title: My Week at the Blue Angel: Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas
author: Matthew O'Brien
description: <div><B>Matthew O'Brien</B> is an author and journalist who's lived in Las Vegas since 1997. His first book, <I>Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas</I>, chronicles his adventures in the city's underground flood channels, which he explored for more than four years with a flashlight, tape recorder, and expandable baton for protection. <I>My Week at the Blue Angel: And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas</I> is his second book.<br><BR><B>Bill Hughes</B> is an award-winning photojournalist who moved from Dallas to Las Vegas in 1992 and worked for the alternative weekly newspaper <I>CityLife</I> until 2009. His work has also appeared in publications including the <I>L.A. Times</I> and newspapers in the <I>Village Voice</I> media chain.<BR></div>
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  **Contents**
  
    
  
   _1_
  
  Dying isn’t as painful as you might think. I’ve done…
  
   _2_
  
  The bus dropped the lot of us mid-downtown, and while…
  
   _3_
  
  The other teams returned by midnight, exhausted from the hunt…
  
   _4_
  
  “What are you doing here?”
  
   _5_
  
  I left immediately after Tripp. Warren hadn’t been exaggerating when…
  
   _6_
  
  I had to return to the bus, of course. Or…
  
   _7_
  
  Las Vegas actually dozes in the early morning hours, resting…
  
   _8_
  
  After beaming some overly cheery farewell, and donning my shades,…
  
   _9_
  
  I drove. Specifically, after Skamar dropped me at the guard-gated…
  
   _10_
  
  I left the destroyed Bentley in Caine’s front lot. Let…
  
   _11_
  
  The supernatural community at large could move around in ways…
  
   _12_
  
  I stood, my chair bumping over the aged floor, wondering…
  
   _13_
  
  I awoke to a heavy wet rag being dragged across…
  
   _14_
  
  Much of the Zodiac world was hidden beneath the known…
  
   _15_
  
  I emerged from the rogue’s lair hesitantly, squinting