Prophet of Death

Chapter 5

     Pete ran to the overpass only to see a black minivan peel off on the other side of the highway and get away. He cursed and then walked up to the spot where the RPG was fired from. The suspect had left the launcher where he had fired it, leaving Pete with a nice piece of evidence that could hopefully trace back to the Prophet. As he was walking back down to the car, he noticed that Jones was following to back him up, something that he respected despite the fact that he told her to remain behind and keep tabs on the man the Prophet just tried to murder. While he admired her instincts, it wasn't necessary.

     "Our Prophet drove off in a black minivan," Pete said as Jones got closer. "But he did leave us a lovely parting gift."

     "Did you get a look at the plate?" Jones asked.

     "It was too far away," Pete said as he strolled past her and walked back to the cars. At this point, a fire truck had arrived to put out the flames bursting from what was left of the limo. Pete looked around the scene. "Where the hell is Cooper?"

     "I'm sorry," Jones said as it became apparent that the rich man had fled the scene to get out of the city as originally planned. "He must have had someone pick him up before backup arrived."

     "He won't get far." Pete took out his cell and made some calls. He couldn't help but look over at the burning wreckage and understand that the man he was dealing with was not the average psycho. It was only a matter of time before the feds tried to get in on his case. There were five dead at the first scene and now two people dead at this scene as the driver an additional security guard were in the car when the Prophet's rocket blew it to hell. Had Cooper not gotten out of the limo to speak with him, he would have been inside with the other two crispy critters. Pete strolled back to his car and sat down in the passenger side and waited for Jones to return from talking to one of the officers that was securing the scene. When she returned to the car, Pete was eager to go.

     "Let's keep moving," Pete said as he tossed the launcher into the back

     "Where to, Gibbons?" Jones asked.

     "To our original destination," Pete answered. "We need to get to that airport. I'm pretty sure Cooper isn't the only one making his way there."

     "I'm really sorry about Cooper," Jones said again.

     "What for?" Pete asked.

     "He's probably at his plane by now," Jones replied as she felt really bad about letting him go. "I should have stayed back like you asked."

     "Don't sweat it," Pete said with a grin, "Before we left the station, I told David to call in a favor with a buddy of mine at the FAA. All flights at that private strip have been grounded until further notice, so Cooper isn't going anywhere and will be available to answer all our questions."

     "Smart thinking, Gibbons," Jones said as she weaved around the emergency vehicles and finally got back on the road. They were very close to the airport, so it didn't take long to get there. When they arrived, it was clear there were a lot of frustrated passengers who wanted to fly out but were being denied. As Pete strolled into the terminal, he spotted their man.

     "Mr. Cooper," Pete said as he walked over and grabbed his arm. "You are aware that leaving the scene of an accident is a crime?"

     Mr. Cooper didn't look impressed. "As you can tell by the state of my ride, I'm eager to leave as soon as possible."

     "Any reason why the Prophet would target you?" Jones asked.

     "Besides the fact that I'm a successful capitalist?" Cooper replied. "I'm not exactly sure. The guy is a complete psycho."