The police felt sorry for the poor old woman who was illegally selling goods on the street — but when one of the officers bent down to take a closer look at the vegetables, the woman was immediately arrested

As the heavy steel door clicked open, a sudden, sharp rapping sound echoed loudly from the front foyer downstairs, followed instantly by the heavy, authoritative pounding of boots against the marble entryway. Arthur froze, his breath catching in his throat, the passport slipping from his trembling fingers to land softly on the carpet. He crept silently to the open study door, peering down the grand curved staircase into the foyer below. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass double doors of his front entrance, illuminated by the flashing red and blue strobe lights of half a dozen unmarked federal vehicles blocking his circular driveway, stood Special Agent David Thorne, flanked by four heavily armed tactical agents in full tactical gear. Beside them, holding a freshly printed federal search and seizure warrant signed by a district judge less than ten minutes prior, stood Assistant United States Attorney Mara Ellison, her expression carved from absolute, unyielding granite. “Arthur Sterling Jr.!” Thorne’s amplified voice boomed loudly through the intercom system mounted near the front door, echoing through the cavernous estate. “Open the door! You are under federal arrest pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States District Court!” Arthur staggered backward into his study, his face completely drained of color, his knees shaking so violently he had to grab onto the edge of his mahogany desk to keep from collapsing onto the floor. The game was over. The fortress had fallen.