Last thing you remember you were in the casino playing craps. The girl in the black dress flashed you a wide, white smile. Then cocktails on the terrace . . and it all went dark.
You wake up on a cold hard slab. The first thing you do is try and sit up, but the ropes wrapped around your wrists and ankles barely let you move. Fabric is fastened tightly around your eyes, cutting out all traces of light.
'Awake at last?'
It's a voice you never thought you'd hear again.
'Surprised? Some of us are hard to kill, harder to kill than you, at least.' And he laughs, long and cold. You struggle to speak but the gag muffles any sound. 'No last words? Well, you have three minutes. One hundred and eighty seconds until you, and everyone else in this accursed city, won't be speaking ever, ever again.'
Footsteps drift away and you realise that you're alone. Somewhere far behind your head you can hear a soft ticking and there is a loud buzzing noise that sounds much, much closer.
You need to think but you don't have time.
You're tied up, gagged, blindfolded, and you've got . .