by David Smith
Two telephones sat on the desk, one black one that was not being used, and a red one, the one that Wolf was talking into. The red one had no dial, just a single button in the middle of it. Anyone who watched the new television show at the time, “Batman,” would immediately think of the “Bat Phone” upon seeing it. However, only three people had ever seen this particular phone and it was connected directly with only one other phone, the phone owned by the man Wolf was now talking to.
Two four-drawer file cabinets were in the corner behind the desk. The top drawer of the right-hand cabinet was open; a file sitting on Wolf’s desk with the label, “Last Days” was open, the contents spread across the desk. A twelve-month calendar was tacked up on the wall directly behind Wolf’s desk, with notations, circled dates, code words and other terms only understood by Wolf, Walt and the Blond-Haired Man.
Wolf was holding a stapled packet of papers while talking on the phone. He wasn’t reading the papers just then; in fact his eyes were focused on a framed picture attached to the back of the closed office door. A hand-written note was inscribed below the ten by twelve-inch photo:
“Disneyland is like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass; to step through the portals of Disneyland will be like entering another world.”
The inscription was signed, “To Wolf: Thank you my friend. Walt Disney.”
The picture was truly one-of-a-kind, the only one in existence; one of Walt, Wolf, and the Blond-Haired Man, standing together on a small porch. Few would recognize the porch to be one that was on Main Street, just past the Cameo Shop on the east side of the street near the north end of the Main Street hub. In the photograph, to the left of the three men and behind, a lone door was on the porch, closed with lace covering the small windows in the upper portion. Directly behind them on the porch were a wicker couch and two rocking chairs. In the hand of the Blond-Haired Man was a rolled up set of blueprints. Wolf was standing with his arms crossed looking at the camera. Walt had a big smile on his face and looking to his right; he stood in his trademark manner of hands on his hips. What was not so clearly seen in the picture was a small pendant dangling by a chain held in the closed fingers of Walt Disney’s left hand. Knowing Walt was left-handed, Wolf knew to look in that hand if indeed Walt was holding anything.
While listening to the Blond-Haired man who was again talking softly to Wolf, instructing him, Wolf thought to himself while looking at the picture on the door: “Walt, you have just stepped through the Looking Glass…I hope you find a Magic Kingdom on the other side.” Looking at the pendant again in the picture, Wolf added one additional thought: I hope you return again soon.
In the phone, the Blond-haired man had added a comment that brought Wolf back to the moment. “Yes Sir, I will make sure it is placed in the room when it is finished,” Wolf said in to the phone. “Yes, I know that Walt insisted on the pendant being placed in the chamber with his other items.”
At that moment, a loud buzzing sound startled Wolf. It was like an alarm clock buzz, irritating and grating on the ears, going on and off, being emitting from a speaker connected to one of the television monitors.
“What is that?” the Blond Man said to Wolf, hearing the loud sound on his end of the phone.
“Oh! NO!” Wolf said suddenly into the air—which was also into the phone.
“What is it, Wolf?” the man on the other end said with great concern. He had known Wolf for a long time and seldom did Wolf get upset, no matter what the situation presented. Hearing Wolf exclaim with such panic, the Blond-Haired man was now likewise alarmed.
“Sir, we have a breech. It is…” Wolf looked at the monitor closely. “It’s the pendant, Sir.”
“Wolf, that can’t be!” the other man shouted. “No one knows where it is! Not again!! How in the hell did someone else find it?”
Wolf stared at the screen, picturing the angle that the small lamp was pointed inside Walt Disney’s apartment. He could see the narrow table behind the couch and the antique gramophone. “I don’t know. But right this second I’m looking at someone that looks to be dressed in all-white who certainly knows about it.” Wolf paused, and then added, “He just opened the gramophone! I need to get him!”
“Go!” was all that Wolf heard before he crammed the phone back in its cradle and ran out the office door, slamming it closed behind him.
“I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re at Disneyland. I want them to feel like they’re in another world.”
Walt Disney
CHAPTER 16
A Pirate’s Proposition
Sunday Morning, June 25th, 2010
9:05am
Blain was drinking coffee at his kitchen table in his apartment, reading over the newspaper. Knowing it was close to nine in the morning, he glanced up at the clock on the wall.
Setting the paper to the side, he got out his cell phone from his pocket. The napkin from the Caper Club sat on the table, the phone number Laura wrote down was printed neatly below the Caper logo of a black spinning LP record and the likeness of the Pink Panther sticking his head over the top of the black disk. Blain punched in the numbers on his phone, hoping they were correct.
Not recognizing the voice on the other end when the phone was answered, Blain hesitantly asked, “Uh, hi. This is Blain. Is Missy available?”
For a moment, Blain was thinking that he had been given a fake phone number.
“Missy? Who? Oh, wait a minute.” Blain could hear someone saying something in a foreign language. Then, after a second, he heard a different voice come on the phone. “Blain? Oh hi, it’s Laura.”
“Am I calling at a bad time?” Blain asked.
“Oh, no, no. Mal, I mean Missy, my sister, is in the shower.” Laura said quickly, hoping Blain didn’t catch the verbal gaff. “Hey, you guys were totally awesome last night!”
“Thank you, Laura. Like I said, I was really happy you guys bothered to come out. To be honest, I didn’t think I would ever see Missy or you again.”
“We loved it and are glad we came!” Laura said, and then lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Missy can’t wait to go back to Disneyland with you.”
“Good! So you guys worked it out so you can come with me?”
“Well, yes and no,” Laura said, still talking quietly. “I won’t be able to go. I might be able to meet up with you later, maybe in the afternoon,” Laura explained.
“Oh, Laura, are you sure?” Blain asked. “I think you would really enjoy seeing some of the stuff you both missed.”
“Blain, that is really nice. But, I really can’t make it,” Laura said.
“Well, I want you to know you are most welcome if your plans change.”
“Thanks. I do know Missy is looking forward to going back,” Laura said. After a moment’s pause, she then added, “You sure you want to take Missy back to Disneyland? I mean, I know we hardly know you—and you us…but, Missy said it would be okay, and I’m sure there was a lot she didn’t get to see.”
“Well, unless Missy is an axe murderer or a fugitive from the Swiss police, I think I’ll be okay,” Blain said with a laugh. Then he thought about Missy wondering the same thing about him. “Um, are all of you okay with me taking her to Disneyland? I mean, I thought since you don’t know me—except that I work at Disneyland and have an aversion to men with metal in their mouths—you might have some reservations. Are you okay with me and Missy at Disneyland?”
“I told Mom and Dad that you were great and all about the rescue. In fact they would like to meet you, maybe tonight. This morning, I am taking them to some museum in Los Angeles that our dad really had his heart set on seeing,” Laura said. “I’ll call Missy when we get back from the museum.”
“That sounds nice! Well, would Missy want to meet me at the entrance to Disneyland or should I pick her up at your hotel? Geez, I don’t even know where you are staying. What hotel are you at?”
“We are at the Marriott next to the Anaheim Convention Center. And yo
u can come over here,” Laura covered the phone and Blain could hear a quick, muffled conversation. “Missy said she will be ready in about a half hour.”
“Perfect. Tell her I will meet her in the hotel lobby at ten o’clock,” Blain said, looking at his watch.
“Okay, Blain. Oh, our tour coordinator will probably be with her in the lobby. Her name is Genevieve. She is like a mother to us, even though Missy is twenty-one and I’m twenty-three. She treats us like we are twelve sometimes.” Laura said with a self-conscious laugh. She lowered her voice and added, “Actually, I think she just wants to check you out. Missy told her all about you and I think Genevieve wants a date! But, be careful, she is a feisty fifty-two year old!”
“I’ll be my most boring self,” Blain said. “She won’t see anything in me!”
“That would seem almost impossible,” Laura said and then added, “Please be nice to my sister.”
“I promise to be a total Disney gentleman.”
“That works.”
9:45 am
“Wow, you look fabulous,” Blain said, standing up as he saw Missy come out of the elevator in the lobby of the Marriott. Blain had been sitting in the comfortable chairs around the few squat, round tables that were across from the check-in counter in the upscale lobby. Blain was at once mesmerized, watching Malaysia walk towards him. She was wearing a pale-blue mid-length sleeved blouse made of an eyelet patterned, lace-like material that was cropped just at the waist band with white, denim shorts. Her blouse had wide-set straps and opened with a small “V” accent opening that had a thin string loosely tied in a bow across it. Both sleeves had wide edgings with off-the-shoulder lace perched at the curve of her lovely shoulders. Her long, shapely legs had color, presumably fresh from the previous day at Disneyland. Sandals revealed painted peach-colored toe-nails and attractive feet and ankles. To Blain she looked like a woman who never had to try to look beautiful. Malaysia held her sister’s light blue denim jacket in one hand along with a small purse, her other hand was in the pocket of her shorts. The color of her top accented her blue eyes. Unbeknownst to Blain, she had also re-colored her hair dark brunette again, with the help of Laura, making sure it didn’t look colored.
“Thank you, Blain,” Malaysia said of his complement, blushing and making her look even more demure to Blain. She didn’t understand how Blain could make a woman like her feel so nervous. She had sung to over fifteen thousand people in a foreign country just two days earlier, had been filmed and photographed, and interviewed by dozens of magazines, including People magazine whose reporter interviewed her in Switzerland while she waited at the airport for her international flight to the U.S. that week. Yet, right now, she felt like a little girl.
Behind Malaysia, an attractive woman in her early fifties walked up towards Blain, moving to the side of Malaysia.
“You must be Genevieve,” Blain said reaching to the side of Missy, holding out his hand.
Genevieve walked right up to Blain and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Blain. This is very nice of you,” Gen said in a husky, heavily, Swiss-accented English, referring to his taking his day off from work to show “Missy” parts of Disneyland she hadn’t seen.
“It is my pleasure. I’m looking forward to it. It isn’t that often I get to show someone Disneyland who has never been there before,” Blain said. “Well, I mean prior to yesterday.”
“I heard you helped the girls out yesterday. Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. Actually, I’m really embarrassed that they had to see that ‘side’ of our country. We really have some very nice people here,” Blain said.
“Don’t apologize. We have many of that kind, even in our little towns,” Genevieve said.
Blain handed Genevieve a slip of paper. “I took the liberty of making a copy of my driver’s license and I wrote my cell phone number down as well as the number for Disneyland Security. If there is an emergency with Missy’s family while they are here, they will know how to get a hold of me and Missy.
“Oh, that is very thoughtful,” Genevieve said, impressed by Blain’s initiative. She took the paper and put it in her pocket. “Laura is a very good judge of character as is Mal, I mean Missy,” Genevieve said shaking her head. “I always call Missy by my daughter’s name, Mallory.” She paused. “You two have a lot of fun; take lots of pictures, Missy.”
“I will, and thanks for coming down. Tell Mom and Dad when they get back to call me later,” Malaysia said to Genevieve with a concealed wink.
Blain opened the passenger side of his black Camaro. Malaysia was impressed. “I love your car,” she said, feeling the leather seat. “We don’t get too many American cars in Switzerland. Most of those we do have are like Ford Escorts, I think.”
Blain started the engine which was a 6.2 liter, 400 horsepower V-8. Malaysia could feel the power of the large engine. “Now that’s an engine!” Malaysia said. “It’s even rarer to have any car with more than four cylinders around where I live.”
“Thank you for joining me today, Missy,” Blain said, letting the idle on the vehicle slow.
Malaysia blushed for the second time that morning. “I have to tell you I was so nervous! I don’t know why! I’m usually very, uh, how would you say, ‘under control.’” Malaysia slipped on a pair of sunglasses. She was wearing the baseball cap again, but this time she had her hair in a ponytail like her sister did the day before; her brown hair pulled through the back opening of the cap.
“Well, please don’t be nervous. I’m no movie star or rock star. I’m just a school teacher who happens to play the guitar and works summers at Disneyland.”
Malaysia almost laughed, hearing Blain say he was not a ‘rock star.’ What would he think if he knew who I was? She thought to herself and was so glad that he knew her only as Missy Johansen. “I think you ARE a rock star,” Malaysia said, hitting Blain playfully on his shoulder. “You had a lot of fans out there on the dance floor and at the club.”
“Yeah, most of those were just friends from the area or who work at Disneyland. Put me in front of a bunch of strangers, and I’m sure I would probably freeze up or something.”
“No you wouldn’t. Hey, I’m no authority on being famous, but you looked famous to me.”
Blain smiled, “Well, I’m happy just being me.”
Malaysia had a brief moment of guilt. She was certainly not being herself. But, she couldn’t just drop a bomb on Blain like that. ‘Hey Blain, by the way, I’m really Malaysia Hosner…you know, the famous rock star that will be singing at the Honda Center this Friday night.’ What would he say? What could he say?
“You didn’t get to go on Indiana Jones or Star Tours or Pirates of the Caribbean, right?” Blain asked as he pulled out of the parking lot of the Marriott and turned right onto Convention Center Drive.
Malaysia shook her head. “Are those good rides?”
“The best. I also want to take you to a couple shows,” Blain said smiling, thinking how much fun it was taking someone new to Disneyland. Usually when he had taken someone to the Park for the first time, they were friends of his parents or relatives visiting California.
“I’ll leave it up to you. You decide what I should see or do.”
“I think we are going to have a very memorable day!” Blain said.
Neither Blain nor Malaysia had any idea how memorable this day would be.
Blain drove the short distance to the Park and drove into the guest parking garage where he showed his ID card which let him park free.
They took the escalator down to the tram loading zone and walked right onto the waiting tram.
“My sister and I took the hotel shuttle here yesterday. This is kinda fun.”
“Wow, if you like the tram ride, wait until you ride Indiana Jones!” Blain said sitting literally ‘cheek-to-cheek’ on the fully-loaded tram. Blain was very conscious of sitting so close that his hip was resting against hers.
At the Main Gate, Blain said hi to the pretty cast member working th
e entry turnstiles. He showed her his ID card and the machine spit out two magnetic-stripped tickets.
“Have a great day,” ‘Eileen’ said to Blain and Malaysia.
“That must be very cool, for you,” Malaysia said after Blain put his ID card back in his wallet.
“Signing people in? Yeah, it never gets old,” Blain said, smiling. “I don’t know what it really is, though,” he said and then paused thinking before adding, “I think maybe its knowing that they are going to have a great time, and in an indirect way, I’m sort of responsible for that good time by signing them in. I guess I’m sort of enjoying the Park vicariously through their enjoyment.” Blain looked at Malaysia and then added. “Like today. I get to enjoy the Park through your enjoyment.”
Malaysia smiled, a little touched. “I’m sure they also appreciate the kindness since they get to save a lot of money,” Malaysia said as the two walked through the entrance tunnel on the right and emerged onto Main Street.
Blain smiled. “Well, that too.”
“I know I appreciate it, Blain,” Malaysia said. “Thank you for doing this for me.”
Blain smiled a little self-consciously. “You’re welcome, Missy.”
The day flew by for both Blain and Malaysia. She was thrilled on Star Tours even though she was not a huge Star Wars fan, and she begged Blain to go on Space Mountain with her even though she and her sister went on it twice the day before.
They had lunch at the “Lunching Pad” in Tomorrowland and then headed to Adventureland. Blain introduced her to some of his friends on Jungle Cruise as they walked onto the loading dock before getting on their Jungle Cruise boat. Malaysia cracked up at the jokes on the ride, holding her sides from laughing so hard. She leaned into Blain and hid her face in his chest as her hands went around his waist for a brief moment when the “charging hippo” came up suddenly to the side of the boat right next to her.