A Shot In the Dark - Part 14
Jul. 27th, 2008 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jyl22075This is the final chapter in this story. Thanks everyone for all the encouragement while I was writing it.
"I'm looking for Johnny." Coop replied to the voice. The man walked around him, still pointing his gun at Coop. He was shorter than Coop expected with bushy black hair and mean eyes.
"You found him. Why are you looking for me? Business? Or are you just a fool?" Johnny was obviously unimpressed with Coop.
"Business. I want some information about the woman you sold a gun to recently."
"The fancy lady, huh? It's kinda funny that she bought the gun that ended up killing her." Johnny let out a chuckle. Coop felt repulsion that anyone could laugh about something so awful. Regardless of his feeling toward Blake, he would never laugh about anyone's death. "What are you, her son?" Johnny raised his eyebrows at Coop.
"No. She bought the gun to kill my girlfriend." Coop was hoping that honesty was going to win him points with Johnny. He didn't know if it would work, but he had not stopped to think of a better plan. He had been in a rush to find him, to save Ashlee. Johnny seemed surprised at Coop's words.
"The fancy lady wanted to kill your girlfriend. So you thought you'd come here and what... take me out?" Johnny smirked at Coop and waved the gun in front of Coop's face. "Not a very smart move, boy."
"No, I want to make a deal with you. I know you've got warrants out against you, Johnny." Coop began. "One of your associates, Joe, has been arrested. The cops are looking for you and Joe is willing to talk. He's the one that told me how to find you."
"I knew that bastard couldn't be trusted." Johnny mumbled to himself. "What exactly are you offering?"
"I can get rid of your warrants for you. All you have to do is meet with the DA and identify the woman you sold the gun to." Coop tried to make it sound like it was no big deal for a known criminal to meet with the DA.
"You must be crazy, kid. There is no way you are getting me anywhere near the DA or the police."
"Look, I can get the warrants dropped. My girlfriend is the mayor's daughter." Coop had used the same words on Joe and it had worked, so he thought it might work with Johnny as well. Johnny studied him for a moment through narrowed eyes.
"That's not enough." Johnny replied. "I want money to get out of town. Once I meet with the DA, I'll never be safe to do business here." Coop shouldn't have been surprised by Johnny's request for money, but he was. All he could think was how incredibly inept he was at dealing with criminals. Then his next thought, was how much money was it going to take to get Johnny to do what he needed him to do.
"How much money?" Coop tried to calculate how much money he had left after bailing Ashlee out of jail. He knew he would get the money back once Ashlee was cleared, but Johnny wasn't going to wait for his payment.
"Five thousand." Johnny said with out preamble.
"Deal." Coop said the word immediately. He knew he had enough to cover it and he actually felt a little relieved that five thousand was all he wanted.
Johnny let out another gruff chuckle and finally put his gun in to the waist band of his pants. "Alright, kid, here's how this is going to work. I want to meet with the DA somewhere neutral... Luigi's Pizzeria ought to do. You go and get the money. I want it before I say anything to the DA. No money, no deal." Coop nodded and turned to leave, he needed to call Jeffrey O'Neil and let him know what was going on. He just hoped Jeffrey would agree to the plan. Coop turned to leave, but Johnny imparted some final words as he left. "You better not do anything stupid, kid." Coop wondered if he already had.
*************************************
Coop had stopped at the bank as soon as he'd met with Johnny and taken out the money. The teller had looked at him like he was crazy for pulling out so much cash at one time. Once he'd collected the money he headed over to Jeffrey's office. Jeffrey had always liked Ashlee and Coop was hoping that fact combined with the fact that he didn't want to upset Doris would convince Jeffrey to help Coop out. He walked directly past the secretary and in to the office without knocking. Jeffrey looked up at him from his desk.
"Let me guess, this is about Ashlee?" Jeffrey gave Coop a knowing look.
"Yeah. Look, I found the guy that sold the gun to Blake. If he can sign a statement identifying Blake as the person that purchased the gun that was found in the room, would that be enough to get the charges dropped against Ashlee?"
Jeffrey clasped his hands together and studied Coop for a moment. "Have a seat, Coop." He pointed at the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Jeffrey waited for Coop to sit down before he said "listen, normally I would say no. I would still try the case even if someone claimed to have sold Blake the gun. Especially if the person that is claiming that is of questionable reliability and since the gun was stolen, I'm guessing the person that sold it is a criminal." When Coop didn't disagree, he continued." That being said, what do you know?"
"Frank and I figured out who the guy was that sold the gun to Blake. Jeffrey, you have to know that Ashlee didn't mean to shoot her."
Jeffrey sighed and then seemed to come to a decision. "Okay, Coop... you bring this guy in and have him sign a statement and I'll have the charges against Ashlee dropped, but you need to understand that I'm doing this against my better judgment and because I like Ashlee and I know she didn't intend to shoot Blake."
"You believe Ashlee is innocent?" Coop asked feeling relieved.
"Sure. If Ashlee had meant to shoot Blake, she would've confessed by now." Jeffrey replied with a smirk. "So when is this guy coming in?"
"Um... actually he wants us to meet him." Coop was ready for Jeffrey to say he wanted to forget the whole thing, but Jeffrey surprised him by laughing.
"Of course he does. Okay, Coop, I want to get this over with, before anyone finds out what's going on."
"Uh, that's great, because Johnny wants us to meet him tonight at a pizza place."
Jeffrey stood up and grabbed his briefcase and some papers he would need, then he glanced back at Coop. "I better never have to pay at Company again."
***************************************
The meeting with Johnny had gone off without a hitch. He signed the paperwork and Coop gave him his money, which Jeffrey had pretended not to see. Once Johnny left the pizzeria Coop felt like a weight had been lifted off of him.
"How soon will the charges against Ashlee be dropped?" Coop asked as he and Jeffrey walked out of the Luigi's and headed for the parking lot.
"A couple of days at the most. I don't foresee any problems pushing it through considering Ashlee's mother is the mayor." Jeffrey replied.
"Jeffrey... thank you, so much for doing this for Ashlee... I know that you didn't have to and... I'm just..." Before he could finish his grateful ramblings, Jeffrey patted him on the shoulder.
"I know, Coop. Now, go home. Tell Ashlee she's a free woman."
************************************
Ashlee was terrified. Coop had been gone way too long and when she'd called down to Company, Buzz had answered. Ashlee asked how his appointment went only to find out that Coop had lied to her. She wanted to be furious with him, but she was too worried about what he was doing and hoping that he wasn't in trouble. She heard a key in the door and sat up in bed. When Coop walked in she wasn't sure whether to sigh in relief or scream at him for scaring her.
"Where have you been? I was worried something had happened to you. I know you lied." Those three sentences came tumbling out all at one so they were squished together.
Coop flopped down on the bed next to her and pulled her in to his arms, gently because Ashlee was still recovering from her brush with a bullet. He buried his face in her hair for a moment. Ashlee didn't say anything else. She was glad to be in Coop's arms, especially since she'd been so worried about him and it was obvious he needed a moment. She felt more than heard him let out a breath and then he turned her face up so he could see her eyes.
"I went to meet with the guy that sold Blake the gun." As soon as the words were out, Ashlee opened her mouth to tell him that was an incredibly stupid thing to do, before she could he placed a finger against her parted lips. "I got him to tell Jeffrey that he sold her the gun. He signed a statement." He looked at her expectantly. Ashlee just stared at him trying to process all the information.
"So...?" Ashlee was afraid to ask what that meant. She thought she knew, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.
"So, the charges are going to be dropped." Coop's grin was a bit contagious. Ashlee smiled back at him, her eyes wide with shock.
"Wait, are you sure?"
"Ashlee, it's over. We got through it." He said and pressed his lips to her in a sweet kiss. Ashlee started to kiss him back, but a thought hit her. She pushed him away.
"Just because you saved my life, Coop Cooper, doesn't mean that you are forgiven for lying." She kept her tone playful.
"Ah..." Coop said, pulling Ashlee back in to his arms. His eyes took on a mischievous glint, "what can I do to make it up to you?"
Ashlee tapped her chin, as if in thought. "I'll think of something." She gave him a playful smile and put her arms around his neck.
"I bet you will." Coop responded, kissing her again. This time Ashlee didn't push him away.
**********************************
"I'm looking for Johnny." Coop replied to the voice. The man walked around him, still pointing his gun at Coop. He was shorter than Coop expected with bushy black hair and mean eyes.
"You found him. Why are you looking for me? Business? Or are you just a fool?" Johnny was obviously unimpressed with Coop.
"Business. I want some information about the woman you sold a gun to recently."
"The fancy lady, huh? It's kinda funny that she bought the gun that ended up killing her." Johnny let out a chuckle. Coop felt repulsion that anyone could laugh about something so awful. Regardless of his feeling toward Blake, he would never laugh about anyone's death. "What are you, her son?" Johnny raised his eyebrows at Coop.
"No. She bought the gun to kill my girlfriend." Coop was hoping that honesty was going to win him points with Johnny. He didn't know if it would work, but he had not stopped to think of a better plan. He had been in a rush to find him, to save Ashlee. Johnny seemed surprised at Coop's words.
"The fancy lady wanted to kill your girlfriend. So you thought you'd come here and what... take me out?" Johnny smirked at Coop and waved the gun in front of Coop's face. "Not a very smart move, boy."
"No, I want to make a deal with you. I know you've got warrants out against you, Johnny." Coop began. "One of your associates, Joe, has been arrested. The cops are looking for you and Joe is willing to talk. He's the one that told me how to find you."
"I knew that bastard couldn't be trusted." Johnny mumbled to himself. "What exactly are you offering?"
"I can get rid of your warrants for you. All you have to do is meet with the DA and identify the woman you sold the gun to." Coop tried to make it sound like it was no big deal for a known criminal to meet with the DA.
"You must be crazy, kid. There is no way you are getting me anywhere near the DA or the police."
"Look, I can get the warrants dropped. My girlfriend is the mayor's daughter." Coop had used the same words on Joe and it had worked, so he thought it might work with Johnny as well. Johnny studied him for a moment through narrowed eyes.
"That's not enough." Johnny replied. "I want money to get out of town. Once I meet with the DA, I'll never be safe to do business here." Coop shouldn't have been surprised by Johnny's request for money, but he was. All he could think was how incredibly inept he was at dealing with criminals. Then his next thought, was how much money was it going to take to get Johnny to do what he needed him to do.
"How much money?" Coop tried to calculate how much money he had left after bailing Ashlee out of jail. He knew he would get the money back once Ashlee was cleared, but Johnny wasn't going to wait for his payment.
"Five thousand." Johnny said with out preamble.
"Deal." Coop said the word immediately. He knew he had enough to cover it and he actually felt a little relieved that five thousand was all he wanted.
Johnny let out another gruff chuckle and finally put his gun in to the waist band of his pants. "Alright, kid, here's how this is going to work. I want to meet with the DA somewhere neutral... Luigi's Pizzeria ought to do. You go and get the money. I want it before I say anything to the DA. No money, no deal." Coop nodded and turned to leave, he needed to call Jeffrey O'Neil and let him know what was going on. He just hoped Jeffrey would agree to the plan. Coop turned to leave, but Johnny imparted some final words as he left. "You better not do anything stupid, kid." Coop wondered if he already had.
*************************************
Coop had stopped at the bank as soon as he'd met with Johnny and taken out the money. The teller had looked at him like he was crazy for pulling out so much cash at one time. Once he'd collected the money he headed over to Jeffrey's office. Jeffrey had always liked Ashlee and Coop was hoping that fact combined with the fact that he didn't want to upset Doris would convince Jeffrey to help Coop out. He walked directly past the secretary and in to the office without knocking. Jeffrey looked up at him from his desk.
"Let me guess, this is about Ashlee?" Jeffrey gave Coop a knowing look.
"Yeah. Look, I found the guy that sold the gun to Blake. If he can sign a statement identifying Blake as the person that purchased the gun that was found in the room, would that be enough to get the charges dropped against Ashlee?"
Jeffrey clasped his hands together and studied Coop for a moment. "Have a seat, Coop." He pointed at the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Jeffrey waited for Coop to sit down before he said "listen, normally I would say no. I would still try the case even if someone claimed to have sold Blake the gun. Especially if the person that is claiming that is of questionable reliability and since the gun was stolen, I'm guessing the person that sold it is a criminal." When Coop didn't disagree, he continued." That being said, what do you know?"
"Frank and I figured out who the guy was that sold the gun to Blake. Jeffrey, you have to know that Ashlee didn't mean to shoot her."
Jeffrey sighed and then seemed to come to a decision. "Okay, Coop... you bring this guy in and have him sign a statement and I'll have the charges against Ashlee dropped, but you need to understand that I'm doing this against my better judgment and because I like Ashlee and I know she didn't intend to shoot Blake."
"You believe Ashlee is innocent?" Coop asked feeling relieved.
"Sure. If Ashlee had meant to shoot Blake, she would've confessed by now." Jeffrey replied with a smirk. "So when is this guy coming in?"
"Um... actually he wants us to meet him." Coop was ready for Jeffrey to say he wanted to forget the whole thing, but Jeffrey surprised him by laughing.
"Of course he does. Okay, Coop, I want to get this over with, before anyone finds out what's going on."
"Uh, that's great, because Johnny wants us to meet him tonight at a pizza place."
Jeffrey stood up and grabbed his briefcase and some papers he would need, then he glanced back at Coop. "I better never have to pay at Company again."
***************************************
The meeting with Johnny had gone off without a hitch. He signed the paperwork and Coop gave him his money, which Jeffrey had pretended not to see. Once Johnny left the pizzeria Coop felt like a weight had been lifted off of him.
"How soon will the charges against Ashlee be dropped?" Coop asked as he and Jeffrey walked out of the Luigi's and headed for the parking lot.
"A couple of days at the most. I don't foresee any problems pushing it through considering Ashlee's mother is the mayor." Jeffrey replied.
"Jeffrey... thank you, so much for doing this for Ashlee... I know that you didn't have to and... I'm just..." Before he could finish his grateful ramblings, Jeffrey patted him on the shoulder.
"I know, Coop. Now, go home. Tell Ashlee she's a free woman."
************************************
Ashlee was terrified. Coop had been gone way too long and when she'd called down to Company, Buzz had answered. Ashlee asked how his appointment went only to find out that Coop had lied to her. She wanted to be furious with him, but she was too worried about what he was doing and hoping that he wasn't in trouble. She heard a key in the door and sat up in bed. When Coop walked in she wasn't sure whether to sigh in relief or scream at him for scaring her.
"Where have you been? I was worried something had happened to you. I know you lied." Those three sentences came tumbling out all at one so they were squished together.
Coop flopped down on the bed next to her and pulled her in to his arms, gently because Ashlee was still recovering from her brush with a bullet. He buried his face in her hair for a moment. Ashlee didn't say anything else. She was glad to be in Coop's arms, especially since she'd been so worried about him and it was obvious he needed a moment. She felt more than heard him let out a breath and then he turned her face up so he could see her eyes.
"I went to meet with the guy that sold Blake the gun." As soon as the words were out, Ashlee opened her mouth to tell him that was an incredibly stupid thing to do, before she could he placed a finger against her parted lips. "I got him to tell Jeffrey that he sold her the gun. He signed a statement." He looked at her expectantly. Ashlee just stared at him trying to process all the information.
"So...?" Ashlee was afraid to ask what that meant. She thought she knew, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.
"So, the charges are going to be dropped." Coop's grin was a bit contagious. Ashlee smiled back at him, her eyes wide with shock.
"Wait, are you sure?"
"Ashlee, it's over. We got through it." He said and pressed his lips to her in a sweet kiss. Ashlee started to kiss him back, but a thought hit her. She pushed him away.
"Just because you saved my life, Coop Cooper, doesn't mean that you are forgiven for lying." She kept her tone playful.
"Ah..." Coop said, pulling Ashlee back in to his arms. His eyes took on a mischievous glint, "what can I do to make it up to you?"
Ashlee tapped her chin, as if in thought. "I'll think of something." She gave him a playful smile and put her arms around his neck.
"I bet you will." Coop responded, kissing her again. This time Ashlee didn't push him away.
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