She met eyes—mother eyes—with Finn in the rearview mirror.
“It’s probably nothing you want to hear about,” Maybeck said.
“Try me.”
Maybeck hesitated.
“Mom,” Finn said.
“We had an understanding, correct?” his mother said.
Philby knew that of all the parents, Mrs. Whitman had a love of all things Disney, and was maybe the only parent to support their efforts. He said, “The Overtakers crossed over Willa and she’s stuck in the Syndrome.”
“That’s why her mom called,” Finn said, joining in on the explanation. It wouldn’t look good if Philby was the only one telling the truth.
“They tricked us and phished for my password—a back door to the DHI server—and they got it. They blocked us out and I couldn’t Return Willa.”
“Oh, my…And tonight?” she asked. There she was, staring down Finn in the rearview mirror again.
“The Utilidor,” Finn said.
“The server room,” Philby said. “We had to gain access to the server. We set up a trap and the maintenance people fell into it. I trapped the master password, which allowed me to create a new back door. I can control the server remotely again now.”
“How do you know it wasn’t the Imagineers or Maintenance who locked you out in the first place?” she said.
“Attenuating circumstances,” Finn said.
“Extenuating,” his mother corrected, then added, “Which were…?”
Finn answered. “If someone from Disney had locked us out, it would have meant we were in big trouble. They’d have called you and Dad, right? The parents? But that didn’t happen.”
Mrs. Whitman nodded. She pulled off the highway and into a gas station. She parked the car and faced the three boys. “I realize I don’t get all of this, but if you’re back in the server, why not just bring Willa back now?”
“I tried when we were down there,” Philby said. “A manual Return is different than using the fob. When we use the fob, our DHIs and the signal are in the same location—the same projection coordinates. A manual Return only works for sure at the landing—the hub in MK, the fountain in Epcot. If her DHI is not on the plaza, there’s no guarantee it will link up.”
“So we’ve got to get her to the plaza,” Finn said. “We’re doing everything we can for Willa. What we need now is to get home and get to sleep.”
“To cross over,” she said. She didn’t sound pleased.
“Willa’s mom,” Maybeck said, “knows she can’t take her to the hospital because of what happened to Philby when his parents took him.”
“It’s up to us to get her back,” Philby said. “Tonight.”
Mrs. Whitman put her hands to her temples like she had a headache. “But to get her back you have to use that button, right? It’s in one of the Parks somewhere, isn’t it?” She was basically talking to herself. “Which Park?”
“Epcot,” both Finn and Maybeck answered at once.
“You have to find her first.”
“Yes,” Finn said.
“And then use the button to bring her back.”
“The fob. Yes,” Philby said. “It’s the best way. But as a backup, I can bring them back remotely.”
“Why would you need a backup?” she asked.
Philby responded, though tentatively. “Because…for some reason she hasn’t used the fob to Return. We don’t exactly understand that. The first thing is to find her.”
“So, shouldn’t I be taking you to Epcot?” she asked.
Finn looked dumbstruck.
“We’d never get in,” Philby said. “And even if we could, it would be too—”
“Dangerous,” Finn said.
“Risky,” Maybeck said.
“Dangerous, or risky?” she asked.
“Both,” all three boys answered, simultaneously.
Finn said, “We need to be DHIs. It’s way safer.”
“These are just Disney villains,” she said, as if trying to convince herself. “They are fictional characters.”
The boys said nothing. Unless you’d met Maleficent face-to-face, there was no explaining it.
“I thought they locked them up,” she said.
Philby said, “There’s no real way to know, but, yeah, we’re pretty sure they’re locked up.”
“Then who’s doing this?” she asked.
“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Finn said.
“Try me.”
“The two we’ve seen so far are Cruella and the Evil Queen. There are probably more.”
“Oh, I hate the Evil Queen,” she said. Then she started laughing, and the boys joined in. She cleared tears from her eyes as they stopped. “What are you going to do? How can I help?”
“Seriously?” Finn said, wondering if the Overtakers had gotten control of his mom. This was his mom, right? “For one thing, you could call Jelly and Philby’s parents and tell them they’re spending the night.”
“I can do that. What else?” she asked.
Philby explained: “We have to get Finn and Maybeck to cross over and find her. As long as they can get her to the fob, we’re good. If something’s wrong with the fob—which seems possible—they need to get her to what we call ‘the landing’—the center of the Park, the fountain. Then I can bring them back manually, without the fob.”
“We could use a parent on our side,” Finn said. “If the parents gang up on us…it will not be good.”
“Meaning, you could use a parent in case something goes wrong?” she asked Philby.
“Uhh…”
“What could go wrong?” she asked. “You’re saying Finn and Maybeck might not Return? Like Willa?”
“I suppose.”
Finn held his breath. Think of Willa, he was chanting to himself. “Her mother’s really freaked out,” he reminded. “We know we can get her back.”
Mrs. Whitman put the car in gear and peeled out, throwing the boys back in their seats.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said.
* * *
Philby’s mother wouldn’t let him spend the night. Having lost her son once to the Syndrome she didn’t approve of his spending time with his Keeper friends. Despite the newspaper stories spreading rumors that the Keepers had defended Disney World from its villains, she had a limited view of their purpose. She didn’t give two cents about Disney World keeping its magic. Not if it put her son at risk. It wasn’t like he was saving the world or something. It was an entertainment company. Some theme parks. She wasn’t about to sacrifice her son for the sake of larger profits. Her resistance to anything Kingdom Keepers was tempered by an appreciation for the money Disney continued to contribute for Philby’s future college expenses; she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she had limits.
So Mrs. Whitman had dropped Philby home, taking Maybeck and Finn with her.
Philby had placed a towel at the bottom of his door to block the light from reaching the hallway, so when his mom checked it would look like the lights in his room were out. He sat at his computer.
ready? he texted Finn over Skype.
yes, Finn texted back.
its working. i’m in. good 2 go
Finn texted:
k, 9
Philby returned:
cm
Finn leaned back in his chair, his mother sitting on one side, Maybeck on the other, Finn’s father snoring from the other room.
“This worries me,” his mother said.
“It’s good news.”
“Not that,” she said. “But that I don’t understand half of what you’re texting.”
“It’s like a code.”
“I know that, Finn. Don’t get smart with me.”
His mother got irritable if she stayed up late. This was going to be a long night.
“Once Maybeck and me get to sleep, Philby’ll cross us over.”
“Maybeck and I,” she corrected. He ignored her: way too tired. “Wh
at about you getting back?”
“We’ll find the fob. No sweat. If it’s not working, we’ve already set up a time and Philby can manually Return us.”
“The manual override he talked about,” she said.
“Yeah, exactly,” he said.
“What time?”
“One.”
She sat back. “You all have thought it through, haven’t you?”
“It’s what we do, Mom.”
“Yes, but…You’re fifteen.”
“Almost sixteen,” he said.
“It’s a lot to deal with.”
“Not really,” he said. He could hear her rethinking her decision to allow him and Maybeck to cross over.
“It’s dangerous. Risky,” she said. “You both said so.”
“Exaggerating,” Maybeck said. “You know Philby. Remember, Mrs. W., when we cross over we’re holograms. Stuff passes through us.”
“What kind of stuff, Terry? Are you saying they try to hurt you?”
“It’s Disney World. Nothing bad happens,” Maybeck said.
Finn wondered if they’d used this excuse one too many times.
To Finn’s relief, she nodded. She was definitely tired.
“We’ve got to get to sleep,” he said.
Maybeck climbed onto an inflatable mattress on the floor.
“With your shoes on?” Mrs. Whitman said to Maybeck.
“Mom,” Finn said, “we know what we’re doing. Go to sleep. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“As if,” she said. She was even beginning to talk like him.
* * *
The 9 Finn had texted had let Philby know his mother was in the room. The cm that came back from him meant “Call Me.”
Now, with her gone, Finn climbed out of bed and let Maybeck know what was going on. He double-checked that his door was fully closed and returned to his computer. He called Philby, and spoke at a whisper.
“What’s up?” Finn said.
“There’s something weird going on,” Philby said. “Willa’s projection coordinates are for Epcot, but the current default for the Return is in MK.”
“How could that be? The fob’s in Epcot.”
“It was when we last saw it.”
“Why would the Imagineers reset the default?”
“It doesn’t make sense. Not for the Imagineers. The point is, we’ve lost the Return somehow. I’ll definitely have to cross you back manually from here.”
He made it sound so simple. One of Philby’s greatest qualities was his confidence. He wasn’t arrogant or a bragger; he just happened to be right most of the time—a know-it-all who didn’t get all up in your face with it. To hear him even slightly uncertain was alarming. Finn didn’t say anything about it. Philby lived with more pressure than most of them, stuck with the Professor role.
“So, we’re good to go,” Finn said. “One o’clock.”
“Yeah, sure. I just wanted you to know where we’re at. I can Return you manually. All I’ll need is a signal.”
“I’ll bring my phone.”
“Yeah,” Philby said, “but they don’t always work, so we go with one o’clock or a signal if you find her earlier.”
Philby had a plan for everything. He provided Finn with a way to signal him that Philby couldn’t miss.
“Okay.”
“But no matter what, if you can’t send a signal, you and Maybeck should be at the plaza by one—an hour and a half from now.”
“It isn’t much time. It’s a big place.”
“I realize that.”
“Philby,” Finn said, “if this doesn’t go right, it’s not your fault. Okay? Forget about that. Just, whatever you do, don’t let anyone else cross over. Three of us in the Syndrome is enough.”
“Do not go there.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I,” said Philby. “Don’t even go there.”
“If that happens, get to Jess. Maybe she’ll have dreamed something that will help us. But don’t freak out. Come into the Park as your real selves. We’ll find you. We’ll figure it out together.”
“Okay, now you’re definitely freaking me out,” Philby said.
“Just promise.”
“Yeah, okay. I won’t panic.”
“Someone’s got to keep it together.”
“I thought that’s your job,” Philby said.
Maybeck placed a hand on Finn’s shoulder, overhearing the conversation. It was not what he expected from Maybeck.
Finn hung up, and a few minutes later the boys went back to bed. It was not easy for either of them to fall asleep. Finn didn’t know how much time passed, but he woke up lying on the concrete at the edge of the Epcot fountain plaza. He’d crossed over.
“Took you long enough,” came the familiar voice of Maybeck.
Finn got up off the concrete, checked his hands for the shimmering blue outline, and grinned. It felt good to be back.
He sat with his back pressed against the concrete retaining wall that formed the fountain.
“So? How do we find her?” Maybeck said.
Finn looked around. Epcot began at the golf ball– shaped Spaceship Earth; two huge areas ran off to both sides, with a half dozen attraction pavilions in both directions. The plaza fountain gave way to the lake surrounded by replica World Showcase countries, with Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and other world landmarks.
“Mexico,” Finn said. “We start with Philby’s plan.”
* * *
For close to an hour, Willa had huddled behind a rock in the Primitive Man display inside Spaceship Earth. Earlier, she’d heard two men speaking French—cathedral guards—as they’d passed on the ride. She’d made herself as small as possible, and held her breath to make no noise. One of the guards had apparently jumped out of the car he was riding, but by doing so he tripped a sensor and shut down the ride, at which point there had been a flurry of discussion.
Realizing his mistake, he and the other guards had left quickly. One of the advantages of being a hologram—Willa had not tripped the system.
Assuming Disney maintenance men, and possibly Security personnel, would follow up on the ride’s emergency shutdown, Willa had relocated to a display that included a Roman guard.
Things had been quiet for some time now, and so she ventured out, determined to search for the Return. Determined to get home.
She would start with Lost and Found. If a Cast Member discovered what looked like a garage door opener, he or she would turn it in. Because the Keepers had lost the fob once before, Willa knew exactly where to look.
She took her time, careful to advance and pause, advance and pause. After determining an area was clear, she would move a little bit farther. Thankfully, the Lost and Found wasn’t far: in the back office of a small building tucked away near the entrance gate turnstiles.
She reached the building, concentrating on her thin blue outline to make sure her hologram was all clear, and then walked through the back door.
She arrived into a tiny office with event posters covering the walls. There were two desks, one cluttered, one neat. Two computer terminals. Two phones.
The phones presented her with an opportunity she had not, until now, considered. She could call Finn or Philby and…except, she didn’t know their numbers. They were on her phone as speed dials, but her phone was back home. She knew Charlene’s number by heart; Charlene could relay a message. She would need to lose her DHI state at least slightly in order to be material enough to pick up and handle a telephone, but at this point being afraid wouldn’t take any effort.
First, she checked the metal cabinet marked Lost and Found. Unlike when Finn had to go into the cabinet months earlier, it wasn’t locked now. Inside, she found over a dozen cell phones, clothing, wallets, jewelry, driver’s licenses, credit cards, and four sets of car keys—all with black fobs. But not the Return.
Her conclusion was that the OTs had stolen it, as she’d suspected. She eyed the phones and the computers. Did she dare st
art down the road of fear in order to become material enough to work the devices? Once begun it was hard to turn back. Fear fed on fear.
But what choice was there? She thought of her mother trying to wake her while in the Syndrome. Her fingers, knees, and toes tingled. She picked up the phone and dialed.
Charlene answered.
“It’s me!”
“Willa?”
“I’m in the Syndrome.”
“We know that. But how—”
“I’m in Epcot. I’m pretty sure the OTs have the Return. You have to tell the boys not to come after me. It’s obviously a trap!”
“I…ah…I think it’s too late. The plan’s for Finn and Maybeck to cross tonight.”
“But they can’t. They…we …can’t Return.”
“Philby got back into the server. It’s going to be all right.”
“No, it’s not. Not anywhere close.”
“Finn and Maybeck should be there by now.”
“I need Philby’s number,” Willa said. “I keep it on speed dial, but—”
“Yeah. Okay. Hang on.”
As Willa waited, she looked down at the phone to see a line light lit. By using the phone, she’d given herself away. She hung up immediately. She had to get out of there!
She tried walking through the door, but bounced against it. Her fear had gotten the better of her. It was a sickening, downward spiral. She tentatively opened the door and slipped outside, pulling it shut quietly behind her.
When she turned around, a shape appeared around the corner of a building and quickly ducked back.
“Finn?” She spoke his name aloud, though only in a whisper. She glanced around haltingly, ensuring she was alone.
“Pssst! ”
He reappeared.
She waved, so happy to see him! Finn stepped out into the open, and she realized he’d come in disguise—he was wearing the same stupid costume, shorts and a T-shirt, that his DHI wore in the Magic Kingdom. She hurried toward him, a combination of relief and anxiety overcoming her: relief they’d found each other; anxiety over the thought of telling him there was no way to Return.
“Oh, my gosh, Finn! It is so good to—”
He evaporated into a wisp of smoke that reformed into something darker and larger…until she found herself facing the Evil Queen.
Kingdom Keepers IV (9781423152521) Page 15