Page 18 of Special Agent Isabella

Tanner walked up to Mr. Peters… the cold-eyed dude whose glacial stare made one think of a villain in a horror movie. He stood in front of him and indicated with his hand for the gnarly fellow to follow him. When that didn’t happen, he used his larger frame as a potential threat to get the man to back off and leave. That worked just fine.

Aware from his training that the bigger the mouth often meant less courage to stand up physically proved to be correct in this instance.

* * *

Hours later, Collin, following Tanner’s orders, pulled the car to the back of the state building. He stood by the open car door, waiting for Stacy and Tanner to approach.

Unknown to the chauffeur, a figure moved behind one of the nearby vehicles and Tanner made out a weapon.Jesus!Would this nonsense ever stop?Having trouble believing his eyes, he nevertheless took the appropriate actions.

Pushing Stacy to kneel behind their car door, he made Collin kneel as well and then shielded them both. When he called out “Gun”, a few other officers loitering around the vicinity took immediate shelter. Protected by Collin, Stacy stayed in the safety of the vehicle.

Reaching for his own weapon, Tanner winced when he heard the bullets. Knowing they were dealing with a high-powered rifle made a huge difference. Speaking into his lapel mic, he requested FBI backup, giving their location and warning of the gunman.

Forcing everyone’s head down, including Collin’s, he waited until he heard the other agents were in place. A moment of silence meant that the shooter probably had to change out his magazine. That gave him a second to change places. He swiftly rolled behind another vehicle that would give him a better view of the killer’s location. Sure enough, they had the man pinned down.

“Hey buddy, we have you surrounded. Look, you haven’t hurt anyone yet. Why don’t you throw out the gun and put your hands in the air.”

“Get fucked,Bud-dy.I’m here to get the bitch who’s now making life decisions we don’t want. It’s either her or me.”

“Do you recognize how ludicrous you sound? You’re taking offense because you say the Governor is overridingyourrights. Yet you’re the one with a rifle, shooting the place up like a madman. Don’t you care whoyoukill? Whose decisions you’re interfering with? Whose rights you’re violating? Or whose life you might end?”

“No. Quit messing with my head.” Another volley of bullets flew around them, many studding into the vehicles. Thankfully Collin and Stacy were well protected by the bullet-proof door, but the car where Tanner had fled took a lot heavier damage.

Glass exploded everywhere from the smashed windshield and car door windows. Forced to take cover, Tanner prayed one of the bullets wouldn’t hit the gas tank by accident. Not that it would explode but the leaking gas would be an added danger, especially if a spark happened to ignite it.

Suddenly, a calm voice sounded in his mic. “I have a clean shot, Tanner. What do you want me to do?” A sniper in place came through clearly.

“Let me have a bit more time, but if things change, use your discretion.” Deciding to try one more time to talk the man out of pursuing this foolishness, Tanner made sure his tone sounded reasonable.

“Listen, man, unless you stop this madness and throw down your rifle, we’ll have to end it ourselves… and you know what that means. We can’t let this situation continue. Innocent people could be killed.”

“I’m the innocent one here. She’s the monster.”

“Not from where I’m sitting. You’re the one with the gun, not her. You’re the one shooting at us, putting all our lives in danger.”

“Because she wouldn’t listen. We don’t want her here.”

Suddenly, Stacy’s voice rang out. “If I can prove to you that I was elected fairly, by a majority of the people, will you stop? We can show you the results, the proof that the elections were fair.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because you have my word as a mother. And… if you don’t, you’ll die.”

The silence seemed to go on forever. Tanner spoke quietly into his mic… “Hold on guys. Give him time.”

Suddenly a rifle flew out into the open and a shorter, chubby, bald man appeared with his hands in the air.

ChapterFifteen

Once they were safely in the car and heading home, Tanner heard Stacy weeping. In the back seat, Collin tried to soothe the emotional woman. Anger sparked in her voice. “I don’t cry. I never cry. I don’t know why I’m crying now.”

“Hell, lady, I’m a bit weepy meself.” Collin’s voice rang true, and Tanner had to chuckle. Delighted to see through the rearview mirror that Stacy had begun to smile too, he thanked God for having brought Collin along. The man had proved to be a lifesaver.

Not wanting to bring danger to Stacy, he’d moved away from her during the earlier trauma. It seemed important to turn the asshole’s attention to himself. When he saw that Collin had taken over as her protector, it gave him the chance to draw the rifle’s fire his way.

Turning into the driveway of the Governor’s home, he sighed happily to see the crowd had dispersed and only a few of the hangers-on greeted them with muted shouts that had very little energy.

Escorting Stacy inside, he watched as Abbie ran toward her mother with her arms held up. Expecting to be lifted, she wasn’t disappointed. Stacy wrapped her arms around her child and hid her face in Abbie’s hair.

---