A Wake of Vultures

by Patrick Kansoer

  They were headed toward the elevators when a short, muscular middle-Eastern looking gentleman hurriedly exited from the elevator nearest them and began walking in their direction.

  “Mr. Petris? I am Captain Ahmed Al-Hadrami. I am so sorry to not be here when you arrived. I was delayed getting here to the parking garage. There is much commotion going on. We must get immediately to His Highness. He seemed very concerned that you would get here soon and instructed me to bring you to him immediately upon your arrival.”

  “It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance Captain, although I am surprised that you would be in mufti rather than your uniform.”

  10:33pm: “Dispatch to all units at Mandalay Bay; We have three shooters on the 32nd-floor of the Mandalay Bay.”

  10:38pm: “Dispatch , Las Vegas supervisor: There was a shooter at the Route 91 and all we know is that the suspects are still outstanding and there were three.”

  As the moved toward the elevator Al-Hadrami explained; “His Highness wanted to be as anonymous as possible while we were here so he could gamble without drawing too much attention. It was on his order that me and my men are dressed in civilian clothing.

  Please hurry. The Crown Prince does not like to be kept waiting.”

  The four entered the elevator and the Captain inserted a key which activated the car. There were no floor buttons to be pushed and it became obvious to Petris’ crew that this was a private elevator that only went to a very VIP suite.

  10:42pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “Hello? Send the police, we need help. We’re in Hooters room #340, there’s a shooter in the lobby of the casino. Send the police. Please hurry.”

  10:43pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “ 9-11? I just got a call from one of my employees. She says she’s trapped in an airport hangar. She’s in a hangar at the airport and she’s seen people who’ve been shot where she is. She and her friend heard the shooting and broke into the hangar to hide. She’s in hangar number six.”

  As the elevator doors opened they were greeted by a guard armed with appeared to be a clone of the weapons that the Petris group carried concealed.

  “Hurry Captain, His Highness is very agitated. Apparently there has been a shooting incident by the music festival with much police activity” They were ushered into the suite and into the presence of a tall, slightly overweight man of about thirty or so.

  He was casually dressed in an Izod golf shirt and tan walking shorts.

  Keren wasn’t sure what she expected the Crown Prince to look like but she had expected that he would be wearing the traditional Keffiyeh headgear.

  “Petris my friend,” said the Prince; “How good to see you again. I was concerned when I received your phone call and it seems that, as usual, your intelligence was right on the money. There are reports of a mass shooting at the country music festival by the Mandalay Bay. I won’t ask how it is that your information is always better than that of my Royal Information Agency but it always is. Who are these people with you?”

  “Your highness, these are my staff, highly competent and completely trusted. I’m afraid that we don’t have too much time to chat, however. I believe that there is to be an attempt to either kidnap or assassinate you tonight. We need to get you out of here and to a place of safety immediately”

  “Very well, Petris. I have learned that your information and concerns are always well founded. I will call for the car immediately. It will take a while since I my other two men return to the Mandalay Bay with it.”

  “Your highness, we do not have that kind of time to wait. I have a secure vehicle waiting in the VIP parking area below the hotel. We need to leave. Now.”

  “As you wish, Petris. Captain, make certain that you and your men are on high alert as we are moving.”

  10:45pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “Two middle-eastern looking gentlemen with backpacks and what look like bullet proof vests were walking into the hotel while everybody was running the other way. There’s people who got shot in the restaurant in front of the hotel. I think they may be some of the shooters. The place is behind the Hooters --- it’s Americas Best Value --- it’s a little motel.”

  It was quite cramped with the six men and Keren crammed into the private elevator but soon they were down at the parking level with Ted and Keren in the lead, one of the Crown Princes’ guards behind them, the Prince and Petris walking side by side and the remaining two guards in the rear.

  10:48pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?

  “I’m an off-duty Orange County Sheriff. First floor parking, MGM, suspicious people. I don’t know, they are on their phones, middle-eastern, first floor, MGM parking lot. […] they were surrounding a vehicle […] it was just a weird look.”

  They had walked almost half way to the car when there was a loud report and the lead guard in front of the Prince went down, shot in the head. Captain Al-Hadrami spun to his right and saw that there were three attackers dressed in what appeared to be police SWAT uniforms moving toward the group firing as they came.

  The two guards in the rear moved to the right of the Prince and Petris and began to return fire on the attackers. Ted began to run toward the Escalade hoping to get it unlocked and ready to receive the rest of the group.

  His movement caught the attention of the attacker closest to him who fired a burst in his direction. He felt a searing pain in his right buttock and nearly went down but managed to keep moving toward the vehicle. The bodyguard behind Captain Al-Hadrami returned fire taking out the attacker who had wounded Ted.

  10:54pm: “Dispatch, all units, as far as we know there are three suspects.”

  Petris wanted to return fire but somehow his weapon had become caught in his waistband and he could not draw it. He kept urging the Prince to move toward the Escalade.

  The two remaining attackers continued to fire at the group and the Captain and the remaining surviving body guard returned cover fire. As the group nearly reached the Escalade, the two remaining attackers were hit but one managed to fatally wound the second body guard. Ted had managed to drag himself to the Escalade and unlock it, opening the doors.

  11:00pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “I’m at the MGM.”, said a woman. “There is more than one shooter […] I want you to know there is more than one. […] There’s multiple. […] Stop telling the news that there is only one shooter there is multiple shooters and they are out there.”

  Petris got the Crown Prince into the back seat of the Escalade and he slid into the right hand seat next to the Prince as Keren started walking behind the vehicle. She was going to get in the left side on the other side of the Crown Prince.

  11:10pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “ This is Las Vegas Monorail Control. We have two passengers that are on the monorail platform who have gunshot wounds to their leg.”

  11:10pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?

  “We are stuck in the New York New York, we don’t know if it’s safe to leave, we saw bodies on the floor in the Zumanity theater.”

  11:12pm: “Yes, dispatch, this is in reference to your active shooter — my niece who’s saying there is an active shooter now inside the Tropicana […].”

  Captain Al-Hadrami was moving toward the front passenger door when Colonel Bin Ghazi came from behind a pillar and fired a long burst which practically cut the Captain in two. It was a quick, if untidy death.

  “It seems as though you and your friends here are about to experience a little change of plans, your Highness,” Bin Ghazi shouted to the group. “It is time that the Kingdom has a ruler who does not bow to the infidels and associate with kafir.”

  Bin Ghazi moved slowly toward the Escalade losing track of Keren because of focusing on the Prince.

  Keren decided that it was better to die on her feet instead of on her knees and retrieved her weapon from its concealed position
. She brought it up to the level of the Escalade roof.

  “Hey, asshole,” she shouted and as Bin Ghazi looked up startled she fired three rounds into his forehead dropping him as if he had been poleaxed.

  11:31pm: “We are in the Bellagio and we heard gunshots and we don’t know what to do. […] Maybe like five to ten minutes ago. […] A bunch of people ran from outside the casino inside,” a man told a 911 operator.

  “ Dispatch, all units[…] these shooters are still active.”

  …“The shooter was in front of Planet Hollywood,”

  11:32 pm: A woman staying on the 32nd-floor of the Mandalay Bay in room 32-327 (on the 300 wing) reported hearing the fire alarm and seeing “a lot of smoke.”

  11:32pm: A woman reports to 911 that there was a shooter inside the Paris casino. “I think I heard five to six shots, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,” the woman explained to the operator.

  11:32pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “I’m staying on the 21st-floor at Mandalay Bay and I heard an “explosion” around 11:30 pm before “glass” fell down past my window.”

  “Everybody OK?, she said. “Ted can you get us the hell out of here?”

  “I’m hit Keren. I don’t think I can drive.”

  “Hit? Hit where?” Petris demanded.

  “That first son-of -a-bitch shot me in my right cheek. I’m bleeding kind of heavy right now.”

  “Right cheek?, Petris asked. “I don’t see any blood on your face.”

  “Not my face cheek, boss. It’s my butt cheek.”

  Keren giggled. “It ain’t funny lady. It hurts like hell.”

  11:33pm: “Dispatch all units, we are getting reports of an active shooter at the Venetian.”

  11:33pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “My sister was in the “food court” at the Excalibur when a gunman came in and opened fire.”

  “There is an active shooting at the Paris casino […] we heard the shots […] maybe 30-45 seconds ago.” (they could still hear gunshots while on phone with 911)

  “The shooter was at the Chandelier bar in the Cosmo and we have another one down in the valet of the Bellagio,” said a 911 operator who was taking a report.

  “OK, let me take a look. Petris, do we have a first aid kit? We need to get Ted patched up and we need to get the hell out of here. It could be that there are more where these other rats came from. Drop your drawers Ted, let me take a look.”

  “Keren!” Ted squawked. “Put a sock in it Ted. I’ve seen a man’s ass before.” Ted gingerly dropped his pants and Keren saw that there was a hole a bit smaller than the size of her little finger through the fleshy part of Ted’s right butt cheek.

  “OK hang on Ted, this is gonna hurt a bit” Keren fished in her bag and came out with a small bottle of cologne, some tissues and a tampon.

  “What the hell?”, Ted shrieked. “Shut up Ted” Keren snapped while she wet the tissues with the cologne and swabbed the area around the entrance and exit wounds.

  “Damn that burns.” Said Ted. “That ain’t nothin, cupcake,” Keren answered tearing the wrapping off the tampon. She then shoved it into and through the wound.

  “Owwww! God Damn It!”

  “That will staunch the bleeding until we can get you some professional help. Now, limp over to the passenger side, get in and sit on your left cheek. I’m going to have to drive this wreck and get us back to the airport. How do I get us back to I-95 and on our way Petris?”

  “Follow the red and gold lights to the Trump Casino. There’s an exit there that will take you to I-95 and you can retrace our route back to North Las Vegas Executive.”

  MaryJane had observed and overheard all this from behind the pillar that Bin Ghazi had emerged from. The vehicle they had commandeered was just a few steps away so it wasn’t difficult for her to get to it and begin tailing the Escalade. She would figure out some way to salvage something from this disaster somehow.

  11:42pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “There’s people with guns over there at the High Roller. […] there’s a lot of people already killed in there.”

  11:43pm: “Las Vegas 911, what is your emergency?”

  “I’m staying at MGM Grand on the 38th-floor,Tower 2, room 37-716. I’m hearing a lot of gunfire in the building within the last 2-3 minutes.”

  11:43pm: A man named Chris told a 911 operator that he sees a man dressed in black on the lower roof of the Mandalay Bay by a skylight.

  Caller to 911 reported a lot of shots fired in Caesar’s Palace around 11:33 pm. “One woman even got shot,” he explained.

  “We’re in the Bellagio, we can hear them shooting,” a caller told 911.

  “I’m in the LINQ hotel and there’s and active shooter […] he came in the front entrance […] Strip side,” a man told 911.

  “They are shooting at the Flamingo […] they are still shooting now,” a man told 911.

  Keren had little difficulty following the red and gold marker lights to the Trump Casino and the exit to the surface streets was well marked. She pulled up to the keypad at the gate.

  “What was the code again Petris? I have to punch it in before the gate will open.”

  “Four-five, four-five, then enter.” Petris answered.

  Keren punched in the numbers and the gate trundled open to allow them out. As she pulled forward a Jeep nearly rear-ended them.

  “Crazy bastard behind nearly clobbered us to get through the gate.”

  “Don’t worry about that now Keren,” Petris said; “We need to get His Majesty out of town and Ted to medical attention. This is no time for a road rage confrontation.”

  Aside from traffic being worse than it was on the trip in, the return to North Vegas Executive was uneventful. After a few minutes Keren lost sight of and forgot the Jeep.

  It was about fifteen minutes after midnight when they arrived at the airport. Keren parked the Escalade near the entry stairs of the Learjet. Ted was now in great pain from his wound and it was difficult for him to be boarded. Petris was in his seventies and, although in good shape for his age it was going to be next to impossible for him to get Ted into the jet by himself.

  “Allow me to help Petris,” the Prince offered. “We can’t ask you to do that Your Highness,” Ted said gritting his teeth in pain.

  “Nonsense. If it weren’t for you people I would be kidnapped or dead by now. I look at you all as friends and friends help friends when the situation calls for it.”

  Between the efforts of Petris and the Crown Prince, Ted was finally manhandled into the Learjet and placed on one of the couches face down.

  “Keren, would you please gather the bags and stow them in the cargo compartment and return the limo to the staging area? While you’re doing that I will go through the pre-flight check. As soon as you return we will head back to BKG.”

  “OK Petris, but shouldn’t we try to get a second certified pilot as a backup? I know you said you were qualified to fly this thing but if something goes wrong we’re in deep trouble. I don’t know anything about piloting an aircraft.”

  At this point the Prince spoke up, “Not to worry. I was trained as a fighter pilot when I served in the Royal Air Force. It’s like you Americans say about riding a bicycle, you never forget. I can fly as Petris’ co-pilot.”

  Keren exited the plane and pulled the limo to the back of Learjet by the cargo compartment. She transferred their bags into the belly of the plane and drove the Escalade back around the fence, parked it, placed the keys under the drivers floormat and walked back to the plane. The engines were running at slow speed as she climbed up the stairway, closed and secured the hatch.

  “I’m back Petris. Do I have time to check on Ted before we take off?”

  “Sure thing, Keren. We will have about five minutes on the taxiway before we are cleared to take off.”

  “Keren walked back to where Ted was strapped down. “How are you doing sport?”

 
; “How would you expect me to be doing Keren? I was shot in the ass. I hurt. Can you get me one of those small bottles of Wild Turkey from the courtesy bar? I need something to dull the pain.”

  “Booze wouldn’t be such a good idea, especially since you are going to need to see the medicos when we get back to Branson. I have some Midol in my purse. I’ll give you three of those with some water. In about ten minutes it should take the edge off the pain.”

  “Midol? Are you crazy? Midol? I have a gunshot wound not menstrual cramps.”

  Petris keyed the microphone; “D-CGFI tower, permission to take off.”

  “D-CGFI cleared for take-off runway 12R.”

  Petris realized that the Prince had spoken the truth. The skill of flying a jet after all these years was just like the skill of riding a bicycle. He was a little bit wobbly at first but he managed to get them off the ground and on their way east toward Branson.

  “Petris, is there some way I can use the radio to communicate to air traffic control to have one of my official aircraft meet us at Branson airport?”

  “That is possible, your Highness, but it may direct some unwanted attention to us by the folks who had other plans for you back in Vegas. We have a satellite phone on board here. Do you have a secure way of calling your people using that?”

  “Yes, I can do that. Miss Keren, can you please bring the satellite phone up here to the cockpit please?”

  The Crown Prince made three calls speaking in his native tongue. The last one was a lengthy exchange that had him reacting very angrily.

  After a bit Petris found that flying the Learjet in level flight was very similar to driving the Escalade but with a few more gauges and dials to keep track of but less traffic to be aware of. They were about seventy-five minutes into the flight when Petris checked the heads-up navigation chart showing them to be pretty much over the Mount Dora East navigation beacon near where New Mexico meets the Oklahoma panhandle. Without warning the collision avoidance klaxon began a shrill pulsating wail that continued to increase in volume and intensity.