Standard protocol for arrests after business hours. Except you'll lose the paperwork. Hold me for 48 hours without arraignment. Long enough for the ceremony to happen without me. Long enough to create doubt about my identity.

Walsh almost smiles. You're very perceptive, Mr. Harris. If that's your real name. It's exactly what you did to Brandon.

Held him overnight. By morning, he was dead. Medical emergency, the report said. Except the autopsy showed Blunt force trauma to 17 different locations on his body. Walsh moves toward the door.

Mitchell Wilson, process him. Transfer to county by 2200 hours. I'll handle the mayor's office. You can't. I can.

I'm deputy chief. This is my station. And until tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m., you're just another suspect in custody. Walsh opens the door, stops, turns back. One more thing, Mr.

Harris, your brother's case was tragic, but it was also closed. The medical examiner ruled natural causes complicated by pre-existing conditions. There was no evidence of assault, no signs of struggle, just a sad situation where someone having a mental health episode experienced cardiac arrest in custody. That's a lie. That's the official record signed by the chief medical examiner, reviewed by internal affairs, approved by the district attorney's office.

Good luck proving otherwise. Walsh leaves. The door closes behind him. Mitchell and Wilson look at each other, then at Andrew. We need to move him before night shift arrives, Wilson says.

But Mitchell is staring at Andrew with something new in his eyes. Not anger anymore. Fear. What? Wilson asks.

He knew, Mitchell says quietly. He knew exactly what Walsh would say. He knew about the transfer plan. He knew everything. So what?

So that means someone told him, someone inside. Someone who knows how we operate. Andrew smiles. It's not a friendly expression. You're right, Officer Mitchell.

Someone did tell me. Several someone's actually. People who've been watching you for 18 months. People who are very close. Closer than you think.

Wilson's radio crackles. A voice cuts through. Dispatch to all units. Fire alarm activated. Southeast wing.

All personnel respond. Mitchell's eyes narrow. That's across the building. That's a distraction, Andrew finishes. You have about 15 minutes before everything changes.

The fire alarm screams through the building. Mitchell and Wilson exchange glances. Protocol says they have to respond. Protocol says they can't leave a detainee unattended. Wilson, stay with him, Mitchell orders.

I'll check the alarm. Wait, Wilson says, but Mitchell is already gone. The door closes. Wilson and Andrew are alone. Wilson's hand goes to her radio.

She's about to call for backup when Andrew speaks. Clara Williams is in dispatch right now, pulling every radio log from the past 3 years. Tyler Brooks has 17 minutes of video uploaded to three different cloud servers. FBI agent Rachel Turner is in the parking lot with DOJ attorney Richard Bennett and Mayor Anderson. They're waiting for my signal.

Wilson's hand freezes. You're lying. Am I? Check your phone. Look at the parking lot camera feed.

Wilson pulls out her phone with shaking hands, opens the security app, switches to exterior cameras. Her face goes pale. Three black SUVs, federal plates. People in FBI windbreakers standing near the entrance. No, no, no, no.

Deputy Chief Walsh is on the phone right now with the mayor's office. He's about to find out that the mayor isn't answering because the mayor is here in the building coming to get me. Wilson backs against the door. This isn't possible. We've been careful.

We've been sloppy. Andrew says, "You've been sloppy. Evidence room logs with your signature on every altered entry. Radio transcripts that don't match official reports. Financial records showing cash deposits to your personal account on the same day's evidence went missing.

You left a trail, Sergeant Wilson, and federal investigators followed it. The fire alarm cuts off. The sudden silence is worse than the noise. Wilson's radio crackles again. False alarm.

All units returned to stations. That was Brooks. Andrew says he pulled that alarm to create chaos, to give Clara time to copy the files, to give the FBI time to get into position. You have maybe 5 minutes before they come through that door. What do you want?

Wilson's voice cracks. What do I have to do? Nothing. It's too late for deals. Federal charges don't have immunity agreements.

Not for civil rights violations. Not for evidence tampering in a death case. Wilson slides down the door, sits on the floor. Her gun is still on her hip, but she doesn't reach for it. She just sits there staring at nothing.

Brandon was scared, she says suddenly. That night, 3 years ago, he kept saying he couldn't breathe. Kept asking for help. Mitchell wouldn't stop. I told him to stop.

I said we should call medical. He said we just needed 5 more minutes. He died in 7 minutes. I know. I timed it.

I watched the clock on the wall and I watched your brother die and I did nothing. Andrew's voice softens just slightly. Why? Because I was scared. Because Mitchell said if I reported it, we'd both go down.

Because Walsh said he'd handle it. Because I have a daughter in college and a mortgage and a pension. Because I was weak. The door opens. Tyler Brooks stands there.

Behind him, three people in FBI jackets. Mr. Harris. Agent Rachel Turner says, "We need to get you to medical. " Andrew stands slowly. "Not yet.

We finish this first. " Agent Rachel Turner and DOJ attorney Richard Bennett enter the interrogation room with Mayor Thomas Anderson right behind them. The afternoon sun is fading outside, casting long shadows through the narrow windows. Mitchell returns from the false alarm. He stops in the doorway when he sees the federal agents. His face goes through several emotions in rapid sequence.

Confusion, recognition, horror. What's going on, Officer Mitchell? Turner says. She shows her credentials. I'm Agent Rachel Turner, FBI.

This is attorney Richard Bennett from the Department of Justice. We need you to step away from Mr. Harris immediately. He's under arrest. No, he's not.

He was never legally detained. Everything that happened here in the last 90 minutes was illegal, and we have it all documented. Bennett moves to Andrew. His voice is professional but concerned. Mr.