Astrid Maxxim and Her Amazing Hoverbike (9 page)

“
Wha
t’
s the word
?”
whispered back Valerie.

Just then the trunk opened and a man wearing a black jumpsuit reached his hand down toward Astri
d’
s face.  She waited until he almost touched her, and then pressed the exposed wires against the bare skin of his hand.  There were sparks, and a burning smell.  Then the man jerked spasmodically and fell to the ground.

“
Now
,”
urged Astrid, as she climbed out of the trunk.

“
Not so fun being tased, is it
?”
she asked the unconscious man, as she rifled through his pockets and retrieved his keys.

Valerie climbed out of the trunk and looked around.

“
The other guy must have gone in the building
.
”

They were parked on a gravel lot in front of what looked to be a long abandoned gas station.  The adjacent dirt road stretched off into the distance in either direction.  The sun was beginning to dip behind the horizon.

“
Come on
,”
said Astrid, hopping around the car and climbing into the drive
r’
s seat.
 “
Le
t’
s get out of here while the getting is good
.
”

Valerie climbed in beside her, they both slipped on their seat belts, and Astrid started the car.  Shifting into gear, she started slowly toward the road.  The man in the gas station came running out.  He too was wearing a black jumpsuit.  They could
n’
t tell if it was a taser in his hand or a gun, but Astrid was taking no chances.  She slammed her foot down on the accelerator, shooting gravel back from beneath the tires, and sending the brown sedan shooting away down the road.

Astrid kept the speedometer near 45 miles per hour.  She was
n’
t used to driving at night.  She certainly was
n’
t used to driving on dirt or gravel, and this road seemed to shift from one to the other. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon when they had started off and it was
n’
t too long before darkness engulfed them.  They both kept an eye to the rear but there was no sign of pursuit.

“
What am I supposed to do about this wire
?”
asked Valerie.

Astrid shot a quick glance over to see that the robot girl was holding the make-shift taser she had created from her charging cord.

“
Find the fourth toggle switch in your charging compartment and flip it to the off position
,”
she ordered.
 “
Turn the overhead light on if you need to.  That will disable the cord completely.  When we get back home,
I’
ll replace the whole thing for you
.
”

Valerie did as she was told.

“
Do you have any idea where we are or where we are going
?”
she asked the girl inventor.

“
W
e’
re going east, because the sun set behind us.  I do
n’
t know where we are though, so I do
n’
t know wha
t’
s ahead
.
”

The question of what was ahead was soon answered.  Bright white, red, and blue lights bore down on them.  In moments they could make out a veritable convoy of vehicles rushing their way.  Most were easily identifiable as police cars because of their lights, but there were other cars too, and two helicopters.  Astrid pulled the car to the side of the road and turned off the engine, and they were quickly surrounded.

“
Come out of the car with your hands above your heads
!”
said a voice reverberating from a speaker on one of the copters.

Astrid climbed out of the drive
r’
s side with her hands held high, while Valerie did the same on the other side of the car.

“
I
t’
s only us
!”
shouted Astrid.

Dr. Maxxim burst past several policemen and rushed to Astrid, gathering her in his arms and hugging her to him.

“
You had us so worried
,”
he said, squeezing her so tightly she could barely breathe.

Mr. Diaz appeared and took Valerie in his arms, though with much less enthusiasm than Astri
d’
s father had shown.

“
Thank goodness you still had your phone
,”
continued Dr. Maxxim.

“
We do
n’
t
,”
said Valerie.
 “
They took them, but Astrid turned me into a cell phone and then into a taser
.
”

“
You better tell us the whole story
,”
said Mr. Diaz.
 “
In the meantime though, we need to get Astrid checked out to make sure sh
e’
s okay
.
”

The robot girl and the girl inventor recounted their adventure as they were led back to a waiting ambulance, where a paramedic gave Astrid a cursory once over.  As soon as they described the two men in black jump suits, a group of policemen in two cruisers set off the way that the girls had come, in hopes of capturing them.  When the paramedic had pronounced Astrid whole, Dr. Maxxim packed her into the back of a car, which took off in the other direction.

“
Where the heck are we
?”
asked Astrid.

“
W
e’
re about two hundred miles west of home, on state route 1
3”
replied her father.
 “
It looks like they were heading for the west coast, but
I’
m afraid I do
n’
t know what their ultimate goal was
.
”

“
Do you think they were after me or after Valerie
?
”

“
Your guess is as good as mine.  Hopefully the police can catch those two and get some information out of them.  That was good thinking by the way, resetting Robot Valeri
e’
s network connection.  W
e’
ll have to give her a thorough examination to make sure sh
e’
s alright, and w
e’
ll have to get you both new cell phones, too
.
”

“
We can do that after school tomorrow
,”
said Astrid.

“
I’
m keeping you home from school
,”
said her father.
 “
First thing in the morning, w
e’
re going to Dr. Lowe
r’
s office and get you a full check up.  Then w
e’
re going to talk to somebody about security for you
.
”

“
I ca
n’
t miss school tomorrow.  I have perfect attendance
.
”

“
Sometimes these things ca
n’
t be helped
.
”

“
Seriously, Dad
,”
said Astrid.
 “
Ther
e’
s nothing wrong with me.  I got stunned on the neck, but it does
n’
t even hurt anymore.  Besides, I walk to school with Toby and h
e’
s not going to let anything happen to me
.
”

“
Astri
d
…”

“
Dad, if I do
n’
t have perfect attendance, I might as well throw away my shot at valedictorian.  How am I supposed to get into a good college then
?
”

“
Astrid, I somehow doubt that ther
e’
s a college in the world that would pass up a chance at you, but maybe we can work something out. 
I’
ll call Martin Bundersmith and see if he will drive you kids to the monorail station in the morning.  Then maybe Dr. Martinez can stop in and give you an exam in the nurs
e’
s office, but yo
u’
ll have to be called out of class
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s better, I guess.  But I really do feel fine
.
”

Dr. Maxxim called Tob
y’
s father on his cell phone and discussed the situation with him.  He agreed that the best thing would be for Mr. Bundersmith to give all the kids a ride to the monorail station and then to ride with them.  He normally took the train to work just a half hour later anyway.  When her father had ended the call, he turned to Astrid.

“
Just remember, if your mother asks, this was all my idea
.
”

“
You bet, Dad
.
”

Astri
d’
s mother was waiting when they got home, wrapping her daughter up in her arms and squeezing her almost to death.  She then led them into the house to the breakfast room, where a huge feast of hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad, and baked beans was arrayed across the table.  Not even realizing she was hungry until she saw all the food, Astrid parked herself in her chair and made up for having missed dinner.

After eating, the girl inventor took a shower and then climbed into her bed.  Even though the door was closed, she could hear that her parents were hovering outside in the hallway.  They would stand there, just outside the door, then one or both of them would wander away, only to return a few minutes later. 

After she had been lying there for several minutes, she heard her mother ask her father.
 “
Did they catch them
?
”

“
No
,”
he replied.
 “
They got away
.
”

The next morning Mrs. Maxxim insisted not only that Astrid sit and eat her eggs and toast, but that she sit waiting until Mr. Bundersmith knocked on the front door.  Astrid followed her neighbor out to his big electric sport utility vehicle where Toby waited.  He gave her a smile as she climbed in.

“
Had some adventure over the weekend, did we
?
”

“
No big deal
,”
Astrid fibbed.

“
I’
m very impressed with your work on batteries, Astrid
,”
said Mr. Bundersmith, changing the subject.

“
Thank you
.
”

“
I’
m having a meeting next week with some men coming in from Detroit.  W
e’
re licensing some of our technology for new electric cars and
I’
d like them to get a look at your batteries.  Do you think you could find the time to come by and talk to them
?
”

“
I’
ll make the time, Mr. Bundersmith
.
”

They stopped and picked up Denise, and Christopher who was waiting with her, at the corner.  Then they stopped at the Diaz home and Mrs. Diaz walked the two Valeries out to the car.  The group was unusually quiet, despite the fact that Mr. Bundersmith tried to engage them in conversation about school and the upcoming field trip.  When they arrived at the monorail station, he parked his vehicle under the shaded awning and plugged the SUV into the charger station.  They went up the escalator and as a group climbed into the ultramodern interior of the train.

Astrid sat looking out the window and waiting for the train to move forward when she felt something on her hand.  Looking down, she felt a jolt of electricity much greater than that given to her by the taser, when she realized that Toby had placed his hand upon hers.  She looked up to his face, but he was turned away, watching the other students boarding the monorail car.  As the train accelerated out of the station, he moved his hand away, and the feeling of electricity went with it.

The morning went by quickly.  In the program one team room, Astrid received her position assignment for the field trip.  The students were placed in groups of five and it was no surprise that she and Christopher were together.  And just as Dennis Brown had feared, he had been assigned as their leader.

In first period, Astrid was called to the nurs
e’
s office to be examined by Dr. Martinez, and just as she knew he would, he pronounced her in perfect health.  While she was being checked over, Dr. Maxxim was checking over Robot Valerie in the next room.  By the time he was done, he had repaired her charging cable and reset all her switches. 

Astrid went back to class, but there seemed to be something wrong.  She could
n’
t quite place what it was, but something was distracting her.  At the end of Advanced Calculus, she found that she had unconsciously writte
n“
Dr. Astrid Bundersmit
h”
37 times on the inside cover of her notebook.

“
Look at me
,”
she said to herself.
 “I’
m turning boy crazy
.
”

Over lunch, which was rosemary chicken, portabella parmesan risotto, garlic broccoli with cashews, and mint sorbet, Astrid and Robot Valerie recounted their adventures.  Astrid gave the pertinent details while Valerie filled in the color commentary, explaining how frightening it all was, and how the
y“
feared for their very lives
.
”

“
The worst part of it is that the two kidnappers got away
,”
said Astrid.
 “
I really wanted to find out what they were trying to accomplish.  I mean, why kidnap me
?
”

“
Lots of people probably want to kidnap you
,”
said Toby, and when the others all looked at him he blushed.
 “
I mean, you kno
w…
because of your inventions and stuff
.
”

“
Hey guys.  Can I sit with you
?
”

Austin Tretower had arrived late.  He squeezed into the narrow spot between Denise and Regular Valerie.

“I’
m surprised yo
u’
re here
,”
he told Astrid.
 “
I thought you would stay home
.
”

“
That just shows you do
n’
t know her very well
,”
said Christopher.

“
If I had been kidnapped, I would
n’
t come to school
,”
Austin continued.
 “
What good is a kidnapping if you ca
n’
t stay home from school?  Wha
t’
s the point
?
”

“
The point is to learn something
,”
said Christopher.
 “I’
m learning everything I can so that I can get into M.I.T
.
”

“
Mit
?
”

“
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
”

“
I do
n’
t think
I’
m going to college
,”
said Austin.
 “
I want to be a racecar driver, or maybe a professional football player
.
”

The others all stared at him.

“
What
?
”

“
Why not a cowboy
?”
asked Christopher.

“
I’
m afraid of cows
,”
said Austin.

The rest of the day flew by and when the kids gathered at the monorail station on the third floor of the school, they found Mr. Bundersmith waiting for them.  He drove them all home, including Austin who lived southwest of Denise.  Austin was excited to show the others his new piece of technology.

“
I
t’
s an MX-360
,”
he said, holding the small, rectangular object up.
 “
The school just gave it to me
.
”

“
We know
,”
said Denise.
 “
We all have them
.
”

“
It plays music, takes pictures, records voice messages, and plays games
,”
he continued, as though he had
n’
t heard her. 
I’
ve already downloaded 21 apps
.
”

“
Save some space for your schoolwork
,”
she advised.
 “
You need that for the field trip
.
”

When they arrived at the Maxxim home, Toby climbed out of the car along with Astrid and walked her to her door while his father drove next door and into the Bundersmit
h’
s driveway.

“
Do you think yo
u’
re going to get a bodyguard
?”
he asked her.

“
That would be silly
,”
said Astrid.
 “I’
m sure this whole thing was some kind of mistake.  Or at least it was an isolated incident
.
”

“
Well, stay alert anyway
,”
he said, as she stepped inside her door.
 “I…
um, we do
n’
t want anything to happen to you
.
”

That evening, Mrs. Maxxim was indeed talking about hiring a bodyguard, or better yet a whole platoon of bodyguards.  Over a dinner of pork chops and macaroni and cheese, she listed dozens of security measures that ought to be put in place both at Maxxim Industries and at home, everything from armed patrols to a monitoring bracelet on her daughter.  Dr. Maxxim listened and nodded his agreement, but seldom stopped chewing to add a comment of his own.

“
Dad, Mo
m’
s having a breakdown
,”
said Astrid, after dinner.
 “
If I have to wear an electronic monitor,
I’
ll feel like
I’
m in jail
.
”

“
Yesterda
y’
s events put quite a fright into your mother, Astrid.  You know this.  Give her a few days to calm down. 
I’
m sure sh
e’
ll gain a little more perspectiv
e…
not that all her ideas are unworthy of discussio
n…
um, not the electronic monitor of course.  In the meantime, i
t’
s your turn to do the dishes
.
”

The next morning, Mr. Bundersmith again took the kids to school.  They did
n’
t go to first period this morning though, but collected in their team rooms with the seniors who would serve as their guides on the field trip.  Then they loaded up onto the monorail train for the trip to the Saguaro Cactus Park, located deep within the Maxxim campus.  There were 105 freshmen on the trip, divided up into groups of five.  Each group was guided by a senior.  Dennis Brown led Astrid and Christopher, as well as Alicia Noble, Madison Laurel, and Bud Collins.  Each of them carried a small backpack, containing their lunches and their personal digital assistants.

Supervising the entire gathering was Dr. Franklin the Geology teacher, Dr. Ikeda the Biology Teacher, History teacher Mr. Hoffman, and five parent volunteers.

Technically there was
n’
t a monorail station in the Saguaro Cactus Park.  However there was a platform forty feet in the sky and a stairway leading down to the desert floor.  The students and teachers climbed out of the train and made their way down to assemble into their groups at the foot of the stairs, as the monorail whooshed away.

“
Alright guys
,”
said Dennis, taking charge.
 “
W
e’
re going to walk about two hundred yards due east.  Ther
e’
s an outcropping just above a dry riverbed there where I think yo
u’
ll find some great samples
.
”

The freshmen dutifully followed him through the sand, around rocks, prickly pear cactus and towering saguaros.  Alicia and Madison happily snapped pictures of the various plants, squealing excitedly when they identified a teddybear cholla.  Astrid made note of the various cactus varieties too, but she really wanted an example of the wildlife.  She began looking in the many holes around the bases of the cactus plants.

“
Watch out there
,”
said Dennis.
 “
There are five different kinds of rattlesnakes around here and I do
n’
t want either one of us bitten by any of them
.
”

“
I do
n’
t want to be bitten either
,”
said Astrid.
 “
But I would
n’
t mind getting a few snapshots
.
”

When they reached the dry riverbed, she found not a snake, but a large chuckwalla lizard that had taken refuge in a crack on the rock face.  She took a dozen photographs and recorded her findings on her MX-360.  The beast was about eighteen inches long, and its orange colored body indicated that it was a male of the species.  She tried coaxing it out of the crack, but the lizard closed its eyes and ignored her.  By the time lunch rolled around, she had photos and notes on half a dozen different lizard
s—
no snakes or tortoises though.

As the six students sat on a large rock, in the shade of the outcropping and ate their lunches of ham and cheese sandwiches, they compared their findings.  Bud, who was the only student in the group besides Astrid working on desert animal life, had found and photographed coyote, rabbit, and kangaroo rat tracks.  He and Astrid shared their data by bumping their MX-360s together.  An hour later, Dennis guided them all back to where they had started, to find another monorail train waiting to take them back to Rachel Carson High School.