Astrid Maxxim and Her Amazing Hoverbike (16 page)

“
Runs in the family
,”
said the Chief, casting an eye at Dr. Maxxi
m’
s blue combat fatigues.

Just as emergency medical technician was beginning her examination, Astrid saw something over his shoulder.  A figure was walking out of the desert toward them. 

“
Look out
!”
shouted Astrid.
 “
Quick, somebody get that guy
!
”

“
Calm down, Astrid
,”
said her father.
 “
Tha
t’
s just Mr. Toulson
.
”

“
I know who he is!  H
e’
s one of the kidnappers!  He was with them
!
”

Toulson stopped beside her father.

“
Quick Chief
!”
shouted Astrid.
 “
Shoot him
!
”

“
Astrid
,”
said her father, firmly taking hold of her shoulder.
 “
Mr. Toulson is not one of the bad guys.  He works for Interpol.  He had infiltrated this spy ring before he ever came to Maxxim City.  He was a double agent, working on the inside and pretending to help them
.
”

“
I
t’
s true, Astrid
,”
said Valerie.
 “
Mr. Toulson said we needed to delay the kidnappers just long enough for help to get here, so when the others all ran to the front of the building to look at something, he knocked out the guard watching me and told me to run.  Tha
t’
s when I ran into you
.
”

“
Are you sure
?”
asked Astrid.

“
You do
n’
t have to worry
,”
said Mr. Diaz.
 “
I can vouch for Toulson.  I worked with him years ago when I was in the FBI
.
”

Astrid looked at her bodyguard.

“
U
m…
sorry
,”
she said.

“
Nothing a couple of aspirin and an ice pack wo
n’
t fix
,”
he replied.

The morning sun was already peaking over the mountains by the time the convoy of SUVs, emergency vehicles, and helicopters began the trip back to Maxxim City.  Astri
d’
s father had sent several men in a truck to recover her hoverbike and it arrived home at the same time she did.  Astrid immediately climbed up the stairs to her room and went to bed, grateful for once that it was
n’
t a school day.  She slept right through the morning and did
n’
t get up until 1 PM.  When she descended the great staircase, she found Denise and the two Valeries waiting for her.

“
We came over to hear all about your adventures
,”
said Denise.
 “
We already heard Valeri
e’
s tale, but you apparently had a whole day of adventures before chasing down home invaders
.
”

“
I’
ll tell you, but only if I can eat first
,”
replied Astrid.

“
You can tell us all over lunch
,”
said her mother from the dining room door.

The girls followed her through the dining room and into the breakfast room, where the table was laid out with a large quantity of food, including huge piles of sandwiches cut into fourths.  Astrid grabbed four pieces of four different sandwiches and scooped herself some potato salad as her mother poured her a glass of orange juice.  Once she and the others had their plates loaded, Astrid told them all of her adventures, from finding Austin in the desert, to the home invasion, to her capture at the end of the attempt to rescue Valerie.

“
That was quite a day
,”
said Regular Valerie.
 “
You had more adventures than most people have in a lifetime
.
”

“
And you got to ride your hoverbike with Tob
y’
s arms around you
,”
said Denise.

Astrid grinned.
 “
Yes, that was the best part
.
”

“
No, the best part was getting back home alive
,”
said her mother.

“
Yo
u’
re right
,”
said Astrid.
 “
But riding with Toby was a very close second
.
”

The next day Astrid rode to school with her dad and her day was somewhat a repeat of Sunda
y’
s lunch.  She was forced to tell the story of her adventures again and again, both to students and to her teachers. 

“
Well, I suppose you think yo
u’
re pretty special now
,”
said Mark McGovern, blocking Astri
d’
s way into the Quad at lunch time. 

“
Take a hike, chump
,”
said Toby, suddenly beside her.  His right arm was in a cast, but otherwise he was in his regular fine form.

“
I thought you might not be here today
,”
said Astrid, paying no more attention to Mark.
 “
I have
n’
t seen you until now
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s what happens when you do
n’
t ride the monorail with us in the morning
,”
he said.

“
I know, bu
t…
I was still looking for you
.
”

“
Here I am
,”
he said.
 “
And for the record, I think yo
u’
re prett
y…
um, specia
l…
now.  But I guess I always did
.
”

“
Thanks
,”
said Astrid.
 “
Say, where did Mark go
?
”

The other boy had melted into the crowd.

Over lunch, which was sliced roast beef, steamed carrots, baked sweet potatoes, and chocolate chip cookies; Astrid once again described her adventures, this time to Christopher and Toby, though of course the latter already knew what had happened in the desert with Austin.

That evening at dinner, Astri
d’
s father handed her a large box wrapped in red paper with a blue bow on it.

“
Wha
t’
s this for
?”
wondered Astrid.
 “
I
t’
s not my birthday
.
”

“
I
t’
s a gift just because we love you
,”
he said.

She opened the box to find a motorcycle helmet painted the same shade of orange as her hoverbike.

“
I know that yo
u’
re planning on riding that thing again soon
,”
said Dr. Maxxim.
 “
But from now on, no riding without a helmet.  I do
n’
t care if you are chasing international spies and kidnappers
.
”

“
And no riding without a bra
,”
added her mother.

On Wednesday, Astrid road her hoverbike to school.  It excited the students and faculty more than the stories of her adventures on Monday.  When school was over, more than a hundred students missed their train in order to watch her take off into the air across the Maxxim Campus towards the Business Offices Complex, where she had a meeting with a group of men from Detroit.

These men were automotive engineers and had come to license new technologies from Maxxim.  They had been paying for the right to use Astricite for several years in their ca
r’
s electronics systems, and now they had come to see Astri
d’
s new batteries.  They were suitably impressed, but when she gave them a demonstration of her new Astridium ceramic they were completely blown away.  They began brainstorming all the ways that they could use the new compoun
d—
windshields, engine parts, body panels.  Finally Astrid showed them the hoverbike.  The men stood openmouthed as she flew it around the parking lot.

“
This could put us out of business
,”
said one.

“
Oh I do
n’
t think so
,”
replied Astrid.
 “
This wo
n’
t eliminate the need for a car any more than the Segway did.  It might put a little pressure on you to make your cars better and more exciting though
.
”

“
Perhaps yo
u’
d like to come and show us how to do that
?”
said another engineer.

“
Maybe I will
,”
said Astrid.

Another man joined the group.  He obviously was
n’
t an engineer.  He was introduced as Mr. Tonkin.  Astrid recognized the name as the CEO of a major automaker. 

“
Let me ask you something, young lady
,”
he said.
 “
W
e’
ve used many of your products and technologies.  What would you think about us using your name?  We could make a Maxxim car line
.
”

“
I do
n’
t think so
,”
said Astrid.
 “
We license out our patents, but i
t’
s always been Maxxim policy that any product carrying the Maxxim name be manufactured by our people
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s what your CEO said as well
.
”

“
I thought as much
,”
said Astrid.

“
Perhaps we could force the issue
,”
he said.
 “
I
t’
s possible that our corporation could buy out Maxxim.  It is a publicly traded company
.
”

“
I have
n’
t looked at your financials
,”
said Astrid
,“
but I think i
t’
s much more likely that Maxxim could buy you out.  Then we could make Maxxim cars in the factories we acquired from you.  W
e’
d need to keep your engineers and your workers, but I guess we really would
n’
t need an extra CEO, would we
?
”

Mr. Tonkin looked as though he had bitten into a lemon, while his engineers snickered into their sleeves.

“
Come along dear
,”
said Dr. Maxxim, arriving to usher her away. 

“
I always knew you were mine
,”
he said.
 “
I guess this proves that yo
u’
re your mothe
r’
s daughter too
.
”

“
Wha
t’
s the matter, Dad
?”
asked Astrid, stopping to look up into her fathe
r’
s face.

“
Nothin
g’
s the matter
.
”

“
I can always tell when yo
u’
re upset about something.  What is it
?
”

“
O
h…
DARPA cut the funding on my project.  I put a lot of work into something that I thought could change the world, and now i
t’
s all for nothing
.
”

“
But you change the world all the time
,”
said Astrid.

“
Look wh
o’
s talking
,”
said her father.

“
Can you tell me what your project was now
?
”

“
I’
ll do better than that
,”
the senior Maxxim said.
 “I’
ll show you
.
”

They walked to the monorail station and climbed aboard the next available train.  The monorail took them across the campu
s’
s desert floor to the Maxxim Air Field, and then turned north on a track that was completely new.  They stopped at a newly constructed station and climbed out.  Before them were huge buildings, and what was tha
t…
a rocket launch pad?  Here was an entire spaceport facility in the middle of the Maxxim Campus and Astrid had never seen or even heard of it before.

She stared at her father.  He shrugged.

“
I was working on new spacecraft propulsion systems
,”
he said.
 “
A new rocket engine and a new propulsion system for interplanetary space
.
”

“
What kind of interplanetary propulsion system
?
”

“
A differential sail
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s exciting
,”
said Astrid.
 “
How far did you get
?
”

“
I was really just getting started on the sail
,”
replied Dr. Maxxim.
 “
The rocket engine is almost ready to test though
.
”

“
How big is your rocket engine?

“
Five hundred kilograms
.
”

“
And what kind of thrust are we looking at
?”
she asked.

“
I’
m hoping to hit 2,000 kilonewtons
.
”