Leonard Altharez sat upright in the courtroom chair.
His hands were clasped on the table. His face looked calm, but anyone who knew him would have recognized that calm as nothing more than a thin layer covering the chaos in his mind.
The room was unlike an ordinary courtroom.
There was no crowd of reporters. No members of the public. No camera shutters racing to capture images.
Only people with a direct interest in the intelligence operation were present.
At the table across from him, an intelligence judge sat with the Commander-in-Chief and several aides. On the other side, Captain Hendra Hardiyanto sat as a witness alongside several team members who had been at the scene that night.
And in the back row...
Mala.
Ever since entering the room, the woman had kept her eyes on Leonard.
Her gaze was full of hope.
Every so often, her eyes grew glassy. As if she still believed her husband would turn around, give her a little chance, or at least say that everything that had happened could still be fixed.
But Leonard did not look at her at all.
Not even once.
Even when their eyes nearly met, Leonard chose to lower his gaze.
Not because he was afraid.
But because he no longer wanted to look at the woman who had once been his home.
The intelligence judge opened the file in front of him.
"The internal hearing for Leonard Altharez is now called to order."
The room immediately fell silent.
"Mr. Leonard Altharez, you were previously assigned to an operation investigating an illegal drug-trafficking network, with Donny Zack as the primary operation target."
"That's correct, Your Honor."
"And during the operation, you took action against the target outside of procedure."
Leonard drew a breath.
"That's correct."
The judge raised a photograph as evidence.
"The target was found seriously injured after getting into a fight with you."
Leonard said nothing.
Then the security-camera footage began to play.
The room was instantly filled with the sounds of impacts and screams from that night's recording.
No one spoke.
Everyone watched as Leonard attacked Donny in a fit of rage.
Hendra lowered his head.
He knew exactly what had happened.
He also knew how Leonard had worked all this time.
Never careless.
Never abusing his authority.
Never causing trouble during his many years with the unit.
But that night had been different.
That night, Leonard had not been an agent.
He had only been a husband who had just watched his marriage be destroyed right in front of his eyes.
When the recording ended, the judge opened the file again.
"We have also received statements from Captain Hendra Hardiyanto and several members who were at the scene."
Hendra stood.
"That's correct, Your Honor."
"Did Leonard deliberately intend to kill the target?"
Hendra was silent for several seconds.
"I saw no such intent."
"Explain."
"Leonard did attack the target with extreme force. But the situation was out of control. His emotional state was also triggered by unexpected circumstances."
The judge's gaze shifted to Leonard.
"Do you confirm Captain Hendra's statement?"
Leonard nodded.
"I lost control."
That simple answer made the room even quieter.
The judge was about to continue the examination when an aide suddenly approached and whispered something to him.
The judge furrowed his brow.
"Make sure this information is accurate."
"It has been confirmed, Your Honor."
The judge looked around the room again.
"We've just received word from the hospital."
Leonard lifted his face.
A bad feeling immediately seized his chest.
"Donny Zack..."
The judge paused for a moment.
"...has been pronounced dead."