Derek lunged again. This time Alicia allowed the contact. He grabbed her forearm. Her phone slipped. Trevor caught it.
“Got it.”
He held it up. Granger smiled.
“See?” He looked toward the bystanders. “Everybody makes things easier eventually.”
Trevor opened the phone. His expression changed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Granger stepped closer.
“What do you mean?”
“Hardly any apps.”
“Contacts?”
“Barely.”
“Photos?”
“Random stuff.”
Derek frowned.
“She was recording.”
“Video isn’t here.”
Alicia stood quietly. Because the phone was a decoy. The real value had never been the device. It was the transmission.
At the Atlanta FBI field office, Supervisory Special Agent Samuel Grant watched a monitor flash yellow.
SECURE EMERGENCY STREAM ACTIVE.
He stood immediately.
“Monica.”
Special Agent Monica Ellis rolled her chair beside him.
“What happened?”
Samuel opened the feed. Red Creek filled the screen: five local officers, Alicia, a homeless man, a crowd retreating. Monica’s expression hardened.
“They made her.”
Samuel shook his head.
“She’s still undercover.”
“How can you tell?”
“She hasn’t shown credentials.”
Monica watched Granger approach the sedan.
“They’re escalating.”
“I see it.”
“Do we move?”
Samuel remained silent. They had spent eight months constructing a federal conspiracy case. Moving too early could arrest five street-level officers while leaving the command structure intact. Moving too late could get Alicia hurt. That calculation became unbearable very quickly.
Back in Red Creek, Granger pointed toward the sedan.
“Search it.”
Derek tried the door. Locked. Mason peered through the rear window.
“Nothing.”
“Break it.”
Jacob stepped forward again.
“Sergeant.”
Granger exhaled dramatically.
“What?”
“We can’t break somebody’s window because she filmed us.”
Derek rolled his eyes.
“Here comes Internal Affairs.”
Jacob ignored him.
“We need a reason.”
Granger looked directly at him.
“You want a reason?”
Jacob held his gaze. For one second, Alicia thought he might finally cross the line in the correct direction. Then he looked away.
“No, sir.”
Granger nodded.
“Good.”
Trevor walked around the car. Alicia watched him reach toward his patrol bag. His back was partially turned. His hand went inside. When it came out, something small sat between two fingers. A plastic packet. White powder.
Alicia’s breathing remained steady. Jacob saw it too. His eyes widened. He moved quickly.
“What are you doing?”
Trevor jerked his hand away.
“Nothing.”
“I saw that.”
“Back off.”
“You were going to—”
“Jacob.”
Granger’s voice cut across them. Jacob froze. Granger stared.
“Problem?”
Jacob looked toward Trevor, then toward Alicia, then toward his own badge. Everything about him suggested a war happening internally. Finally, he lowered his head.
“No, Sergeant.”
Alicia understood. Fear had won. For now.
Granger looked satisfied.
“You’ll learn.”
Derek took his flashlight and slammed it against the sedan’s window. The glass cracked slightly but held. Several people jumped. Devin stepped forward.
“She didn’t do anything.”
Mason grabbed him.
“You again.”
“Leave her alone.”
Mason shoved Devin backward. He nearly fell. An elderly man on the sidewalk lifted his phone. Mason noticed.
“What are you recording?”
The man lowered it instantly.
“Nothing.”
“Then go.”
He went. Another witness disappeared. Then another. Within minutes, half the crowd had scattered. Only Sharon remained behind the locked convenience store door. Her phone was recording through a gap between the blinds.
“Please,” she whispered. “Let somebody see this.”
At FBI headquarters, an analyst called across the room.
“Samuel.”
“What?”
“Additional units are responding.”
A map appeared. Three Red Creek cruisers were moving toward the intersection. Monica frowned.
“More officers?”
Samuel nodded.
“This may be bigger than Granger’s group.”
He reached for secure communications.
“Isaac.”
A voice answered.
“Go.”
“Prepare Tactical Team One.”
“You want us moving?”
“Stand by.”
Isaac Monroe, leader of the FBI tactical unit, paused.
“How bad?”
Samuel looked toward the screen.
“Bad enough.”
Back in Red Creek, Granger checked his watch. Then pointed toward Alicia.
“Cuff her.”
Derek smiled.
“Finally.”
Jacob looked stunned.
“For what?”
Granger did not hesitate.
“I’ll choose the charge before the report.”