The HOA president looked around.
The officer looked at the trench.
"What is that orange cable?"
"Fiber," the homeowner said.
The excavator operator stepped forward.
"She cut it."
The HOA president snapped around.
"You were operating the machine."
"Not when the line was hit."
The officer looked at him.
"Who was?"
He pointed.
"She was."
The HOA president stared at him.
"That's a lie."
The homeowner lifted his phone.
"It isn't."
Her face drained slightly.
The officer walked toward the damaged area but stopped several feet away.
"Nobody touch anything."
He looked at his partner.
"Call utilities."
The second officer nodded.
The HOA president crossed her arms.
"This is getting completely out of proportion."
The homeowner stared at her.
"You destroyed my driveway and cut a fiber trunk."
"You are acting like I blew up the neighborhood."
Almost immediately after she said it, phones began losing service.
Not all of them.
But several.
The neighbor across the street looked at his screen.
"My internet's down."
The young mother with the stroller checked her phone.
"So is mine."
The homeowner looked toward his house.
His smart doorbell light had gone dark.
The HOA president scoffed.
"See? Residential internet."
The excavator operator shook his head.
"Not necessarily."
The officer looked toward the street.
"Everybody stay back."
Within minutes, a utility truck arrived.
Then another.
Two technicians in high-visibility vests approached the trench.
One took a single look at the severed cable and stopped walking.
"What happened?"
The officer pointed toward the excavator.
"Unauthorized excavation."
The technician crouched.
He did not touch the line.
Instead, he read a small identification marker still attached to the conduit.
His expression changed.
He stood up.
"Who cut this?"
The HOA president opened her mouth.
The homeowner answered.
"She did."
The technician looked at her.
"You?"
She lifted her chin.
"The cable was improperly located."
The technician ignored that.
He stepped away and made a call.
The second technician looked unsettled.
The homeowner noticed.
"What is it?"
The man did not answer directly.
"Everybody needs to stay clear."
The HOA president sighed.
"We are already standing clear."
The first technician turned away from his phone.
"Do not move the excavator."
Nobody did.
"Do not touch the cable."
Nobody did.
"And nobody leaves until we get confirmation."
The HOA president stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
The technician looked at the officers.
"You may want to keep the scene secure."
The first officer studied him.
"What kind of line is this?"
The technician paused.
"A leased secure communications route."
The HOA president frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The technician did not answer.