“Sergeant?”
Grant hesitated.
Keller stared at her.
That was enough.
Nathan noticed the stare.
He returned his attention to Naomi.
“What happened next?”
Naomi said:
“He struck the credential wallet from my hand.”
Keller interrupted.
“That’s not—”
Nathan raised one finger.
Keller stopped.
Naomi continued:
“He shoved me twice.”
Nobody moved.
“He kicked the credentials across the lot.”
Nathan stared at Keller.
“You did what?”
Keller’s face reddened.
“She was insubordinate.”
Nathan’s expression became almost curious.
“To whom?”
The question destroyed something.
Keller opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Nathan looked toward the sealed evidence case carried by the official behind him.
Then back at Naomi.
“Did you identify your role?”
Naomi replied:
“I identified myself as federal law enforcement.”
Nathan nodded.
“Good.”
Keller looked between them.
“Role?”
Nathan studied him for several seconds.
Then spoke clearly enough for everyone nearby to hear.
“Special Agent Naomi Brooks was appointed yesterday as federal supervisory lead for the Metropolitan Joint Enforcement Task Force.”
Nobody reacted immediately.
The sentence took a second.
Then another.
Detective Pike looked at Naomi.
Sergeant Grant closed her eyes briefly.
One of the analysts whispered something that sounded very much like:
“Oh, hell.”
Keller did not move.
Nathan continued:
“She has final federal oversight authority for personnel access, evidence integrity review, confidential-source compliance, interagency funding certification, and misconduct referrals connected to this operation.”
Keller’s mouth opened.
Nathan was not finished.
“And effective this morning, every federally supported component of your unit reports through her review.”
Naomi watched Keller understand.
Not simply that she outranked him in the task-force structure.
That was only embarrassment.
The real fear came next.
Nathan turned toward the black evidence case.
“Agent Brooks.”
The official carrying it stepped forward.
Nathan nodded.
The case opened.
Inside were six thick binders.
Three sealed evidence envelopes.
Two encrypted drives.
And one red folder.
Naomi took the red folder.
Keller stared at it.
Nathan said:
“Did you finish the preliminary command review?”
Naomi held Keller’s gaze.
“Yes.”
“And?”
She opened the folder.
“The discrepancies are worse than we thought.”
Keller’s face went pale.
Nathan asked:
“Scope?”
Naomi flipped one page.
“Evidence handling.”
Another.
“Informant payments.”
Another.
“Body-camera retention.”
Another.
“Overtime billing.”
Then she stopped.
“And possible unauthorized disclosure of sealed federal identifiers.”
Keller stared.
Nobody in the parking area moved.
Nathan asked:
“How many personnel?”
Naomi answered:
“Unknown.”
“How many command signatures?”
She closed the folder.
“Enough that we’re freezing administrative access pending review.”
Keller finally spoke.
“You can’t do that.”
Naomi looked toward him.
He stepped forward.
“This is my unit.”
“No.”
Her voice was quiet.
“This is a joint task force receiving federal authority, federal funding, and federal investigative access.”
She paused.
“You command city personnel.”
“Not the investigation.”
Keller looked at Nathan.
“Sir, you can’t let her walk in here and shut down operations based on paperwork she doesn’t understand.”
Nathan replied:
“She understands it better than you realize.”
“This is retaliation.”