In the front row sat Kendrick and Serena Voss, looking impeccable in tailored suits. They weren't just witnesses. They were the architects of Bryce's downfall. Behind them sat the national press. The story had gone nuclear.
The dashcam footage, the very footage Bryce had hoped to use to frame them, had been leaked. YouTube had it. Twitter had it. Millions of people had watched Bryce Callahan sneer, "Don't get smart with me, boy." to a decorated federal agent. The comment section was a graveyard of Bryce's reputation.
He was the most hated man in America. "All rise." the bailiff intoned. The Honorable Judge Evelyn Vance swept in. She was known as the Scalpel for her ability to cut through legal nonsense. She didn't tolerate theatrics.
Bryce's lawyer was a court-appointed public defender named Mr. Finch. Bryce had tried to hire Langley, the personal injury lawyer he had protected for years, but Langley wasn't answering calls. "Mr. Finch." Judge Vance said, adjusting her glasses. "We are here for the suppression hearing.
You are arguing that the dashcam footage should be inadmissible." "Yes, Your Honor." Finch said sweating. "My client argues that the audio was altered, that he never used racial slurs, and that Agent Voss provoked the confrontation to entrap a local officer." Judge Vance looked over her glasses at the prosecution table.
Serena Voss stood up. She wasn't prosecuting this specific case. That would be a conflict of interest, but she was assisting the U.S. Attorney David Ross. "Your Honor." Ross said standing.
"We have the metadata from the SD card. We have the independent verification from the FBI's digital forensics lab. And we have a surprise witness who can speak to the authenticity of Mr. Callahan's behavior." Bryce frowned. "Witness who?"
"Call Arthur Langley to the stand." Ross said. Bryce's heart stopped. Langley. The back doors opened and Arthur Langley walked in.
He didn't look like the confident billboard lawyer anymore. He looked shrunken. He was wearing a wiretap device that had been removed, but he was clearly cooperating. He avoided looking at Bryce entirely. Langley took the stand.
He was sworn in. "Mr. Langley." Ross began. "Do you know the defendant?" "Yes."
Langley said quietly. "That's Bryce Callahan. He was on my payroll for seven years." A gasp rippled through the gallery. Bryce gripped the table.
"You rat! You dirty rat!" "And what did you pay Mr. Callahan to do?" Ross asked. "To target out-of-towners?"
Langley admitted, his voice trembling. "Specifically people driving expensive cars who looked like they might have insurance. He would pull them over, harass them, maybe rough them up. Then I'd send a runner to the jail to offer them my legal services to sue the city. We'd settle out of court and Bryce and I would split the settlement money.
It was a churn-and-burn scam." "And did Mr. Callahan have a preference for who he targeted?" Ross asked. Langley hesitated. Then he looked at Kendrick Voss in the front row.
"He targeted Black drivers." Langley whispered. "He said they were easier to scare. He said the juries in Pine Creek wouldn't believe them over a white cop." The courtroom erupted.