Thompson becomes increasingly nervous as he continues to wait for the valet to bring The Shark around. Finally he hears a voice calling, “MISTER DUKE!” (the pseudonym under which he had taken his room at the hotel). He hears the voice again but thinks he is hallucinating. Again he hears, “MISTER DUKE! Wait!”

Thompson thinks he has been discovered sneaking out of the hotel and believes he will be arrested. He wonders what it will be like to write a novel behind bars. A lot of people have done so successfully, he reasons. He remembers visiting the prison in Carson City, Nevada, on assignment for a story. He interviewed a lot of people there, both cops and cons. All were eager to see their story in print, to have their voices heard, but the story never came out. Thompson’s editor wanted him to rewrite the lead and he refused, so the story was shelved. Now Thompson wonders what the ramifications will be from the people he interviewed; he wonders if they will be angry because they were never able to read their story.

His thoughts are interrupted when the hotel clerk finally catches up to him. He has a telegram to deliver, one for “Hunter S. Thompson, c/o Raoul Duke.” The telegram is from the attorney; he tells Thompson they have a new story to cover at the Dune’s hotel. The National Conference of District Attorneys has invited Thompson to cover their four-day convention on the dangers of drug use. Reservations for him have been made at the Flamingo Hotel and for a white Cadillac convertible. Thompson is instructed to call his attorney immediately. The telegram is signed, “Doctor Gonzo.”

The clerk is confused about the telegram. He is under the impression that Doctor Gonzo was a guest at the hotel, and the addressee, Hunter S. Thompson, is not a name with which anyone is familiar. Thus, there was a delay in delivering the telegram to Mister Duke. “Duke” tells the clerk he did the right thing and explains that press messages are often deliberately mysterious. The clerk shrugs off the explanation but is not yet through with Thompson. In an odd—and slightly menacing—tone, he asks when the Doctor will be awake. A Mr. Heem wants to meet him, as he does all the guests with “large accounts.” The clerk continues to press Thompson for a time when the doctor will be available. Thompson tells the clerk the message is actually from Thompson to Dr. Gonzo; it was all just a ruse. Now, he claims, Thompson is on his way with a new assignment and he, Duke, is in a hurry to get back to the track.

Once safely away from the hotel and the prying clerk, Thompson reconsiders the telegram. He feels sure that the claims the attorney makes about the new assignment are true, but accepting the job would mean another long and frightening week in Las Vegas. He decides it is time to go. There is a delightful irony in staying on, however. The thought of his drug-addled self covering a convention about the dangers of drug use is a delicious notion to consider.

Additionally, there is the thrill of leaving the mess at the Mint behind and creating an entirely new one at a different hotel, not to mention trading in the Great Red Shark for a fresh vehicle to abuse, all the while holding press credentials and moving effortlessly among hundreds of people in law enforcement. The thought of hiding in plain sight is a “dangerous lunacy” but appealing. Still, Thompson knows he has come very close to ruining his entire life. He is leaning toward getting out of the city and leaving all this mess behind.