"I am perfectly comfortable," Sarah replied dryly. "Hayes out."
She handed the phone back through the bars to Miller. "I recommend you move your cruiser out of the main parking lot, Deputy. It's going to get very crowded around here shortly."
Miller looked at her, terrified. "Who did you call?"
"The cavalry," Sarah said, sitting back down on her cot. "I suggest you take a coffee break out back."
At the state police headquarters in the capital, Captain Reynolds was settling into his evening shift when the red emergency phone on his desk shrieked to life. This was not the standard dispatch line; this was the direct line from the Governor's office, typically reserved for natural disasters or mass casualty events.
Reynolds snatched the receiver. "Reynolds."
"Captain," the Governor's Chief of Staff said, his voice tight with panic. "I just got off the phone with the Pentagon. Specifically, the office of the Joint Chiefs."
Reynolds sat up straight. "The Pentagon? Sir, what's going on?"
"Do we have a state trooper or local sheriff who pulled over a silver Chevy Malibu on Interstate 89 near Oak Haven this afternoon?"
Reynolds quickly typed into his terminal. "Checking... yes, sir. Oak Haven Sheriff's Department logged a tow for a silver Malibu. Suspect arrested for DUI and resisting."
"Captain," the Chief of Staff's voice dropped to a horrifying whisper. "The woman they arrested is Major General Sarah Hayes, the Deputy Secretary of Defense. She is carrying highly classified cryptographic material. The military is treating this as a hostile seizure of federal assets."
Reynolds felt the blood drain from his face. "Hostile seizure? It's Boyd Cleary. He's a local hothead, but he's not a terrorist."
"The military doesn't care about his local reputation, Reynolds! They have scrambled a Special Forces detachment from Fort Drum. They are in the air right now. The FBI and DOJ are mobilizing. The federal government is about to descend on Oak Haven like the wrath of God."
"What are our orders, sir?"
"Call Cleary. Tell him to release her immediately, return all her property untouched, and beg for mercy. If he resists, the military has authorization to use force to recover their asset. Do not let this turn into a shootout between local cops and Delta Force, Captain!"
Reynolds slammed the phone down and immediately dialed the Oak Haven dispatch. It rang three times before an apathetic dispatcher answered.
"Oak Haven Sheriff—"
"This is Captain Reynolds, State Police! Patch me through to Sheriff Cleary right now! It is a matter of national security!"
"Uh, he's across the street eating pie, Captain. Want me to radio him?"
"Radio him, call his cell, go drag him out of the diner by his hair! Get him on the phone NOW!"
Sheriff Boyd Cleary was finishing his second slice of cherry pie when his walkie-talkie buzzed violently.
"Sheriff? We got State Police Captain Reynolds on the main line. He's screaming something awful. Says it's a national emergency."
Boyd rolled his eyes, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and tossed a crumpled five-dollar bill on the counter. "Tell him I'm on my way. Probably another escaped cow on the interstate."
He ambled out of the diner, using a toothpick to dig at his teeth. The evening air was cooling slightly, the sky turning a bruised purple as the sun dipped below the horizon. The town was dead quiet, exactly how he liked it.
He walked into the station, the heavy glass door thudding shut behind him. Miller was sitting at his desk, looking pale and sweating profusely.
"What's Reynolds got his panties in a twist over?" Boyd demanded, picking up the phone receiver that was resting on the desk. "Cleary here."
"Cleary, you idiot!" Reynolds' voice exploded out of the earpiece so loudly that Miller could hear it across the room. "Who do you have in your holding cell right now?"
"Just some out-of-towner who gave me attitude on the highway," Boyd said, bristling at the tone. "Jane Doe. Refused to cooperate."
"Her name is Major General Sarah Hayes! She is the Deputy Secretary of Defense for the United States government! Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Boyd froze. The toothpick fell from his mouth. He looked over at the hallway leading to the cells, then back at Miller, who was now visibly trembling.
"Captain, that's impossible. She's a nobody. She had fake papers—"
"They are not fake, you imbecile! You have illegally detained a high-ranking federal official and confiscated classified military intelligence! The Pentagon has activated a Quick Reaction Force. You have federal agents and military helicopters bearing down on your station right now!"
"Helicopters?" Boyd scoffed, his denial kicking in to protect his fragile reality. "Captain, you're buying into her bluff. Nobody sends helicopters over a traffic stop."
"Listen to me very carefully, Boyd," Reynolds hissed, his voice lethal. "Go to the cell. Open the door. Hand her back her belongings. And pray she doesn't press federal kidnapping charges. Because if you don't, the United States military is going to breach your station in about three minutes."
Before Boyd could respond, a low, rhythmic thumping began to vibrate through the walls of the brick police station. It started as a distant hum and rapidly escalated into a deafening roar.
The coffee cups on the desk began to rattle. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered.
Boyd dropped the phone. He ran to the front window and looked up into the darkening sky.
Coming in low over the tree line, kicking up a massive storm of dust and debris from the highway, were three blacked-out UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
Oak Haven had not seen a military presence since a National Guard convoy passed through during a flood in 1998. The arrival of three Special Operations Black Hawks was an apocalyptic event.
The first helicopter flared aggressively, descending directly onto Main Street in front of the sheriff's station. The downdraft was immense, tearing the neon diner sign completely off its hinges, sending garbage cans rocketing down the alleyways, and sandblasting the front windows of the police station.