Chapter 16 - The Trap at the Courthouse
Three days later, Arthur walked through the marble-pillared halls of the federal courthouse downtown, his stride deliberate and unyielding. With him walked Hannah and Leo, who wore a crisp new jacket and carried a secure briefcase containing the memory card, the financial ledgers, and the judge's unedited audio confession.
They were scheduled for a closed-door deposition with federal prosecutors, but as they approached the third-floor chambers, the hallway was eerily empty. No armed marshals stood guard at the double doors. The waiting benches were vacant.
"Something’s wrong," Hannah murmured, her hand instinctively dropping to her utility belt. "The security detail was supposed to be stationed right here."
Arthur pushed open the heavy oak doors of the judge's private chambers. Sitting behind the mahogany bench was Judge Thomas Sterling himself, dressed in his full judicial robes, sipping black coffee with an unbothered, chilling smile.
"Ah, Arthur," Judge Sterling said smoothly, gesturing to the empty chairs in front of the bench. "I wondered how long it would take you to find my name in the digital debris. Please, take a seat."
"You recused yourself from this jurisdiction, Sterling," Arthur said, his voice echoing sharply off the high ceilings. "You have no legal authority in this room."
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Judge Sterling chuckled softly, setting his coffee cup down. "Legal authority, Arthur, is simply an agreement between powerful men about who gets to hold the pen. And right now, the federal prosecutor handling your case is currently stuck in an elevator five blocks away with a fabricated bomb threat."
Four private security guards in plainclothes stepped out from the side alcoves, blocking the only exit from the courtroom.
