The second officer wrenched her arms behind her back. Metal clicked around her wrists — once, twice, tight.
“You’ll sit in a cell for a few hours,” the tall one said, close to her ear, breath hot with satisfaction. “Might make you a little more polite.”
Victoria didn’t scream. She didn’t fight the cuffs, didn’t thrash, didn’t give them the reaction they were hunting for. She just turned her head, slow, and looked at them over her shoulder, steady as still water.
“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.”
