Amusement.
“You don't look Army.”
Daniel resisted the urge to ask what Army looked like.
Instead he said:
“I've been told the uniform helps.”
The younger officer, Barnes, looked down briefly.
Maybe hiding a smile.
Mitchell did not enjoy the answer.
He shined his flashlight inside the Tahoe.
Front seat.
Console.
Rear.
“Whose vehicle?”
“Mine.”
Mitchell looked at the registration in his hand.
It had Daniel's name on it.
Daniel waited.
Mitchell looked up.
“You were swerving.”
“No, Officer.”
The word came out calmly.
Mitchell's expression changed.
“What?”
“I was traveling fifty-five miles an hour with cruise control engaged.”
Daniel looked toward the road.
“I remained in my lane.”
“You calling me a liar?”
“No.”
“That sounded like it.”
“I’m describing how I was driving.”
Mitchell leaned closer.
“You got a problem with police?”
Daniel almost laughed.
Instead:
“No.”
“You seem pretty comfortable talking back.”
“I’m answering your questions.”
Barnes shifted his weight behind him.
Daniel noticed.
Mitchell looked at Daniel for several seconds.
Then said it.
“Boy.”
The road went quiet.
There were words that carried only the meaning of a dictionary.
Others carried decades.
Daniel had been called that word by men in uniform before.
Not this uniform.
Different countries.
Different commands.
Different decades.
Sometimes hostile.
Sometimes careless.
Always revealing.
At twenty-two, it had made Daniel furious.
At thirty-five, it made him strategic.
At fifty-two, it mostly made him tired.
He kept his hands on the wheel.
“Officer Mitchell, please run my information.”
Mitchell laughed once.
“There you go.”
“Where?”
“That attitude.”
Daniel did not answer.
Mitchell stepped backward.
“I'll run whatever I want.”
He turned and walked toward the cruiser.
Barnes remained for another second.
His eyes met Daniel's.
Something apologetic almost appeared.
Then he followed Mitchell.
Daniel exhaled slowly.
He looked down at his wrist.
The watch appeared ordinary.
It was not.
Senior installation commanders traveled with an emergency communications application integrated into secure devices. The feature existed for genuine security emergencies, kidnappings, threats, or incidents where a commander could not safely make a normal call.
Daniel had never used it.
He hoped not to.
He looked through the mirror.
Mitchell stood beside the cruiser.
Barnes was talking to him.
Mitchell shook his head.
Barnes spoke again.
Mitchell waved him off.
Daniel's license would return clean.
No warrants.
No suspensions.
No criminal history.
No reason for anything beyond an alleged lane violation.
Five minutes passed.
Then both doors opened.
Daniel placed his hands visibly on the wheel again.
Mitchell approached faster this time.
Angrier.
He stopped at the driver's window.
“Step out.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“Am I being detained beyond the traffic investigation?”
Mitchell leaned toward him.
“You want to be arrested?”
“No.”
“Then get out.”
Daniel nodded once.
“I am complying.”
He opened the door slowly.
Stepped onto the gravel.