Texas Takedown

by Heather Woodhaven

She blinked back the tears that threatened and focused on the cloudy skies above. If she hadn’t needed to speak at the presentation, she’d have been tempted to dive in the water. At least she’d spoken her heart, like she should’ve done all those years ago.

  She steeled herself and clenched her jaw. No more feelings. Hank was counting on her. Matt’s mom stood at her back. “Okay, it’s clear, Matt. Let’s go.”

  The engine cranked and thrummed. Matt steered the barge through the small tunnel, into the hotel’s lagoon of sorts. The tall buildings surrounding them did give her the illusion of safety. Except for the bridges above, they were pretty much removed from prying eyes.

  Matt turned the barge around and entered the main waterway.

  Crack!

  The sound of a gunshot echoed as an empty trash can flew across the barge, into the control panel. David grabbed her arm and pulled her down, closest to Matt, who was hunched over. The boat swerved, and Isabelle fell into the side of Matt’s leg. “Hold on,” Matt yelled.

  Luke was on his knees, pointing toward the bridge behind them. Mrs. McGuire scanned the area. Matt swung the boat to the right at what looked like a fork in the river.

  “Isn’t that the opposite direction of the convention center?” Isabelle hollered over the motor. Not that she claimed to know the area better than he did, but she’d studied the map enough to know the fastest route. Or so she thought.

  “I’m worried they’re waiting for us,” he yelled back.

  Something whizzed past her and pinged off the front of the barge. A scream ripped past her mouth before she could stop it. Instinctively she covered her ears and hunkered down. Mrs. McGuire shot off a couple of rounds at something Isabelle couldn’t see.

  Sirens bounced off the buildings around her. Behind them a motorboat fast approached. The driver and the passenger both looked as if they held guns. Mrs. McGuire stumbled back. “They’re going to overpower us. Call the police!”

  “I think they already know something is going on, Ma,” David shouted back.

  Luke aimed at the boat. “If you can let them pass us, I can shoot at the engine.”

  “They’ll shoot at us before you get the chance,” Mrs. McGuire yelled back.

  Another boat shot around the bend about a block in front of them. They were surrounded.

  FIFTEEN

  Matt followed the trajectory of Isabelle’s shaky finger. She pointed at the speeding boat in front of him. The driver lifted something large up and a muffled voice filled the air. A megaphone?

  “It’s the River Walk Patrol,” Matt yelled. He didn’t slow down until the police boat with three officers—one who had responded the night before—had passed them, hands at their guns. Only when they passed could they understand what was being said in the megaphone. They were telling the boat drivers to lay down their weapons.

  The drivers responded by shooting back. Isabelle screamed at the sound of the guns going off. He didn’t blame her. One officer ducked underneath what was probably bulletproof glass at the wheel of the boat while the other shot off a few rounds. One of the gunmen fell back into the water.

  Matt slipped the barge underneath a curved bridge and pulled over. “Come on. I don’t want to wait and see how the gunfight plays out. Plus we know there are more shooters around. Mom, we could use more police cover to get to the convention.”

  “I’m on it.” Mom had a phone to her ear. They all jumped onto the sidewalk and left the barge where it was. Matt pulled Isabelle’s hand as they ran up the closest set of stairs to the street.

  “Isn’t this too out in the open?” Isabelle yelled over the street noise.

  “I have an idea,” Matt said. He stepped under the closest awning. The glass door said Gliding Motor Tours. He just hoped his old buddy Chris remembered him. Matt tried to pull the door open but it was locked. He pounded on the door and looked over his shoulder.

  His brothers and parents joined them. “I told the police where we were. They’re on the way,” his mom said. It didn’t escape his notice that Luke and Mom openly held their weapons, though their fingers weren’t on the triggers.

  “Won’t the employees think you’re trying to rob them?” Isabelle asked.

  Matt hoped that seeing his face would be enough to set them at ease. He jumped up, waving at the bobbing head approaching. Chris frowned, but when he saw Matt, he smiled and opened the door. “Matt! What’s up, man?” Chris took in the scene behind him. “You doing some employee field trip?”

  He’d forgotten they still had their overalls on. A gunshot rang out. David slammed his shoulder into Matt. “Get down!”

  A ragged bullet hole in the sale banner where David had been standing remained. Chris jumped back and allowed them in the store. Though the glass door wouldn’t stop bullets. Chris ran for the back door. “I need to call the police,” he yelled.

  “Already did,” Mom called out. “They’re on the way.”

  In the store, helmets and gliders lined the walls. Gliding Motors was an off-brand model similar to a Segway. Tourists rented them as a fun way to see all the sights without having to worry about parking, traffic or sore feet.

  They ran into a back room. Chris shoved a door behind them and locked it. “Matt, I’d do anything for you, but there’s someone with a gun out there.”

  He didn’t need him to state the obvious. “Let me rent some of these and go out the back way. You should lock up and go next door until the danger passes. You have my word I’ll pay for any damages.”

  Chris pulled his eyebrows together. “Only for you, man.”

  Matt grabbed his outstretched hand and slapped his shoulder at the same time. “Do me a favor and take off the speed limiter.”

  Chris raised an eyebrow but typed in a code into the displays of the gliders in the back. “I’ve got only four.”

  “We’ll make do.”

  “They’re not meant for two people, you know.”

  Matt nodded at Isabelle. “You’ll have to lean back hard when I tell you to stop to compensate.”

  The sound of bullets and breaking glass reached their ears. “They’re coming. Chris, go now. At this rate, the gunmen will beat the police by several minutes.”

  Isabelle watched Matt’s dad hop on a glider and his mom put her legs between his with one arm around his waist. Isabelle’s eyes widened, and she pointed at Matt. “I’m riding with you?”

  He turned on the motor. “No time for second-guessing, Izzy.” His stance on the glider shifted slightly as she stepped up to join him. Her arms wrapped around his waist.

  There was no time to enjoy the sensation of having her this close to him. He leaned forward and sped down the ramp, out of the store. “Are they following me?” he hollered.

  “Your family? Yeah.”

  Never before had he been so thankful to know the area like the back of his hand. He traveled everywhere on foot. He knew every shortcut and alley to be found. The first left he took went between two buildings and would take them through La Vallita Historic Arts Village.

  The scents of chocolate croissants and coffee wafted past as he pressed the glider to its maximum speed. This was exactly one of the sights he felt sure Isabelle would’ve loved if she had the freedom to walk around safely. The hum behind him meant his brothers and dad were keeping up.

  Sirens wailed in the distance, but they couldn’t afford to wait for the police. Not after they’d been shot at several times. Two motorcycles jumped the curb and drove straight for them. One driver lifted a gun.

  Crack!

  The driver of the first bike fell backward as the motorcycle fell over, sliding right for him. The second motorcycle spun around, changing course. Matt veered to the right, barely squeezing between two of the galleries.

  “Your mom shot the guy’s front tire!”

 
Matt’s entire insides shook. He was glad he never had seen his mom in action before, because the thought of her dealing with criminals terrified him. He chanced a glance over his shoulder. His brothers, dad and mom had made the sharp turn right behind him. His mom held her gun up, one arm around his dad.

  Behind the galleries were other art shops, thankfully not open yet. Going at top speed—over twenty miles an hour, if he had to guess—they’d make it back to the sidewalk in less than a minute.

  “Matt,” Isabelle yelled.

  At the end of the buildings, a motorcycle revved up to the entrance. The driver put one foot down and shot. Matt’s torso pulled back sharply. Isabelle was pulling him back, taking them down. And there was no way to warn his brothers.

  * * *

  A searing pain shot across the back of Isabelle’s arm. She’d arched her back with the sudden shock. The abrupt move flung both her and Matt completely off the glider. Her backside bounced against the cement as her left hand tried to stabilize. The brunt of impact came from Matt’s head, which hit her shoulder before he rolled away.

  The other gliders were going full speed behind them. She lifted her head to see Luke turn the handles at ninety degrees. The glider spun in a circle before throwing him against the side of the building. David and Mr. McGuire hollered but screeched to a stop before they ran over either of them.

  “Are you okay?” Matt panted.

  “Stay down!” Mrs. McGuire jumped in front of Matt’s dad and fired. The motorcycle driver revved around, and in the cycle’s place, a flashing ATV covered the alley exit. Protecting the Alamo City was written underneath the SAPD logo.

  Matt reached for her. “You’ve been shot.”

  She glanced down at the rip in the overalls. The wound hurt, but it wasn’t overwhelming like she’d imagined the pain of a bullet. “I think maybe I’m just scratched?”

  David scoffed, “You sound like a McGuire.” He reached out a hand to a fallen Luke, who gladly accepted. Aside from messed-up hair, Luke seemed relatively unharmed.

  Mrs. McGuire rushed to check each of them. “If a bullet didn’t graze you, something ricocheted.”

  While her arm started to throb, Isabelle was thankful she had something covering her sleeves to take some of the force, since she had on a sleeveless blouse and trousers underneath. Her right flat had flown off with the fall.

  “Weapons down,” someone yelled from the other end of the alley. Two officers on bicycles approached. Mrs. McGuire made a great showing of putting down her gun.

  “She’s not a threat,” Matt hollered.

  The ATV policeman explained that the Park Patrol had been shot at on the boats. “As such, we’ve been authorized to grant you a police escort to the conference for your presentation.”

  Isabelle sighed. It was about time something went right.

  “And afterward, to the airport,” the officer added.

  Matt exhaled. No doubt he couldn’t wait until she was long gone. She strained to smile at the McGuire family. “Go with her,” Mr. McGuire told Matt. “We’ll take the gliders back with the other officers.”

  “Send the glider bill to me, Dad,” Matt said.

  “You don’t have to come, Matthew,” Isabelle said.

  He put a hand on her back. “Let’s see this thing through. Officer, do you have a first-aid kit?”

  A car pulled up behind the ATV. Their ride had arrived.

  Isabelle tried not to be affected by his touch in the squad car. She’d taken off the overalls as he cleaned up the bleeding with a wipe and attached a butterfly bandage to her wound. Too bad she didn’t have anything else to cover up the wound before her presentation. In the scope of things, it just didn’t matter. “I don’t have any identification, and I haven’t had time to stop by the station yet. Will that be a problem for the airlines?”

  “I have a written police report with me you can present the TSA. It shouldn’t be a problem.” The officer pulled up to the front doors of the conference center.

  Isabelle could see the looks of concern from her colleagues within as the officer opened the car for her. In their shoes, she probably wouldn’t know what to think if the keynote speaker for the morning showed up in the backseat of a cop car. “I don’t suppose you could escort me inside and tell everyone the limo was in the shop.”

  The officer chuckled as Matt joined her. “Just tell them oceanology is dangerous.”

  She sighed. “Truth.”

  “I’ll remain here until after your presentation, Miss Barrows,” the officer said.

  “Oh, wait. My suitcase... Is it long gone?”

  “Ideally it’s still on the barge. I’ll make sure it’s retrieved and brought here,” Matt said.

  “Thank you.” She stepped inside only to find security guards flanking the main hall. She didn’t recall any guards the other times she attended.

  Sandra Parveen rushed to meet her. “You’re still going to present?”

  Isabelle nodded. “It won’t be as fancy as I’d hoped, but it’ll get the job done.”

  “A word, Miss Barrows,” a voice boomed. Allen strode to meet her.

  “I’ll meet you backstage to go over your introduction.” Parveen tapped her wrist and pointed to a hallway. “Be there in ten minutes.”

  “Understood.” Isabelle’s heart pounded. So much was happening at once, she feared her entire speech and knowledge had left her completely. What if she stood on the podium in front of two hundred of the greatest scientists in her field and had nothing of value to say?

  “I want to know why the police thought I had something to do with an attack on you,” Allen said.

  Struther crossed the crowded room. “I’m curious about that, as well. I got a second visit from the police last night. As far as I knew, the police absolved me of all suspicion after the Tower incident. So why—”

  “Oh, I wonder.” Matt’s tone reeked of sarcasm. “You two are obviously in cahoots about something. And Allen has a better idea of what her research entails than anyone else here.”

  Isabelle’s cheeks heated. Allen was highly respected in the industry, and if Matt offended him, then she could kiss her last shot at an investor goodbye.

  Allen and Struther exchanged a glance. Struther clapped his hands together. “Well, we had to tell the police, anyway. I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you in confidence. I’m about to be promoted to CEO, and as such, I’m looking to put Endangered Robotics underneath our umbrella.”

  “But you’re nonprofit,” Isabelle objected to Allen.

  He shrugged. “We’ve just come to an agreement. It would be a beneficial partnership. We’ll remain separate entities but underneath one roof. Robotic Aquatic could do the research and development on the profit side, then pass on the licensed stuff to the nonprofit side of the company. I’ve been trying to convince Struther to invest in your institute, Isabelle, under the nonprofit arm. That way it doesn’t carry as much risk, with the provision that we merge with Hayden Research so you can work for us. We can see a lot of potential use on both sides for your research.”

  Isabelle’s mouth dropped open. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to process. All this time those two had been fighting because they’d been trying to merge their nonprofit and profit companies? She could handle the stipulation, but the idea that her uncle would need to give up Hayden Research Station... She closed her eyes. At the moment it didn’t matter, because the truth was, he might be losing it anyway.

  “We’re still ironing out some of the legalities,” Struther said. “But prepare for a nice offer this afternoon if your presentation is anything close to what Allen tells me. And in return, maybe keep the police from knocking on my door?”

  They walked away. She almost told them that someone had stolen the research, but until the mysterious thief acquired the encryption key, she sti
ll had hope.

  Matt put a hand on her arm. She flinched as if burned. His touch was just a reminder that he didn’t want her. She didn’t want a moment alone to hear him even utter the words.

  “I need to go. Excuse me.” She stepped toward the hallway Parveen had indicated.

  “But, Izzy—”

  “Thank you, Matthew.”

  “Goodbye, Isabelle. It was good to see you again.”

  She blinked back the tears and opened the door that led into the darkened hallway next to the backstage area. Her fingers pressed against her tear ducts as she inhaled. It would be fine. Life would go back to normal.

  And even with her research gone, she could re-create it. If someone else had it, it wasn’t as valuable, but maybe she would discover something else or progress faster. The danger would ideally be gone the moment she touched down at the Portland airport. It would all work out. She just needed to cling to her original goals before her heart had gotten involved.

  She opened the door to the backstage area. As soon as Parveen went over the schedule and introduction, Isabelle would enjoy fifteen minutes of peace and quiet to get her head on straight. The presentation still needed to blow Struther and Allen out of the water. And sure, if Hayden Research got bought out, she might not get to keep some of the favorite aspects of her job—like leading the educational field trips to the tide pools or working alongside her uncle. But now wasn’t the time to think on any of it, or the empty feeling at the thought of losing Matt McGuire...again.

  She stepped inside a little room on the side of the stage. It seemed odd there were no lights on. “Ms. Parveen?” she called out. Come to think of it, it seemed odd the way Parveen asked if she was still going to present today. Isabelle had told no one other than the police and the McGuires that her research had been stolen. She hadn’t even called to update Hank yet. So why would Parveen ask?

  An ominous click sounded behind her as the door shut.

  The light flickered and blinded her momentarily. Sandra Parveen had duct tape over her mouth, and her hands were zip-tied behind the back of a chair. The man at the door pointed a gun directly at Isabelle’s chest. “Hello, Miss Barrows.” He smirked. “Or perhaps I should say, goodbye.”