by Jeff Dixon
“It’s what I do.”
“You follow people?” Hawk laughed. “You need to get better at it. Your disguise is terrible.”
“It’s what we do at Total Access.” Brady set the hat with the glasses inside it on the table. “I saw you get on the monorail this morning at the hotel. I followed you while you went shopping, and then you spotted me. So I dropped back, then you spotted me again.
“Are there cameras out there somewhere?” Hawk looked side to side. “You got Punky hiding in a tree over there?”
“No.” Brady waved off the notion. “There are no cameras out here today.”
“Did Kate put you up to following me?”
“No.” Brady wrinkled his forehead. “Just the opposite. She met us this morning and told us to shut down production for the day and clear the calendar for the rest of the shoot. There had been a change in plans.”
“Really?”
“Really. Kate informed us we could take a few days off and wait for her to tell us what to do with the stuff we already had captured.”
“Really?” Hawk repeated.
“Yep, that is exactly what I said.” Brady interlaced his fingers and set his hands on the table. “It’s like this, Dr. Hawkes. I know you had a rough day in the interview yesterday, but that’s what we do. Kate is the best. Total Access is the best. Then this morning, our star and boss tells us we’re going to back off and take a different approach. That means something is wrong.”
“Wrong?” Hawk leaned forward and cut his eyes toward the streams of people passing by their table. He wished he had found a more private place for this conversation. “How is that wrong?”
“That is not the way we work. We have enough footage of you to get the weird factor with that cemetery stunt you pulled. We have the scandal covered with that little story from your past—which, by the way, you did not confirm or deny—and then there’s that whole criminal slant we picked up when you were attacked in the cemetery.” Brady laughed. “My own cameraman and the star of the show got involved in that. In other words, we have our special whether you want to help or not. But then Kate tells us to back off. Like I said, something is horribly wrong here. That is why I am following you.”
“And what did you find out by following me?”
“Basically that you went shopping. What’s in the bag?”
“Nothing that would interest you.” Hawk tightened his grip on the bag.
“Oh, I have a feeling I would be very interested.” Brady stood. “And I am very interested in what in the world is going on around here.”
Hawk rose to his feet along with Brady. Extending his hand in a conciliatory gesture, he waited to see if Brady would shake. He did, and Hawk spoke.
“Enjoy a few days in the resort. You need to relax and enjoy your time here.”
“I’ll enjoy it more when I know what is going on.” Brady released the handshake.
“Have a magical day.” Hawk winked and walked away. Pausing, he turned and added, “You really need to get a better hat. That one makes you stand out in a crowd.”
Hawk imagined Pete Brady momentarily staring at his hat as he walked away from him. Stepping through an unmarked access door, Hawk disappeared backstage. Streams of emotion churned within him. He was pleased Kate had given the word for the production crew to shut down. That meant she was being true to her word. However, he had not considered that the rest of the Total Access team might not follow her instructions.
If they decided to go rogue, then he would have to keep looking over his shoulder for a camera around every corner. And then there was this mystery he was racing to solve, along with the people trying to stop him. Those streams converged in a raging river of danger. He felt his adrenaline surging to keep pace with it.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
* * *
THE DOOR OF HIS OFFICE GAVE A SILENT CLICK as it opened. Gray-son Hawkes walked in and waved to Nancy, who was, as usual, on the phone. Quickly bringing the call to an end, she handed him a stack of messages.
“Are they important?” He flipped through them quickly.
“They always are important, sir.” She smiled, probably because she knew he would hand most of them back to her to find out more details before he called them back himself.
“Have you heard any more from Reginald? How is he feeling?”
“I haven’t heard. Do you want me to call and check?”
“Please do.” Hawk nodded as he handed her back the entire stack of messages. “What about Tim and Jonathan? Any word on them?”
“Nothing. Should I check on them as well?”
“If you get the chance.” Hawk turned to head up the stairs to his office.
“Sir, I left your new phone on your desk.”
“Thank you. You’re the best, Nancy,” Hawk said, from two steps up the staircase.
At the top of the stairs, he pivoted and headed into his office. Once inside, he hit the light switch, which not only turned on the overhead lights but also illuminated all the display cases with various Disney collectibles that were part of his ever-growing collection. Reaching the desk, he picked up the new phone and powered the device up, relieved that once again he would be connected to the people he needed. After the phone had time to boot up, he discovered that Nancy had managed to set it up with all his contact numbers and most of the same applications that had been on his previous phone, prior to its dunking in the Pirates attraction.
He scrolled through the numbers and stopped at the one belonging to Farren Rales. Tapping it, he listened as the phone dialed and connected to his number. An automated voice system answered, and Hawk waited for the tone to leave a message. “Farren, this is Hawk. Just wanted to touch base with you and see how your breakfast went. I also wanted to give you an update on a couple of things I have discovered. Call me if you get the chance. Thanks.”
He walked behind his desk, set the package he had been carrying down on it, and reminded himself to put the new figurine in the trunk of his car when he left here today. That would keep the set together. He opened the black box containing the two pins. He needed three more, and then he would have . . . Well, that was the problem: he would have a set of pins, and beyond that, he had no idea what he would have. Looking up from his desk and through the open door, he could see that the door to the conference room was open. Usually it was closed. He imagined that after all the activity and moving of furniture to convert it to an interview set, perhaps some of the Total Access gear had been moved out already this morning. He got up and moved through his office, carrying the collectible pin box, and stepped inside.
He caught the soft scent of a perfume he had smelled yesterday when he walked into this room, and he breathed deeply. He looked at the two interview chairs placed in front of the window and saw Kate Young seated, with her back to him, staring out the window at the view of the Magic Kingdom. Gone were the massive lights and the covers used to diffuse them. They were stacked in the corner; the equipment had been broken down and was in various stages of being packed. The room was empty—except for Kate, who sat motionless.
Stepping around her chair and easing into the seat across from her, he flashed back for a brief moment to the day before, when this had been a hot seat and the mood between them was tense. In the early hours of the morning, when he had last seen her in the Contemporary, her mood had been somber; she had said little after they left Walt Disney’s office in One Man’s Dream. Now here she sat, lost in thought, gazing toward the Magic Kingdom. He took an extra moment to really look at her. She was as stunning today as she had been every other time he had seen her. It was safe to conclude that stunning was normal for her. Erasing that rabbit trail of thought, he sat back in the chair.
“Kate? Is something wrong?”
Silently, she remained staring out the window. After an extended pause, she breathed deeply and then slowly exhaled before breaking into a pleasant smile. Still not looking at him, she spoke. “Seeing the Magic Kingdom from here is magnificent.
” She crossed her legs and turned toward him with her hands clasped across her knee. “I hope you don’t mind my being here. I told Nancy not to tell you I was here. I wanted to surprise you. If that’s not OK, it’s my fault.”
“That’s fine.” He raised an eyebrow. “You wanted to surprise me?”
“Yes, but not in a bad way. I don’t have a camera hidden somewhere. I just wanted a few minutes to talk with you . . . just the way you want to talk . . . off the record.”
“But there is no ‘off the record’ with you, is there?”
“Today, right now, there is.” She grinned but warned him, “Just don’t get used to it. It won’t last.”
“Fair enough.” He watched her look back toward the window. “How was breakfast?”
“Very . . . enlightening.” She turned her gaze toward Hawk once again. “Farren Rales is one of a kind. He told me of his life and career and how he was friends with Walt Disney.”
“Farren is the best,” Hawk agreed.
“And, in case you didn’t know. . . ” She laid a hand over her heart. “He really loves you.”
Other things he’d anticipated, but not that. He decided to wait and see where this conversation might be going.
“You know that, right?” She nodded at him as she moved her hand back to her knee. “He loves you like his own son, he is incredibly proud of you, and he thinks you’re the greatest person ever . . . since Walt Disney.”
“A lot of people think he’s getting old and maybe senile when he starts saying things like that.” Hawk laughed.
Kate did not. “I’m serious. To think that he chose you to become the visionary leader for the company that Walt built. He spent time getting to know you. He spent time looking at your life, your friends, listening to you teach, and watching how you lived. Then he sent you on an incredible adventure that sounds like it went horribly wrong for a while.” She paused, studying his face. “But you did, in his words, what had to be done, and figured it out.”
“Just how much did he tell you?” Hawk grew very guarded.
“He told me there always has been a group of people on the fringe, vaguely aware of Walt and Roy’s plan, that would stop at nothing to sit at the top of the company where you are now. He told me about Juliette getting kidnapped and how you were the one who found her and brought her back safely.”
“I think he’s making it sound more heroic than it really was.”
“Sounded heroic to me.” She cocked her head slightly and lowered her voice. “He told me about Kiran Roberts.”
Hawk inhaled sharply. “He did?”
“Yes, and he told me she used you and tried to steal the kingdom right out from underneath you. He told me how much it hurt you and how that had been the first woman you have had feelings for since . . . well . . .”
“I think Farren talks way too much.” Hawk felt beads of sweat start to form along his neck as he looked toward the window.
“He needed to tell his story, which is now your story.” Kate stopped, looking at her hands. “I’m sorry she hurt you. She was stupid and evil.”
Hawk turned back toward Kate and said, hoarsely, “She was evil, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew what she was doing.”
“And you now have in your possession something that Walt himself designed for you. Now don’t panic, he didn’t tell me what it was . . . but I’m guessing part of what he gave you is that key you were using last night to open every door we needed to open.”
He shrugged. “That was just a master key.”
“You are a horrible liar.” She leaned closer to him. “And that key you have is what everyone is after. At least, that’s how I see it. They won’t know what to do with it if they get it, because without all the rest of the things that only you are aware of, it doesn’t mean anything . . . does it?” She waited. Hawk looked back at her but said nothing. “And you aren’t about to give it up, because you are Grayson Hawkes and you are tenacious, strong, smart, and you follow Jesus with so much passion, you think you can change the world, and you think being in charge of the most influential storytelling company in history will help you make the world a better place.”
Hawk whistled. “That’s a good story, Kate.”
“I heard it from a great storyteller.” She sat back in her chair.
“Sounds like he gave you an earful.”
“Indeed.”
The two sat there across from each other, trying to figure out exactly what to say next. Kate watched, as Hawk began to squirm in his chair. Finally, he broke the silence.
“And what are you supposed to do with the story he told you?
“What do you mean?” she asked coyly.
“What now?”
“Well, Farren told me he had an amazing story to tell me . . . and that he would tell me as much as he could. He promised I would be amazed.” She grinned. “And I must admit, I am amazed. It’s next to impossible to believe. But he told me I couldn’t tell the story to anyone . . . until you figured out how I could and should tell it.”
His skin began to tingle, and he jerked his head back slightly. “What?”
“How I tell this story all depends on you. He told me you would fill in the gaps I needed filled in, and you would know how I could tell the story in the best possible way. Because, according to him, you are the man when it comes to how to take care of a story.”
Hawk was having a difficult time slicing through his fuzzy thoughts. “I don’t know what he was talking about, Kate.”
“You know, he said you would say that.” She was still smiling. “Amazing. Oh, and he also said that you are extremely attracted to me, but because of your past you’re overly cautious.”
“He did, did he?” He wondered if Farren really was going senile. Not only had he dumped a lot of information in Kate’s lap, but he was going to leave it to Hawk to figure out how she would tell the story. If that wasn’t enough, his old friend was trying to play matchmaker.
“He did. He also said that you were not as confident as you appeared around me, because I make you nervous because I am a big, mean, nasty reporter. And . . . that I should get to know you because I would like what I find.”
“Sounds like he was rambling . . .” Hawk felt his stomach sink.
“Oh, there’s more. He also said that I hurt you very badly in the interview yesterday. Whether I meant to or not, whether it was my job or not, it was uncalled for, and that I owe you an apology, but you were way too kind ever to tell me that.”
“Again, I say—”
“So . . .” Kate reached out and grabbed both his hands and held them tightly. “I am sorry I hurt you. It was wrong and I was wrong. I should have found a better way to tell the story about you.”
“Kate, it’s . . .”
“Hey!” She looked intently at him. “I’m not done yet. And if you feel the need to keep me at arm’s length, I understand . . . because, after all, I am a . . . big . . . mean . . . nasty reporter. Okay, now I’m done. You can talk.”
“I don’t . . .” Hawk laughed. “I don’t know exactly what to say.”
“That would probably be because I make you nervous. Right?”
“Uh-huh.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry I asked how your breakfast went.”
“Breakfast was good.” She let go of his hands and sat back in the chair. “And what happens now really does depend on you. No kidding. I told the Total Access crew to cool their heels, and we’ll reconfigure what we’re doing with you. I told Farren that in exchange for what he told me, I would not do anything until you and I together agreed on how to best tell this story. So I’m either going to sit here and look out the window while you stare at me—which I don’t mind, by the way—or you’re going to tell me what we’re looking for next and what the game plan is . . . and for now, it’s all off the record.”
He held up his hand. “Whoa, go back a second. When you said, ‘Which I don’t mind, by the way,’ were you talking about me staring at you or you just sitting here looki
ng out the window?”
“I’ll bet you’d like to know, wouldn’t you?” She laughed, and Hawk thought he noticed a twinge of nervousness. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s in that black box you placed by your chair when you first came in here?”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
* * *
HAWK AND KATE MOVED THROUGH the Magic Kingdom, weaving their way toward Adventureland and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. After giving Kate a chance to examine the pin box and the Minnie Mouse pin, he had told her most of the details of his morning. As soon as he had stashed the latest Western River Expedition figure in his car, they walked across the red-brick walkway from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom. He had not told her about his run-in with Pete Brady. If Pete had decided to do some investigating on his own, then Hawk did not want the responsibility of being the one to give that information to Kate.
He decided he would leave that to the executive producer to volunteer. As they walked, he told her about the latest clue he had been given and explained what he had done to unravel it. The painting with the B-17 fascinated her, and she expressed a desire to go see it for herself. Then he went on to make the connection from the painting featuring the teacher, the book she was reading to the students, and why they were now heading into the Magic Kingdom.
Her story is your story . . . where you will find a word was the last portion of the clue they were now pursuing. Thunder rattled across the Florida afternoon sky. Hawk looked up and saw ominous clouds rolling above them. It rained often in Central Florida, but the beauty of an Orlando rainstorm was that it never lasted very long. The bad news for them was going to be at the tree house. When lightning dancing across the sky, it was ill-advised to allow guests to move into the heavens in an artificial tree, daring the lightning to strike. Usually, the attraction was closed until the sky was clear and guests could safely navigate the steps and tour the exhibit.
