“Yes.”
“I answered where I’m going.”
“Barely.”
“I showed you the access label.”
“You flashed something.”
“It is still visible.”
“Hand it over.”
Nadia paused.
Then asked the question that changed the tone.
“Am I detained?”
Harlan’s jaw tightened.
“Why do people always ask that when they have nothing to hide?”
Nadia almost smiled.
Almost.
“That is not an answer.”
Harlan stepped closer.
“I’m conducting a security check.”
“Am I detained?”
“Stay right here.”
Nadia nodded once.
“So yes.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You just ordered me not to leave.”
Harlan looked toward the watching attorneys.
He felt the interaction slipping.
The easiest resolution existed directly in front of him.
Call downstairs.
Read the badge.
Ask conference room staff to confirm her appointment.
Instead, he interpreted Nadia’s precision as defiance.
“Give me identification.”
“My visitor credential was verified downstairs.”
“Government ID.”
“For what legal purpose?”
Harlan laughed once.
“Legal purpose?”
“Yes.”
“You’re in a courthouse.”
“So are you.”
Several people reacted quietly.
That irritated him.
“Open the briefcase.”
Nadia became still.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It was screened downstairs.”
“I didn’t screen it.”
“That doesn’t restart the process.”
“Open it.”
“No.”
Harlan stepped into her path.
Nadia did not move.
“Officer.”
“What?”
“Call your supervisor.”
His face changed.
“You do not get to demand my supervisor because you don’t like security procedures.”
“I am requesting one because you are attempting a second search of a screened bag without giving me a reason.”
“Reason?”
Harlan pointed down the corridor.
“You’re walking around a restricted floor with a concealed visitor pass and refusing basic instructions.”
“This hallway is public access.”
“How would you know?”
The question landed differently.
Nadia looked at him for a second.
Then:
“Because I checked.”
Harlan heard arrogance.
Nadia heard confirmation.
“You think you know everything?”
“No.”
She looked at the nameplate.
“Officer Harlan.”
His body-camera light blinked red.
“Badge 417?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Why are you memorizing my badge number?”
“I’m reading it.”
“Give me your ID.”
“No.”
That was where Derek Harlan’s account later said Nadia “became openly noncompliant.”
Video showed something quieter.
She stood.
Briefcase at her side.
One hand empty.
Voice level.
No attempt to run.
No threat.
No movement toward him.
Harlan reached for her left wrist.
Nadia pulled back.
“Do not touch me.”
“You’re being detained.”
“For what?”
“Failure to comply with courthouse security.”