by Jeff Dixon
“I am not overly concerned right now with what you want. You call her and tell her what I told you, and then you tell her you are finished helping her.” Hawk was expressionless as he stared at Shep. “Go now, call her, tell her, chitchat with her…do whatever it is you have been doing.”
Shep looked toward Jonathan and Juliette, who said nothing. They had listened, they had heard, and they were still stunned by the events that had been unfolding over the past few moments. Shep looked back at Hawk, who still stood stoically in front of him. With a slight nod, Shep excused himself and exited the office door. They watched him leave, and all three stood staring at the empty doorway.
“I don’t know what to say.” Jonathan spoke first. “I don’t think his intent was evil. It’s Shep. He was misguided, foolish, and irresponsible to be sure. But I don’t think he wanted anyone to get hurt.”
“Of course he didn’t,” Juliette added. “He’s heartbroken.” She looked directly at Hawk. “And you have him calling Kiran again.”
“That’s right, I do.”
“Why?”
“Because I want him to call her and tell her what I said.” Hawk sighed. “None of you realize what this quest has been about. None of you have any idea what this secret of Walt Disney’s really is. And it’s better that way.” Hawk paused. There was a part of him that desired nothing more than to tell them all he had discovered. But this had been the dilemma for Walt himself so many years ago. Walt had chosen to protect the secret and protect those he loved. Now Hawk was facing the same kind of decision. He ran his hand through his hair before continuing. “So I need Shep to tell Kiran what I am going to do next.”
“So you really are going to Tom Sawyer Island?” Jonathan quizzed.
“Yes.” Hawk rubbed his temples. “I am going to Tom Sawyer Island.”
“But Kiran will come after you and this secret.” Juliette stepped back and studied Hawk. “And you want her to come.”
“Yes, but not just her.” Hawk smiled faintly. “I want the assassin to come as well.”
“Why will the assassin be there?” Jonathan wondered.
“Because…I have a theory—but I won’t be sure until tomorrow—I think the assassin has been tracking me through Kiran. She shows up, and the assassin seems to be able to zero back in on me. I have no idea whether she is aware, letting him, or wanting him to…but I am thinking she is not. I think the assassin is tracking me because he has figured out how to track her.”
“So you want them both on Tom Sawyer Island,” Jonathan said.
“Exactly.”
“That’s not smart. They will both be there trying to kill you,” Juliette said.
“I’m counting on it,” Hawk said resolutely. “Their time to storm my kingdom is done. Tomorrow the aftermath of the storm begins. And I am going to start cleaning this mess up.”
CHAPTER FIFTY - SIX
Storm Day
8:30 P.M.
Hurricane Ginger had finally left the Walt Disney World Resort. The resort had survived the storm. There were trees that had been sawed off by the force of the winds, the rain had caused some flooding, but the early reports indicated minor damage. All of the theme parks had fared well through the storm; and as tomorrow came, there would be time to evaluate carefully in the light of day how best to go back to full operations as soon as possible. Thousands of guests had their vacations interrupted by the uninvited visitor named Ginger. The cast would do its best to make the rest of the experience much more pleasant.
Tom Sawyer Island is one of those places that has not changed a great deal over the history of Walt Disney World. Walt Disney himself designed the original Tom Sawyer Island for Disneyland in California. The Orlando version of the attraction stayed very true to those original ideas. Attractions and remodeling had been done all around the island, nestled in Frontierland, surrounded by the Rivers of America, but not much had been done to the island itself. Hawk loved the fact that the attraction hadn’t changed much. It was a throwback to a style of Imagineering that Walt himself had taught his people. It was storytelling at its finest. The island was the environment; they had added some places and things to spark the imagination, and the adventure the guests could have was entirely up to them. Hawk was amazed that many guests never even visited the island. To get there, you had to board natural gas-powered rafts. The landing to get to Tom Sawyer Island was right next to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Since you had to get to and return from the island by raft, there was a feeling of isolation to the place, which was an unusual sensation in a theme park crowded with people. Yet those who did visit would find things they would remember forever.
Hawk loved to climb through the island’s old grist mill. The creaks and groans of its gears subtly performed the song “Down By The Old Mill Stream” for those who listened closely. Those were the details he loved. The little bird in the cogs of the mill is from the 1937 cartoon The Old Mill. He smiled each time he saw the little feathered resident and was amazed that so many didn’t appreciate the care that was taken as it was created.
Caves, tunnels, forts, and bridges wrapped their way through and around the island; this was where he hoped the maze of treachery would end. He was alone in the Magic Kingdom. Once the storm had stopped, he had immediately left to head back to his Main Street apartment. Guards were posted at the base of the stairway, but as he had done so many times before, he used the alternate exit, so the security team was keeping his empty home safe. He had been busy, taking advantage of the emptiness of the Magic Kingdom, to get the island ready for the aftermath of tomorrow’s storm. It would be much more dangerous than Hurricane Ginger.
He leaned against the Alligator Swamp shack on the edge of the Rivers of America. Looking across the river, he could see the island where he’d spent the past few hours. After slipping out of his apartment, he had made his way to the dock and then swum to the island and returned to where he had started. He was soaked through, since he had chosen to swim from Tom Sawyer Island to this dock rather than taking a raft. As he dripped dry in the warm night air, he closed his eyes. His mind flooded with thoughts of Kate. He replayed her last few moments and quickly opened his eyes in an attempt to turn off the memory. It didn’t work, and he felt himself give way again to the heaviness of losing her. Kiran had tried to kill her; the assassin had succeeded. Although Hawk had been the real target, she was just an added bonus for both of his enemies. He had invited Kate to get back to Walt Disney World because it was the best place to ride out a hurricane. She would have been safer facing the storm surge in Miami than coming to be with him. Guilt and blame whispered in his head that her death was his fault, just like the death of his family years ago, just like the deaths of his friends now.
He sat by the edge of the water in the Happiest Place On Earth, feeling anything but happy. Hopefully Shep had placed his call to Kiran. He guessed she was already formulating her plan to get to Tom Sawyer Island. The Magic Kingdom was still going to be closed tomorrow for some time so they could make sure it was ready for guests to return to. He wasn’t worried about whether she’d come; she had worked there, given tours there, and knew her way around the theme park perhaps better than he did. She could find a way to get there. The dark-haired assassin had already proven he knew how to get into the park when it was closed. Hawk was confident that both would show up at the island. He was counting on it.
He glanced over toward the loading dock, where guests would board rafts to travel to Tom Sawyer Island. Standing there were Jonathan and Juliette. Hawk yelled to them, and they turned with surprise to see him sitting downriver from them. He motioned for them to meet him and got up and made his way up toward the railroad tracks to walk toward Frontierland Train Station. They headed the same direction. In a few minutes, he could see them walking down the railroad tracks toward him. As they met, he greeted both with a long hug. They didn’t seem to mind that he was wet from his swim.
“I wish things had turned out differently for you and Kate,” Julie
tte said as they all began walking along the railroad tracks. “I’m so sorry she’s gone.”
“I don’t know how to help you.” Jonathan clasped his friend over the shoulder.
“You are helping me,” Hawk said. “You love me, you’re praying for me, and you’re here. That’s all I could want. Thanks.”
They walked in silence for a long time. They traveled along the railroad line toward the front of the Magic Kingdom. Eventually they would arrive at the Main Street Station. But long before they got there, Hawk would venture off the tracks, enter an unmarked doorway, descend to the Utilidor, and then travel back through the underground maze to get to his apartment undetected.
“Is this plan of yours going to work?” Jonathan asked as they came to the place where Hawk was going to leave them and head back home.
“I’m not sure.” Hawk shrugged as they all stopped walking. “But I don’t have a better plan, so we’ll go with this one.”
“Some plan is better than no plan at all.” Juliette patted him on the arm. “It’ll work. You’ll see.”
“I just would like for there to be an easier way or a safer way,” Jonathan added.
“When people are trying to kill you, there are no safe ways,” Hawk said.
“But you can be careful,” Juliette cautioned.
“Tomorrow, the advantage I have is that I’ll be the only one to know where I am, what I’m trying to do, and for a few moments…I hope that advantage will make me successful. If it doesn’t, then things might get ugly.”
“What about Walt Disney’s secret?” Jonathan asked.
“I know this…they will never find it.” Hawk stepped away from his friends. “And if I get killed, no one will ever find it. Because I am the only one who knows where it is. See you tomorrow.”
Hawk left his friends standing on the railroad track and slipped into Tomorrow-land.
CHAPTER FIFTY - SEVEN
Aftermath—
Post Storm—Day One
7:30 A.M.
Sunrise in the Magic Kingdom was spectacular. Hawk took it in as he awoke. Grimly, he got ready for the day, ate breakfast, and walked past the security guards and down Main Street, U.S.A. According to his instructions, the guards were to remain where they were, and he was to be alone. His walk down Main Street brought him to the hub, where he saw the famous Partners statue of Walt and Mickey. Taking a left, he crossed the bridge into Liberty Square, then he made his way into Frontierland and boarded a raft that he rode across the Rivers of America to Tom Sawyer Island. After securely tying off his raft at Tom’s Landing, he followed the trail behind the building and headed down the path through the center of the island.
Tom Sawyer Island is in essence a collection of low-tech gags that create a rich playground for the imagination. Many of the tricks have been used other places in the parks, but nowhere else on earth have they ever been combined like the Imagi-neers had put them together here. They were simple, but as always, when used correctly by Disney, the results of simplicity were fantastic. Hawk had the advantage here on the island; that is why he’d chosen it. He stepped his way across Superstition Bridge, a suspension bridge that carried him into a full-sized fort, Fort Langhorn. The name of the fort was a tribute to Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who had been born in a place called Florida, Missouri. He is better known by his pen name Mark Twain. He was one of Walt Disney’s favorite authors, his stories inspired Walt, and Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which some people called the Great American Novel.
This fort settled along the Rivers of America would give Hawk a view of one side of the island. He quickly climbed a set of stairs that took him to a tower, where he could look down the length of the waterline toward Tom’s Landing. A powered raft was making its way toward the landing. Kiran Roberts was on board, looking about as she crossed the river and pulled the raft alongside of his. Hawk smiled.
He watched as she got out of her raft, walked to the one he had come over on, and cut the fuel line on the engine. Now the only working boat on the island would be hers, which, of course, she had the key for. He smiled again. She was smart, and he had guessed she might do something like this. She untied his raft, stepped back on the dock, and set it adrift on the river.
He saw no sign of the assassin. Hawk had hoped he could catch a glimpse of both before he had to go into action, but that had been wishful thinking. Kiran was here on the island and was now hunting for him. It was only a matter of time before she found him. She plunged into the cover of the trees, and he lost sight of her. She would be trying to figure out where he was—and what he might be planning. She would be cautious and rightly so.
It was time to move. Under the protection of Fort Langhorn, he could travel freely as long as she wasn’t inside the gates of the fort to hear him. He walked down the wooden steps to the ground level of this multilevel showpiece and used his kingdom key to open and unlock all the doors. Hawk eased himself into the Blacksmith’s Shop. Inside, two audio-animatronic men were hard at work with their backs to the viewing area of guests. Hawk slid down past them to the horse stalls, where two audio-animatronic horses stood. Each moved slightly, creating a lifelike look. Occasionally one would twitch its tail to keep away the imaginary flies. This usually missed visual treat gave the place a sense of realism. Hawk eased down into one of the stalls to wait for Kiran.
It seemed like hours, but in reality it was just minutes before Hawk heard the heavy gates of the fort creak open. Kiran was here. He could hear her moving in the fort, trying to figure out if he might be here waiting for her. Her shadow fell against the wall of the Blacksmith’s Shop. Her footsteps paused; she would be looking inside at the two men working. Her movement resumed, bringing her closer to the horse stalls. Hawk held his breath. She would be looking in at the horses now, but he was out of her sight line.
Her shadow moved away. Kiran was off to explore more of the fort. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Silently, he swung the door open to exit his hiding place. She was headed toward the fort’s jail, where she would see another audio-animatronic figure asleep on a cot in the cell. He crept behind her, and as she cupped her hands around her face and looked in the window, he grabbed her from behind.
Wrapping an arm around her below her neck, he had her in a headlock. He further secured her by wrapping his other arm around her midsection. With little effort, he pulled her up off her feet and back into him.
Kiran gasped but recovered quickly, extending her right arm. In her hand she held the blade she had used to cut the fuel line, and she thrust it at him.
He shoved her forward to avoid the blade.
She turned to face him.
He moved back in and grabbed her by the arm.
She tried to wrestle against him, but Hawk held her arm snugly. She kneed him.
His gut clenching with pain, he slapped her arm against the wall. The impact caused her to drop the blade, and he once again spun her away from him. This time, he twisted her arm into a hammerlock.
He was trying to be as gentle as he could, as fighting a woman was not something he had ever imagined doing. It felt wrong.
“Hawk, you’re hurting me.” She sobbed. “Are you trying to break my arm?”
Tempted to loosen the grip or the angle, Hawk refocused on Kiran’s attempt to kill him and Kate. He held on tightly and then pulled her backward again to get her moving.
“Did you hear me? You’re hurting me.” Kiran now cried out. “Not so hard, I’m here to help you.”
“Oh, I’ve had about all the help I could use from you,” Hawk replied. “I’m not hurting you. I’m holding you so you don’t hurt me.”
He guided her into the jail cell that she had been looking at before he captured her. Once inside, while she protested, he held her tightly in his grip and reached over and grabbed the zip ties he had placed inside the cell the night before. In one motion he dragged down her other hand and slipped the tie over both her hands. Pulli
ng it tight, he handcuffed her with both of her hands behind her back. Now that he had her securely fastened, he turned her around and pushed her backward onto the cot next to the audio-animatronic prisoner. As she landed, she kicked at him viciously.
“Who do you think you are?” She roared as she clambered back to her feet. “You are not going to do this to me.”
She threw another kick in his direction.
He leaned back and let her foot fly past him. Then he leaned into her and spun her again so her back was to him. Inserting another zip tie through the first one, he pulled her back and shoved her up against the support pole in the center of the cell. Quickly he secured the second zip tie. He stepped away from her.
Despite being cuffed and secured to the pole, she continued to try to kick at him.
“Don’t think you can get away with this,” Kiran snarled. “You don’t know who I am.”
“You’re right. I don’t.” Hawk stepped back out of range of her feet. “And once upon a time, I would have tried to figure it out. But you know what?”
“What?” She spit at him.
Saliva landed on this face, and he calmly wiped it off with his thumb. “When you try to get inside the head of crazy people, you just discover piles of craziness.” Hawk turned away from her. “Crazy don’t cut it with me, darlin’.”
“Don’t you turn away from me. I still have the third Imagineer.”
Hawk paused. “How would you even know the third Imagineer? I don’t believe you.”
“You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?”
“What?”
“Who I really am, why I really do know the Imagineer, how I know all about Walt’s plan and how you fit into it.” Kiran struggled against her bindings.
Hawk turned and waited. He had tried to figure out how Kiran was able to do what she did, how she knew what she knew, and how it all connected. It was a mystery that had eluded him, but he had decided he no longer needed to know.