Chapter 11: People Are Dying, Part 2

The flight west was mercifully brief. The weather was the comfortable cool of early fall. Fields were full of automated combines doing whatever it was they did to the golden grain. Joe picked up a driver and headed out to the Reserve.

Joe had looked over the local police report on the flight. Harry Destir had called in the authorities after the Principal had died. The investigation found missing segments from the surveillance tapes. The locals had concluded something had been going on between the Principal and the missing student - not an uncommon problem, as staff weren't given the same medications as the students.

He was met by a youngish teacher, who introduced himself as Harry Destir. For someone so young he didn't talk very much, just showed Joe to the Principal's office and left, saying he had a class to teach.

Heavy wood tones dominated the office. A large window looked out at the plains surrounding the compound. When Joe sat in the office chair behind the desk he gave an involuntary sigh. The thing probably cost what the teachers made in a month. There were no other chairs. Not a place where visitors were welcome. Joe leaned forward to use the override password given him by the police to enter the computer system. Sections of the record had been tampered with, just as the report said; a few minutes here, a half hour there.

What the report didn't mention was on the day of the man's death several hours were missing. Joes didn't like changes in patterns. He pulled up Trey's file and immediately saw the resemblance to the Deputy Chancellor in the sharp bones and the careful way he held his mouth. The boy was much slighter and shorter than Mulholland, but had the same deep red hair.

"What secrets are you hiding?" The file was full of reports of Trey's deteriorating behavior. Each teacher complained about his insolence and disruptive activity; that is, each teacher except Mr. Harry Destir. Interesting.

Joe stood and went looking for the teacher, his cane tapping on the terrazzo floors. With the help of a passing janitor he found the room. Mr. Destir leaned against the desk listening to an obviously animated discussion. Once he pointed to a young man at the back who shrugged and said something to set the class laughing. The teacher laughed with them then dismissed them. The boys filed past Joe with careful, curious looks. Joe walked into the room and sat at one of the desks at the front of the room.

"Looks like they enjoy your class."

"It is just a matter of putting the material into their own language." Harry sounded defensive.

"Not many teachers can do that, especially with history. At that age I was more interested in sports and girls."

"Well, there are no girls here to distract them, and I give them extra yard time for doing well."

"A radical approach," Joe said. Why did the younger man look guilty?

"I looked at the files in the Principal's office. A lot of files have been erased. A bit here and there, then a lot all on the same day." Joe looked at the teacher. "Do you have any idea why?"

"Because I erased them."

Joe just looked at him and raised his eyebrow.

"You're going to find out anyway. The police didn't do much of an investigation. I allowed them to draw their own conclusions. Mr. Hubert, the Principal did die exactly as I described, but not for the reasons they gave."

"So, why did he die?"

"He died because he was a mean old bastard. His only thought was surviving until he retired. The young men who are unfortunate enough to be placed here were just so much cannon fodder to him. Learning wasn't important, just test scores.'

"Those sound like reasons to kill him."

"He was attacking Trey. I had to stop him. His blood pressure killed him."

"Why was he attacking Trey?"

"You read Trey's file. He was brilliant and very troubled. He challenged Hubert's authority. He's the main reason I changed my teaching methods."

"I see." Joe leaned back and put his cane on the desk. "And what were you and Trey doing before Principal Hubert found you?"

"We were talking sedition. Trey thought the Final Amendment turned our country from a democracy to a dictatorship. He called it a Geritocracy."

"Did he now? He sounds like a fascinating young man. I would like to meet him."

"Brilliant doesn't do Trey justice. You won't find him."

Joe levered himself upright and headed for the door.

"What happens now?" Harry asked.

"I expect you'll keep teaching, and if you work hard you'll keep from becoming a mean old bastard."

"But...."

"I am not concerned with the inner workings of this Youth Reserve. I am concerned about the people who are helping young Trey and others like him." Joe's phone buzzed as he talked. "Perhaps you would excuse me."