Reigns stared at the credentials, then gave a loud, incredulous laugh. "Come on. That's your big move? People buy badges at costume shops."
He glanced toward Voss for support. "Tell him, Sarge. Anybody can put a piece of metal in a wallet."
Voss's face had changed. His mouth remained slightly open, but the color was disappearing from his cheeks. He looked again at the card, reading the name as though hoping the letters would rearrange themselves. "Derek," he said quietly, "stop talking."
"What?" Reigns demanded. "You think it's real?" Voss's voice became sharp. "I said stop talking."
He reached for his radio, and Marcus could see the man's fingers move awkwardly across controls he had probably used thousands of times. "Control, Sergeant Voss. Request verification of the incoming precinct captain's identity and assignment. Name, Marcus Ellison."
The dispatcher asked for the credentials number, and Marcus supplied the reference printed on his department card. There was a brief silence while the verification request went through the command desk. The traffic on Highland Avenue had begun to grow, but around the stopped SUV the world seemed strangely quiet. Even Reigns stopped talking.
"Sergeant Voss," the dispatcher replied, "confirmation received. Captain Marcus Ellison is the incoming commander for Westbridge's Central Precinct, reporting this morning. Command authorization is active under the appointment order." She asked whether additional assistance was required. Voss did not answer immediately.
Reigns's expression emptied. The smug certainty that had carried him through the stop fell away so abruptly that he looked younger than he had a minute earlier. He studied the man standing beside the SUV, the man he had ordered onto the curb and threatened with false charges, and appeared to search for a way to reinterpret the entire encounter. There was none.
"Captain," Voss began, "this is obviously a misunderstanding." Marcus closed the credential case but kept it in his hand. "There was no misunderstanding about the amount requested," he said. "There was no misunderstanding when Officer Reigns disabled his camera. And there was no misunderstanding when you authorized a search without establishing grounds for one."
Reigns swallowed. "Sir, I was making a joke. A stupid one. That's all."
Marcus looked at him. "Which part was funny? The five hundred dollars, the threat to tow my vehicle, or the promise to invent violations if I refused?"
The officer opened his mouth and closed it. Voss stepped in quickly. "Captain, we can settle this at the station. No need to make a scene beside the road." The suggestion was almost pleading, but the instinct behind it was familiar: keep the problem inside the building, limit the witnesses, control the paperwork, and let time soften the details.
"Officer Reigns, reactivate your body camera," Marcus ordered. Reigns touched it uncertainly. "I told you the battery has been acting up." Marcus waited without changing expression, and a moment later the red recording light returned. Neither man commented on how conveniently the equipment had recovered.