"Yes."
Whitaker's expression hardened.
"Do you know who he is?"
Reed swallowed.
"Yes."
"Do you?"
Reed didn't answer.
Whitaker walked toward Daniel.
"I'm sorry."
Daniel nodded.
"I'd like an explanation."
"You'll get one."
Whitaker turned toward Reed.
"Who authorized the stop?"
"I did."
"Why?"
"Suspicious vehicle."
"Based on what?"
Reed hesitated.
"Information from dispatch."
Whitaker looked at the dispatcher.
"Was there a stolen vehicle report?"
The dispatcher shook her head.
"No, Chief."
Silence.
Whitaker looked back at Reed.
"Then why did you say there was?"
Reed's face tightened.
"I may have misunderstood."
Daniel finally spoke.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
Daniel continued calmly.
"He didn't misunderstand."
He pointed toward the hallway.
"He told me the car was reported stolen."
Whitaker nodded.
"Anything else?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then:
"He also removed something from the ground."
Reed immediately interrupted.
"That's irrelevant."
Daniel looked at him.
"It was a badge."
Whitaker's face changed.
"A badge?"
Daniel nodded.
"It wasn't his."
Reed said:
"There was no badge."
Daniel replied:
"I saw it."
Whitaker looked toward the station entrance.
Then toward the parking lot.
"Where is it?"
Nobody answered.
Whitaker's voice became colder.
"Where is the badge?"
Reed remained silent.
And that silence was enough.
Chief Whitaker ordered the station locked down.
Nobody was allowed to leave until the situation was understood.
An internal affairs investigator was called.
Security footage was pulled.
The body-camera recordings from Officer Reed were requested.
And Daniel was finally uncuffed.
He stood near the desk as investigators began asking questions.
"What happened from the beginning?"
Daniel explained everything.
The traffic stop.
The questions.
The accusation.
The search.