“I said move it.”
The Incoming Chief removed his sunglasses slowly.
“Good morning.”
The Sergeant stopped six feet away.
“This curb is restricted.”
“I know.”
“Then move.”
The Incoming Chief glanced toward the sedan.
“The driver will move it in a moment.”
The Sergeant looked through the windshield.
The driver remained behind the wheel.
That should have ended the issue.
Instead, the Sergeant pointed toward the street.
“Now.”
The Incoming Chief looked back.
“You could ask instead of shouting.”
That sentence changed the encounter.
Not because it was aggressive.
Because the Sergeant heard challenge.
His posture changed.
He stepped closer.
“You want to tell me how to do my job?”
“No.”
“Sounded like it.”
The Incoming Chief remained still.
Several officers near the entrance noticed.
One slowed.
Another stopped beside the metal detector doors.
Nobody approached.
The Incoming Chief noticed them too.
Interesting.
The Sergeant pointed toward the sedan again.
“Move the vehicle.”
“The driver is moving.”
The black sedan’s brake lights illuminated.
The vehicle pulled several yards forward toward an approved loading section.
Problem solved.
Except the Sergeant did not leave.
He looked at the Incoming Chief’s suit.
Then his shoes.
Then his face.
“What business do you have here?”
The Incoming Chief slipped his sunglasses into his jacket pocket.
“An appointment.”
“With?”
“Department command.”
The Sergeant laughed.
“That vague answer usually means no appointment.”
The Incoming Chief tilted his head slightly.
“Does it?”
“Yes.”
“You work here long?”
The Sergeant’s expression hardened.
“Long enough to recognize somebody playing games.”
The Incoming Chief nodded slowly.
“So you believe I’m playing games.”
“I believe you’ve been told to move along.”
“No.”
“Your car was told to move.”
“It moved.”
“And now I’m asking what you’re doing here.”
The Incoming Chief looked toward the headquarters doors.
The officers watching quickly looked away.
He returned his attention to the Sergeant.
“Then ask.”
The Sergeant’s jaw tightened.
“I just did.”
“No.”
“You demanded.”
Silence.
A younger officer standing near the door shifted uncomfortably.
The Sergeant noticed him.
That made everything worse.
Nobody liked being corrected in front of subordinates.
Some handled it better than others.
The Sergeant stepped close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
“Let me make something clear.”
The Incoming Chief said nothing.
“This is a secure government facility.”
“You don’t stand here acting cute.”
“You answer when an officer asks you a question.”
The Incoming Chief looked down at the nameplate.
Then at the Sergeant’s face.
“Is that departmental policy?”