Arthur looked straight ahead.
Then:
“Everything you do from this point forward will be easier to reconstruct than you think.”
Ford smiled.
“That a threat?”
“No.”
“Professional observation.”
Ford shoved him toward the patrol SUV.
Arthur walked.
The brown portfolio remained open inside his truck.
The sealed envelope exposed.
That bothered him more than the cuffs.
Riggs noticed.
“Sheriff, we should secure the truck.”
Ford said:
“Tow it.”
Arthur stopped.
“You have no lawful basis to seize that vehicle.”
Ford pushed his shoulder.
“Keep moving.”
Arthur did.
During the ride to Oak Haven County Sheriff's Station, Ford drove while Riggs sat passenger.
Arthur rode in back.
The cage divided them.
Ford talked too much.
Men convinced of their own power often did.
“You Army boys come through here thinking medals make you special.”
Arthur looked out the window.
“Then some little federal badge.”
Silence.
“You know how many fake veterans I've arrested?”
Arthur said:
“How many?”
Ford glanced in the mirror.
“What?”
“You brought it up.”
“How many?”
Ford's face tightened.
“Plenty.”
“That is not a number.”
Riggs looked down.
Arthur continued:
“You could resolve whether my credentials are authentic in less time than this drive.”
Ford smiled.
“I'm not interested.”
There.
Arthur met his eyes through the mirror.
“I know.”
The rest of the drive passed mostly in silence.
Oak Haven County Sheriff's Station sat outside a small town of seven thousand people.
Tan brick.
Low roof.
Flagpole.
Dry parking lot.
Pines behind the building.
Not imposing.
But institutions did not need impressive architecture to dominate the people around them.
Ford parked.
Arthur looked toward the entrance.
Riggs opened the rear door.
Arthur stepped out.
The parking lot was dry beneath a bright Georgia afternoon.
No storm.
No rain.
Nothing atmospheric enough to make what came next seem inevitable.
Ford marched Arthur inside.
Front desk.
Holding cells.
Administrative offices.
Two deputies.
Dispatcher.
Older woman behind reinforced glass.
Everyone looked.
Ford announced loudly:
“Got ourselves a fake federal hero.”
Arthur did not react.
Riggs did.
A small flinch.
That mattered.
Ford emptied Arthur's pockets.
Wallet.
Phone.
Watch.
He reached for the watch.
Arthur pulled his wrist back slightly.
Ford's eyes narrowed.
“Problem?”
“That is a registered secure device.”
Ford laughed.
“Everything you own is federal now?”
“No.”
“Just telling you what it is.”
Ford unfastened the watch.
Arthur watched carefully.
The device had already sent a delay ping when his expected transit checkpoint expired.
He did not know whether anyone had escalated it yet.
Normally, arrival tolerance was fifteen minutes.
He was now twenty-six minutes late.
Ford tossed the watch into an evidence tray.
Wrong move.
The device registered a tamper event.
Arthur almost smiled.
Ford noticed.
“What's funny?”
“Nothing.”
“Something's funny.”
Arthur looked toward the holding cell.
“Are you booking me?”