Chapter 5

Infrastructure Protection Critical Systems AdvisorCorrigan stared at it for a long moment. Then he closed the wallet and tossed it back at Tobias."Nice prop," he said. "I've seen better fakes at a Halloween store."The night air settled between them like a held breath.Tobias caught the wallet one-handed. He looked at Corrigan with the same expression a chess grandmaster might use watching an amateur tip over their own king by accident. There was no anger in it. There was no fear. There was something quieter and more final: the look of a man watching something end."Officer Corrigan," Tobias said, reading the badge for the first time, his tone dropping into a register that was entirely new—flatter and more deliberate. "You have just dismissed a federal security credential and refused to acknowledge a lawful resident's identification on their own property. I am going to give you one opportunity to walk back to your vehicle and contact your commanding officer. One.""And if I don't?" Corrigan said, his jaw tightening."Then you won't like what comes next."Corrigan let out a sharp laugh. He unclipped his radio from his shoulder. "Dispatch, this is Unit 11. I have a possible 10-14 at 221 Ridgecrest. Suspect refusing to comply, possible fraudulent identification. Requesting a second unit."Three blocks away in the Westport dispatch center, the operator, a veteran named Helen Brower who had spent twenty-two years listening to officers call in stops, ran the address through the system as a matter of routine.The screen did not respond the way it usually did. Instead, a red override window appeared. Bold text filled the display:FEDERAL RESTRICTED PROPERTY. DHS INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION DESIGNEE. DO NOT DISPATCH LOCAL UNITS. CONTACT FEDERAL OPERATIONS CENTER IMMEDIATELY.Helen stared at it. Then she pressed the radio button hard.

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