Inside the sterile interview room of the precinct, my last passenger was a total mess. Hair a tangled wreck, clothes disheveled. She was sobbing to the officer. “Officer, it was him! This ride-share driver, he… he tried to assault me.” “If you don’t lock people like him up, there’s no justice in this world! And I demand compensation for my emotional distress!” With that, she collapsed onto the floor, throwing a full-blown tantrum. I couldn’t believe the audacity. All I did was ask her not to smoke in my car, and now she was accusing me of sexual assault. The thing is, I’m a woman too. I just happen to dress on the butch side. How the hell was I supposed to assault her? 1. I sat on the cold, hard metal chair, watching the circus unfold. The woman, Tiffany, was putting on a real tearjerker of a performance. She pointed a trembling finger right at my nose. “It was him! The way he was looking at me in the car… so creepy! He tried to touch my thigh!” The young officer taking notes frowned, his gaze shifting to me, dripping with contempt. In his eyes, I was probably just some scumbag driver with a crew cut, cargo pants, and a dark tan. I opened my mouth. “Officer, I’m—” “You shut up!” Tiffany shrieked, cutting me off. “You’re a damn predator! You think you have the right to speak? If I hadn’t fought for my life, I’d have nothing left!” Her wails grew louder, echoing off the bare walls of the interview room. The officer slammed his hand on the table. “Quiet down! This is a police station!” He glared back at me. “You. Cooperate. Driver’s license.” I started to reach into my pocket. Tiffany lunged forward, slapping my hand down. “Don’t move! Officer, he has a knife! He threatened me with it in the car!” That was it. I lost my temper and shoved her hand away. “Are you insane? I’m getting my license!” “Ah! He’s hitting me! The pervert is hitting me!” She threw herself to the ground, clutching her stomach and writhing as if in agony. The whole routine was so smooth, she was wasting her talent not being in Hollywood. The officer shot to his feet, his hand hovering over his sidearm. “What do you think you’re doing? Sit down!” Two other officers burst in, grabbing me by the shoulders and forcing me back into the chair. I felt a sharp pain, like my joints were about to pop. “I didn’t touch her, and I don’t have a knife,” I said, clenching my jaw to keep my voice steady. “I was just getting my ID to prove my innocence.” Lying on the floor, Tiffany peeked at me through her fingers while letting out pathetic moans. “I can’t go on… being bullied by this trash… I might as well be dead!” This wasn’t a victim filing a report. This was a professional scam artist. I’d been a ride-share driver for three years and had seen my share of weirdos, but I’d never met anyone this venomous. 2. The truth was simple. Two hours ago, I’d accepted Tiffany’s ride request. The moment she got in, a wave of cheap, cloying perfume nearly choked me. We hadn’t even driven a mile before she pulled out a cigarette and lit it. My car is strictly non-smoking. I keep the windows cracked year-round, even in the dead of winter, just to keep the air fresh. I politely asked her to put it out. She ignored me, flicking her ash onto my leather seats. I had no choice but to pull over. I told her if she was going to smoke, she’d have to get out. That’s when she exploded. She screamed and cursed, snapped my phone mount in half, and then dumped the dregs of her bubble tea all over me and the passenger seat. Before I could even react, she ripped open the collar of her own shirt, messed up her hair, and bolted out of the car, screaming for help. A crowd of onlookers, having no idea what was really going on, swarmed my car. They were ready to flip it over. And that’s how I ended up here. Now, my leather interior was probably ruined by sticky tea, and I was stuck listening to her spin this fantasy. “Officer, this man is a menace to society!” Tiffany declared, seeing that I was restrained. She scrambled up from the floor, her stomach miraculously healed. She leaned toward the officer, her voice filled with self-righteous anger. “I’m not interested in mediation. I want him in jail! And he’s going to pay for my emotional distress, lost wages, and defamation. A hundred thousand dollars!” A hundred thousand? She was out of her mind. I let out a cold laugh. “A hundred grand? Why don’t you just rob a bank?” Tiffany pointed at me, her face contorted with rage. “A broke-ass driver like you will never see that much money in your life! If you can’t pay up, you can rot in a cell!” The officer rapped his knuckles on the table impatiently. “That’s enough! Let’s get the story straight. Is there a dashcam in the car?” The mention of the camera gave me a surge of confidence. “Yes. I have a dual-camera system. Everything’s on the memory card.” Tiffany’s expression flickered for a second, but she quickly recovered her arrogant sneer. “He definitely deleted it! He was messing with his phone the whole time in the car!” I ignored her and spoke to the officer. “The card is in the dashcam. You can retrieve it yourselves. I’m innocent, and the footage will prove it.” The officer nodded and sent one of his colleagues out to my impounded car in the lot. Just then, the door to the interview room swung open. A burly man walked in, his arms covered in tattoos and a thick gold chain around his neck. One look at him, and I knew this was about to get a lot worse. 3. “Who? Who the hell messed with my girl?” the man boomed, his voice shaking the small room. Seeing her backup had arrived, Tiffany threw herself into his arms, crying even more hysterically than before. “Spike! It was him! That sicko! He touched me, he tried to force himself on me!” The man, Spike, shot me a murderous glare. He stormed over and raised his hand to strike me. The officer moved fast, stepping between us. “Hey! This is a police station. You want to start something in here?” Spike lowered his hand but jabbed a finger in my direction. “Fine. I won’t touch you while the cops are here. But you just wait, buddy. The second you walk out that door, I’ll fucking end you.” A threat? I don’t respond well to threats. I met his gaze head-on. “Is that so? I guess we’ll see how you manage that.” Spike was clearly taken aback by my defiance. He paused, then broke into a malicious grin. “Tough talk. Honey, tell the officer exactly what this piece of scum did to you. We don’t need his money, we want justice!” With her enforcer by her side, Tiffany’s confidence swelled. “That’s right! He needs to be punished! A hundred thousand was letting you off easy. Now I want two hundred thousand! Not a penny less!” I had to laugh. Were we at a flea market now, haggling over the price of my freedom? “This is extortion,” I said calmly. “Extortion?” Spike slammed his palm on the table. “You put your hands on my woman, you violated her, and you think a little money is too much? In the old days, you would’ve lost that hand!” “Watch your mouth!” the officer barked. “Sit down!” Spike grumbled under his breath and pulled up a chair next to Tiffany. They whispered to each other, shooting venomous looks my way every few seconds. A short while later, the officer who’d gone to my car returned. He was holding my dashcam, a troubled look on his face. “Sergeant, it didn’t record.” “What?” The word escaped my lips before I could stop it. “The memory card’s corrupted. There’s no data on it,” the officer said, shaking his head. My heart plummeted. Corrupted? How could it be? I check my equipment every single day. Hearing this, Tiffany sprang to life. “See! I told you he deleted it! That’s destruction of evidence! Officer, you have to help me!” Spike chimed in. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? If he had nothing to hide, why delete the footage? This guy’s a pro!” The officer’s gaze on me hardened. “Can you explain why the camera failed?” I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. What could I say? That the device just happened to break? Even I wouldn’t buy that excuse. “I didn’t delete anything. Maybe the card was faulty, or…” “Or what?” the officer interrupted. “Right now, there’s no direct evidence to prove your innocence, and the victim is adamant you harassed her. You’re in a very difficult position.” I knew it was more than just difficult. Without the footage, it was my word against hers. A classic he-said, she-said. But I still had one ace up my sleeve. 4. Just as I was about to speak, Tiffany whipped out her phone and started recording me. “You guys, you won’t believe this! This is the pervert driver! He’s still acting all tough at the police station! The officer just said he deleted the dashcam footage! Total guilty conscience!” She narrated as she filmed, shoving the phone right in my face. The officer frowned. “No recording is allowed in here!” Tiffany ignored him, hiding the phone behind her back. “I’m collecting evidence! What if you guys try to cover for him?” Spike backed her up. “Yeah! We’re putting him on blast! Let the whole world see what this creep looks like!” I stared at their ugly, twisted faces, the rage inside me simmering. Fine. You want to put me on blast? You want to blow this up? Let’s play. I took a deep breath, looked directly into her camera, and didn’t try to stop her. “You’re sure you want to post that online?” I asked. Tiffany scoffed. “What, are you scared now? Should’ve thought about that before you acted like a creep! It’s too late to beg. Unless you transfer two hundred grand right now and get on your knees.” Spike stood by with his arms crossed, enjoying the show. “Listen, kid. If you want to settle this quietly, be smart about it. The money comes through, the video disappears. Otherwise, get ready to be ruined online.” Two hundred thousand dollars. The nerve. If I paid them, I’d be admitting guilt. I’d never clear my name. “Post it,” I said. “Let’s see who chickens out.” Tiffany froze. Spike froze. They probably weren’t used to their targets pushing back this hard. “Fine! You’ve got guts!” Tiffany seethed. “I’m posting it right now! Let’s see how you face the world after this!” Right there, in front of the officer, her fingers flew across her phone’s screen. I didn’t have to see it to know she was crafting a sob story full of lies. The officer looked exhausted. These disputes were always the hardest. No evidence, just two conflicting stories. “Alright!” he said, standing up. “Since mediation has failed, we’ll proceed with a formal investigation. You, hand over your ID for registration.” He held out his hand to me again. This was my moment. My trump card. The second I produced my driver’s license, the little ‘F’ printed under ‘Sex’ would shatter their entire story. I reached into my pocket, my fingers closing around the hard plastic card. Just as I was about to pull it out, my phone rang. It was from the ride-share platform. I answered. A cold, robotic voice came from the other end. “Is this Alex Bell? We’ve received a severe passenger complaint. Your account has been permanently suspended.” “Furthermore, due to the serious damage your actions have caused to our company’s reputation, we reserve the right to pursue legal action.” Not even a chance to defend myself. They’d already passed sentence. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the phone. That’s it? They’ve made up their minds? Tiffany saw the look on my face and smirked triumphantly. “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it? Serves you right!” I ended the call and looked down at the license still hidden in my pocket. Suddenly, I changed my mind. If the platform was going to condemn me without a second thought, if this trashy couple wanted to ruin my life online… Then let’s make this storm a hurricane. If I show them my license now, I’ll be cleared, and they’ll get a slap on the wrist. That’s not enough. That’s letting them off too easy. I’m going to let them climb as high as they can, just so I can watch them fall. I’m going to make them pay. So I pulled my hand from my pocket. It was empty. “My license is in the car. I must have missed it.”
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