I said, "Get in." Nia calmly looked at the steel cage waiting inside the vehicle. Then she slowly turned back toward Sergeant Travis Cole. "You still have time." Travis laughed.
"Time for what?" "To stop making the biggest mistake of your career." The officers burst into laughter. Ryan shook his head. "She's still pretending she's somebody important."
Eric Nolan smirked. "I've arrested people who claim to be senators." Dylan Hayes added. "Last month one guy said he worked for the CIA." Ryan pointed at Nia.
"And now we've got an FBI fairy tale." The laughter echoed across the parking lot. Only Kevin Ross remained silent. Something felt terribly wrong. Nobody who had just been unlawfully arrested should have looked this calm.
Travis stepped closer. "You've been acting mysterious all afternoon." He folded his arms. "So tell me, who exactly do you think is coming?" Nia's eyes never left his.
"You'll know soon enough." The answer irritated him more than any insult could. Without warning, Travis snatched the canvas tote bag from the hood of the patrol car. "If you're hiding something," he turned the bag upside down. "Let's find it."
Pens scattered across the pavement. A notebook landed near Ryan's boots. A small flashlight rolled into the gutter. A portable phone charger bounced twice before stopping beside the curb. "Nothing unusual."
Ryan laughed. "I told you. She's just another nobody." Travis wasn't convinced. He grabbed the empty tote and shook it violently.
Something caught inside the inner lining. A small leather wallet slipped free. It struck the pavement. The clasp popped open. A gold badge slid halfway out before coming to rest face up beneath the afternoon sun.
Everything stopped. Ryan looked first, then Eric, then Dylan. The words stamped across the badge were impossible to ignore. Federal Bureau of Investigation. For 2 long seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Ryan barked out a nervous laugh. "No way." Eric picked it up. His eyebrows narrowed. "This has to be fake."
Travis snatched the badge from his hand. He examined the engraved seal. The serial number, the polished eagle, it looked real, too real. But admitting that possibility meant admitting everything they had done over the past hour. His pride refused.