My Sister, the Traitor

By Becky Black Powell

My Sister, the Traitor, the second book of the Max Williams Adventure series, features Max Williams, a quirky, super-smart kid who wants to work for the CIA, and his crack team of spies-in-training. Max uses his Aikido skills to solve mysteries, and depends on his seventy-year old sensei, Mrs. W for advice.

Max loves being a hero, but now he has a rival – Mrs. W’s nephew, Axel. Smart, popular, and practically a black-belt in Aikido, Axel is more than Max can handle. Even worse – he’s dating Max’s sister, Belinda. But, when Max plots to ruin Axel’s reputation, he winds up in the middle of a dangerous crime scene.

Max and Axel must work together to solve the crime before Axel is arrested for arson. Or worse - before Hinky the crime boss finds them. Max doesn’t want to lose Sensei W’s friendship, but he might if he can’t fix the mess he’s made before he ruins Axel’s life.

My Sister, the Traitor is book 2 in the Max Williams Adventure Series, but can easily be read if you haven't read book 1. The series is designed to introduce kids to the art of aikido and the values of determination, loyalty, and fairness without being preachy. Max works his way through his problems in his own unique way, with the patient guidance of Mrs. W.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Becky Black Powell
• Release date: Jun 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310040436

Becky Black Powell

Perhaps a late bloomer, Becky Black Powell started writing books after a career as a lawyer and nine years of homeschooling her son. She is the author of the Max Williams Adventures Series. The series features Max Williams, a quirky, super-smart kid who wants to work for the CIA, and his crack team of spies-in-training. Max uses his Aikido skills to help solve mysteries, and depends on his seventy-year old sensei, Mrs. W, for advice.Mother to a college-aged son who is a gifted Aikidoka, Powell was inspired by the tremendous positive impact his training brought to the entire family. One goal of the Max Williams books is to give back to the Aikido community by spreading the word about this beautiful martial art.Powell lives in rural Tennessee with her husband, two dogs - Angel, a Jack Russell Terrier, and Scout, a mixed-Lab - and a pond full of koi. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, binge watching on Netflix, and being outside with her dogs. She is currently working on a novel for grown-ups, The Magdalene Controversy.She is always available to answer reader's questions and comments. You can contact her via e-mail at [e-mail]

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Thanks to my wonderful readers, Nancy Bevis Dwyer and Jennifer Stevens as well as my writers’ group. Their insightful feedback made the book better. Where would I have been without the tremendous work of my editor, Evelyn Black? She helped to pull the draft together into a polished final manuscript. And, she did it with enthusiasm and grace.

I’d especially like to thank Collin Wildridge. Collin wrote to me after reading My Neighbor, the Spy and I’ve enjoyed exchanging e-mails with him ever since. It was Collin who suggested giving Ms. W a great-nephew from Germany who would date Max’s sister and become his rival. Collin generously took time away from his college exams to skype with me. He taught me the basics of Zen and even demonstrated proper zazen technique. Collin is a wonderful writer in his own right, and I look forward to reading his books one day soon.

A special thanks also to Doris Evans. This beautiful lady inspired the character of Ms. W. My son had the privilege of meeting Doris at an Aikido seminar and they’ve remained friends ever since. Over a Christmas-Eve dinner of gumbo and cornbread, Doris shared the harrowing story of her family’s escape from East Berlin. While I took some liberties with the characters and facts, her story is the basis for the one Axel tells Belinda about his family.

Thanks also to the many special people in the Aikido community who have shared so much and continue to support Max’s adventures.

Finally, thanks from the bottom of my heart to my husband for his support, encouragement and indulgence.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my son. He continues to inspire me to do and be my best.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

DEDICATION

Chapter 1 THE GREAT YEAR

Chapter 2 THE INTRODUCTIONS

Chapter 3 THE STORY

Chapter 4 THE MESSAGE

Chapter 5 THE WORDS

Chapter 6 THE QUESTIONS

Chapter 7 THE RUMORS

Chapter 8 THE FIGHT CLUB

Chapter 9 THE LONE WOLF

Chapter 10 THE STAIRCASE

Chapter 11 THE BASEMENT

Chapter 12 THE ELEVATOR

Chapter 13 THE AFTERMATH

Chapter 14 THE INVESTIGATOR

Chapter 15 THE CONSEQUENCE

Chapter 16 THE GUILT BLANKET

Chapter 17 THE ACCUSATION

Chapter 18 THE LOOK INSIDE

Chapter 19 THE CONFESSION

Chapter 20 THE SURPRISE

Chapter 21 THE PLAN

Chapter 22 THE ESCAPE FROM EAST BERLIN

Chapter 23 THE TEAM MEETING

Chapter 24 THE INTERVIEWS

Chapter 25 THE LAMB

Chapter 26 THE WILD GOOSE CHASE

Chapter 27 THE PERFECT CHANCE

Chapter 28 THE HICCUP

Chapter 29 THE FERRIS WHEEL

Chapter 30 THE ARRESTS

Chapter 31 THE END OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

Chapter 32 THE FACE-TO-FACE

Chapter 33 THE GRAND OPENING

MORE BY THE AUTHOR

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

APPENDIX

Chapter 1 THE GREAT YEAR

I can't believe the worst summer of my life came right after the best summer of my life. Things started falling apart as soon as Axel came to town. But, the problem really started before that.

Last summer I thought my neighbor, Mrs. Wakenbaum, was a spy. I hoped I could find proof she was a spy to give to the CIA so they would hire me when I'm old enough. Mrs. W had this strange accent, was a highly skilled fighter - which you have to admit is unusual for an old lady - and took a lot of trips with a very suspicious suitcase. My plan would have worked except it turned out that Mrs. W has absolutely nothing to do with espionage, or spy work for those who don't speak the lingo. She's just a very nice neighbor who happens to be from Germany and who happens to be an Aikido sensei who travels all over teaching seminars. Her suspicious suitcase wasn't suspicious at all. It was just old.

So I didn't make a big impression on the CIA like I wanted, but I made a great new friend and I learned Aikido. Mrs. W wasn't even mad that I planned to turn her over to the CIA as an enemy spy. She opened a dojo in town and I've been training there all year. I’ve gotten pretty good too. She even lets me help with a class for the little kids once a week. Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing since Twyla Smith is in that class and Twyla is in love with me. But, that's getting away from the point.

It was Mrs. W who gave me the idea for surviving the big football game last year before sixth grade started. See, the sixth graders have to play the seventh graders in football. There were a couple of problems with that. One was that my friends - B'Me (short for Beam me up Scotty), Bump, and Dillon - had never played football. But, the bigger problem was that, as soon as we walked out on that field, we knew the Reedster planned on pounding us into the ground. Reed Bender had it out for us from the day he moved in across the street from me last summer. He even kicked my dog Rufus in the ribs - that's how mean he is.

Mrs. W hinted that I should use what we learned in Aikido that summer to keep the Reedster from pulverizing us on the football field. She's like that. She doesn't tell you stuff. She makes you figure it out for yourself. All she said to me was With Aikido, you never know. But, I figured it out and it worked.

I used a technique called Heaven and Earth. The Reedster wound up flat on his back with me still alive, looking down on him. The sixth graders didn't win the game, but everybody was so impressed with the Aikido technique that things changed for me and my guys at school the next year. It was better that we ever hoped it would be. Kids came up and talked to us. Not mean-talking, name-calling talk. Nice talk, like they wanted to be around us all the time and sit by us at lunch and be our partner in science class and stuff. We were practically popular. Even girls smiled at me and came up to me and said nice things about my hair or my shirt even though my shirts are just plain old shirts and my hair is just regular hair. (That part kind of freaked me out, to be honest, but mostly I liked it.) I liked being the kid that everyone wanted to be around, the one that people came to when they had problems to solve.

Little kids started asking me to show them Aikido moves. Then, a few kids came to me for help when dogs went missing, or their bikes got stolen. I figure if I'd charged for my problem-solving expertise, I'd be rich by now. But, of course, I didn't charge the kids anything. I helped out because that's just the kind of kid I am. A helper. A mystery-solver. A detective. A protector of the American way. A spy-in-the-making. Besides, all this stuff will look good on my job application when I apply to the CIA.

B’Me, Bump, and Dillon have been my best friends forever, and also my crack spy team. They helped with my investigation of Mrs. W and helped me solve kids' problems at school. But after awhile, I realized it was easier and faster to just do the investigating on my own. We're still friends but we went our separate ways - me going one way and the other three going their own way all together. But, it didn't matter. I had my hands full at the dojo and helping out kids at school.

So, things went pretty well for me in sixth grade for a change. I still wasn't the tallest or strongest guy in class. I was smart, though probably not the smartest. But, I'd beaten the Reedster all by myself and survived, and that was plenty good enough.

I admit I loved the way being a winner felt. I've never liked guys who get all gloaty and braggy when they win something. But now I understand how they feel. Being a winner feels better than just about anything else I've ever felt before.

Being Mrs. W's friend feels good too, of course. From the very beginning, even when I believed she was an enemy spy, I felt a strange urge to impress Mrs. W. She makes an awful lot of sense most of the time, which is strange for a grown-up. She's as tiny as a little girl, with skinny arms and legs and a head full of silver-white curly hair. But she's as strong as steel and can throw a big man less than half her age to the ground without breaking a sweat. That's because of Aikido. See, Aikido isn't about who's the biggest or the strongest. It's about balance, focus, and using the other person's energy to throw them off kilter.

Sixth grade was almost a perfect year. Then, Mrs. W told me her great-nephew, Axel, was coming from Germany as an exchange student for the summer. I was excited about meeting him. Any friend of Mrs. W is a friend of mine, I figured. Boy was I wrong.

Chapter 2 THE INTRODUCTIONS

I was watching from the window in my room when Mrs. W brought Axel home from the airport just after the start of summer vacation. Mrs. W is so small, I assumed that Axel would be small, too, but he wasn't. He was at least a head and a half taller than she was and his shoulders were straight and broad. He had thick, light brown hair and he was dressed all neat like a kid trying to impress a grown-up. His polo shirt was pale green and was tucked into a pair of khaki pants with a brown belt. He wore brown shoes without any socks. He looked like the kind of guy in the movies that girls go crazy over. He obviously gave a lot of thought to his appearance, which is generally a bad sign. But, maybe he dressed up for the plane ride, so I tried not to hold it against him right at first.

Mrs. W was clearly happy about Axel being here. She kept hugging him and patting his cheek and didn't even look toward my window and wave like she normally does. Then she took him inside and, I'm sure, fed him sugar cookies and lemonade.

Sugar cookies were Mrs. W's specialty. She made them for the patients at the hospital, and she always had some for me when I visited. Sometimes, I helped her make the cookies and deliver them at the hospital. At least, before Axel came I did. After Axel came, everything changed. Mrs. W did everything with Axel, including delivering her sugar cookies. She invited me to go too, but it wasn't the same. All the patients and nurses oohed and aahed over Axel. He's so handsome. You must be so proud. What a smart young man. People barely noticed me. It was disgusting.

I used to help Mrs. W work in her garden, but after Axel came, he was her helper. She let him dead-head the flowers - which she never let me do - and they dug up and planted a whole new flower bed in the back yard. Axel helped her edge it with bricks, and when they were done, they high-fived and she brought him a big glass of lemonade. They sat on her porch and talked until it got so dark I couldn't see them anymore through my binoculars.

After a few days, I noticed Axel looking toward my house. I caught him once looking right at me while I watched Mrs. W's backyard. It was the first time Axel and I came eye to eye and he gave me a nasty look.

After Axel had been at Mrs. W’s about a week, Mom asked me if I'd met him yet. She said I should go over and introduce myself, but I said I was busy helping some friends with important problems and didn't have time. I said I'd meet him at the dojo in a few days anyway. I don't think Mom was pleased with my answer, but I figured the longer I could put off having to actually meet Axel, the better off I'd be, and in hindsight, that turned out to be true.

But, that same night, after dinner, the doorbell rang. My whole family was sprawled out comfortably in the den watching TV. Belinda, be a dear and answer the door, Mom said. Belinda was curled up on the couch, but she stretched, stood, and went to the front door in the entry hall. I couldn't see who it was, but I could hear. Guess who? Right. Axel.

Hello. I'm Axel Wakenbaum, Mrs. Wakenbaum's great-nephew. Is Max here?

Max, yelled Belinda. There's someone here for you. But, it wasn't one of Belinda's hey, Max yells. It was a softer, more polite yell, one I wasn't used to hearing.

I'm busy, I yelled back using my normal yelling-back-at-my-sister yell.

Max Williams, that is no way to treat a guest. You get up off the floor and go introduce yourself. Mom turned off the TV with the remote and stood up. She walked into the entrance way.

Axel, welcome. Come on in the den. I'm Max's mother, Elise, and this is his father, Dennis.

It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Williams, Mr. Williams. My great-aunt has spoken very highly of you. She tells me you are both lawyers.

That's right. Are you interested in the law? asked Dad. He was always ready to talk about law stuff every chance he got. If I ever wanted his help with something, all I had to do was ask him a law question, and he'd help me with anything as long as I let him keep talking. I get a lot accomplished that way, plus I learn a lot about legal stuff that might come in handy some day. You never know when knowledge in general will come in handy.

As a matter of fact, I am. I plan on going to law school after college and would like to practice civil rights law in my own country. Perhaps I might even run for office one day.

How ambitious and admirable of you, Axel. Mom was a sucker for civil rights. She was always going to protest meetings for one thing or another. I knew right then than Axel had her hooked. If you have time this summer, you're welcome to come to our office and see what goes on in a law office day to day.

Mom and Dad never invited me to hang out at their office unless it was a last resort. They seemed to think every time I visited I brought the potential for major disaster, like mass important paper destruction, or potential client embarrassment. I admit I may have used bad judgment in the past with the paper shredder, but my parents just haven't figured out that I'm not a bratty kid anymore, that I'm way more responsible than I used to be. On the other hand, hanging out at Mom and Dad's office is usually pretty boring. I have no idea why Axel would be excited about it, but he was. Just more proof that he was a dweeb.

That's very nice of you, Mr. Williams. That would be an excellent opportunity for me. May I call your office and set up an appointment?

Boy, kids in Germany sure talk a lot fancier than kids here. He sounded like a walking, talking grammar lesson. I looked at Mom and Dad. They were eating it up.

Oh, just let me know when you want to come.

How about Friday morning? he asked.

Perfect. We'll expect you around nine.

I'll be there. Thank you again Mr. Williams, Mrs. Williams.

No problem. Now, we'll get out of your way and let you and Max get to know each other. Mom took Dad's hand and they walked into the kitchen, but Belinda had plopped back down on the couch and didn't seem to be going anywhere. She was staring at Axel in a really funny way, like her eyes would dissolve if she stopped looking at him for even a second.

Axel looked at Belinda and smiled. Her face turned red and she looked down at her hands. Um...I'm Belinda, she said to her hands. Her voice sounded different, light and silly. It was the voice she got sometimes when she talked on the phone. It was the voice I called her talking-to-a-boy voice.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Belinda, Axel said, sticking out his hand. I didn't think it possible for Belinda to turn a darker shade of red, but she did. She wiped the palm of her hand on her jeans and reached out to Axel. They grasped hands, but they didn't really shake. I think they used an introduction as an excuse to hold hands and for some reason that made me mad. So I got up off the couch and stuck my hand out to Axel.

I'm Max, I said, forcing him to let go of Belinda's hand and turn to me. I looked straight into his eyes and he took my hand and squeezed it hard. My eyes got all watery, but I gritted my teeth and tried to act like my knuckles weren't being ground into bone powder. A good spy never lets his enemy see him blink.

It's good to meet you, Max. My great-aunt has told me all about you. She wanted me to come over and introduce myself because she thought we'd be spending lots of time together this summer at her dojo. Now his parent-pleasing, sister-swooning, grammatically correct voice sounded flat.

Oh, yeah, I said, trying to sound casual. She mentioned something about you training in Aikido in Germany. Actually, she'd told me all about Axel's training in Berlin. He'd trained for eight years, since he was nine years old and to hear Mrs. W tell it, he was the greatest Aikidoka since O Sensei. But, great-aunts always exaggerate about their favorite great-nephews. Everybody understands that.

"Yes, I've been training at the Aikiki Zen Dojo in Berlin for about eight years. I'll be taking