"Sit down."
Reed placed the baton across the doorway and kept one hand on it. "You leave this room when I say you leave."
Maya looked at the baton, then met his eyes. "Document this detention correctly, Officer. Every minute of it."
Reed paused before answering. "You should worry less about paperwork and more about following instructions."
"I am following the law. You should start doing the same."
Maya sat down. Not because Reed had intimidated her, but because she had already decided to remember every step he took from that moment forward.
Fifteen minutes earlier, she had entered the Fulton County Courthouse through the staff screening area while officers managed a large demonstration outside. The protest had forced the courthouse to tighten security, and every officer on duty had been told there would be no exceptions that morning.
At the checkpoint, Maya handed Reed her credential. He scanned it. The system rejected it. He tried again and received the same result.
"This badge isn't clearing," Reed said. "Use the public entrance."
"I'm assigned upstairs this morning. Call Judicial Administration and verify my name."
Reed looked at her instead of reaching for the phone. "If you're authorized, the system should show it."
"The system is wrong. Verify it."
"You still need to go through public screening."
"No. You have my name. You have the internal directory, and you have access to Judicial Administration. Use them."
Reed's expression hardened. "My name is Maya Williams. Enter it."
"I heard you."
"Then stop wasting time and verify it."
Maya watched the change in his posture. The failed credential had started as a routine security problem, but Reed was no longer interested in solving it. He was reacting to the fact that she had not immediately obeyed him.
A few yards away, Evelyn Brooks stopped typing at the clerk station. She recognized Maya. Maya saw the recognition immediately. Evelyn looked toward Reed, then toward the nearby supervisor station. For a moment, she appeared ready to step forward. She lowered her eyes instead.
Maya turned back to Reed. "Bring your supervisor here."
"You don't need a supervisor."
"I said bring your supervisor."
"I already told you to leave this area."
"You gave an instruction before completing verification. Correct your mistake."
Reed moved closer. "Ma'am, you're done telling me how to do my job, and you're done pretending procedure means whatever you decide it means."
That drew the attention of Marcus Hail, an attorney walking toward another courtroom with a yellow legal pad tucked under his arm. He did not know Maya, but he had practiced law long enough to recognize when a routine security exchange had crossed into something else.
Reed pointed toward the public corridor. "Last chance. Leave."
Maya remained still. "You have blocked my access, refused verification, and refused a supervisor. If you intend to detain me, say it clearly."
Reed glanced toward the people watching from the hallway. "No, you're not leaving."
Marcus checked the wall clock. It was 8:19. He wrote the time down.
Maya nodded once. "Then this is a detention. Record it that way."
"I'm resolving a security issue."
"You're creating one."
Reed stepped around the checkpoint. "Come with me."
Maya followed without resisting. Marcus watched them move through the corridor. Maya never pulled away, never raised her hands, and never attempted to pass Reed. He wrote another note beneath the time: Woman escorted into restricted security area. No visible resistance.
Reed opened a reinforced door at the end of the corridor. Inside, Maya immediately noticed the table, two chairs, and a surveillance camera mounted near the ceiling. The camera indicator was dark.
She looked directly at it. "That camera is not recording."
"It's under maintenance."
"Then note that before you continue."