Michael, however, remained restless.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "What happens when your superiors decide you're wrong?"
Ethan looked at him.
ETHAN WALKER: "Then they should explain their reasoning and examine the evidence."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "And if they don't believe you?"
ETHAN WALKER: "The process continues according to the applicable rules."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "You make it sound so easy."
ETHAN WALKER: "It isn't easy. That doesn't mean we abandon it."
Michael looked toward the road again.
He was running out of questions, and every answer seemed to make his position more uncomfortable.
For years, he had used uncertainty to his advantage. If people did not know their rights, he could frighten them. If they did not understand procedure, he could confuse them. If they were afraid of being arrested, he could make them believe that silence was their only practical choice.
But Ethan was not allowing uncertainty to end the discussion.
He accepted that the process could be difficult, but he refused to let that difficulty become an excuse for dishonesty.
Michael finally asked the question he had been avoiding.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Are you connected to Internal Affairs?"
Ethan's eyes remained on him.
ETHAN WALKER: "Why are you asking?"
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Because you keep talking like someone who investigates police officers."
ETHAN WALKER: "You've made several assumptions about me tonight."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Just answer the question."
Ethan took a slow breath.
For the first time, he appeared to consider revealing something about himself.
He had allowed Michael to speak, argue, threaten, and contradict himself. He had observed the officer's reaction to the supposed discovery, the escalation of force, and the repeated attempts to control the story.
But the encounter had reached a point where the officer needed to understand that the matter would not simply disappear.
ETHAN WALKER: "You should have considered that possibility before you approached me this way."
Michael stared at him.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "That's not an answer."
ETHAN WALKER: "No. It's a reminder."
The officer's face became pale beneath the remaining sunlight.
He looked at Ethan's jacket, then at the small plastic bag on the hood of the SUV.
A thought had begun to form in his mind, and he did not like where it was leading.
What if the man standing before him really was an investigator?
What if the earlier complaints had not disappeared?
What if the officer's actions had finally brought him face-to-face with someone who understood exactly how the system worked?
Michael had no proof that any of those possibilities were true.
But he could no longer dismiss them.
The thought made him more anxious than the physical fight had.
He had believed that the most important part of the encounter was the bag. If he could establish possession, he could attempt to justify the arrest. If he could portray Ethan as aggressive, he could argue that the use of force had been necessary.
But if Ethan had a professional reason to examine police misconduct, the entire sequence of events might be viewed differently.
The initial approach would matter.
The officer's hand entering the jacket would matter.
The false discovery would matter.
The threats and the fight would matter.
And Michael's attempt to pressure Ethan into walking away would matter too.
Every decision he had made could become part of the same record.
He stepped away from the SUV and ran a hand over his face.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "You should have identified yourself earlier."
Ethan watched him.
ETHAN WALKER: "You never gave me a chance to explain."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "You could have stopped this."
ETHAN WALKER: "I did try to stop it."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "You fought me."
ETHAN WALKER: "You attacked me, and I defended myself."
Michael shook his head.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "This is unbelievable."
ETHAN WALKER: "Then let's establish what happened."
Michael looked at him for a long moment.
The officer was beginning to realize that his position had changed completely. He could still make claims, but he could no longer assume that they would end the discussion. He could still deny the allegation, but he could not force Ethan to accept the denial as proof.
The encounter was becoming something larger than either man could settle through argument.