She slowly opened the leather credential wallet with both hands, keeping it at chest height. Her photograph, name, federal seal, and badge number were visible. She offered the officer time to read them.
Voss's gaze moved over the credentials. For a brief instant, a tight expression crossed his face that did not look like disbelief. It looked like recognition of a problem he had hoped would never arrive.
Then he seized the wallet.
"Officer, give that back."
"Special Agent Danielle Cross," he read, drawing out the words. "Army Criminal Investigation Division. Very impressive."
"You have enough information to verify the credential. Please do so without damaging it."
"You people think a shiny shield makes you untouchable."
He twisted the wallet, forced his thumb beneath the mounted badge, and bent the metal against the rigid backing. Danielle saw the force he was using and heard herself speak more sharply than before.
"Do not damage federal property."
The metal snapped.
For a second Voss seemed surprised that it had broken. His expression then rearranged itself into satisfaction. One fragment fell onto the pavement. He pried the other loose and held it up.
"There. You expect me to believe in your authority now?"
"I expect you to preserve the evidence of what you've just done."
Voss dropped the piece into the trash container at the end of the island. The badge half on the ground lay beneath the white overhead light, its fractured seal exposed. He reached for his handcuffs and ordered her to turn around.
Danielle's heart beat hard against her ribs. She let herself feel that for one second, then put it where she had learned to put everything that did not help her think. She stated her identity again, asked him to contact a supervisor, and informed him that his actions were being documented. Voss answered by locking metal restraints around her wrists.
He turned her against the SUV, just as the first diesel truck passed the highway entrance. Danielle stared through the reflection in her dark window at a man who believed a broken badge could break the authority behind it.
It was 8:16 a.m. The convoy was still several minutes away, and the investigation was already moving faster than either of them had expected.
The first thing Danielle did after Voss announced her arrest was ask him to state the legal grounds for the detention again. He repeated the accusation of impersonating a federal agent, this time into the radio on his shoulder, and added that she had been attempting to access sensitive fuel equipment. She watched him glance toward the station office each time he spoke. The woman inside had stepped away from the register and was standing very still behind a shelf of motor oil.
"I haven't accessed the equipment," Danielle said. "You've stopped me before I reached it."
"You were headed there. That's enough."
"Intent to inspect a dispenser isn't impersonation. I have valid identification."