MAYA JOHNSON: "No. I think you're counting on me being too frightened to stand up for myself."
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Reed reached toward her again.
Maya reacted instinctively.
She twisted her body away from his grasp and knocked his weapon arm aside. The sudden movement disrupted his balance, and his expression shifted from anger to astonishment.
He had expected her to remain exactly where he had placed her.
He had not expected resistance.
Maya seized the opening and pushed herself away from the side of the SUV.
Reed stumbled one step forward, trying to recover his position.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "What the hell are you doing?"
Maya did not answer.
She moved quickly, keeping her eyes on him as he reached for her again. When he lunged toward her arm, she dodged sideways and struck back with a forceful punch to his upper body.
The officer staggered.
His hat shifted slightly, and the weapon in his hand dropped lower as he struggled to understand what had happened.
MAYA JOHNSON: "Stay away from me!"
Reed recovered enough to advance again, anger replacing his initial shock.
But Maya was no longer standing passively against the vehicle.
She had found room to move, and she intended to use it.
The next few seconds unfolded in a blur of sudden movement, scraping shoes, and shouted warnings. Reed tried to close the distance, while Maya pivoted away from his reach. When he came toward her again, she struck him with another sharp punch that sent him stumbling backward toward the front of the SUV.
His expression was now unmistakably different.
The confidence had disappeared.
He looked at Maya as though he were seeing an entirely different person.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You just made a huge mistake!"
MAYA JOHNSON: "You made yours when you put your hands on me!"
Reed tried to regain his footing. His breathing had become uneven, and he glanced down at the weapon he was still holding before looking back at Maya.
For the first time since the traffic stop began, he seemed uncertain about what would happen next.
Then a new sound emerged from the road.
Engines.
Not the steady hum of a passing civilian vehicle, but the deep, coordinated roar of several powerful vehicles approaching at speed.
Maya heard it first and turned her head toward the highway.
Reed followed her gaze.
Two dark SUVs appeared around the bend, moving quickly along the rural road. Their dark windows reflected the afternoon sun, and their engines grew louder as they approached the shoulder.
The lead vehicle signaled and turned sharply onto the gravel.
Dust rose behind its tires.
The second vehicle followed, braking hard enough to scatter small stones across the roadside.
Both SUVs came to a stop behind the dark-blue vehicle.
For a moment, Reed simply stared.
The lead SUV carried large, unmistakable letters across its side.
FPI.
The doors began to open.
Several agents emerged, their movements purposeful and coordinated. One immediately surveyed the scene. Another looked toward Maya, then toward Reed, whose weapon remained visible in his hand.
The officer's posture changed almost instantly.
His shoulders stiffened.
His eyes widened.
The anger that had dominated his face only moments earlier gave way to a look of sudden, unmistakable fear.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "Wait..."
He took a step backward.
The approaching agents continued toward them.
Reed looked from the FPI vehicles to Maya, then back toward the agents. His mouth opened as though he wanted to explain himself, but no words came immediately.
Maya stood beside the SUV, breathing heavily, her hands trembling from the confrontation.
She had no idea why the FPI had arrived so quickly.
But judging by the expression on Daniel Reed's face, he knew something she did not.
And whatever it was, it had frightened him far more than her resistance ever could.
The agents moved toward the roadside in a tight formation, their expressions serious as they took in the scene before them. The dark-blue SUV stood with its driver's door open, and Maya Johnson remained beside it, breathing heavily after the struggle. Officer Daniel Reed stood several feet away, still holding the conducted-energy weapon, but the confidence he had displayed moments earlier had almost completely disappeared.
The lead agent, a tall woman with short dark hair and a dark navy uniform, raised one hand to signal her colleagues to slow down. Her eyes moved from Maya's strained expression to Reed's weapon, then to the patrol vehicle parked farther down the shoulder.
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "Officer, put the device down and step away from her."
Reed hesitated.