Mercenary at heart
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– We're all listening to you very carefully, darling! – Mariana said animatedly, watching Michael's father chewing the chicken she had prepared.
– Anyway, I'm not going to wait and I'll tell you straight. Soon you'll be fifteen years old. And I think you've had enough of polishing your training prototypes. It's time to get down to business! I've arranged with the headmaster of your school that this year you'll be interning at our firm's headquarters under my close supervision. In short, from tomorrow we'll work together and I'll take you on assignments. – George began his short monologue, but did not have time to finish it, because Mariana jumped off the chair and began to hug him tightly and kissed him on the cheeks and in the eyes.
– Mariana exclaimed during her passionate outburst.
– Mana, Michael's watching! Stop it…,’ George said quietly and embarrassed.
– It's okay, Dad! It's really cool! Let me give you a hug too! – said the son, getting up from the table and walking over to his father. Then the child hugged him tightly and pressed against his shoulder.
– That's it. That's enough, that's enough. We're having a party,’ George laughed, hugging the family back.
– Take your seats, we really have a lot to discuss. – Silver Sr. said seriously. Mariana and Michael obeyed him and returned to their seats, continuing to listen carefully to the information.
– So, as you realise, this is a big step towards your bright future, so you need to take it as seriously and responsibly as possible. Even though we're family, I'm going to treat you the same way I treat the rest of the staff. Perhaps even more demanding. But it's all for your own good. Once you get a job or start your own business – life will not give you any favours. On the way will constantly arise problems and turmoil, which must be solved independently on the basis of experience and knowledge. It is not enough just to turn the steering wheel and press the accelerator. Over time, you will realise that the transport business is a much more complex process than it seems at first glance. You don't have much experience in driving yet, but I think you should be able to handle this baby. Come on! – George finished his monologue, and everyone headed for the exit of the house.
There was another car in the parking lot next to my father's truck, an old generation yellow passenger car with gray decorative stripes on the sides. The seats were covered with dark brown leather covers, and the interior trim was made of high-quality wood material. On the roof, above the front seats, there was a rectangular glass sunroof with an opening mechanism.
– What do you think? Do you like it? – George said proudly with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest.
– Am I going to drive it? By yourself? – Michael answered the question with a surprised question.
George: “We'll take turns. 50-50. Half the road you drive, the other half I drive.”
Michael: “A-F-I-GET! How long are we going to be traveling for?”
George: “About 600 kilometers. We have to deliver it to a powerful businessman in New Hampshire. It's his car. It broke down and he left it here for repairs. It's a legend, even if it is a bit old! We'll take the truck back. I've already caught the next order. We'll have to deliver it to Lockfood City. We'll hitch a ride home from there. But that's not far from here. Think of it as your first little real adventure.”
Michael moved closer to the car to get a closer look at it, “Dad, thank you so much! I won't let you down! And Fred, will he be guarding us?”
George: “There's no need for that. We'll manage on our own. And remember, this is just the beginning of your journey. It's only going to get more interesting from here. All right, let's go get some rest. We have a long road ahead of us tomorrow.”
He put his arm around Mariana's waist. His parents went slowly into the house, talking about the day ahead, and Michael stayed near the car for a while, imagining in his head how he would drive it very soon.
“Six-speed manual transmission, all-wheel drive, interactive dashboard, top speed can reach 360 km/h. It's a beast of a car! I can't even believe that tomorrow I will drive it!” – Michael thought to himself, stroking the car on the roof. He spent about thirty minutes near the car, looking at it from all sides, and then went to his room to rest. His head was full of thoughts about the day ahead.
The first field practice
The morning began with an alarm clock. He had to wake up early, because the car had to be delivered only up to a certain time, and it took about six, seven hours to get there. Even taking into account the capabilities of the car, George was an advocate of quiet driving and preferred to perform delivery to the destination extremely carefully, without leaving any visible damage on the object. Therefore, Michael did not have to count on high speed. On the highway – a maximum of 120 km / h, on the highway – 90, within the city – 50. Mariana fed the family with scrambled eggs and bacon and gave them some sandwiches for the road, putting them in plastic containers.
George: “Don't forget to bring your learner's card with you so the police won't have any unnecessary questions: why are you at 14 already driving a car?”
The point is that depending on the chosen direction, the child was granted certain privileges related to education. For example, Michael studied at a transportation school, so he had the right to drive cars and some trucks under the supervision of an adult from the age of 14. But this was possible only if he had a student card, confirming that he was a student of a specialized school. Others had to wait until they were 18 years old to complete a six-month course in driving a passenger car.
– I already did. – Michael answered, waving his small black square wallet. All three of them went outside. Mariana wished them a good trip and stayed on the doorstep, waving goodbye every now and then. Michael joyfully headed for the driver's door of the car.
– Sit in the passenger seat. First I'll take control of the car, to see what this little girl is capable of. We'll switch on the road, don't worry. – George stopped him, slightly holding his son's hand. Michael wasn't upset. He was happy just to sit in the cabin of such a car. George started the car and drove off in the desired direction.
Michael took out of his bag a small rectangular device that displayed a map and route. It had a small number of buttons on the end and on the sides. The boy knew how to use this device, since he had already been trained on it. The device was called “Logist” and was one of the key tools for drivers. In addition to the navigator function, which was lined up with the Logistician, which tracked in real time the movement of the target, the device acted as an “SOS” depending on the command, sending a distress signal along with the current location to the nearest workshops, ambulance or police patrols.