In Plain Sight - Part 1

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It 5:00 in the morning, Kevin anxiously waited for the group to pick him up for their highly anticipated Las Vegas road trip. He was glad he purchased some nice button up shirts, slacks, dress shoes, and got his hair re-colored with a fresh batch of blonde. Buried in the bottom of his bag, the decoy phone – his boldest attempt. His primary phone made the Dargle message notification sound.

RLewis: Almost at your apartment. Be ready or we're leaving without you.

He looked at the Dargle map and saw five green dots moving quickly in the direction of his apartment and stopped right by the green dot representing Kevin himself.

RLewis: We're here

Kevin went outside with his mini luggage bag and saw a sleek freshly cleaned brown and white oldschool VW minibus with Sarah, Christopher, Aaron, Cathy, and Robert piled inside. He smiled and got in. It was roomy, comfortable, and he sat next to Aaron only because Sarah was sitting next to Cathy. They blasted the radio and headed off.

The road trip to Las Vegas from South Arbon started off amazing, however, the scenery slowly devolved to more of a desert landscape with a vast array of nothingness both in front and behind with distant mountains and a two lane road that came to a point on either horizon. "So we're all pitching in about $300 into a big pool just from random Vegas shit," Robert said. "Kevin, I know we didn't ask you about that first so if you're not able to pitch in, it's alright. It's your first Vegas trip with us so this can be our treat." It would have been nice to know that everyone was pitching in beforehand, but he greatly appreciated such a treat. Then again, he just recently ran into $3,000.

The minibus' windows were down and the hot desert air grazed their faces. "You know what?" Kevin replied, "I have some money I'll pitch in too. It's my way of saying thank you." The group cheered and shouted with excited approval.

The shouting and excitement started to fade away around another hour and a half into the trip once they realized that they weren't even halfway there yet. Kevin, on the other hand, enjoyed the ride. He contemplated the wild and crazy idea – what if I just stay at Las Vegas. Who on earth would catch me out there? Nah. He already had a good thing going in South Arbon. Then again, staying in Las Vegas would negate the idea of leaving the decoy phone – still, if he were to leave the phone in a taxi cab or some other form of transportation leaving the city, Dargle would spot a mysterious Ian Avery name fleeing from Las Vegas, and no one would bat an eye towards Kevin, much less at South Arbon.

They stopped at Jean Fuel West Shell gas station where everyone got out to use the restroom. Kevin walked around the convenience store and bought some chips for the road. On the magazine rack, he saw a magazine with a headline cover title Ian Avery: He's Still Out There with the same blurry camera picture of Ian Avery from the incident that they've been using for a full year plastered as the full-page cover. Kevin sighed and walked out. Even still, they haven't forgotten.

About twenty minutes later on the ride, Kevin said, "Hey look! You can see some civilization. Is that Vegas up there?" he was excited.

"Sure is," Aaron answered. The buildings started to come more into view. Kevin was unfamiliar with Las Vegas territory but the big pyramid building among the other tall and diverse structures made him excited. Whatever was out there was going to be fun – and if everything went to plan, a way to a slightly less stressful life. Aaron continued, "We're heading to the Bellagio. I have connections out there and we can get four nights between two rooms for about $150 a night. Total. I know a guy."

Aaron seemed to always know a guy or have a guy that owed him a favor. The Black and White Lounge, now the Bellagio. Cathy added, "Yeah we always go there. Everywhere else is way too expensive. So Aaron's mystery connections come in handy," she laughed.

Within minutes, they made their way onto the traffic jammed Las Vegas Boulevard. The towering buildings and luxurious hotels lined Kevin's view. The strip was packed full of people. They passed the towering Stratosphere, the shining hotels of Treasure Island, The Palazzo, The Venetian, the monstrosity of Caesar's Palace and finally started to approach the great fountains of the Bellagio. Kevin watched in awe the exciting scenery that surrounded him.

The minibus went up the Bellagio parking structure and finally came to a stop then got out. Kevin put his foot down on the Las Vegas pavement, looked around at his surroundings. Planet Hollywood, Paris, Harra's and so much more. Whatever the next few days had in store for him, this would be an interesting way to celebrate the anniversary of his crimes. Little did the country know – after a full year of searching for Ian Avery, they were mere hours from finding him – or so they would think. The media was scratching at nothing for such a long time on the same person in the same spot that if they were to catch wind that he was somewhere else, they would scramble to look for him – in the wrong spot.