“What?” Dranko and Angela exclaimed simultaneously.
Cooper explained what the murdered lab technician had said to him and Julianne’s cryptic words. They listened in rapt attention, agreeing that it was worth an investigation.
Angela returned first, with Lisa from across the street who delivered a packet of crushed birch bark.
“This should do the trick. But, we think you should let us give it to him. Between the two of us nurses, we can convince him it will work. And, it just might.”
Cooper thought for a moment and then nodded, “OK. Can you two keep an eye on him today? As much as I want to be with him, I need to go check out this Admonitus company because I think they might know something. I’m hoping there is medicine or a cure there.”
Angela looked at Lisa and then responded for them both, “Of course, Cooper. We’ll have it covered. Keep your cell phone close and we can call you if anything develops.”
He placed a hand on both their shoulders and looked them each, in turn, in the eye, “Thank you.” He enjoyed, just for a moment, the deep satisfaction that came with friendship.
A knock at the door broke the spell. Angela set about brewing the tea, while Lisa went to check on Jake. Cooper glided to the door and saw that it was Calvin.
His face wore a jumble of emotions. Cooper stifled a chuckle as he opened the door to let him in.
He clapped him on the shoulder, “Relax, Calvin. You look like a hangman who showed up for work with dental floss in his bag by mistake!”
Calvin chuckled nervously, unsure of what to expect. Cooper motioned him to the living room sofa and they sat down opposite one another. Cooper leaned in toward Calvin.
Calvin spoke first, “I wanted to finish our conversation from earlier. I wanted to discuss some details about how we’d work together going…”
Cooper waved him off, “I’ll make this easy. You’re in charge. Of everything. I need to be free to attend to some other things anyway.”
Calvin sat back in surprise as the faintest smile escaped to his lips, “I’ll admit that was easy. But, I don’t want you to step aside.”
Cooper grinned, “Well, I guess this will be another of our disagreements. I don’t have a choice.”
His eyebrows drew together, “What’s going on?”
“Jake’s sick.”
Calvin’s face stiffened and he clenched his hands, “I’m so sorry to hear that. Oh my Lord, Cooper. I am sorry.”
Cooper waved both his emotions and Calvin off with a flurry of his left hand, “Don’t worry about it. It will be OK, you hear me? It will be OK.” He spoke with the fury that only those trying to convince themselves can muster.
“Sure, alright, Cooper,” Calvin said nodding in quick agreement. “I’ll take things in hand. But, I tell you this—as soon as everything is OK, I want you back. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it. I want you as Captain of our Guard. I’ll handle civilian matters, while you handle security.” His sincerity threw Cooper off.
With a confused look on his face, he responded, “Alright, you have yourself a deal.”
The two men shook hands and Cooper gave Calvin a few points of advice regarding their defenses. He promised to be as available as he could in the coming days. He informed him of the neighborhood survey teams that were going out today and they agreed to meet at Calvin’s house at five o’clock to debrief those teams together.
Chapter 23
Cooper was in the middle of looking in on Jake, when another knock on the door interrupted him. He kissed him on the forehead, which was already warm, and told his son to rest and do whatever Lisa or Angela told him. Cooper bounded to the door, restless to get moving.
It was Dranko at the door, carrying two shoulder bags. Cooper let him in, asking, “What do you have there?”
“The groceries,” he responded with a chuckle. He went to the couch and unzipped the two bags, “You need good food to stay healthy, right?” The bags revealed a few handguns and plenty of extra magazines filled with ammunition.
Cooper grinned, “And sometimes you need more good food to keep you healthy while travelling, eh?”
“Exactly.”
“You never cease to surprise me.”
Dranko grew a frown, “Well, I wish I’d liked guns even more or had more money. The list of what I wish we had is a mile long. An Uzi, for example would be…”
Cooper clapped his shoulder, “There you go again, thinking about what we don’t have. Think about what you did bring to our table.”
Dranko laughed, “You’re right. You’d be going out there with a spitwad shooter if it wasn’t for me!”
“Not quite,” Cooper said, tapping his sidearm.
He kept his pistol in the concealed carry holster, but added a few magazine pouches to his belt. He now carried a total of five magazines, one in the gun and four on the belt. After he donned a dun-colored windbreaker, there was no evidence that he was wearing body armor or carrying a pistol.
Cooper patted the body armor reassuringly, “I am glad you had an extra set.”
Dranko nodded, “Hell, best couple hundred bucks I ever spent. It’s priceless now! I knew some others at the gun range who’d buy gun after gun after gun, but would never think to get armor. I bet they regret that now.”
“I know I regret not getting some of the things you’d recommended,” Cooper responded.
“Don’t worry, I still think you’re perfect!” Dranko mocked.
Dranko was kitted up with a .45 pistol in a shoulder holster, extra magazines, another pistol holstered on his hip, and body armor. He wore a leather coat that flared out just below the hips. Finally, he had a lightweight .38 revolver strapped to his ankle. “My bail out gun, if everything else fails me,” Dranko stated.
“Where are we going first?” he asked Cooper.
“Julianne Wheeler’s house. I have to return this,” he responded, holding up an auto insurance notice.
“You sly devil,” Dranko said, feigning astonishment.
“I wish I could claim to have been so forward-thinking. I just got lucky. I found it lying near where she had put her belongings. It must have fallen out when she ran off. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart.”
“That’s a good thing, because you don’t ever meet the latter,” Dranko retorted.
Cooper didn’t miss a beat, “That’s why I travel with such genius friends. Can you get the door, Mr. Einstein.” His mocking tone forced the smile off of Dranko’s face.
The two men piled into Cooper’s pickup. Cooper brought his shotgun and extra shells along. He let Dranko drive, giving him the address. While they drove, Cooper filled him on the little he knew, so far, of Admonitus and the chilling warning from the man just before he was killed.
“So, what’re we looking for?” Dranko asked.
“Information. Anything at all that can help Jake, and everyone else.”
As they wended their way through several miles of the city’s streets, the various neighborhoods were a kaleidoscope of a society grappling with the plague’s effect. They passed areas that looked almost normal, except the dramatic reduction in both vehicle and foot traffic. A mile to the north, they encountered a neighborhood with a hastily erected defensive system, similar to their own.
As they drove, startling images burned themselves into Cooper’s mind. A charred rocking horse was pitching back and forth in the street without a rider. He wondered where its owner was. The front door to the closest house was smashed open. Curtains from a large picture window that had been broken fluttered forlornly outside the home, wafting against the home’s walls. Dolls lay scattered about the lawn. Cooper’s heart sank.