Cooper By The Gross (All 144 Cooper Stories In One Volume)

by Bill Bernico

  Dave threw his head back and laughed. “Good save, Eddie,” he said. “I think we can safely rule out religion as a topic of conversation around here. But I have to be honest with you, I really don’t care one little bit for sports, either.”

  Eddie cleared his throat. “Well, that just leaves politics, and I am thee most apolitical being on the planet.” He looked across the room at a red guitar on a stand. “Is that a Fender?”

  Dave smiled proudly. “Yup. That’s a Stratocaster I got from my buddy in Wisconsin. It plays so sweet.”

  Matt shifted in his seat. “Yeah yeah, nice guitar. You know we can’t stay here long in case any of Boyle’s men followed us.”

  Eddie looked nervous now. “You think there’s a chance of that?”

  “Boyle’s got a lot of power and influence,” Matt said. “He could afford to do anything and I wouldn’t put it past him.” He turned to Dave. “I thought we might be able to stay overnight and take off again in the morning, but I’ve got a bad feeling about all this. I wouldn’t want to put you in danger as well. No, I think it’s best if we just rest for a few minutes and hit the road again.”

  “You know you’re welcome to stay,” Dave said.

  “I know,” Matt said. “And I appreciate your hospitality, but I think we’d better move on.”

  “You know best, Matt.”

  As if on cue, a muffled shot rang out, sounding more like someone spitting. A bullet tore through the living room window and shattered the headstock of Dave’s red Stratocaster. It flew apart in pieces, a few tuners bouncing across the room. The rest of the guitar fell face first to the floor with a thud. Dave tried to leap to his feet but Matt pulled him back down to the floor as the second and third shots shattered the front window. They flew across the room into a glass curio that held blown glass figurines of musicians in different poses. Glass shattered, shelves broke and figurines tumbled to the floor in pieces.

  Matt had his .38 out now as he crawled closer to the front window. He peeked out from around the drapes to see a black car speeding away down the street. Any doubt about Boyle knowing where they were was quickly dispelled.

  “I think you’re right, Matt,” Dave said. “Probably best if you don’t stick around here. Where will you go?”

  “I don’t know, but wherever it is, we’d better do it now before those guys come back.” Matt looked around the room. “Sorry about the mess, Dave.”

  “I’m insured,” Dave said halfheartedly. “Listen, next time you’re in the area, just keep going.”

  Matt gestured to Eddie. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He and Eddie paused at the front door before running back to the van and jumping in. Matt pulled away from the curb even before Eddie had a chance to close the sliding side door.

  A few minutes later as Matt was speeding down the freeway, he glanced in his rear view mirror and spotted a black sedan closing the distance between them. “Hang on, Eddie,” Matt said as he floored the accelerator. He spotted a highway sign pointing the way to a local airport and took that exit. He wound around the area, looking for the entrance to the airport and not having any luck finding it. Finally Matt saw a gate that was hanging half open and plowed through it with the van. The gate swung open with a smashing sound and detached itself from the top hinge.

  Matt couldn’t see the black sedan behind him anymore but knew it was just a matter of time before they found him again. Matt pulled the van behind a small hangar and killed the engine. He hurried out of the van and told Eddie to follow him. Matt could see a Piper Tomahawk two-seater sitting just off the runway. He and Eddie ran over to it to have a closer look. Matt stepped up onto the wing and looked in. The key was hanging in the ignition. He gestured for Eddie to climb in and sit in the co-pilot seat. Matt sat in the pilot’s seat and closed the door. He looked around him and didn’t see anyone in the immediate area. Then he saw the black sedan cruising around between the hangars. If he was going to make his move, he’d have to do it now.

  Matt switched on the key and did a cursory look around the cabin, familiarizing himself with the controls and dials. This was the same model he’d taken his flying lessons in. In a flash it all came back to him. Matt started the engine and the single prop spun. He released the brakes and pushed the throttle forward. The plane started to move. Matt guided it onto the runway, took a quick look at the windsock and steered the plane into the wind. He pushed the throttle full forward, released the brakes and started off down the runway. The black sedan pulled out from between two hangars in time to see Matt at the controls of the small plane. It sped down the runway after the plane.

  At eighty miles per hour, Matt pulled back on the yolk and the plane reached skyward just as the black sedan caught up with it. Matt was out of reach now from the sedan’s occupants and he let out his breath, trying to relax the tension in his arms. A second later he heard the first two shots and a moment after that he heard the thud of the slug as it hit the underside of the left wing. Matt glanced out his window and could see fluid leaking from somewhere under the wing. Those guys must have hit the fuel tank, he thought.

  “What was that?” Eddie said, looking out his window at the black car below.

  “Boyle’s thugs,” Matt said. “I think they hit the fuel tank on my side. It’s leaking like a sieve.”

  “Now what do we do?” Eddie said, panic in his voice.

  Matt glanced at the fuel gauge. It was just above the empty mark. “Something tells me they didn’t fill this plane with fuel. What little is left in the tank won’t last long. I’d better find a place to set us down, but first we have to get far enough away so those guys can see us descending.”

  “What if you run out of fuel before you find that place?” Eddie said.

  “I think I’d be able to glide it down safely,” Matt said, not sure of that eventuality himself, since he’d only made that move successfully on his flight simulator program at home. “But for now, just keep looking out your window for some wide open field or parking lot.”

  Matt had flown far enough away from the airport to the point where he was sure he was out of range for Boyle’s men to see the plane. Matt slowly descended to a thousand feet, scanning the countryside for a safe place to put the plane down. A mile or two to the east Matt could see the outer fringes of the desert. He banked to his left and leveled out over the open area below.

  “Hang on, Eddie,” Matt said. “This could be a rough landing.”

  Matt brought the plane down to within a hundred feet of the desert floor. He pulled back on the throttle and the plane dropped even more. Matt was still fifteen feet off the ground when the last of the fuel ran out and the plane dropped, faster than anticipated. It settled onto the desert floor, bounding over crevices and plant life before the front wheel rolled into a small culvert and the plane stopped abruptly, its nose pointing straight down and its tail flipping upward. The air rushed out of Matt’s and Eddie’s lungs shortly before the tail flopped back down to the ground again, jerking both of their heads back.

  Matt looked over at Eddie. “You all right?”

  Eddie felt his chest and face. “I think so. How about you?”

  Matt said he thought he wasn’t hurt and then instructed Eddie to quickly slip out of his seat belt and get out of the plane. Both men hurried out the door and down to the ground, running away from the plane before stopping to catch their breath.

  “You think it’s gonna blow?” Eddie said, gesturing toward the plane.

  “Probably not,” Matt said. “There can’t be much fuel left, if any. Just the same, we’d better get as far away from the plane as we can. If anyone saw it go down, they’ll be reporting it to the police and if Boyle’s men are monitoring the police band frequency, they’ll know where to find us. Come on.”

  The two men hurried away, looking for any place where they could take shelter from the blistering sun. Matt pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. “Damn,” he said when the ‘no signal’ message came on the screen. He dropped
the phone back into his pocket and kept walking.

  “Now what are we supposed to do?” Eddie said. “You know, I wish I’d just left that scar on my jaw alone.”

  “That makes two of us,” Matt said.

  The two men continued walking away from the plane. Eddie looked over at Matt. “How far do you suppose we are from the airport?”

  Matt spread his hands and shrugged. “I don’t know. Four or five miles anyway. Why?”

  “How long do you think it would take us to walk back there?”

  “Why would you want to go back there?”

  “That’s where your van is, Matt. Sure beats walking,” Eddie said.

  “And you don’t think Bergetti’s men will have staked it out, in the event we made it back there?” Matt said.

  Eddie stopped walking. “I hadn’t thought of that. So where else can we go?”

  Matt thought about their dilemma for a moment and then offered, “I think we should walk toward a populated area—toward someplace with cell reception. At least then I could call my father to come and get us. I’m not sure who else we could even trust.”

  “Which way would lead us back toward town?” Eddie said.

  Matt looked back at the plane and could just make out the outline of its sleek body. He knew they were flying in an easterly direction just before he set it down hard on the desert floor. He pointed in the direction of the plane’s tail. “That way,” he said, “and the sooner we pick up the pace, the sooner we’ll be out of this mess. You don’t want to be stuck out in the desert at night. It might feel like an oven during the day, but after the sun goes down, it can get downright cold, and all we have is the clothes on our backs.”

  “And the animals,” Eddie said. “There must be a dozen kinds of animals that could kill us out here.”

  “There is that,” Matt agreed. He felt the .38 under his arm. It felt reassuring.

  Matt and Eddie walked in a somewhat straight line towards town for the next two hours. The plane had long since faded from their sight, yet they still couldn’t make out any signs of civilization yet. It the distance, Matt could make out a rise on the horizon. It was no more than a mile away. He pointed in that general direction and turned to Eddie. “That’s probably our best bet. If nothing else, we would be able to see for quite a few miles in all directions from up on that rise. Let’s get a move on.”

  Eddie breathed hard. “I don’t know if I can?”

  Matt pointed behind Eddie and got a wide-eyed look on his face. “It’s Boyle’s men,” Matt yelled and ran toward the rise. Eddie ran full out behind Matt for a few seconds when Matt suddenly stopped, causing Eddie to bump into him.

  Matt grabbed Eddie’s shoulders but Eddie tried to break away. Eddie stopped and looked behind him now. There was no one or nothing following them. He looked back at Matt.

  “See,” Matt said, “You can move if you have enough incentive, so can we get moving now?”

  “Please, Matt,” Eddie said. “I just need a minute or two to catch my breath. What’s another two minutes?”

  Matt sat down on the desert floor. “Two minutes,” he agreed, “but then we have to get going again.”

  Eddie sat down next to Matt, laying one hand on his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to feel his heartbeat. “Who’d have thought since the time I woke up this morning until now that all this would have happened to me? And for what? A silly little scar on my jaw.”

  “For whatever it’s worth,” Matt said. “Your face looks fine to me. But then again it would probably look fine to Frankie Bergetti’s mother, too.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Eddie said.

  Matt checked his watch. “Come on, we’ve got to get going. It’s going to be dark in another hour.” He stood up and extended his hand toward Eddie. Eddie grabbed it and Matt pulled him to his feet. The two men continued toward the rise. Twenty minutes later they climbed to the top of the rise and looked down over the opposite side. Matt could make out the lights of the city. The sun hung over the horizon, threatening to drop out of sight soon. He pointed toward a pair of parallel lights that ran east and west.

  “That’s got to be the airport,” Matt said. “Come on, we can be there in less than an hour.”

  “What about Boyle’s men staking out the van?” Eddie said.

  “It’s a chance we’ll have to take,” Matt said. “We’ll have the advantage of surprise on our side and we’ll know what to look for. They won’t.”

  “What about your phone?” Eddie said. “I would think reception would be good this high up.”

  “Good idea,” Matt said, pulling the cell from his pocket and flipping it open. The small screen lit up and Matt could see the reception icon. It showed one bar out of five. Matt winced and pressed the button for his contacts list. He found Elliott’s cell phone number and pressed the button to dial it. After four rings a recorded voice came on stating that the subscriber’s voice mail box was full and to try the call again at a later time.

  “Damn it, Dad,” Matt said out loud.

  “What is it?” Eddie said.

  “It’s my dad. He never has his cell phone on after business hours and he never remembers to empty his voice mail box after he listens to his messages. I can’t get through to him.”

  “Isn’t there someone else you can call?” Eddie said.

  Matt closed his phone and quickly opened it again, finding his contact list. He scrolled down and stopped on his mother’s name. He looked at Eddie. “Women always keep their phones on. Thank goodness for blabby women.” Matt hit the speed dial button for Gloria’s cell and listened as the phone rang. It was answered on the third ring.

  “Matt?” Gloria said when she answered. “Is that you?”

  “Mom,” Matt said. “Thank goodness you keep your phone on.”

  “Where are you, Matt?”

  “Listen, Mom,” Matt said. “I don’t have a lot of time for small talk. My battery’s gonna go dead soon. Is Dad there?”

  “Not right now,” Gloria said. “He went to the store for some milk. Why?”

  “Mom, right this down. It’s important. Eddie and I are going to be at the San Marcos airport in the next hour or so. Actually it’s a small air strip east of Escondido. Tell Dad to get down there right away and pick us up. Understand?”

  “Who’s Eddie?” Gloria said.

  “Mom!”

  “All right,” Gloria said. “Escondido in an hour. How far is that?”

  “I’m not sure,” Matt said. “Eighty-five or ninety miles, I guess.”

  “There’s no way your father can get there in an hour. It’ll probably be closer to two hours minimum.”

  “We’ll wait out of sight,” Matt said. “Look, I have to conserve my battery. Just have him call this number when he gets within ten minutes of the place. I think we’re being followed.”

  “I will,” Gloria said. “Matt, I…”

  Matt closed his phone and dropped it back in his pocket. He turned to Eddie. “Help is on the way, unless we can get back to the van and get out of there on our own.”

  “There’s one way to find out,” Eddie said, and picked up his pace toward town.

  With the airport looming ahead of them just a few hundred yards, Matt paused and looked all around him. He didn’t see anyone out of the ordinary. He looked back at Eddie. “Something’s not right here. By all accounts there should be at least two men keeping an eye on the van. I don’t see anyone.”

  “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Eddie said.

  “Unless they’re just lying in wait for us to make out move. I think we ought to sit tight until Dad calls.” Matt crouched at the edge of the runway. He pulled Eddie down beside him. Matt reached for his cell phone, flipped it open and switched from ringer to vibrate before closing it again. “Don’t want to be giving our position away when Dad calls,” he explained.

  Matt checked his watch. It had been more than an hour and a half since he’d talked to Gloria. Why wasn’t Ell
iott calling? Matt looked at his phone again. His last bar of reception dropped off and he couldn’t get a dial tone. “Oh great,” Matt said. “The phone just went dead and Dad’s probably trying to reach me. Looks like we just ran out of options. We’ll have to chance it and try for the van. I have a charger in the glove box. I can give the cell phone a quick charge in a couple minutes. It may only be good for a few minutes, but at least I’ll be able to get through to Dad.”

  Matt and Eddie crept toward the hangars, keeping low and crawling slowly. He stopped after a few minutes and pointed to one of the hangars. “I think that’s the one I parked next to,” Matt said. “Come on.”

  Matt continued his slow approach to the hangar but still didn’t see anyone. When they rounded the corner of the hangar, Matt could see his van sitting right where he’d left it. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew his key ring, grasping the keys so they didn’t make any noise. He motioned to Eddie, who followed him to the side of the van. Matt slipped his key in the lock and turned, withdrawing the key and pulling the sliding door open. He and Eddie stepped up into the van and quietly slid the door closed again.

  Matt pulled the glove box door open and found his cell phone charger. He stuck it into the cigarette lighter receptacle and plugged the other end into his phone. The screen lit up and half a bar appeared in the upper right corner. He pressed his index finger to his thumb and flashed Eddie the ‘OK’ sign. “I’m going to take a chance and start the engine,” Matt said.

  Eddie laid down in the back while Matt slid behind the wheel, inserted his key and took one more look at his surrounding before starting the engine. Without further delay, Matt pulled the shifter down into gear and sped away, back toward the entrance gate. He kept an eye on his rear view mirror but still didn’t see anyone following him. Matt made it back to the highway and kept driving north as fast as he could. When he was three or four miles further north, Matt eased up on the accelerator and plucked his phone from the dash.