My Genius Apprentice

Chapter One

Sweating profusely in his Galaxy Garrison uniform wasn't Samuel Holt's idea of a very good time. Even more, not knowing where exactly he was; he was a scientist after all and used to knowing exactly what was happening around him. On the crowded streets of Santiago de Cuba though, he was completely out of his element. He quickly wiped the sweat off his forehead before continuing through the small crowd of tourists that were loitering around the town. He slid his cell phone from his bag and pulled up the address he was given and the picture of a worn down repair shop. Before long he was being led to the building by a kind man who he asked for direction from when he purchased a bottle of water from a nearby shop.

"Is there any reason why you are going to this particular shop, my friend?" The man asked glancing sideways at Sam.

"Apparently there is a genius living there, and we want to give him the chance to succeed," Sam replied, not giving away many details of his purpose there. The man only laughed in response and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Little Lance than, good luck with that, he is not one to leave his family,"

"Oh really?" Sam inquired.

"Oh yes, even though he is still very young he says that he will only ever work in the shop with his father and brothers, but I have seen that mind work and he is destined for something greater," the man replied suddenly somber. "I am only a family friend, but he deserves to excel and I pray that you can convince him," he smiled walking away when they arrived in front of the shop.

"I will certainly try," Sam grinned. "Thank you so much," He blew out a breath and turned his head back towards the shop.

It was a moderately sized plain white building with chipping paint. It had a single garage door on the right-hand side that was painted in dark green, it had four glass windows in it showing two men inside working. The door on the left-hand side was painted the same dark green and showing an open sign in the window. His gaze lifted to the sign across the length of the building that read "Cortez Reparación". Beside it was a large painted wrench. Although Sam could tell that this was a place of business, there were sheets and clothing flapping in the wind above the sign hanging from stands and lines on the roof. Without much more delay Sam walked into the shop immediately meeting eyes with a woman sitting at a small desk.

"Hello, are you Rosa McClain?" He asked.

"No, but I can go get her for you," She replied getting up from her work and entering the garage. "Cortez, there is someone out there to see Rosa," she said when she passed the two men working on a car. The older man put his tools down while the other continued working.
"Oh, hello, are you Cortez McClain?" Sam asked when the man stood in front of him. The man nodded and held out his hand. "Great, I'm Samuel Holt of the Galaxy Garrison," he stated taking the hand with a smile.

"Can I help you?" Cortez asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, actually I'm here to help you, or your son Lance more specifically," Sam informed him. "We were informed that he has already gone through the work required for primary schooling, and is ready to be enrolled in higher education,"

"Yes, that's correct," Cortez replied with a proud grin on his face.

"Excellent, we would like to recruit Lance to be a part of the Galaxy Garrison with full-ride scholarship and dual citizenship," Sam added pulling a file from his bag. He looked up to see a shocked face from Cortez, who had his mouth wide open and eyes widened.

"Is there something wrong Mr. McClain?" Sam asked concerned placing a hand on his shoulder. Cortez shook his head and focused back on Sam.

"I'm just surprised that you are offering this, he is still only ten," he replied.

"We know but we believe that with early schooling through the Garrison he will be able to change the world," Sam said his eyes glittering at the thought. Cortez chuckled.

"Oh, you don't need to convince us, we know that Lance belongs out in the world away from this shop," he said fondly. They turned when they heard someone step in the door, it was a short boy with unruly brown hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"You'll need to convince him," he stated gesturing to the boy. Sam's eyes widened. This was Lance.