Yet none of it made his behavior less frightening.
MAYA JOHNSON: "I'm asking you to stop hurting me."
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "Then cooperate."
MAYA JOHNSON: "I've been cooperating since you turned on your lights."
He tightened his hold.
Maya winced and tried to turn her shoulder away from the pressure.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You think you can stand there and lecture me about my job?"
MAYA JOHNSON: "I think you should explain why you're treating me like this."
Reed looked toward the road, then back at her.
A pickup truck passed in the distance without slowing down. Its driver glanced toward the parked SUV and the two figures beside it, but the vehicle continued toward the horizon.
The sight made Maya feel suddenly isolated.
There was no one close enough to hear her clearly. No nearby building, no shop, no house visible through the trees. The patrol vehicle stood some distance behind them, and Reed's body blocked her easiest path back toward the driver's seat.
For the first time, she wondered whether he intended to let her leave at all.
She forced herself to breathe slowly.
She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her panic.
MAYA JOHNSON: "I want your badge number."
Reed stared at her as if she had insulted him.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "What did you say?"
MAYA JOHNSON: "Your badge number. I want to know who I'm dealing with."
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut."
MAYA JOHNSON: "And you need to remember that wearing a uniform doesn't give you permission to do whatever you want."
The words hung between them.
For a fraction of a second, Reed appeared genuinely surprised. He had expected pleading, apologies, perhaps another attempt to pull away. He had not expected Maya to look directly into his face and challenge the way he was treating her.
Then his expression hardened again.
He released her collar only to reach toward the equipment on his duty belt.
Maya's eyes followed the movement.
His fingers closed around the handle of a black conducted-energy weapon.
The sight changed the atmosphere immediately.
Until that moment, she had believed the encounter might still end with an argument, a warning, or an order to return to her vehicle. Now she understood that Reed was prepared to raise the stakes even further.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "Move again, and you'll regret it."
Maya looked at the weapon, then back at him.
MAYA JOHNSON: "You cannot be serious."
Reed drew it from its holster.
The black device caught a brief flash of sunlight as he raised it between them. His other hand remained close to Maya, preventing her from moving away from the vehicle.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "I said don't move."
Maya felt her heartbeat pounding against her ribs.
She was frightened. Anyone standing in her position would have had reason to be. But beneath the fear, something else was beginning to emerge: a fierce refusal to let him convince her that she had no choices left.
She watched his hands.
She watched the distance between them.
She watched the way his attention shifted whenever he glanced toward the road.
MAYA JOHNSON: "Put that away."
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You don't give the orders here."
He brought the device close to the side of her neck.
Maya recoiled instinctively, turning her head away from the weapon. Her shoulder pressed against the SUV, and she raised one hand between herself and the officer.
MAYA JOHNSON: "Get it away from me!"
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "Then stop moving!"
MAYA JOHNSON: "You're threatening me with a weapon!"
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You have about two seconds to decide whether you want to cooperate."
Maya stared at him.
The road remained quiet. The trees moved gently in the breeze, and the distant sound of traffic seemed impossibly ordinary compared with the confrontation unfolding beside the SUV.
Reed's face was inches from hers. His weapon was close enough that she could see the details along its dark casing.
He expected her to look down.
He expected her to apologize.
He expected her to surrender to the fear he was trying to create.
Instead, Maya slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.
MAYA JOHNSON: "I'm not going to let you scare me into saying I've done something wrong."
Reed's expression changed.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "What did you just say?"
MAYA JOHNSON: "You heard me."
He moved the weapon closer.
Maya's breath caught, but she did not look away.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You think you're brave?"