“I wish we knew,” Finn said. “But, yeah. I think so.”
“I thought you said you kissed Amanda at Mrs. Nash’s,” Philby said. “So what’s with the multiplex behind you two?”
“No clue,” said Finn. “You know how her ‘visions’ mix stuff up. I thought it might be school. But you’re right—it could be a movie theater or an outlet mall or something.”
“So,” Willa said over the phone, “we have two sketches that don’t necessarily help us, but are apparently of huge importance and interest to the Queen. Amanda’s in a coma because of them. We think there’s a possible jailbreak attempt but we don’t know where or when, and the woman who might be able to help us is probably under police surveillance. What am I missing?”
“You make it sound so ugly,” Charlene said.
“What about the spindle theory?” Finn asked. “I mean, seriously, is that all we’ve got?”
“Reverse the curse,” Maybeck said.
“As much as I’d like to say we might find a Disney character capable of countering a spell by the Evil Queen, I can’t think of any,” Philby said. “Anyone?”
No one piped up.
“No,” Philby said. “It’s logical that if a kiss put her into this, I suppose a prick from a spindle might get her out.”
Maybeck said, “It’s got to be worth a try. Maleficent and the Queen are playing for the same team. The Queen throws a spell onto Finn about reversing the curse. I mean, how can we ignore that?”
“We’ve got to try something,” Finn said. “We can’t just abandon Amanda. Mrs. Nash will hospitalize her. She’s already threatened to send the girls back to the Fairlies. This will seal the deal.”
Charlene said, “Do I have to be the one to say what we’re all thinking but no one wants to say?” She was internally fuming over the kiss, but she held her tongue about that.
“This I’ve got to hear,” Maybeck said.
“This is exactly what they want: us focusing on Amanda instead of them.”
Finn said, “I know. I know.” He nodded reluctantly. “But that’s where I am. Until Amanda’s awake, I don’t care what the OTs are up to.”
“How did it feel when you were crossed over without your consent?” Maybeck said, attacking Charlene. “’Cause I can tell you, I didn’t like it. Not one bit.”
“I’m just saying: we can’t ignore everything else that’s happening. That’s all.”
“Agreed,” Philby said.
Finn said, “You all know where I’m at.”
Maybeck said. “Here’s another idea: We lay a trap, capture the Evil Queen, and waterboard her until she tells us how to get Amanda back. Spindles? Seriously, what was I thinking?”
“There are weaver spindles in Epcot’s Morocco,” Charlene reported, reading from Philby’s computer. “And in China the acrobats spin plates on spindles. Those are the only ones I can find.”
Finn said, “I vote we get both of those and try them on Amanda. We do it right now, tonight, before Mrs. Nash freaks out and does something random.”
“But what if they want us focused on Amanda? When Amanda and I questioned Sally Ringwald, she mentioned Saturday morning. That’s tomorrow morning. What if tonight’s the start of the future? What if tonight is the jailbreak?”
Finn fingered the page torn from Jess’s diary. The boy and the girl kissing. The building in the background that looked like steps, or maybe a multiplex. Something was bothering him about it, but he couldn’t make sense of it. He looked up. Everyone was staring at him. They seemed to be waiting for him to say something.
He looked around the table at his friends. He thought about Amanda collapsing to the ground—that look in Jess’s eyes. He felt worse than he’d ever felt.
“We’d better get started,” he said.
THAT NIGHT, FOUR OF THE KEEPERS entered Epcot prior to closing, while Philby monitored the DHI server traffic from home, prepared to warn them if bandwidth usage indicated the presence of OT holograms. Finn entrusted Dillard Cole to Park hop and hide three of their four phones in the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and the Studios in the event they later crossed over.
Finn’s mother dropped him, Maybeck, and Charlene off in the Epcot parking lot. She planned to stay in the car, prepared to help them make a hasty retreat if needed. After much begging and promises made by Finn that both mother and son knew would never be kept, she had visited Wanda Alcott in her apartment on his behalf. If the OTs were watching Wanda—his reasoning went—the arrival of a grown-up at the apartment was unlikely to stir much interest. The visit was short, but significant. Finn’s mother, working from a note card and passing along Jess’s two sketches, briefed Wanda on the events of the past week, culminating in the Keeper theory that they had all been betrayed by someone within the Imagineers—who was either under the spell of, or cooperating freely with, the Overtakers. From what his mother later told Finn, this news had apparently come as no great surprise to Wanda; she had been avoiding contact with the Keepers because she harbored the same suspicions. However, now, given the immediacy of their need, she’d agreed to help.
Finn, once again in baseball cap and sunglasses, hid his phone—the fourth and last—outside Mouse Gear in a wall-mounted metal fixture near the Epcot plaza. Leaving the phone behind made him painfully aware of the isolation that resulted. But should they fail in their efforts and the need arose to cross over later that same night, they gave themselves a chance to Return, and that overruled all other considerations.
The three Keepers—Finn, Maybeck, and Charlene—used the employee passes Wayne had provided a year earlier to enter Epcot by an employee entrance shortly after eight pm.
Within minutes of their arrival into the Park, Maybeck said, “Do you see who I see?”
No Park visitor would have recognized her with her dark hair up in a bun and a Rays baseball cap worn backward. She looked tomboyish in a loose-fitting, man-tailored shirt, and dark green Capri pants. But for those who knew her well, there was no mistaking Willa.
They caught up to her, showering her with smiles.
“But I thought—” Charlene said.
“Yeah, well…my mother has a library board meeting tonight, and my father took a sleeping pill because he’s flying to Europe tomorrow, and they can ground me for eternity for all I care, but there’s no way I’m leaving Amanda under some stupid spell.”
Her act of courage elevated the spirits of the entire group. She would team up with Maybeck in Morocco, while Finn and Charlene took China, as already planned. Philby was home monitoring server activity. Willa had “borrowed” her father’s BlackBerry and called Philby to give him a way to reach them. Charlene had brought a pair of walkie-talkies that had a short range; her family used them on ski trips. It wasn’t a perfect setup, but Finn felt confident they could at least communicate one pair to the other.
They split up.
He and Charlene caught up to Dillard at an outside merchandise stall in front of Mexico. Like two spies, Finn accepted the pass of a folded sheet of paper from his friend, and Dillard was gone, off to scout China and Morocco. Dillard had written down detailed descriptions of the locations for the phones he’d hidden in the other Parks. For Finn, desperate to free Amanda, it felt like the hastily assembled plan was actually coming together. He radioed the locations to Maybeck so that all four of them now knew how to execute a Return if later needed.
On Dillard’s part, playing even a small role in a Kingdom Keepers mission was the thrill of a lifetime. He’d often begged Finn to turn him into a DHI and make him part of the group. Finn had told him that was impossible, though he was now reconsidering, beginning to wonder if expanding the Keepers might be necessary. The Overtakers were outnumbering them. Something had to be done.
Willa and Maybeck headed around the east side of the lake; Finn and Charlene, the west. Remaining alert for crash-test dummies, Security patrols, jesters, trolls, spiders, vultures, and a twenty-foot snake, they kept to the crowds.
The
y acted as if they were in no hurry, just kids out for a fun time in Epcot. The World Showcase pavilions slipped past: Canada and the United Kingdom’s Big Ben on one side; Mexico’s Mayan Temple and Norway’s Stave Church on the other.
They worked to blend in, keeping their heads down. Many kids would know what they looked like. Finn felt like his face had been displayed on a “wanted” poster. Their DHI host characters were known from the Parks, from an Internet game, and merchandise. Despite them all wearing sunglasses—at night—they had to protect themselves from being recognized and mobbed by fans.
Near France, Maybeck spotted a Segway ridden by a Security guard. Forbidden from visiting the Parks without permission, he and Willa hid inside the London tea shop and let it pass. They then continued past America, Italy, and Germany, finally facing the brown stucco buildings of Morocco, halfway across the lake from where they’d started.
“This is my favorite country in all the World Showcase,” Willa said in a hush. Not that Maybeck had asked. “I used to get henna drawings on my hands or ankles, these beautiful designs that didn’t wash off for weeks.”
“I haven’t spent a lot of time here,” Maybeck said. They remained just outside the entrance to the country’s courtyard, across the main path that encircled the lake. “I have this thing about robes. Priests. Witches. Doesn’t much matter to me. I hate them all.”
“Robes? Seriously?”
“I don’t know where it came from or why it bugs me so much. For some kids it’s clowns. Or sharks. I don’t love snakes or spiders, either. But guys in robes—girls, not so much—give me the creeps.”
“And they wear robes in Morocco? I’ve never noticed,” Willa said.
“Sometimes they do. Yes, sometimes they do,” he said defensively.
“Well, if I see a robe I’ll warn you,” she said.
“Besides,” he said, “I like hanging with you better.” He looked away as if watching for Overtakers. “Charlene’s way too happy and cheerleader for me most of the time.”
“And I’m not happy?”
“I didn’t say that. But you and me, we’ve got similar energy levels. I’m not talking about smarts, I’m talking about…energy.”
“You…you know I kinda like Philby, right?”
“Kinda?” Maybeck said.
Willa blushed.
“Everyone knows you like Philby except Philby.”
“Yeah, well, that’s Philby. Maybe that’s what makes him so easy to like.”
“Are you saying I’m not easy to like?” Maybeck said.
“I did not say that. You’re very easy to like.”
“You’ve got that right,” he said.
Willa bit back a smile. “So tell me something: Do you like to be called Donnie or Terry better?”
“I couldn’t care less,” he said.
“You must have a preference.”
“Sadly, no. Call me whatever you like, just don’t call me—”
“—late to dinner,” she said, interrupting. “That’s a very old joke, Donnie.”
He shrugged. “I’m an old soul.”
People were already positioning themselves around the lake, reserving prime spots for the upcoming fireworks display. The Keepers planned to use IllumiNations to their advantage.
“Do you think we’re wasting our time with this spindle thing?” Maybeck asked, since it had been largely his idea.
“I…ah…You and I have both been trapped in the Syndrome, so I don’t have to explain to you why I’d do anything to break the spell on Amanda.”
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question.”
“I can see how it makes sense.”
“You think we’re wasting our time.”
“I have no other plan,” she said. “No one had any other plan. ‘Reverse the curse,’ Donnie. It makes sense. It really does.”
“I just don’t want to be the one wasting our time.” He sounded younger all of a sudden, apologetic.
“Finn and Philby make a lot of the tough decisions,” she said. “Especially Finn.”
“You’re holding out on me, girl,” Maybeck said, catching an expression passing across her face.
“I…it’s something someone told me when I was in SBS. If you’re nice to me, maybe I’ll share it. Or maybe I’ll just share it with the girls.”
“I can be very nice.”
“That’s for me to judge.”
“Weaver spindles,” Maybeck reminded, the crowd inside Morocco thinning as the fireworks neared.
“The gift shop. Yeah.”
“There’s a gift shop in the World Showcase? Now there’s a surprise,” he said sarcastically.
“They sell small rugs. There’s a rug loom on display. Spindles. I’ll create a diversion. You grab one of the spindles. Simple,” she said.
“Why does the black kid have to be the thief?”
“That’s awful. That’s not it at all, and you know it. First of all, you’re just Maybeck to me, ’kay? Second, you’re not a thief, but you are a boy. You’re better at this stuff.”
“Boys are better at stealing?”
“If you’re chicken, I’ll do it,” she said.
“Okay, good. You do it. I’ll create the diversion.”
“You’re serious?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay,” Willa said reluctantly, clearly unhappy with the arrangement.
As the Disney voice announced the start of Reflections of Earth, Park guests rushed the lake in droves, forming a human ring fifty people deep around the entire lake.
Maybeck said, “If we get separated, we meet outside the bathrooms by the train display at Germany. It’s just around the—”
“I know where it is.”
“You’re mad at me.”
“Am not,” she said, clearly lying. “It’s just I’ve never stolen anything in my life, and that was a record I was hoping to keep.”
“And I have?”
“I didn’t say that!”
“We can flip a coin if you like.”
“I like.”
“You got a coin?” he asked, checking his pockets.
“I’ll do it,” she said. “Just don’t say I never did anything for you.”
“You won’t get caught because my job’s to make sure you don’t get caught.”
“You never quit, do you?”
“Hey, if you don’t believe in yourself, then who will?”
* * *
Finn hip-checked Charlene, turning her down the wide, curving jungle path between Mexico and Norway. It dead-ended into a wide wooden gate, a Cast Members– only entrance to the right. In the soft shadow of darkness appeared the shape of a woman, and Charlene startled.
“It’s okay,” Finn said, encouraging Charlene forward. “It’s Wanda. She’s expecting us.”
Wanda Alcott greeted them both with hugs, holding on to Finn like she might a nephew. Her gratitude for his bailing her out of jail was written all over her face.
“It’s all arranged,” Wanda said. “They added the extra show. It starts any minute. Better from here on if it’s just us girls.”
Finn nodded.
Charlene knew the plan, but not Wanda’s involvement.
“Should anything go wrong, and Lord knows it can,” Wanda said, “I’ve arranged a way out for you; and for the other two, for that matter. The characters are all on your side,” Wanda said.
“The Cast Members,” Charlene clarified.
“Some of them, too,” Wanda said. “But no, Charlene, I mean the characters. They have been supportive of all of you from the beginning.”
“But, that means…From the beginning?” She felt overwhelmed. Their support could change everything.
“My father was reluctant to organize them—quite honestly, not knowing whom to trust. But the dust has settled. Hmm? And there’s every indication now that they’ve come together as a group. It’s tremendous progress, and it’s in large part because of the example you’ve set. For so many year
s—decades—they’ve been individuals; they’ve enjoyed the flattery of daily attention. Like with movie stars, that creates some interesting personalities—just read the tabloids. But so many of them want the magic to remain in the Parks. Their very existence is at stake. If the Overtakers have their way, they’ll all be wiped out. Gone. Hard to imagine a world like that.”
“I don’t want to imagine a world like that,” Charlene said.
“It’s not just the Overtakers we have to worry about,” Finn said. “There are Security guys who’ve come after us before. It’s not like we can trust just any Disney employee.”
“No. There are definite pockets within various groups to watch out for. The poison has spread.”
“To the Imagineers?” Finn said.
“I spoke with your mother. In any war there is the threat of double agents.”
“And we’re at war?” Charlene said.
“We will be soon. Darkness descends,” Wanda said, looking up into the night sky.
She grabbed Charlene by the hand, nodded to Finn, and led the girl through the Cast Member doorway.
Charlene looked back at Finn through the gloom, her face a mask of worry and concern.
Finn suddenly felt horribly alone.
* * *
Fireworks exploded over the lake.
When Maybeck created a diversion, he did it Maybeck-style: big time. He knocked over a tall urn containing tiki torches. The resulting cacophony was like a stampede of wild horses, the chaos compounded by Maybeck’s intentional fumbling as he tried to rectify the situation. He kicked the torches around in a storm of rattling bamboo, and set the urn rolling toward the checkout desk. The two Cast Members remaining in the store hurried over to help.
Willa, standing alongside a straw basket containing a very real-looking cobra that flicked its tongue at her, grabbed the weaving spindle from the loom on display and pulled hard to break the yarn. But the display was deceptive. The yarn was not really yarn but some kind of unbreakable nylon string. It wasn’t going to break no matter how hard she pulled. So, with the Cast Members laboring to help Maybeck with the spilled tiki torches, Willa began unwrapping the string from the spindle as fast as she could.
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