by Dixon, Jeff
Hawk made a calming gesture with his hands. He tried not to look at the knife. His pulse raced. “What is it you want?”
“Come now, Dr. Hawkes, don’t insult me.” Jim’s nostril’s flared. “I want the key, the silver box, and the Pal Mickey. You can set them on the table and then leave the restaurant.”
Hawk was stunned that he knew about every single clue. The preacher stood staring at Jim, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn’t get to Kiran and didn’t believe Jim would let her go.
“Hawk, don’t!” Kiran gasped. Jim increased the pressure on her neck, and she whimpered.
“Obviously.” Jim smirked at Hawk. “Ms. Roberts is giving you some very bad advice. You leave the items on the table in front of you, leave Tony’s, and make your way to the front gate. Once you have left the park, I will let her go.”
Hawk tried to formulate a way to get to Jim without hurting Kiran. There wasn’t one. But if he gave Jim what he had asked for, there was no guarantee he would let Kiran go.
“You are such a fool!” A new voice boomed from the other side of the restaurant.
Hawk twisted quickly to see who entered. Jim did the same, dragging Kiran around in front of him, lifting her off her feet with the arm braced across her throat. She gasped at the motion, and Hawk’s heart wrenched in his chest.
“Who are you?” Jim demanded of the newcomer to Tony’s Town Square Restaurant.
“I told you to stay away from her!” Sandy ignored Jim and spoke directly to Hawk.
Sandy had emerged from the kitchen side of the dining room. Dressed in street clothes, he was slightly disheveled and extremely agitated.
“Who are you?” Jim barked again in Sandy’s direction.
“His name is Sandy,” Kiran managed in a whisper.
“If you didn’t notice,” Hawk addressed Sandy, “You’ve arrived at a bad time.”
“You know”—Sandy laughed and took a seat at the nearest table nonchalantly—“you really should have listened to me. I told you to stay away from Kiran. I really thought you would have had more common sense than you actually do.”
“We can talk about this later.” Hawk grew fearful that Sandy’s presence might cause Jim to panic and hurt Kiran. Calling upon all his counseling skills, he tried to use a calm tone to defuse the situation. “Sandy, you and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I know you have strong feelings for Kiran and I do as well. We can talk about those later.”
“So you have strong feelings for her?” Sandy glared at him.
“He has strong feelings for me,” Kiran whispered aloud to no one in particular.
“Be quiet,” Jim hissed at her. “Sandy! It would be best for everyone if you just got up, turned around, and left. Nothing that is happening here is any concern of yours.”
“But it is a concern of mine!” Another voice echoed across the dining room.
Hawk now whirled back in the opposite direction toward the windows lining the restaurant along Main Street. Jim dragged Kiran backward, moving them into a more strategic position with an escape from the increasingly crowded dining room. Sandy looked up from his table, unimpressed at the newest arrival to the conversation. Reginald Cambridge closed the door leading out to the tables along Main Street and locked it behind him. Quickly glancing across the room and taking inventory of all the parties involved, he spoke into the radio he held in one hand.
“Hold everyone back,” the security man commanded.
Hawk wondered how many people everyone meant and where they might be. Glancing out the window he saw nothing out of the ordinary on Main Street USA. Now with the addition of Reginald Cambridge there was a four-way standoff in the dining room of Tony’s. The preacher was concerned that Jim would hurt Kiran, he knew that Cambridge would have backup out there somewhere close, and he wasn’t real sure what Sandy would do if the situation escalated. Cambridge, Sandy, Jim, and Hawk all eyed each other warily as if trying to figure out who might actually have the most advantageous position.
“Here is what is getting ready to happen,” Cambridge blustered. “Jim, you are going to let Kiran go and relinquish your weapon. Threatening a cast member is a violation of company policy, but of course you already know that. And I should inform you that right outside I have some people that urgently want to talk to you about abducting a park guest and attempting to hold her hostage. It appears you were trying to gain some leverage to use against Dr. Hawkes here, and clearly it didn’t work. You are complicating things by threatening Ms. Roberts.” Cambridge kept watching Jim, waiting for him to ease his grasp on Kiran. “Ms Roberts, you have been a very busy lady these past few days. I am anxious to hear an explanation as to why you have been blatantly disregarding every security procedure we have on the books while acting as a personal tour guide for Dr. Hawkes.” He turned slowly toward Sandy, who was still seated at the table farthest from him. “And as for you—I believe I heard your name is Sandy—I need for you to march yourself right back out the door you came in through. Nothing that is happening here involves you, but rest assured, I will find you and we will talk later.” Finally he turned toward Hawk. “Dr. Hawkes . . .”
“I’m not going anywhere, you overstuffed company goon,” Sandy yelled to Cambridge.
Reginald blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Aw, did I hurt your feelings, Reggie?” Sandy taunted. “You’ll get over it.”
“I hate to interrupt this annoyingly over-crowded meeting.” Jim turned back toward Hawk. “But Dr. Hawkes, I asked you to do something for me, and the extra people with us in the room don’t change that.” Then looking over at Cambridge he added, “If I see anyone come near me, the young lady here will not be able to explain why she has broken your precious security rules. Do I make myself clear?”
“Don’t give anything to him, Hawkes, he won’t hurt her.” Sandy rolled his eyes.
“You are mistaken, young man,” Jim responded threateningly.
“Go ahead, cut her then,” Sandy challenged.
“NO!” Hawk yelled toward Jim as he saw his eyes tighten at the challenge.
Cambridge reflexively took a step toward Jim, as did Hawk. Jim jerked Kiran off her feet with the blade jabbed against her. The tip poked a hole through the cloth of her blouse. With very little pressure Jim would puncture her side.
“Relax, you two.” Sandy spoke with sudden calmness to Hawk and Reginald. “He won’t hurt her, they’re working together.”
Kiran’s eyes remained wide in terror. They darted from Hawk to Sandy and then back to Hawk.
“They’ve been working together the whole time, Hawkes.”
“You lie!” Hawk’s jaw clenched in fury.
“Why do you think I told you to stay away from her? I warned you, but you just didn’t listen.”
“Don’t be deceived,” Jim growled. “The words of a babbling fool will cause this to end badly.”
“Ah, you sound very convincing,” Sandy mocked Jim. “Go ahead, let us see it end badly. Cut her, strangle her, show us what you’ve got.”
“Don’t do it, Jim!” Hawk took another step toward Jim and Kiran.
“Calm down, preacher. Jimmy boy won’t hurt her, he’s gutless.”
Hawk stopped, fist clenched, and turned toward Sandy.
“What did she tell you?” Sandy continued. “Did she tell you I was an exboyfriend? Or maybe a crazy stalker who just wouldn’t leave her alone? Did she tell you I knew who she was and what she was up to? No, I’m sure she didn’t tell you that . . . . did she, Hawkes?”
“Don’t believe him, Hawk,” Kiran managed to gasp from behind Jim’s stranglehold.
“Oh, I would believe him, Grayson,” said a man who stepped into the restaurant behind Kiran and Jim.
The sixth person to arrive at Tony’s had a face Hawk recognized. He had seen this man look directly at him the night before in Caribbean Plaza outside of Pirates of the Caribbean. He and Kiran had gotten away from the man then. The face had been familiar but Hawk had not been able
to place it. Suddenly the features of the man’s face fell into place inside Hawk’s mind. Hawk had seen him in the train station. He had been the conductor Hawk had spoken with as he was looking for the silver box.
“Do you recognize me?” said the conductor to Hawk. “You met me in the train station.”
“Yes, and I saw you another time,” Hawk added.
“In Caribbean Plaza.” The conductor smiled genuinely pleased that Hawk remembered. “You were with Kiran when I saw you there. Why don’t you listen to what Sandy has to say.”
“Let’s hear him out, Dr. Hawkes.” Reginald Cambridge eyed the new arrival and then looked back toward Sandy. “Jim doesn’t seem to be in that big of a hurry to hurt Ms. Roberts. As a matter of fact, I thought I saw him loosen his grip on her neck so she could speak a moment ago.”
“You’re crazy!” Jim said, holding Kiran in front of him.
“Perhaps.” Cambridge nodded toward Sandy, urging him to continue.
“Did it ever bother you that Kiran kept showing up and finding you every time you were in a theme park?” Sandy accepted the invitation to speak. “She was tracking you. Every time you placed your finger on a biometric print reader, she was notified. I know it’s commonly believed that we aren’t really looking at people’s prints, but if we really want to find someone, we can. Hawkes, every single time you entered a park she knew you were there, then she just had to find you.”
Hawk looked from Sandy to Kiran, who was staring directly into his eyes, pleading for him not to believe what Sandy was saying. For a brief moment Hawk didn’t want to tear his eyes away from hers. He wanted to believe and trust her, she was his friend, but still . . . he listened as Sandy continued.
“Did it ever dawn on you that she was being too helpful? When did she show up in your life, Hawkes . . . after Farren Rales disappeared?”
At the mention of Farren’s name, Hawk broke his gaze away from Kiran and whirled toward Sandy.
“You know where Farren is?” Hawk questioned.
“No.” Sandy rocked back in his chair. “But I know Kiran wants to know just as badly as you do. She wants to figure out the little puzzle you’re working on so she can find the prize for herself. As long as she kept batting her eyes and holding your hand, you kept her around for the adventure.”
“It’s not true,” Kiran desperately whispered from Jim’s grasp.
“He did it again!” Cambridge roared. “He loosened his grip on her neck so she could talk! Unbelievable!” One side of his mouth curled upward ever so slightly. It might have been a smile. “Continue, I’m enthralled.”
“I don’t know where Farren is.” Sandy’s chest puffed out. “She doesn’t know where he is either, but she wishes she did—don’t you, sweetheart? Ol’ Jim here has been watching you for a long time, Hawkes. He has been following you, keeping track of where you go and who you talk with. He especially has been interested in the time you were spending with Farren Rales. Once Farren was gone, you were in their sights and they had to get their hooks in you. With Farren missing you were the only one who would be able to learn the secret.”
“What is this secret?” Cambridge slowly asked.
“Ah, now that’s the problem, Reggie. Only Farren knew it, and Hawkes here is the only one who has a chance at figuring it out.” Sandy scowled. “I told you, Hawkes, Kiran is bad news. She played you, and you fell for it.”
The room fell silent as Sandy’s words hung in the air. All in the room had their eyes fixed on Hawk. He stepped back, deflated, like he had been punched in the pit of his stomach. Kiran somehow effortlessly slipped out of Jim’s grasp, shoving him backward, and raced across the room to Hawk. She stopped in front of him and stared into his face quizzically. Reaching out she took both of his hands in hers.
“He is a liar, Hawk,” she began. “Look at me, look in my eyes, think about all we’ve been through over the past few days, the things we’ve talked about, the time we’ve spent together.” She smiled her gorgeous smile. “I have no idea why he’s saying these things . . . but you have to believe me.”
“Oh, please!” Sandy muttered.
“Quiet,” Cambridge threatened Sandy.
“You trust me, don’t you Hawk?” Kiran pleaded.
Hawk studied her, trying to look behind her eyes into her soul. The look on her face peacefully pleaded with him to trust and believe her. He tightened his grip on her hands and she responded in kind. He turned his head back to Sandy, who rolled his eyes again. Hawk inhaled deeply and swung his gaze to Cambridge. Reginald’s slight smile was now gone.
“No.” Hawk exhaled. “I want to, but it just doesn’t make sense. You show up for the Keys to the Kingdom tour after I sign up to take the tour at the last minute. You just happen to eat lunch with me that day. You accept my invitation to come to church and you ask me out on a date. Later you just happen to be leading a private tour and catch me after hours hiding out in Walt’s office. But you don’t turn me in; instead you help me, and after finding something unexplainable, you tell me to let it go and forget about it.”
“Exactly, if I were some monster trying to find some treasure, why would I tell you to let it go?”
“That’s what I was thinking too, but then you showed up when I got attacked in the Magic Kingdom and my Pal Mickey was stolen. You showed up there, but you didn’t show up for our date.”
Sandy scoffed. “She probably hired the guy to steal it from you. After all, she knew the minute you hit the park. She was tracking you by fingerprint at the admission gate!
“I’m not telling you again.” Cambridge’s voice blasted like a cannon toward Sandy, causing him to shrink back in his chair.
“That isn’t the way it happened.” Kiran tightened her grip on Hawk’s hands.
“You snuck me into Animal Kingdom, you showed up unexpectedly when I was in the Magic Kingdom; you helped me get past every obstacle I was facing.”
“Listen to yourself, you wouldn’t have gotten this far without me.” Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
“When we tied Jim up and left him in the Character Zoo, there is no way anyone would have known he was there. I called my friend at the sheriff’s department, and Juliette called Tim; who did you call, Kiran?” Hawk paused then remembered. “You tried awfully hard to keep me out of the Character Zoo to begin with. Did you know Juliette was there?”
“I can’t believe you are saying this.” Her tears flowed freely now.
“Hawkes, let me ask you something.” Sandy spoke again despite Cambridge’s threat. “Do you have Farren Rales’s phone number?”
“Of course.”
“Then how about giving it a call. Farren’s phone was in his office. We found it after he disappeared, but unexplainably the next day his phone was gone too. Go on, Hawkes, try the number,” Sandy urged.
Hawk wrestled his hand from Kiran’s circulation-stopping grip and found his phone in his pocket. He rifled through his electronic phone book and found Farren’s name. He hit the green call button. Silence filled the room as he pulled it to his ear to listen. After a slight delay “When You Wish Upon A Star” played across the room. The song was Farren’s ringtone. The sound was coming from Kiran’s pocket. Hawk reached down and shoved his hand into her pocket, freeing the phone he found there. It was Farren’s phone receiving the incoming call from his own.
“When I was fighting with Jim in Liberty Square, something fell on the ground. You picked it up. Jim had Farren’s phone and you knew it.”
Kiran opened her mouth slightly, then released her grip on Hawk’s other hand and tossed him away. Looking toward Sandy, the conductor, Cambridge, and then back to Hawk, she spun on her heels and ran for the exit. Jim had already silently slipped out of the room during the exchange. Hawk stood there numbly with a cell phone in each hand watching her run away.
Reginald Cambridge again picked up his radio and placed it to his mouth. Expressionlessly he looked at the remaining people in the room and mot
ioned for everyone to stay in place.
“This is Cambridge,” he spoke evenly. “You should see two of our suspects trying to get out of the building. Kiran Roberts and Jim Masters. Stop them, take them to lockup. I will be there momentarily.” He looked up at the rest of the group. “They won’t get far. We have people waiting for them at every exit to this place both above and below ground. It will only take a moment to get them.”
The conductor walked over to Hawk and gently removed each cell phone from his hand and placed them on the table beside them. He motioned for Hawk to have a seat. The preacher quietly sat down and the kindly conductor motioned for Sandy and Cambridge to come and join them.
“What I am about to tell you will be hard to believe.” The conductor paused and studying Hawk’s face concluded, “or maybe not. Sandy, myself, and a few others are a part of a select group of Disney cast members who are very loyal to the dreams, imagination, and values that this company was built upon. Those ideas were the same ones that Walt and Roy believed in when they started the company. Farren Rales has chosen you to hold something that is very important, something that we do not understand. Farren Rales has chosen us to help protect you and keep you safe. You are the keeper of the key to the kingdom.”
“What key?” Cambridge asked.
“The key to the kingdom,” the conductor continued. “As I said, we have no idea what the key is for, what you have found, or what you have been doing. Our task is simple. We were to watch over you, watch out for you, and help protect you if we could. What you know and what you are trying to find is something that we are not entrusted with. We believe in what Disney stands for, what it means to people, what the brand means across the globe . . . and you, Dr. Hawkes, have been chosen to hold the key to all of that.”
“Kiran and Jim are a part of a group that wanted to possess the key for their own personal gain and power,” Sandy said. “They figured out the key was not enough. What you have discovered, the knowledge you now have, is necessary for the key to work. That is why Kiran decided to stay so close to you. They realized they would need more than the stuffed Pal Mickey to find the answer. They needed you.”