Part II: Chapter 8 Summary

Thompson has been driving the White Whale around the city. His attorney has been vomiting almost continuously over the side, and at a stoplight shouts abusively at a nearby car. This eventually escalates into a brief shouting match and impromptu car chase, which results in a victory for the White Whale.

Following the chase and a quick trip to a gas station to fill the car's tires with air, Thompson and his attorney stop at an all-night diner in North Las Vegas—the city's notorious ghetto district. Aging prostitutes migrate here to live out the remainder of their lives, scraping a living from the drunks, junkies, and anyone else no longer fit for business in the tightly closed and highly selective society of Las Vegas proper. Once inside, the attorney orders coffee while Thompson reads a day-old newspaper. The...