Chapter 41 – The Turning Point
Southern District Court of New York
Room 11B – Monday, 8:45 AM
The air in the courtroom was charged. Judge Robert M. Ellerby, known for his impenetrable expression and precise technical rulings, was already in place. In the background, the coat of arms of the United States Justice Department seemed to watch over everything like a sentinel.
Rachel, dressed in a dark blue blazer, sat to Logan's left, files neatly arranged before her. Her eyes swept the room, taking in every detail the whispers of the legal reporters, the glances of the DOJ staff, and, in the center, Nicholas Kane himself, the client accused of espionage and treason against the United States.
Kane was pale but composed. He trusted Logan. They all did.
Logan, with his tailored dark gray suit and an unflappable expression, carefully organized the documents in front of him. But his eyes, calm, were attentive to everything.
— Are you ready? — Rachel whispered, almost silently.
Logan looked at her kindly and said simply:
— I was born ready for this.
09:00 — Hearing begins
The judge gently banged his gavel.
— Court in session. Preliminary hearing to evaluate the merits of the charges against Nicholas Kane. Representing the government, we have Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Hanover, and for the defense, Dr. Logan Moore of Pearson Hardman.
Elizabeth, a stiff, middle-aged woman, walked to the stand with confidence.
— Your Honor, the United States government alleges that Mr. Kane violated the terms of confidentiality by sharing strategic information with a foreign entity through unauthorized channels, receiving illicit payments in return. We present the bank statements, suspicious communications, and technical reports.
She handed out folders. The judge received his copy with a simple nod.
— Mr. Moore, is the defense ready?
Logan stood up, adjusting his jacket with almost military precision.
"Yes, Your Honor. And we respectfully ask that you present documents that were not included in the prosecution's records."
Elizabeth became irritated.
"Your Honor, this is a ploy…"
"Your Honor, these documents are directly linked to the alleged financial movement and the real identity of the company that allegedly received the documents. Ignoring them would be a serious technical omission," Logan argued, without changing his tone.
The judge flipped through the first pages.
"Approved. Continue, Dr. Moore."
Logan walked slowly to the center of the room. His voice was firm, measured, intentional. Each word seemed calculated.
"Your Honor, the government has built its case on a narrative that is logical at first glance, but fragile upon analysis. They believe that Mr. Kane received $2.4 million in an offshore account in exchange for sensitive technology for a foreign nation. This is a very serious accusation. And if it were true, it would be unforgivable.
Pause. He looked directly at the judge, then at Elizabeth.
"But that's not the case here."
Rachel watched, her heart racing. Logan wasn't just arguing. He was deconstructing the reality presented.
"We discovered that the offshore account used for the alleged payment also made a transaction of identical value exact to the penny to a NATO-approved Israeli company two days later. What's more, that company, ElNav Systems, was in talks with Kane's company for a joint radar project. This was documented in contracts, meeting minutes, and email exchanges all now filed in this hearing."
Logan slid the documents to the judicial assistant, who handed them to the judge.
Rachel was impressed.
Rachel watched Elizabeth Hanover's face contort. She saw the judge leaf through the report carefully.
"Mike never told me it was like this…" she muttered to herself.
Logan continued.
— As for the communications presented as evidence of "criminal intent," we reviewed 127 emails from Nicholas Kane's inbox and outbox. The words cited as suspicious "integration," "migration," "core replacement" were found in more than 600 other technical emails between engineers, including meetings with the Pentagon.
"What are you saying, Dr. Moore?" the judge asked.
Logan smiled briefly.
"That these words are part of the everyday language of software development and cyber defense. They're taken out of context to sound criminal."
At this point, everyone in the room was silent. One of the DOJ staff members was typing furiously on his laptop. The prosecutor was visibly shaken. Rachel could feel the weight of what was happening. This was no simple hearing. This was a public and meticulous demolition of the government's case.
Logan called, with prior permission, an engineer who had worked with Kane and who had confirmed the contracts with ElNav System and the intention of international cooperation with the approval of the Department of Commerce.
"Did the government know about this cooperation?" Logan asked.
"Yes, it did. We even reported it in a quarterly report."
Elizabeth tried to object, but the judge wouldn't let her.
After two hours of presentation and presentation of evidence, Logan approached the center of the courtroom again.
"Your Honor, the United States government charged a man based on a biased reading of data. What happened here was a failure of communication between agencies and a hasty attempt to dispense justice without considering all the facts."
He paused.
"I ask that this charge be dismissed for lack of concrete evidence and for violation of due process. The DOJ needs more than suppositions to destroy a man's reputation."
Judge's decision
The judge took a deep breath.
— After reviewing the documents presented by the defense, as well as the testimony and inconsistencies in the government's evidence... this Court finds no grounds to pursue the charges of treason and espionage. The case will be dismissed. Nicholas Kane is acquitted of all charges.
A brutal silence. And then, murmurs.
After the hearing — in the courthouse hallways
Rachel walked beside Logan. She held the folders against her chest, still shocked.
— I... I've never seen anything like it. You didn't just defend a client, Logan. You dismantled an entire government operation calmly, with facts. Without raising your voice. It was... inspiring.
Logan smiled, without arrogance.
— Law is not war. It's chess. And if you know how to play... you never have to shout.
Later — Pearson Hardman
Jessica greeted them with a discreet smile.
— You were perfect, Logan. You know that, right?
He just nodded.
Rachel, still with the impact in her eyes, said:
"I want to be like him."
Jessica looked at her with pride.
"Then stay close. And learn."
As the city returned to its usual rhythm, Logan returned to his office. Alone, he sat down, looked out the window and took a deep breath.
Another battle won. Another injustice avoided.
And only the beginning.
Chapter 42 – Break Room Revelations
Pearson Hardman – Break Room, Tuesday Morning
The smell of fresh coffee still filled the air. The sound of the espresso machine's grinder hummed softly, and the soft light streaming through the windows reflected off the marble surfaces of the room, creating a contrast to the hustle and bustle of most of the associates on the floor.
But in this quiet corner of the firm, Rachel Zane sat with a cup of coffee in her hands, leaning on one of the high stools in the break room. Her eyes were slightly puffy with fatigue, but they shone with something else: wonder.
Mike Ross appeared shortly after, his hair still a little damp he had clearly been late and an embarrassed smile on his face.
"Hey. I need some coffee before I ask any questions."
Rachel smiled, offering the seat next to her. Then Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen entered, as if they had sensed the mood of the conversation that was about to take place. Harvey, always with his perfectly aligned suit jacket, leaned against the counter, while Donna went straight to the machine.
"You're talking about Logan, right?" Donna asked without even waiting for an answer.
"Did you see what he did yesterday?" Rachel asked, raising her eyebrows at everyone.
"We know he won the hearing. And that the DOJ got screwed," Mike replied, blowing on his hot coffee.
Harvey crossed his arms.
"The case was classified. All we knew was that it involved espionage and a federal contract."
"Yeah," Rachel said, her voice lower. "But what he did there... you have no idea. It was a lesson. Not just in criminal law, but in strategy, in posture, in how to deconstruct a dangerous narrative without losing your composure for a second."
Mike tilted his head, curious.
"Okay, now tell us. Tell us everything." Rachel narrates the behind-the-scenes story
She took a deep breath, trying to sort out the details.
"The DOJ was accusing our client, Nicholas Kane, CEO of CyranTech, of selling confidential data to an enemy nation. They had evidence: suspicious bank transfers, ambiguous emails, and everything seemed to point to him."
"That sounds solid," Harvey said.
"That's what they wanted it to look like," Rachel replied. "But Logan asked to review every document. He stayed up all night. I saw it. He didn't accept any premise without question."
"And what did he find?" Mike asked, his eyes wide.
"The bank account that the DOJ said was part of the espionage payment had sent the same amount two days later to an Israeli company approved by NATO. That company was in talks with CyranTech for a radar project. They had meetings, technical emails, contracts. Everything approved by the Department of Commerce."
Donna frowned.
— Wait. The government was charging a man for doing something they themselves approved?
"Exactly. And on top of that, the "suspicious words" in the emails—like "core integration" and "layer migration" were part of the technical jargon used by cyber defense engineers. Logan had compared them to over 600 similar emails and proven that nothing in them was illegal."
Mike whistled, impressed.
"That's… counterintelligence level. He didn't just defend the guy—he defused the entire bomb."
"And without raising his voice," Rachel said. "He dismantled the prosecution as calmly as he drinks coffee."
Harvey finally moved, pulling out the chair next to him.
"This guy… he seems to have an internal switch that turns off the chaos around him. Every time I see him, he seems three steps ahead of everyone else."
Donna shook her head, smiling.
"And he's never arrogant." He just is.
"The judge dismissed the case at the preliminary hearing," Rachel added. "He said the DOJ didn't have enough grounds to go forward. You should have seen the prosecutor's face. She was trying to hold her ground, but… Logan cornered her with facts. He knew exactly what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth.
Mike was still prosecuting.
"Dude, this was his first case here, right?"
"As a full-time attorney, yes. But he'd been consulting the firm for years. Only this time, he was the name on the case."
Harvey looked at Rachel with that look of someone who recognized talent—not just Logan's, but hers as well.
"What about you? What was it like working with him?"
Rachel hesitated for a moment, then smiled sincerely.
"It was… intense. He challenges you to think. But he also teaches. He trusts, even when he knows more than everyone else in the room. He let me lead parts of the case, review documents with freedom." He treated me as an equal. And he even corrected my notes," she laughed.
Donna gave a motherly smile.
"I bet you learned more from him in a week than you learned from Louis in months."
Rachel bit her lip to keep from laughing, but nodded.
"Yes."
Mike looks thoughtful
Mike, usually playful, was more serious.
"Rachel, have you ever thought... like, what did this guy see? I mean, he worked with the DOD for seventeen years. That's not just reading paperwork. He handled SOCOM and JSOC reports after 9/11. He's seen things. And yet... he's so grounded.
"I've thought about it," Rachel said. "A lot of times. And I think that's why he seems so calm. He's seen the world fall apart from the inside. So now, when chaos hits here, he just does what he's always done: fixes it."
Harvey nodded slowly.
"He's not just any lawyer. He's a man of war. Only his war is with words."
They were all silent for a few seconds. The conversation had enveloped them in a space of wonder, learning, and in a way, even reverence.
Rachel looked at each of them in turn.
"I just wanted you to know. Because he won't tell. He never makes a fuss." But yesterday... yesterday I watched Logan Moore, the man the DOD trusted with TS/SCI access, dismantle a federal indictment in less than 12 words per paragraph. And I'll never look at criminal law the same way again.
Mike squeezed her shoulder affectionately.
"And now you know what you want to do, right?"
Rachel smiled, her eyes shining.
"I want to work in criminal law. And if possible... with him."
Donna patted Harvey on the shoulder.
"Looks like our office finally has someone who can make Harvey sweat a little."
Harvey laughed.
"I doubt it. But... I like the game."
Outside, the city continued its rhythm. Cars honked, people crossed the sidewalks in their own worlds. But inside, at Pearson Hardman, something had changed.
Logan Moore was no longer just a legend who showed up occasionally. Now he was a household name. And most important, he had left his mark.
And Rachel Zane, sitting there with her colleagues and friends, knew in that moment that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
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