Miller's face lost its color.
Daniel picked up the last document from the floor.
“You see, Officer Miller, I wasn't here to cause trouble.”
He looked toward the terminal's security cameras.
“I was here to find out why so many ordinary people have been complaining about this station.”
Miller swallowed.
“Sir, I didn't know who you were.”
Daniel looked directly at him.
“That is precisely the point.”
CHAPTER 4 — THE CAMERAS WERE WATCHING
Commander Brooks ordered the terminal security office sealed until the footage could be preserved.
Miller immediately began explaining himself.
“Sir, there was a misunderstanding. I thought he was refusing a lawful instruction.”
Daniel turned toward him.
“What instruction?”
“To move away from the counter.”
“Why?”
Miller hesitated.
“He was asking questions.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Is asking questions a crime in this terminal?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why did you restrain me?”
Miller had no answer.
The security manager arrived carrying a tablet.
“We have the camera footage.”
Daniel nodded.
“Preserve the original recording. No edits, no exports through department computers. Make two forensic copies.”
The manager looked at Commander Brooks.
She nodded.
“Do exactly what he says.”
As the footage began playing, the room became silent.
It showed Miller approaching Daniel.
It showed Daniel keeping his hands visible.
It showed Miller grabbing his arm without warning.
And it showed something else.
Before the confrontation, Miller had been speaking to another officer near the ticket counter.
The other officer pointed directly toward Daniel.
Daniel leaned closer to the screen.
“Pause it.”
The image froze.
“Who is that officer?”
Brooks checked the footage.
“Officer Kevin Shaw.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Bring him in.”
CHAPTER 5 — THE SECOND OFFICER
Kevin Shaw entered the security office looking nervous.
Miller immediately turned toward him.
“Tell them what happened.”
Shaw glanced at Daniel.
“I didn't see the whole thing.”
Daniel folded his arms.
“Then tell us what you did see.”
Shaw swallowed.
“I saw Mr. Hayes standing near the counter.”
“Did he threaten anyone?”
“No.”
“Did he damage property?”
“No.”
“Did he interfere with emergency operations?”
“No.”
Daniel waited.
Shaw finally admitted:
“Officer Miller told me he wanted the man moved because he was asking about the complaint records.”
Commander Brooks turned sharply.
“What complaint records?”
Shaw looked at Miller.
Miller's jaw tightened.
Daniel's voice remained calm.
“Go on.”
Shaw explained that several passengers had recently filed complaints about officers demanding identification without a clear reason, threatening to remove people from the terminal, and confiscating phones during routine encounters.
Daniel had asked the information desk how to obtain those complaint records.
Miller had overheard him.
“Why didn't you report the incident?” Brooks asked.
Shaw looked down.
“Because everyone knows what happens when you report another officer.”
Daniel closed his notebook.
“Then perhaps it's time someone changed that.”
CHAPTER 6 — THE COMPLAINTS THAT DISAPPEARED
At the oversight office, Daniel reviewed the station's complaint history.
There were forty-three complaints in six months.
Only eleven had been formally investigated.
The rest had been marked as withdrawn, incomplete, or resolved informally.
Daniel noticed a pattern.
Most complaints involved the same three officers.
Jason Miller.
Kevin Shaw.
And Sergeant Thomas Vance.
The same supervisor had approved every closure.
Lieutenant Raymond Cole.
Daniel called his chief investigator.
“Pull every complaint closed by Cole in the last eighteen months.”
“Anything specific?”
“Look for identical language, repeated dates, and missing witness statements.”
The investigator paused.
“Sir, that's going to uncover a lot.”
“Good.”
A few hours later, the first report arrived.
Twenty-one complaints had been closed using nearly identical wording.
In several cases, the complainants had never been contacted.
In three cases, the people listed as having withdrawn their complaints said they had never withdrawn anything.
Daniel stared at the report.
“Someone isn't just ignoring misconduct.”
He looked at his investigator.
“Someone is manufacturing clean records.”
CHAPTER 7 — MILLER'S LAST CHANCE
Miller was summoned to headquarters.