“I’ve maintained from the beginning that my instincts during that stop were justified.”
Marcus turned the television off.
Brooks handed him an administrative notice.
Temporary reassignment from sensitive field duties pending a federal security review.
Marcus read it silently.
“They did it.”
Brooks shook her head.
“They created enough uncertainty to trigger mandatory procedure.”
“They’re using our own rules as a weapon.”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked down at the paper.
Two days earlier he had been finishing a successful surveillance operation.
Now he was under review.
His SUV was evidence.
His name was on television.
Mercer was presenting himself as the officer who had exposed a suspicious federal agent.
For the first time since the stop, Marcus looked tired.
Not angry.
Tired.
Brooks sat opposite him.
“This is what they want.”
“I know.”
“They want you to react.”
“I know.”
“Then don’t.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What if we can’t prove where the files went?”
Brooks did not answer immediately.
Then:
“We keep looking.”
The answer felt weak.
Marcus appreciated it because it was honest.
That evening, he returned to the fleet documentation.
Every federal SUV used by his task force had electronic monitoring.
Location.
Ignition.
Door activity.
Security compartment events.
Marcus had reviewed such logs before, mostly after equipment malfunctions.
Then he remembered something.
“Weight.”