"Braddock," Miller said, his voice dropping an octave into a dangerous, icy whisper that made the hair on the back of nearby officers' necks stand up. "What in the absolute hell have you done?"
"Like I said, Sarge," Braddock stammered. The confident facade began to fracture immediately under the veteran sergeant's intense, horrifying glare. "He was trespassing. He cloned a high-level security pass, he..."
Miller slammed his coffee cup down onto the wooden desk with such force the cup split, sending brown liquid sloshing over the paperwork. He stood up so abruptly his heavy chair rolled backward and crashed into a filing cabinet. He pointed a trembling, furious finger directly at Braddock's chest.
"Uncuff him!" Miller roared. The shout was deafening, echoing off the cinderblock walls of the quiet precinct. Two detectives at nearby desks jumped out of their seats, hands hovering near their belts, before freezing at the sight of the enraged Sergeant.
"But Sarge, it's procedure—" Braddock started, his voice cracking into a high pitch of panic.
"I said UNCUFF HIM RIGHT NOW, Braddock! Before I walk down there and strip you of that badge myself!" Miller's face was turning a violent, terrifying shade of crimson.
Braddock, finally, agonizingly realizing the sheer magnitude of his error, fumbled frantically with his keys. His hands shook violently as he unlocked the cuffs. The heavy steel fell away. Marcus slowly brought his arms forward, silently rubbing his bruised wrists, his expression as unreadable and hard as granite.
Sergeant Miller practically sprinted around the desk. "Mr. Sterling," he gasped, his voice immediately softening into a tone of desperate apology. "Sir, I cannot express how profoundly sorry I am for this. This is an absolute outrage. Are you injured?"
Braddock stood frozen, seemingly rooted to the linoleum floor. All the color drained from his face, leaving him looking like a ghost. The realization hit him with the force of a speeding freight train: he hadn't busted a criminal; he had wrongfully, aggressively, and publicly arrested one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the state.
Marcus looked at the trembling Sergeant, and then slowly, deliberately, turned his gaze to the young officer. His silence was infinitely heavier than Miller's shouting.
"Sergeant Miller, I appreciate your swift action in correcting this immediate physical detainment," Marcus said, his voice terrifyingly steady and meticulously cold. "But verbal apologies will not suffice to fix the systemic issue standing next to you. I expect a formal Internal Affairs investigation to be opened before I reach my car. Furthermore, I suggest your department review the high-definition footage that my employee has already securely uploaded to our corporate cloud."