Jade printed the file, placing the crisp paper sheets inside a sleek black leather folder alongside her federal credentials and her military discharge documentation.
She did not hate Victor Harlan. In her fourteen years in the military, she had encountered dozens of men like him—incompetent, insecure bullies who grabbed onto small bits of authority because they had nothing else in their empty lives. But in combat, a bad commander got people killed. In a small town, a bad police officer destroyed innocent lives.
Jade looked out the office window. Zeus and Ares were lying quietly on the soft rug in the hallway, their eyes fixed on the front door, eternally vigilant.
"You picked the wrong morning, Sergeant," Jade whispered to the empty room. At 8:45 a.m., Jade dropped Finn off at the local youth science center for his morning robotics day camp. She waited until she saw him safely inside the glass doors before turning her dark blue SUV south toward the Oak Haven Municipal Complex.
The Oak Haven Police Department was housed in a squat, red-brick building constructed in the late 1970s. It sat on the main thoroughfare, flanked by a modest county courthouse and a small municipal park. The parking lot was filled with marked cruisers, their light bars gleaming under the bright morning sun.
Jade parked her SUV in a visitor spot, adjusted her dark grey blazer over her crisp white shirt, grabbed her leather folder from the passenger seat, and stepped out.
She did not bring Zeus and Ares with her. They were safely secured in the climate-controlled rear kennel of her vehicle, resting comfortably. She did not need physical weapons today; she had paper, law, and absolute moral authority.
She pushed open the heavy glass doors of the station and stepped into the lobby.
The air inside smelled of stale coffee, industrial floor wax, and old paper. Behind a thick sheet of bulletproof glass sat a middle-aged civilian desk clerk wearing a faded blue department polo shirt. She was typing lazily on a keyboard, completely ignoring the visitors standing in line.
Jade walked straight past the small line of citizens waiting to pay parking tickets, stepping directly up to the microphone cutout in the glass partition.
"Good morning," Jade said firmly. "I am here to see Chief Richard Henderson."
The clerk didn't look up immediately. She finished typing a sentence, took a slow sip from a chipped mug, and finally raised her eyes with a look of supreme annoyance.
"Chief doesn't take unscheduled drop-ins," the clerk said flatly. "If you want to file a report or request a record, you need to fill out Form 102 over at the table."
"I am not filing a standard report," Jade replied, her voice cutting through the lobby noise like a trumpet. "My name is Dr. Jade Brooks. I am a federal contractor with Special Operations Command. Tell Chief Henderson I am here regarding an incident involving Sergeant Victor Harlan that occurred at 06:10 this morning."
The clerk opened her mouth to deliver another rehearsed brush-off, but something in Jade’s posture made her pause. The absolute lack of hesitation in Jade’s eyes, the crisp authority of her voice, and the mention of Harlan’s name made the clerk reach for her desk phone.
She dialed a three-digit extension, spoke softly into the receiver for twenty seconds, and hung up.
"Take a seat," the clerk said, gesturing vaguely toward a row of bolted-down plastic chairs along the wall. "His assistant will be out in a minute."
"I'll stand," Jade said.
Three minutes later, a heavy wooden door beside the glass partition unlocked with a sharp electronic click. A tall, silver-haired man in a dark suit stepped out into the lobby. He was in his early sixties, with a polished, aristocratic air that suggested he was far more comfortable in political fundraisers than on street patrols. His nameplate read: CHIEF R. HENDERSON.
Henderson looked at Jade, assessing her attire and her posture in a split second. A professional, practiced smile spread across his face as he extended his hand.
"Dr. Brooks?" Henderson said smoothly. "I'm Chief Henderson. My desk clerk said you had a concern regarding one of my officers this morning? Please, step into my office."
Jade looked down at his extended hand, left it hanging in the air for a deliberate three seconds, and then stepped past him through the door.
Henderson’s smile flickered, a momentary shadow of annoyance passing over his features before he recovered his calm demeanor and followed her down the hallway. Chief Henderson’s office was spacious, decorated with framed certificates, photographs of municipal groundbreakings, and a large mahogany desk that dominated the room. Sitting in one of the leather armchairs facing the desk, looking thoroughly miserable, was Sergeant Victor Harlan.
Harlan had changed into a clean uniform shirt, but he looked as if he hadn't slept in days. His face was pale, his dark eyes rimmed with red, and he held a paper cup of coffee in his hands so tightly that the cardboard was buckling.
When Jade stepped into the room, Harlan flinched, his posture collapsing further into the armchair.
"Please, have a seat, Dr. Brooks," Henderson said, walking around his desk and sitting down in his high-backed leather chair. He gestured toward the empty seat beside Harlan.
"I prefer to stand," Jade said, remaining near the center of the room, positioning herself so she could look down at both men simultaneously.
Henderson cleared his throat, adjusting a brass pen set on his desk. "Well, Dr. Brooks, Sergeant Harlan gave me a brief verbal debriefing regarding an encounter you two had during his dawn patrol behind the Sutter Street plaza. It appears there was a rather unfortunate misunderstanding regarding animal control protocols and civilian compliance."
"Misunderstanding?" Jade repeated softly. The word sounded like an insult in the quiet office.
"Yes," Henderson said, adopting a soothing, fatherly tone. "You see, Oak Haven has had a recurring issue with stray, aggressive dogs in that commercial sector. Sergeant Harlan was operating under heightened alert conditions due to several recent incidents. When he observed two large, powerful animals in a secluded area, he acted out of an abundance of caution to ensure public safety."
Jade let out a short, cold sound that was entirely devoid of humor.
"Chief Henderson," Jade said, opening her black leather folder and withdrawing a single sheet of paper. "At 06:10 this morning, your officer pulled two marked cruisers across a public alley, blocking my exit path. He ordered me to surrender two federally certified retired military working dogs that were leashed and seated at my feet. When I refused to comply with his illegal demand, he threatened to draw his service weapon and execute my animals on the spot."
Henderson’s eyes flicked briefly toward Harlan, a sharp flash of anger passing between the two men before the Chief returned his gaze to Jade.
"Now, Dr. Brooks," Henderson said smoothly, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm sure Sergeant Harlan’s choice of words was perhaps... colorful in the heat of the moment. Police work can be tense, as I'm sure a woman of your background understands. But let's be reasonable here. No animals were harmed, no weapons were drawn, and no formal arrests were made. It was a chaotic situation that dissolved without incident."
" dissolved without incident?" Jade asked, taking a step toward the desk. "Sergeant Harlan committed multiple violations of state and federal law in a span of four minutes. He executed an unlawful detention without reasonable suspicion, uttered terrorist threats under color of authority, and attempted the illegal seizure of federal government property."
"Now see here, lady!" Harlan suddenly burst out, slamming his paper cup onto the edge of the desk, spilling cold coffee across the mahogany surface. "I've had enough of your high-and-mighty attitude! You threatened me! You told me your mutts were going to tear my throat out! Chief, she threatened a police officer on camera!"
"Quiet, Victor!" Henderson snapped, his polished exterior cracking for the first time.