank barked out guard duties. Two people always watched both ends of the road while everyone else prepared for the day’s ride. Sleeping gear was put away first, then everyone did their weapon’s checks. Mark could hear the snap of magazine clearing and bolts pulling back. After yesterday’s firefight they’d need to clean their guns soon.

  “Sylvia,” shouted Mark.

  “Sir,” responded the woman as she set her rifle down next to her bike.

  “I want you to make sure everyone cleans their weapons when we get to Mesquite,” ordered the Major.

  “Will do,” said Sylvia.

  Mark made assignments to everyone on a rotating basis. Cross training was always a good idea.

  Bike check came next. You could hear the sound of hissing air as people topped off each wheel’s tire pressure. They had all learned early that it was much easier to ride when both tires were full. Lenny cursed softly when she noticed she had a flat. But she tore into the repair without further complaint.

  Stoves began to hiss and water soon boiled. Hot water was their lifeblood. They learned quickly how to boil just enough water to efficiently heat up their meals but keep a little extra for washing. Doc harassed and reminded them to always wash their utensils with soap and hot water. Nobody would be getting sick as long as Doc was watching. Everyone brushed their teeth twice a day too.

  “Bulk up this morning. Lots of carbs.” said Mark. “And drink plenty of fluids through the entire day. Dehydration is the enemy. Keep your energy bars in upper pockets for eating as we ride. Eighty miles today, people,” reminded Mark. “Eighty miles to Mesquite.”

  That got another series of low moans and semi-protests. But Mark knew the team would give it everything they had. They must to make it to Mesquite by dark.

  “And a hot bath,” shouted one of the girls.

  Things always seemed to slow down a bit when they ate their meals together. People talked and opened up. They seemed to laugh a lot during dinnertime. Maybe it was a way to wind down after the long physical day on the bikes.

  Per their routine, the two people who had guard duty on the last shift were responsible for making breakfasts for the two guards currently watching the road. Mark saw them both dutifully run down to the two guards and hand them a steaming plate of eggs and Jamaican jerk chicken. Jerk Chicken was Mark’s favorite freeze dried meal and the good smell caught his nose as a plateful went by him. He saved his Jerk Chicken meals for Friday night. Became kinda of a treat for him, something to look forward to.

  Chapter 133: Eyes and ears

  The Thin man was still standing on the roof of the Planet Hollywood hotel when he noticed the first sign of dawn. It was still pretty dark, but the Eastern horizon was beginning to lighten up a bit.

  “Bout time,” said the Thin man. He’d been walking back and forth along the rims of the roof for most of the night. As the light began to grow he decided he’d better take a hard look to the South.

  “Guess they could’ a gone that way,” he thought.

  He moved down to the Southern rim of the building where all the big satellite antennas were mounted. They had movie night every Wednesday, but he missed cable TV. He liked old Western shows like Maverick and Wagon Train.

  Slowly Thin man raised his binoculars again and scanned the Southern horizon. It was darker in that direction but Thin man was a devoted soldier and would be the eyes and ears of Ivan if was the last thing he ever did.

  The man dropped the binoculars down to his chest and suddenly wondered why Ivan had said eyes and ears. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t hear a thing standing on top
of a building.

  Chapter 134: Back on the I-15

  “It will be mostly downhill from here, until we get to our first turn onto the 612 road – about six miles,” shouted Mark to the group, as he mounted his own bike. Then we head North for another 10 miles before we’re back on I-15.”

  That got a few encouraging yipees.

  The group was dressed warmly with hats, gloves and handkerchiefs across their faces. That and their sunglasses would give them good protection from the morning’s wind chill. Their headlamps had been turned off and securely packed away.