Finch couldn't speak. He just shakily extended his hand, offering Lawson the military ID.
Lawson snatched the card. He looked at the name: Colonel Reynolds, Alicia M. Lawson's eyes widened. He looked at Alicia, then back to the card, then down at the handcuffs securing her wrists. A look of absolute horror washed over the veteran sergeant's face. He knew immediately that Finch had just detonated a legal and public relations nuclear bomb.
"Get the keys!" Lawson growled at Finch, his voice vibrating with barely suppressed rage. "Get the keys and take those off her right this second!"
Finch practically tripped over his own boots, rushing forward to unlock the cuffs. The metal clicked open, and Alicia slowly brought her arms forward, rubbing her bruised wrists.
"Colonel Reynolds," Sergeant Lawson said, his tone entirely deferential. He stood at attention, a stark contrast to Finch's earlier swagger. "Ma'am, I cannot apologize enough. This is an egregious failure of protocol and judgment. Are you injured?"
"I am uninjured, Sergeant," Alicia said, her voice steady and commanding. She adjusted her sleeves, brushing the wrinkled fabric over her unit patch. "But your officer here assaulted me, illegally detained me, and violated my Fourth Amendment rights, all on the unverified word of a civilian who was harassing me based on his own racial and gender biases."
Lawson shot a lethal glare at Finch. "Finch, go sit in your cruiser. Do not speak. Do not touch your radio."
Finch didn't argue. He walked to his cruiser like a man marching to the gallows, shutting himself inside.
"Ma'am, we will handle this internally. He will face severe disciplinary action," Lawson promised, practically pleading.
"I can assure you, you won't be handling this internally, Sergeant," Alicia interrupted, pulling her phone from her pocket. She looked directly into Lawson's eyes. "I am an active-duty colonel assigned to the Pentagon. You just unlawfully arrested a federal officer on her way to a classified briefing. My command will be involved, the Judge Advocate General will be involved, and my legal counsel will be heavily involved. This wasn't just a mistake, Sergeant. This was an arrogant display of unchecked authority, and I'm going to make sure he never wears that badge again."
She turned to look at Mitchell, who was now backing away toward his pickup truck, realizing the monumental gravity of his mistake.