Page 17 of Special Agent Isabella

“Okay. Keep it hidden. If someone sees it, they might try and steal it away from you. That’s the problem nowadays with people sporting weapons like they’re just toys. Many have been stolen because the carrier has no idea how to protect themselves physically or to stop the theft.”

“Wouldn’t they report them missing?”

“I wish.” When he saw her face, he added, “Some folks will register them as stolen, but many don’t bother… they’re too embarrassed.” He checked the front window for the last time and then led the way to the back of the house where Collin waited for them.

“I don’t suppose there’s a back lane where we can get away without anyone seeing us?”

“No such luck.”

“Okay, then hold on because we’re gonna be surrounded.”

Sure enough, as soon as the protestors saw a car, they began swarming everywhere. Tanner waited until they’d circled to his side before he turned on the sirens. Chuckling, he swore a few came close to shitting their pants. He grinned when the woman who’d gripped the mirror on his side stampeded the guy behind her, knocking them both to the ground. Serves them right. They had no business messing with his vehicle.

All the while, Stacy sat under the car blanket Collin had thought to provide and didn’t lift it up until they were well away from her mansion.

Considering the earlier comic moments were the best part of a rotten day, Tanner forced himself to relax. Always confident behind the wheel, he let the tension ooze off. With his eyes trained to be aware of his surroundings, he drove at a medium speed with the aim of blending into the traffic.

Calling the motorcade the governor often used would have brought unwanted attention to them. His goal for that not to happen seemed paramount. But he needed her safety to be a priority and so he called in backup for when they arrived at the accident site.

A short time later, they were pulling up to the state building and his heart dropped. Utter confusion surrounded the area. Police cars were visible everywhere as well as S.W.A.T. vehicles and ambulances. Noise and confusion levels were enough to make one wish they could drive away. Unfortunately, he knew that wouldn’t be okay with Stacy. Instead, he forced the issue of them wearing vests, his own having access through a mic to the other agents in the vicinity.

Eying his own crew of FBI folks, he waved them over. Surrounding the governor, they moved directly to the side of the building where her office lay. Many of her own folks tried to crowd around her and were put off by her orders that she would be in touch shortly.

As they walked, Tanner got the lowdown about the explosion. Now that the bomb squad had declared the building safe, other than having to identify the explosive, find its source location, and how it had been detonated, their code black lessened considerably.

Since the worst of the damage happened in Stacy’s section of the building, he assumed the person or persons responsible were after her. And that thought crushed his heart. Poor woman couldn’t catch a break.

Her own office had limited damage thank goodness. Most of the debris centered in the hallway, a supply room thankfully empty, and the lobby area. The stench of smoke and overall dampness in those places made his nostrils tighten.

Walking by her side, he felt her body tightening. Her first stuttered words let him know her feelings. “M-my main mission is to find out about my staff. Once I know they’re all safe, I can deal with other matters.”

Unrattled, the Police Chief confirmed that only minor injuries occurred and so far just one person had sustained enough damage to be taken to the hospital. The bomb might have influenced the woman’s medical condition because of the fear factor, but they couldn’t be sure. The pregnant worker had suffered a severe panic attack.

After both Tanner and Stacy were briefed by the Chief and Bruce, her office assistant, the strain lightened immensely. Thank God, the bomb’s detonation hadn’t been as bad as they’d imagined.

Whether that had been part of the plan… not to kill anyone, Tanner didn’t know, but he sure-as-shit intended to find out. Leaving Stacy to deal with her people, he stood at the back of the crowded room, talked to his own agents, and was given more information.

They’d caught an image of a beige Toyota leaving the vicinity of the State Building shortly before the blast. Could be a coincidence but he didn’t believe in them. “Did you get details?”

“Nope. Pretty sure the plate’s been covered with mud on purpose. Adam said he got a close-up but no such luck reading the numbers or letters.”

“Anything else you noticed?”

“Yeah. There was a dent on the passenger side front door, and it was missing the hubcaps.”

“Sounds like the same car Bella called in about from the near accident while taking Abbie to school.”

“Kinda what I thought.”

Suddenly, the confusion around the governor rose, and Tanner strode closer to where he could be near her. When he saw what occurred, he had to rein in his temper. A tall, white-haired, expensive-suited individual, a man driven by purpose had pushed his way close to her desk and theatrically pounded his fist on the surface.

“Governor, you must resign. We’ve had nothing but trouble since you took office. We’re fed up with all the controversy you’ve brought to our state.”

“Those are unfounded accusations, Mr. Peters, and this is neither the time nor the place to be voicing them.”

The gubernatorial nominee who’d lost the last election wore a sour look and his disposition became clear from his words. “Many of us don’t want you. The election was a parody.”

“No, sir. The people voted. And chose me to step up. Now, if you’ve nothing positive to add to this conversation, please leave. We have a lot of work to do here and need to concentrate.”

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