Max Sheppard was what many people in his profession would call a decent lawyer. While Max lost more cases than he cases than he won, the truth was he took on a lot of cases people would have labeled unwinnable and tried to win them anyway. The fact that he won any of these cases on occasion was only a testament to how awesome the justice system really was. Even if the person he represented was guilty, fighting tooth and nail to beat the rap was Max's way of making sure the rules were followed and the system worked. Everyone was entitled to a fair trial, and this included the poor who were guaranteed representation. Max believed that doing his best to win freedom for even the most vile for of scum not only upheld his rights but at the same time made sure that the convictions would never be overturned for one less reason. No one would ever accuse Max of not being incompetent, so any appeal of attorney misconduct would be squashed rather quickly and literally laughed out of court.

Max had been working as a public defender for over ten years, and after all that time it was hard to find a case that surprised him. He had dealt with all types of people. From the gang bangers who wildly fired at anything that moved during a drive by to the teens who are trying to prevent a small mischief charge from ruining their chances to apply for an ivy league school. He had seen it all but it was this day something new, and it left him puzzled to what exactly was going on. Usually when he received a new case, Max would have access to all information but this time discovery wasn't honored. The only thing attached to the file was a letter from the judge, asking him to meet a the courthouse with himself and a representative from the district attorney's office to discuss the case. Max looked at the file and walked into his boss' office.

"Dave," he called out, "We need to talk."

"What's up Max?" Dave answered without looking back up.

"What the fuck is this?" Max said as he help up the empty folder.

"Oh, that." Dave said, understanding his frustration. "This case is under seal. The judge immediately issued a gag order before it was even assigned. Even I don't know what it's about."

"Why did you give this piece of shit to me then?" Max asked.

"They asked for our best," Dave answered. "This case, whatever it is, could be a potential powder keg. They wanted someone who would take the case on passionately and without prejudice and learn to follow its unique instructions. Considering that, I of course thought of you."

"What the hell is going on?" Max asked.

"I told you, I don't know shit." Dave repeated, "You need to be down to the courthouse later today and find out. The feds are involved so I suggest you make this case your number one priority."

"The feds?" Max repeated out loud. This can't be good, he thought to himself. Usually the only time the feds got involved in anything is if someone died. "I'm supposed to be flying to Nashville with Janet to visit her parents in three weeks. As much as I don't like visiting the in-laws, if my vacation gets cancelled because of this, you'll be hearing from her."

"Noted for the record," Dave said, as he waved him away. "You're the man for this job. I don't trust anyone else not to screw it up."

"Fuck you, Dave." Max said as he left the office. He slapped the file, or what little of it there was onto the desk. He sat down for a few moments and then finally took out his cell phone and dialed it.

A few seconds the line picked up. "Janet; it's Max."

"Hey baby." She replied. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm afraid not." Max replied. "I'm going to miss lunch today."

"What's going on?" she asked. She could sense something was wrong just based on his tone.

"I've been called to the courthouse." Max informed her.

"Are you in trouble?" Janet asked.

"No, I'm being called in for a special case." Max answered, "Dave felt the need to drop it on my lap because this could get very political."

"Are you going to be okay?" his wife inquired.

"I'll be fine once I find out what's going on." Max said as he looked at the clock. "I've got to take off for the courthouse. I'll pick you up after work and we'll hit Wally's for dinner."

"Alright, sounds good." Janet replied, "Love you honey."

"Loves ya too," Max turned off the cell and stuffed it into his pocket. Max wasn't scheduled to be in court today, so he was wearing kakis, sandals and short sleeve dress shirt that bright orange. He wasn't dressed for court but didn't feel like changing because it was boiling outside. The courthouse was only a few blocks away, so Max didn't take the car and just strolled over by foot. Once inside, the guards couldn't help but giggle as he approached the metal detectors.

"I've been called in with no notice," he informed them both, "So give me a break here, guys."

"Alright Mr. Sheppard," The guard said as he did his usual routine. "Have a nice day."

"You too," Max said as he took the stairs to the third floor of the courthouse. Once he was there, he slowly strolled over to the office of one Judge Herbert Jackson. He was an old and very grumpy judge so Max decided not to push the old man around until he realized what kind of case he was going to be working with. As he strolled into the main foyer of the judge's office, his waved to the Judge's secretary.

"Hi there Dee," Max said, "I'm here to see Judge Jackson."

"He's expecting you, go on in." She said as she waved to the door. It was the first time he was immediately let in without getting the third degree first. Usually when Max visited the judge, he was always made to wait outside, like a school kid who did something terrible and was waiting to be seen by the principal. Max softly knocked on the door.

"Come on in." the old raspy voice called out.

Max opened the door and slowly stepped inside. What he saw in there was close to what he was expecting. The sheriff was there, as were a few well dressed members of what was likely the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Max also recognized the person representing the District Attorney, which was none other than the Assistant DA himself, Aaron Willis. He was their go to guy as well, something that was making Max a little nervous. The room was packed full of alphas, which mean this was going to be a brutal case.

"Your honor," Max said as he walked in and took the only empty seat that was left.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Sheppard." The judge said as he took a deep breath. "We apologize for the secrecy but this case is going to be handled behind closed doors, from start to finish."

"Is that even legal?" Max instinctively interrupted. "I mean doesn't the defendant have the right to a fair trial and making that hearing public is a part of that."

"How is holding a closed hearing against that right?" the sheriff suddenly asked, unimpressed by Max's resistance.

"Well, holding any trail secretly isn't fair as they should be transparent to prevent abuse or cover ups." Max replied. "Unless this guy is a part of Al-Qaeda, you can't keep this case under seal."

"You see," The judge said as he grinned. "I told you he was good."

"What the hell is going on here?" Max finally asked.

It was this point where one of the feds, the oldest of them there finally spoke up. "The secrecy being used is actually to protect your client. We are afraid that if the charges were revealed to the public, there might be riots and attempts on his life."

"You mean like a lynch mob mentality?" Max asked.

"Exactly," The judge answered, sighing deeply. "What we have here is what one might call a legal anomaly. I don't think we've ever had a case like this before."

"Let's start off with the basics." Max asked. "Who's my client?"

"That's part of the problem," The judge answered. "We don't know."