“What do you want me for? What would happen to me?” Cooper let a false panic rise in his throat.
Hodges laughed on the other end. “I don’t care a bit for you. But, some people I know want you pretty badly. Bringing you in myself will not only give me a lot of money, but it will help my standing with them. They just want to question you. Probably have you take back the things you’ve said. Then, I’d guess you’ll be on your merry way.”
Cooper held back the scoff that leapt into his throat and instead played the part, “Yeah, sure. I just want my son to be safe. Can I talk to him?” Cooper’s voice quivered on the last words.
“Sorry, he isn’t with me.”
“How do I know he’s safe then?”
“You’ll just have to trust me.”
“OK,” Cooper gulped.
“Can we make arrangements to meet then?”
“Sure.”
“Tomorrow. Noon. At the Ranger station just outside of town.”
“Alright. I’ll be there. I want to warn you.”
“Warn me,” Hodges exclaimed indignantly.
“Yeah. You harm my son, and all hell will rain down upon you!” Cooper’s false bravado was pitch perfect.
“I have no desire to harm a hair on his head. You come in, nice and easy…he goes home nice and easy.”
The channel went back to ominous static.
Cooper leaned back in his chair and exhaled.
“You played that well, brother.”
Cooper pressed his fingers into his forehead, kneading the flesh.
“I guess so. Big day tomorrow, eh?”
“Indeed.”
Cooper rubbed his temples, “This is driving me crazy.”
“Yeah,” Dranko grunted sympathetically.
“I can’t believe Jake is in that bastard’s hands. How’d I let that happen?”
Dranko leaned in, bringing his face closer to Cooper’s, “Hey, now. Don’t go there. This ain’t your fault.”
“But…”
Dranko waved his hands dismissively, “But, nothing. You can’t carry him around in a backpack twenty-four seven. Can you?”
“I guess not,” Cooper said, unconvinced.
“This just happened.”
Cooper brought his eyes from the floor to look Dranko squarely in the eye, “It didn’t just happen.”
“What?” His friend asked, confused.
“I could have just kept my mouth shut about what I’d learned about the Brushfire Plague. Look at what’s it’s caused. More violence. Threatened war. Riots. Jake being kidnapped. It’s all a damned mess.” Cooper’s hands slid behind his head and he dug his fingers into his neck, massaging the tense muscles.
“Yeah, it’s a mess for sure.”
Cooper chuckled, “Thanks for making me feel better.”
“You didn’t let me finish. Yes, there’s been a high price for the truth getting out. But, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. What?”
“Does water in a creek flow downhill?”
Cooper wrinkled his eyebrows, “I don’t see what…”
“Just answer the question,” Dranko demanded.
“Yes, it flows downhill.”
“Why?”
Cooper looked at him dumbly, “Duh. Because it has to. Physics.”
“And, does Cooper Adams tell the truth? Always. Even when it’s annoying and frustrating. Or stupid.”
He turned sheepish, “Yes, he does.”
“Why does he?”
Something swelled up from deep inside Cooper. Impotence at not being able to lie when it would help him so much. When it would help Jake. The hurt from what had happened to his father and his lost childhood. It ran together with the pain he now experienced watching the same thing happen to his son. A devilish froth of pain and rage overwhelmed him. His face flushed red, his jaw clenched, and his fist thundered onto the table. The ham radio bounced.
“Because I do. Because I’m trapped inside of this!” His hands motioned his body.
Dranko was surprised at his friend’s reaction, but let him go. Cooper stood up and paced the room in a wide circle. Dranko watched. Waiting. He knew him well enough that words would come.
After his fifth rapid cycle around the cramped basement room, Cooper stopped and looked at Dranko.
“I do have a choice, that’s the difference.”
“Do you really though, brother? Really?” Dranko stood so that he was at eye level.
“Hell, I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. But, it doesn’t help with how I’m feeling. I did all of this.
“What’d you say about Julianne?”
Dranko’s question stopped him cold, “What?”
“What’d you say to Julianne. Didn’t you say she made the best decision she could with the information she had?”
“Me or Angela said something like that. Yeah.”
“So, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“So, stop this baloney about guilt. You are who you are. You made the best decision you could. What more can be asked of any man?”
“To make the right decision.”
Dranko’s arms flew into the air, “You’re impossible.”
Cooper put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Thanks. It does help. Why don’t we get our gear set up for tomorrow?”
Dranko nodded and let his friend lead them upstairs to the main floor of the cabin.
As they prepared their equipment, Cooper whispered to his friend, “I wish I knew what was happening inside Jake’s head. He’s been on a roller coaster these last few weeks. Sometimes he sounds like a grizzled, emotionless, and cynical war veteran. Other times I see the little boy like nothing has happened.”
Dranko’s eyes shined with concern for his friend, “Yeah, he’s been through a lot.”
“I just wish I knew how this was affecting him and how it’s going to turn out.” Cooper’s hands grasped his head before he continued, “I mean, he’s seen so much death and destruction. My God, he couldn’t even have time to properly grieve his mother’s death yet. What’s going to happen to his mind?”
Dranko stepped in so he could put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Look, Cooper. Try not to think about it. There’s nothing more you can do right now. He knows you love him. You keep trying to talk to him. What more can you do?”
It was as if Dranko had said nothing, “And, what are those bastards doing to him right now? I swear to God, if he’s been harmed I will put a goddamned bullet into the brain of every last man involved in this!” Cooper’s voice shook and thundered as rage overtook him. His fists were tight balls by the time he had finished.
Dranko’s words were stern, “If they have harmed a hair on his body, you’ll have to beat me to it, brother.”
Despite his feverish wish to the contrary, Dranko’s words were not helpful to Cooper. He just nodded to his friend’s sympathy, then shook his head and returned to topping off one of the magazines with fresh rounds. The two men continued their work in silence. Cooper’s thoughts continued in torment as circular thoughts of worry, rage, and desperation went unabated for hours.
Chapter Thirteen
The first rays of sunlight drifted into the room where Cooper slept, waking him. He was instantly alert and tense. He had slept fitfully, worrying about where Jake was and whether he was all right. He had doubted his decision to wait until morning to attack. The advantage of a surprise night attack versus the advantage of having more men to even the odds battled in his head all night. But, the risk of having Jake accidentally shot in the darkness was too much for him to bear.
He dressed quickly, slipping into the same camouflage clothing he had worn on the night that they had attacked Ethan Mitchell’s compound. It had only been weeks since that day, but it felt like a lifetime ago. He crept downstairs and worked his way outside, carefully closing the cabin door behind him.