It All Started...

by David W. Smith

  It wasn’t until she was older still that she learned that he was “The Guardian.” But, to this day, she had never been under the Pirates ride to actually see where Walt was being kept. She had only seen the room through the video monitors that her father had kept faithful sentry over for the last forty years in his secret War Room, as he and Walt had always called it.

  Lance interrupted her thoughts. “Well, it would appear your father was intent on keeping something very safe,” he ventured, leaning back against the chair. “After seeing the machine with Walt, I always assumed that he was the secret.” Lance paused, frowning. “Which, I guess, in itself is indeed a big secret.” He let himself lean forward again, back to the table, and grabbed his nearly-empty glass mainly for something to do with his hands. Tilting back his head, he finished off his tea before setting the glass down on the edge of the table. He looked directly into Kimberly’s eyes. “But I can’t help believing that there’s something else going on here that is deeper, more significant, and, perhaps, more elusive than even knowing this secret of Walt.”

  “Yes.” After all she had been through, she had to agree with him. “Yes, and that’s why I need to go with you, Lance. You and I might not be the only two living people that know about Walt, but we’re probably the only ones who realize there must be something more momentous than just his discovery.” Kimberly frowned for a moment. “I just wish we knew what that ‘something more’ was that we are searching for.”

  “What about Crain?” Lance hated to bring him up. Just saying his name left a bad taste in his mouth. “Did your father reveal anything to him? I mean, how long has Daniel been his…what, assistant? He carries himself as if he has the full assurance of stepping into your father’s shoes.”

  Kimberly scrunched up her nose. “Daniel Crain…is my uncle.”

  That caught Lance by surprise. “Really.”

  Kimberly nodded. “Yep. My mother’s brother. Remember I told you we were related?”

  “Yeah, I remember, but I thought you were kidding.”

  “Unfortunately, no, I wasn’t. Actually, Daniel is my only living relative. When Mom died, he asked Dad for a job. Dad reluctantly made Daniel his chauffer and gave him the suite of rooms over the garage. You know—keep him close but not too close.”

  Lance thought about that for a minute. “That would explain why he has the run of the house and considers himself the Heir Apparent. You don’t seem to like him very much,” Lance observed, and then added, “Heck, I don’t like him very much.”

  “He is…hmmm, how should I put this? A pest? No, he is an annoying pest,” she amended.

  Lance gave a small, humorless grin. “That seems an apt description. I would have to agree.”

  “I don’t know,” she sighed. “I never got the idea that Dad completely trusted him or really considered Daniel a viable candidate. For instance, he never allowed Daniel into the War Room. I just think Dad felt he owed it to my mother after she died to take him in. He was her baby brother who always seemed to need something in the way of help. But, then, Dad didn’t really trust anyone.” She paused for a moment and pursed her lips in frustration. “Hmph, he didn’t even trust me totally. Look at everything I don’t know about what’s going on!”

  Lance wasn’t sure she was on the right track and shook his head. “I don’t know if it was from a lack of trust or from a sincere desire to protect you.… But, it all leads me to believe that there’s something far more complex at stake here…something that’s so important your father felt he couldn’t even tell you about it.” As Lance got up and walked around to her side of the table, he pointed to the map. “And whatever that complication is will become either more complicated or less once we find what is out there on the Jungle Cruise.” His finger jabbed at the illustration of the ride on the unfolded map.

  “And, like I said, I am going with you.” Kimberly emphasized her point by poking the map right where Lance’s finger had been.

  Lance took a deep breath while slowly shaking his head. He let out that breath in a resigned puff. “Kimberly….” He paused and glanced away from her insistent, stubborn look. “Okay, okay.” He thought back to what he, Beth, and Adam had gone through following Walt’s clues not so long ago. “I remember something Walt had written in his diary: Two heads are better than one…. Okay, we’ll do this together.”

  Kimberly said nothing but let the expression on her face reveal her feelings.

  On seeing her satisfied, relieved smile, Lance was glad he relented. “Besides, I do believe I’ll need someone to help me carry out what I am planning to do. And I certainly do not want to ask Crain.”

  The following day, Lance was in an Army-Navy surplus store in Fullerton to purchase the items he had written down on a notepad. Going over the list one more time, he hoped he hadn’t forgotten anything. He also hoped they wouldn’t be faced with some situation that he hadn’t anticipated.

  The next morning, Lance picked up Kimberly at her house and drove her to Disneyland. Both of them had shifts to work. They had made shift-changes with a couple of fellow cast members so they’d be able to be on stage, or working, at the same time. Kimberly was again going to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast during her shift. Lance, glad to be back at work in Security, was on what was commonly called Fox Patrol—a plain-clothes, undercover position to observe people who might be inclined to shoplift. There were certain stores where such activity regularly occurred and he would also look for pick-pockets who sometimes saw the Park as valuable hunting grounds.

  Together they walked toward Disneyland’s Harbor House. This was the small building that held the cast member’s time cards and where the employees needed to flash their ID’s to the security guard stationed at the entrance. Kimberly felt her heartbeat speed up as they got closer. Even though she had passed through the security checkpoint hundreds of times over the last couple of years, this time was different—she had an ulterior motive. True, she was coming in to work a normal eight hour shift, but she—and Lance—were also coming in to do something that would most likely get them fired if discovered. And her father was no longer there to fix it for her. There was a lot at stake.

  “I think we should hold hands.” Lance made this odd suggestion as they crossed the short-term parking entrance next to the Park that separated the employee parking area from the employee entrance. Kimberly looked at Lance with a ‘what-on-earth-for?’ expression.

  “Really, Kimberly. I think it’ll make us look less suspicious—especially with me carrying my rather heavy backpack. It isn’t something I usually bring to work.”

  “Okay,” she reluctantly agreed. At the moment, she was more mindful of her hand feeling clammy due to the tension building in her mind than the idea of just holding Lance’s hand. She held out her right hand and Lance slipped his hand into hers, interlocking their fingers as if they were a couple. Kimberly felt a sudden sense of security come over her in that simple grasp of his hand, the feeling that she wasn’t in this all alone.

  Unlike what she felt she must look like—‘guilty’ was the term that echoed in her head—Lance, on the other hand, looked completely at ease as they reached the security guard who was looking over employee identification cards.

  “Hey, Paul.” Lance let go of Kimberly’s hand to offer a casual salute to his fellow security guard. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet, flipping easily to his Disneyland ID card.

  “What’s up, Lance? Hello, Kimberly.” Paul barely glanced at Lance’s ID card. Kimberly had her ID out and drew a broad grin from the guard. Lance had purposely positioned Kimberly between him and Paul for two reasons: One, her position would better shield his backpack from the guard’s notice. And, two, with Kimberly’s good looks, Lance was sure that Paul would be eyeing her more than him. Kimberly had worn a pair of white corduroy shorts, a pale blue sleeveless blouse, and tennis shoes with low-cut socks that accentuated her long, tan legs. Lance smiled smugly to himself as Paul gave Kimberly a second, more lingeri
ng look. Lance had prepared some sandwiches and chips and placed them at the top of his backpack, just in case the guard wanted to search the bag. It was only purely random that the guards would inspect employee bags, and such checks were cursory at best. The main contraband smuggled into the Park by a minority of workers was alcohol. However, because of the zero tolerance by the Park Administration, such attempts by workers were a good example of Russian roulette; anyone caught with alcohol was immediately terminated.

  Lance had timed their entrance so that they were in front of another group of employees coming in at the same time. Lance figured Paul would need to move his attention quickly from them to checking those coming in behind. He was correct as Paul gave no notice to his backpack and was already busy with the new arrivals as Lance and Kimberly moved down the walkway to the Harbor House entrance door.

  Kimberly let out an audible sigh, an obvious release from holding her breath, once they were safely away. Once in the timecard room, they moved to their respective sections where their individual timecards would be. A handful of other cast members moved in the opposite direction to clock out after their own late-night shifts. Most of these individuals were maintenance or janitorial staff members. Their early morning work was getting the Park ready for a new day of guests—from painting to washing walkways to gardening to replacing burnt-out light bulbs. It took literally an army to maintain Disneyland to the standards Walt’s legacy demanded.

  “See? What did I tell you? That was easy.” Lance gave Kimberly a smug grin when she again joined him. He had felt the tension in her hand when they had approached the security checkpoint. Lance’s other excursions with Adam and, later, with Beth when they had originally searched for Walt’s clues had seasoned Lance for such situations. To further help, Lance was naturally easy-going and little seemed to faze his demeanor.

  “Maybe for you. My heart is still pounding!” Kimberly clutched her hand to her chest.

  Lance let the tempting remark on the tip of his tongue slide. Something about Kimberly was making him act like a gentleman. Maybe this was how Adam, with his polar-opposite approach to women, felt all the time, Lance wondered as he waited for Kimberly to punch her timecard. Lance was normally gallant to the ladies, but…there was something special about Kimberly that made him hold his tongue where he might have been suggestively teasing. His mother would have definitely approved.

  Together they walked down the sloping walkway under the trestle of the Disneyland Railroad…the same train that Adam had jumped from in one of the caves along the loop that had held a capsule Walt left decades before. Walking under the train track marked an invisible point of reference that most employees recognized as the place where they were now officially IN Disneyland. For many, it was the spot where they went from being ‘employees’ to ‘cast members.’ Being called a cast member dated back to Walt Disney and his intention that Disneyland would be a ‘show’ and that all his employees were ‘cast members’ of that show.

  As they came up from the dip under the tracks, Lance turned to Kimberly. “You’re doing great. Don’t worry about a thing.” Lance gave her his best, most sincere smile. And, at that moment, a smile he didn’t have to fake. “I’m really glad you’re doing this with me.” He paused, wanting to say more, but hesitated. “Have a great day being Belle. I’ll meet you after work in the Inn Between.”

  “Okay, Lance. Thanks.” Kimberly smiled back at Lance. She was still thinking about holding his hand. “Yes, see you at dinner.”

  Kimberly turned to go upstairs into the women’s locker room. Lance still stood at the base of the stairs watching her. Feeling his eyes, Kimberly suddenly turned back to him. “What!?”

  “Oh, nothing. Well, it’s just that the real adventure is still to come.”

  “Thanks for reminding me.”

  “Not a problem. That’s why I’m here.”

  Kimberly shook her head. “What am I getting myself into?” she asked out loud with a resigned laugh and moved on up the stairs.

  Lance smiled at her back and turned toward the men’s locker room just adjacent to the women’s. He, too had the memory of holding her hand fresh in his mind.

  “What am I getting myself into?” he murmured out loud to himself, for a completely different reason than Kimberly, as he pulled at the straps of his heavy backpack.

  Having clocked out for the night, dressed in his street clothes, Lance stood just outside the Inn Between. The Inn Between was one of the two full-service cast member restaurants inside Disneyland. Located next to the building that housed the Star Tours ride, it was situated literally in-between the ‘off-stage’ portions of Disneyland with cast member locker rooms and administration offices—places that few Disneyland guests were allowed to see—and the ‘on-stage,’ public portion of the Park. Hence the name Inn Between. In its location for well over forty years, it had been remodeled and redecorated dozens of times over the course of its history. But, the food had always remained extremely reasonable for the cast members and had a good variety of items for nearly every palate.

  Kimberly had been spotted coming from the locker rooms. He waited as she walked up to the curved, dark green canvas awning that identified the entrance.

  “How was your day, Belle?” He didn’t mention that he had walked over to Fantasyland during one of his breaks to watch from a distance as she interacted with the guests, mainly children. With her lovely gold, off-the-shoulder gown and her brown-haired wig, Kimberly made a striking Belle. He hadn’t failed to notice that her character had not just appealed to the kids who lined up for pictures and autographs. Lance had smiled when he noticed how many of the dads were not at all shy to get their picture taken with the lovely Kimberly, even to the point of forgetting to include their own children in the picture.

  “It was just a beast,” she kidded, playing off the cliché of the movie title, as Lance held the door open for her. They quickly ordered dinner which Lance gallantly paid for. It was just after eight p.m. and the evening crowd inside was light. Dozens of empty tables filled the room and two televisions with closed-captioning were on, one showing a baseball game, the other a nightly news program. A quiet table far away from the televisions and the few employees was chosen.

  “Well, eat up.” Lance took a sip of the hot coffee he had gotten for himself. He never usually drank coffee so late at night, but felt it would be needed. “Tonight will be a long night.”

  Kimberly took a hearty bite of the pasta she had ordered. “You haven’t exactly described the whole plan to me. Just what exactly will we be doing later tonight?”

  “Well,” Lance started, delaying the disclosure by taking a bite of his hamburger. He could see her excited impatience. “Have you seen the movie Cliff Hanger?”

  “Stallone?” she asked, trying to remember if that was the actor who starred in it.

  “Yep.”

  “If I remember, they did a lot of mountain climbing with ropes.”

  Lance smiled and took another bite. “That they did.”

  The Park didn’t close until midnight. Once they were finished with dinner, Lance and Kimberly didn’t head to the parking lot. Instead, they quietly blended in with cast members coming in for their night shifts in the backstage area of the Park.

  His backpack stashed in his locker, Lance and Kimberly reentered the Park, this time as guests. They strolled along the beautifully manicured gardens at the Hub in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, enjoying the sights and sounds around them, just like everyone else was doing.

  Their destination wasn’t as random as it seemed. “I need to see something.” Lance led the way through the arched entrance to Adventureland and rounded the corner of the Enchanted Tiki Room. This South Pacific-themed attraction that featured singing birds, flowers and tiki poles held many fond memories for Kimberly. It always made her think of the few vacations taken with her father when she was a child, once to Hawaii and once to the Cook Islands…places she would later learn had more to do with Walt Disney than just be
ing family getaways.

  A large group of people exited the Tiki Room and forced everyone else to walk closer together through that narrow walkway. Lance took the moment to squeeze in closer to Kimberly, his arm pressed against her side.

  “Where are we headed, Lance?” The crowd finally thinned and they now walked freely past the Jungle Cruise. For a moment, Kimberly drifted back to when they were sitting cheek to cheek on the wooden seats of those little boats. Lance’s answer brought her out of her daydream.

  “I want to see Tarzan’s Treehouse.” Ahead of them was the large simulated tree that originally had been the home of the Swiss Family Robinson clan and built after the popular Disney film of the same name.

  Gone was the Swisska Polka that had been the featured song of the Treehouse. Before, the song had permeated the area around the Treehouse. Now relegated to dim background music, the polka played occasionally on a gramophone set up in the lower area of the Treehouse. The attraction was now themed to match the animated movie, Tarzan.

  “The Treehouse? I thought we needed to get into the Jungle Cruise.”

  “We do.” Lance led her by the arm to the side of the walkway just before the entrance stairs, out of the stream of traffic. “Unfortunately,” he quietly explained, “the island section of the Jungle Cruise that we need to get to is across the ride’s river flume…a flume that’s about three feet deep in the middle. While I suspect you would look fabulous all wet, I don’t think we want to be explaining to anyone why we’re both soaking wet.”