Bradley glanced toward the people gathered around them.
He could feel the situation slipping beyond his control, and the realization made him more defensive.
BRADLEY: "Everybody needs to step back. This woman is interfering with an official security procedure."
No one moved immediately.
The older man near the courtroom doors looked from Josephine to Bradley.
OLDER MAN: "Officer, I saw what happened."
Bradley turned toward him.
BRADLEY: "Then stay out of it."
OLDER MAN: "You struck her."
BRADLEY: "I said stay out of it."
The man's mouth tightened, but he did not retreat.
Josephine lowered her hand from her cheek. A faint redness was beginning to appear on her skin.
She bent slightly to retrieve one of the papers lying near her shoe.
Bradley watched her, still visibly irritated.
BRADLEY: "Don't move."
Josephine straightened.
JOSEPHINE: "I am picking up my documents."
BRADLEY: "I told you not to move."
JOSEPHINE: "You have already made your position clear. I am not going to argue with you about picking up papers from the floor."
She reached for another sheet.
Bradley moved toward her again.
Several spectators shifted uneasily on the benches. The young attorney finally took out his phone, though he kept it lowered beside his leg.
The woman nearest the wall whispered to the person beside her.
WOMAN: "Someone needs to call a supervisor."
Her companion nodded.
COMPANION: "Someone needs to do something before he hurts her again."
Bradley heard the whispering.
BRADLEY: "There is nothing to discuss here. Everyone can return to what they were doing."
But the spectators had already seen too much to accept the instruction without question.
Josephine gathered the last of her papers and arranged them carefully in her hands. Her fingers were steady, although the expression in her eyes had grown colder.
JOSEPHINE: "I want your name and badge number."
Bradley gave a dismissive shake of his head.
BRADLEY: "You can get that information later."
JOSEPHINE: "No. I am asking you now."
BRADLEY: "And I am telling you that this conversation is over."
JOSEPHINE: "You do not get to decide that simply because you no longer wish to answer my questions."
Bradley stared at her.
The words seemed to strike a nerve. He was accustomed to people backing away when he became forceful, and he had apparently expected the same reaction from this woman.
Instead, she stood in front of him with her documents held against her chest, refusing to accept his attempt to silence her.
BRADLEY: "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
Josephine looked at him for a long moment.
JOSEPHINE: "Perhaps you should ask yourself the same question."
The remark unsettled him, although he concealed it behind another expression of contempt.
BRADLEY: "That's enough."
JOSEPHINE: "I agree. It is enough."
She glanced toward the courtroom doors.
For the first time since the confrontation began, she appeared ready to continue with the business that had brought her there.
Bradley shifted sideways, blocking her path again.
BRADLEY: "You're not going anywhere until I say so."
Josephine stopped.
Her gaze moved from his face to the hand he had placed in her way.
JOSEPHINE: "Move."
The word was quiet, but it carried a weight that made the nearby spectators look at one another.
Bradley did not recognize the significance of that change in her voice. He heard only another refusal to submit.
BRADLEY: "What did you say?"
JOSEPHINE: "I said, move aside."
He stepped closer until there was barely any space between them.
BRADLEY: "You think you can walk in here, disrespect an officer, and then demand whatever you want?"
JOSEPHINE: "I walked into a public courthouse carrying legal documents. You stopped me without explaining why. You grabbed me, struck me, and are now preventing me from continuing down the hallway."
She paused briefly, looking directly at him.
JOSEPHINE: "Those are the facts. Nothing you say will change what happened."
The young attorney raised his phone a little higher.
A second spectator began recording.
Bradley noticed both movements.
BRADLEY: "Put those phones away!"
Neither person immediately complied.
BRADLEY: "This is an official security matter. Put them away!"
YOUNG ATTORNEY: "I'm standing in a public hallway. I can see what happened, and I'm not going to pretend I didn't."
Bradley took one step in his direction.
Josephine immediately spoke.
JOSEPHINE: "Leave him alone."
Bradley turned back toward her.
BRADLEY: "You don't tell me what to do."
JOSEPHINE: "Then stop giving people reasons to question your conduct."
The corridor seemed to grow quieter with every exchange.