by Jeff Dixon
“I’ve got that figured out. I asked who they were.”
“If they wanted us to know, they wouldn’t be wearing masks.” Hawk winked.
“No, don’t try to be charming right now.” Kate pressed, “Why are they trying to stop you?”
“Simple.” Hawk sighed. This is where he had made the mistake in telling someone too much once before. It had been in this attraction under another stressful set of circumstances. “If they can figure out whatever it is we are trying to figure out, they might be able to grab power and maybe control of the company.”
“Because they solve a puzzle? How valuable is whatever we’re looking for?”
“Priceless.”
“How valuable was what you found before?”
“Just as priceless. I went from being a preacher of a local congregation to the chief Imagineer in the most magical company in the world. Overnight, it seems. That’s why you’re here, remember?”
“Oh, trust me, I haven’t forgotten.”
“I’m sure you’ll get more details from Farren,” Hawk assured her.
“I’d rather hear them from you.” She smiled at him.
He looked at her and thought seriously about saying more. He had learned a long time ago as a leader that mistakes and bad judgment happen to everyone. Great leaders learn from the mistakes and do their best not to make them a second time. Hawk was not going to make the mistake of telling someone too much too soon ever again.
Kate touched his arm. “Are you afraid to tell me because someone has betrayed and hurt you before?” She took in a deep breath before exhaling. “Or are you afraid to tell me because I hurt you earlier in the interview?”
Hawk looked into her face. She stared back at him, her crystal-green eyes inviting him to search for an answer. She blinked. The silence hung between them.
“Can I use your phone?” Hawk asked.
Kate’s expression became carefully neutral. She nodded her head and handed him her phone, and he pressed the button, bringing the touch screen to life. Finding the icon for the numeric touchpad, he pushed it and then dialed the phone number. He listened as the phone rang, and just before the call should have gone to a voice messaging system, he heard the line connect at the other end.
“Cambridge here.”
“Reginald.” Hawk said, relieved.
“Grayson, where are you?”
“Hollywood Studios, where are you?”
“I was in bed.”
“Sorry to wake you.” Hawk looked at his watch, which now read after three o’clock in the morning. He had wondered what took Reginald so long to pick up.
“Not sleeping. I was concerned about you. I had a team in your apartment admiring your new interior decorating. I am extremely agitated that people dared to break into your private quarters in the theme park.”
“Yes, I am too.”
“And you—” Reginald lowered his voice. “You seem to be getting into some kind of trouble again. I had asked you not to do that. I suggested we involve law enforcement.”
“I did, Reginald,” Hawk insisted. “I promised you I would give the picture to Al Gann, and I did at church. Just like I said.”
“And then?”
“Then I found something. And well, that is where the trouble seems to have started.”
“It is difficult to protect you and to protect our guests when you continue to—”
“I believe we used the phrase go off road?”
“Yes, off road. You are in Hollywood Studios now?”
“I am, and my friend in the president mask, plus a buddy, are trying to rough me up a bit. I lost them in the Great Movie Ride. Can you see if you can catch them before they get out of there?”
“I will make a call and get some people there right away. I will be there momentarily as well.” Reginald took a slow, long breath. “Where are you going to be?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Whose phone are you using? I didn’t recognize the number.”
“Kate Young’s.” Hawk had to remember to get his phone replaced. “I’ll talk to you later. Thanks, Reginald.”
“Be very careful, Grayson. Good-bye.”
He assumed Kate had been able to hear most of the call because of Reginald’s powerful voice resonating from the phone’s speaker. Turning the phone in his hand, he activated the bar-scanning application and waited while she held up the Mickey Mouse pin. The app scanned the QR code, and then, just like before, after a series of flashes, the same style of film came to life on the view screen of the phone. Tilting the screen so they could both hear it, they stood shoulder to shoulder and watched as the face of George Colmes once again filled the screen. His head bobbed and weaved again, indicating he was in motion. He was riding in some kind of tunnel, yet light streamed in from both sides. The place was familiar, but it was only a background to the face that spoke to him.
“Hello, Hawk. Congratulations on solving the clue. Since you’re watching me now, you have been successful. You must really be as good as Farren Rales believes you to be. Very well, just like before, you will only hear this once . . . so listen closely. Where toys stand guard over one hundred acres of woods . . . make the time your time . . . . It will almost rock you to sleep.”
The screen went dark, and the message came to an end. Hawk was already thinking about what they had just heard as he handed the phone back to Kate, then paced in circles, thinking about what he just heard. He replayed the clue over and over in his mind a few times so he would remember it, then he started to unwind it.
“Well?” Kate broke his train of thought.
Coming to a stop, he looked at her. “I don’t know, Kate. Give me a few minutes to think about what he said.”
“That isn’t what I’m asking about.”
“It isn’t?” Hawk blinked a few times. Then what was she talking about?
“I asked you a moment ago why you were afraid to tell me how you ended up here . . . now . . . doing what we are doing . . . and you got real quiet and then asked to use my phone.” Kate shook her head and frowned. “We have had two moments when I almost got to see the real you. Remember outside the Brown Derby when I asked you what details you’ve figured out about me?”
“Yes.”
“And after I got you to start focusing on answering me, we were interrupted. And then just now, when I give you a chance to tell me what makes you tick . . . you interrupt that moment by wanting to use the phone. But you know exactly what I’m talking about because you’re smart and you pay attention to details. You’re not going to tell me.”
“Kate, I don’t know you.” He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her at arm’s length. “Right now I am involved in a fight to protect Walt Disney and every dream he ever dreamed. And you are here involved in that. I don’t know if that is good or bad, but it doesn’t matter, because I can’t do anything about it. But you know a lot more about me than I know about you. And you’re trying to find out even more about me right now.”
“And what happens if I do?” Her eyes wouldn’t let his gaze escape.
“I’m not sure. I do know that usually when you find out information, you use it in a documentary. Just because there are no cameras doesn’t mean you aren’t working.” He tried not to look as confrontational as he knew he sounded. “You were the one who told me there are no off-the-record conversations with you.”
“So . . .” She looked to her right and then her left, at his arms holding her shoulders. “It is better for you to keep me like this? At arm’s length?”
Hawk lowered his arms. Something within him wanted to tell her what she wanted to know. Still, the experiences of the past and the intensity of this current set of circumstances had his senses on high alert.
She dropped her head and studied the ground for a few moments. When she raised it, he saw a smile cross her face.
“Take me back to the Contemporary please, Hawk. I have breakfast in a few hours with Farren.” Her expression b
rightened. “Maybe he’ll give me a few more answers.”
“I’ll take you back in a minute. First, follow me.” He gently took her arm and pulled her closer to him. He led her down the hallway to a door that opened into a display.
She opened the door and looked inside. It was the office of Walt Disney. He motioned for her to step inside; she did, and he followed her in. He watched as she looked around at the inside of this exhibit with a chance to see it like few ever have. Guests would stare through the plate glass window to see what Walt’s office looked like on the day he passed away. Most of the objects in the display were re-creations, with the originals in California. However, some of the items were very real, and all were placed where they were for a reason. To many who pass by, it appears to be a simple display, but this was the work of Imagineers, archivists, and historians.
Hawk allowed Kate to take her time; Cambridge had said he was sending a team, and Hawk trusted they’d quickly find the men pursuing Kate and him. He went over and pulled out Walt’s chair and invited her to have a seat. She did, and he pushed the chair under the desk, then went to stand on the opposite side.
“Can you imagine what it was like to be Walt Disney and sit in this office?” Hawk glanced around the office.
“No, I can’t.” She admitted reverently. “Walt Disney was so creative—a genius—he actually changed the world and created things no person had ever created before. His legacy is huge, and his influence shaped our culture . . . it’s, well . . .”
“Incredible?” Hawk grinned.
“Yes, incredible is a word for it.”
“Kate, you’re digging at me, trying to figure out what makes me tick.” He held out his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Here is part of it. Through an unbelievable set of events, I now get to lead the world that Walt Disney created. In some ways, I sit in the chair you are sitting in right now. Not the actual chair, mind you . . . but you already know that I was chosen by Walt to keep his dreams alive and on track. You know what I do when I sit where you are right now?”
“No.” She blinked slowly. “Please, tell me.”
“I sit there and think about all the responsibility and expectations and pray . . . God, please don’t let me mess this up.” He motioned for her to get up so they could leave. “I take what I do seriously. We are the best storytellers in the world, and the influence we have stretches around the planet. I just don’t want to mess it up . . . so, if I’m not as forthcoming with information as you’d like, that is why. If I don’t want you digging into my past, that’s why. People are counting on me to get it right and always be right. Even Walt and Roy Disney are counting on me.”
CHAPTER FORTY
* * *
HAWK AND KATE MANAGED TO GET OUT of Hollywood Studios without further incident. On the way out of the theme park, the previously empty streets had become a beehive of activity. It was not just the maintenance cast at work; Hawk also saw security moving through the park and stationed at various places along the street, monitoring the activity during the early morning hours. He was confident that was at the instruction of Reginald Cambridge.
The ride back to the Contemporary was quiet. Kate sat speechless, and Hawk wondered whether she was tired, upset, or just thinking through the events of the night and trying to decide how to move forward with the Total Access project. He enjoyed being with her, and in many ways wished he could tell her some of the things she wanted to know. But her aggressive curiosity reminded of him too much of his adventure eighteen months before when he had been hurt so badly by Kiran.
He walked Kate into the lobby and escorted her to the elevator so she could go to her room. This time they didn’t use a service elevator, and she waved her fingers in a good-bye as the doors slid closed. He took the escalator to the main floor of activity in the Contemporary, although there were not many people moving about in the early hours of the morning. Hawk moved across the walkway to the Bay Lake Towers and headed to his office, which featured a private living area where he occasionally spent the night when he’d worked too late and was trying to avoid the crowds and noise of the Magic Kingdom.
His shower and stretching out in bed did not relax him or usher in sleep. He rolled the latest clue over and over in his mind. Thoughts of Kate kept creeping in. He was worried about what she was going to do with her story, what Farren would tell her, and what she would do with that information; part of him was distracted by the fact that she was gorgeous and not afraid of adventure. She had proved that in the Studios. After allowing himself to be distracted, he would return to the clue . . . where toys stand guard over a hundred acres of woods . . . make the time your time . . . it will almost rock you to sleep. He told himself to break the clue down, take it in segments; he knew enough about the trivia and the details of the resort to figure this out.
Sometime before daylight, he dozed off, to be awakened by sounds coming from the office suite. Glancing at his watch, he realized that Nancy would be at work by now; she was always early, and he could hear her talking.
Stepping into the main office downstairs, he was greeted by not only Nancy, but Reginald as well.
“Good morning, sir.” Nancy smiled and stood. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“No, thanks. I’ll have some coffee, but I’ll get it.” Hawk waved her back to her desk. “Reginald, can I get you some?”
“Nancy has graciously already taken care of that.” He raised his steaming cup in display.
Hawk moved to the counter and found himself staring back at Reginald. He didn’t look right. He couldn’t immediately deduce what was wrong or different, but he knew he didn’t look like he normally did. Reginald reacted by shifting his gaze down at his shirt as though checking to see whether he had spilled coffee on himself. When Hawk returned to take a seat across from him, Reginald looked up.
“We did not find anyone in the Great Movie Ride last night.” Reginald set his cup on the coffee table in front of his chair. “We did find the ride mechanism was left on, and there was an unaccounted for ride vehicle that had been rigged to keep running without a driver. Sound familiar to you?”
“Oh, that. I forgot to tell you about that.” Hawk hadn’t even thought about it since they had escaped. “I was trying to distract the bad guys. Did I break anything?”
“No, everything is fine, I am told. But that is not the main concern. The main problem is that there are bad guys you are trying to avoid. There are people who want to take control of Disney away from you, and you are treating it like a game.”
“It is not a game.” Hawk grew deathly serious. “I know what’s at stake, Reginald. They can only play their hand so fast. They can do criminal things, but they can’t cross the line. They need to make me look bad, help me to make a mistake or have an accident.” Hawk lowered his tone even more. “They know exactly what they are doing, and so do I. If I don’t figure out this new puzzle, and they don’t have me to put the pieces of the entire thing together, they have got nothing.”
“So you don’t believe they are trying to hurt you?” Reginald shifted in his seat with some difficulty.
“They want to hurt me and they want me to give up and quit. They’re trying to get me to believe they’re going to hurt guests, hurt our operations, and me.”
“It is my job to keep them from hurting you.” Again, Reginald moved uncomfortably. “And you are making it incredibly difficult and frustrating.”
“Are you OK?” Hawk asked, looking closely at him. “You don’t look so good, Reginald.”
“I’m fine. I just don’t feel very well. I’m coughing and having trouble breathing today.”
“Maybe you should see a doctor. First it was a headache, then a toothache, now you’re battling some kind of congestion. Reginald, something might be seriously wrong with you.” Hawk turned to Nancy. “Nancy, call our medical team and get someone up here.”
“Strike that! Please . . .” Reginald found a way to position himself that seemed to bring relief. “To be honest,
you are the source of my stress, Hawk. I don’t know how to help you. The headache is better, the dentist fixed the tooth, and this discomfort has a name—it is Grayson Hawkes.”
“Should I make the call, sir?” Nancy asked.
Reginald shook his head no. Hawk took another sip of coffee and leaned back and stared at his friend. He was worried about Reginald. Hawk had put him through an exhausting year, and being a member of Hawk’s inner circle carried a tremendous responsibility. The strain was showing, and Hawk didn’t want anything to happen to him. Hawk, too, waved Nancy off on making the call.
“This is against my better judgment.”
“Better judgment!” Reginald broke into a hearty laugh that was cut short as he began to cough. “You don’t have any better judgment within you.” He again laughed with more restraint.
“Be that as it may, you are going home.” Hawk got up to signal the conversation was over. “Get Clint or Chuck to make sure I can find them if I need them, and you go home . . . now . . . and get feeling better.”
Hawk walked to the door of the office and patted Reginald on the back as he left. He had never seen Reginald feeling bad, so he was concerned. In his mind, he had seen Reginald as indestructible. He furrowed his brow as his friend left. Moving back into the office reception area, he asked Nancy to get Shep, Juliette, and Jonathan on a conference call, then headed up the stairs toward his office. By the time he got to his desk, turned on his computer, and picked up the phone, Nancy was already waiting for him on the line.
“Sir, I wasn’t able to get them all,” Nancy reported.
“What do you mean?” Hawk moved the receiver to his other ear.
“Juliette is unable to be on the call right now because Tim is home sick today, along with one of the children. She said she would call you back as quickly as she could. She said she was sorry. Jonathan is sick today as well. His wife said he was up nearly all night, congestion, coughing, trouble breathing . . . he is asleep right now, and she didn’t want to wake him.”
