HIDDEN MICKEY ADVENTURES 5

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  Lance studied the drawing a little longer. When he nodded, Peter let out a Whoop! “I think this is a good idea, Pete. Your usual place to jump is too far away.” He glanced up at his son. “You do know you’ll have to do this during the day while the ride is operating.”

  “Oh. I thought Aunt Beth could get me in after it closes.”

  “You’d be putting her job at risk if she was caught there after hours helping you. Well, I guess you still are, but there’s less of a chance this way. If you’re not seen, that is. It is a job they have to do every day, so its possible Beth can arrange to do it.”

  “I was thinking I needed to wear all black since that part of the ride is pretty dark.” Peter paused.

  “What’s wrong? It seems like you have it all worked out.”

  “I’m just not sure exactly where to look. It’s pretty big and everyone in the boats will be able to see me.” Peter’s enthusiasm and confidence was starting to wane the more he thought about it.

  “That’s why you need to figure it out before you get Beth involved. Look at the clue again and come to a decision.”

  Peter eyed his dad. “Where would you look first?”

  Lance handed the map back to his son. “This is your clue search. You need to figure that out for yourself.”

  “But you have an idea, right?”

  Lance smiled at the boy’s persistence. “Yes, I do.”

  “And you won’t tell me.”

  “Nope.”

  Disneyland

  “Okay, Peter, this is what’s going to happen.” Dressed in her pirate costume at the loading position on the Landing, Beth felt both excited and guilty. She hadn’t been to work since the accident and missed all of her friends on the attraction. But, a major part of her happiness was overshadowed by guilt at not being by Catie’s side in case she was needed. She pushed the guilt to the back of her mind. This is just what she would have done if her daughter was with Peter on this search. “Since it’s late in the evening and not very busy, we need to take four of the boats off the flume. There are too many empty boats going through.” She paused to help the next group of guests into their boat. When the two launches were on their way into the dark waters of the Bayou, she lowered her voice. “I’m going to get you into the last boat to be taken offline. Once your boat gets into the water, immediately duck down onto the floor and stay there until you hear me call you. I want the dispatcher to think this one is empty too. Got it?”

  The Lead of the ride signaled Beth to hold back the guests so the next four boats could be sent out empty. A friend of Beth’s, she looked the other way when Peter got into the last boat and took a seat. As soon as the first two boats were underway, Beth went up the stairs to the dispatcher’s office. Here was the wall of monitors that showed different parts of the ride. When the second set of boats—the ones that held Peter—was sent forward, Beth interrupted Scott before the boat would drift into his view. She silently hoped Peter did what he was told. “Hey, Scott, I’m going down to gets those boats offline. Cloe is there to take my place. Be back soon.”

  “Nice to have you with us again, Beth. That’s fine. Let me know when you’re back.” Scott turned back to the monitors and waited for the green light that indicated all the guests were seated properly. Once the light came on, he punched a button that released them into the flume.

  Peter had immediately pretended to drop something, bent down to pick it up, and never resurfaced. He had an odd ride of just watching the sky as he floated along. The waterfalls were interesting when he banged around and then deluged with water at the bottom. Not daring to peek over the side, he could tell where he was just by the sounds. When he went through the misty curtain and into the Fort scene, he tensed. He was almost there.

  Beth had to hurry down a flight of stairs and wind through the tunnels until she reached the battle scene. She shook her head. Peter never would have been able to navigate this by himself. Just past the Fort and the ship, she reached the operation panel. Watching the boats, she saw the last one loaded with guests. After it drifted by, she pushed a button that stopped the next boats and raised a black curtain that was invisible in the darkness of the ride. Once ready, she flipped an electrical switch that rerouted the next four boats backstage. When they were safely out of sight, the curtain was back in place and the ride flume opened for the boats to continue as normal.

  Beth hurried into the boat storage area. It was a dark room with a low, black ceiling and narrow wooden walkways next to the motionless boats. Lit by a few fluorescent bulbs, there were wires and cables snaking through the curved waterway. “Peter?” Her voice was low. Even though there was a lot of action going on out in the ride, she didn’t want to be accidently overheard. “You can come out now.”

  His head popped up from the empty boat. A wide smile covered his face as he examined the storage area. “Wow, this is so cool!”

  Beth looked around at the stark, unadorned wooden walls. “If you say so. Not so loud, please. I need to get back to work. You know what you need to do?”

  He slowly nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Where’s that door into the Auction?”

  Beth pointed behind her. “Follow me. I need to go that way to get back to the Landing.” She ran a critical eye over his black clothes. “Pull your cap a little lower. Your blond hair is like a beacon.”

  “Thanks for your help, Aunt Beth! I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  She gave him an impromptu hug, Catie’s missing presence unexpectedly washing over her. “You’re welcome, honey. Just keep your head down and wait for the break between the boats. There isn’t anything else I can do for you. Just meet me back here in two hours when its time to take more boats offline. You set?”

  Suddenly nervous, he just nodded. He had it all worked out in his mind, but, as he had found, not everything went as planned.

  Seeing his hesitation, Beth took him by the shoulders and looked into his wide eyes. “You don’t have to do this, Pete. We can figure something else out if you want.”

  Shooting for bravado, he gave her a wavering smile. “I got this. What can possibly go wrong?”

  Folding her arms over her chest, Beth tilted her head. “Isn’t that what you said to Alex before Wolf dragged you off the Columbia?”

  Gosh, Alex told her everything! “Yeah, well, this is different. Alex isn’t here.”

  “Not totally reassuring. We can call this off.”

  “No, I’m good. Just a little nervous. Don’t you have to get back to work?”

  Beth let out a loud laugh and then clamped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, you are so much like your dad! Yes, I have to get back, punk. Thanks for reminding me. See you in two hours?”

  When he realized she had asked a question, Peter gave a brief nod and followed her to his entry point.

  “Shift yer cargo, dearie. Show ‘em your larboard side.”

  “We wants the redhead! We wants the redhead!”

  Peter had crawled through the back of the Auction set, the familiar dialogue drifting over him. Behind the tied-up prospective brides was the huge Mercado building. To fill the set were bales of goods, baskets and barrels, and a random goat that cluttered the floor. A few of the doors of the façade were open, an orange glow of fire coming from within. Peter knew he had to get behind the Auctioneer and the lady with whom he was trying to entice the drunken pirates.

  A small set of stairs went up to the next level that brought him even with the open door directly under the Mercado lettering. There was only a short distance to cover to get behind the Auctioneer, but it would be in full view of the oncoming boats. On his hands and knees, Peter cautiously stuck his head out of the open doorway. A camera immediately flashed in his eyes. “Oh, that’s probably not good.” He threw himself backward just as a disembodied voice came out of nowhere. “No flash photography, please.”

  Heart pounding, he waited until he thought the second boat would be gone. The scene beyond the auction was enticing enough that he didn’t wo
rry about people looking backward and seeing him. Instead of sprinting as he had first planned, he crawled behind the blue-dressed bride and her captor. Once past those two figures, he threw himself flat on the curved archway. The goat perched on the topmost post towering overhead didn’t seem too concerned by his abrupt appearance

  “It’s gold I be after!”

  “Yeah, you and me both, Captain,” Peter mumbled to himself as he eyed the length of the bridge. It didn’t look that long in the pictures. There were two more pirates and a chicken on the bridge. He knew he would have to be careful not to bump the Audio-Animatronic figures as it might cause them to malfunction. As he stared at the goat, he thought it felt odd to be the only human—the only real human—in the scene. The figures kept on with their programmed movements as if he was invisible.

  Just under the goat was another pirate, this one really fearsome in appearance, pistol in hand as he kept watch over the drunken bidders. Peter peeked out over his bald head to see the position of the next boats. “Gosh, there’s an endless stream of them. Maybe if I just keep my butt down I can make it across.”

  Slowly inching forward, Peter held his breath as if that would make him smaller. Just as he got to the second pirate on the bridge, it suddenly moved, jerking forward and waving the rum bottle in his hand. Biting down the urge to shout, Peter stopped and dropped fully on the arch. “Wow, that’s spooky. Forgot he did that.” The chicken perched on the end of the bridge seemed to turn to look at him. “Spookier and spookier.”

  When he finally edged to the end of the arch, he still had a few feet of open space before he could duck behind the set. With three tiers of bidding pirates, crates of chickens, a donkey, and various boxes, Peter knew he would have plenty of cover to reach the Mayor’s well. Just after the second boat drifted by, he sprinted for the La Cantina’s arched doorway. Fluttering overhead was the Buy A Bride banner that seemed to be printed on a large petticoat.

  The pirates, still intent on the auction across the river, paid Peter no mind as he quickly worked his way through the façade of the Caribbean town. A rooster seemed to think it was dawn and crowed as he went by, a bullet fired by the second-in-command across the river pinged harmlessly overhead.

  Much to his relief he found the sets were all connected behind the façades. He had wondered how he would work his way through the Costurera with Captain Jack. The searching pirates might not have seen the Captain as he hid behind a mannequin, but Peter knew he wouldn’t have been so invisible.

  Once he reached the Well scene, he had to stop and think. Where did he want to go? A quick glance at his watch showed more time had passed than he realized. He still had to find the next clue and work his way back to where Aunt Beth would be waiting.

  Thinking about the clue itself, it had basically included only two people: the mayor and his wife. The words were for the mayor, but spoken by the woman. With a sinking feeling, much like what the mayor probably felt as he was lowered into the well again, Peter thought he should first check out the well. “Oh, gosh.”

  On his stomach again, he worked his way to the middle of the scene. The five pirates on the left and the townsmen on the right, guarded by another pirate, didn’t interest him. Just the stone well. In the exact middle of the scene. The first thing everyone looked at when they came around the bend after the Fort.

  Crouched down in the orange glow of the torchlight, Peter waited. He was directly behind the pirate Captain as he questioned the hapless mayor. About to make a dash for it, Peter noticed some arches under the wife’s window. They were a lot closer to the action than where he was. There was also a short stone wall or planter that connected to the well, probably built to hide some of the wires and cable.

  Now safe behind the stonework, Peter waited for the mayor to come up for air. Hoping he timed it right, he raised enough to look into the depths of the well. Only there was no depth to it, other than the length needed to hide the Mayor and send water into his mouth. Peter could see no place for a capsule to be hidden. As the mayor dropped into the well once more, Peter dropped to his haunches behind him.

  That left the mayor’s helpful wife. As another set of boats went by, Peter worked his way around the broken furniture piled in the arches. Facing the edge of the set was another arch. Beyond this was a stairway that hugged the wall shared by the main part of the attacking Fort.

  Almost at the top of the stairs, Peter noticed an open doorway lit by a hanging lantern. That doorway, though, didn’t seem to lead into the wife’s room. With the hope of another door and being shielded enough by his dark clothes, Peter saw a gap in the floating boats and ran for the stairs. Narrow as they were, he managed to keep his balance. Holding his breath, facing the wall, he had to stay motionless when two more boats came into view.

  His hand now held the Key to Disneyland and Walt’s special gift did its trick. He eased into the darkened room and quickly closed the door behind him.

  Heaving a sigh of relief, he slumped against the door and took a moment to catch his breath. Now all the boats in the whole ride could go by and he didn’t care. He was safe as long as he was in this room.

  “Do not tell him, Carlos. Don’t be cheeken.”

  The mayor’s wife flew forward, pushed open the shuttered window, and tried to support her husband. With a shriek, she came backwards again as the sound of a bullet ricocheted in the air.

  “Still spooky.”

  Peter now had time to examine the brave woman and soon wished he hadn’t. This wasn’t a full-body Audio-Animatronic like most of the ones below. The woman was literally half a person dressed in a pink nightgown with a white cap on her head. Nails polished, her fingers held onto the metal handles of the shutters. The lower part of the body consisted on two metal pipes that held her aloft from a framework of wires and cables that moved out and back on a small trolley. Towels and rags were piled around her to catch any hydraulic fluid that might leak out of her gears.

  “Ewww. Should’ve given us a spoiler alert with this one.” Peter shook his head and then remembered why he was there. “Clue, clue, here, clue.” Peter whistled softly as the wife shot forward again to warn Carlos.

  There were a couple of electrical boxes in that small room. Peter kept away from them because they were something that would be used if Maintenance or a set dresser came in. No, Walt would hide a capsule somewhere more out-of-the-way.

  As the wife slammed the shutters shut, he noticed the golden curtains next to the window as they fluttered back into place. They looked old and had a darker satin edging all around. Careful not to damage the fragile drapes, Peter gently moved them aside. He also made sure he was out of the way of her trolley system. Close to the floor was a dark, round capsule. When the curtains were in place, it was completely hidden. When the wife was out shouting at the pirates, it looked like any cover for any piece of equipment. It was the W E D on it that told Peter he found what he sought.

  Because of foreseen height problems, Peter had not brought his trusty backpack. He might have been crouched down out of sight, but that pack would have stuck up in plain sight. Not knowing what else to do, Peter tucked in his shirt and dropped the cold capsule inside next to his chest. “This one is bigger than the last few. Wonder where Walt will send me next?”

  The urge to open the capsule was strong, but Peter knew he had to repeat all his previous stealth, Ninja-like moves to get back to Beth in time. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Peter edged open the door and waited for three boatloads of guests to drift away. Running down the stairs took a moment and then he was safe behind the façade of the sacked town, leaving the poor mayor and fellow townsmen to the pirates.

  “You made it!”

  Peter found himself engulfed in another hug. “Yeah, it was…interesting.”

  “What? I couldn’t hear you.” Beth realized she was strangling the boy. “Are you ready to get home?”

  “Yeah. You never did tell me how I was going to get back. Do I get to ride a boat back to the d
ock?” Peter tried to look down the length of the boat storage. It was so long it almost reached the Burning Town.

  “No, we’re putting boats away for the night. I’m going to have to turn you in to Security.”

  Peter didn’t think he heard her right. “What?” His head jerked around expecting to see a squadron of guards grab him.

  Seeing he didn’t understand, Beth put a calming hand on his shoulder. “I called for Wolf, honey. He’s going to escort you through the maze and take you out at Downtown Disney. Lance will meet you at the Rainforest Cafe.”

  Peter looked disappointed. “Oh, I thought I’d have some time in the Park.”

  “Well, you might get dinner and a volcano.”

  The possibility of the multi-layered chocolate cake and ice cream dessert softened his disappointment. “A volcano would be good.”

  “Ah, here he is. Hello, Wolf.”

  After a greeting to Beth, Wolf turned to Peter. He wondered why the boy shrank back a little. “What’s wrong?”

  “I thought you were mad at me.”

  “I was. But, it’s been over a month. You served your time. And,” as he gestured around, a motion that included Beth, “you seemed to have learned your lesson by asking for help.”

  “Yes, I really did.”

  “Don’t overplay it, Peter. You ready to go? You found the capsule up in the window?”

  Peter’s eyes narrowed. “You knew where it was?”

  “Of course I did.”

  Peter just shook his head. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It was my job to find it. You probably know where I go next, too.”

  Wolf just smiled at him, a smile that usually made the recipient nervous. It worked.

  “Okay, fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll figure it out.”

  “You ready?”

  “Yeah. Thanks, Aunt Beth. I appreciate your help.”

  She was grinning at the by-play between them. “You’re welcome. Let me know what you find in the capsule. Adam, Alex and I will want to know. And you can tell Catie next time you see her.”