Now he could barely look at it.
Ethan noticed the change.
ETHAN WALKER: "You should think carefully about what you say next."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Is that a threat?"
ETHAN WALKER: "No. It's advice."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "I don't need advice from you."
ETHAN WALKER: "Then stop asking questions you don't want answered."
Michael turned sharply toward him.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Who do you think you are?"
Ethan held his gaze.
ETHAN WALKER: "Someone who expects you to take responsibility for what you've done."
The officer's breathing grew heavier again.
He was frustrated by the calmness of Ethan's voice, but he was also beginning to understand that the confrontation could no longer be resolved through intimidation.
He needed information.
He needed to know whether Ethan had recorded the encounter, whether someone else had witnessed it, and why the man seemed so certain that the officer's conduct would be examined.
Most of all, Michael needed to know why the stranger had not been frightened by the possibility of arrest.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Did you record me?"
Ethan did not immediately answer.
ETHAN WALKER: "Why does that concern you?"
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Answer the question."
ETHAN WALKER: "You first. Why are you worried about being recorded?"
Michael looked away.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "I'm not worried."
ETHAN WALKER: "Then the question shouldn't bother you."
The officer's silence was brief, but revealing.
He had asked about a recording because he understood the danger of having his actions documented. If a recording existed, it could challenge his account. If no recording existed, he might still attempt to shape the narrative.
But his concern suggested that he knew how much depended on what could be demonstrated.
Ethan watched him carefully.
He did not need to provoke another fight. The officer's reactions were already revealing how deeply the possibility of accountability troubled him.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "You think a recording proves everything?"
ETHAN WALKER: "No. Evidence has to be examined in context."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Then you admit it might not prove your story."
ETHAN WALKER: "I admit that facts should be evaluated fairly."
Michael appeared briefly encouraged.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "Exactly. And without proof, it's your word against mine."
ETHAN WALKER: "If that's what the evidence shows, the investigators will consider it. But your confidence doesn't make your account more reliable."
Michael's expression tightened again.
He had tried to turn Ethan's insistence on a fair process into an argument for dismissing the allegation. Instead, Ethan had returned to the same principle: the truth would have to be established through evidence, not through the authority of either man.
Michael could not easily escape that principle without revealing that he wanted a different standard for himself.
He stepped closer, but stopped before entering Ethan's personal space.
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "You really believe someone will take this seriously?"
ETHAN WALKER: "They should."
OFFICER MICHAEL HAYES: "You have a lot of faith in the department."
ETHAN WALKER: "I have a responsibility to make sure allegations are examined properly."
Michael studied him.
There it was again.
That word.
Responsibility.
Ethan spoke about it as though it were a practical obligation rather than a slogan. He seemed to understand that the process might be imperfect, that allegations could be difficult to prove, and that the outcome could not be guaranteed.
But none of those uncertainties justified ignoring what had happened.
Michael, by contrast, wanted certainty before he would accept accountability. He wanted to know that the evidence could not be challenged, that no witness would contradict him, and that the consequences would be manageable before he considered admitting even a small mistake.
The difference between them was not simply a difference in temperament.
It was a difference in what they believed authority was supposed to mean.
A faint breeze moved through the trees along the sidewalk.
The sun was now lower behind the buildings, and the golden light stretched farther across the pavement. The black SUV reflected the changing colors of the sky, its dark windows revealing only blurred silhouettes.
Ethan checked the street once more.
He had no intention of allowing the encounter to become another uncontrolled struggle. He had already defended himself against Michael's attacks, and he wanted the next stage to proceed through the appropriate channels.