"Jason, it's Kara," she said, her voice shakier than she'd expected.
"You don't sound good. What's going on?"
"There was an explosion in a café by the courthouse. I was just leaving when it happened."
"Are you injured?"
"No, but there are casualties, at least a dozen. I'm going to stay here and see what I can find out, if that's okay with you. I don't know if it was a gas line or a bomb, but it's bad."
"Call me back when you know more."
"I will." As she put her phone away, she saw the firefighters beginning to shut down as the fire was basically out. Since the urgency of the scene had diminished, she moved down the street to speak to her uncle.
Danny Reid gave her a sharp look. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. I told you I was. Do you know what happened?"
"There appeared to be an explosive device in a trash can outside the door to the restroom."
His words confirmed her suspicions. "I had a feeling, but I was hoping it was an accident. Are there any fatalities?"
"One woman was in critical condition. She was pulled from the restroom. A few others with burns, but it could have been worse. Fortunately, the explosive was limited in range." He paused. "Is this incident tied to a case you're working on?"
"No. I just stopped in for coffee."
"You were lucky, Kara. I almost had a heart attack when I saw you." He shook his head, his lips tight.
She put a hand on his arm, seeing the concern in his brown eyes and knowing that it came from a promise he'd made her father a very long time ago. "I'm fine, Uncle Danny."
"You might not have been."
"But I am."
He gave her an assessing look, then slowly nodded. "Okay. I need to get back to work. Take care of yourself."
"I will."
As she turned away, she saw two FBI agents approaching the scene, Monica Greer and Cy Barash, who worked explosives response. She'd been on violent crimes the past year, so their paths had crossed a few times.
Monica gave her a look of surprise. "What are you doing here, Reid?"
"I was getting coffee. I had just left when the bomb went off."
"That's lucky. Do you know anything about the explosive?"
"It was placed in a trash can next to the restroom."
"Did you see anything? Anyone running from the scene? Watching the fire afterwards?" Agent Barash asked.
"No, I didn't see anything. The police have been talking to witnesses. Hopefully, one of them saw something."
"We'll coordinate with NYPD. Glad you're okay." Monica paused. "And good luck with Colter's group. He's a good guy. I worked with him a few years ago."
"Nice to hear," she said as Monica and Cy went to talk to the NYPD incident commander, Captain Lisa Rodriguez. She wanted to join them, but she wasn't working for 26 Fed anymore, and it was time to get to her actual job.
Hopefully, this explosion was a one-off and not the beginning of something more.
An hour later, after stopping at her apartment to shower and change clothes, Kara drove to her new team headquarters, a three-story building in Murray Hill. The central location made it easy to respond to issues anywhere in the city, but far enough away from 26 Fed to maintain its own independence. There was no sign on the building, nothing to draw attention to their existence, as their team would operate covertly when needed.
