A dispatcher laughed with a colleague.
A victim advocate sat beside someone filling out a report.
Daniel watched quietly.
Davis approached.
"Chief."
Daniel turned.
"Morning."
"Do you remember your first day here?"
Daniel smiled faintly.
"Every minute."
Davis laughed.
"I still can't believe Miller didn't recognize you."
"That was the point."
"Was it?"
Daniel looked toward the entrance.
"Yes."
Davis hesitated.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why didn't you tell him who you were immediately?"
Daniel thought for a moment.
"Because if I had introduced myself as the chief, he would have treated me differently."
Davis nodded.
"And you wanted to see how he treated an ordinary person."
"Exactly."
Davis looked around the lobby.
"Do you think things are fixed?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Davis seemed surprised.
"After everything?"
"Institutions don't get fixed permanently."
"What do you mean?"
"You build systems that make it harder for people to abuse power. Then you keep watching those systems."
Davis nodded slowly.
"So we're never finished."
"No."
Daniel smiled.
"That's the job."
That afternoon, Daniel received a letter from the city council.
The council wanted him to attend a ceremony.
He almost declined.
But the mayor called.
"You should come."
"Why?"
"Because the community wants to see you."
Daniel agreed.