He recognized the FBI identification on Victoria's blazer.
He also remembered seeing a notice about an upcoming federal briefing.
The details were not fresh in his mind, but the combination of the badge and the appointment information made her explanation entirely plausible.
Ethan leaned slightly toward the counter.
OFFICER ETHAN BROOKS:
"Officer Miller, I can check the visitor system. It should only take a minute."
Derek turned toward him.
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"Did I ask you to check anything?"
ETHAN BROOKS:
"No, sir. I just thought—"
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"Then don't think for me. Handle your desk."
Ethan stopped speaking.
He returned his attention to the computer, although his eyes moved briefly toward Victoria before he looked away.
Victoria noticed the exchange.
She understood that Ethan was trying to help, and she also understood why he had stopped.
She had encountered similar situations in other professional environments. Sometimes people who recognized a problem were reluctant to acknowledge it because the person creating the problem had more seniority or a stronger personality.
She did not blame Ethan for hesitating.
But she still needed the appointment to proceed.
VICTORIA HAYES:
"Officer Miller, I understand that you have other responsibilities. I'm happy to wait, but I need confirmation that the person expecting me has been notified."
DEREK MILLER:
"You've already been told what to do."
VICTORIA HAYES:
"I've been told to wait. I haven't been told whether the supervisor knows I'm here."
Derek took a step toward her.
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"Are you questioning my instructions?"
Victoria held his gaze.
VICTORIA HAYES:
"I'm asking whether the required notification has been completed."
The answer was simple.
It was also the last answer Derek wanted to hear.
Several officers near the investigation rooms had begun paying attention. One detective paused while organizing a stack of files. Another turned away from a computer monitor and watched the exchange from a few feet away.
Derek noticed the growing audience.
Instead of lowering the tension, he seemed determined to demonstrate that he remained in control.
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"Listen, Agent Hayes. This is my precinct. You don't walk in here and start telling people what they need to do."
VICTORIA HAYES:
"I haven't told anyone to do anything outside the appointment process. I'm here for a scheduled meeting, and I'm asking to speak with the person responsible for it."
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"And I'm telling you that you need to wait."
VICTORIA HAYES:
"Then please confirm the appointment while I wait."
Derek let out a short, humorless laugh.
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"You really don't know when to stop, do you?"
Victoria's expression remained composed.
VICTORIA HAYES:
"I know when a task has been completed. This one hasn't."
The detective near the filing cabinet lowered his eyes, pretending to return to his paperwork.
Ethan stared at his screen.
Derek's jaw tightened.
He had spent years working in an environment where people often accepted his first answer because challenging him required more effort than simply moving on. Victoria, however, was not asking him to agree with her personal opinion.
She was asking him to verify a recorded appointment.
Each time he attempted to make the disagreement personal, she returned to the administrative issue.
He found that increasingly frustrating.
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"Maybe you should try asking someone else to do your job for you."
VICTORIA HAYES:
"My job is to deliver the briefing package to the designated supervisor. Your job isn't to complete my work. I simply need the correct person notified."
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"You think you're better than everybody here because you work for the FBI?"
VICTORIA HAYES:
"No. I think we should both follow the procedures that apply to us."
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
The sounds of the precinct seemed unusually clear: the ring of a telephone, the movement of chairs, the soft tapping of keyboards.
Victoria could feel the attention of the room gathering around them, but she refused to let the audience dictate her behavior.
She had not come to Westbridge to prove that she was more important than Derek.
She had come to complete an assignment.
She opened her identification wallet again and showed him the credentials more clearly.
VICTORIA HAYES:
"If there is a specific concern about my identity, please tell me what needs to be verified. We can contact the appropriate office."
Derek looked at the badge.
Then he looked at her.
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"I don't need you to tell me how verification works."
VICTORIA HAYES:
"Then you understand why I'm asking for it."
His expression hardened.
He reached toward the badge attached to her blazer.
Victoria noticed the movement and shifted her shoulder slightly, but Derek had already seized the identification.
OFFICER DEREK MILLER:
"Let's see what makes you so important."
VICTORIA HAYES:
"Officer Miller, please return my identification."
Derek pulled the badge free.