“I am?” Surprised, Wolf looked down and saw Todd’s knife partially embedded in his side. “How’d that happen?” With a painful grunt, he pulled out the tip of the knife and pressed a hand onto the bleeding wound. Realizing the attention the noise of the breaking balcony would attract, Wolf hastily called Kimberly on their secret line and told her to close down this portion of New Orleans Square. He knew she would make just one call and, within minutes, no one would bother them until she gave the all-clear.
Like an acrobat, Peter grasped the edge of the broken balcony and swung down from the woodwork, landing lightly onto the littered steps next to Wolf. “Are you hurt bad, Uncle Wolf? Can I do anything?”
Wolf looked up with a frown. “You can help Catie down before she hurts herself. I don’t want her trying that stunt you just pulled.”
“Hey, I’m in gymnastics. That was easy.” At the dark look on Wolf’s face, Peter clamped his mouth shut and did as he was told.
“Oh, Wolf! I was so glad to see you.” Arms thrown around him, she hugged Wolf, careful to avoid the gash in his side that appeared to have quit bleeding. “Is he…is he still alive?”
Wolf seemed to have forgotten the unconscious man who was still beneath him. Getting slowly to his feet, Wolf prodded the prone Todd not too gently with the toe of his shoe. “I think so. I didn’t hit him that hard.”
“You should have.” Peter looked as if he was going to give Todd a swift kick in the side.
“I’ll take care of this, Peter.” Seeing the angry look on the boy’s face, Wolf had to step in. “This is my mess to clean up.” He gave a brief grimace as a shot of pain raced through him.
“You’re hurt. We need to get you to a doctor.”
Wolf forced his face to return to its normal, dour look. “I’m fine, Catie. This is nothing. I’ve had worse.” He mentally went over the gunshots, arrow holes, sword stab, and knifings he had gone through. No, this little poke was nothing.
Getting back to the matter at hand, he picked up his radio and called for two of his trusted security men to bring a blanket and a wheelchair. “I need to get Todd out of sight. There’s a place in Critter Country where he won’t be discovered.”
“Under the Hungry Bear?” Peter asked with a half smile.
Wolf’s eyes narrowed. “And just how do you know about that place?”
Peter shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone knows about that room. It’s just that nobody talks about it.”
Catie looked at the mess around them. “What do we do about the balcony? I think you broke it….” Realizing how funny that sounded, Catie broke off, embarrassed.
Wolf gave her a brief smile. “Yeah, I broke it really good. Don’t worry. I’ll get a team in here within the hour to get it fixed. By tomorrow no one will know it was ever damaged.” He next turned to Peter. “One of you will need to go back into the room and get…what belongs to you.” Not sure they were still unobserved, he lowered his voice. “All right?”
Peter nodded. He had forgotten about their exciting discovery in all that happened since. “I’ll go. There’s some…questions the letter raised,” he started to say. Then, glancing down at the still-unconscious Todd, he broke off. “But, I’ll ask you later about all that.”
Wolf knew where the boy had been heading and was glad Peter cut himself off. This was not the time or the place. “Catie, I’d like you to go to your mother. I left there at a run and she’s probably worried.”
Catie wanted to argue with him because she really wanted to see the hidden room under the Hungry Bear Restaurant. But, she really could use a hug from her mother right about now. “Okay,” she agreed with a small voice as her face fell.
Knowing what she wanted to see, Wolf gave her a small grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you the hidden room another time. I promise.”
He was rewarded with a huge smile. Catie ran through the entranceway and turned right to go to Pirates. She needed a hug so badly.
When Peter came back down, Wolf glanced up at the broken balcony and saw the French doors were closed once again. He was confident Peter made sure all the doors were securely locked, and that the letter and the key would be safely tucked inside his backpack. “Where’s Catie?”
“I sent her to her mom.” Wolf let out a huff of air. “She doesn’t need to see where I put him.”
The conversation broke off when Wolf’s two security friends rushed into the courtyard with the wheelchair. Steve handed Wolf the blanket which was then wrapped around the inert body.
“What happened to Todd?” When he saw the broken balcony and the fresh blood that stained Wolf’s uniform, a feeling of dread coursed through him.
“He was where he shouldn’t have been. He tried to hurt the kids,” was all Wolf told them.
Steve’s face paled. He knew something was up with Todd, but he never expected him to go to that length. “Wolf, I have to tell you something. You’re not going to like it.” A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. At Wolf’s dark stare, he swallowed and continued. “This is all my fault,” he hurriedly explained. “Todd blackmailed me with some photos from the party of me and Wendy. He was going to give them to my fiancée if I didn’t tell him.”
“Tell him what, Steve? I don’t see what this has to do with you.”
Steve glared at the unconscious man. “He wanted to know where you took the kids today. He figured you’d come to the Park and he said Peter had something of his that he wanted back. I…I didn’t want to spy on you, but I didn’t want to mess things up with Lori.”
Wolf’s eyes narrowed. “So that’s how he knew where we were. I didn’t think he was smart enough to figure it out for himself.”
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t think he would try to hurt the kids.”
“I watched Todd during most of the party. I never saw him with any camera.”
Steve’s face fell. “He was lying to me? That dirty….”
Wolf put a restraining hand on Steve’s arm. Just like Peter, Steve looked about ready to kick Todd. With Steve’s steel-toed work boots, it would have done a lot more damage than Peter’s sneakers. “He’s lied about a lot of things.” Wolf looked out at the curious faces peering into the courtyard. “We have to get him out of here. It’s up to Peter to accept your apology.”
Peter could tell by the look on the security guard’s face that he hadn’t meant any harm. He just mutely nodded his acceptance of the apology.
Steve gave him a brief smile. “Thanks,” and stuck out his hand out to Peter for a shake. He knew now, with Wolf in charge, things would be all right. He didn’t envy Todd’s position. “I’ll push the wheelchair.” He knew exactly where Wolf was taking him.
Motioning for Peter to follow, the group filed out of the now-closed-off Court of Angels and headed for Critter Country. The room upstairs had been relocked. The secret passageway was closed. The Key to Disneyland was secure in Peter’s backpack. And, most importantly, Peter and Catie were safe.
Now, Wolf reflected with a grunt, the questions would begin.
“Wow.” Lance was intrigued by the shiny piece of brass that sat on the edge of his desk as a watchful Peter hovered close by. “The Key to Disneyland. I don’t even have one of those.”
“Yeah, only Walt and Wolf and me.” Peter’s cocky grin faded when his dad’s head shot up. “I mean, if I get to keep it, that is.” Uncertain, his eyes sought out his mother for back-up.
Kimberly looked over at Lance from her place on the sofa, her eyebrows raised in question. Would he get to keep it? That was her silent question. In the relief that followed Peter’s and Catie’s deliverance from Todd Raven, the parents really hadn’t had the time to properly discuss what to do next. Then, before they knew it, Wolf had arrived at the house with Peter in tow.
“So, I’m a guardian now?” The silence seemed to stretch longer and longer. He bit his tongue when all three adults turned to face him. Maybe I should have just waited and kept my mouth shut.
Lance came over to his son a
nd put a kind hand on his shoulder. “Do you know what a guardian is, Pete? Do you know what the duties are?”
“Duties? There’re duties?” he echoed, looking from one purposely-blank face to the other. “Uh, there were only a couple of mentions of a guardian in the letters Walt left.” His gaze on the silent Wolf was longer, more pointed. “And he named Wolf every time.” There was an obvious question in his statement.
After a brief nod from Lance, it was Wolf who answered Peter’s unasked question. “Yes, Walt was referring to me. We worked together for a long time until…until he died back in 1966.” Wolf looked away as his blue eyes stared past the walls of the room. “I miss him,” he admitted in a quiet voice, a voice that revealed more loss than he would have liked to expose. Embarrassed, Wolf cleared his throat and continued in his usual straight-forward manner. “He was a brilliant man and had brilliant plans—both for his time and for the future. It’s just a shame he couldn’t have been around longer to enjoy what he created.”
While the security guard was talking, Kimberly went over to the far wall in Lance’s study. Taking a picture off the wall, she brought it over to Peter and held it up in front of him. “Did you ever see this?”
Not sure if it was a trick question, he warily shrugged. “It’s been on the wall for as long as I can remember.”
Giving him an amused grin, she shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. Have you ever looked at the picture? I mean, really looked at it?”
Shaking his head no, Peter took it from her and studied the black and white eight-by-ten photograph. “This was taken here in Dad’s study. This is Walt Disney,” he pointed, “and this is you, Wolf.” A frown formed between his eyes as he stared at the image. Peter looked at his friend and then back at the photo. “How come you look just the same as you do now?” Not getting the hoped-for explanation, he turned back to his mom. “I don’t know who this other man is.”
“That’s my dad, Peter.” Kimberly smiled fondly as she gazed at the picture of the blond-headed man in the photo—and subtly ignored the other part of Peter’s question. “He was your grandfather. He died about two years before you were born.” Her voice caught unexpectedly and she had to pause a moment to get her emotions back in check. When she looked back up at the boy, her eyes were shining with unshed tears. “He would have been so proud of you today, Peter. You see,” she explained, “he was Walt’s first Guardian. He worked very closely with Walt and was chosen to help protect the legacy of the Disney empire.”
“Protect it from what? I don’t understand why a guardian would be needed.”
Lance walked back to his desk and sat. “Well, there are always people who want a piece of what someone else worked hard to attain. And, there are also people who don’t like how something is being run and feel they can do it better.”
Kimberly couldn’t help but think about her uncle. “And there are people who just don’t like Disney and all it stands for. Because of greed, they try to take what someone else owns and turn it to their own profit. That’s where we all come in.” The tilt of her chin included the other two adults in the room. “I took over my father’s position when he died and worked with Wolf until your dad proved himself with one, well,” she amended, “two of Walt’s quests—similar to what you and Catie just did—and then he joined us. That room you saw upstairs is our headquarters. You haven’t asked about it yet, but I can just see the questions burning in your eyes.”
“Walt called it the War Room when he designed this house.” Wolf took the picture from Peter. “Mostly your mom and dad—sometimes I do, too—watch the monitors and the map to make sure everything is where it should be. There are specific guides and plans we follow. All changes to the Park have to go by us.”
“Wow. So, the Imagineers call and talk to you?” Peter was fascinated by what he was hearing.
The three adults didn’t answer him right away. “Let’s just say that we know what’s going on, one way or another.” Lance threw out a bypass for the boy’s direct question. “We only act if it is something against the way things should go. I guess now would be a good time to stress the secrecy of it all and how no one outside of this room knows our positions. It is vital it remains that way.” He got a supporting nod from Wolf and Kimberly.
“Man!” Peter whistled, trying to take it all in. “And I’m part of that now. What about Catie?”
“Hold on there, buddy,” Lance held up a hand. “There’s a lot at stake and we don’t know if you’re quite ready for it all.” He wasn’t surprised when he saw the boy’s face fall. “Son, I didn’t say you wouldn’t be part of it.” After glancing at his two partners, he folded his arms across his chest. “How about this, Pete? I vote that we promote you to Junior Guardian status and see how things develop as you get older. It’s possible you won’t want the position and all it entails when you’re an adult.” He could see Peter was about to argue with that and he held up his hand again to stave off whatever he was going to say. “Hold on. Let me finish. I know you love the Park and your knowledge of its history is phenomenal. But, there’s a lot more to it than just that. It takes a huge dedication and commitment. Plus, there are things that have to be given up because of the secrecy. Wolf? Kimberly? Do you two agree with my recommendation?”
Wolf gave one nod of his head and Kimberly agreed as well. “Then, Junior Guardian it is.” Kimberly smiled to herself, thinking Lance would have made a wonderful lawyer like his father had wanted him to be.
Seeing things take off in a better direction than it seemed just moments before, Peter eagerly eyed the brass object still sitting on the desk. “So, I get to keep the key then?”
Wolf stepped in and answered for the parents. “I’ll take charge of the key for now.”
“Hey, you already have one!”
Peter was immediately silenced by the look Wolf gave him. “As your dad said, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with this key. As Walt mentioned, it’s a master key that opens every door in Disneyland and the Studio…. Lance, tell you what. Why don’t you hang on to this one and at least Peter will know it’s in his house. Deal?” Seeing the happy expression that came over Lance’s face, Wolf wondered if he had just made a mistake in compromising. “It will be put in a safe place and not used, right, Lance?”
Lance tore his eyes off the key. “Right. Safe. Sure, Wolf.” The full force of his charming smile was turned on Wolf.
Unmoved by the display, Wolf turned to Kimberly as the more serious of the two older Brentwoods. She gave Wolf a conspirator’s wink and told him in a low voice, “I’ll make sure it’s safe, Wolf. Don’t worry.”
Not wanting to push the key issue any more, Peter once again asked about Catie.
“Well, she seemed really eager to work with you on finishing this quest. Some of the treasures you discovered in the crates should go to her.” Wolf was glad to see Peter nod in agreement. After the hungry way Peter claimed the key, he had wondered about the rest of the find. “We’ll have to see the level of her future interest—whether or not she would fit the role as a guardian. Her parents were content with what they found and your grandfather and I saw no need to involve them any further. Let’s just see how it goes with Catie. All right?”
Glad to hear his friend was going to at least have a part of this exciting future, Peter eagerly agreed. “Can I go up and see the War Room now?”
At the expressions on the three faces that turned to him, he could see the answer was no. Unperturbed, he was still hopeful. “Some day?”
“Yes, some day.” Kimberly gave him a hug. “We’re really proud of you, Peter. Both for the way you worked through the quest and for the way you took care of Catie.”
“She’s my friend. I couldn’t let her get hurt.”
“Speaking of hurt, Wolf, what about Todd Raven?”
Wolf glared at Lance and wondered why he brought that up in front of the boy.
Lance understood the frown he was getting from the security guard. “He’s involved in
this as much as we are and deserves to know.”
Wolf eyed him suspiciously. “Know how much?”
“Enough,” was Lance’s cryptic reply.
“All right.” Wolf turned to face Peter, his words slow as he thought about the best way to word it. “I’m going to take Raven somewhere where he won’t hurt anyone any more. He proved over and over again that he’s dangerous and can’t be trusted.”
“I hope he goes to prison! I want him to rot there.”
“Peter!” His mother was shocked to hear such angry words out of her oldest son.
He didn’t back down. “Well, he held us at knife point—twice for me—and he threatened Catie! I think that’s kidnapping and something with a deadly weapon…. I can’t remember the word…. Then there was the blackmail thing with that other security guy. And he stole my Gold Pass. He needs to rot in prison!”
Wolf gave an uncharacteristic sigh. “There’s more to it than just that, Peter. He’s seen too much. He’s seen the War Room. He also stole some delicate documents written by Walt from the filing cabinets that I need to get back. He won’t forget what he saw.”
“You can scare him into not talking.” Everyone was well aware of Wolf’s intimidation factor.
“Do you really think he wouldn’t say anything if he went to prison? Or that he wouldn’t come back here to the house and try to get more if he got out on bail or got released for some reason?”
“I’d like to see him try!” Trying to look bigger than his thirteen years allowed, Peter’s hands formed into fists.
“Would you want to see Andrew or Michael or your mother put in danger again?”
Lance’s quiet words hit Peter hard. With a shake of his head, he couldn’t miss his dad’s point and snapped his mouth shut.
“I think you can see why the authorities won’t be notified.”
His eyes went wide as Peter thought of something else. “You aren’t going to…you won’t…,” he broke off, not wanting to voice it.
“No, Peter, he isn’t going to die. I’m just going to take him somewhere so he can’t cause any more trouble for anyone here.”
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