“I’ll move it.”
He turned.
The Sergeant said:
“Now.”
The Senior Officer paused.
Then looked back.
“I understood you.”
The Sergeant stepped closer.
“Then move.”
The Senior Officer studied his face.
Something had changed already.
Not the instruction.
The tone.
He had spent enough years around authority to recognize when a person was no longer solving a problem.
The Sergeant was now defending dominance.
The Senior Officer kept his voice calm.
“I said I’ll move it.”
The Sergeant pointed toward the car.
“So move.”
Several officers near the entrance were watching.
The Senior Officer saw that too.
One young officer whispered something to another.
Neither approached.
Interesting.
The Senior Officer started toward the sedan.
The Sergeant walked beside him.
Too close.
“You got business here?”
“Yes.”
“What business?”
“A meeting.”
“With who?”
The Senior Officer looked at him.
“Administration.”
The Sergeant laughed.
“Administration.”
“Yes.”
“You got a name?”
“Yes.”
The Sergeant waited.
The Senior Officer did not offer it.
The Sergeant’s expression hardened.
“Then give it.”
The Senior Officer stopped walking.
“Am I required to explain my appointment before moving my vehicle?”
The question was simple.
The Sergeant heard disrespect.
His hand moved toward the baton.
Not drawing it.
Touching it.
A habit.
The Senior Officer noticed.
So did the younger officers.
No one moved.
The Sergeant said:
“You standing in a secure parking lot questioning me?”
The Senior Officer looked around.
Public entrance.
Civilian bench.
Marked visitor lane.
“Is this secure?”
The Sergeant’s face reddened slightly.
“You want to be smart?”
“No.”
“Sounds like it.”
The Senior Officer looked toward the sedan.
Then back.
“Sergeant, I’m moving the car.”
The Sergeant stepped directly in front of him.
“No.”
The Senior Officer stopped.
“Excuse me?”
“You had your chance.”
The Sergeant pointed toward the building.
“Now I want identification.”
The Senior Officer said nothing.
The Sergeant continued:
“You walk onto police property, refuse basic questions, act like you own the place.”
“I answered every question necessary to resolve the parking issue.”
The Sergeant laughed.
“There.”
“What?”
“That attitude.”
The Senior Officer’s expression remained still.
The Sergeant stepped closer.
“You people come in here thinking if you wear a nice shirt and talk calm enough, rules don’t apply.”
The Senior Officer’s eyes narrowed.
“You people?”
The Sergeant realized what he had said.
For half a second.