Chapter 3 - The Interrogation Room
By 6:00 PM, the central police station was locked down like a fortress.
The incident had already begun to leak across school group chats, but Chief Vance’s internal affairs and cybercrime divisions had moved with terrifying efficiency. Every phone belonging to the four boys had been impounded under a judge's emergency warrant within thirty minutes of their arrest.
In Interrogation Room B, Jason sat under the harsh blue glare of fluorescent lights. His varsity jacket had been taken as evidence, leaving him in a thin, mud-stained t-shirt. The handcuffs binding his wrists to a metal loop anchored in the center of the table clinked softly every time his hands shook—which was continuously.
Sitting across from him was his father, Richard Hayes—a wealthy, high-powered corporate attorney wearing a three-piece suit that cost more than most people made in two months. Richard was furiously tapping his gold pen against a leather briefcase, his face pale with a mix of fury and panic.
"Shut your mouth, Jason," Richard snapped in a harsh whisper. "Don't say another word until I see the formal charge sheet. I’ve already left three messages for the District Attorney. This is an overreach! A local dispute between high school kids being treated like an act of terrorism because Vance’s daughter happens to be involved!"
The heavy steel door clicked and swung open.
Chief Vance walked in, accompanied by Detective Sarah Reyes—a sharp, uncompromising detective from the Major Crimes Division. Vance carried a thick manila folder, which he placed gently on the metal table before sitting down opposite Richard Hayes.
"Chief Vance," Richard began immediately, putting on his best courtroom posture. "This entire situation is an outrageous display of police intimidation. My son is a minor, an honor student, and a star athlete. Whatever foolish pranks took place at that park can be handled by the school board and civil restitution for any ruined property—"
Chief Vance raised a single hand. The room fell instantly silent.
"Mr. Hayes," Vance said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "Your son didn't commit a 'foolish prank.' He and his friends stalked my daughter, who relies on a motorized wheelchair due to a spinal injury sustained in the car accident that killed her mother."
Richard blinked, his bravado wavering slightly.
"They cornered her on a deserted trail behind the high school," Vance continued, opening the folder to reveal crisp, high-resolution color photographs printed directly from the digital evidence extracted from Jason’s phone. "They physically blocked her exit. Your son, Jason, personally kicked her safety brake release and pushed her down a twelve-foot concrete-lined drainage embankment into freezing, stagnant water."
Vance pushed a photograph across the table. It showed Maya submerged to her chest, her wheelchair overturned beside her, her hands raised in desperate supplication while Jason’s grinning face filled the corner of the frame.
Richard looked at the picture. His jaw went slack.
"That's not all," Detective Reyes chimed in, leaning forward. "We recovered forty-two gigabytes of video data from your son’s cloud account. This wasn't the first time, Mr. Hayes. For the past six months, your son has operated a private, encrypted chat group titled 'The Rolling Target.' They have documented systematically harassing, sabotaging, and physically endangering Maya on eleven separate occasions."
Jason buried his face in his hands, letting out a muffled sob. "Dad... I didn't mean... we were just messing around..."
"Silence!" Richard barked at his son, though his own hands were now beginning to tremble as he realized the magnitude of the legal avalanche collapsing on his family.
"The District Attorney has already reviewed the preliminary evidence," Vance said softly, leaning over the table until he was inches from Jason’s face. "The charges are as follows: Aggravated Assault with Depraved Indifference, Felony Hate Crime targeting a disabled individual, Reckless Endangerment, Unlawful Imprisonment, and Criminal Cyber-Harassment."
Richard stood up abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "You can't press felony hate crime charges on a teenager! That will destroy his life! He won't get into college! He’ll be ruined!"
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Chief Vance slowly stood up to his full height, looming over both the attorney and his cowardly son.
"Your son destroyed my daughter's sense of safety, her dignity, and her physical health today," Vance said, his voice dropping into a register that chilled the blood in Richard's veins. "He ruined his own life the moment he decided that cruelty was entertainment. You wanted to know who I am, Jason? I'm not just the Police Chief. I'm the man who is going to make sure you see the inside of a juvenile detention facility until your eighteenth birthday."
