Brushfire Plague: Reckoning Read online

  His words deflated Cooper and he sank back into his seat, “Damn you Dranko! How can I leave her?” Cooper’s head came to rest in his hands.

  Now, Jake jumped up, “We can’t leave mama! We can’t!” His shrill words, laced with grief as his eyes filled with tears, cut both men to the bone.

  Dranko took a step back and his voice calmed, “I know it’s hard, for both of you. But, Elena would want you to both live. She wouldn’t want you to sit around waiting to be taken by the government and put into a prison…or worse.” His eyes pleaded back and forth between Cooper and Jake for understanding.

  Before either could respond, loud banging on Dranko’s front door caused both men to look upward to the basement stairs and reflexively reach for the pistols on their hips.

  Cooper welcomed the interruption, “Stay here,” he directed Jake. Dranko nodded to Cooper, drawing his .45 caliber pistol to show he understood what he wanted. Dranko barred Cooper with his left arm to prevent him from going first. Cooper drew his own pistol and they began ascending the stairs. Cooper’s body tensed, as his mind raced trying to figure out who was at his door. Could someone already be coming for me after the President’s speech? Had some new threat emerged against their neighborhood?

  When they reached the main floor, the pounding had not let up. Dranko moved silently to a side window and looked out. He caught Cooper’s gaze and mouthed, “Gus.” Cooper breathed a sigh of relief learning that it was Gus Varela, a lawyer who lived in the neighborhood, and not someone more dangerous.

  They both put their guns back in their holsters as Dranko opened the door.

  Gus’ face was red and contorted in rage, “Damn you,” he shouted at Cooper as soon as he saw him. Gus tried to bull rush towards Cooper. Dranko quickly overcame his surprise and threw an arm out to bar him.

  Cooper welcomed his own anger to push back the confusion Dranko had aroused in him earlier and he moved forward, to put his own face inches from Gus’, “What the hell do you mean, Gus?” Cooper deliberately let scorn drip off his name.

  Dranko strained under Gus’ weight to keep the two men apart. “What the hell do I mean? Why the hell did you put all those lies on the Internet?”

  Cooper’s rage flushed higher at being called a liar. His arm shot up and caught Gus by the throat, “They aren’t lies you dumb bastard. It’s the truth. Every last word of it!”

  Gus choked as he gasped for air. Cooper’s firm grasp prevented him from speaking, but he rasped out, “Le…t…me...g…go!”

  Cooper waited until Gus’ face went from crimson to the first shades of purple and then he abruptly released his grip.

  Gus gasped for air and would have collapsed to the ground, but for Dranko’s arm catching him, “Breathe in. Take a deep breath, you’ll be fine,” Dranko said.

  Cooper stood in front of him, defiantly, and offered no such words of comfort. A minute later, Gus recovered and stood up straight again. He glared at Cooper, but made no effort to close the scant gap between them. “I don’t care if it’s true or not. It’s either lies or its truth we’d all be better off not knowing.”

  Cooper stared straight back at him, unyielding, “People deserve the truth!”

  Gus shook his head, “Not, this. Don’t be such a damned naïve Boy Scout! You’ve caused a lot of damage with what you’ve done. More people are already dying because of what you said!”

  Cooper glared at him.

  Gus strained once more against Dranko’s arm, “Well, we can stop debating this. But, one thing isn’t open for debate. You better get the hell out of our neighborhood!”

  Cooper exploded, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Gus assumed a self-assured tone, “What I mean is plain. You are now a clear and present danger to our neighborhood. You are going to have to find a new place to inhabit.”

  “Inhabit?” Cooper said, digesting what Gus had just said.

  Then, Cooper lunged at him. Dranko shifted his body to keep the two men separate as Gus backpedaled in surprise, “How dare you! You pompous fat bastard! I’m the one who kept you all safe the last few weeks! I ain’t going nowhere!”

  Gus shook his head and his lips curled up in derision, “We’ll see about that!” He retreated down the steps, being careful to keep facing Cooper as he did so. Finally, he turned and walked quickly back towards his own home.

  Dranko turned to his friend, “See?”

  Cooper just shook his head, “Aw, shut up, will you?” Despite his words, a chill ran down his spine as he realized that anyone might turn on him now. He knew the truth would be hard for the world to hear, but it was dawning on him that even those who knew him well might now become an erstwhile ally…or worse. He turned and made his way back toward the basement where Jake was waiting for him. Dranko paused, shaking his head, and then followed his friend downstairs.

  **********

  The trio spent the next hour making small talk and listening to Dranko’s Ham radio. Dranko pensively wrung his hands. Cooper knew he wanted to talk about the dangers facing him now, but that discussion led to only one conclusion: leaving his home. He reflexively dismissed the idea, so he avoided the topic.

  Then, the radio caught his attention.

  “…reports, reliable ones, have filtered in about the dangerous rise in gang activity. In Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and several other cities, gangs are engaging in outright control of entire sections of the cities in question. With the loss of central authority, organized criminal enterprises are filling the gap…”

  “I’m glad we haven’t seen that here,” Cooper intoned.

  The corner of Dranko’s mouth curled upward, “Not yet, anyway.”

  Cooper smiled, “That’s right Mr. Sunnyside, not yet indeed!”

  “I’m just sayin’…it can still happen here. When you think about it, it has already started.”

  Cooper’s eyebrows drew together, “What?”

  “Look at the craziness in Sellwood. Hell, they nearly burned the whole city down! Then there’s the Vietnamese Protection Society that we talked to. He’s getting organized. And, I worry about that church around the corner.”

  Cooper nodded, “OK. You have a point with the Sellwood and the Vietnamese group. But, they haven’t started taking over and running parts of the…”

  “But, they damn well could if they wanted,” Dranko interjected. “You’ve seen their firepower. They’re organized when so many are not. What’s stopping them?”

  “No, you’re probably right. What’s stopping them is Michael Huynh is more interested in profit than power.”

  “That’s true, too,” Dranko returned.

  “Now, what do you mean about that church?”

  “I just mean that any organized group is going to have power now. Gangs are criminals organized with guns. Churches are people organized and bonded together tightly by faith. They may or may not have guns. Most, from the reports I’ve heard, are doing good with it. Keeping people fed, helping with security, organizing self-help between people. But, right here, we have that one around the corner is using their access to food to win converts, right?”

  “Yeah. Despicable,” Cooper spat the word.

  “I agree. But, those kinds of things are happening, too. All I’m saying is that, throughout history, some churches have used access to resources, like food, to expand. And, sometimes, conversion has come at the end of the blade of a sword…”

  “Or, the barrel of a gun,” Cooper finished the thought. “Yeah, I see what you’re saying. I agree, we will need to keep close tabs on the other organized groups around. Let’s hope that Mr. Huynh stays focused on making money in a semi-legitimate way. And, let’s hope our churchgoers next door keep their proselytizing based on the reward system.”

  Dranko nodded gravely.

  “What’s that?” Jake asked, cocking his head to the side.

  “What’s what?” Cooper responded.

  “Don’t you hear that?”

  Dranko
moved quickly and turned off the Ham radio. Then, they heard it.

  Muffled shouts coming from outside. Seconds lingered as they struggled to make out what they people were shouting. Then, one word hit Cooper as clearly as if it was being shouted out from inside the room.

  “Fire!”

  Cooper was to the stairs and rocketing up before Dranko had reacted. Then, he and Jake bounded up the stairs in his wake.

  **********

  Dranko’s door banged on its hinges as Cooper flung it open and leapt over the front steps. He landed harshly, letting his knees buckle to absorb the shock. He swiveled his head toward where the crowd was shouting from.

  His throat tightened when he saw the group gathered around his house. In slow motion, his head kept turning until he saw the black smoke billowing angrily skyward.

  “No!” Cooper yelled in fury as he raced towards his burning home.

  He quickly rounded the corner. Several neighbors were racing toward his home, buckets and containers of various origins in hand. Mark Moretti, one of his friends, was using his home’s garden hose to spray the flames.

  As he ran headlong toward him, Mark saw the determined look on Cooper’s face and handed him the hose as soon as he came up.

  “I’ll go and get the neighbor’s hose going,” Mark shouted.

  Cooper nodded and concentrated on dousing the flames before him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the fire was, so far, confined to his small detached garage.

  Seconds later, Mark brought a second hose to bear and Cooper realized they would get the fire under control before it spread to his house.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Dranko and Jake running across the street to join the makeshift bucket brigade that was coming together.

  Within ten minutes, the fire had been put out. As Cooper relaxed, he surveyed the scene. A messy mixture of steam and smoke curled lazily upward from his wrecked garage. The structure was a mishmash of undamaged wood alternating with boards scorched black by the flames. From the heat, most of the paint had blistered or peeled. Then, his gaze fell to the base of the garage. Like a diamond amidst a coal miners’ convention, a glistening object jumped out and grabbed his attention.

  A mostly melted glass bottle lay broken in half at the foot of the garage.

  His heart raced and rage filled his veins as he clenched his fists. “Molotov cocktail,” Cooper muttered vehemently to himself before realizing that Dranko and Jake had come to his side.

  “What’s that?” Jake asked.

  “It’s a bottle filled with gasoline,” Dranko answered.

  “You mean someone wanted to burn our house down?” Jake asked incredulously.

  “Yes, son.”

  “But, why?”

  “Because some men are too weak to handle the truth,” Cooper fumed.

  He turned to the group of neighbors still clustered about. “First, thanks everyone for helping me get this thing out. This sure looks intentional,” he said pointing at the glass bottle. “Did anyone see anything?”

  “I saw a white pickup full of teenagers racing down the street just before I saw the flames,” Mark offered.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cooper said, remembering the trouble he’d had with Woody and his ragtag band of teenage troublemakers in the first days of the outbreak. After they had broken into his home in the dead of night, two had left humiliated and forced, by Cooper, to carry their dead friend home. Apparently, they had not been chastened enough. Or, maybe just emboldened with the President calling me out by name.

  At the edge of the crowd, having just walked up, Gus weighed in, “Yeah. Those teenagers coming back is a pretty dangerous thing for our neighborhood. And, it looks like they came for you.”

  Cooper glared at him, but Mark responded, “Does it matter? We defend each other here. That was our agreement when all this started.”

  Unrepentant, Gus continued, “It matters if things have changed so much that one man endangers us all.”

  “What do you mean?” shouted an anonymous voice from the group.

  “Didn’t you hear the President? Cooper here has told the world a tall tale that the plague was deliberately started by a man hell bent on crashing the world’s economy as a way to stop global warming. He’s also said the government knew about it and did nothing to stop it. Just an hour ago, the President declared Cooper a liar and asked for the nation’s help in bringing him in for questioning.”

  Gasps and exclamations emanated from half the crowd who had not heard the news yet. Mark was one of them. “Is this true, Cooper?”

  Cooper nodded gravely, “It is true, except it isn’t a tall tale. Everything I’ve said is true. You all know me. Tell me you’ve ever heard me say anything but.”

  His challenge was greeted with silence.

  “Nonetheless, others will be coming for you Cooper. You’ve put us all in grave danger!” Gus barreled onward in his attack.

  Mark turned on him, “Maybe. But Cooper’s also the one that’s kept us alive so far!”

  “Old news,” Gus’ words dripped with scorn. “This is a new reality now.”

  “You know, maybe Gus is right.” Michelle’s voice was soft, but her words sounded to Cooper like they’d been shouted through a bullhorn.

  “What?” Dranko’s response was flustered.

  Michelle spread her feet, standing firmly, “It’s not just that Cooper has become a danger to us.”

  “What do you mean,” Mark asked.

  “Well, if the government knew Cooper was here in our neighborhood, I bet we’d all get attention and protection from them,” Michelle kept her tone flat, but her eyes betrayed a dark and sinister look that shook Cooper to his core.

  Mark’s reaction shocked him in the other direction. He pulled his pistol and pointed it directly at Michelle, “And, if anyone turns Cooper and Jake in, it will be the last thing they do.”

  Gus gasped. Michelle took a jagged step backward and fell to her knees.

  A dark hand took Mark’s into his own and slowly lowered the pistol; the President of the Neighborhood Association and recently elected neighborhood’s Captain of Defense, spoke up, “Look. That is enough from both of you. I am the chief of security, so let me worry about that. Let us all either help Cooper clean up or go on home. And, no one, is turning anyone in. We clear?”

  Gus and Michelle slowly nodded.

  Cooper gave Calvin a look of appreciation and then turned toward the larger group. When Cooper surveyed the crowd, what he saw disturbed him. Up until that point, the group had looked at him; eyes laden with respect. Now, in at least half of those eyes, he saw fear. Gus and Michelle had poisoned the well and it was spreading outward. I’m a threat now. Worse, I’ve become an opportunity. It was glaring how few people stayed behind to help clean up. Cooper shook his head in disappointment as he went to find a shovel.

  **********

  A few hours later, as they were almost done cleaning up the debris and salvaging what they could from the fire, Dranko put his hand on Cooper’s arm and motioned him away from the group. Cooper looked up in surprise, but followed.

  “How bad is it?” he asked his friend.

  “Well, I’m glad no one was hurt, but I lost most of my tools. Our bicycles and fishing gear, too. Stuff that will be hard to replace now,” Cooper responded, as he absentmindedly cleaned his soot-blackened hands with a rag.

  Dranko shook his head, “Sorry, brother. This shouldn’t have happened.”

  Cooper chuckled, “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

  “I want to bring up a sore subject,” Dranko said, his eyes pleading with Cooper.

  Cooper stared right back at him, “Yeah, I know. And, the answer is still no.”

  Dranko’s eyes flashed, “Are you kidding me, Cooper? Your name has been on the wire for less than an hour and you’ve already been attacked! What do you think tomorrow is gonna bring? Or, the next day?”

  Cooper spread his feet and straightened up defiantl
y, “I can handle some teenage punks. I did last time.”

  Dranko’s eyes rolled, “Really? What about when the military finally has enough resources to come and get you? Yeah, we got lucky and took out those two HUMVEEs. What about when they send in a Bradley or a tank for God’s sakes!”

  “I’ll figure it out,” Cooper glared.

  “Haven’t you noticed that, already, half of the neighbors are now scared of you, too?”

  Now, it was Cooper’s turn to roll his eyes, “Sure. But, the ones that count, their eyes haven’t changed.”

  Dranko paused for a moment, thinking. Then, he grabbed Cooper harshly by both shoulders and only inches separated their faces, “What about him?”

  “Who?” Cooper asked him, confused.

  “Jake. You know, in your foolish, stubborn, quest to keep him in this house, you are going to get him killed. Just as sure as it rains all year round in Oregon, you’re going to get him dead!” Dranko shouted the last words and spittle flew onto Cooper’s face.

  Cooper pushed Dranko back so hard that he stumbled backward and slammed into the fencepost behind him. “Now, you listen to me! I can handle it!” Cooper’s voice strained with desperate emotion and Dranko knew he was trying to convince himself as much as Dranko.

  He pursed his lips, “You’re wrong, Cooper. I know you. You’re not thinking straight. You had to know the world was gonna come down all around you the moment you hit ‘send’ on that email! I just assumed you knew that you and Jake would have to go on the run!”

  He gave him a blank look.

  Dranko pounced, “You’ve got to be the silliest optimist in the…”

  Cooper punched him in the shoulder, “Look, damn it! Yeah, I thought about it. I know it will be rough. But, I think those who can handle…or want…the truth can help me stay safe. Hell, I expect a CNN truck to roll up here any minute. You think the military can just come and get me with that kind of scrutiny?”

  Dranko cocked his eyebrows, unimpressed, “Yeah. I do.”

  “What?”