“You are making a mistake, Officer,” Victoria said.
“Keep still,” Miller ordered.
“I am not resisting.”
Vance instructed Miller to restrain her. Miller tightened plastic restraints around Victoria’s wrists more firmly than necessary, then helped place her inside the rear compartment of their patrol car. Neither officer seemed aware that Victoria had already been recording the entire encounter through the transmitter concealed in her pocket.
As Vance drove away from her sedan, Miller began constructing a justification for the stop, claiming Victoria had been traveling forty-two miles per hour in a thirty-five zone. Victoria knew her speed had been thirty-four.
“A seven-mile-per-hour variance does not justify physical restraint,” Victoria said.
“Down here, we decide what justifies what,” Vance replied.
“This is an undocumented detention on a state highway.”
“You are a long way from Columbus, lady.”
Victoria soon realized they intended to take her to the county station and potentially hold her until the following morning. Allowing that to happen could compromise the state investigation she had secretly been conducting, so she decided the undercover portion of her assignment had reached its limit.
“Officer Vance.”
“Save it for the judge.”
“Look in my right shorts pocket.”
Miller turned around immediately.
“She has something in her pocket.”
“I told you to search her,” Vance snapped.
“With my hands behind my back, I cannot do it myself,” Victoria said.
Vance pulled the cruiser onto a dirt turnout near an abandoned timber mill. Suspicious, he asked what she was carrying.
“What is in the pocket?”
“My authorization.”
“She is bluffing,” Miller said.
“Reach in and pull it out,” Victoria replied.
Vance reached into the pocket and removed a black leather wallet. He flipped it open, apparently expecting an ordinary driver’s license.
Instead, he froze.
Inside gleamed the heavy gold shield of a state investigator. Beside it was a small transmitter housing with a green light steadily pulsing.
“This stops right now, officers,” Victoria said.
Vance stared at the badge.
“What is this?”
“The state regional dispatch office has been receiving this feed for the last twenty-four minutes,” Victoria answered. “Every word is already on the server in Columbus.”
The confidence vanished from Vance’s face. He stepped outside and showed the credential to Miller, whose face immediately went pale.
“State Office of Professional Standards,” Miller read aloud. “Senior Investigator Victoria…”
