Bell in order to shackle him, and when he did, Bell would attack.
Donald expected him to go down in a blaze of bullets, and while the
deputies and the marshals were firing, Donald would fold into the
inevitable stampede as the crowd swarmed out the doors to escape.
A man in the back row jumped to his feet and reached into kis hip
pocket, drawing botk Cole's and Daniel's attention.
'Hands up, ' Cole shouted as he strode up the center aisle amid the
spectators, his gun trained on the stranger.
'I'm unarmed, I'm unarmed, ' the man stammered. 'I just needed my
handkerchief.' He then sneezed, drawing smiles from those around
him.
Jessica was trying to figure out who Rebecca was looking at in the
crowd. Who would she know in Blackwater . . .
'Cole, ' Jessie screamed as she rushed across the room, 'he's here.
The leader . . . he's here.' Daniel raced toward her and jerked her
back just as Donald gave the signal to Rebecca.
Rebecca leapt to her feet and fired one shot through the sheriff's
temple, but before his legs could begin to fold, Bell was behind him
and had his gun. He fired at the deputy guarding the side door,
hitting him in the center of the chest, then whirled and fired at
Jessica. Daniel shoved her to the floor in the nick of time, but the
bullet caught him in the left shoulder.
Pandemonium broke loose as the crowd jumped to its feet, obstructing
Cole's view.
Bell, diving for cover at the side of the witness-box, fired at Daniel,
but the shot went wild, for Daniel was already in motion. He shot the
gun out of Rebecca's hand. She screamed and fell backward. Daniel hit
the table, slid across on his side, his gun blazing. Bell lunged back
and froze. Daniel fired again as he dropped to the floor, rolled, and
fired again, this time at point-blank range.
Indifferent to the ear-shattering screams surrounding him as people
tried to escape, Daniel dropped his empty gun, grabbed the other one
out of his left holster, and slowly got to his feet.
It wasn't over yet. Daniel slowly extended his arm, cocked his gun,
and waited. His eyes bored into those of his enemy. Golden brown eyes
stared back.
Cole was desperate to get to Jessica. He fought like an animal to get
