“Then state the specific violation.”
Harlan caught her forearm.
Nadia twisted enough to prevent him from pulling her closer.
“Release me.”
“Stop resisting.”
“I am moving away from your hand.”
“Stop.”
“Release me.”
The attorney by the bench began recording.
Another person called for courthouse security.
Harlan increased his grip.
Nadia’s briefcase bumped against her leg.
She tried shifting it to her other hand.
Harlan reached toward the case.
“Give me the bag.”
“No.”
He caught the top edge.
Nadia held the handle.
“Officer, that contains confidential materials.”
That sentence made him more suspicious.
“What materials?”
“Release it.”
“What are you carrying?”
“You do not have authorization to read them.”
Harlan pulled.
The brass latch snapped open.
One folder slid partly free.
Nadia tried catching it.
Harlan swatted her arm aside.
The folder opened.
Paper exploded across the polished hallway.
White sheets spun through the air.
Some landed beneath benches.
Others slid almost twenty feet.
People stopped walking.
Nadia stared at the floor.
For the first time, anger became visible on her face.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Anger.
Harlan mistook it for confirmation that he had discovered something.
“What is all this?”
Nadia looked at him.
“Documents you had no right to scatter.”
“You should have complied.”
“You grabbed me.”
“You refused a lawful security check.”
“Lawful based on what?”
“Your behavior.”
“What behavior?”
“Exactly this.”
Nadia looked around at the papers.
Then back at him.
“My papers being on the floor is my behavior?”
Harlan said nothing.
She bent toward one page.
He blocked her.
“Don’t touch anything.”
Nadia slowly straightened.
“Those are mine.”
“Stay where you are.”
“What crime do you believe occurred?”
“You people come in here every day thinking you can talk your way around rules.”
The hallway changed.
Not dramatically.
No one shouted.
But several faces sharpened.
Nadia stared at him.
“You people?”
Harlan realized the phrase was dangerous.
He immediately repaired it.
“People who think being educated means they know better than security.”
Nadia’s expression stayed flat.
“Is that what you meant?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“You clarified.”
Something about the answer unsettled him.
She was not reacting the way he expected.
No yelling.
No pleading.
No announcement of status.
Just questions.
Harlan stepped closer again.
“You think this is some kind of game?”
“No.”
“You’ve been disrespectful from the second I stopped you.”
Nadia looked directly into his eyes.
“You asked where I was going.”
“I answered.”
“You asked for my visitor pass.”
“I showed it.”
“You asked to search a bag that had already been screened.”
“I declined.”