He was looking for a weapon or a baggy, anything hard. He felt a hard, rectangular lump in Kendrick's back pocket. "What's this?" Bryce asked, triumph rising in his throat.
"That is my wallet," Kendrick said, "which contains the ID you asked for." Bryce ripped the wallet out. He didn't open it yet. He tossed it onto the hood of the car.
He moved to Serena. "Officer," Serena said sharply, "I do not consent to a search. You have no probable cause." "I have probable cause because you're acting nervous and your partner here is combative," Bryce improvised.
He reached for her. "Do not touch me," Serena said. It wasn't a scream, it was a command. It stopped Bryce cold for a split second.
"You listen to me." Bryce whispered, leaning into her ear, smelling her expensive perfume.
"You're in Pine Creek now. The Constitution ends at the county line. I can do whatever I want." He grabbed her arm and spun her around.
He patted her down quickly, roughly. He felt nothing on her. Frustrated, he stepped back.
"Stay right there. If you move, I will tase you. You hear me?" He walked to the driver's side door of the Range Rover.
"You cannot enter the vehicle without a warrant," Serena called out. "Probable cause," Bryce shouted back. "I smelled marijuana." "You are lying," Kendrick said.
"Neither of us smokes. This is illegal." "Tell it to the judge," Bryce muttered. He dove into the car.
He tore through the center console, mints, a charging cable, a pair of Ray-Bans, nothing. He opened the glove box, insurance papers, rental agreement, Hertz, rented in Atlanta. "Drug runners always use rentals," he told himself. He reached under the driver seat.
His hand brushed against something cold and metal. Jackpot. Bryce's heart hammered against his ribs. He pulled it out.
It was a SIG Sauer P320, black matte finish, standard capacity magazine. He scrambled out of the car, holding the gun up in the air like a trophy. "Gun!" Bryce screamed.
"Gun! On the ground! Get on the ground now!" He leveled his own service weapon at Kendrick's chest.
Kendrick didn't drop. He stood up slowly from the hood, turning to face Bryce. His face was etched with a dark, dangerous resolve. "Officer," Kendrick said, his voice deadly calm.
"Put that weapon down. That firearm is legal." "Get on the ground or I will drop you." Bryce was shaking now.
Adrenaline was flooding his system. "You're under arrest for illegal possession of a concealed weapon." "It's not illegal," Serena said, her hands still in the air, but her eyes tracking Bryce's trigger finger.
"Check the wallet, officer. Open the wallet you threw on the hood." "I don't care about your fake IDs," Bryce yelled. He keyed his radio on his shoulder.
"Dispatch, 10-18. I need backup. I have two suspects at gunpoint. Weapon recovered. Send everyone." "You are making a mistake that will cost you everything," Kendrick said.
"Look at the badge next to the gun." Bryce paused. He looked at the gun in his left hand. There was a small leather holder clipped to the belt he had missed under the seat.
He hadn't pulled the holster out, just the gun. "Shut up!" Bryce yelled. Sirens wailed in the distance.
The cavalry was coming. Bryce felt a surge of power. He was going to parade these two through the station. He'd be on the nightly news.
Two more cruisers screeched to a halt behind him. Dust billowed everywhere. Out popped Officer Riley and rookie Deputy Ellis. "Cuff 'em!" Bryce shouted.
"Resisting arrest, illegal firearm." Riley, a younger version of Bryce but with less confidence, rushed Kendrick. He grabbed Kendrick's arm and twisted it behind his back. Kendrick didn't resist physically, but his muscles were so dense, Riley struggled to bring the wrists together.
"I'm a federal agent," Kendrick said loudly, clearly, so the dash cams of the new cars would pick it up. "My badge is in the wallet on the hood. If you put those cuffs on me, you are kidnapping a federal officer." Riley hesitated.
He looked at Bryce. "Bryce, what's he saying?" "He's lying!" Bryce screamed.
"They all say that. Cuff him!" Riley snapped the cuffs on. Click.
Click. Ellis grabbed Serena. She allowed herself to be cuffed, her eyes never leaving Bryce's face. She was memorizing him, every mole, every sweat stain, every badge number.
"You better check that wallet, Bryce," Riley said nervously, just to be sure. "Fine." Bryce holstered his weapon and snatched the wallet off the hood. He flipped it open.
He expected to see a Georgia driver's license, maybe a fake Social Security card. Instead, a gold shield glinted in the sunlight. It was heavy, detailed. The eagle spread its wings across the top.
Below it, bold blue letters set into the gold, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent. Bryce blinked. He rubbed his thumb over the badge. He looked at the ID card in the adjacent window.
Kendrick Voss, Special Agent in Charge. Clearance level: Top Secret/CI. Bryce's stomach dropped through the floor. The world tilted slightly on its axis.
The heat seemed to vanish, replaced by a cold chill that started at the base of his spine. He looked at the second wallet. Serena's purse was in the car. He ran to the car, grabbed her purse, and dumped it on the seat.
Another badge tumbled out. United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. Senior Prosecutor. Bryce looked up.
Kendrick was standing by the trunk of the cruiser, cuffed. He wasn't looking at the ground, he was looking right at Bryce. And for the first time, Bryce realized the look on Kendrick's face wasn't anger, it was pity. "Riley." Bryce croaked.
His throat was dry as sand. "Yeah?" Riley asked, holding Kendrick's arm. "Take him in," Bryce said, his voice trembling.
He couldn't admit he was wrong, not now, not in front of the rookie. He had to double down.
"It's... it's a fake. They're good fakes. Take them in." Riley looked doubtful, but he followed orders.
He shoved Kendrick into the back of the cruiser. As the door slammed shut, separating them, Bryce looked down at the gold badge in his hand. His fingers were shaking so hard he almost dropped it. He had just arrested the FBI, but he didn't know the half of it yet.