"Complete the validation procedure."
Rebecca remained standing. "You don't control the procedure in this building."
Maya looked at her. "I'm not asking you to let me control anything. I'm asking you to follow the procedure your department already has."
Rebecca said nothing.
Maya continued, "The first system verified me. The internal system verified me. You still haven't called the validation line."
Rebecca left the room without answering.
At the front desk, Ben was still looking at the internal verification result. He glanced toward the locked case, then toward the hallway.
"Lieutenant," he said as Rebecca approached, "we need to make that call."
Rebecca lowered her voice. "Until I know whether the system itself has been compromised, nothing leaves this station, and nobody gets access to evidence."
Ben looked at the two torn pieces of the credential. "What if the system isn't compromised?"
Rebecca did not respond.
Upstairs, inside Chief Daniel Mercer's administrative office, the secure telephone began to ring. Mercer checked the display and answered, "Chief Mercer."
A man spoke from the other end: "This is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Field Office. We need Special Agent Maya Williams placed on a secure line immediately."
Mercer remained silent.
The caller continued, "Her Federal Access credential registered a destruction event at your facility."
Mercer stood and looked through the interior window toward the front desk below. He could see Ben at the computer, Rebecca near the hallway, the coated case with its red indicator, and the two torn pieces of the credential on the counter.
He looked back at the telephone. "Special Agent Williams is here."
"Yes, Chief. And you need to put her on the line."
Mercer set the receiver against his shoulder and left his office. Downstairs, Rebecca still believed she was investigating a possible federal impersonator. Chief Mercer now knew she had detained an FBI agent.
Chief Daniel Mercer came down the stairs with the secure phone still in his hand. He did not hurry, but Ben noticed the change in his expression before Rebecca did.
"Chief," Ben said.
Mercer raised one hand and looked at the front desk. "Nobody touches the case. Nobody touches the credential."
Rebecca turned toward him. "I've already secured both."
"I can see that."
She watched him carefully. "What's going on?"
Mercer looked at the torn credential on the counter, then at the red indicator on the coded case. "Tell me exactly what happened, from the moment she entered the building."
Rebecca crossed her arms. "She came in without an appointment and asked for access to restricted evidence systems. She refused to identify her agency and brought in a locked electronic case. The credential verified, but given the circumstances, I believed the system could have been compromised."
Ben looked at Mercer. "It verified twice."