“Not now,” Willison said curtly. The girl looked perturbed. Willison went over to the guard window. “Hey, what’s the story with the kid?”

“That’s Kelsey.”

“So I heard. W'hat’s she doing here?”

“Her mom is one of the owners. She comes here every now and then. The dog is her bodyguard.”

“A bodyguard? Inside the compound?”

“Everywhere she goes, I guess. She has class-C access.”

“How in hell did a little kid—?”

“Hey, mister?” the girl asked. She was back again, a look of determination in her eyes. “Can I please see your badge?”

“No, you cannot,” Willison replied.

“But I said ‘please.’ My mommy said I have to be more polite, and when I’m more polite, I get more things.”

“She’s right, but you still can’t see my badge," Willison said sternly.

“But I said ‘please.’ ”

“I said no.”

“Pul-leese?” She stopped asking and was whining now.

“No!” Willison barked. His kids were grown, but when they were even younger than this girl, they learned respect. “Now go sit down over there.”

“You can’t make me. You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not the boss of me!”

Willison turned again to the guard. “Where’s her mother?”

“Somewhere in the facility. She goes with her kid when they’re getting ready to leave, but then she usually gets waylaid and sends the kid on ahead. We usually end up picking her up in the break room and escorting her here.”

“My mom won’t like you telling me what to do,” the girl said.

“I don’t care. Now go sit down.”

“Just let me please see your badge? I promise I won’t hurt it or get it dirty.”

“For the fourth time, I said no.”

Suddenly the girl reached over and actually tried to pull the badge case from his inside jacket pocket. Willison practically leapt backward in surprise. The other agents were suppressing amused snickers at the girl’s persistence and Willison’s mounting aggravation. The girl actually managed to get two little fingers on the badge holder and was pulling it out of his breast pocket. Willison heard a faint ripping and realized she was taking most of his breast pocket with her. “Hey! Watch it!” he shouted, louder than he intended.