"I do not consent to a search."
"Your refusal is increasing our suspicion."
"A refusal to consent does not create probable cause."
Reigns laughed. "There he goes again."
Voss stepped closer. "You want to turn a simple stop into a constitutional seminar at six in the morning? Fine. We can do that at the station after your vehicle is inventoried."
Marcus felt the final piece click into place. Voss was not calming Reigns. He was validating him.
"Sergeant Voss," Marcus said, "are you personally authorizing the search and any arrest arising from this stop?"
Voss frowned. "I'm authorizing my officers to complete a lawful investigation."
"And you are comfortable with the basis Officer Reigns has provided?"
"Completely."
"You should both think carefully before you continue."
Reigns shook his head. "He still thinks he's somebody."
"I am somebody," Marcus said quietly. "So is every driver you stop. That's the part you've forgotten."
That angered Reigns more than a shouted insult would have. He stepped forward and reached for his cuffs. Marcus finally moved his right hand toward the inside of his jacket, slowly and openly.
"I'm retrieving identification."
Both officers tensed.
"Slow," Voss ordered.
Marcus withdrew a black leather credential case and opened it under the streetlight. The gold command shield caught the red-and-blue reflection from the patrol cars. Beneath it, the identification card displayed the same face as his driver's license, along with the words CAPTAIN MARCUS ELLISON, WESTBRIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT. For three seconds, nobody spoke. Reigns recovered first by laughing.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Voss did not laugh. Marcus watched his color drain.
"Captain Marcus Ellison," Marcus said. "Scheduled to assume operational command at zero-eight-hundred this morning. Command authorization code Mike-Echo Seven-Seven-Nine. Verify it through dispatch."
Voss stared at the credentials, then reached for his radio with a hand that was no longer quite steady.
"Control, Sergeant Voss. Identity verification request. Marcus Ellison. Command code Mike-Echo Seven-Seven-Nine."
Static answered first. Then a dispatcher whose voice had become suddenly careful.
"Sergeant Voss, confirmed. Marcus David Ellison. Appointed captain, Westbridge Police Department. Command authority effective today."
The street went still. Reigns's expression collapsed so completely that Marcus almost felt sorry for him. Almost.