Valdez did not.
“Do you routinely disable cameras when you make procedural mistakes?”
Mercer pushed his chair back slightly.
“I didn’t make a procedural mistake.”
“Then why turn off the camera?”
“I already explained.”
“No.”
Valdez closed the file.
“You gave me a phrase.”
The meeting ended with Mercer’s authority to conduct independent searches suspended pending investigation.
It was not an arrest.
Not termination.
Marcus should have felt satisfied.
He did not.
As he walked toward the exit, Hollis followed.
“Agent Vance.”
Marcus stopped.
Hollis approached.
“You got what you wanted.”
“I wanted a lawful traffic stop.”
“You know what I mean.”
Marcus waited.
“Mercer is restricted.”
“For now.”
Hollis’s tone hardened.
“If you keep pushing, the department will examine your conduct with the same enthusiasm you’ve shown toward ours.”
Marcus looked directly at him.
“Is that an official warning?”
“Friendly advice.”
“About retaliation?”
Hollis smiled thinly.
“About knowing when you’ve won.”
Marcus held his gaze.
“People who think an investigation ends when they’re uncomfortable with it usually have something else to hide.”
Hollis’s smile disappeared.
Marcus returned to the FBI office.
Brooks was waiting with three archived complaint files.
“You were right.”
Marcus sat.
“About?”
“Hollis having a reason to protect Mercer.”