Previously In Bad Pennies: Paul and Josh stole from Cooper. Cooper arrived at Josh’s condo looking for some payback. Paul and his friend, Dano were staking out Josh’s condo when Dano decided to stop by the grocery store. They returned to the condo to find Cooper’s Chevelle there. Dano gave Paul a gun and offered to watch the duffel bag of Cooper’s stolen money while he goes in and saves Josh. Paul confronts Cooper in Josh’s apartment, pulls the trigger three times and hears three clicks. Dano gave him an empty gun.
Dano entered the grocery store and didn’t grab a basket. Instead he headed straight for the restrooms. Once locked inside, he pulled out a small metal tube and dumped white powder from it in a tiny line on his hand. He snorted the cocaine and checked himself in the mirror. This would work.
He reached for his ankle holster and pulled out his ‘baby’ nine millimeter. He popped the one round out of the chamber then removed the magazine and started slipping the bullets out one by one. At some point Paul is going to think he needs a gun and when that happens, Dano would be happy to give him this little thing. He put the unloaded gun inside his coat and then left the restroom and looked for something to eat from the hot deli.
Half an hour later, Dano handed the unloaded pistol to Paul and sent him off to try to kill Cooper. With luck, Cooper would kill Paul without getting any information out of him and Dano can just drive away with the money without having to commit any direct violence himself. But maybe Paul and his boyfriend would get the better of Cooper. It was probably best not to stick around and find out. Dano waited until Paul had gone up the stairs and out of direct sight. He silently drove away thankful for his electric car.
Dano considered his options. He had Paul’s cut. It seemed like Josh had spent most, if not all of his share. And if Cooper gets the upper hand, he’ll get whatever’s left. He could just go home, but something was scratching at the back of his mind.
He felt like he had missed something. Not a potential danger. A potential opportunity. And he had just figured out what it was. Dano turned a corner and headed towards downtown.
Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion to Josh. His run down the hallway to the front door, his opening the door, the sound of Cooper behind him (Had he grabbed the gun?), Paul’s surprised face, the small silver gun in Paul’s hand, Paul aiming behind him, and pulling the trigger resulting in three clicks. All of that probably happened in a few seconds, but it felt to Josh like ten minutes went by between his opening the door and those quiet hollow clicks.
Josh expected to hear deafening gunshots followed by what he assumed would be the hot, brief pain of being shot to death. No gunshots came. Josh heard the sound of something hitting the floor. Josh turned around to find Paul getting on his knees, having dropped his empty pistol. And Cooper pointed a revolver directly at Paul’s head.
“Tell me where the money is and I might not shoot Paul,” Cooper said through a bloody smile.
If the choice were simply save Paul’s life or save the money, it’d be easy to just give the guy’s money back. But he couldn’t tell Cooper the location of the money. Not without compromising someone he’d already hurt enough. And besides, Cooper would probably shoot Paul anyway. Cooper had been Paul’s boss. And while it’d been Josh who physically stole the money, Cooper had to know Paul’s complicity.
Again Josh felt time slow as he tried to find a way out of the situation. But then Paul fell forward, then swung upward with both fists hitting Cooper in the crotch. Cooper doubled over, but held onto the gun. Paul began to grapple with Cooper.
Josh thought of running. Paul caught Josh’s eye for a moment that ended as Cooper’s fist hit Paul. Cooper hit Paul a couple more times with his free hand and was trying to get his other arm in a position to shoot.
As the two of them fought with each other on the floor, Josh approached and tried to kick the gun out of Cooper’s hand. His first kick hit Cooper in the side. His second hit Paul’s thigh. The third kick hit Cooper’s hand, causing Cooper to drop the revolver.
Cooper’s attention turned to Josh just in time for Paul to slam his fist into Cooper’s face. Cooper kicked at Paul and then got to his feet. Josh went for the revolver, but Cooper got to Josh first, pushing him into a wall. Josh put his arms up to protect himself as Cooper punched him again and again.
A sound like someone dropping a heavy book on pavement followed by something warm and wet hitting Josh’s arms and face ended the confrontation.
Josh put his arms down and saw blood in Cooper’s eyes. Cooper opened his mouth, gasping, then saying, “F-fucking f—” He choked on something, then fell to the floor.
Paul stood holding Cooper’s revolver and damn if he didn’t look kind of perfect standing in the doorway like that. He could never deny his attraction to Paul. Josh smiled and found that doing so hurt.
Paul approached Josh slowly, then dropped the gun and hugged him. Paul pulled back for a moment and stared at Josh. All of a sudden things seemed to be going faster rather than slow. Paul laughed. He laughed.
“We fucking did it,” Paul said.
Paul kissed him. Then kissed him again, longer this time. How many times had he thought about the way Paul’s mouth felt on his? How easy would it be to ignore the alarm bells in his head and just lose himself in Paul?
But the dead body at their feet was making it difficult to think of anything else. Josh pushed him away.
“You killed him,” Josh said soberly.
“Because he was going to kill you. Don’t you get it? With him out of the way, we don’t have to fear for our lives anymore.”
Josh started backing away from Cooper’s body.
“And somebody probably called the cops about the gunshot. This isn’t Hosmer. And he’s not ‘out of our way’. He’s in my condo.”
“Not for long. We’ll get Dano to help us move the body. I tell you, we’re almost out of this.”
The doorbell chimed, scaring the hell out of Josh.
“That’s probably Dano now,” Paul said reassuringly.
Josh went to the door and did not see Dano through the peephole. He saw Erica.
Next: Favor For A Favor - A Bad Pennies Story
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