by Jeff Dixon
“I think if you know, you aren’t going to tell me. No matter, I have them and the key.”
“What are you going to do with them?” Hawk pulled himself free of the hatch and crouched on top of the sphere as well.
“Simple. I will take them, and along with my very powerful group of friends, have you removed as an executive of the company, then replace you with the people that can use this key to determine the direction we go into the future.”
“Just what do you think the key does?” Hawk said, as the breeze picked up across the top of the silver ball.
“It opens all those secret places you have hidden your plans, all those places that Farren Rales and George Colmes have hidden Walt and Roy’s roadmap for the future. And most importantly, the key represents power and control.” Cambridge spit those last two words. “But the best part will be seeing you removed from your post in disgrace. Who wants a man who has no experience, has killed his own family, digs up graves, and can’t keep company secrets running the biggest entertainment empire the world?”
Hawk felt his jaw clench and tried to steady himself with slow steady breaths. He saw Cambridge shake his head and then cringe as though even that slight movement caused him pain. He was tougher than Hawk realized to have climbed all the way up here with broken ribs. “Over the last six months, you have been making changes . . . that just aren’t going to work. It has made you a hero, except to those who understand the bottom line . . . and now with these new issues . . . the shareholders will demand you go . . . and you will go . . . and a new team of leadership will step into place.”
“Sounds like you have a plan.” Hawk rose to his feet on unsteady legs and stood on the metal triangles next to the open hatch.
“Just what do you think you are getting ready to do?” Cambridge chuckled. “Are you planning on taking this box from me?”
“That’s what I am thinking. And by the way, your plan is dumb.” Hawk took a wobbly step toward Reginald.
“It will work. There are already pieces in place, and we will end this freak show of the last eighteen months with you in charge. Like I told you before, you should have been content being a preacher . . . that is what you are good at. You have no idea how to run this company, and the way you are trying to change it is embarrassing.” Cambridge cocked his head slightly as he watched Hawk take the next step toward him. Although the distance between them was short, because of the wicked slope of the dome, there was very little room to move and navigate. Holding his hand out, indicating Hawk should stop, the security chief rose to his feet and stood as the wind continued to whip around them.
“This is going to end badly for you, Grayson.” Cambridge held the black box in his hand. “In some ways, I am sorry about that. When I first met you, I chased you around the entire resort, not to stop you, but to keep you moving. I knew that the crazy old Imagineer had finally decided to implement the outrageous plan he had been working on for years. To think that Walt Disney would have created a plan to insure the future of the company.”
“So you think that Walt didn’t choose me?”
“You believe that?” Cambridge laughed again. “For years, the group I work with has been watching Rales and his friends. They would never go away, were always trying to influence the company, always arguing that Walt would want this and Roy would do it this way. We figured one day their voices would grow quiet because they would get too old and just die off . . . but no . . . they came up with this wild story that Walt had a plan. And then you came along.
“Then I came along.” Hawk nodded and again noticed how securely Reginald was anchored to the sphere by the ropes.
“I thought we had found the key to the kingdom Rales had given you. That we could have access to all of the plans this group was holding the company hostage with. We couldn’t move into the future, because they wouldn’t let go of the past. But Kiran Roberts and her friend Jim Masters . . . you remember him?”
Hawk remembered. He had thought that Jim was his only enemy and threat. Then he had found out Kiran was working with him. Together, they’d been trying to steal the key from him. Reginald had finally caught up with them and was able to figure out they were in it together. But now it became clear—he had known that and was working with them.
“I remember, and I remember you giving me time to finish my search.” Hawk recalled Reginald telling him to find what he was looking for and be done with it.
“Yes, sadly . . . my group was not able to decipher the clues like you.” Cambridge nodded. “You do know your Disney history. So I let you find the key, and I decided to get as close to you as possible. I knew there would come a day when these old Imagineers decided to give you the rest of what they knew . . . and when they did, I would stop you.”
“You haven’t really stopped me.” Hawk became aware of the whup-whup of a helicopter approaching.
The velocity of the wind at the top of the sphere had increased tremendously. Hawk saw Reginald struggle against it, relying on the ropes to steady himself. Hawk adjusted his balance to battle the force of the wind striking him, determined to stand his ground as he faced Reginald.
“Sure I have.” He defiantly held the box in the air. “Without this, you can’t solve anything. No more surprises, no more ghosts from the past steering this company. I don’t care if we never find what you are looking for. We win.”
A sideways gust buffeted them. Both men suddenly shifted their weight to counter the force of the air blasting across the top of Spaceship Earth. Hawk glanced back and saw the helicopter approaching and knew it would be hovering above them at any moment. If this was Reginald’s plan for escape, he would have to act fast, and it would have to be now. If he didn’t, the rotors of the helicopter might blow him off the top of the sphere.
A blast of wind nearly knocked Hawk down. Crouching, he steadied himself and glared back toward Cambridge. Adrenaline surged through him, sending every sense into high alert, and a wave of strength shot through his system.
“George and Farren will just find someone else to lead.”
“No, I am afraid that they have run out of time as well.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
* * *
THE BELL 407 HELICOPTER STREAKED through the air toward Spaceship Earth. The pilot guided the chopper, its nose dipping as they flew in, high and hot. The Rolls Royce 250-C47B turbine FADEC engine blew them across the sky at speeds in excess of two hundred miles an hour. Instinctively, the pilot cut the speed as he saw the unthinkable sight laid out in front of him.
There were two men standing on top of Spaceship Earth, the global icon of Epcot. The copilot motioned for the pilot to do a flyby. When they realized just who was standing on the top of the world, the copter banked to take a wide perimeter as they turned on the searchlight.
A blinding white floodlight enveloped the two men. Although the bird had flown wide, it had come too close, and turbulence caused by the blades of the chopper was rushing across the top of the sphere, threatening to blow the men from their precarious perch.
From the front of the chopper, both pilot and copilot watched in amazement as the two men squared off as if they were going to fight. Reginald Cambridge and Grayson Hawkes were face-to-face, having a showdown, a hundred eighty feet in the air, silhouetted against a clear Florida sky.
Amazement ignited into horror as Hawk leaped toward Reginald.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NNINE
* * *
HAWK KNEW THERE WAS NO MARGIN for error, as he lunged toward Reginald. He trusted that Cambridge was securely anchored to the sphere. If he could get to Reginald and hang on to him, then he would be anchored as well. The wind created by the helicopter as it approached had caused both of them to wobble and struggle to keep their footing. The searchlight, suddenly illuminating and reflecting off the aluminum squares around him, had caused Cambridge to turn his head to avoid the blinding light. It was at that moment Hawk leaped at his opponent.
He aimed toward his midsection. Like a linebacker making a t
ackle, he lowered his head and dove. He felt Reginald buckle as he hit him. As Cambridge grunted and dropped to his knees, Hawk’s momentum caused him to sail around the man’s body, landing on the aluminum triangles with a hollow clunk. But Hawk held on and was now driving back toward Cambridge, trying to get away from the place where the slope would send him over the edge of the sphere.
He found his footing, and with one hand still gripping Cambridge’s harness, reached out for the black box with the other. Both men now gripping the black box, they steadied themselves and regained their footing. The helicopter searchlight danced across the top of the reflective silver dome. Hawk could not wrench the box free from Reginald’s grasp.
“Sorry, Reginald.” He twisted his body and threw a short punch to the ribcage of the security chief.
Cambridge gasped and let go of the box.
With the box firmly in his grasp, Hawk released his hold on Cambridge and scrambled back toward the open hatch. Cambridge shot out a hand and grabbed his ankle, sending Hawk sprawling face-first into an aluminum triangle of the outer sphere. As he was going down, Hawk tossed the box toward the open hatch and watched it come to rest along the ledge of the opening.
With a firm grip on his ankle, Reginald began to pull him back toward him. If Reginald succeeded in pulling him away from the hatch, and Hawk was not able to grab Reginald for a handhold again, he would easily slide over the edge of the sphere.
Rolling to his back, Hawk unleashed a short kick to Reginald’s head. It connected, and Reginald’s head snapped back. Releasing Hawk’s ankle, he staggered backward. To Hawk’s disbelief, Reginald started to slide over the edge of the giant Epcot icon. The momentum from Hawk’s kick to Reginald’s head had thrust him forward as well, and he was sliding painfully on his back over the triangles.
He felt the anchor ropes Reginald was secured to slide underneath him. Looking toward his feet, Hawk realized with a sickening understanding that they were both going over the edge.
Cambridge fell. Fifteen feet below the point he’d left the sphere, his body jerked to a stop. Cambridge had rigged his climbing harness with enough slack to let him move freely but not enough to allow him to fall to the ground a hundred eighty feet below. Out of breath from the shot to the ribs and the sudden stop, Reginald dangled in the air over the side of the silver dome. He could hear Hawk sliding toward him.
Spinning to his left, Hawk tried to grasp the anchor rope that was holding Reginald. He grabbed it, and it burned his hand as he clamped it with all his strength. Eight feet over the ledge, Hawk tried to catch his breath as he hung on to the rope, hoping it was strong enough to support the weight of two men. Seven feet below him, Reginald looked up, his face slackening as he understood what Hawk was about to do.
Hawk let go of the rope.
The short fall felt like it lasted an eternity until Hawk collided with Reginald. The sudden stop and momentary disorientation dissipated, as he held on to Cambridge with one hand and searched for the rope with the other. Quickly weaving his arm in and out of the rope, Hawk secured himself as he was turned to continue his battle with Cambridge. He didn’t have a plan beyond the moment and had not thought about the endgame of this encounter.
But Hawk had trusted Reginald, befriended him, only to discover that Cambridge had used their friendship to try to destroy him. He was angry that Reginald would hurt his friends as well, and his anger drove him to a dangerous edge. Hanging next to Cambridge, the wave of emotion that had propelled him to this moment crystallized in an instant of clarity, and he hesitated. Hawk did not want to hurt Reginald, no matter what he had done. He wanted justice, not vengeance.
Reginald took advantage of the moment and let loose the spool of climbing cable he had carried on his waist. He had come prepared to make a quick escape. Knowing from all the Disney trivia experts that the sphere was one hundred eighty feet tall, he had calculated the shape of the sphere and how much cable he would need to lower himself to the ground. As the cable unfurled, the security chief placed one hand in front of himself and the other behind him at the small of his back.
As Hawk watched Reginald rappel down the side of the dome, he smiled.
Dangling alone on the cable, he knew that Cambridge was gone and would be safe. He had come prepared. It dawned on Hawk that his lack of planning and the flash of anger had put him in a dangerous position. He now had to pull himself back up the climbing rope until the slope of the dome leveled out enough for him to pull himself back to the hatch.
The helicopter kept Hawk focused in the searchlight. The light reflecting off the sphere was blinding and disorienting, and he wondered who was in the hovering chopper and why. If they were enemies, then he was in a bigger mess than just hanging over the edge of Spaceship Earth. If they were there to help him, well, they weren’t being very helpful at all. Resisting the urge to look down and watch Cambridge, Hawk pulled himself up the first foot. Wrapping his leg in and around the rope, Hawk now began to climb hand over hand, using his leg as an anchor to keep him from sliding.
The climb was slow, it was painful, and every muscle in his back, arms, and shoulders was on fire. Eventually, he crested the curve of the dome and hauled himself upward by wedging his fingers into the grooves between the custom triangles. An eternity later, he was lying on this stomach next to the hatch at the top of the giant ball. The chopper bathed him in a white light. He rolled over and looked up toward it.
“Hawk, this is Al . . . you OK?” The metallic voice of Al Gann echoed through the night sky from a speaker attached to the helicopter.
Hawk waved to them, indicating he was OK. The sound of the rotors changed, as the whirlybird tilted and veered away from him, leaving him in darkness. He reached over and grabbed the black box by the hatch opening. He stuck it into his pocket, then rolled over and dropped onto the safety of the rickety old scissor lift below.
CHAPTER SIXTY
* * *
THE DOOR AT THE BASE OF SPACESHIP EARTH opened, and Kate emerged with Grayson Hawks supporting himself with an arm across her shoulder. They were accompanied by a security team dressed in blue shirts and white hats. A crowd of security personnel and cast members had gathered at the base of the attraction. The prolonged helicopter hovering had captured the attention of everyone working the park. The sight of two men hanging over the side of the giant space-age ball was one they never would forget.
Juliette and Shep pushed their way through the crowd toward Hawk and Kate. The four embraced in a huddle as everyone looked on.
“Did we get Cambridge?” Hawk asked.
“No,” Juliette answered. “He rappelled down the cable and then told the security team you were trapped up there. He told them to go rescue you.”
Hawk had wondered why there had been a security detail with Kate when he lowered himself on the scissor lift, but he’d been too tired to ask. He just appreciated the fact that they knew how to get down through the maze of corridors, and he didn’t have to stop and figure out the best path to choose.
“After all, he is their boss,” Shep added. “How do you feel?”
“Not good.” Any muscle that didn’t hurt now would be screaming at him by the morning. “How do I look?”
“Better than you feel,” Kate answered, winking.
Now the security team, night leads, and managers were gathering around to find out what had been going on. Sensing the need for direction to be given, Juliette pushed into the crowd and began giving instructions to secure the area and get the park ready for the next day. Shep also waded into the blender of activity, allowing Hawk to move off and take a seat on a bench in front of a fountain.
“Hawk?” Kate was looking at him curiously.
“Yes.”
“Do you ever have a real plan, or do you just kind of make it up as you go?”
“Oh no, Kate.” Hawk slowly looked up toward the top of Spaceship Earth. “I always know what I’m doing.”
“Would it upset you if asked you something?”
&nb
sp; “It depends on what it is, I guess.” Hawk looked back at her, understanding she wouldn’t have said more if he had told her not to ask. “Go ahead and ask.”
“How did you ever pick the top of the giant silver golf ball as the place to hide the pins?”
“I wanted to put them somewhere safe, where no one would find them.”
“Then you told the guy who was trying to steal them where they were?”
“Something like that.” Hawk shrugged.
“It was a dumb hiding place,” she stated flatly.
Shep and Juliette returned, having taken control of the situation without letting anyone know what had really been happening. Hawk and Kate got to their feet. Hawk felt as if he had been run over by a truck loaded with bricks. They slowly made their way back to the main entrance of Epcot. A security guard unlocked the gate and waved them through. Walking out to where the tram would load and unload guests, they came to where Hawk’s Mustang was parked askew on the sidewalk.
“Nice parking job, boss.” Shep looked quizzically at Hawk.
“I was in a hurry.”
“How do you find Reginald Cambridge?” Kate lobbed the question for anyone to answer.
“It will be tough.” Hawk snatched it. “He knows the parks just as well as we do, if not better. If he decides to disappear and go underground, he’ll be almost impossible to find.”
“Let’s allow Al and his buddies to take care of that,” Juliette added. “I called him when we knew this is where you were headed. I didn’t know he was going to arrive by helicopter and nearly blow you off the top.”
Hawk agreed that law enforcement could find Reginald, but he knew that any legal action against Reginald would get very murky. There was no way he would ever press charges with the possibility of details about the key to the kingdom or the plan of Walt and Roy ever becoming public. Reginald knew that. The group of people he was working with knew that. They all were keeping secrets, and those secrets granted a certain amount of protection and at the same time meant that the forces trying to control the theme park would continue to wage war. Secrets always cost you something.
