The Fist Above Her Chair
Chapter 01 - The Fist Above Her Chair
Rebecca Sloan sat alone in the first row of the county courtroom.
She wore a black suit, white shirt, and low black heels. Her hands rested calmly in her lap while the gallery behind her filled with reporters, police families, and people whose cases depended on what she was about to say.
Officer Mark Rourke entered through the side door.
He was broad-shouldered, red-faced, and still wearing his patrol uniform even though he had been suspended that morning.
Rebecca watched him approach.
The bailiff did not stop him.
Rourke leaned close.
“You should have taken the deal.”
Rebecca did not answer.
He glanced toward the judge’s empty bench.
Then he raised his right arm.
The first punch came fast.
Rebecca stood, turned her shoulder, and redirected his wrist past her face. Rourke stumbled. He swung again.
This time she stepped inside his reach.
One sharp kick struck his chest.
His police cap flew upward.
Rourke fell backward onto the courtroom floor, landing beside the prosecution table as the gallery erupted.
Rebecca remained standing.
She did not chase him.
She did not strike again.
She raised both empty hands and looked toward the courthouse camera mounted above the clerk’s desk.
“Every second was recorded,” she said.
Rourke clutched his chest.
The judge entered through the rear door.
“What happened in my courtroom?”
May you like
Rebecca looked down at the officer who had tried to silence her.
“He just proved why I came.”
