Marcus reached inside his jacket and removed a leather identification case.
He opened it.
The senior command badge caught the morning sunlight.
“Commander Marcus Reed,” he said calmly.
“Effective midnight.”
Briggs took a step backward.
His mouth opened, but no words emerged.
Marcus closed the identification case.
He could have shouted.
He could have demanded immediate disciplinary action while every pedestrian watched.
Instead, he turned to Simone.
“Make sure the witnesses can provide their information without being pressured.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sergeant Kim, notify the duty supervisor and arrange medical attention.”
Daniel nodded.
Marcus looked up at the cameras above the entrance.
“Preserve every second of security footage from this morning.”
Briggs’s eyes followed his gaze.
Something changed.
The arrogance was gone.
So was the disbelief.
What Marcus saw now was something colder.
Recognition of a danger that had nothing to do with the coffee.
“Sir,” Briggs said quickly, “I can explain.”
“You’ll have the opportunity.”
“It wasn’t what it looked like.”
Marcus glanced toward the woman with the grocery bags.
She was still watching, her hands trembling around the handles.
“Then the recordings and the witnesses should help us establish what happened.”
Briggs swallowed.
“Commander, please.”
Marcus turned away.
But before he reached the doors, an older woman standing near the bus shelter caught his attention.
She wore a faded green coat despite the warmth of the morning.
A thick brown envelope rested against her chest.
She had not reacted when Briggs fell.
She had not reacted when Marcus displayed his badge.
Instead, she was staring at the security cameras with a strange, almost desperate intensity.
When Marcus met her eyes, she whispered something he could not hear.
Then she turned and disappeared into the crowd.