“Well… now, hold on a minute, Colonel,” Ryker stammered, his drawl suddenly sounding thick and slow.
“We pulled over a female individual on Route 119 for reckless driving and disorderly conduct…
She didn’t state anything about being in the military…”
“Sheriff Ryker,” Colonel Vance interrupted, his voice dropping into a tone that made the hairs on Ryker’s arms stand up.
“Major General Reynolds is a two-star general in the United States Armed Forces.
She is currently directing high-priority national security logistics operations.
She was scheduled to lead a classified briefing with the Joint Chiefs of Staff three minutes ago.”
Ryker felt his knees go soft.
He grabbed the edge of the Formica counter to steady himself.
“I am going to ask you a single question, Sheriff,” Vance said, his words measured and devastatingly clear.
“What lawful grounds do you have for detaining the General?”
Ryker swallowed hard.
The silence in the lobby was suffocating.
Miller was staring at him, wide-eyed.
Brenda was trembling behind the desk.
“She… she was swerving on the highway, Colonel,” Ryker stuttered, his confidence completely shattered.
“And when my deputy pulled her over, she showed attitude… she refused to allow us to inspect her vehicle…”
“So you arrested a two-star general for exercising her Fourth Amendment rights because you felt she had an ‘attitude’?”
Vance asked.
“Now, see here, Colonel, in Oak Haven County, we have local ordinances—”“Sheriff Ryker,” a new voice joined the line.
It was deep, resonant, and carried the terrifying weight of supreme authority.
“This is Lieutenant General Raymond Brooks, Joint Staff Logistics Commander.”
Ryker froze.“You have five minutes to personally open that cell door, apologize to General Reynolds, and return every item of her property,” General Brooks said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
“If General Reynolds is not on a secure video link with my office by 16:15, I will treat this incident as an unlawful civilian interference with an active military commander during a period of national readiness.
Do you understand what that means, Sheriff?”
Ryker couldn’t speak.
His throat was completely dry.
“It means,” Brooks continued, “that within thirty minutes, Federal Marshals, Army Criminal Investigation Division agents, and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia will descend on your precinct.
Every camera, every audio log, every ticket book, and every cell in your building will be seized under federal warrant.”
Click.The line went dead.CHAPTER FIVE: THE CORRIDOR TO CELL FOUR
The silence in the Oak Haven Sheriff’s Office was absolute.
The only sound was the low, rhythmic hum of the outdated fluorescent lights overhead.
Sheriff Ryker stood frozen, holding the dead telephone receiver in his hand.
A cold bead of sweat trickled down his temple, winding its way into his collar.
“Thomas…?”
Brenda whispered, her voice shaking.
“What did they say?”
Ryker didn’t answer her.
He slowly lowered the phone back onto its cradle.
He turned his head slowly toward Deputy Miller.
Miller was pale.
“Sheriff… who is she?
What’s going on?”
“Shut up, Jared,” Ryker breathed, his voice stripped of all its former bravado.
“Just… shut your mouth.”
Ryker looked at the plastic property bag on the counter.
He looked at the heavy sat-com phone, the simple silver wedding band, the driver’s license, and the pair of car keys.
Then he looked down the long, dimly lit corridor toward the heavy iron door of Cell Four.For fourteen years, Thomas Ryker had walked that corridor with the swagger of an absolute monarch.
He had walked it to mock prisoners, to ignore their pleas for legal representation, to collect bail money, and to enforce his will on anyone who dared challenge his authority in Oak Haven County.
Now, every step down that concrete hallway felt like a walk toward an executioner’s block.He picked up the heavy brass key ring from the counter.
His fingers were shaking so violently that the keys clinked against each other like silver bells.
“Sheriff?”
Miller asked, taking a step toward him.
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No!”
Ryker snapped, turning sharply.
“Stay here.
Both of you stay right here.”