AGENT ELENA CROSS: "I understand why it feels that way."
MAYA JOHNSON: "Then please stop speaking around the issue."
Cross held her gaze.
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "I can tell you that the information we're reviewing has raised questions. I cannot tell you yet whether those questions are connected to you, to the officer, or to another matter entirely."
Maya absorbed the answer.
It was not reassuring, but at least it was honest.
She glanced toward Reed again. He had begun speaking quietly to the agent supervising him, occasionally looking toward Cross and Bell. Each time their attention shifted in his direction, he seemed to become more nervous.
A few minutes earlier, he had threatened Maya as though his uniform placed him beyond scrutiny.
Now he was waiting for other people to decide what happened next.
Agent Bell returned to Cross with the tablet.
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "We have a discrepancy."
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "Show me."
He turned the screen toward her.
Cross read the information once, then again more slowly.
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "That cannot be the complete record."
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "It's the record currently available."
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "Then we need the source."
Bell nodded and moved toward the lead vehicle to make another call.
Maya could not see what was displayed on the screen, but she noticed that Cross had stopped writing in her notebook. Her attention was now fixed on the tablet, and the questions she had asked earlier seemed to have taken on a new significance.
MAYA JOHNSON: "Agent Cross?"
The agent looked up.
MAYA JOHNSON: "Am I in danger?"
Cross did not dismiss the question.
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "I don't have enough information to answer that confidently. For now, stay with us while we verify the record."
Maya nodded slowly.
She did not like being told to wait without knowing why. But after the confrontation with Reed, she understood that leaving before the situation was clear could create even more problems.
She moved a short distance from the SUV and sat on the edge of a low gravel bank. Her shoulder throbbed, and she rubbed it gently with her free hand.
Across the road, the sunlight continued to brighten the tops of the trees. The world beyond the small cluster of vehicles remained indifferent to what was happening on the shoulder.
Agent Cross stood near the FPI SUV, speaking in a low voice to another agent.
Maya caught only fragments.
"...original authorization..."
"...doesn't match the timestamp..."
"...we need confirmation before we proceed..."
The words meant little on their own, but the seriousness of the conversation unsettled her.
She looked down at her hands.
They were still trembling.
She thought of how quickly Reed's attitude had changed when the FPI vehicles arrived. He had seemed certain of his authority until the moment he recognized the markings on their doors. After that, every movement had carried a hint of fear.
Why?
What had he recognized?
And why were the agents treating a roadside confrontation as though it might be connected to something that had begun before she was stopped?
A door closed behind her.
Maya looked up as Agent Bell approached.
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "We've contacted the regional office. Someone is reviewing the original notification now."
MAYA JOHNSON: "What did the notification say?"
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "I can't discuss the contents until they're verified."
MAYA JOHNSON: "You keep saying that."
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "Because I don't want to give you information that turns out to be wrong."
Maya studied him for a moment.
Unlike Reed, Bell did not appear irritated by her questions. He seemed to understand why she wanted answers, even if he could not provide them yet.
MAYA JOHNSON: "Did the notification have my name on it?"
Bell hesitated.
It was brief, but Maya saw it.
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "We're checking the identifying details."
MAYA JOHNSON: "That isn't an answer."
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "No. It isn't."
He looked toward Cross, who had just ended a phone call.
AGENT MARCUS BELL: "But we'll have an answer soon."
Maya followed his gaze.
Cross was walking toward them, her expression more serious than before. She carried the tablet in one hand and a folded sheet of paper in the other.
She stopped in front of Maya.
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "We've received an initial response from the regional office."
Maya stood.
MAYA JOHNSON: "And?"
Cross looked at the paper before speaking.
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "The notification that brought us to this area contains information that does not align completely with the details we've verified here."
MAYA JOHNSON: "What information?"
AGENT ELENA CROSS: "We're still determining whether the discrepancy came from an administrative error, an outdated entry, or something else."