But even the lovely strip or his striped tiger sharks could not improve his mood. He had sent for his wife some time ago and she had yet to arrive. Reeve clenched his teeth together as he smacked a hand down on the blue intercom button. The speaker crackled and the nervous voice of his mousish secretary spoke through.

  "Yes sir?"

  "Can someone tell me where the hell Nikki is? She should have been here by now damn it!"

  "I'll ... I'll call and ask right now ... sir," the secretary's words were mingled with the light beeping of her phone. The intercom crackled again and cut out.

  Reeve drummed his fingers on the dark wood of his desk, each tapping pushing his ire up another notch. A soft boom rumbled from somewhere outside, shaking the windows with muffled vibrations.

  "Hmm," he frowned and looked at his watch, "the Mirage volcano is erupting a few minutes too early. I'll have to have a chat with someone about that."

  After a few more moments, the intercom switched back on again.

  "Uh, sir?"

  "Yes?"

  "I was just chatting ... with the security over at the Treasure Island. They say their having a bit of a problem."

  "With Nikki? What the hell is wrong with them?"

  "I don't know if I can really explain, sir. But they say it might be a good idea if you evacuated to the helipad on the roof for safety precautions."

  Reeve grimaced. This was a new one.

  "Why should I do that? What's going on over there?" He got up from his throne and walked over to the window on the other side of his office. The other end of the strip stretched out before him starting with his Treasure Island.

  It looked like people were streaming out of the front entrance into the courtyard and staging area for the pirate show. Lights were flickering on and off throughout the hotel and dust seemed to be spewing out in various places.

  "What the fuck?" He ran back over to his desk. "Jessie!?! What the hell is going on!?!"

  The speaker crackled once more, his secretary's voice filled with a sense of panicked urgency.

  "Get to the helipad now sir! For your own safety!"

  Reeve's eyes went wide and he threw open a number of drawers in his desk. He slammed a black, leather briefcase down on top of it and began to fill it with loose papers. After about a minute of stuffing, he snapped it shut and set the locks. As he picked it up, insurance notes and the edges of barabonds peeked out from the sides.

  Quickly moving to a side wall, he pressed the button for his private elevator rapidly and shook his head in frustration. The light next to it clicked on and the doors chimed as they slid open.

  Reeve dashed inside.

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  Rusty wheels squealed and chests and barrels of rotting wood were hoisted into the air as pirates pulled on thick ropes of hemp. Some of them swung through rigging as they clambered over their ship, storing their stolen riches into their ship's hold and resupplying their food stocks with fresh crates from a nearby dock.

  A small pirate lackey scratched the stomach beneath his black and white striped shirt as he pointed off into the distance. His other hand was cupped around the side of his mouth as his bellow rang out over hidden speakers.

  "CAP'N, BRITISH MAN-O-WAR ROUNDIN' SKULL POINT! SHE'S FOUR RIGGED AND FULLY LOADED WITH EIGHT CANNONS!"

  A burly, yet well-shaved, pirate with a haughty look on his chiseled face took hold of the spyglass tucked in his belt and peered out over the bow of his privateer towards a large ship that was coming into view from across the lagoon.

  Crowds of enthusiastic onlookers were watching with rapt interest, packed along the wooden railing and decks that stretched around the Treasure Island's front entrance.

  Across the water an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the lagoon bustled with anxious patrons that awaited French cuisine and, what was always, a good show.

  A married couple, who had gotten a particularly rotten location behind the pirate ship, laughed as the arrogant rogues sneered at the oncoming British ship.

  Someone ran past them, pushing their way into the crowd as he turned to her smiling.

  "Didn't I tell you this was going to be a hoot?"

  "We should have gotten here earlier and staked out a better spot; we would have been able to see the show better."

  "Aww, you have to get here about forty-five minutes early to find a good place to see this thing. You saw how everyone was lining up beforehand."

  "It's true, it is more fun to spend that time gambling then waiting."

  Someone screamed and her head shot back towards the action smiling, believing that it probably came from one of the two ships as they closed in on each other.

  The Captain of the English galleon, resplendent in his full British Naval costume, exchanged a few words with his first mate before bellowing out a few commands.

  "VILLAINOUS FIENDS! STAND DOWN AND PREPARE TO RECEIVE A BOARDING PARTY!"

  The pirate crew was lined along the deck of their ship, a few with their boots resting on the side railing. Their leader chuckled to himself and shook his fist defiantly.

  "THE ONLY THING WE'LL RECEIVE FROM YOU ARE YOUR CHARGES, YOUR VALUABLES, AND ANY ALE YOU HAVE ON BOARD!"

  The crowd cheered as the British Captain huffed; none of them took notice of the lights flickering on and off in the windows of the hotel and casino.

  She smiled as she nudged her husband in his side.

  "This is so cool; I can't believe we didn't see this yesterday."

  "You're the one who wanted to stay at the Imperial Palace all night."

  "Well, the machines were paying. And that buffet was killer stuff."

  The first mate aboard the British Man-o-War leaned over the railing and called to the men working the cannons below deck; his Irish accent was stereotypically thick and brought a chuckle to those listening.

  "FIRE NUMBER TWO, A WHISKER SHY OF THEIR BOW IF YOU PLEASE."

  A cannon shot was fired and a spout of water gushed up near the front of the pirate's ship; the booming that accompanied it coincided with the glass doors of the lobby shattering apart after opening up with a quick and full swing. Crazed gamblers began pouring out of the front entrance, pushing the small out of their way and clinging to the large for protection.

  The wife shrieked and took hold of her husband's arm.

  One of the panicked runners coming towards them picked up a little girl and tossed her over the safety railing into the water; she screamed all the way down, flailing her stuffed white tiger around her as she fell. He continued to run, passing the couple as he yelled obscenities.

  More of the crowd began to notice that something was amiss, turning towards the casino as more people streaked out shouting. The actors continued their melodrama, mistaking the noise for applause.

  Smoke began to issue out of the alcoves of the restaurant patios that overlooked the lagoon. Some of the diners moved to escape the dust while others chatted amongst themselves about the sudden lack of service. A waiter suddenly came running out from the kitchen, screaming at the top of his lungs as he jumped over the side and swan dived into the water far below.

  The husband grabbed a frenzied woman, almost dragging her to the ground as he struggled to hold on to her.

  "What the hell is going on? Where is everybody going?"

  Her eyes were wracked in fear as she fought against him, constantly looking back towards the casino as if Death himself were about to fly out from the lobby.

  "Let me go! Please! Some women in there are busting the place up! I didn't see them, but I think they've already killed a few people." She kept trying to push him away, though he held her fast. "We have to get out of here!"

  He released her. More people rushed past them and the woman was quickly swallowed by the wave of chaos. His wife shook his arm.

  "Honey, I think we should join them."

  "MR. SMYTHE!"

  The British Captain pointed at the pirate ship as he spoke, it's crew still laughing in contempt at their pompous enemy. Mr. Smythe plodded to his master's side, kneading his hat with with trembling fingers as he looked up into the wrinkled, aristocratic face.

  He continued his order.

  "FIRE SQUARE INTO HER BOW."

  The husband smiled and waved a hand at the action that was unfolding before them.

  "But what about the rest of the show?"

  Part of the outer wall of the hotel, about six floors up, cracked. Small bits of the bright orange plaster tumbled down, hitting the roof of the restaurant with echoing crashes.

  "Fuck the show! Let's get going!"

  There was a fierce boom and part of the wall around the growing crack flaked away, tumbling into the water below. One of the actors squinted as he looked up, missing his cue to jump off the boat's rigging into the lagoon. Another loud boom went off and most of the actors glanced around, realizing it wasn't a special effect. A number of windows around the third floor shattered, raining down glittering shards into the crowd. A few of the curtains on the fifth parted, giving a quick glimpse of tanned skin.

  Her husband slowly nodded.

  "Yeah, okay. We're gone."

  She draped her purse strap over her shoulder and they pushed their way into the fleeing crowd. They were slowly swept up into the living current of runners.

  Somewhere in another hotel, Reeve Vinn entered his personal elevator and pressed the button labeled 'roof.' A trail of papers was spread out behind him in his office. He watched the hoards of people crawling over each other for safety through the tinted glass as he traveled upward.

  The pirate Captain, too caught up in his performance and oblivious to his surroundings, fired another cannon. He stood proud as pyrotechnics lit up the stage around him. He pointed out over the water and called his crew to arms.

  "RAISE YOUR SIGHTS AND SET AIM FOR THEIR MID MAST!"

  He turned to watch his crew obeying his commands, trying to encourage them forward. He was perturbed to see that they were not, he frowned.

  They seemed to be preoccupied with something that was going on up above. He glanced up the wall in time to see another large chunk of plaster spill into the water. His frown broadened and he repeated his command.

  "I SAID RAISE YOUR SIGHTS AND SET AIM FOR ... HOLY SHIT!"

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