y, "Two sugars, please. How do you feel about what
happened, Mr. Cade? About... about what you had to do, I mean?"
'About what he'd had to do'? Couldn't she say the words 'about shooting
people'?
"Next question, please," said Cade. "Manuel, put two sugars in hers, okay?"
Manuel nodded.
"Mr. Cade," said Bain, "I have no doubt the shooting was justified, if
that's your concern. I'm asking because..."
Interrupting her, Cade said, "I'm just an inter-agency loaner. You don't
have to be concerned about my feelings."
Her gaze narrowed as she set her purse on the table and firmly said, "But it
happened while you were on loan to us, Mr. Cade, so if you should feel a need
for counseling, we have several good people available."
Counseling, huh? That would be a first. Cade kept a straight face to avoid
offending her as he glanced up to see how far along Manuel was with her coffee.
Getting up to save Manuel a trip, Cade served Bain her coffee and said,
"Like I said, milady; next question."
Bain said nothing until Cade had handed her the coffee and sat back down.
She sipped for a moment, then set the coffee down on the table and regarded Cade
quietly for a time.
"Okay, then," she said, "The next question is, how many rounds did you
fire?"
"Four. Avery fired twice."
"You're sure about that?"
"I'm sure. I hit him twice up here and twice on the sidewalk when he aimed
up at us. Avery fired at him on the sidewalk."
She nodded and said, "If any rounds went astray, we'll have to account for
them. May I see your weapon?"
Cade unholstered his Glock, dropped the clip and handed it to her, then
turned the gun slightly to the left and jacked the slide to eject the round in
the chamber, which he caught with his left hand and set upright on the table.
Leaving the Glock's slide open, he set the gun on the table, as well, and
picked up his coffee. Bain had watched the casual emptying of the gun with one
eyebrow raised, then she gave Cade a wry look.
"I'll bet that trick impresses the hell out of some women."
Shrugging, Cade said, "The only women who've ever seen me do that could
probably do it, too, LT, so I kind of doubt it. Are you through counting my
bullets?"
Nodding, she handed him the magazine and asked, "Did you have one in the
chamber as well as a full magazine?"
As he thumbed the loose round into the top of the magazine, Cade said, "Yup.
On