The shop grew quieter. The laughter died down into a skeptical curiosity. Some guys rolled their eyes, but others started to lean in. Maya pulled a worn notebook from her backpack, filled with sketches and technical notes she’d been making for weeks.
She’d been studying this specific engine model in secret, piecing together diagrams from her dad’s old manuals and deep-diving into engineering forums online. One of the senior techs laughed and muttered, «This isn’t a science fair project, honey. It’s a professional grade block». Maya ignored him, completely locked in.
She knelt by the base of the block, tapped a wrench against a few bolts, and then went still. The guys looked at each other, confused. Suddenly, she stood up, brushed the dust off her knees, and said something that stopped everyone cold.
«This engine wasn’t designed to run», she said. Her voice was calm and flat. The room went dead silent. Russell straightened up, his smirk replaced by a look of annoyance.
«Excuse me?» he snapped. But Maya was already turning to the other mechanics. «Whoever put this together created a hidden loop in the fuel mapping software. Every time the ignition tries to complete a cycle, the system resets itself».
«This engine was sabotaged from the inside. You could replace every physical part on this block, and it still wouldn’t fire. That’s why none of you could fix it». The laughter was gone now, replaced by a heavy tension. She sounded too sure of herself to be guessing.
The senior techs looked at each other, doubt creeping in. One of them stepped forward, checked the diagnostic port she was pointing to, and went pale. «She’s right», he whispered. The words rippled through the shop.
Nick felt his knees go weak with relief, while Russell’s jaw tightened. He was losing control of the room. Maya reached into her father’s tool chest and grabbed a torque wrench. «I can fix it, but I need thirty minutes of peace and quiet».
What happened next bruised a lot of egos and uncovered a secret so big that even Maya wasn’t fully prepared for the fallout. The shop was pin-drop quiet. Russell stared at her like she was speaking a foreign language.
The guys who had been mocking her just minutes ago were now frozen. Maya set her bag down and began to work. Her movements were precise, practiced, and efficient. She wasn’t guessing; she was executing a plan.
The truth was, she’d been fixing this engine in her head for a month. Outside the main bay, a few guys from the front office gathered at the windows to watch. Word had spread like wildfire: Nick’s kid just called out a sabotage job on the “unfixable” motor.
It was a bold move. Russell cleared his throat, trying to regain his “boss” persona.
«Don’t mess it up, kid. If you blow a valve, your old man is paying for the replacement». «It’s already broken, Russell», Maya replied without looking up. «And the problem isn’t the valve. It’s the logic board. But you already knew that, didn’t you?»
That hit Russell like a physical blow. He flinched. The crew looked from Maya to Russell, noticing the sudden panic in the manager’s eyes.
Maya knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t stop. She pulled the top cover off, revealing a mess of wiring that looked like a nightmare to anyone else. But to her, the lack of logic was the key…
Comments are closed.