Chapter 4

Watching me swing from calm to furious like this.

No pattern to anything I did.

The woman up front panicked.

"He really is crazy, he's really crazy!"

The man I had by the hair only glared harder, the meanness in his eyes deepening.

He stared me down.

"Kid, you keep acting this big, sooner or later you're gonna pay for it!"

"I'm a goddamn lunatic already. You think I'm scared of paying for anything?"

I said it flat and cold. "I've only got one question for you right now. You gonna kneel or not?"

The man wrenched free with a sudden burst of strength, shoved me hard away from him, and turned to the woman beside him.

"He's a maniac. Get off. We're getting off at the next stop."

The woman nodded over and over and started gathering their bags.

They packed up and moved to leave, but I ran back and blocked the way again.

"You can go. But you've been screaming at me this whole trip. Cough up a million in emotional damages, or don't think about getting past me!"

The man jabbed a finger at me and roared.

"You lunatic, move!"

I planted myself in the aisle.

"No money, no leaving!"

The passengers around us all decided I was the crazy one now, pointing and muttering.

"He's a mental case. Call the police."

"Yeah, don't coddle trash like this. Call the cops, get him hauled off."

"I know a few tough guys around town, and I've never met scum this bad. He's worse than the worst of them!"

"Bigger jerk than any jerk."

"Beyond hope. Lock him up, keep him locked up forever, don't let him out to hurt anyone else!"

The mood hit its peak.

Someone even had a phone out and was already dialing.

"Hello, I want to report something. We're on the train, we've got a lunatic here... yeah, get here fast, or this is gonna blow up."

Once the call was made, everyone put on that look of you're finished, kid.

But in the eyes of the couple in front of me, I saw clear panic.

The woman spoke.

"Forget it, forget it, we won't argue with him."

"You just want to squeeze money out of us, right? Fine, here."

He pulled some cash from his bag, maybe a thousand, and shoved all of it at me.

"That work for you?"

I took the money, kicked it into my pocket, and stayed put in the aisle.

"Nope. I said it. A million, or you're not going anywhere!"

The passengers around us flared up again.

A lot of them stood, throwing accusations at me from every side.

The woman from the front row was braver than anyone. She walked right up to me, pointed at my nose, and cursed.

"You little punk, you really are insane. Move out of their way. They gave you a thousand already, what more do you want!"

I gave a cold little laugh.

"Either you pay me a million, or you wait for the officers. Either way, the call's already made."

As I said it, I made a point of looking straight at the woman.

She got so scared she nearly dropped the baby in her arms. Fumbling in her panic, she dug out some more cash and pushed it at me.

"This is everything we've got."

I took it and slapped the money across her face.

"This little bit? You brushing off a beggar? You think I've never seen money before?"

A jab that dripped humiliation.

And still it wasn't the couple who lost it.

It was the older man who finally couldn't stand any more.

He got to his feet and shoved me aside with one hand.

"This is going too far. I can't watch this anymore!"

With him leading the way, more men stepped up, all of them blocking me off.

And right then the high-speed train pulled into the station.

The young couple thanked them over and over and moved to get off.

I shouted, frantic.

"You can't get off. You haven't paid my million in emotional damages, you can't leave!"

Every last person looked at me like I was an idiot.

The older man shot me a vicious glare, then shielded the couple and walked them toward the door.

But at that razor's edge, just as the young couple was about to step off, two young women stepped forward.

They both spread their arms wide, their small frames thrown across the exit, blocking the doorway.

"I think that guy's got a point. They've been screaming at us this whole trip. No million in emotional damages, no leaving!"

The crowd's eyes went wide, one after another.

Two more lunatics, now?

At the same moment, the officers who'd taken the call had arrived and were running fast toward the train.

The transit officer inside the car was hurrying over too.

Seeing all this, I smiled. And the young couple with the baby lost their nerve completely.