“Are you sure,” she said, “you want to keep going with this?”
The tall one laughed, an ugly bark of a sound. “Threatening us now? That’s cute.”
“No,” Victoria said. “I’m telling you exactly what’s about to happen. You’ve detained me without cause. You’ve used physical force. You have filed no paperwork, read me no rights, given me no explanation. Right now, this is still something you could walk back.”
“We’ll sort it out at the station,” the tall one snapped, already turning her toward the patrol car, gripping her arm harder than he needed to.
She let a few seconds pass. The gravel crunched under their boots. The evening was so quiet you could hear the wind moving through the wheat on either side of the road.
Then she spoke again, calm as ever.
“Before we go anywhere — I need one of you to reach into the right pocket of my shorts. There’s something in there. With my hands behind my back, I can’t get it myself.”
