Kinsella (Kinsella Universe Book 1) Read Free

hers,” Stan replied, “so it can’t be vibration, either.”
    “A plumb line,” Johnny supplied.  “My father uses them in his construction business.”
    The two looked at each other then at their apparatus.  “I don’t have a clue,” Stan said.  “Not a clue.”
    “I have a bad feeling about tomorrow if we don’t figure something out.”

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 2 — A Good Aim Point
     
     
     
    At five minutes after two the next day, Stan Benko and Johnny Chang walked into Stephanie’s office.
    “Professor Kinsella,” Stan told her, “we don’t know.”
    They were both in the same clothes they’d been in the day before, they both looked like they were in desperate need of sleep.
    “Tomorrow morning, nine o’clock, in your thesis advisor’s office.  Gentlemen, do or die.  Either you have done the math before then or I’ve discovered it, not you.”
    “Could you give us a direction to look, Professor?”  Johnny asked, more desperate than ever.
    “Give you a hint?  They teach the answer in Physics 101.  How many forces are there in physics?”
    “Four,” Stan said, trying to work a degree of surliness into his voice.
    “There’s your answer, multiple choice.  Do or die, gentlemen.  Nine in the morning, your thesis advisor’s office.”  She pointed at the door and the two left.
    About seven that evening, the two were in Stan’s apartment, after having snatched a few hours of sleep.
    Trina, Stan’s wife, came in, followed by Elaine Cho, a Chinese woman from Beijing.  Elaine was carrying a laundry bag.  “I’ll be a second, Elaine,” Trina told the younger woman.
    She turned to her husband.  “You have all your things in the laundry bag?”
    “Yes, Trina.”
    Trina vanished into their bedroom, and Stan looked at Elaine.  “You have Professor Kinsella, don’t you?”  Stan asked her.
    “Yes.  She’s a very difficult professor.  Very rigorous.”
    “You have any tips on how to deal with her?”  Stan persisted.
    “What do you mean ‘deal with her?’” Elaine asked, wary.
    “She’s on our case.  It’s do or die for us tomorrow morning.”
    “You crossed a full professor?”  Elaine said, obviously startled.  “I won’t get involved!”
    “Sometimes I just want to punch that smart-ass in the mouth!  Do the math!  Is that all she can say?”  Stan growled in anger.
    Elaine looked at Stan as if he were insane.  “In my country, were you to punch a full professor in the mouth, they would take you out the same day and put a bullet in your head.  Then they send a bill to your family for the cartridge.  Tell your wife I’ll be waiting for her in the laundry room.”
    Elaine whirled and left, as if fleeing the Black Plague.
    Stan stared at Johnny morosely.  Johnny just shrugged.  Singapore was more civilized: they wouldn’t send his parents the bill for the bullet.
    Trina came out and looked around.  “What happened to Elaine?”
    “She went ahead,” Stan said.
    Trina nodded towards the playpen where their year-old son was playing with some toys.  “Watch the kid, Stan.  I’ll be back in a while.”
    She left too and Stan stared vacantly into space.  Finally, he huffed a sigh, his eyes resting on his son.  “Some day, John, you will be my age and your mother will go out and tell me to ‘watch the kid.’”  Stan lapsed back into silence.
    The baby smiled at his father’s words and picked up a kaleidoscope someone had bought for him at one of the baby showers Trina had gone to.  He promptly tried to look through the wrong end.
    Stan got up and went and took it away from John, handing it back reversed.  “Gotta look at it the right way, John!”
    He was halfway back to the sofa when he saw the light bulb go off over Johnny’s head.  He was a second behind.
    “How it works can come later,” Stan said eagerly.  “We need to work from what is happening.  We’ve been looking at the wrong end of the problem.”
    “Well, I don’t