Marcus had chosen the plain black jacket deliberately.
He was beginning his first full day as Riverton’s newly appointed police commander, and he wanted to walk through the building before anyone assembled a ceremonial welcome.
He wanted to see how officers treated ordinary visitors when they believed nobody important was watching.
But he had never imagined his first observation would involve an officer deliberately humiliating him.
“Move,” Marcus repeated.
Briggs’s smile disappeared.
He seized Marcus by the collar and shoved him against the stone wall beside the entrance.
“YOU MOVE WHEN I SAY SO!”
A woman nearby gasped.
Marcus kept his voice low.
“Take your hands off me.”
“Or what?”
Briggs raised his arm.
Marcus intercepted the movement, pushed the officer away, and struck once when Briggs advanced again.
The impact sent Briggs stumbling backward onto the pavement.
For a heartbeat, nobody moved.
Then Briggs scrambled upright, his face twisted with fury.
“ARREST HIM!
HE HIT A COP!”
He reached for his radio.
“Officer assaulted outside headquarters!”
The doors opened almost immediately.
Two uniformed officers hurried down the steps.
Officer Simone Hart arrived first, followed by Sergeant Daniel Kim.
Briggs pointed dramatically at Marcus.
“That man attacked me!”
Simone turned toward Marcus.
Her expression changed.
She stopped so abruptly that Daniel nearly collided with her.
“Commander?”
Briggs frowned.
“What?”
Simone straightened.
“COMMANDER MARCUS REED, SIR!”
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Daniel stared at Marcus’s face, then looked toward Briggs.
The color seemed to disappear from his expression.
“Briggs,” he whispered, “that’s our new commanding officer.”
The sidewalk became painfully quiet.
Briggs looked between the three of them.
For the first time, uncertainty entered his eyes.
“That can’t be right.”