Coach Mallory touched her shoulder gently. "I'll testify about what happened last night. Tell everyone how they strong-armed me." But they both knew it wouldn't be enough. His gambling problems would destroy his credibility.
Without the original drives, it would be his word against theirs. The news van's satellite dish was extending upward now. Through the dojo's windows, Jada could see the reporter doing her makeup. Preparing to go live. Master Chen emerged from his office, moving with deliberate calm.
He took in the scene, the process server retreating through the door, Coach Mallory's defeated posture, the growing media circus outside. "Perhaps," he said quietly, "it is time to review the lesson of bend like bamboo." Jada nodded, recognizing the teaching. Bamboo survived storms by bending without breaking, always ready to spring back stronger. But as she watched another news van park across the street, she wondered if all the martial arts wisdom in the world would be enough to counter the Whitmores' next move.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows through Mrs. Price's study as Jada paced the worn carpet. Her fingers traced the edges of the lawsuit papers for the hundredth time. Coach Mallory's betrayal still stung, but something else nagged at her. A detail she couldn't quite grasp. Caleb sat cross-legged on the floor, his laptop balanced on his knees.
He hadn't spoken much since his release, but his fingers flew over the keyboard with fierce determination. "The s-school uses Cloud Secure for everything," he said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Backups, emails, security logs. It's all there." Jada paused her pacing.
"What are you thinking?" "I could" He hesitated, then rushed ahead. "I could get in. Find the original files before they delete everything." "Hack the school?"
Jada's eyes widened. That's illegal, Caleb. So is destroying evidence, he countered. His stutter vanished when he talked tech. They're counting on us playing by the rules while they break them all.
And I already know the network's weak spots from my robotics club work. Mrs. Price looked up from her legal briefs. I cannot advise or endorse any unauthorized access to computer systems. She adjusted her reading glasses. However, I will step into the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee.
I may be gone for oh, about 30 minutes. After she left, Jada sank down beside her brother. Walk me through it. What exactly could you find? Everything gets backed up to the cloud automatically.
Even if they wipe the local drives, there should be copies. His fingers tapped a rapid rhythm on the laptop case. Plus, the system logs would show who accessed what files and when. If someone tried to delete evidence, we'd know. Jada thought of Coach Mallory's haunted face, of the smug headlines twisting their story.