MAX HEADROOM: KILLER INSTINCT

-Chapter Three: Uncovering Terror-

"I take it you saw," Edison said to Theora as he hurried into the control room.

"It's horrible," Theora nodded. "Edison I hope Bryce..."

"So do I," Edison agreed, cutting off what he didn't want to hear. "See if you can get a securicam file of his studio. I need to know who was there when this happened."

Theora entered the codes for the files in question into her computer. "Nothing. Somebody deliberately wiped those files. Let me see if I can locate any copies of them with a wide sweep." She entered a new set of codes and frowned. "Nothing. But there may be hope yet. Seems that Bryce got a vu-phone call at about the same time. I'll see if I can put a trace on it."

"You think whoever called might be a witness?"

"It's a possibility, Edison," Theora's eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" Edison asked.

"The call came from Network 66."

"Why would Bryce be getting calls from Network 66?" Edison asked.

"Network employees aren't supposed to contact those who work at rival networks unless they're reporters on the job," Murray added, joining them. "This is going to be very interesting."

Theora tapped in the number on the trace. She half-smiled when she saw the girl on the screen.

"I take it you're one of Bryce's former classmates?" she asked, unthreateningly.

"I am," Jenny replied. "Jenny Wilcox. Miss Jones, I know why you called me."

"Then you saw what happened in Bryce's studio."

"Some of it, but not all," Jenny replied.

"I need to know who kidnapped Bryce and where they took him," Edison said over Theora's shoulder.

Jenny frowned and reached for the disconnect.

"Jenny, please," Edison stopped her. "If you care about Bryce as much as I think you do, at least as a former classmate, then help me find him. You know he's hurt. You know he needs help. Please..."

"It's not what you think, Mr. Carter," Jenny said, darkly, as she disconnected the call.

Edison and Theora exchanged puzzled looks. Murray's eyes, however, widened as a possibility struck him.

"No." he told himself. "No that can't be right. He'd never..."

"What?" Edison asked.

"You can't mean..."

Murray redialed the number and waited with patient anxiety.

"Please..." Jenny said. "I can't..."

"Miss Wilcox, a simple yes or no will suffice," Murray said. "Did Bryce kill Parker?"

Jenny paled and was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her word was barely audible. But it hit Edison like a scream.

"Yes."

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