"Fair enough."
Owen stepped back.
"Try it."
Garrett climbed onto the motorcycle.
He inserted the key.
The crowd leaned forward.
He pressed the starter.
The engine turned.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
ROAR.
The motorcycle exploded to life.
The deep rumble echoed across the street.
People jumped.
Someone shouted.
Another person started laughing.
The mechanics stared at each other.
Garrett slowly released the starter.
The engine continued running perfectly.
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
Then Garrett looked at Owen.
"You actually did it."
Owen wiped his hands on his work shirt.
"I told you."
Garrett glanced at the cash sitting on the table.
Five thousand dollars.
He picked it up.
Then walked toward Owen.
The crowd expected him to hand over the money.
Instead, Garrett stopped inches away from the teenager.
"Why didn't you tell me what was wrong before you touched it?"
Owen looked confused.
"I didn't know until I found it."
Garrett nodded.
"Good answer."
Then he held out the money.
Owen hesitated.
"That's yours."
Owen stared at the cash.
"I can't take five thousand dollars."
Garrett laughed.
"You can."
"I only worked for five minutes."
Garrett shook his head.
"No."
He looked at the motorcycle.
"You spent years learning how to do what you just did."
Then he placed the money in Owen's hand.
"This isn't payment for five minutes."
"It's payment for knowing what to do with them."
The Question
The crowd slowly began to disperse.
But Owen didn't leave.
He stood beside the motorcycle, staring at the repaired wire.
Garrett noticed.
"You still think something's wrong?"
Owen shook his head.
"No."
"Then what?"
Owen hesitated.
"I think whoever worked on this before made the problem worse."
Garrett's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
Owen pointed toward the wiring.
"Look at the modifications."
Garrett leaned closer.
Owen continued.
"Somebody changed the electrical system."
"When?"
"I don't know."
"Can you fix all of it?"
Owen looked at the bike.
"Probably."