Visible.
Still.
He waited.
Gravel crunched behind him.
Footsteps.
A shadow crossed the driver’s window.
The Police Sergeant stopped beside the door.
Late thirties.
Stocky.
Sunburned face.
Mirrored sunglasses.
One hand resting near his belt.
The Sergeant looked through the open window.
Then at the white uniform.
His eyes traveled slowly from the medal to the stars.
His mouth curved.
Not quite a smile.
“Know why I pulled you over?”
The Senior Officer kept his voice level.
“No, Sergeant.”
“Failed to signal.”
The Senior Officer knew he had signaled.
He had signaled every turn since he was seventeen.
Habit.
He did not argue.
“My license and identification are inside my left breast pocket.”
The Sergeant stared.
“Get them.”
The Senior Officer moved slowly.
Two fingers entered the jacket.
The Sergeant’s hand shifted closer to his belt.
The Senior Officer removed both cards.
Extended them through the window.
The Sergeant took the driver’s license first.
Then the second credential.
He stared at it.
Longer than necessary.
His head tilted.
Then he laughed.
Not quietly.
A full laugh.
The sound traveled across the empty road.
The Senior Officer said nothing.
The Sergeant held the identification up.
“Three stars?”
Silence.
“That what this says?”
“Yes.”
The Sergeant looked at the shoulder insignia.
Then the medal.
Then at the man’s face.
“I’ve worked this road twelve years.”
The Senior Officer waited.
“I’ve never seen somebody like you wearing stars like those.”
The Sergeant tapped the identification against his palm.
“Where’d you get the uniform?”
The Senior Officer’s jaw tightened.
“Excuse me?”
“Costume shop?”
The Sergeant laughed again.
“Surplus?”
The Senior Officer looked straight ahead.
Then back.
“The identification is genuine.”
“Sure.”
“I am assigned to the installation several miles east.”
The Sergeant’s smile widened.
“Of course you are.”
The Senior Officer took a slow breath.
The Sergeant leaned closer.
“You expect me to believe you’re some kind of three-star officer?”
“I expect you to verify the identification.”
That answer changed the Sergeant’s expression.
The laughter stopped.
“Step out.”
The Senior Officer looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
The Senior Officer unbuckled the seat belt.
Opened the door slowly.
Stepped onto the gravel.
At full height, he was taller than the Sergeant.