to find the owner, without luck. Even Max didn’t know who his creator was. He’d checked around the Internet, looking for stories about someone who’d lost a phone, or Apple or some big company that had lost something they were working on. Anything that might be a lead. Nothing. How much more was he supposed to do?
And even if he didn’t really belong to him, Max sure didn’t belong to the cops, either. They would just see Max as a piece of evidence, something to help them with a case. Something to study, maybe, by taking him apart.
Max was a lot more than a curiosity to Tony. Max was a companion. Max gave him advice, told him funny stories, did impressions for him.
And t hose were just the small things. Max told him to comfort Scarlett; he would have never approached her on his own, with his painful shyness. And Max had saved his life in the alley; his and Scarlett’s. How could Tony ever repay him for that?
Another thing: Max was always there. He didn’t run off. He didn’t leave his family when things got tough. Didn’t leave a newborn son. Didn’t leave a wife to fend for herself in a trailer with screaming neighbors. When things were desperate, Max came through in a big way.
In one sense , Tony knew it was stupid to think this way. Of course a phone couldn’t run away. And Max was just a bunch of circuits and programming, when it came right down to it.
But Tony didn’t feel that way about Max. The phone was more than that. It had learned over time. It started to know him, who he was. What he liked to listen to when he woke up. Helped him with homework. Knew how to cheer him up.
In short, Max had become his friend. To Tony, who had few friends, that meant something.
“Hi .” The sound startled Tony, and he fumbled Max onto the floor. The cop eating the donut a few minutes before was now at Tony’s window, a friendly smile on his face.
“Did you need something, son?”
Caught off guard, Tony stammered. “H-huh?”
“I asked if you needed something. You’ve been out here awhile.”
“Oh, I, uh, no. Well, yes,” Tony stumbled, trying to think of something, anything.
“I was just going to go, uh ... I mean, I thought somebody might be following my car, and I got a little scared, and came here. But I guess not.”
The cop looked a little bit closer inside the car. He saw Max on the floor at Tony’s feet. Tony picked the phone up quickly and put it in his pocket. The cop looked Tony over carefully. Tony tried -- and failed, he was sure -- to look nonchalant.
“All right. Have a good night.”
“Oh, yeah, you too,” Tony said, turning the car on and pulling out of the station in a hurry, as the cop took a sip from his thermos and watched him go.
24
“Tony, wake up,” Max whispered. He was under a small lamp as usual, recharging. Tony, sound asleep, continued to snore softly. His Mom was still at work, and would be for several more hours.
Max risked a bit more volume. “Tony, get up. Somebody’s outside.” The phone saw two people in black pass by Tony’s window. They wore ski masks, and looked into the room as they passed. One nodded to the other, then they disappeared. Max thought he heard noise at the front door, too. That would mean at least three of them. Tony lay as still as a windless lake.
“Tony, wake up!” Max said loudly, urgently. Tony stirred, opened an eye.
“Wha...”
“There are men outside,” Max said. “I don’t know how many, but at least three.” Tony was suddenly wide awake. “Crap. Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Tony spoke in high, squeaky, terrified tones. “What do we do?”
The front door opened , then the rear door. They’d be on them in seconds. There was no time to formulate a plan.
“Ears, ears!” Max yelled as a shadow appeared in Tony’s doorway. Tony caught the meaning immediately. He slammed his hands over his ears as two of the intruders slipped into the room.
The same vibration in the air that happened before, that
And even if he didn’t really belong to him, Max sure didn’t belong to the cops, either. They would just see Max as a piece of evidence, something to help them with a case. Something to study, maybe, by taking him apart.
Max was a lot more than a curiosity to Tony. Max was a companion. Max gave him advice, told him funny stories, did impressions for him.
And t hose were just the small things. Max told him to comfort Scarlett; he would have never approached her on his own, with his painful shyness. And Max had saved his life in the alley; his and Scarlett’s. How could Tony ever repay him for that?
Another thing: Max was always there. He didn’t run off. He didn’t leave his family when things got tough. Didn’t leave a newborn son. Didn’t leave a wife to fend for herself in a trailer with screaming neighbors. When things were desperate, Max came through in a big way.
In one sense , Tony knew it was stupid to think this way. Of course a phone couldn’t run away. And Max was just a bunch of circuits and programming, when it came right down to it.
But Tony didn’t feel that way about Max. The phone was more than that. It had learned over time. It started to know him, who he was. What he liked to listen to when he woke up. Helped him with homework. Knew how to cheer him up.
In short, Max had become his friend. To Tony, who had few friends, that meant something.
“Hi .” The sound startled Tony, and he fumbled Max onto the floor. The cop eating the donut a few minutes before was now at Tony’s window, a friendly smile on his face.
“Did you need something, son?”
Caught off guard, Tony stammered. “H-huh?”
“I asked if you needed something. You’ve been out here awhile.”
“Oh, I, uh, no. Well, yes,” Tony stumbled, trying to think of something, anything.
“I was just going to go, uh ... I mean, I thought somebody might be following my car, and I got a little scared, and came here. But I guess not.”
The cop looked a little bit closer inside the car. He saw Max on the floor at Tony’s feet. Tony picked the phone up quickly and put it in his pocket. The cop looked Tony over carefully. Tony tried -- and failed, he was sure -- to look nonchalant.
“All right. Have a good night.”
“Oh, yeah, you too,” Tony said, turning the car on and pulling out of the station in a hurry, as the cop took a sip from his thermos and watched him go.
24
“Tony, wake up,” Max whispered. He was under a small lamp as usual, recharging. Tony, sound asleep, continued to snore softly. His Mom was still at work, and would be for several more hours.
Max risked a bit more volume. “Tony, get up. Somebody’s outside.” The phone saw two people in black pass by Tony’s window. They wore ski masks, and looked into the room as they passed. One nodded to the other, then they disappeared. Max thought he heard noise at the front door, too. That would mean at least three of them. Tony lay as still as a windless lake.
“Tony, wake up!” Max said loudly, urgently. Tony stirred, opened an eye.
“Wha...”
“There are men outside,” Max said. “I don’t know how many, but at least three.” Tony was suddenly wide awake. “Crap. Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Tony spoke in high, squeaky, terrified tones. “What do we do?”
The front door opened , then the rear door. They’d be on them in seconds. There was no time to formulate a plan.
“Ears, ears!” Max yelled as a shadow appeared in Tony’s doorway. Tony caught the meaning immediately. He slammed his hands over his ears as two of the intruders slipped into the room.
The same vibration in the air that happened before, that
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