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“You’re kidding”

“You want to get killed?”

“Do you?”

I followed Joe out of the restaurant onto the ay that ran the length of the pier We stood for a longand watched Sci-Tron’s two-story metal-frame structure crumple as the roof caved in

The sight was devastating and almost impossible to believe, but it was real Sci-Tron had been blown up

Joe and I started running

CHAPTER 2

JOE WAS IN the lead as we headed along the pier frohfare that bordered the waterfront on the western side of San Francisco Bay

When we reached the sidewalk, we turned right and ran another couple hundred yards, past the historic pier bulkhead, stopping short of the entrance to Pier 15 Fla carcass of Sci-Tron

On our left traffic was going berserk on the Eht and sound of the disaster had slowed vehicles to a crawl, causing others to swerve into adjacent lanes, while screa, freaked-out pedestrians fled from the pier and dashed into the road Brakes squealed and horns blared like it was the biblical end of the world

Explosions have a shattering i sounds, the stink of explosives, the terror on human faces I knew this from firsthand recent experience, and still I found it hard to coht had twisted inside out into mayhem and inexplicable destruction

Joe pulledon the bay side and kept his arm around me as crowds sta

As I watched the movement of the chaotic scene, I was struck by an ano motionless in thestream of terrified pedestrians

I’ about hiht and weight, and wearing jeans, a blue flannel shirt, and wire-fra my eyes to his thin smile

He was s