“Put it back.”
The Captain looked at him.
“Or?”
The Second Twin stopped.
Rain rolled down his face.
“Put it back.”
The Captain examined the module.
Then looked at the First Twin.
“What is it?”
The First Twin answered calmly.
“Something you should not damage.”
The Captain laughed.
That warning confirmed the wrong thing in his mind.
He slammed the module against the door frame.
Plastic cracked.
The younger officer flinched.
He hit it again.
The casing split.
Internal circuitry exposed.
He threw it into a puddle.
“There.”
The rain washed over it.
The Captain wiped his gloves together.
“Whatever you were hiding is gone.”
The twins looked at the broken device.
Then at each other.
The Second Twin checked his watch.
The Captain misread the gesture.
“What?”
No answer.
“You waiting for someone?”
The younger officer’s radio crackled.
At first, only static.
Then her dispatch code.
She touched the microphone.
Listened.
Her expression changed.
The Captain noticed.
“What?”
She kept listening.
The message repeated.
Immediate evidence preservation.
Maintain body camera activation.
Do not alter vehicle condition further.
Federal coordination inbound.
The Captain stepped toward her.
“Give me that.”
She moved back.
“Captain, dispatch says—”
“I heard it.”
The radio continued.
She looked toward the road behind them.
Three sets of headlights appeared through the rain.
Black SUVs.
No emergency lights.
They approached in a straight line.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The Second Twin lowered his wrist.
“Right on time.”
The Captain turned.
The first SUV stopped behind the patrol cars.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Doors opened almost simultaneously.
Men and women in rain jackets stepped out.
Federal credentials appeared.
The Police Captain’s expression finally changed.
Not fear yet.
Calculation.
The First Twin reached slowly inside his soaked jacket.
The Captain’s hand moved toward his weapon.
The younger officer immediately said:
“Captain.”
The First Twin stopped.
Two fingers held a leather credential wallet.
He opened it.
The Captain stared.
FBI.
The Second Twin opened his own.
The Captain looked from one to the other.