Treadmill (20 page)

“How could you do this?” Cooper whispered.

“Business, Jack. Just business.”

“They’ll get you,” Cooper said, but, even to himself, it sounded as if he lacked conviction.

“Don’t let it shake you, Suze. He’s bluffing,” Blake said. He peered out the window. “All clear. Nobody’s following him.”

“They’ll be coming soon,” Cooper said. “You’ll see.”

“Don’t do this to yourself, Jack,” Susan said.

“I’m not doing anything to myself, Susan.” Cooper said. “You’re doing it to me.”

“The asshole makes jokes,” Blake said, turning to Susan. “Do it already, and let’s blow.”

As the sedative worked its way through his system, Cooper hoped that Laura would survive to prove her point, the truth of which he no longer doubted. He hoped that Prentiss would discover this conspiracy and be, in some manner, richly rewarded.

It was ironic, he supposed, that he had emerged from what seemed like a long winter’s sleep into what might have been a fresh new world of possibilities. In Susan Haber, he had detected a glimmer of hope, only to be sadly disappointed. He wondered whether the idea of hope still lingered, not that it mattered. The fact was that he hadn’t done much with his life. It had been ordinary, undistinguished, a failure. Considering what these people were engaged in, he wondered if the future was even going to be worth the effort anyway.
The brave new world was yesterday,
he told himself. But he was surprised to find that fragments of hope still lingered within him.

It did not take him long to feel a shroud of drowsiness engulf him. He fought to remain alert. The world was moving in slow motion, although he could clearly hear voices as they hovered around him. He closed his eyes.

“It’ll take a few minutes before he feels the full effect,” Susan told Blake.

Cooper could sense them hovering over him.

“He better not reject this one,” Blake said.

“Tissue’s a match,” Susan replied, all business now.

“So was Parrish’s.”

“It happens,” Susan said.

“Carlton told him we have another one in the wings. Same match. Same blood type.”

“We shouldn’t be discussing this in front of him.”

“Hell, Cooper’s out. What does it matter?”

“It’s only a light dose. It should wear off in about an hour.”

“Won’t matter then.”

“Jesus, I’m just on edge,” Susan said. “You heard Cooper.”

“He’s lying. I told you.”

“Cooper was talking transplants. And this woman, Prentiss….”

“Will you just clamp it, bitch? You’re starting to make me nervous.”

“After the weekend, it’s over for me and Carlton. And I won’t miss you,” Susan said.

“You’re breaking my heart.”

There was silence between them.

“I still say we should have let Haley be, let him die,” Blake said.

“He knows he’s rejecting, you idiot. We had no choice. With no options left, he’d blow the whistle. He was furious about what happened to Dale Chase.”

“Chase was a cinch. I enjoyed that one.”

“You’re a psycho, Blake. Chase should never have been in it,” Susan said.

“How the hell were we to keep him out? He was Haley’s man! He was the original contact!”

“All he wanted was to keep it off the records…”

“Yeah, well it wasn’t as simple as he thought, was it?” Blake said. “Where were we supposed to get a donor? Macy’s? He went nuts. He had to be done.”

“What about Corazon? Did you have to kill her, too?”

“Greedy little cunt. You’d think fifty thousand bucks would satisfy the little gook.”

“You’d better watch that tongue of yours, Blake.”

“He’s out, isn’t he? He can’t hear us.”

“You’re making me nervous,” Susan said. “You’re a disgusting pervert, Blake.”

“Don’t be an ungrateful cunt. I’ve put half a million bucks in your pocket.”

“Considering the risk, it was cheap.”

“Next thing, you’ll both be asking for double.”

“You have to admit, Blake, this one’s a two-fer.”

“You think Cooper’s will work?” Blake suddenly asked.

“It’s a match,” Susan said.

From the murkiness of his memory, Cooper remembered Parrish’s apartment…
the crazy nightmare!
They had punched his finger and given him a cardiogram. His body remembered the cold where they had put the electrodes on his chest. And that odd stinging in his left forefinger. He remembered, too, how they had gotten Parrish’s blood and tissue samples. Blake had put a sharp edge on one of the weight machines that had drawn Parrish’s blood. How helpful Blake had been.
Asshole
, he shouted internally at himself. Blake was right about that.

“Is he ready?” Blake asked.

Susan checked under Cooper’s eyelids. Nothing. “Let’s go.”

Cooper felt himself being lifted. Blake and Susan were on either side of him. They had him upright and he was taking short little steps, inhibited by the leg manacles. They half dragged, half carried him down the steps. At the bottom Cooper heard another voice. It was Kessler.

“Dietrich is ready,” Kessler said.

They continued dragging him to the car. His body slumped against the side as they tried to get him in. They finally got Cooper into the back seat. Susan got in beside him. Blake got in the front beside Kessler.

“You sure you weren’t followed?”

“Why would I be followed?” Kessler asked with some belligerence. “Anyway, I watched carefully.”

Cooper could feel the car move smoothly along the road. He tried to fight the fog in his consciousness, determined to stay alert.

He heard Kessler on the phone. “On our way,” Kessler said. “Fifteen minutes.”

Cooper knew if he stayed alert he might at least have the satisfaction of knowing the truth.
Some reward,
he mocked himself. A stupid last wish.

“The doctor is very anxious.” Kessler said. “Not knowing who the donor will be.”

“I can assure you he’s healthy, with a good blood and tissue match,” Blake said. “We’ve been keeping an eye on him. He’s exactly the right choice.”

“But you can understand why he’s nervous,” Kessler said.

“Hey, he could always call it off,” Blake said.

“You know that’s not possible,” Kessler said.

“Then he should shut his Nazi mouth, and quit complaining,” Blake snapped.

Cooper found another irony in this. In the end Parrish, the stolen baby, had gotten the best of them. He hoped his own heart would reject as well.

“And the money?” Blake asked.

“In a Swiss account to be released tomorrow.”

“If all goes well, as I expect it will, the operation will be finished in about two hours,” Susan said. “Then back to the Vice President’s house. I’ll be with him during recovery.”

Cooper felt himself losing consciousness. Then suddenly, the car stopped and he was being lifted out and placed supine on some kind of device. He was belted in. He tried to open his eyes, but his lids were too heavy. The device below him rolled. Then he heard another voice. It was Melnechuck. He felt more movement and heard grunting sounds as he was lifted once again.

“Be careful,” Susan said.

Melnechuck looked at Blake and grinned.

Cooper was now being wheeled somewhere. He heard doors opening and closing.

“The doctor is prepping,” Melnechuck said. “He’ll tap on the window when he’s ready.”

Cooper heard footsteps retreating. With effort, he was able to partially force open his eyes. He blurrily surveyed the space. He was in a small room, strapped on a gurney with heavy belts. His manacles had been removed. He could see a door to one side and a glass window. On the other side was the door that they had just entered from. He heard the footsteps return, and closed his eyes again. He felt the belts that held him being unbuckled, then a tugging at his shirt buttons, then his belt.

“Dietrich wants him stripped, shaved and washed down,” Blake said.

“Just like Parrish,” Melnechuck said.

“Yeah. Like Parrish,” Blake said. Cooper felt a rough tap on his chest. “Only this baby better work a lot better or we’re fucked.”

Cooper was undressed. When he was totally naked, he was belted in again, more tightly than before. Another device had been placed on his head. He felt as if he was in a brace, unable to move.

“Well hung son-of-a-bitch. A shame,” Blake said laughing.

Cooper felt a cold substance being rubbed on his chest, then heard and felt the electric razor as it moved over his chest.

Melnechuck glanced up from his efforts and looked at Blake. “Ready?”

Blake withdrew his gun. Cooper felt cold metal against his left temple. “See, got to get the angle just right, keep the brain stem intact.” He looked at Susan. “Put the pillow on the right side, close against his head. Less to clean up that way. That’s the worst part, the clean up,” Blake mused aloud, “Even harder than the hacking up.”

“Went like a dream last time,” Melnechuck said. “After all, I was once a butcher in a meat packing plant.”

“Is there anything you haven’t been, Melnechuck?” Blake asked sarcastically.

“Yes. A child molester,” he leered at Blake.

“We’re wasting time,” Susan interrupted angrily.

“When does Kramer come back?” Melnechuck asked.

“Two days. Now let’s get on with it.”

“If he ever knew what kind of cosmetic surgery we were doing in his operating room, he’d have a heart attack,” Blake laughed.

Cooper felt the fog in his head beginning to clear.

“Think that shot will hold him?” Melnechuck asked.

“He’s out. Just do it, Blake,” Susan hissed.

Blake looked at her. “I’ll tell you one thing. My shot will hold him better.” The two men laughed.

“Don’t let her get you jumpy, Blake. Your hand will shake,” Melnechuck said. “Got to be a clean shot.”

“I don’t need lessons from you, Melnechuck. Okay, let’s do it. Get the pillow, Susan.”

Cooper felt the fog lift further. With all his strength, he strained against the belts. They put a gag in his mouth.

“Little feller wants out,” Melnechuck said.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do for him,” Blake said.

Throughout the ordeal and expectation of death, Cooper surprised himself by his lack of preparation. He hadn’t been a religious person, but he had a vague belief in some supreme being. But the being he had in mind was supposed to watch over him, protect him, be fair with him. In this situation, he felt very sorely abused, abandoned.

He wondered about where he would fit, heaven or hell? He found himself wishing simply for oblivion.
Oblivion would do nicely
. He deserved oblivion. Hadn’t he searched for it in life?

At least, he decided, it would be fast. A quick bullet to the brain was, he supposed, a blessing considering the various alternatives life offered. Besides, as his dentist had once told him, he had a low threshold for pain.

As he waited for his quick exit, he heard uncommon sounds, garbled voices, and as he forced his eyes open, he saw events transpiring in slow motion. A shot rang out. He felt neither pain nor any loss of consciousness. Through blurry vision, he saw Melnechuck, a reddish puncture in the middle of his forehead, falling backwards against the wall. Behind him he heard a familiar voice.

“Your choice,” the voice said.

He could not see what was going on behind him. Then he heard a metallic sound, something dropping, hitting the floor.

“It’s alright, Jack,” a new voice said, and he felt the brace being loosened from around his head and his gag removed. When he turned, he saw Prentiss’s dark, intense face. She was holding a gun to the back of Blake’s head; he was kneeling and handcuffed, and above him was the face of Laura.

“Easy Jack,” Laura said. He felt her cool hand on his forehead, then his own hand reaching to touch hers. He still felt groggy, but a rush of adrenaline had improved his alertness.

“Let me get you out of this,” Laura said, as she unfastened the belts around his torso and legs. He raised his head and watched her as he tried to make sense out of his present situation. Lifting his head made it difficult to focus, but he did see a white masked face looking at them through the little glass window in the door that led to the operating room. Above the mask the eyes looked back at them with confusion and terror.

Laura assisted him off the gurney, helping him move to the wall. He felt enervated and slid down into a sitting position. From the closet, Laura pulled out a sheet, opened it, and covered his naked body.

“Stay put,” she said lightly. His eyes looked up, studying her, inquiring. “Later,” she said.

Then he saw the huge bulk of Prentiss lift Blake to his feet and push him on to the gurney face down. She and Laura strapped him in quickly.

At that moment, Dietrich pushed in through the operating room door.

“You can’t do this,” he cried in heavily accented English. He pointed to the operating room. “That man will die.”

“What would you suggest? Herr Doctor,” Laura said. Dietrich was a big man with a broad face and deep-set eyes, which swept the room and alighted on Cooper.

“No way,” Laura said.

Cooper could see Prentiss holding her .38 pointed at the door to the operating room, which was apparently the only access to it.

“That man is the Vice President of the United States of America,” Dietrich said. “He is on a heart and lung machine. There is no way he can live without a new heart.”

“How about this one?” Prentiss said, prodding Blake with the point of her pistol between the shoulders.

Blake squealed in pain, more psychic than physical.

“Does he match?” Dietrich asked, oblivious to the circumstances.

Blake squirmed and squealed again. Prentiss hit him hard on his head with the butt of her gun, which quieted him considerably.

“It seems we have a real moral problem here,” Laura said. “Not that it matters to you, Herr Doctor. I’ve been on his trail, from here to Dusseldorf and back.” She turned to Cooper. “Sorry I gave you all a fit. But it occurred to me that he held the key to everything. I was right. Quite a jet-setter, aren’t you Herr Doctor? He’s got some reputation back home.”

“Exemplary,” Dietrich said. “Look, we’re wasting time.”