He just looked at Perry. It was a look that had broken hardened cartel hitmen in interrogation rooms. Officer Perry, the chief said, his voice dropping another octave. If you speak another word in my presence before internal affairs arrives, I will personally throw you through that plate glass window. Perry snapped his mouth shutt his face turning an ashen gray.
The donut he had just eaten felt like lead in his stomach. "Sergeant, " the chief commanded, not breaking eye contact with Perry. "Unlock cell three. Bring my daughter to me. " Sergeant Thomas Miller's hands shook so violently that the large brass ring of jail keys clattered like a dropped tambourine.
He practically jogged toward the holding area, his breath coming in shallow, panicked gasps. Every officer in the booking room remained frozen in a state of suspended animation, their eyes darting between the towering, motionless figure of Chief Dimitar James, and the pale, sweating face of Officer Bernard Perry. The heavy mechanical clunk of the deadbolt echoing from the holding corridor sounded like a cannon shot in the silent precinct. Miller swung the iron door of holding cell 3 open wide. "Miss James, " he said, his voice trembling, stripped of all its former bureaucratic boredom.
"You are You are released. " "Please step out! " Maya James stood up from the metal bench. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her damp Georgetown Law sweatshirt, maintained a perfectly neutral expression, and walked out of the cell. She didn't look at Sergeant Miller.
She walked straight through the corridor and emerged into the main booking area. When Dimitar James saw his daughter, the rigid, icy exterior of the police chief fractured for exactly 1 second, his broad shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch, and a muscle in his jaw feathered as he took in her damp clothes, and the angry red welts visible on her wrists, where the cuffs had bitten into her skin. He took two steps forward, closing the distance between them, and wrapped his arms around her. Are you hurt? " he whispered into her ear, his voice tight.
"I'm okay, Dad, " Maya murmured back, leaning into his embrace for a brief moment before pulling away, recognizing the tactical environment they were in. "I documented everything mentally, timestamps, badge numbers, phrasing. " I know you did, " Dimitar said, pride swelling in his chest, quickly replaced by a cold, calculating fury as he turned his attention back to the room. The chief of police was back online. Dimitar turned to the desk sergeant, who was practically sweating through his uniform shirt.
"Sergeant Miller, I want the desk log secured. I want Officer Perry and Officer Harrison's body cameras detached and handed to me right now. Furthermore, I want the patrol vehicle, unit 42, locked down in the sally port. Nobody touches the dash cam server. Perry, standing by the breakroom table, felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck.
He knew standard protocol for a contested arrest. But this wasn't protocol. This was an executive strike. He watched horrified as his rookie partner, Greg Harrison, moved with astonishing speed. Harrison unclipped the axon body camera from the center of his chest, walked directly up to the chief, and handed it over.
Sir, my camera. It was active during the entire interaction. Harrison, what the hell are you doing? Perry hissed, taking a step forward. That's union property until a formal rep is present.