Kingdom Keepers IV (9781423152521)

by Pearson, Ridley

  Finn’s mother spoke to him for several minutes. She handed him stuff from the bail bondsman, filled out something on a clipboard. Showed her driver’s license. It reminded Finn of her returning shoes at Nordstrom, or paying for an oil change.

  “We can’t get her out tonight,” Mrs. Whitman reported to Charlene and her son. “Some problem with the courts. I can return tomorrow morning. Tuesday at the latest.”

  “She has to stay here?” Finn said. “That’s terrible.”

  “She’s going to make bail,” his mother said. “It’s just delayed a little. But we’re allowed to see her.”

  Finn felt a huge weight lift. “YES!” he said, fist-pumping. “You are totally awesome!”

  If Mrs. Whitman could have floated off the floor, she might have. “Come on. What are you waiting for?”

  The three had gone through security to enter the building, but they were put through it again before entering the jail. The room they were shown to was plain. It looked like a very small version of their school lunchroom with six green plastic picnic tables bolted to the floor, overhead tube lighting, and lots of acoustic tile.

  Wanda looked older than Finn remembered. She wore an orange jumpsuit with orlando city jail written across the front. Her hair was stringy. She’d been crying.

  Finn, his mother, and Charlene sat on the bench facing her. A guard stood just outside the door.

  “So, how are you?” Finn asked.

  Wanda smirked, her twisted smile telling him more than he wanted to know. “Been better,” she said.

  “We’ve posted bail,” Mrs. Whitman said. “Tomorrow sometime, I’m told.”

  “Thank you so much, but I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve been told by the attorney they appointed that they may try for Homeland Security charges. That’s probably why the delay.”

  “What did you do?” Charlene asked.

  Wanda lowered her voice. “My father has me monitor bandwidth usage on the DHI server, the same way Philby sometimes does.”

  Finn nodded. If bandwidth usage surged, it meant extremely large data packs were moving in and out of the DHI servers. That, in turn, meant someone was crossing over or Returning. Wayne watched for unusual or unexpected bandwidth usage as a warning sign of possible Overtaker interference.

  Wanda said, “There has been some unusual activity: data surges late, late at night. A spike at one point from the Animal Kingdom server. Others as well. We knew something was going on, we just didn’t know what. So I hacked one of Disney’s multi protocol routers. If the Internet is the information superhighway, I hacked a major intersection, a truck stop. That’s probably why the Homeland Security charges. It’s kind of like hacking Google or Microsoft.”

  “But you work for Disney,” Finn said.

  “That just makes matters worse. I look like a disgruntled employee.”

  “Oh, my,” said Mrs. Whitman.

  “I came away with more questions than answers. What seemed to be happening couldn’t possibly be happening. I needed more data, more time to drill deeper. That was when I was arrested, in the middle of all that. It was only then I realized that I’d probably been set up. That I’d walked into a trap.”

  She looked each of them in the eye, making sure they understood the earnestness of what she was about to tell them. “Our friends,” she said, meaning the Overtakers, who weren’t their friends at all, “knew that if they made enough noise on the DHI servers it would attract our interest. Mine. Philby’s. Someone’s. They could then alert the authorities, who would follow the data mining back to its source and arrest whoever was messing around—in this case, me. That would then mean that I’d need to be bailed out, and who would bail me out?”

  “Wayne,” Finn answered. “Wait a second! Are you saying it was all a way to make Wayne show himself?”

  “To draw him out,” Wanda said, nodding. “That’s my guess. A father’s first instinct is to save his children. My dad nearly came here. If he had, he’d never have made it through the doors. They’d have had him out front. I’m sure of it.”

  “So he contacted Philby in order to not come here in person,” Finn said. “I made him promise not to come,” Wanda said. “Was the Internet stuff you turned up for real?”

  Charlene asked. “We won’t know without more tests,” she answered, “more investigation.”

  “Do you know where your father is?” Charlene asked.

  More questions, Finn thought. He said, “That’s none of our business!”

  “It is, if the police are going to torture her or something,” Charlene said.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Charlene,” Mrs. Whitman said. “That kind of thing only happens in movies.”

  Wanda and Finn exchanged a questioning look.

  “We’ve got to get you out of here,” Mrs. Whitman said.

  * * *

  As the bus from the Transportation Center rolled into Epcot, Finn spotted a pair of crash-test dummies—CTDs—on Segways patrolling the parking lot and pointed them out to Jess. Moving her dark hair off her face to get a better view, Jess’s features reflected off the bus window. She had a teardrop chin with full lips and wide-set eyes. She changed her hair color—which had turned horse-tail white after an encounter with Maleficent—several times a year. She pointed out the Segways to Amanda.

  The overhead monorail line divided the enormous parking lots; the lane beneath it was used for the parking lot shuttles and as a pedestrian walkway leading to the Park’s front gates.

  A fun distraction for Park visitors, the CTDs-on-Segways were known to the Keepers as possible soldiers for the Overtakers. Some were nothing more than Cast Members in CTD suits, acting out a part. But others were robotic drones armed with high-tech detection and surveillance equipment outfitted with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Originally, these had been introduced to Epcot by Security—an effective and inexpensive way to patrol the Parks during regular hours and after closing. Their popularity had led to the Cast Member variety—CTDs that would talk and interact with the visitors. But somewhere along the line, the Overtakers had managed to electronically hijack control of at least a half dozen of the robotic variety. Seeing them now so close put Finn on guard.

  “Well, if they’re looking for you, they’ll never spot you,” Amanda said.

  “Not with you looking like that, they won’t,” said Jess.

  Finn wore an Orlando Magic jersey with a heavy chain around his neck, a Yankee cap sideways on his head, and mirrored sunglasses. His shorts went below his knees and he wore basketball shoes with Nike socks. There were probably a few hundred boys just like him in the Park at this very minute.

  “You look sooooo stupid,” Amanda said, prompting a laugh from her and Jess.

  “Good,” Finn said. It was true, he looked like an idiot, but that was the point. If he happened to be recognized in the Park as a Kingdom Keeper he’d be hounded for autographs; if he was hounded for autographs he’d win the attention of Security; if Security caught him or any of the Keepers in the Park without approval, his family could lose their Golden Mickey Pass—or worse—Operations Management could bring the hammer down. It was one thing to attend a school function in Downtown Disney, but something else entirely to be in Epcot without asking permission.

  Operations Management did not want Park visitors seeing both the DHI hologram guides and the real-life models for the DHIs in the same Park at the same time. Finn and the four others were under contract not to visit any of the Parks without prior approval—approval they currently lacked.

  “Plus, you’re hanging out with two gorgeous girls,” said Jess, striking a pose. “So we know who everyone will be looking at.”

  Jess was typically more modest than this. The comment from her drew a shrill laugh from Amanda. They seemed to be having more fun than he was.

  “We need to keep our eyes on them,” Finn warned. “Seriously.”

  “Okay. We get it,” Amanda said.

  He’d ruined the moment. He wanted to kick himself.

&nbs
p; Entering Epcot, they passed beneath Spaceship Earth—which looked like an elevated giant golf ball—reaching the fountain plaza where a computer-controlled water show ran. It could mesmerize visitors for hours at a time. Pavilions rose on both sides: The Land, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Test Track. Beyond the plaza was the fifteen-acre lake surrounded by the World Showcase pavilions, each representing a different country and duplicating its most famous architecture: the Eiffel Tower in France; a Mayan temple in Mexico.

  The autumn Food and Wine Festival was under way. Special booths offered food and drink. The mood was even more festive than usual. The place was packed. At a few minutes before eight pm, the sun set. The IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth show would take over the lake—and the entire Park—before long. There was a buzz in the air.

  For Finn, the buzz felt more like fear. Seeing Wanda locked up had upset him. The idea that the Overtakers had tried to trick Wayne out into the open worried him. They were planning again. They were up to something. With Wayne in hiding and Wanda in jail, it fell onto him and the Keepers to figure out what was going on, and to stop whatever was planned. The only timetable was right now.

  Finn, Amanda, and Jess arrived at Norway’s Stave Church just behind Philby and Willa. The steeple on the dark brown wooden church rose forty feet in the air, while the interior space was quite small, a closeted, museumlike space.

  The walls were dark wood, the ceiling, vaulted. The five displays depicted various scenes or famous people from Norway’s colorful history. There were descriptive plaques alongside each.

  The three girls drew together in the far corner and immediately began talking the way girls do. Finn and Philby were left alone.

  Philby reviewed everything he could recall about the video from Wayne; Finn detailed the visit with Wanda.

  “A trick?” Philby asked.

  “That’s what she thinks.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “Yes, it does,” Finn agreed.

  “I wish she’d told you more about the data bursts.”

  “I knew you were going to say that,” Finn said. “You are so predictable.”

  “It’s what I do,” Philby said, unapologetically.

  “What could it mean?”

  Philby shrugged. “All sorts of things. But it’s kind of random that she’d hack a bank of Disney routers. That’s like hacking the streetlights at an intersection. No wonder she’s in trouble.” He mulled it over. “What’s interesting, I suppose, is why she’d bother in the first place. Those big routers…I suppose if you wanted to determine where the packets were headed…the firewall logs might be all you’d need.”

  Finn lost him for a minute while Philby was doing the math in his head.

  “Listen, there’s one other thing before she gets here,” Finn said.

  “Charlene,” Philby said, naming the only girl not there yet.

  “Yeah. I know this doesn’t make any sense, but she designed our ride. She gave us the card.”

  “Do you know what you’re saying?”

  “Yes. Of course I do. And look, was it her alone? No. But that’s even more disturbing. And today, she just materialized at school. Said she’d ridden over with the Evans soccer team. She’s been asking all these crazy questions.”

  “This is Charlene we’re talking about!”

  “I know!” Finn said. “That’s what got me! Since when does she ask a dozen questions in a row?”

  “Since never.”

  “But she did today. She was like Sherlock Holmes or something.”

  “You can’t accuse her. Not without evidence. It isn’t fair. We just don’t do that.”

  “I know,” Finn said. “I get that. But I wanted you to know. Only you.”

  “So I should keep an eye on Charlene.”

  “That’s all I’m saying, yeah.” Finn added reluctantly, “Not that I like it.”

  “No. It’s ugly.”

  “Speaking of ugly…” He told Philby about his seeing Cruella De Vil on the phone outside Disney Quest and how out of place it seemed.

  “This is beginning to feel like a parallel universe,” Philby said.

  “Right?” Finn said.

  Philby reached out and touched Finn’s shoulder. “Just making sure we’re not holograms,” he said. Both boys laughed.

  A father and son entered. The son was carrying a Kim Possible cell phone. The Kim Possible quest was an interactive mystery hunt where the participant joined a popular cartoon character’s pursuit of bad guys. The phones gave clues and could lead you all over the Park.

  The boy searched the church and apparently found the answer in a display description that his father helped him to read. The boy squealed and pushed a button on the device. The phone gave him his next location. The two left without having paid any attention to the five kids.

  Maybeck arrived out of breath. He looked around the small area, making sure they were alone. He said hello, and then, “Did any of you see the CTDs out there? There was a pair trying to follow me. I lost them, but they were zoned in on me.”

  Appraising Maybeck, Finn said, “Not the best disguise I’ve seen.” Maybeck liked the fan attention—loved it, was more accurate—and rarely changed his appearance. He wanted to be recognized. He wanted to be mobbed.

  “I’m kind of hard to miss,” he said.

  “You reap what you sow,” Willa told him.

  “Where’s Charlene?” Amanda asked, looking past him.

  Philby and Finn exchanged a curious look.

  Maybeck said, “She stopped to get us some food. I’m starving.”

  “It’s eight o’clock,” Philby said.

  “So what? I can’t be hungry at eight o’clock? I’m hungry all the time! I have a big appetite.”

  “I wouldn’t mind something,” Jess said. “That dinner tonight…” she said to Amanda.

  “Mrs. Nash’s tamale pie is basically microwaved dog food with boxed gravy and Doritos on top,” agreed Amanda.

  “Gross!” Willa said.

  “You should be in the same room with it,” said Amanda.

  Maybeck said, “I don’t think we should hang here too long. Not only are there cameras all over this Park—right, Philby?—but I wouldn’t be surprised if those CTDs circle back and come looking for me. We’d actually be safer out there with the mob lining up for the fireworks.”

  “I love the fireworks,” Amanda said.

  Willa said, “So, why are we here, anyway? What’s going on? Do we even know why Wayne wanted us here?”

  “Not yet, we don’t,” Finn answered. “What we know is that the OTs are active again.” He told them about the jail visit with Wanda.

  Philby tried to explain what Wanda might have been doing hacking the servers. “Disney has an elaborate set of firewalls in place. Think of it as one of those European fort walls around all of Disney World’s data lines. One you can’t climb. One with gates too strong to bust through—”

  On cue, the door banged open. Charlene entered, struggling to balance a stack of small plastic plates, all holding food. Everyone hurried over to help her. Shortly thereafter, lips were smacking loudly.

  “So,” Finn said to Philby, “you were saying?”

  “The point is, the firewalls log any ‘events’—that is, attempts to breach them. There are subnet masks, ISP numbers, all sorts of data that can be traced and used to track down where the attack came from and who was behind it. If I’m Wanda, that’s what I’m looking for: the person behind the data bursts.”

  “And if you’re the OTs?” Charlene asked.

  “If I’m the OTs and I’m attacking firewalls,” Philby said, “then I’m either looking for a way in or a way out. A way in would give me access to other Disney data—”

  “Like the location of where Disney might lock up certain other Overtakers,” Maybeck proposed.

  “Like that, yes. Or, you remember how we used the changes in temperature inside pavilions to try to track Maleficent? That kind of record would tell th
em everything they want to know.”

  “Energy use,” Willa said.

  Philby smiled. He loved the way her mind worked. “Absolutely. Disney has to keep Maleficent cold. They’re not going to mistreat her, and she needs cold to survive. That would require more energy. That’s a number, something easy enough to uncover. Those kind of records could be hacked.”

  “They’re going to bust Maleficent and Chernabog out,” Maybeck said, speculating. “It’s a jailbreak.”

  Silence.

  Philby began nodding. “Nicely done, Terry.”

  “Could it be?” Charlene asked.

  “It makes total sense,” Willa said. “They’re trying to gather enough data to locate where Maleficent and Chernabog are being held. At the same time, they know that’s going to attract our attention—Wayne, Philby, Wanda…someone. When that happens, they have a backup plan to lure Wayne out into the open and kidnap him. Maybe they want information from him, maybe they want to trade him for Maleficent and Chernabog, but it’s all directed at the same goal.”

  “Freeing the boss,” Maybeck said.

  “And with Wayne in hiding and Wanda out of the way—” Willa said.

  “It’s up to us,” said Finn, prompting another heavy silence.

  The church door pushed open. A girl and her parents entered. They were also on the Kim Possible quest. The Keepers scattered, pretending to be interested in the various displays.

  The mother and father looked on as the girl read a plaque, looking for the same clue the boy had earlier. Her father complimented her as she identified the king in question.

  “Check the A box,” he said.

  “I know, Dad,” the girl complained, a little snotty. “Are you going to let me do it, or not?”

  He stepped back and the girl worked the phone. Then she stopped and looked across the room, her curious eyes finally settling on Finn.

  She tentatively crossed toward him, her father keeping an eye on her.

  “I’ve played this game, like, six times,” she said, addressing Finn shyly, her parents now nearby. “But this is the coolest yet.” She handed Finn the Kim Possible phone. He accepted it reluctantly. She hung her head slightly, embarrassed. “I recognized all but those two,” she said, pointing to Amanda and Jess, “when we came in.” Her parents looked around, not having a clue who the kids were. “I didn’t want to bug you.”