Stone Ranger

by Bob Blanton

  Matthew and Emily skied behind the toboggan as they took OverEasy down to the bottom of the Avanti lift. Then the Ski Patrol hooked the toboggan onto one of the chairs, and everyone got on board and rode the lift down to the lodge.

  When they got to the lodge, a team of doctors was waiting. They took Ben inside where they had an emergency station set up. They hooked an IV up to him right away with a warming unit attached. There was a flurry of activity as the doctors removed his clothing, took his temperature and got the IV started.

  After a few minutes, Mrs. Reeves came over to the seven teenagers. “I can’t believe it; they really don’t need to warm his blood. He was almost warm when he got here, his temperature should have been in the 80’s but he was around 92. There’s not even any frostbite.”

  “Does that mean he won’t have any brain damage?” Emily asked.

  “Only time will tell, but he’s starting to talk so it looks promising.”

  “That’s great,” Matthew and Emily said together.

  “There’s nothing else to be done here. We should head back to the house and leave room for these people to do their jobs.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  It was 9:00 that evening when someone knocked at the door to the house.

  “It’s Bill and some other people,” Jason said as he looked out the window.

  “Well let them in,” Mr. Winthrop said.

  Bill came in with the mother of the little boy, the man who had coordinated the search and two other men.

  “Hi guys, this is my uncle Kevin Stratman. I’ll let him introduce everyone else.”

  “Hello everyone. This is Mrs. Erika Klausman and her husband, Ambassador Wolfgang Klausman. It was their little boy you found. And this is Mr. Joelson; he is with the State Department.”

  “How is he?” Emily asked.

  Mr. Joelson stepped forward, “He’s awake and doing well, the doctors don’t think there will be any lasting effects. The Klausmans wanted to come by and personally thank you for finding their son, Ben. And I want to extend the thanks of the State Department also.”

  “The Ski Patrol found him,” Matthew said. “We just happened to be the ones working that part of the search.”

  “Don’t you never mind no search,” Mrs. Klausman said. You found my son and you made him warm.” She walked over to Matthew and Emily and embraced them both in a big hug, tears streaming down her face.

  Everyone just stood around feeling embarrassed until she let them go and straightened her coat. “We are forever in your debt.”

  Mr. Klausman shook Emily’s and Matthew’s hands. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And my older son, Wolfie, thanks you also. His life would have been very bad if you hadn’t found Ben.”

  “We only did what the Ski Patrol does dozens of times a year,” Matthew said. “We’re just happy Ben is going to be okay.”

  “We’re flying the Klausmans back to New York tonight, Mr. Joelson said. “Once again, I wanted to thank you. Could I get a number where I could get in contact with someone in the group?”

  “Here’s my business card,” Mr. Stevenson said. “I’m Emily’s father, and I can give you all the pertinent information when you call.

  Jason closed the door, “An ambassador’s son, you’ll probably get a medal.”

  “That was the Austrian ambassador to the UN,” Mr. Stevenson said. “I’m sure you’ll at least be getting a letter from the Secretary of State.”

  “They should send one to everyone who was up on that mountain looking for him,” Matthew said.

  “Son, speaking from experience, it’s the one who finds him that they care about the most. Now everyone, let’s get things back to normal around here.”

  As forecasted, Saturday and Sunday were warm and beautiful days. Since there had been no exchange of names, and Bill was being quiet with the information he had, they didn’t have to contend with any reporters. There were camera crews out, and Bill’s uncle gave a couple of interviews, but the excitement died down quickly and soon it was time to head back to San Diego.

  Shoot Her

  The plane made another perfect landing at Palomar. After it taxied to a stop, Mr. Winthrop got up to make an announcement.

  “The plane’s not due anywhere for a couple of days, so if you’ll just get your personal bags, Jason will come over tomorrow and get all the ski gear.”

  “Hey, thanks, Jason,” Tyler said obviously enjoying the idea of Jason fetching everyone’s luggage.

  “No problem.”

  As they got off the plane, Emily pulled Matthew aside, “Hopefully with so much excitement in Vail, Alex has forgotten about her friend here, but just in case will you check on her tonight?”

  “Sure, I was planning to. I’m not counting on her forgetting.”

  “I’m not betting on it either.”

  Tyler walked over and made a big point of giving Emily a kiss. “I’ll see you in school tomorrow.” Tyler grabbed his bag and headed to his car.

  Jason shuttled Alex, Matt, Jen and her parents in the Expedition. The Stevensons and the Winthrops both had their cars waiting for them.

  “Well, Jen, are you still coming over when Jeffrey comes to practice?”

  “Of course!”

  “What about Bill?”

  “He’s in Vail; we’ll probably never see each other again.”

  “But you did exchange phone numbers.”

  “Sure, but you know how that goes.”

  “I think he was a very nice young man,” Mrs. Reeves said.

  “Thanks, Mom.” Jennifer was obviously not excited about her mother having anything to do with her love life.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  At 9:30 Matthew checked in on Alex. Sure enough she was set up on the road above Sayid’s house.

  “Come on Alex, I don’t want to stay up late tonight, I’m tired,” Matthew muttered to himself, then his face lit up like a light bulb going off. “I wonder?”

  Matthew went to the refrigerator and got an ice cup that he kept there for working on sore muscles. Taking it back to his room, he focused on Alex again. He put one end of the portal over Alex’s jugular and the other end on the ice cup. After a few minutes, Alex was shuddering from cold. She tightened her coat around herself, but finally she started her car, turned the heater up full blast and drove off.

  “Score.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Then next morning before French class, Emily and Matthew conferred.

  “Well?”

  “She was there. But get this, I used an ice cup and did our warming technique in reverse. She went home in five minutes.”

  “What made you think of that?”

  “I was tired and didn’t want to stay up babysitting her till 10:30, so as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.”

  “I guess so. But can you get away with that every night?”

  “I don’t know, but maybe we can train her to not like the place.”

  “It’s worth a try. Are you coming over tonight to study?”

  “If you want, but if you’re too tired we can skip it.”

  “No we’d better not. Why don’t you come by my house around 7:00; I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Sounds fine.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  At lunch, Matthew met Brianna in the parking lot. Shortly Jason and Alex drove up in Jason’s Lexus. Matthew and Brianna squeezed into the back of the sports car.

  “A little tight back there?” Jason teased.

  “You know it is,” Brianna said. “I wish you’d bought a bigger car.”

  “I already compromised getting one with a back seat. I really wanted a roadster like Emily’s Boxter.”

  “Why did you compromise?” Matthew asked.

  “Mom made me. She said one two-seater in the family was enough, especially with three kids.”

  “Your mother is very practical,” Alex said.

  Jason parked the car outside of Rubio’s Fish Tacos, “Your Mexican banquet awaits you.�
�

  After getting their tacos and drinks, the foursome grabbed an outside table to eat.

  “Now for some serious discussion,” Alex leaned forward and looked really serious. “What are you two doing for the Winter Ball?”

  Matthew gave Alex a puzzled look. “What do you mean what are we doing? We’re going to the dance.”

  “How are you going to get there, silly? You can’t pick Brea up on your bike.”

  “That’s for sure, I’ve seen her gown, and it definitely won’t work on a bike,” Jason said.

  “I plan on renting a limo for us.”

  “Isn’t that kind of expensive for Mr. Cheapo?” Jason asked.

  “Unless we want my mom dropping us off.”

  Brianna looked startled. “No way! You might as well stamp geek on your forehead.”

  Matthew grimaced at Brianna’s comment. He wondered how long it would take her to figure out that he was basically a nerd, and would she still like him when she did. He didn’t wear glasses and was a black belt in Kung Fu, but he still liked to spend time reading and studying even when he didn’t have to, definitely nerd material.

  “So since Brea and I aren’t old enough to drive, what other choice do we have? I think we’ve double dated with you guys often enough; besides I figured you wouldn’t want to have us tagging along with you.”

  “I was assuming Jason would give us a ride,” Brianna said.

  “You would,” Jason said, “but I’d rather pay you to take a limo.”

  “Jason, don’t you still have a discount coupon for a limo because they had that flat tire on your prom date?”

  “Oh yeah, I guess I do,” Jason said. “I’ll sell it to you, Matt.”

  “No, you’ll give it to him,” Brianna stomped her foot for emphasis.

  “I was just joking, I’m sure Brianna knows where it is.”

  “But…”

  “But nothing,” Brianna gave Matthew a stubborn look.

  “Matt, just face the music, we’ve both been trapped by an expert. Maybe two experts,” Jason gave Alex a quizzical look.

  “Moi, I’m totally innocent here. But I agree with Brea.”

  Brianna had a big smile, looking very pleased with herself.

  “Matt, we’ve been had, and when Brea decides on something not even Father Time can wait her out. Besides, you’re still on the hook for the tip. We’d better get back to school before they trap us into doing something else.”

  Jason put his arm around Matthew’s shoulder and led him toward his car. Alex and Brianna quietly exchanged low fives then gathered up their stuff and followed after their guys.

  “I’ll pay you for the coupon,” Matthew whispered to Jason.

  “Matt, you’re getting confused here. When your girl traps you into doing something, you have to just smile and do it.”

  “How would she know?”

  “Trust me, trying to weasel out of it is just going to make her mad. Either you’ll be looking for a new girl, or she’ll make you pay dearly for your dirty dealing.”

  “Why should you get roped into this?”

  “It doesn’t matter; you’ve got to play it straight, because if you don’t I’ll be getting it from two sides; I can’t take that kind of punishment.”

  “Okay, okay, but I don’t want you guys trying to give me stuff. Just because you’ve got a lot more money than I do, doesn’t mean I can’t pay my own way.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be paying plenty if you keep dating Brea,” Jason laughed.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Later that day, Matthew parked his bike in Emily’s driveway. “Another year before I can drive, man this is going to get old.”

  Emily came out the front door, “Matt, is that you?”

  “Yes, I’m just parking my bike. How did you know I was out here?”

  “The security system buzzed. There’s a motion detector at the gate. I left it open, but it still buzzes whenever someone goes by.”

  “Still under tight wraps?”

  “Yes, but we’ve always had that. Dad’s pretty cautious.”

  “I guess he has to be.”

  “Well, are you going to stand out there all night or are you coming in?”

  “I thought I might just stay out here and admire the stars.”

  “They are pretty; it’s too bad the city lights wash them out so much. Now come on in.”

  As they closed the door behind themselves, Emily’s mother peeked out of the family room, “Hi, Matt, you guys studying tonight, that’s dedication. I’m still tired from the trip.”

  “Hi, Elizabeth. Emily’s a slave driver.”

  “Don’t we all know? Let me know if you need anything.”

  “We’re fine, Mom. We’ll be in the den.”

  Emily closed the den door behind them then turned to Matthew. “Matt, have you checked on Alex?”

  “She’s still at home doing her homework.”

  “Good, let’s check on her every hour or so?”

  “Whatever. That girl is really becoming a problem. Does she know all the hassles she’s causing?”

  “I’m sure she doesn’t. But if your plan works, we’ll be able to freeze her out of this spy mode.”

  “I hope so.”

  Emily sat down at the table. She had set it up with a tray of drinks and a bowl of pretzels. “Have you finished your homework?”

  “Everything except the new paper.”

  “I should have known. Can you believe Mrs. Opperman, giving us a new novel and paper to write three weeks before the Christmas break, and making it due the day we get back?”

  “Yeah, that is cruel. And A Prayer for Owen Meany isn’t a short novel either, over 500 pages of John Irving.” Matthew joined Emily at the table and pulled out his laptop and notebook.

  “I’m going to try and finish reading the book before the break, but I suspect I’ll be writing the paper after Christmas.

  Do you want to work on that instead of studying for the SAT?” Matthew asked.

  “No, I just want to complain. You’re supposed to be supportive and agree with me.”

  “I am. I think it’s cruel and unusual punishment this close to Christmas.”

  “Well, enough griping. Do you want to do analogies or sentence completion?

  “Let’s start with analogies; I like them better since they’re like a puzzle.”

  “Okay, Wood is to Rotten as, a)…”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Kids, do you want something to snack on?” Mrs. Stevenson asked after knocking on the door.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s 9:00,” Emily said. “Thanks, Mom, I’ll get it.” Then she whispered to Matt, “Check on Alex while I refill the pretzels.”

  Matthew zeroed in on Alex with his portal. She was on the road above Sayid’s house as usual. She had her night vision binoculars and parabolic microphone set up. She was reading A Prayer for Owen Meany while she listened in on the headset attached to the microphone.

  He took a quick perusal through Sayid’s house. Sayid was working on some papers; the writing was in Arabic, so Matthew couldn’t tell anything about what they said.

  “How’s Mata Hari?” Emily asked when she returned with the tray of refreshments.

  “So far so good,” Matthew replied, taking a sip of the Seven-Up Emily had brought him.

  “Good.”

  “Want to run a couple of additional experiments on my portal?” Matthew asked.

  “Sure, what are you trying to make it do now?”

  “Well, I’ve been trying to figure out why sometimes it moves and other times it seems to be locked in place.”

  “What have you figured out so far?”

  “There seem to be two states. One, my end is at a fixed place relative to me and the other end kind of floats where it needs to be. So it either stays where I place it or moves like a camera based on where I’m thinking. The second state, they are in a fixed position relative to each other and hold that no matter what.”

  “I thought y
our end had to be close to you.”

  “I still have that constraint. I have about two feet of range now,” Matthew said, “still kind of limiting.”

  “Okay, so what do you want to test?”

  “Let’s see how the angles play out when they’re fixed relative to each other,” Matthew said. “I’ll bring it up and you press on it. We’ll try different orientations.”

  Matthew brought the portal up, his end straight out in front of him vertical to the floor and the other end by Emily but horizontal to the floor.

  “Push your end down.”

  Emily pressed on her end. The one by Matthew moved toward him. He put his hand out to stop it. “Push harder.”

  Emily put her weight on top of the portal. Matthew had to brace himself in a Tai Chi stance to keep his end from moving.

  “Okay, just a minute.” Matthew reoriented his portal to be horizontal. “Now push on it.”

  Emily pushed on her end while Matthew pushed on his. Emily’s end started to rise up and she adjusted herself to press harder.

  “Oops,” Emily exclaimed as she fell to the floor.

  Her end went shooting up and Matthew’s end crashed toward the floor. He stifled a laugh as he rolled over and looked at Emily.

  “What happened?” Matthew asked.

  “I was trying to put more of my weight on it, but then I slipped off. It’s very slippery.”

  “Is it? My end isn’t.”

  “Maybe that’s because it tries to hold the same relative position to you,” Emily said. “To me it’s as slippery as a sheet of ice.”

  “Hmm, that’s interesting. Two new properties, the direction of motion is normal to the plane of the each end of the portal. So no matter how I have it arranged, moving one end causes the other to move the same distance, but as though the energy were being applied directly behind it. And it seems the portal surface has a very low coefficient of friction.

  The two ran a few more experiments. When they were done, Matthew had figured out that he could move the other end along the plane of its surface without effort, so it could act like a magic carpet holding as much weight as he could hold from his end and moving it back and forth. He also verified that it was indeed a very slippery surface, as close to zero friction as he could imagine. He could make the surface flexible, and whatever he put on it would indent the surface and so not slide off, but if it were hard, any motion and whatever was on it would go sliding off.