An Encounter in Atlanta

Excerpt

Chapter One

    Looking down from the cafe window at the man he'd just shot, Ed Cade saw the brilliant overhead flash reflected in the windows of the hotel across the street and realized that something -- likely the car -- had exploded above the city.
    Some guy dressed as a knight was standing smack in the middle of the street, aiming a camera of some sort straight up at the sky. The light turned green at the intersection and the guy almost tripped over his sword trying to scramble out of the street.
    Cade stepped back from the window and looked to his left and right. There was only the Atlanta cop -- Avery -- standing next to him on the right. On his left, one person still sat by the windows, apparently frozen in stark, staring terror.
    "Get away from the windows," said Cade.
    Avery stepped back as Cade grabbed the frozen guy's coat to pull him to his feet and insistently repeated, "Get away from the window, dammit!"
    The man's eyes fixed on Cade's Glock and he said nothing, but as bits of debris pelted down on the street outside the window, he stood quickly on shaky legs and tried to comply.
    His knees failed and he wound up kneeling, then sitting on the floor. Avery came over to get a grip on the guy's other shoulder and they dragged him away from the windows.
    The rain of unidentifiable debris slackened quickly and seemed to end, and Avery started back toward the window to look up between the buildings.
    "Avery!" said Cade. "Not yet. Count to thirty before you go near that window."
    Cade put his Glock back in its shoulder holster under his field jacket and looked around again. Nine people. Five men, four women. Two had apparently left the cafe.
    He heard more debris-rain hit the street and buildings outside and saw Avery cast a wondering glance at him.
    "Some of it had farther to fall," said Cade.
    As if to punctuate his words, a car bumper slammed into the street, narrowly missing a black Lexus, and spinningly bounced out of view toward the intersection.
    Glancing past the group clustered by the cafe entrance, Cade saw the two missing women hurrying past the reception desk and he took off after them at a trot.
    He caught up with them by the elevators and didn't bother with introductions; they'd likely remember him.
    Stepping in front of them, he said, "Ladies, get back to the cafe. You're witnesses to a shooting."
    "I'm not going back in there!" the one on the right said in a near-hysterical tone. "I'mnot!You can't make me!"
    Snatching her purse off her shoulder, Cade said, "I won't have to. The cops'll find you with whatever's in this."
    Turning to the other woman, he asked, "Are you going to give me a hard time, too?"
    Shaking her head slightly, she said, "No. I didn't think we should leave, but Judy..."
    Interrupting her, Cade said, "Cool. Let's go, then."
    Putting his arm through hers, he led the way back to the restaurant. After a moment, Judy followed....