“Careful.”
Adrian remained still.
“If you want legal authority to inspect that case, obtain it.”
“This is my scene.”
“No.”
Adrian's voice stayed quiet.
“This is a public parking lot.”
“You are conducting an inquiry.”
“Those are different things.”
Daniel looked down briefly.
Possibly hiding a reaction.
Wade jabbed one finger toward Adrian.
“You think you're smarter than me.”
Adrian replied:
“I think you're refusing an easy verification.”
That landed.
Wade's eyes narrowed.
“You know what I think?”
Adrian glanced toward the lot entrance.
“No.”
“And I'm beginning to lose interest.”
Wade followed his gaze.
Nothing yet.
Then looked back.
“You don't look like any federal investigator I've worked with.”
Adrian almost laughed.
“What does one look like?”
Wade ignored the question.
“You've got some fancy paper.”
“A jacket.”
“A fake office name.”
“And you're standing beside a black SUV like we're supposed to be impressed.”
Adrian said:
“You noticed the SUV.”
Wade frowned.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
Yet.
Because behind Wade, at the far end of the shopping-center entrance, three black SUVs had just turned into the lot.
Identical.
Dark windows.
Government plates.
They did not accelerate.
Did not flash lights.
Did not use sirens.
They simply entered in a disciplined line.
Adrian watched.
Wade did not.
Not initially.
Daniel did.
His expression changed.
“Sergeant.”
Wade ignored him.
He pointed at Adrian again.
“Take the costume off before you embarrass yourself further.”
Adrian looked past him.
“You should probably listen to your partner.”
Wade turned.
The first black SUV entered their lane.
Second followed.
Third moved toward the opposite entrance.
Almost instantly, ordinary traffic no longer had a clear route through the row.
The vehicles stopped.
Doors opened.
Men and women in dark suits stepped out.
Some carried identification folders.
One woman held a tablet.
Another man removed a hard document case.
Wade's expression changed.
Not fear.
Confusion.
His radio crackled.
“Unit 214, hold position.”
Wade grabbed it.
“Dispatch, repeat?”
“Unit 214, hold position and step away from the individual near the black SUV.”
Wade stared at the radio.
Then Adrian.
Daniel took half a step backward.
The radio continued:
“Do not access the vehicle or any containers.”
Wade's face lost color.
Adrian said quietly:
“Now you might want to verify my name.”
Wade's jaw tightened.
“What the hell is this?”
The first suited official approached.
Forty-something.
Black woman.
Hair pulled tightly back.
Calm stride.
She stopped several yards away.
“Deputy Director Cross.”
Wade stared at Adrian.
Adrian nodded.
“Director Shaw.”
Caroline Shaw turned toward Wade.
“Officer Collins?”
He swallowed.
“Sergeant.”
She glanced at his shoulder markings.
Then nodded.
“Sergeant Collins.”
“What is going on?”
Caroline looked toward Adrian.
“Are you injured?”
“No.”
“Did anyone search the vehicle?”
“No.”
“Attempt?”
“Yes.”
Wade interrupted.
“Hold on.”
Caroline turned.
“I was responding to suspicious behavior.”
“According to what call?”
“Citizen report.”
Daniel looked toward him.
Adrian noticed.
Caroline asked:
“What citizen?”
Wade hesitated.
“Anonymous.”
Caroline looked toward the tablet held by another investigator.
“Time?”
The investigator answered:
“No dispatch complaint associated with this location before Unit 214 marked self-initiated contact.”
Silence.
Adrian looked at Wade.
Daniel Mercer looked at Wade.
Wade's face reddened.
“I observed suspicious conduct myself.”
Caroline nodded.
“What conduct?”
Wade pointed toward Adrian.
“Unauthorized federal identification.”
Caroline stared.
“He had not shown you identification before you initiated contact.”
Wade paused.
Adrian almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Caroline continued:
“What did you observe before the stop?”
Wade's mouth opened.
Closed.
“Restricted-looking materials.”
“You saw the interior of a closed document case?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Wade's voice hardened.
“You don't get to interrogate me in a parking lot.”
Caroline's expression did not change.
“You're right.”
Wade seemed relieved.
Then she added:
“That part happens later.”
The relief disappeared.
Adrian closed the rear hatch.
Wade watched him.
“So you called all these people because I stopped you?”
Adrian turned.
“No.”
Wade stared.
“What?”
Adrian pointed toward the three black SUVs.
“They were already coming.”
Wade's face changed again.
This time something deeper.
Recognition.
Adrian saw it.
So did Caroline.
That reaction was why they had been investigating Wade's unit for six months.
Not specifically Wade at first.
Unit 214.
Several patrol officers.
A towing contractor.
A pattern.
Cars stopped for minor infractions.
Drivers told vehicles were unsafe or improperly documented.
Tows ordered unusually quickly.
Storage fees accumulated.
Some owners recovered vehicles.
Others could not afford release.
Certain vehicles were later sold through lien processes.
Nothing necessarily illegal in isolation.
Then complaints multiplied.
People said officers pressured them.
Reports did not match body-camera timestamps.
Tow authorizations were signed before some stops officially began.
One vehicle owner produced dash-camera footage showing a conversation omitted from the report.
Another found that photographs supposedly taken after impound were timestamped earlier.
Then money surfaced.
Not direct payments to officers.
Too obvious.
Instead, donations.
Discounted vehicle repairs.
Free storage.
A towing-company-sponsored “community association.”
Personal loans.
One officer's brother received subcontract work.
Nothing enough alone.
Together, uncomfortable.
Six months earlier, Adrian's office received the file.
He did what he always did.
He assumed nothing.
Checked records.
Then more records.
They reviewed hundreds of stops.
Most legitimate.
That mattered.
The unit was not uniformly corrupt.
Several officers followed policy exactly.
Some even raised concerns.
One name appeared repeatedly beside disputed cases.
Wade Collins.
Not every case.
Enough.
Another name appeared:
Daniel Mercer.
Usually as secondary officer.
Rarely primary.
Reports written carefully.
Language passive.
Vehicle subsequently determined to require towing.
By who?
Sometimes unclear.
Driver became uncooperative.
Meaning what?
Sometimes video showed simple questions.
Daniel's reports were not as aggressive as Wade's.
But they often failed to challenge Wade's account.
Adrian had not yet decided whether Daniel was participant or witness.
Today's parking lot was helping.
Caroline Shaw asked Wade:
“Do you recognize Summit Recovery Services?”
Wade's eyes flickered.
Tiny.
But visible.