"Sheriff Voss." A voice boomed on the other end. It wasn't a question. "This is Admiral Donovan Hale, Chief of Naval Operations. I have a report that you are holding one of my officers, Commander Kane.
Is this accurate?" Voss felt his knees go weak. "Admiral, I—we have a suspect here who claims—"
The admiral's voice could have cut glass. "Sheriff, you are currently holding a decorated Navy SEAL and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. You have exactly five minutes to release him and return his property before I designate your police station a hostile target." "We—I—" Voss stammered.
"And, Sheriff," the admiral continued, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "My sources tell me his uniform was desecrated. If there is a single scratch on that man, may God have mercy on you, because the United States Navy will not." The line went dead.
Voss slowly hung up the phone. He looked at Kendrick, who was still staring at the computer screen. "Unlock him," Voss whispered. "What?" Kendrick asked.
"Unlock him!" Voss screamed, grabbing his keys and throwing them at Kendrick's head. "You idiot! You arrested a Navy SEAL. The Pentagon just called me personally."
Kendrick fumbled with the keys, his arrogance replaced by confusion and fear. He uncuffed Darius. Darius rubbed his wrists. He didn't smile. He looked at Voss.
"Sheriff, I want my uniform. I want my Trident. And I want the dashcam footage from Deputy Kendrick's car preserved."
"Yes. Yes, sir. Absolutely." Voss was sweating profusely. "Kendrick, get his things now.
Brooks, get the commander a coffee, a chair, something." Kendrick ran to the property room. He came back holding the crumpled jacket and the loose Trident pin. He thrust them at Darius. "Here, take it and go," Kendrick muttered, trying to regain some shred of bravado.
Darius took the jacket. He smoothed it out on the counter with agonizing slowness. He picked up the Trident pin. He looked at the bent needle where Kendrick had pried it off. "I'm not going anywhere, Sheriff," Darius said, looking up.
"What?" Voss asked. "You're free to go, Commander," Voss said. "It was a misunderstanding, a bad mistake. We'll drop all charges."
"The charges against me are dropped," Darius said. "But the crimes committed by this department are just beginning to come to light."
"Now look here." Voss stiffened, his protective instinct kicking in. "We made a mistake. Don't push your luck. You get out of my town and we forget this happened."
Darius walked to the window and looked out at the parking lot. "I can't do that, Sheriff."
"Why not?" Darius pointed out the window. "Because they are already here." Voss and Kendrick ran to the window. Turning onto the main street of Ironwood wasn't just a car.