Stone Ranger

by Bob Blanton

  “We’d better call it a night,” Emily said. “Check on Alex one more time.”

  Matthew popped in on Alex again. She was still reading, so he took his view to the house and perused through the rooms. Sayid was in his study, reading. Matthew continued to check the rest of the house. Sayid’s manservant was briskly walking down the stairs, so Matthew decided to follow him. The servant walked into the study and cleared his throat.

  “Yes,” Sayid said.

  “That girl is on the road again.”

  “That’s two days in a row; she left early last night, didn’t she?”

  “How is she?” Emily asked.

  “They’re talking about her. Call her.”

  Emily grabbed her cell phone and pressed the speed dial for Alex.

  “Yes, she did,” the servant said. “But she came early tonight. What do you want me to do?”

  Sayid picked up a can of Raid from his desk, “I think you should shoot her; don’t you agree?”

  “The phone is not responding,” Emily said with disgust. “She must have her phone off.”

  Matthew felt panicked, “Then we’d better go get her. They’re talking about shooting her.”

  “What do you want me to do with the body?”

  “I think I will leave that detail to you. Now go.”

  The servant left the study and went to the garage.

  “Hurry, he’s getting a car,” Matthew and Emily raced to her Boxter.

  “It’s only about two minutes away; do you think we’ll make it?”

  “I hope so.”

  “Maybe you should just talk to her directly,” Emily said.

  “No way.”

  “But we can’t let them shoot her.”

  “I know; but what will she do if she hears my voice out of the blue?”

  “She’ll probably faint; how are we doing for time?”

  “He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry. He’s gone back to get the keys.”

  “Well, we’re off,” Emily said, as she laid some scratch with the Boxter. “Blast it! Mom’s going to bust me for marking the driveway.”

  “He’s getting into the car.”

  Emily turned the corner onto Via de la Valle on two wheels. Racing through the stop sign, she had the Boxter flying up the hill toward Alex.

  “He stopped to check the gate. What’s with this guy?”

  As they raced up the hill, Matthew could see Alex’s car ahead. “You should just let me out. I’ll get her to move. You go to the corner and turn around. Drive slowly to block his way until I get Alex on the move.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Matthew jumped from the car without waiting for Emily to bring it to a complete stop. He ran over to Alex’s car and banged on the window. Alex gave a short scream as Matthew scared her.

  “Matt, what are you doing?”

  “Let me in,” Matthew yelled.

  Alex flipped the power lock button, and Matthew opened the door and jumped into the car. “Drive!”

  “What is wrong with you, you scared me to death!”

  “Sorry, but we’ve got to get out of here, now drive. I’ll explain later.”

  Alex shook her head, but she started the car and drove off in the same direction Emily had taken.

  “What is going on?” Alex demanded.

  Matthew saw the colored lights from a police patrol car approaching them. “A can of Raid, speaking English.” Matthew pounded his forehead with the palm of his hand and muttered “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!”

  “What’s the matter with you?”

  “Cops,” Matthew pointed to the flashing lights approaching from behind.

  He took his cell phone out and pretended to use it; instead he used his portal to talk to Emily. “Emily, the cops are here, just keep driving home, we’re all right.”

  Then lowering his voice, so Alex couldn’t hear, he added. “They were baiting the FBI; I think they suspect the house is bugged. They used the threat against Alex to make them show their hand.”

  Matthew put his cell phone away as Alex was pulling the car over to the side of the road.

  “Alex, you’re writing a paper for biology on the coastal wildlife of San Diego. You were just doing night observations of the nocturnal animals. Got it?”

  “Good story,” Alex said, as she rolled her window down.

  “Good evening, miss,” the sheriff deputy said. “License and registration.”

  “We weren’t doing anything.” Alex dug through her purse to find her license. “The registration is in the glove box,” she said to Matthew. “Inside the manual.”

  Matthew pulled the car manual out of the glove box and handed it to Alex.

  “Would you mind telling me just what you were doing?” the deputy said.

  “I’m writing a report on coastal wildlife for my biology class. I’m just trying to see what’s out here at night for the report.”

  “And the parabolic microphone?” the officer said pointing to the microphone in the back seat.

  “She’s identifying them by sound, officer,” Matthew quickly volunteered.

  “And your part, young man?” the deputy said, nodding at Matthew.

  “My friend was giving me a ride home, when I remembered that Alex would be here. So I asked her to swing by, since I’d offered to help Alex with her paper.”

  “How about some ID, and what friend?”

  Matthew fished his student ID out of his wallet and handed it to the officer. “Emily Stevenson, we were studying at her house.”

  “All right, I’m going to ask you to follow me to the station,” the deputy handed their IDs back. “We’ll sort this all out there.”

  As the deputy headed back to his car, Matthew handed Alex her note pad. “Quick, write these names down, …… owl, fox, squirrel, bobcat, deer.”

  “What are these for?” Alex asked

  “Those are the wildlife you observed tonight. Check off a couple.”

  “Are you sure they’re all out here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stupid question, of course you are.”

  Alex hurriedly scribbled the names on the notepad, then started her car and followed the sheriff deputy’s car.

  When they arrived at the Encinitas Sheriff station, the deputy motioned toward a parking spot and waited for them at the door. As they walked up to him, he opened the door and led them to a room in the back of the station.

  “Agent Caruthers, here they are,” he said as he opened the door.

  Matthew immediately recognized the FBI Agent who had held the news conference about the terrorist suspect apprehended in San Diego before Thanksgiving.

  “Uh-oh” he whispered. Agent Caruthers looked very unhappy.

  “Uh-oh is right, young man,” agent Caruthers said in a stern voice. “Now what is this story about looking at wildlife?”

  Alex looked a little self-righteous as she answered, “I’m writing a report for my biology class. It’s about the nocturnal wildlife along our coast. I was just recording what was out in that area.”

  “And you?” the agent pointed to Matthew.

  “I was just helping.”

  “Do you have any idea where you were parked?”

  “Yes, we were parked on the side of El Apaho, a public street,” Matthew shot out.

  “Don’t get smart with me, young man. You were parked above the estate of Sayid Al Jabar, someone we’ve been keeping an eye on.”

  “So?”

  The agent gave Matthew a look that could melt steel. “Well, apparently Sayid didn’t appreciate the presence of your friend and her parabolic microphone, and decided to do something about it. We had to expose our operation to keep your friend from getting shot.” Matthew could tell the agent was really steamed.

  “Isn’t Sayid Arabic?”

  “Of course he is.”

  “Then what would he care if Alex was using a parabolic microphone? He would be using Arabic for anything he didn’t want overheard; Alex doesn’t speak Arabic.”


  The agent looked startled, “You just wait here,” she said as she headed out the door.

  Matthew decided to follow her with his virtual camera. He got it turned on just as she walked into another office and made a phone call. “Jackson, do you have the transcript of the conversation from tonight?”

  “Well, what language was Sayid speaking when he made the threat?” she continued. “English, and you didn’t think that was pertinent?

  “He wanted us to play our hand, and didn’t want to risk that we weren’t translating in real time. Damn, we just wasted a $10,000 bug and blew a two-month operation because you didn’t think the fact that he was speaking English was pertinent information.” She slammed her cell phone shut.

  When she came back into the room she was still steaming. “Now I want you two to go home and stay away from that estate. If I see or hear about you parking on that particular public road again, I’ll have you and your parents hauled in here. Do I make myself understood?”

  “Yes ma’am,” Matthew and Alex said together.

  “Now get out of here,” she turned her back on them and muttered, “amateurs,” under her breath. Matthew wasn’t sure if she was referring to them or Jackson. As they were walking out of the room, Matthew palmed a business card from the desk.

  “Why did you grab that?”

  “It’s her card, I was just curious what her job title is,” Matthew said. “You’re pretty observant.”

  As they got into the car, Alex turned to Matthew. “Now explain exactly what happened there?”

  “Emily and I were out grabbing a snack when we saw the Sheriff’s car turn up the road with their lights going. I just knew they were going to nail you,” Matthew lied. “Since we were closer, we raced over to get you out before they showed up.”

  “Well, thanks. And why didn’t you point out that they’d be speaking Arabic before? If I’d known that I wouldn’t have bothered. Even if they were planning something interesting, I wouldn’t have been able to tell. To think of the nights I’ve wasted up there,” Alex ranted on.

  “Well, you’ve been ahead on all of your reading for Mrs. Opperman.”

  “Well, that’s…” Alex stuttered then burst into laughter. “I thought the FBI agent was going to throw us in a cell and call our parents.”

  “Yeah, it wasn’t looking too good.”

  “And I’ve already started my paper on the amphibians in the lagoon. Now I have to start over with this crazy paper on nocturnal wildlife in case she checks.”

  “No you don’t, you can just say after she told you that you couldn’t park on the side of the road, you switched topics.”

  “You think I can get away with that? I’m almost done.”

  “I doubt she’ll check, but boy was she mad.”

  “Do you think we messed up their operation?”

  “No, I think Sayid already knew they were bugging him. He just used you as a way to prove it.”

  “I hope so; I’d hate to think that my efforts to help the war on terrorism turned into aiding and abetting the enemy.”

  “If that’s all the aid they need, we’re really in trouble. Can you drop me at Emily’s? I need to get my stuff.”

  “Sure, you really saved my bacon with that story you thought up. You should think about joining the CIA; lying skills like that should be put to good use.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Alex dropped Matthew off at Emily’s house then drove home. Emily met Matthew outside.

  “Well?”

  “It’s fine. The FBI agent who made the announcement about apprehending the terrorist last month was there. She read us the riot act.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She told Alex that if she caught her parking above Sayid’s house again, she’ll haul her and her parents in.”

  “Hopefully that will work.”

  “It doesn’t have to.”

  “What do you mean, it doesn’t have to?”

  “I realized that if Sayid was worried about being overheard he’d use Arabic. I suggested it to the FBI agent, and she realized the same thing I did.”

  “What?”

  “That Sayid spoke in English so that we could understand him. He knew someone was listening in and wanted them to show their hand. So he threatened Alex in English, so they would react immediately without having time to think.”

  “That’s clever.”

  “Anyway, when Alex realized she wouldn’t understand any conversation that she might overhear, she started ranting and raving about all the time she’d wasted up there.”

  “I’ll bet she was mad, she’s a real night owl and likes the action. I’ve got to believe that sitting in a car on the side of the road was killing her.”

  “What about your mom and the little scratch mark?”

  “I told her that Alex called and said she’d run out of gas. So she was very understanding. All I have to do is clean it up.”

  “Let’s just hope that your mom and the FBI agent don’t compare notes.”

  “Yes, and speaking of that, I’ll call Alex to get our story straight. Why don’t you put your bike in the back of the Expedition, and I’ll drive you home.”

  “Yeah, I’ll have to explain to my mom why I’m an hour late.”

  “Don’t worry, I already called her and gave her my cover story.”

  “What a tangled web we weave,” Matthew hummed.

  Game Time

  On Tuesday after school, Jennifer came for Matthew’s practice with Jeffrey.

  “You sure you’re still interested?” Matthew asked Jennifer. “Or is Bill the main man now?”

  “Enough about Bill; yes, I’m still interested,” Jennifer said.

  “Okay, I’ll be in the back, you can answer the door.”

  “Where’s Jessie?”

  “She’s out back playing, I’ll watch her until Jeffrey gets here,” Matthew said. “I think that’s him coming up the sidewalk.”

  Matthew went out back with the staffs and messed around with Jessica while Jennifer answered the door.

  “Hi, Jeffrey.”

  “Hi, Jen; where’s Matt?” Jeffrey asked.

  “He’s out back. Are you ready for the tournament?”

  “I hope so; I’ve worked all last week on this form. I hope Matt likes it.”

  “I’m sure he will.”

  Jeffrey walked to the back patio with Jennifer following.

  “Hi, Matt, hi, Jessie.”

  “Hi, Jeffrey, you ready?”

  “I’ve been practicing all week.”

  “That’s more than I can say for myself.”

  “Well, you don’t need much practice.”

  “Oh, but that it were true,” Matthew threw a staff to Jeffrey.

  They ran through the form three times, the first time at half speed then twice at full speed.

  “That was sharp,” Matthew said as they finished the last form. “You have been practicing.”

  “Yeah, it’s all I worked on during my lesson this week, and then Sifu Lee gave me a lesson on it as well. He said he thinks we can take a medal.”

  “That’s the plan. That El Cajon school is going to be hard to beat. The Jones team was really good last year.”

  “Well, I think you two were amazing,” Jennifer said. “I can’t wait till the tournament. We’ve got a new digital camcorder, so I’m going to capture every moment.”

  “You’d better bring a lot of memory. What are you doing this year, Jeffrey?”

  “I’m doing this form of course, then the Plumb Blossom Saber, the purple sash material and the two person hand form.”

  “Are you doing a Tai Chi form?”

  “Yes, but I’m just trying to qualify for push hands, so I don’t expect to place. I don’t do very much Tai Chi.”

  “Well, if you want to get really good, you should. The Black Sash material is a lot easier if your Tai Chi is good, and the material after that is even more like Tai Chi.”

  “I know that’s what t
hey say, but I just don’t have enough time. I’ll try to work on it this summer when school’s out. How many events are you entered in?”

  “A bunch. Let’s see, Tai Chi hand form, Tai Chi Sword, Tai Chi Saber, Plumb Blossom saber, Two-man form, short weapon, two-person staff with you, then with Mr. Corlis, long weapon, Black Sash material and of course the combat events.”

  “You’re doing the two-person staff twice?” Jennifer asked.

  “Yes, with a different partner each time.”

  “Do you think you can win the tournament grand champion?” Jeffrey asked.

  “I don’t know, it depends on how Stevens from El Cajon does.”

  “Isn’t he the cop?”

  “Yes, I think he’s actually with the La Mesa Police Department, he just lives in El Cajon.”

  “Wait, you mean you’re competing against an adult?”

  “Just for the grand champion and in the advanced forms. The combat competition is divided into age groups.”

  “Speaking of who I have to fight, what are you going to weigh in at?” Matthew asked Jeffrey.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ll be under 145. What about you?”

  “I’m about 156, so I’m not going to try and get under 145. SiFu will like that since it’ll give both of us a shot at a gold medal. Are you still set to come over again on Wednesday?”

  “If you’ve got the time,” Jeffrey replied.

  “Why, aren’t you already practicing every day this week?” Jennifer asked.

  “As you just heard, I’ve got a lot of material to practice,” Jeffrey said. “My time is totally blocked out between now and the tournament.”

  “Oh,” Jennifer replied.

  “I’m just glad Matt’s willing to spend this much time working on this form with me.”

  “Like I said, I’m expecting a medal out of it,” Matthew said. “And speaking of medals, where’s Jessie?”

  “Oh, she got bored and went over there to play in her doll house,” Jennifer said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her.”

  “I’ll go play with her, if you’ll let Jeffrey out.” Matthew ran over to Jessica’s big dollhouse and jumped on the roof. “Let me in!”

  “No!” Jessica yelled.