Reed gripped the baton but did not raise it. "You think being difficult is going to help you?"
"I think accuracy is going to matter."
Outside, Marcus saw Reed leave the room again and walk toward the security desk. He noticed that Reed still had the baton in his hand. Marcus looked at the wall clock and wrote another time beneath his first note.
He had no intention of becoming part of the confrontation, but he also had no intention of forgetting what he had seen. Years in court had taught him that official reports could become the accepted version of events if nobody else created a record early enough.
A security officer approached him. "Sir, you need to keep this corridor clear."
Marcus closed his legal pad. "I'm waiting for a hearing."
"Then wait by the elevators."
Marcus nodded and moved several steps away. He stayed close enough to see the security desk without challenging the instruction.
Reed sat at the computer and opened an incident form. He typed Maya Williams into the subject field. Then he began describing the encounter.
Maya could not see the screen from inside the room, but she watched his position through the narrow window in the door. She saw him type for several minutes without calling anyone. That told her enough. He was documenting before verifying.
Evelyn noticed the same thing. She stood from her station and carried a stack of folders toward another clerk desk. The route took her closer to Reed.
He looked up. "You need something?"
"No."
"Then stay out of the security area."
Evelyn stopped. She could have said the words immediately: That woman is Judge Maya Williams. Instead, she nodded.
"All right."
She continued walking. Maya saw her pass the window. This time, Maya did not look away. Evelyn met her eyes for a second and kept moving.
Reed returned to the room with a printed form in one hand. "You refused repeated instructions at the checkpoint."
"I complied with screening. I refused your inaccurate conclusion."
"You were told to leave the restricted area."
"I told you to verify my authorization."
"You became confrontational."
"I became direct after you stopped following procedure."
Reed placed the paper on the table. "You tried to move past me."
Maya looked at him. "No. I stepped toward a door you were blocking after you refused to call your supervisor."
"You advanced toward an officer."
"You moved a baton into the doorway."
"That was a control measure."
"That was intimidation."
Reed's voice dropped. "You don't get to define what happened."
Maya leaned forward slightly. "Neither do you by yourself."
For the first time, Reed looked uncertain. The uncertainty lasted only a second. He picked up the form and turned toward the door.
Maya continued, "Put every word you just said in writing. Include the failed badge scan. Include my request for verification. Include my request for your supervisor. Include the baton."
Reed stopped. "You think you're giving me instructions now?"
"I'm telling you what the record will need."
He turned back toward her. "You really believe somebody is going to care about your version?"
"They'll care about the parts that can be checked."
That answer bothered him more than anger would have. Reed left the room and shut the door. He walked back to the security desk, pulled up the incident report, and continued typing.
Marcus watched him from near the elevators. Evelyn watched from the clerk station. Maya watched through the narrow window. None of them spoke to one another, but all three could see the same problem developing. Reed was writing a version of the morning before he had completed the most basic verification.
Then his radio came alive.