Cole gave a slow nod, but he no longer looked convinced.
At the treatment room doorway, Isaiah had heard enough fragments to understand one thing clearly: the officers were not interested in his supposed connection to a theft; they were interested in something specific. When Dana passed his room again, he lowered the mask.
"What are you looking for in my backpack?"
Dana stopped.
Isaiah continued, "You keep asking about drives. I don't know what you think I have. That should make this easy."
"If I don't know what you want, how does that make anything easy?"
Dana's eyes narrowed. Isaiah looked directly at her. "Is this even about me?"
For the first time, Dana did not have a prepared answer.
Harland appeared behind her. "That's enough conversation."
Isaiah looked at him. "Then tell me why I'm here."
Harland remained calm. "Focus on your treatment."
"You keep telling me that because you don't want to answer."
Evelyn stepped between the bed and the doorway. "He needs to rest."
Harland studied Isaiah for another moment, then motioned Dana into the hall. "Search the medical property now."
Dana glanced toward Caldwell. "They're going to fight us."
"Let them complain afterward."
Before she could move, a hospital security employee hurried toward them. "Lieutenant, there are several vehicles entering the parking structure. State plates."
Harland went still.
Dana frowned. "Who?"
The employee shook his head. "I don't know."
A call came through Dana's radio. She listened, and the color slowly drained from her face.
"What is it?" Harland asked.
Dana lowered the radio. "Maya Williams is back."
Harland's eyes narrowed. "Who came back with her?"
Dana looked toward the lobby doors, where several unfamiliar figures were already approaching the reception desk. This time, she had no answer.
The automatic doors opened and Maya walked back into the emergency department with the same medical folder tucked beneath her arm. Nothing about her clothes had changed; nothing about her expression suggested anger or triumph.
The difference was the people walking behind her: Paul Reeves came first, carrying a slim black case and a tablet. Two state investigators followed him, along with a hospital compliance attorney, a digital forensic specialist, and Captain Daniel Ruiz from Precinct 12.
Their arrival was quiet enough that several patients in the waiting room did not immediately understand what had changed, but the officers behind the reception desk did.
Dana Mercer moved forward almost instinctively. "You were ordered to leave this emergency department."