"Leave your badge with the clerk on your way out," the Judge commanded, his eyes still fixed on the paperwork, completely erasing the trembling deputy from his reality. "And do not ever step foot in my sanctuary again."
The bailiff, entirely broken and stripped of his unearned power, unpinned the metal star from his chest with trembling fingers. He placed it silently on the clerk's desk and turned away, a ghost in a midnight navy uniform, disappearing through the heavy oak doors.
Judge Bennett turned the page of his docket, the warm light of the courtroom settling back into a peaceful, unbroken silence.