His eyes locked onto Marcus'ss wedding jacket, which Elena held protectively against her chest. The secure key was still inside that jacket. If he could recover it, if he could give Pike something to work with, maybe there was still a chance to salvage the situation. Briggs made his move. He charged directly at Elena, hoping to grab the jacket before anyone could react.
But Marcus caught the motion from the corner of his eye and intercepted Briggs's path, placing himself between the sergeant and his fianceé. The impact drove all the air from Marcus'ss lungs. Briggs's shoulders slammed into his ribs with the full force of a desperate man, sending Marcus stumbling backward into the end of a row of chairs. The metal frames clanged against each other as Marcus fought to keep his balance. "Give me that jacket! " Briggs shouted, reaching past Marcus toward Elena.
Marcus twisted to block him, but Briggs managed to grab him by the collar, using his grip to try forcing Marcus aside. The fabric of Marcus'ss white dress shirt strained as Briggs pulled him off balance. "Elena, move back," Marcus called out, refusing to throw punches. Even as Briggs manhandled him, instead of striking, Marcus used Briggs's forward momentum against him. He grabbed Briggs's extended arm and twisted smoothly, forcing the sergeant's wrist and elbow against the metal back of the nearest chair.
The leverage was perfect, painful enough to break Briggs's grip without causing serious injury. Briggs released Marcus'ss collar with a sharp curse, trying to pull his trapped arm free from the chair back. Elena clutched the jacket tighter and stepped away from both men. Her prosecutor's instincts telling her to preserve the evidence rather than get involved in the physical struggle. Federal agents throughout the ballroom began moving toward the confrontation, but the local officers remained frozen in place, unwilling to act against federal authority, but unable to openly defy their captain's direct orders.
This is chaos, one of the younger officers said to his partner. ""What are we supposed to do? "" "Nothing," the unnamed officer replied firmly. ""We don't get paid enough to go to federal prison. "" Pike watched Briggs's failed attempt with mounting fury. His sergeant was being controlled by a man in handcuffs. His officers were refusing direct orders. His entire department's credibility was being destroyed in front of a room full of federal witnesses. The captain's eyes swept desperately around the ballroom, searching for anything that could restore his authority, anything that could stop the federal operation from proceeding.
Anything that could prevent his own arrest. His gaze settled on Briggs's service weapon. "Stand down, all of you! " Pike shouted, reaching toward Briggs's holster. ""I'm taking control of this situation. "" The moment Pike's hand moved toward the gun, every federal agent in the ballroom reacted simultaneously. Pike's hand closed around the grip of Briggs's service weapon, his fingers wrapping desperately around the familiar weight of departmental authority. The holster's retention system fought against his frantic pull, but Pike's rage gave him strength as he worked to free the gun from its housing.
"Federal agents, weapons ready. " Dalton's voice cut through the ballroom like a blade. The sound of 30 hands moving toward concealed holsters filled the air with a terrible rustling that made every wedding guest press harder against the walls. Federal badges caught the ballroom's chandelier light as agents positioned themselves behind overturned chairs and decorative pillars. "Everyone stop! " Marcus shouted, his voice carrying the authority of someone accustomed to preventing disasters. "Keep your weapons holstered.
Nobody draw. " Pike's hand trembled as he struggled with Briggs's holster. His face twisted with the desperation of a man watching his career collapse in real time. Sweat beaded across his forehead as the weapon finally began sliding free from its retention system. The unnamed local officer moved first. Without hesitation, he grabbed Pike's wrist with both hands, preventing the captain from fully drawing the gun.