-Chapter 4-

Bryce glared at the metrocops, but did not lower his sidearm. If he'd noticed Edison, he didn't give any sign.

"Put it down," came the demand again.

Bryce shook his head. "Why should I listen to your requests? Nobody listened to mine!"

One of the metrocops raised his weapon and aimed it at Bryce. Edison watched in horror, unable to stop what was unfolding before him as Bryce raised his sidearm.

"No!" Edison heard himself scream as two shots were fired.

The metrocop fell over with a cry as Bryce collapsed.

Edison wanted to run over to Bryce, but Janie Crane arrived at that moment and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Wait," she told him, fiercely. She didn't know what Bryce's reason was for shooting up the place. But having dealt with the White Brigade, she wasn't too fond of him at the moment.

"Let me go! I have to get to Bryce!" Edison shouted at her.

One of the uninjured metrocops ran over to Bryce and crouched down beside him. Checking the boy's vitals, he looked up. "Just stunned," he said.

Edison's stomach stopped churning and the weight on his mind was lightened, though not entirely lifted.

Ambulances were called and Bryce and the cop he'd wounded were both taken to the

accident center for treatment.

Martinez arrived seconds later in the chopper and soon he and Edison were airborne while Janie Crane headed back to the network on her motorcycle.

Edison bustled his way into the waiting room of the accident center, elbowing past several other reporters who had found out about the shooting moments after the ambulances had arrived.

Rebuffed by several competitors, he slipped into the shadows, taking the opportunity to find out Bryce's location.

Bryce, it turned out, had been shot with a compliance gun. Edison suspected that they wanted to make sure Bryce survived to make an appearance on You The Jury so the families of the deceased could have their say. Not to mention it meant they wouldn't have to watch the Polly Show that evening.

Edison found the room he was being held in and stepped inside.

Bryce was unconscious, hooked up to a number of hospital monitors. HIs vitals seemed fairly normal. Edison suspected they were being used to make sure he stayed put.

"You'll have to leave," the cop guarding the room said. "reporters aren't allowed."

"I'm not here as a reporter," Edison told him. "I'm here as a friend."

"You admit you're a friend of this killer?" the cop glared at Edison.

"I don't turn my back on my friends," Edison said. He looked at Bryce, saw the tear tracks that looked so out of place on his young face. What had caused them, he wondered. What had been so bad that it had caused Bryce to shoot up a diner full of people?

The cop nodded grimly at Edison. He hated this boy who had almost killed his fellow officer. But he could not hate Edison. This was a good man who stood by his friends no matter what. It was a trait he admired, even if the friends in question didn't deserve it.

Bryce opened his eyes and watched them silently for a moment. He hoped they wouldn't notice he had regained consciousness. He had never been so afraid in his life. Not even when he'd nearly frozen to death in that thermal testing chamber at Security Systems.

When Jenny had died, he had felt angry. More angry than he'd even imagined he'd be able to feel. He wasn't sure why he felt that way. He wasn't sure now why he'd taken the gun from the metrocop's holster and had done what he'd done.

But at the time, it felt right. The anger. The gun. The shooting. He had felt vindicated. These people had let Jenny die. They had just sat there eating their food and drinking their beverages. And not one of them had moved to help.

Not even the staff.

"Bryce..." Edison began. "What in hell possessed you to kill all those people?"

Bryce looked away.

"Don't turn away from me, damn it!" Edison swore at him. "Bryce! Do you realize what you've done?! Those people are dead! You murdered them!"

"You don't seem to be shedding too many tears over Jenny," Bryce said, quietly.

"What does she have to do with this?" Edison asked.

"They…" Bryce began. Then he clarified in a hate-filled tone, "those people you're going on about, they let her die. I would've got help myself, but when I tried to leave, she wouldn't let go of me. She was dying, Edison! Asphyxiating! And they just sat there eating as if she didn't matter!"

"And you never learned the Heimlich or…?"

Bryce shook his head. "She wasn't choking, Edison. At least not on food. There was nothing to do the Heimlich for."

"Allergy?" Edison asked.

"She was allergic to peanuts. Maybe they changed to peanut oil?"

"More likely it was added by someone who wasn't paying attention."

"Or can't read," Bryce suggested.

"Or it was deliberate," Edison mused. That was something worth investigating. But it would have to wait.

"Jenny didn't have to die, Edison," Bryce said. "There was a room full of people. Any one of them could've helped."

"And that gave you the right to kill them? Okay, let's say they did deserve to die because of what they did… or didn't do. What about their mothers? What about their aunts… cousins… brothers and sisters… do they deserve to lose them?"

"Did Jenny's family deserve to lose her?" Bryce argued. "I know you want me to feel remorse over this, Edison. I wish I could. I wish I could agree with you that it's a terrible thing that I've taken them from their families. But when I think of what they did… how they just sat there and didn't lift a finger to help… I just keep thinking maybe those families are better off without them."