“What?”
“He said you grabbed her.”
“No.”
“I know that now.”
Jason looked away.
“We were drunk. Stupid. Looking for trouble.”
Marcus remained motionless.
“Ryan wanted a fight. He wanted something he could film.”
Jason’s voice became quieter.
“And we gave it to him.”
Marcus looked toward the street.
For years, he had believed the men attacked him because they were simply aggressive.
Now he was hearing something different.
Manipulation.
A staged confrontation.
A man who wanted violence without having to risk his own body.
Jason looked back.
“I’m not here to tell you what you did was okay.”
“I know.”
“You hurt me.”
Marcus nodded.
“Bad.”
“I know.”
Jason took a breath.
“But I also know Ryan started it.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Jason continued.
“And now he’s doing it again.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Why are you telling me this?”
Jason reached into his pocket.
He removed a small flash drive.
“Because I found something.”
Marcus stared at it.
“What?”
“Ryan’s old video.”
Marcus felt the world tilt.
“You said his phone was broken.”
“It was.”
“Then how?”
Jason gave a bitter smile.
“Ryan wasn’t the only one filming.”
Marcus looked at the flash drive.
Jason continued.
“My friend recorded part of it. He sent me a copy years ago. I couldn’t bring myself to watch it.”
“Why now?”
“Because I saw him do the same thing to your sister.”
Marcus slowly took the drive.
Jason looked directly at him.
“You want to beat Ryan?”
Marcus said nothing.
Jason shook his head.
“Don’t.”
Marcus looked up.
“Then what?”
Jason pointed toward the flash drive.
“Show people who he really is.”
Chapter 8: The Truth on Camera
David Collins watched the footage in silence.
The video was grainy.
The sound was poor.
But the sequence was clear.
Ryan Mercer stood outside the nightclub with several friends.
Angela Brooks walked past.
Ryan said something to the group.
One man stepped into Angela’s path.
Another grabbed her wrist.
Angela tried to leave.
The men laughed.
Then Marcus Bennett approached.
The camera shifted.
Marcus could be heard telling them to let her go.
