Agent of Influence: A Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page A

elevated monorail that would take them over to the baggage claim area.
    The doors opened after a two- minute ride, and they jumped off at the other end of the airport. The terminal was lined with the usual ads trying to be the first to catch a visitor’s attention. Alex noticed one for the Rosewood Grille restaurant depicting a man in a tuxedo holding a monstrous lobster like he just wrestled it from the sea himself. “I see the Rosewood is still doing alright,” Alex said. He must have seen the same ad a thousand times during his trips to Las Vegas. It seemed as permanent a fixture as the prostitutes and strip clubs.
                  “Maybe we should give the place a try this time. It’s got to be better than the buffets we get at these hotels,” Michael suggested. He tended to be a picky eater, and found most of the hotel buffets rather poor in quality.             
    “Our hotel may be different this time. Let’s give it a chance before I spend money eating that should be supporting my gambling habit.” Alex hoped he was masking his nervous tension. 
    “What’s the name of our place again?” Cindy chimed in.
    “The Imperial Palace. It’s in a Japanese motif; not the swankiest place on the strip, but it gives us a good central location...” Alex stopped in mid-sentence as he saw the one bag he checked on the plane making its way around the conveyer belt. He darted over to pick it up, his paranoia about having his luggage stolen kicking into high gear.
    “Look’s like someone is ready to gamble,” Michael laughed as he said it. Five minutes later Cindy and Michael had their bags in hand as well, and they all headed to the outside of the airport. After standing in line for a few minutes they were herded into a minivan taxi and whisked off towards their hotel. They took a left onto Tropicana Avenue, heading towards Las Vegas Boulevard, better known simply as “the strip.”
    On their right, as they approached the corner of Tropicana Street and Las Vegas Boulevard stood the MGM Grand, currently one of the largest hotels in the world, its green lighting illuminated the night sky. Directly ahead of them stood New York, New York with it’s scaled down version of the New York City skyline and Statue of Liberty facing the street for all the tourists to see. A huge roller coaster wrapped around the entire hotel, and the screams of the coaster’s occupants could faintly be heard from inside the taxi as the coaster made its way through several loops.
    Construction certainly appeared to still be where the real money in Vegas was Alex surmised. The last time he had been here many of the hotels including New York, New York, Mandalay Bay, and Paris had not even broken ground yet. Turning his head to the left, Alex inched closer to his window and peered out at the Excalibur and Luxor hotels. The Excalibur was a giant castle in the King Arthur mode, and The Luxor was a gargantuan black pyramid modeled after the famous pyramids in Egypt. The sheer size and gaudiness of everything always provided you with entertainment. Alex squinted, trying to get a better look at the renovation to the front of the MGM Grand. As he pressed his face closer to the glass, his right leg brushed against the side of the door. He felt the cell phone in his pocket, and tried to decide how to play the CIA’s little game. Should he be aggressive or wait to be told what to do?
    He looked over at Michael and Cindy, and saw they were engrossed in their own conversation. Michael was pointing out the different hotels while attempting to dance around the questions of which strip clubs they visited when they were here for Alex’s bachelor party. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Alex was happy for his friend. 10/01/00 led directly to his being hired by the CIA, destroying his marriage. He knew he made the right choice though. If they were right for each other she would have been supportive of his decision. On the other hand,