Law & Order SVU/Max Headroom

REVENGE

(Author's Note: This takes place in a mixed universe. While the location is primarily SVU, items and terms such as vidicam, credit tubes, and Zik Zak exist within. Also, this is written in British style so there are some stylistic differences, such as the lack of a dot after honorifics such as Mr, Mrs, or Dr .)

CHAPTER ONE:

Jonathan Reys left the Lafayette Grill & Bar after a very satisfying meal and a couple of beers. He would have drank another beer on a Saturday, but this was Sunday night and he had work the next morning.

As he walked down Franklin Street he noticed a bare human leg sticking out from an alley. He ran toward it out of morbid curiosity and nearly vomited at what he saw...

"What have we got here?" Lieutenant Olivia Benson asked in an urgent voice as she hurried into the hospital corridor, meeting up with her colleague Amanda Rollins.

"Rape victim," Amanda told her. "Male. Mid teens. Severely beaten. Broken bones. Internal injuries. Possible brain damage from multiple blows to the head. No ID and no credit tubes."

"Who found him?"

"Man named Reys," Amanda told her. "Was heading to his car from the Lafayette when he saw a leg sticking out of the alley. Said he only checked it out originally out of curiosity."

"Where is he now?" Benson asked.

Amanda pointed at an area of the waiting room where John Reys was sitting watching Edison Carter on Network 23.

"John Reys," Amanda told him, "this is Lieutenant Benson. She'd like to ask you a couple of things about the boy you found."

"Is he okay?" Jonathan asked, his voice concerned.

"He's unconscious," Benson told him. "We don't know if he suffered brain damage or even who he is."

Benson looked up at the TV.

"Why don't you ask Edison Carter to help?" he suggested, watching said reporter on the screen. "He seems to be able to solve any mystery. Maybe he could find out who the victim is?"

Benson looked up at the reporter on the screen. She wanted to point out that Carter's show originated over in London, England. But as she watched, she noticed familiar landmarks behind the reporter. He was apparently in New York.

She remembered that Zik Zak was opening a new restaurant in New York near the area that had once been called the Bowery before it had been converted into a row of restaurants and minimarts.

One of those mini marts had failed to thrive and was now being replaced by one of Zik Zak's Know Chow fast food joints.

Apparently, Edison Carter was in town covering the opening of the restaurant. Well, the Special Victim's Unit had something far more important for him to cover.

Sergeant Odafin Tutuola knocked on the door of the hotel room.

"Edison Carter. This is the police."

Edison threw the door open. "Bryce?" he asked, looking around the detective who stood in the door.

"No. Detective Sergeant Tutuola," the detective corrected him. "Who's Bryce?"

"My coworker and best friend," Edison said. "I went out last night to do a few man-on-the-street interviews. When I came back, he'd gone out. He left a note saying he'd be back shortly. Is he in trouble."

"I don't know," Odafin admitted. "An assault victim was found a few hours ago. He's still unconscious. We found no form of ID on him. I don't know if our John Doe is your Bryce or not.

Edison felt the pain of guilt as he thought of Bryce possibly lying in a hospital bed, badly injured.

"Take me to him," he requested.

"Edison Carter," Lieutenant Benson said as Edison rushed into the hospital with Sergeant Tutuola. "I'm Lieutenant Benson. This is my partner Detective Rollins."

"Where's the kid they brought in?" Edison asked. He needed to find out if it was Bryce as quickly as possible. They could ask questions and do the paperwork later."

"This way," Benson told him as she led him to the hospital room where Bryce had been placed.

Edison walked into the room. His heart sank when he saw Bryce.

Bryce Lynch was lying unconscious on the single bed that was in the room. His head was wrapped in bandages. There was a cast on the lower part of his left arm and another covering his entire right arm. His chest was also wrapped in a cast. Vital monitors beeped steadily as an oxygen mask rested on his face which was bruised around the eyes, one of which was swollen shut.

"Do they know who did this?" Edison asked, his voice full of anger and sadness.

"Not at this time," Benson apologized. "Is this your friend, then?"

Edison nodded.

"Yes. It's him," he answered heavily.

"I know this is hard," Benson told Edison. "But I need to ask you some questions."

"I'll tell you what I can," Edison agreed.

Edison went to the police station with Lieutenant Benson. He followed her into her office.

"Mr Carter, this is Sergeant Tutuola. Sergeant, this is Edison Carter."

"Mr Carter," Odafin said, "you say you know the victim."

"His name is Bryce Lynch. He's my friend and colleague."

"So he does odd jobs for you."

"He actually works at Network 23. He's one of the top graduates from the Academy of Computer Sciences."

"Did he have any enemies? Rivals?" Sgt Tutuola wanted to know. "Assaults of this type of severity usually suggest that the victim was targeted by their attacker."

"You're suggesting that someone wanted to harm Bryce specifically?" Edison felt even worse. Someone had it out for his friend. Or maybe for his entire team."

"The kid's a genius, right?" Odafin asked. "Then some guy decides to rape him and bash his head in. I don't think that's a coincidence. Now think, who do you know who might have a grudge against your friend?"

"The only person who comes to mind isn't a man. Valerie Towne was the head of Security Systems before she was sent to jail following a report I did on her," Edison explained. "She illegally changed my personal info to make it look like I committed credit fraud. I asked Bryce to hack the system and change it back. He wasn't able to, but Max befriended SS's artificial intelligence program, A7, and he was able to convince her to switch it back for me."

"How far did Bryce get when he tried to hack the system?" Odafin wanted to know.

"He got in far enough to get us clearance as housekeepers," Edison admitted. "We got inside and made another attempt. But we got caught and thrown into a thermal testing chamber. A7 released us under Max's request. Otherwise, we both would have died there and then."

"I'll look into this Valerie Towne," Odafin told him. "It's possible she may have hired someone to hit your friend."

"If she did..." Edison snarled, angrily.

"Just leave her to us," Odafin warned. "Your job is to look after your friend. Not to go after his attackers. That's our job."

"I want to be there when they arrest the guy," Edison countered. "I want to see Bryce's attacker brought to justice."

"He will be," Odafin promised.