Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas   ::   Thompson Hunter S.

There was no way to cope with it. I stood up and gathered my luggage. It was important, I felt, to get out of town immediately.

My attorney seemed to finally grasp this. "Wait!" he shouted. "You can't leave me alone in this snake pit! This room is in my name."

I shrugged.

"OK, goddamnit," he said, moving toward the phone.

"Look, I'll call her. I'll get her off our backs." He nodded.

"You're right. She's my problem."

I shook my head. "No, it's gone too far."

"You'd make a pisspoor lawyer," he replied. "Relax. I'll handle this."

He dialed the Americana and asked for 1600. "Hi, Lucy," he said. "Yeah, it's me. I got your message… what? Hell no, I taught the bastard a lesson he'll never forget…, what?… o, not dead, but he won't be bothering anybody for a while - yeah, I left him out there; I stomped him, then pulled all teeth out…

Jesus, I thought. What a terrible thing to lay on somebody a head full of acid.

“But here's the problem," he was saying. "I have to leave here right away. That bastard cashed a bad check downstairs and gave you as a reference, so they’ll be looking for both of you… yeah, I know, but you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, Lucy; some people are just basically rotten… anyway, the pie as a reference, so they'll be looking for both of us. The last thing in the world you want to do is call this hotel again; they'll trace the call and put you straight behind bars… no, I'm moving to the Tropicana right away; I'll call you from there when I know my room number… yeah, probably two hours; I have to act casual, or they'll capture me too… I think I'll probably use a different name, but I'll let you know what it is… sure, just as soon as I check in… what? of course; we'll go to the Circus-Circus and catch the polar bear act; it'll freak you right out..

He was nervously shifting the phone from ear to ear while he talked: "No…listen, I have to get off; they probably have the phone tapped… yeah, I know, it was horrible, but it's all over now… 0 MY GOD! THEY'RE KICKING THEDOOR DOWN!" He hurled the phone down and began shout ing: "No! Get away from me! I'm innocent! It was Duke! I swear to God!" He kicked the phon against the wall, then leaned down to it and began yelling again: "No, I don't know where she is! I think she went back to Montana. You'll never catch Lucy! She's gone!" He kicked the receiver again, then picked it up and held it about a foot away from his mouth as he uttered a long, quavering groan. "No! No! Don't put that thing on me!" he screamed. Then he slammed the phone down.