"Trying to stretch it to twenty," I said.
Patricia rose. "Mr. Reed, my client is deeply traumatized by your reckless actions."
Donna interrupted, "Save it for the judge, counselor. He's not in yet."
Patricia bristled. Skyler whispered something in her ear.
Donna leaned toward me. "She's going to overplay this. Watch."
She was right. When the judge entered—a gray-haired man named Judge Halbrook with the patience of a glacier—Skyler launched into her opening statement like a martyr auditioning for sainthood.
"Your Honor, I was simply ensuring the safety and accessibility of our community when Mr. Reed's weaponized boat entrapped me on the lake! I was terrified, dizzy... I could have drowned!"
Halbrook adjusted his glasses. "Was there any water in the boat, Ms. Campbell?"
She hesitated. "No, but the possibility—"
"Did the defendant at any point threaten you physically or verbally?"
"No, but he engineered a trap!"
Halbrook sighed. "Continue."
She did, for twenty straight minutes. Words like "trauma," "intimidation," and "technological ambush" flew across the courtroom like confetti. Patricia nodded solemnly at each one, occasionally shooting me a glare so intense it could have been entered as evidence.
When it was finally Donna's turn, she stood, walked to the podium, and pressed play on a small tablet. The courtroom speakers came alive with crystal-clear audio:
Boat System: "Access Denied. Auto-Nav Mode Enabled."