“Do you know you were flying down Route 7 at seventy-five?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize I was going that fast.”
“You’ve got a tail light out,” he said. “Did you know that?”
She shook her head. “No.”
That’s just effin’ great.
“Can I see your driver’s license and registration?”
She handed over her driver’s license. “I can’t find the registration.”
“Hold tight.” He took her license, walked back to his patrol car.
King A was out there, along with his army of fucking yes-men. She’d been living in a windowless building, and she hadn’t had a second to mourn Naomi’s murder, before she discovered her straight-laced parents were discussing a Bratva hit with Gabriel Santini and a man who went by Z.
The officer returned, handed her back her license. “Ms. Austin, your license expired a couple of months ago.”
She flicked her gaze to her license, then back at him. “I’ve been out of the country.”
I shouldn’t have said that.
“Ms. Austin, is there a weapon in the vehicle?”
The absolute moment of truth. She stared at him. Middle aged, average height, looked like he was in decent shape. “Officer—” she glanced at his name badge— “Officer Layton, I have two weapons in the vehicle. My SIG Sauer and my Walther.”
“Are any on you?”
“The SIG.”
“I can’t ask you to exit the vehicle until a female officer has arrived on scene.”
“Can I make a call?”
“No.”
“My Walther is in the center console. Can I set the SIG on the passenger seat, then step out?”
“No, we have to wait for the female officer. She’ll be here soon.”
She could mention her dad. He’d been a detective with the Fairfax County Police, but she didn’t want her parents to know she’d gotten pulled over. They’d told her to hang tight. She hadn’t listened.
A few minutes later, another squad car pulled up. She waited for Officer Layton’s instruction. He told her to exit the vehicle, keep her hands in the air. Then, he instructed her to place them on the car.
A first.
Karma is biting me in the ass.
The female officer took her SIG, then patted her down while Officer Layton removed her Walther from the vehicle. Though her heart rate accelerated, she just stood there calmly. Freaking out because they took her weapons wouldn’t help her.
After the woman cuffed her, she was placed in Layton’s patrol car. Sydney said nothing as he drove her to the police station. If she said anything, it would only make her situation worse.
Once there, she was fingerprinted, then a few mug shots.
The fiasco might have been laughable, except that she was in an ALPHA vehicle, she’d been speeding, she’d been armed, her license had expired, and she’d admitted to being out of the country.
Not so funny when she was trying to hide in the shadows while chasing King A and gunning down international terrorists.
