She stood.
“I need federal response team.”
“Already on standby.”
Hale looked surprised.
“You planned for this?”
“I planned for several things.”
“Getting arrested?”
“No.”
Priya said quietly:
“You let him bring you here.”
Maya looked at her.
“Once he seized my badge and refused verification, yes.”
“Why?”
“Because corrupt systems behave differently when they think nobody important is watching.”
The sentence landed heavily.
Priya glanced away.
Maya noticed.
“What?”
Priya shook her head.
“Nothing.”
“Officer.”
Priya exhaled.
“I've seen him do it before.”
“Reyes?”
“Yes.”
“Do what?”
“Decide who somebody is before checking.”
Maya said nothing.
Priya continued.
“Mostly civilians.”
“People he thinks are lying.”
“Housing advocates.”
“Public defenders.”
“Once an assistant state's attorney came in wearing jeans.”
“He made her wait forty minutes because he thought she was somebody's girlfriend.”
Hale rubbed his forehead.
“Why wasn't this reported?”
Priya looked at him.
“It was.”
He stared.
“To whom?”
“My lieutenant.”
Brennan shifted.
Priya looked at him.
Brennan's face went pale.
Maya noticed.
There.
Another reaction.
She turned toward Lieutenant Brennan.
“You received complaint?”
Brennan cleared throat.
“Informal.”
“Meaning?”
“Malik said Reyes was disrespectful.”
“I said he ignored credentials.”
Priya's voice sharpened.
“You said you'd handle it.”
Brennan looked toward Hale.
“This isn't relevant to evidence theft.”
Maya said:
“It might be.”
Brennan stood.
“That's a leap.”
“Maybe.”
Maya looked at him.
“Sit down.”
He stared.
“You don't command me.”
“No.”
Captain Hale said:
“I do.”
Brennan sat.
Federal agents arrived twelve minutes later.
Four people.