“Not unless I have to.” His hand was shaking. “But make no mistake, I will pull the trigger if you force me to.” He signaled to one of the chairs. “Now it’s your turn. Sit down.” He backed away, keeping the weapon trained on his brother, and watched as he pushed the table back into position and calmly sat down before retrieving the chair he had been sitting on and placed it opposite to him. They sat in silence, staring at each other. “You know,” Chris broke the silence. “Thinking about it, this may be the opportunity I need.” He nodded to himself. “You see, you’re not the only one with secrets, brother. I’ve got myself into a situation, and this could be my way out.”
Andy tilted his head to one side in an inquisitive manner. “I don’t follow.”
“No, you probably don’t.” It was Chris’s turn to laugh. “It’s no concern of yours, but let’s just say, killing you and taking your identity might be the perfect solution for me. Kim gets to think I’m her loving husband, and Jen gets to call me Daddy. Plus, if what you say about changing my will is true, then I get to keep all of ‘my’ money.” He smiled at his brother. “I suppose I should be thanking you, really. It’s a win-win situation for me.”
“There’s just one problem.” Andy stared his brother in the eyes. “You don’t have the stones to pull the trigger.” He lunged out of his seat.
Chris instantly took aim. “Fuck you.” The loud bang of the weapon being fired reverberated around his head, causing his ears to ring. “Who doesn’t have the stones?” he said under his breath.
The Genesis Chamber
Chapter 44
Jen screamed when she heard the muffled sound of the gunshot in the adjoining room. Whimpering, she huddled up under the jacket, taking the only security that it had to offer. As she enveloped herself in the garment, she heard something drop to the floor. In the pitch-black darkness of the cell she fumbled around and touched something solid.
What was that?
She grabbed at the object and brought it up to her face, trying to make out what it was. With both hands she felt around it and realized it was a cell phone. Frantically she pushed one of the buttons. The screen illuminated her face, making her squint at the sudden light.
Without hesitation, she started dialing as quickly as her fingers could tap on the digits.
The Genesis Chamber
Chapter 45
The smell from the gunshot still hung in the air. Chris had fired a shot over his brother’s head, putting a bullet into the wall. They had remained in silence, glaring at each other since the shot had been fired. The tell-tale buzzing sound of an incoming call on Andy’s phone in his pocket momentarily broke the silence. He reached down to retrieve it.
His brother instantly reaffirmed his aim. “Don’t give me an excuse, Andy.”
Andy froze, and then slowly moved his hand back above his head. “It’s only my phone; I’m going to reach for it slowly.” His hand slowly made its way back to his pocket. He held his hand up before it disappeared into the pocket and showed him his thumb, index and forefinger.
“Nice and easy.” Chris pointed the gun at his brother’s hand.
He slowly pulled out the phone and held it purposely in front of his brother. “No need to get jumpy.” He glanced at the screen, and a look of realization hit his face. Then he looked over to where he had placed his Genesis phone, the phone he used to arrange the meetings. It was gone. He afforded himself a smile of appreciation. “Very good, Christopher. You really are a dark horse, aren’t you?”
“You don’t know the half of it,” he replied.
“It’s Jennifer. I’m going to answer it, okay?” he asked, as his finger hovered over the accept button.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” He pulled back the hammer of the gun and steadied his aim on his brother’s head again.
Andy accepted the call and held the phone to his ear. “Hello, Detective Cooper.”
“Dad, it’s me,” Jen desperately said. “Miller has gone mental. He’s holding me and Uncle Chris and I think…” she blubbed, “I think he may have shot him.”
“It’s okay, stay calm, sweetheart. I know where you are.” He looked his brother dead in the eye as he spoke. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Please, Daddy, hurry.” Her words were almost inaudible due to her sobbing. “I’m scared. I don’t know what he’s going to do.”
“I’m on my way.” He looked over at the body of the software geek in the chair. “And don’t worry; I’ll make sure Miller pays for this.”
He smiled at his sibling as he cancelled the call and lowered the phone slightly, then, with a rapid explosion of speed, he flicked the phone at his brother’s head and propelled himself forward.
Another gunshot echoed around the room.
The Genesis Chamber
Chapter 46
In the dark, isolated room, Jen screamed down the phone.
“Daddy, please help me!” She looked at the screen and saw that the call had been ended.
Panic set in. Still clutching the cell, she put her hands over her face and screamed. Realizing it was a pointless task, she curled up in a ball under the jacket and squeezed into the corner as far as possible, mentally trying to make herself invisible. She froze when she heard a gunshot and held her breath, listening, straining to hear any noise. Then she heard two more shots, in quick succession. Frightened and alone, she pushed harder into the corner, pulling the jacket over her head, maintaining her hold on the phone as tightly as possible. Her head was spinning, and she began crying uncontrollably. Then, she heard the door being unlocked.
“Oh please, no, no!” she yelled out between sobs.
The door opened, flooding the room with light. She was beside herself with fear as she lay beneath the jacket, holding her breath. The knuckles on her right hand turned white caused by the grip on the mobile device.
“Jen?” a familiar voice bellowed out.
Cautiously she pulled the jacket down from her face, just enough to get a look at the figure that was standing in the doorway. “Daddy?” she asked nervously.
The figure walked towards her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s over.”
“Daddy!” She flung the jacket to one side, jumped up and ran towards him, breaking down in tears again as she threw her arms around him, holding on as tight as she could.
“Uh… gently, sweetheart,” he said uncomfortably.
She looked up into his face and saw that he was wincing in pain. Relinquishing her grip a little, she moved away slightly, allowing the light to illuminate him further. His blood-soaked shirt sent her into a panicked frenzy.
“Daddy, are you okay?” she screamed.
“I’ll be fine.” He held her by the shoulders and looked her up and down. “Are you okay, did he…” He hesitated. “Did he hurt you?”
“No!” She looked embarrassed, and wondered what her father would do if he found out what had happened. She couldn’t tell him, ever. “No, he didn’t.”
“Are you sure?” he pressed.
She looked into his eyes and noticed there was something different about him. He had changed ever so slightly. She stepped back and studied his face. Had he changed, or was she imagining it? Maybe it was her that had changed. The only thing she was certain of was that she was exhausted. But still, the look in his eye bothered her. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she remembered something.
“Daddy, where is Uncle Chris?” she slowly asked.
He looked deep into her eyes, then, without saying a word, he shook his head.
She exploded into a flood of tears and threw her arms around him. This time when he grunted in pain she ignored it, and continued to hold on as tight as she could.
After a few moments he gently broke her grip. Holding her by the shoulders again he bent down to look her in the face. “What do you say we get out of here?”
Through controlled sobs, she nodded. He picked up the jacket, wrapped it around her, then put his arm around her shoulder and guided her out o
f the room.
She buried her head into his jacket to stop the light hurting her eyes. As her vision slowly adjusted, she peered around the Genesis Chamber, spotting the body of Miller on the chair in the corner. Then, she saw the body of what she believed was her Uncle Chris, strewn over the table, posed in the same position she had been in earlier. She began to shake and burst into tears.
“Don’t look, sweetie.” He placed his hand on the side of her face and buried it into his jacket again to stop her from looking at the scene.
They continued to make their way to the door when suddenly, it exploded open. In no time at all the room was filled with armed police wearing SWAT jackets.
“Down, down, down!” the lead officer shouted out.
“We’re unarmed!” he yelled, and threw his hands up in the air, encouraging Jen to do the same.
Three heavily armed officers stood a few feet away with their guns trained on them. Jen froze, her heart pounding; she couldn’t move through fear. It was a weird momentary standoff until Maria came through the door, her gun held in front of her.
“Lower your weapons. That’s Detective Cooper!” she shouted out, and rushed forward to help the pair, placing her gun in its holster as she did so. “Are you okay?”
He fell to his knees and just stared at her.
“He’s been shot! Please don’t let him die!” Jen cried out.
“Get me a medic in here, now! Officer down,” she ordered, when she saw the blood-stained shirt. “You guys secure the building.”
The lead cop spoke into his radio fastened to his bulletproof vest at the shoulder. “We need a medic at our location, officer down.” He then signaled with his head for two of his team to search the soundproof room that Jen had been held in.
“I’ve got you, partner,” Maria said, as she knelt down and supported him. “There’s a medic on the way, just stay with me, okay?”
Travis entered the chamber and pushed his way past the armed officers to survey the room. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed, when he saw her attending to the injured Cooper. “Is he okay?”
She looked up at him and shook her head. “Get Jen out of here. An ambulance is on the way. See if she needs medical attention.” She paused. “Call the station and let Kim know that they’re safe.”
He waved to Jen to approach him. She was still frozen to the spot, staring at the body on the table.
“Jennifer!” Maria snapped her out of her trance. The girt jumped and turned to her. “Go with Travis. I’ll take care of this.
The youngster hesitantly shuffled to the waiting detective, who put an arm around her shoulder walked her out of the chamber. When he got to the door he turned back to the female detective. “What about Chris?”
“Uncle Chris is dead. Miller killed him!” Jen said, before bursting into tears again.
Maria nodded her head, signaling her new partner to leave. Alone with Cooper, she leaned over and applied pressure to the wound on his shoulder in an attempt to stem the bleeding. “Come on, partner, stay with me. Today is not your day to go.”
“Tell Jen I’m sorry and… I love her,” he said.
“Where’s the fucking medic at?” she screamed out over her shoulder. “You will be able to tell her yourself, this is only a flesh wound. And as for being sorry? You just saved her life.”
He looked into her eyes. “Thank God it’s over.”
She quickly looked around the room, then turned back to him. She could see the pain in his face, and figured if she kept him talking it might take his mind off of the pain. “What the hell happened here?”
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them slowly. “I don’t know. One minute I was in AppTech heading for Chris’s office. The next thing I woke up here.” He swallowed hard and grimaced. “That fucker Miller must have jumped me.”
She tried to hold him still. “Don’t move,” she said. “Then what happened?” Keeping him distracted was becoming more difficult for her.
“When I came around I was laying on the floor. I looked around and saw Chris on the table.” He nodded at the lifeless body. “I jumped Miller but he had a gun, and put one in me. I don’t know how, but… I kept going, and managed to overpower him.” He shook his head slightly and his voice wavered. “I had him in the corner over there when I heard Jen scream. He tried to rush me. I had no alternative; I had to shoot him.” A tear rolled down his cheek.
“You did the right thing, partner.” She wiped the tear away. “It was you or him. If it had been you, he would have got to Jen,” she reassured him.
One of the SWAT had been checking for any signs of life from the body on the table when he pointed at the discarded masks. “Detective Hernandez,” he said, pointing at the latex facades.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Some weird shit. There’s a wolf and a pig one, but this one . . .” He leaned forward and examined the homemade mask closely. He suddenly glanced at the body nearby. “This one looks like this guy or… Detective Cooper.”
She peered at the eerie-looking mask. “I bet he wore that when he hired the van.” Then she directed her look to the cop. “Can you find out where that medics is?”
“Sure thing.” He nodded and walked towards the exit, stopping before he got there, and turned to them. “Good work, Detective. Between you and me, if it had been my daughter, I would have emptied my entire clip into that fucker.” He nodded and left the room.
“You’re going to be okay.” She took a closer look at the wound. The blood flow had slowed considerably. “It’s all over now.”
“But at what cost?” he said, then looked down.
Two medics rushed into the room, signaling to the female detective to allow them access to the victim. She obliged and got out of the way as they set about tending to the wound. It wasn’t long before they had him bandaged up on a stretcher and wheeling him out of the door. He glanced around as they got to the door, taking a last look at the bodies.
As the stretcher was wheeled to the waiting ambulance, Jen rushed forward. “Daddy!” she called out.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m going to be fine.” He smiled as best he could. “You go with Maria. I’ll see you at the hospital, okay?”
As the medics loaded him into the back of the ambulance they maintained eye contact. He nodded to her, and she smiled and nodded back as the medics closed the doors.
“I love you!” Jen shouted through the closed doors.
Maria appeared behind her and put her arm across her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you back to the station. Your mom is waiting for you there.”
The Genesis Chamber
Chapter 47
Franco Baresi sat in a crowded bar, dabbing the sides of his mouth with a napkin. It wasn’t the kind of place people normally associated the mobster with, but, he insisted the meatballs they served there could rival those served in any of the finest Italian restaurants.
He had just finished his meal and was enjoying a large glass of the finest Chianti while observing the clientele in the intimate establishment when the TV behind the bar caught his attention.
A female reporter was depicted standing on Fifth Avenue, New York. These were streets he knew so well, but somehow looked so different; they were deserted. It was the banner at the bottom of the screen that grabbed his attention more than the report.
“Up next. Hero cop fatally shoots serial killer and exposes pedophile ring” the banner read.
“Hey, Mikey,” he shouted to the bartender. “Turn up the TV over here.”
“Not a problem, Mr. Baresi.” The bartender jumped into action, frantically searching for the TV remote. After a few seconds of rummaging around he located the device and pointing it directly at the box, turning up the volume. The news reporter was still in New York, finishing off her update.
“So, just to recap, New York is on lockdown. FBI and NYPD sources are staying tight-lipped at this time, although this is all almost certainly connected to an appearance on live T
V this morning of known international terrorist Maleek Al Rakeem. We will keep you updated on this situation as it develops. This is Alex Wood, in New York. Back to the studio.”
Franco looked puzzled; he turned in his seat to one of his bodyguards who was sitting in the booth behind him. “Make contact with our New York associates; see what’s going on up there.”
“On it, boss.” The bodyguard slid off of his seat and walked towards the door, pulling his cell phone from his pocket as he did so.
Franco turned his attention back to the TV.
“Back to central Florida now. An Orlando PD Detective is being hailed a hero after a bizarre situation led to the tragic murder of his twin brother and the shooting of the man responsible for his slaying.”
A photograph of Andy Cooper in the top left corner of the screen wearing his police uniform came into view.
“Detective Andrew Cooper, an eighteen-year veteran of the Orlando PD, shot dead suspected child serial killer Martin Miller. Miller, from New Orleans, is suspected of infiltrating the software company owned by Detective Cooper’s brother, and developing an app to lure young boys to their deaths. It’s thought that Detective Cooper’s identical twin brother, Christopher Cooper, owner and CEO of AppTech, based in Orlando, got suspicious of Miller’s activities, confronted him, and paid the ultimate price.”
“But, there is a further twist to this story,” the second news anchor cut in. “It is believed that Miller is also being linked to the kidnapping of Detective Cooper’s daughter three days ago and the slaying of his father, James Cooper, four weeks ago. James Cooper was a very well respected retired police veteran of the Orlando PD.”
“Detective Cooper was himself kidnapped by Miller, and held captive in the family’s isolated log cabin until he managed to overpower his captor in a struggle that resulted in the officer being wounded, and the unfortunate death of Christopher Cooper.” The first anchor picked up the story while the images showed the cabin taped off and swarming with forensics experts. “The latest we have on the condition of the injured officer is that his wounds are not life-threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.”
The Genesis Chamber Page 34
