Chapter 5

"I mean it, I'll do it! Everybody just raise your hands reeaall slow-like and stand up!" ordered the ferret as he waved the gun around.

"Please, please don't hurt me! I have a little boy who depends on me!" sobbed the waitress as her make-up ran down her face in streaks.

"Shut it lady, I don't give a crap about your kid! Brody, check these nimrods and take any cash they got!" With a nod, the Komodo dragon began roughly search the other customers. There was a dark haired man in a suit, a male dog with spotted fur, and a female sparrow. They all shook with fear as Brody snatched their belongings and shoved them against the wall of the café. Shadow soon joined them, the blood pounding in his ears as he tried to remain calm.

"Here's the cash." Said Brody gruffly as he threw the collection of wallets and one purse onto a table, "Get this bitch to open the register so we can book it."

Before he could stop himself, Shadow blurted out, "Hey, show a little respect you scumbag!" In less than two steps, Brody crossed the room and socked Shadow hard in the jaw. The ebony hedgehog hit the cold tile and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"I'd stay down pal. That was one of his softer punches. Anybody else got some smart remarks?" jeered the ferret, pointing his gun at the others. The sparrow screamed as the other two shook their heads rapidly. "Didn't think so. Now listen here lady: We're gonna go over to the register and-" CLANG! Everyone froze as the sound of something falling over in the kitchen rang out.

"Ben, there's someone in the back." Hissed Brody.

"No shit! How could you forget to check?! Get back there and bring them up here!" Brody now pulled out his own pistol and headed towards the kitchen doors.

Before he reached them, a human in a chef's uniform jumped out with a knife yelling, "Stay back you criminals! The police are on their way and there's no way you're getting-" BANG! BANG! Everyone's hands flew their ears as both criminals fired their guns.

"AAAHHH!" screamed the waitress and the sparrow as the chef dropped to the ground, dead.

The human in the suit looked as though he might faint as he muttered, "Oh God, we're all going to die…" The spotted dog merely began to shake more as his tail curled up between his legs and his ears flatted against his skull. Shadow pulled himself up with the aid of a table, his mind racing.

'I have to do something.' He thought as he scanned the room, 'I can't just sit here! But what? If that guy was right and the police are coming, they'll leave and get away with it.' The very idea of these crooks getting off scott free from murder and robbery made Shadow's blood boil. Ever since Tails' terrifying experience, Shadow had developed a hatred for anyone who would dare cause pain and fear to those weaker than them just for personal gain. 'If I can just stall them until the police arrive…'

Sirens could be heard in the distance as Ben shoved the leopard waitress towards the cash register, "Open it, NOW!"

"Ok. Ok, just please don't hurt me!" begged the waitress as she fumbled on the touchscreen.

"If you don't hurry up, your kid is gonna be an orphan!"

Leaning on a chair, Shadow taunted, "You coward! You let your stupid friend over here do all the dirty work cause all you have the guts to do is insult some poor, scared, woman!" The other hostages gasped, absolutely horrified as Brody stalked towards Shadow, already pulling back his fist. As the massive lizard threw the punch, Shadow ducked and swung the chair he was leaning on as hard as he could. It struck Brody in the head, knocking him to the floor as it exploded into pieces. As Ben looked over to see what was happening, the waitress took her chance and stomped hard on his foot.

"OOW!" he screeched as the waitress bolted behind Shadow. Ben raised his gun and cocked it, "That's it! I've had enough of this bullshit! Get your ass over here or I'm gonna put a slug in both of you and everyone else here!" The two stayed where they were as the sirens drew ever closer, the ferret lost his patience, "Fine! I hope you like lead than!" BANG!

As the gun went off, Shadow pushed the waitress away but before he could move himself, the bullet grazed the flesh of his right arm, "AH, DAMN IT!" Just before Ben could fire again, a shot rang out from elsewhere and a round struck him in the leg. As he fell to the floor, two police officers ran in, kicked away his gun and cuffed him. Three more officers came and arrested Brody just as he was beginning to come to.

With the robbers apprehended, a medic team came in and made sure that everyone was alright. As a paramedic was cleaning and bandaging Shadow's wound, a police officer walked up, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Shadow the Hedgehog." He replied simply, wincing as some antibiotic was rubbed on the graze.

"Well Shadow, from what the other hostages are telling me, its sounds like you did something extremely brave and extremely stupid. You're lucky you didn't get yourself killed. My guess is you'll be sporting that beauty mark on your face for a while." Pointed out the officer as he gestured to the large bruise spreading over Shadow's cheek.

"I had to do something, they would have gotten away. I couldn't let that happen."

"Yeah well next time, don't be a hero. You're not a cop so don't act like one." With that the police officer walked over to another cop who was taking a statement from the waitress to ask a few questions of his own.

After he was patched up and had given his statement on the events of the robbery, Shadow left the café. It had taken till evening to get everything sorted out and as the sun began dip below the horizon, Shadow Chaos Controlled home.

He appeared in the living room of the house, startling Knuckles who was napping on the couch, "AH! Shadow how many times do I- Whoa, what happened to your face?!" Shadow opened his mouth to explain when the front door swung open.

"What happened to whose face?" asked Sonic as he came in, "Dang Shad, did you get in a fight or something?"

"Not exactly, I-" began Shadow before getting cut off again by Tails coming up from his lab.

"Who's making all that noise? I'm in the middle of a very delicate process! Holy crap Shadow! Where'd you get that huge bruise!?"

The ebony hedgehog sighed, "If you all would give me a chance, I'd tell you!" After everyone had settled down, Shadow regaled them of the unexpected twist to his day.

Knuckles shook his head, "Man, I got to agree with that cop Shadow. That was really stupid thing to do. You should be thanking your lucky stars that crook was a lousy shot."

"Seriously, you could have walked out of there with more than just a bruise or not all!" pointed out Sonic.

Tails nodded in agreement, "We'd all be pretty upset if something happened to you Shadow. That was a good thing you did but you're not a police officer."

Shadow looked at the worried, concerned faces of his housemates as his muzzle flushed from the embarrassment of being scolded and muttered, "I had to do SOMETHING. I wasn't about to let them get away with it…"

Later on, long after everyone else had gone to bed, Shadow was working yet another night at the mattress warehouse. He walked up and down the endless stacks of newly manufactured mattresses shining his flashlight about to see the darker corners better. Having finished his rounds, he returned to the security room. It was relatively tiny room with a long desk that went the length of the space. Lined up on it was a series of monitors connected to cameras scattered throughout the warehouse. Shadow sat down heavily in his chair and put his feet up on the desk, looking at each screen in turn. He twirled his key ring absently as he leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

'I can't get what happened today out of my head… I know I should have been like the other hostages and just gave the thieves what they wanted but… I couldn't let them just get away with it. That waitress was terrified… They had no right to just come in and-' CLINK! Shadow's thoughts were broken as his key ring flew off his finger and landed on the floor. He picked it up and sighed, 'The guys and that officer were right though… I'm lucky to have escaped with minor injury… I could have would up like the cook…' Shadow flinched as he recalled the gun shots, blood and the sound of the cook's body hitting the ground. Thinking of blood and gore that he witnessed called to mind darker occurrences that hit much closer to home. The black hedgehog shook his head viciously to try and chase the thoughts away.

He sighed once more as he rubbed his eyes, "Everyone is right… I'm not a cop." Just then, Shadow was hit with an idea…

Author's Note:

Well, Shadow certainly had Lady Luck on his side today! He's got a good heart though and perhaps this idea of his will bring some good. In any case I'm sorry for my prolonged absence, I've been recovering from surgery. I've got some chapters stocked up though, so as I break this case of writer's block, you guys will still have a little something to read. As always, please read, review, and most of all, enjoy.