South District Federal Detention Center, New York. 9:47 AM.
Noah Brennan stood in front of the security scanner, dumping his belt, wallet, and phone into a plastic bin.
The metal detector let out a BEEP.
"Sir, if you could please—"
"It's the prosthetic," Noah said before the security officer could finish. 'It's always like this. Hey, I'm Noah Brennan. I'm missing a leg. Thanks for your attention, everyone, come and get a look at me.'
The officer's expression shifted from wary to awkward, finally settling on an oddly over-enthusiastic tone. "Go on through, sir. Have a pleasant day." 'Pleasant my ass.'
Noah limped through the security checkpoint and threaded his belt back through his pants loops. 'Yeah, you have a pleasant day too. Hope you work in this detention center until you retire, kid.'
