I nodded and picked up my notebook and pen. Captain Jordan caught my eye from across the room. Whatever was coming, he already knew. I followed Lawson into the hallway, where he pointed to a small meeting room and held the door for me.
“I’ll be direct, Chief Banks. Your presence at today’s briefing has complicated an already delicate operation,” he said, not bothering to sit.
“In what way?”
“Combined with your arrest at the Jaylen Harris Memorial, and your behavior in the meeting displayed a conflict of interest, it raises questions about your judgment and allegiances.”
“My allegiance is to the law and to the citizens I’m sworn to protect. Nothing I did at the memorial or said in that meeting contradicts my oath,” I replied evenly.
Lawson wasn’t here to debate, only to deliver judgment. “Your recent actions suggest a potential conflict of interest that cannot be accommodated at this stage of operations.”
I stood still. They weren’t firing me yet, but they were taking me off anything important. I was being sidelined while they decided what to do with me. I was an inconvenience they wanted out of the way.
“Effective immediately, you are on administrative leave pending review. You will surrender your badge, credentials, and department-issued firearm.” He extended his hand, palm up, expectant.
A week ago, this would have been impossible for Chief Ronan Banks, the department’s poster boy. Now I lost my badge for doing exactly what it stood for, protecting people and questioning unchecked power. The irony might have been funny if it hadn’t happened to me, and if Nia’s face hadn’t been on that screen with “pending escalation” under her name.
“Your firearm and credentials,” he reminded me.
I handed them over, each item representing my identity stripped away. When his hand was full, Lawson nodded once, as if completing a checklist.
“We will contact you regarding the next steps in the administrative process. Until then, we restrict your participation in any department activities or access to any task force resources. Is that clear, Mr. Banks?”
Mr. Banks. Not Chief. The demotion was implicit in how quickly he’d adjusted his language.
“Crystal clear,” I replied.
Lawson left without another word, the door shutting behind him. I stood alone in the small room, feeling lighter without my badge and gun but weighed down by what their absence meant.
I reached for the door when it opened before I could touch the handle. Captain Jordan slipped inside, closing it quickly behind him. His eyes took in my empty belt, the absence at my side where my weapon should have been.
“Shit, they didn’t waste any time,” Todd muttered.
“Did you know?” I asked, no accusation in my voice, just the need to understand.
He ran a hand over his short hair. “That they’d suspend you? No, but I suspected it might happen, especially after that MLK comment. I didn’t think they’d move this fast. Lawson must have had the paperwork ready before you even opened your mouth.”
“They were looking for an excuse, and I just gave them one.”
Jordan glanced at the door and lowered his voice. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Listen, I have little time. There’s something you need to know about Dr. Price’s escalation. They talked about it after you left.”
My full attention snapped to him. “What about it?”
“It’s bullshit. There’s no new evidence, no increased radical activity. They’re escalating her purely because of her visibility, because that protest went viral, and she was front and center. They need someone to make an example of, with just enough connections to other activists to make it stick,” he said bluntly.
The information hit me like ice water down my spine. “When?”
“The escalation review is today, not tomorrow like they said in the briefing. Once she’s on that list, she won’t get off. They built the system that way—easy to add people, almost impossible to remove them.”
“Fuck!”
“You need to be careful, Ronan. They’re watching you now, too. Whatever you’re thinking about doing, remember that.”
This wasn’t about my badge, my career, or even my reputation anymore. It was about a system targeting an innocent woman for telling the truth and using the rights I’d sworn to protect. For being too good at challenging power.
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Todd studied me. “Damn it, Ronan. Don’t do anything stupid.”
