Chapter 6: The Man Holding the Gun
Thomas Reed stood behind Special Agent Elena Brooks with a pistol pointed at the back of her head.
For four years, I had trusted that man with my most sensitive judicial work.
I had watched him argue legal principles with prosecutors twice his age. I had watched him stay overnight preparing emergency injunctions. I had even written a letter recommending him for a prestigious federal appointment.
Now he was standing inside a county detention center, holding a loaded weapon.
"Thomas," I said.
His eyes moved toward me.
"Judge.""
His voice was shaking.
"Put the gun down.""
"I can't.""
"Yes, you can.""
"You don't understand.""
"I understand that you're pointing a firearm at a federal law enforcement officer.""
He swallowed.
"Move away from the table.""
Agent Brooks didn't move.
"Thomas, this is Special Agent Elena Brooks. You're committing a federal felony. Put the weapon down.""
"Shut up!""
He pressed the muzzle closer to her head.
Voss stepped backward.
I noticed it immediately.
The sheriff wasn't surprised to see Thomas.
He was afraid of him.
That told me something important.
Thomas wasn't simply protecting the sheriff.
He was protecting himself.
"Thomas," I said again, "how long have you been working with Dalton Voss?""
His eyes narrowed.
"Long enough.""
"Since before Marcus Price died?""
He looked at Voss.
The sheriff shook his head almost imperceptibly.
That small movement was enough.
Thomas saw it.
And his expression changed.
"You told me nobody would know about Marcus.""
Voss snapped.
"Not now!""
"You said the recording was destroyed!""
"Thomas, shut your mouth.""
Agent Brooks took advantage of the distraction.
She shifted her weight slightly.
Thomas jerked the pistol.
"I said don't move!""
The hallway erupted.
Two FBI agents raised their weapons.
Curtis reached for his own firearm.
Voss shouted something I couldn't understand.
Then a shot exploded.
The sound was deafening.
Agent Brooks dropped to one knee.
Thomas stumbled backward, his gun striking the wall.
A second shot hit the ceiling.
"DROP YOUR WEAPON!""
The FBI agents rushed forward.
Curtis was tackled against the doorframe. Voss was forced face-down onto the floor.
Thomas tried to run.
He made it three steps before an agent drove him into the metal filing cabinet.
His pistol skidded beneath the table.
"Don't move!"" someone shouted.
I stood motionless.
My heart was pounding, but my mind had become strangely quiet.
I watched Thomas being handcuffed.
He turned his head toward me.
"Judge, please.""
I said nothing.
"Please, I can explain.""
Agent Brooks stood, one hand pressed against her shoulder.
"Secure the room!""
Two agents moved toward me.
One checked my cuffs.
"Your Honor, are you injured?""
"My left wrist. The cuffs are too tight.""
He immediately retrieved the key.
The steel opened.
I rubbed the raw skin.
Then I looked at Thomas.
"Why?""
His eyes filled.
"You don't know what they had on me.""
"Then tell the truth.""
He shook his head.
"You think the sheriff was the problem?""
Voss, still pinned to the floor, started shouting.
"Don't listen to him!""
Thomas laughed bitterly.
"You're finished, Dalton.""
Voss twisted against the agent holding him.
"Shut your mouth!""
Thomas looked at me.
"The commissioner wasn't the one giving orders.""
"Who was?""
He glanced toward Agent Brooks.
Then toward the corridor.
"I'll tell you when I'm protected.""
Agent Brooks stepped forward.
"You'll be protected once we establish the scope of your cooperation.""
Thomas laughed.
"That's what they told Marcus.""
Nobody spoke.
Then he added something that changed the entire investigation.
"Marcus wasn't supposed to die.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
"That night, they wanted him to sign a confession. He refused. Voss ordered Curtis to scare him.""
Thomas swallowed.
"Curtis hit him. Marcus fell. They waited too long before calling an ambulance.""
"Why?""
"Because he had already told them about the ledger.""
"What ledger?""
Thomas looked directly at me.
"The one with the payments.""
Agent Brooks turned toward him.
"Payments to whom?""
He closed his eyes.
"Judges. Prosecutors. Law enforcement officials. People who made certain cases disappear.""
A heavy silence settled over the room.
I thought of the sealed investigation.
The missing impound money.
The fabricated traffic stops.
The prisoners who had disappeared into medical wards and returned with broken bones.
This wasn't merely a corrupt sheriff.
It was an organized network.
And somebody had built it carefully enough that people across multiple agencies had been protecting it.
Agent Brooks ordered the flash drive secured.
An FBI technician placed it inside an evidence pouch.
Then she turned to me.
"Your Honor, we need to get you somewhere safe.""
"I need to know whether my chambers have been compromised.""
"We're checking.""
"Who has access to the sealed case files?""
She hesitated.
"That's under investigation.""
"Agent Brooks, I am asking you a direct question.""
She lowered her voice.
"We have reason to believe at least one person in your courthouse has been sharing information with an outside organization.""
"One person?""
"We don't know yet.""
I looked toward Thomas.
He was sitting against the wall, his wrists cuffed.
His face was pale.
"Thomas," I said, "who else was involved?""
He looked up.
"Not here.""
"Why?""
"Because they're listening.""
Agent Brooks glanced at the ceiling camera.
The FBI technician immediately disconnected it.
Thomas leaned forward.
"Judge, remember the sealed motion you received last month?""
I nodded.
"The emergency request for a temporary restraining order involving the Randolph County impound accounts?""
"Yes.""
"That request was copied before it reached your chambers.""
"By whom?""
He shook his head.
"Not me.""
I felt a chill.
"Then who?""
Thomas looked at Agent Brooks.
"Someone with authority to access the federal filing system.""
Agent Brooks stepped closer.
"Name.""
Thomas opened his mouth.
Then a loud explosion shook the building.
The lights went out.
Somebody screamed in the corridor.
Emergency lights flickered red.
Agent Brooks grabbed my arm.
"Down!""
A second explosion sounded near the front entrance.
The hallway filled with smoke.
Through the darkness, I heard a man's voice.
"Get the drive!""
Then gunfire erupted outside.
The FBI agents formed a protective line around me.
One shouted into his radio.
"Emergency! We have an active attack at the detention facility!""
I looked toward the table.
The evidence pouch containing Marcus's recording was gone.
So was the technician who had secured it.
And Thomas Reed was no longer against the wall.
I heard footsteps running toward the rear exit.
Then Thomas's voice echoed from the corridor.
"AMARA! DON'T TRUST THE FEDERAL TEAM!""
I turned toward Agent Brooks.
Her face had gone white.
She reached for her radio.
Before she could speak, a familiar voice came through the darkness.
"Special Agent Brooks, this is Director Harlan. Secure Judge Whitlock immediately.""
May you like
Agent Brooks froze.
Because Thomas had just warned me about the man whose voice was coming through her radio.
