Maya returned to the chair. He shut the door again.
Outside, Marcus had seen Reed at the service panel as well. He checked the clock and wrote another line: Officer accessed security control panel after detention began. The time was 8:27.
Three different people now knew that something unusual had happened around the same room. Only one of them had the authority to write the official version, and Reed was already doing exactly that.
Reed stayed at the security desk after closing the service panel. He checked the monitor once, then looked toward the isolation room. Maya was seated again, but she had seen enough to know the recording system had changed while she was being held.
Marcus remained near the elevators and kept the corridor in view. He had already written down the time Reed accessed the control panel. He added one more note beneath it: Recording indicator no longer visible from room.
He did not know whether Reed had disabled the system, reset it, or done something else. He only knew the change had happened after the detention began and after Reed had used the baton at the doorway.
Inside the room, Maya watched Reed return to the computer. She could see only part of the monitor from where she sat, but his posture made it clear he was still working on the incident report.
A few minutes later, he came back carrying a printed page. "You're still being held pending identification."
"You have had my full name for more than ten minutes. You are delaying verification while writing your version of the incident."
"I'm documenting what happened."
"You're documenting what protects you."
Reed placed the page on the table. "You refused repeated instructions to leave a restricted area."
"I complied with screening, gave you my name, requested verification, and asked for a supervisor. Leave nothing out."
"You tried to move past me."
"No. You blocked the doorway after refusing supervision."
"You advanced toward an officer."
"I walked toward an exit in a room where you had no verified reason to hold me."
Reed pointed at the chair. "Sit back."
Maya remained where she was. "You used the baton to force compliance from a person who never touched you. Put that in the report."
"That was a control measure."
"Then you should have no problem writing it down."
He pulled the page closer to himself. Maya looked at the top section long enough to catch several phrases before he turned it away: verbally aggressive, non-compliant, attempted to push past security personnel.
Her expression changed for the first time. Not fear. Not surprise. Focus.
"You wrote that I tried to push past you."
"You don't get to review my report."
"No, but somebody will."
Reed folded the page in half. "You need to stop acting like you're in a courtroom."
"I'm acting like facts matter."
"You're making this harder than it needs to be."
"You made it harder when you stopped verifying and started defending your decision."
Reed stepped toward the door. Maya continued before he could leave.
"At the time you opened the control panel..."
He stopped. "That has nothing to do with your detention."
"It happened during my detention."
"You have no idea what I did."
"I saw you access the panel. I saw the camera indicator change. Put that in the report, too."
Reed turned back toward her. "You think you're building some kind of case here?"
"I think you are."
He stared at her for several seconds, then left the room without answering.
Outside, Evelyn had moved closer to the corridor with a stack of case folders she did not need to carry herself. She watched Reed return to the desk and sit down. He noticed her.