and began dismantling the Tanners’ only remaining scoot.
He had intended to just take a quick look at the engine, but it took him a while to figure out how to pop off the chassis without breaking it, and once he figured that out and started digging into the scoot’s guts, he lost track of time. That’s how it always was, when he really dug into a tech project. At the Freepost, he used to spend all day in Tom’s shelter, hunched over his work, oblivious to the passing of hours. He wouldn’t just be touching the tech with his tools and looking at it with his eyes; it was as if he were shrunk down and actually inside the tech himself. He loved the feeling.
Kevin was so focused on the scoot that he didn’t even hear Lexi until she tapped him on the shoulder. He let out a startled yell and jumped up, dropping the wrench he had been holding with a clang.
“Lexi! Damn, you snuck up on me.”
Lexi said nothing for a moment, surveying the damage. The scoot’s white chassis was entirely removed, in three sections off to the side. Its insides were mostly removed as well, lying in scattered pieces, big and small, on the garage floor at Kevin’s feet.
“Kevin,” she finally said. “You guys wrecked our other scoots, and now you’ve broken this one into tiny pieces.”
“It’s not a problem,” Kevin said. “Ten minutes and I’ll have it all back together.”
“What in the world are you doing?”
“Checking out the power supply,” he explained. He reached down and picked up one of the larger pieces, a black sphere the size of a large grapefruit. “I knew it had to be a battery, of course, since the scoots are plugged into your grid overnight, but it’s amazing how efficient the design is.... The power cells are stacked in this layered pattern that Tom never showed me … and here’s the really fletch part … there’s a magnetic field casing that’s not only boosting the power, but that’s how the energy is being transferred into the drive train.... It’s kind of like …”
“Enough!” said Lexi, cutting him off. “I didn’t understand a single thing you just said. Just please have it back in one piece before my parents get back, okay?”
“Not a problem,” said Kevin.
“Which is at five thirty.”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he nodded. “I just need two more minutes looking at the battery.”
“It’s five o’clock. You’ve got a half hour.”
“Like I said, not a problem,” said Kevin. He offered Lexi an awkward smile.
Lexi raised an eyebrow and frowned, then left the garage. Kevin looked at all the parts at his feet, ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath, then got to work.
Nick came in to visit him a few minutes later. “Lexi told me you had attacked a scoot. Kid, what the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that the scoot’s power supply might be similar tech to what powers the bots,” Kevin said, annoyed, not looking up from his rushed efforts to piece the scoot back together. He hated when Nick called him “Kid.” Like Nick was so grown up and Kevin was just a useless little child. Kevin had been helping Tom keep the Freepost grid together for years, but Nick could never give him credit.
Kevin waited for his brother to continue giving him a hard time, but instead Nick hesitated, then said, “Well, just get it back together.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” Kevin paused in his work, picked up a small black rod the size of a pencil, and turned and showed it to Nick. “What the heck is this?” he said. “I have no idea where this goes.”
“Just fix it, Kevin,” said Nick. “Fast, please.”
“Will do,” said Kevin. He studied the small rod a few more moments, then shrugged, put it in his pocket, and got back to work.
Kevin managed to finish the scoot by 5:30, but it wouldn’t power up. He didn’t have time to figure out how to fix it, so he left the scoot, broken but at least looking intact, and went into the house. Lexi’s
He had intended to just take a quick look at the engine, but it took him a while to figure out how to pop off the chassis without breaking it, and once he figured that out and started digging into the scoot’s guts, he lost track of time. That’s how it always was, when he really dug into a tech project. At the Freepost, he used to spend all day in Tom’s shelter, hunched over his work, oblivious to the passing of hours. He wouldn’t just be touching the tech with his tools and looking at it with his eyes; it was as if he were shrunk down and actually inside the tech himself. He loved the feeling.
Kevin was so focused on the scoot that he didn’t even hear Lexi until she tapped him on the shoulder. He let out a startled yell and jumped up, dropping the wrench he had been holding with a clang.
“Lexi! Damn, you snuck up on me.”
Lexi said nothing for a moment, surveying the damage. The scoot’s white chassis was entirely removed, in three sections off to the side. Its insides were mostly removed as well, lying in scattered pieces, big and small, on the garage floor at Kevin’s feet.
“Kevin,” she finally said. “You guys wrecked our other scoots, and now you’ve broken this one into tiny pieces.”
“It’s not a problem,” Kevin said. “Ten minutes and I’ll have it all back together.”
“What in the world are you doing?”
“Checking out the power supply,” he explained. He reached down and picked up one of the larger pieces, a black sphere the size of a large grapefruit. “I knew it had to be a battery, of course, since the scoots are plugged into your grid overnight, but it’s amazing how efficient the design is.... The power cells are stacked in this layered pattern that Tom never showed me … and here’s the really fletch part … there’s a magnetic field casing that’s not only boosting the power, but that’s how the energy is being transferred into the drive train.... It’s kind of like …”
“Enough!” said Lexi, cutting him off. “I didn’t understand a single thing you just said. Just please have it back in one piece before my parents get back, okay?”
“Not a problem,” said Kevin.
“Which is at five thirty.”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he nodded. “I just need two more minutes looking at the battery.”
“It’s five o’clock. You’ve got a half hour.”
“Like I said, not a problem,” said Kevin. He offered Lexi an awkward smile.
Lexi raised an eyebrow and frowned, then left the garage. Kevin looked at all the parts at his feet, ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath, then got to work.
Nick came in to visit him a few minutes later. “Lexi told me you had attacked a scoot. Kid, what the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that the scoot’s power supply might be similar tech to what powers the bots,” Kevin said, annoyed, not looking up from his rushed efforts to piece the scoot back together. He hated when Nick called him “Kid.” Like Nick was so grown up and Kevin was just a useless little child. Kevin had been helping Tom keep the Freepost grid together for years, but Nick could never give him credit.
Kevin waited for his brother to continue giving him a hard time, but instead Nick hesitated, then said, “Well, just get it back together.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” Kevin paused in his work, picked up a small black rod the size of a pencil, and turned and showed it to Nick. “What the heck is this?” he said. “I have no idea where this goes.”
“Just fix it, Kevin,” said Nick. “Fast, please.”
“Will do,” said Kevin. He studied the small rod a few more moments, then shrugged, put it in his pocket, and got back to work.
Kevin managed to finish the scoot by 5:30, but it wouldn’t power up. He didn’t have time to figure out how to fix it, so he left the scoot, broken but at least looking intact, and went into the house. Lexi’s
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