'How long would it take for you to teach me everything I needed to know to understand all the repairs?' Max asked.
'More time than we have today, and I won't know everything that's wrong until I take some stuff apart. I think we're going to have to get the van towed,' Kyle said.
The others looked at Max, who thought for a moment and nodded his head. 'Okay,' he said.
Isabel and Michael nodded their agreement. For all of Max's protests about not wanting to be in charge, he was still making decision. And the others were still looking to him.
'Well, great!' Maria said. 'But we're still in the middle of nowhere.' She reached into her purse to take out her cell phone. 'Who knows how long it will take for someone to get out here?”
'No,' Max said firmly as Michael quickly took the cell phone from Maria.
'Hey,' she said, grabbing for it as Michael kept it out of reach.
'Maria, we can't use a cell phone,' Liz said.
'What!' she exclaimed.
'They could track us,' Max said calmly.
'Who?' she said.
'Take your pick,' Michael said. 'The various bad guys we're trying to avoid, but my money would be on our per- sonal favorite, the Special Unit.”
'So what are we supposed to do? Just wait around in the middle of nowhere for someone to drive by? Well, I have news for you: It's been a long time since we've seen a car,' Maria said. 'We could be here for a while.”
Before anyone could respond, a pickup truck appeared in the distance. All heads turned to watch it approach from the direction they themselves had come.
'Or not,' Michael said.
Maria squinted at him but didn't say anything.
Max leaned into the road and waved as the truck got closer. The pickup slowed and came to a stop on the side of the road just ahead of them. The group moved closer, with Max in the lead.
There was a single middle-aged man inside. He leaned over and rolled down the passenger-side window as he gave the group and the van an appraising look. 'Trouble with your van,' he said. It was a statement, not a question, and his expression was neutral.
'Yes,' Max said.
'Lucky for you I came by. We don't see a lot of traffic out here,' the man said.
'We noticed,' Max said. 'How far is the nearest town?”
'Stonewall is about five miles,' the man replied, point- ing up ahead.
Max gestured to the back of the pickup and said, 'We would appreciate a ride.”
'No,' the man said simply.
Kyle understood. The man was alone, and they were six strangers.
'I don't know you kids, but I will send Gomer back with the tow truck, though.”
'Thanks,' Max said, and the man sped away.
'Well, thank goodness for Gomer,' Kyle said, smiling. The others laughed.
'How long do you think, Kyle? For the repairs,' Max said.
'Depends on how long it takes to get the parts. A nine- teen sixty-six VW van timing chain…,' he said. 'The actual repairs I could do myself in maybe a day. The ques- tion is, can we afford to have them all done now? How much cash do we have, anyway?”
'Cash…?' Max said.
'Yeah, I'm assuming that using the ATM is out,' Kyle said.
'Uh-oh,' Liz said.
Together, everyone started to reach into his or her vari- ous pockets and purses. A moment later they had pooled their resources and Liz had begun counting. 'Sixty-eight dollars and forty cents,' she said.
'And we'll need gas once we get going,' Kyle said.
Michael took a quick inventory of their sour faces. 'Don't forget,' he said as he reached down to pick up a medium-size rock. Handing the rock to Max, he said, 'Powers unleashed, Maxwell. How about whipping up some gold?”
'Gold?' Liz said. 'How are you going to sell that with- out attracting attention?”
'A small-town jewelry store or even a pawn shop shouldn't ask too many questions,' Michael said. 'Besides, getting stuck in this small town with no money will attract attention too.”
Max cupped the rock in his hands, which began to glow a familiar red. A moment later, he opened his hands to reveal two small bars of shiny gold. 'Just a couple of ounces,' Max said.
'It's plenty. You can always make more,' Michael said. 'We'll eat well tonight and sleep in decent beds.”
'As soon as Gomer gets here,' Isabel said.
Twenty minutes later, they saw a tow truck approach from the direction of Stonewall.
The tow truck backed up to the van, and a tall, beefy guy who needed a shave jumped out. Kyle guessed he was in his early twenties.
'Gomer?' Max said, approaching.
'Trouble with your van,' Gomer said, his face serious.
'Yes,' Max said.
'It's old,' Gomer said.
Max nodded to that.
Pulling on the tow truck's rig, Gomer quickly hooked. the van to it. 'We'll get you fixed up. My boss has one of these out back. A junker,' Gomer said.
Kyle was immediately relieved. If the garage owner had a junk VW van, they wouldn't have to wait for parts. Kyle could strip what he needed from the other van. Leaning over to Isabel, he said, 'About time we caught a break.”
'That'll be fifty dollars,' Gomer said.
'But you haven't taken it anywhere yet!' Michael said, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
Gomer stopped and stared at Michael for a long moment, then he turned to Max and said, 'In advance. I don't know you folks.”
Shrugging, Max nodded, and Liz counted out fifty dol- lars. Then she handed it to Gomer.
Turning for the van, Kyle said, 'Let us get in before you raise it.”
'No,' Gomer said, stopping Kyle short. 'I can't have you in the van during a tow. It's against the law and it voids our insurance.”
Isabel stepped forward. When she spoke, she sounded firm, assured… more like herself. 'You can't leave us all out here, five miles from town.”
Giving her an appraising glance, Gomer said, 'I wouldn't do that.' Then he gestured to the girls. 'You three can ride with me in the truck.”
'No way,' Liz said.
'Go ahead, Liz,' Max said. 'We'll catch up.”
'We'll be fine,' Max assured her. Then he lowered his voice and said, 'Stonewall might be dangerous, better if you go first.”
Liz smiled. 'Okay.”
'Get yourselves something to eat. We'll be along,' Max said.
By then, the van was raised, and Gomer was ready to roll. 'Come on,' he called from inside the tow truck.
The girls got inside, and the truck pulled away.
'This has been a long day,' Kyle said as the three boys looked down the road after the van.
'Cheer up,' Michael said. 'The day isn't over yet. Things could still go our way.”
To Kyle's surprise, there was a small smile on Michael's face. Max was unreadable, as usual. But that smile still seemed out of place on Michael's face. Something was going on with him.
Kyle, Michael, and Max started walking toward Stonewall.
