Chapter 5 - The Disintegration of David Vance
By 8:00 AM on Boxing Day, David Vance sat in a cold, windowless interrogation room at the Federal Building in downtown D.C.
His four-thousand-dollar suit was ruined, stained with sweat, grease, and dried food. His hair was wildly unkempt, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. He had been held in solitary holding for nine hours without access to a phone or a mirror.
The heavy steel door clicked open.
David jumped up from his metal chair. "Finally! I demand to see my legal counsel! I have been held here illegally for hours! You have no jurisdiction over a civil domestic issue!"
A tall, middle-aged woman with sharp gray hair and a navy-blue suit walked in, carrying a thin manila folder. She didn't sit down. She stood across the metal table, looking at David as if he were a bug under a microscope.
"Sit down, Mr. Vance," she said flatly.
"Who are you?!" David demanded, slamming his fist on the table. "I am a senior associate at Sterling, Vance & Howard! Do you know who my clients are?!"
"I am Special Agent Sarah Hayes, Federal Bureau of Investigation," the woman replied smoothly, opening the file. "And as for your firm... you are no longer a senior associate. At 6:00 AM today, the executive board of Sterling, Vance & Howard held an emergency meeting and unanimously terminated your employment effective immediately."
David’s breath caught in his throat. "W-what? No. Richard Sterling wouldn't do that. He’s my mentor!"
"Mr. Sterling is currently being questioned by federal auditors in New York," Agent Hayes continued, pulling out a sheet of paper. "Your firm’s malpractice insurance policy was revoked three hours ago after the insurance underwriters learned that you used firm resources to conduct illegal background checks on a Supreme Court Justice’s family."
"I didn't know!" David shouted, his hands shaking violently as he gripped the edge of the table. "She never told me! She lied to me! She pretended to have nobody!"
"She didn't lie, Mr. Vance," Agent Hayes corrected him coldly. "She simply didn't share her father’s identity with a man who spent three years emotionally abusing her. That wasn't a crime. But what you did last night was."
She pushed three sheets of paper across the metal table.
"These are your formal charges," Agent Hayes declared. "Count One: Federal Obstruction of Justice. Count Two: Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, through your collusion with Sheriff Miller to suppress emergency medical response. Count Three: Tampering with Evidence, for destroying Anna Montgomery’s mobile device. Count Four: Accomplice to Aggravated Assault Resulting in Great Bodily Harm."
David stared at the black ink on the white paper. His eyes darted across the words, his legal mind frantically trying to find a loop-hole, a procedural flaw, a motion to dismiss.
"This... this is ridiculous!" David stammered, his voice rising into a panicky pitch. "These are state charges at best! A domestic dispute between a husband and wife! A judge will throw this out in preliminary hearings!"
Agent Hayes leaned over the table, her shadow falling over David’s pale face.
"Which judge do you think will hear your preliminary motion, David?" she asked with a dark, mocking smile. "District Judge Miller? He was recused an hour ago. Judge Evans? Recused. Judge Rodriguez? Recused. Every federal judge in this circuit has recused themselves due to conflicts of interest involving Chief Justice Montgomery."
David’s throat went bone-dry. "Then who... who is assigned?"
"Senior District Judge Harold Vance—no relation to you, fortunately," Agent Hayes smirked. "He’s seventy-eight years old, spent twenty years on the bench, and was nominated by Chief Justice Montgomery thirty years ago. He just signed the order denying you bail."
"No bail?!" David shrieked, standing up so fast his chair fell backward with a loud CLANG. "You can't hold me without bail! I am a member of the Bar!"
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"Not anymore," Agent Hayes replied, picking up her folder. "The State Bar Association initiated emergency disbarment proceedings at 7:30 AM. Your license to practice law is officially suspended pending trial. Welcome to the other side of the legal system, Mr. Vance. It’s not as accommodating when you’re the one in handcuffs."
She turned and walked out of the room, leaving David standing alone in the cold cell, staring at his reflection in the two-way mirror, his legal career, his status, and his freedom vanishing into thin air.
