"You're not from around here," the man stated instead of asking.
"Nope," Eugene said, pulling himself straighter despite how much effort it took not to groan at how sore his legs felt now that they'd stopped moving for more than five minutes. "I'm a detective out of Paris PD—suspended or not—and I need your comms."
The man raised an eyebrow but didn't argue right away. "Suspended?"
"That's right," Eugene replied evenly but didn't elaborate further. "I've got my badge number if you want to verify."
For a moment, it seemed like the officer might push back out of habit, principle or just boredom—but then he shrugged and motioned toward another console near the desk.
"Knock yourself out," he said.
Eugene took the receiver off the console and stared at it for a moment before punching in his wife's number. He had to stop and think about it—run the digits through his head twice before dialing, just to be sure he got it right.
