Part Four

Rachel and James strolled into a casino, their nerves tense. Rachel held Smita in her secret pocket. James intently and cautiously scanned the throngs of people. His wrist,  linked to the directional Geiger counter in the car, would tell him if any of the Eden Isotope was within five miles. The buzz on his wrist almost made James jump. “Geiger’s come through for us again!,” he exclaimed. “Great,” Rachel rejoined. “But Smita’s not finding anything, so it can’t be here.” James checked his wrist display for the direction and distance of what the Geiger counter had found: 5.5 MILES. DIRECTION 360 DEGREES. INTERMITTANT SIGNAL.

Minutes later, they entered the MGM Grand. Smita strained inside Rachel’s pocket. Past the poker tables, past the rows of slot machines, Smita led them. Finally, they came to the roulette wheels. Trying to appear nonchalant, James and Rachel played a few games, each at a different wheel. As they reached the third-to-last wheel, Smita nibbled Rachel’s hand, telling her that the Eden Microchip was very, very, near at hand. Slowly, slowly, James looked at his wrist, the information from the Geiger counter scrolled across: DISTANCE < 3’. DIRECTION UNAVAILABLE. SPEED 4MPH.  “It’s got to be in that roulette ball. But where are the Syndicate guards? Rachel, get me an extra roulette ball off the rack!,” James whispered. Minutes later, he had exchanged the roulette ball containing the Eden Microchip for a normal ball, and they were walking toward the door.