Moving Target Read Online Free Page B

protest because they were instituting a program that would require everyone in the school district—students, teachers, and employees—to wear tracking chips that would allow them to be located on or off campus. Lance was part of a group of activists who claimed their constitutional rights were being violated. When the courts found against them, Lance took it upon himself to shut down the district’s server.”
    “All that happened months ago,” Ali observed. “Why are you worrying about it now?”
    She heard B. sigh into the phone. “Because Lance Tucker is in AustinMemorial Hospital with two severely broken legs and second- and third-degree burns over half his body.”
    Ali knew something about burn injuries. They were ugly and terrifically painful, and recovery was a long and difficult process. “That’s terrible,” she said. “How did it happen?”
    “The local sheriff’s department has been investigating the incident,” B. replied. “At first it was assumed this was an inmate-on-inmate attack, and the facility was put on lockdown. Yesterday afternoon investigators released a report saying they’ve determined that Lance’s injuries were self-inflicted. They claim Lance sprayed himself with some kind of aerosol and then used a cigarette lighter to set himself on fire.”
    “Why on earth would he do that?” Ali murmured.
    “Why indeed?” B. replied. “What I’ve been told is they think he did it as a way of getting released early, but that makes no sense, none at all. His eighteenth birthday is less than a month away, at which time he would have been released automatically. I’ve met Lance. He’s a smart kid. I can’t imagine that he’d do something this stupid.”
    “What are you saying?” Ali asked.
    “I think someone inside the facility—either a fellow inmate, a visitor, or one of the guards—managed to set him on fire.”
    “You think the sheriff’s department is involved in some kind of cover-up?”
    “It’s possible,” B. said, “and since I was involved in helping put him behind bars, I’m feeling like what’s happened is all my fault and that maybe I should do something to fix it.”
    “Wait a minute,” Ali said. “I remember High Noon was involved in finding the kid and in gathering some of the evidence used against him, but that doesn’t mean you’re in any way responsible for what happened.”
    “I still feel responsible,” B. countered bleakly. “High Noon was part of the investigation. We’re the ones who helped track the intrusion back to Lance’s computer. I was even called to give evidence in the case. The problem is, it was a first offense and a one-time thing. There wasno reason to go after the kid as though he were the second coming of Al Capone, but the school superintendent went absolutely ballistic and insisted on having Lance prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
    “Was he the only one involved?” Ali asked.
    “There were other people who made public objections to the tagging system, but Lance was the only one who was charged with disrupting the server. Shortly after Lance was convicted, his computer science teacher—a man who was also publicly opposed to the proposed tagging system—committed suicide.”
    “Was the teacher ever charged?”
    “As far as I know, the teacher, Everett Jackson, was never officially mentioned in any of the court proceedings, and his involvement was never proved one way or the other. If he was in on it, Lance never ratted him out. There were people who speculated that he must have been involved, because they didn’t think Lance was smart enough to do it on his own. I know better. The kid is brilliant.”
    “A brilliant kid wouldn’t set his own pants on fire.”
    “That’s my take on the situation.”
    “What about the hospital bills?”
    “I think that’s a big part of why the investigation came back as self-inflicted. This way, the facility dodges that liability, and the hospital bills—which will be