Storming the Kingdom (16 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY - FIVE

Three Days Ago
4:00
A.M.

T
he elevator doors silently opened, and Hawk emerged onto the security floor of the Bay Lake Towers. Using the pass code, he opened the door to his office, which actually was a repurposed apartment on the top floor of the Disney Vacation Club property. When the plan had been created to convert this area into an office for him, he didn’t realize it was going to be a two-story suite of offices. The lower floor was a reception area. Surrounding the reception area were some small offices that were now used by the staff that had been assembled to help Hawk do his job as the chief creative architect of the company.

Memorabilia filled the plush and impressive downstairs area. The stairs led him up to an area that contained only two very large rooms separated by a hallway. A conference room, where he had most recently met with law enforcement after the assassination attempts, and his executive office. Although he liked his office, which was loaded with amazing Disney collectibles, he rarely spent time there. He was much more at ease working among the people and in the places surrounded by the world that Walt had built. He usually tried to avoid tackling the often mundane office duties until the last possible moment. His friends made fun of him for this; as a man who loved details, he loathed the detail of paperwork.

Cresting the stairs in the dim light of the hallway, he noticed his office door was ajar. Instantly he felt his heartbeat quicken. Each morning, the administrative staff opened the rooms for the work of the day and then locked them down each night. The open door could have been an oversight, but not likely. Gripping the door handle, he gently swung open the door and peered into his office. His desk chair was turned with its back to him. Slowly the chair turned, the person seated in it coming into focus.

Dark, shoulder-length hair, green eyes, and a smile greeted him as the chair finished its spin and its occupant faced him. The woman seated in the chair swung her legs up and crossed her legs at the ankles, propping her spiked heels up on the corner of his desk.

It was Kiran Roberts.

“Hello, Hawk.” She winked at him. “Did you miss me?”

“Kiran.” Hawk answered curtly and remained stationary in the doorway.

“Come in.” She motioned for him to enter. “And close the door behind you.”

Hawk stood still.

She tilted her head and waited for him to move.

“I think I’ll stay here.” Hawk leaned against the door frame.

“Suit yourself.” She smiled pleasantly at him. “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand.” Hawk smiled back. “I’m not afraid of you. Just wary…I’ve been burnt once. I’ll stay away from the flame.”

“Ooooh.” She pursed her lips. “You make me sound so bad.”

“No, I really can’t find enough words to describe how bad you are.”

“Hawk, you’re hurting my feelings.” Kiran feigned injury.

“You’ll get over it.” Hawk remained expressionless in the doorway. “Kiran, why are you here?”

“To see you, sweetheart.” She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head, allowing her dark hair to flow over her shoulders. “I’ve missed you. Can’t a woman drop by to say hello to her old boyfriend? I thought you would never get here—I even sent you a note.”

“‘I’m watching and waiting’? You really aren’t much of a writer.” Hawk shook his head and smirked. “Sweetheart and boyfriend…hmmm…you have me confused with someone else. Now tell me why you’re here before I call the sheriff.”

“I’ve got to tell you”—Kiran waved her hand toward him for emphasis—“I like this new-and-improved Grayson Hawkes. You are so much more in control now, you are rough-and-tumble, you are resilient and edgy…if you’d been that way a few years ago, we might still be together.” She smiled broadly as she toyed with him. “But it probably never would have worked. You are a Florida guy. You like theme parks, sunshine, going to the beach, and all of that warm-and-sunny stuff.” Kiran raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. “Now don’t get me wrong, I can rock a bathing suit, but I never really took the time to learn to swim very well. So I prefer to stay away from beaches.”

“Again, I think you’re still confused.” Hawk reluctantly took a step inside the office. “Last time I saw you, you were trying to take the company away from me. You lied, you manipulated, and you were leaving on a dead run with your old friend Jim Masters. Our time together was memorable but not because it was good. I asked once, I’m asking again, I don’t intend to ask you a third time: why are you here?”

Her eyes bore into his. He couldn’t tell what she was looking for exactly, but it felt as if she were trying to read his thoughts. The silence in the room was deafening, and Hawk felt a bead of sweat form along the side of his face. Did she frighten him or did she make him nervous? Neither, he decided. She was invading his world, she was once again creating trouble, and this time she had done so with an aggression that he had never believed she was capable of. She had managed to fool him from the first time they had met. She didn’t frighten him—she made him angry. He inhaled deeply and was about to speak when she nodded her head slightly and with a softer voice spoke to him.

“I’m here to help you.”

He laughed, a nearly silent chuckle that ended with a smile. “The only person you are here to help is you.”

“Aww.” She looked amused. “I think I can help myself by helping you. Happy? I admitted it. Now if you can quit being all tough, I suggest you listen to me.”

“Why?”

“Because I can give you the one thing you want more than anything else.” She leaned back even further in his desk chair and slightly raised an eyebrow.

“OK, I’ll play along.” He shrugged. There was a part of him that knew she was conniving and this was part of the trap. But his world was upside down and he needed to make it right, so he decided to listen. “Tell me, what can you give me that I want more than anything else?”

She removed her feet from his desk, sat straighter in the chair, leaned forward, then folded her hands and placed them in front of her. “Darling, I can give you the third Imagineer.”

CHAPTER TWENTY - SIX

Three Days Ago
Just Before Dawn

H
awk felt his jaw slacken in surprise; she had managed to say the unexpected. He wasn’t sure how she could have known about the third Imagineer, much less be able to offer him. Kiran was gloating. Hawk did his best to look unfazed.

“The third Imagineer?”

“Seriously? Are you going to act like you don’t know what I’m talking about?” Her expression grew more intense. “I know about the kingdom key you were given. I helped you figure out what to do with it…remember? I know you now have Walt Disney’s personal journal loaded with thoughts, plans, and insights that no one else has ever had the chance to read. I also know that you are still missing the last piece of the plan that Walt himself created for you. Now that you’ve managed to get Farren Rales and George Colmes killed…well, you have no way to find the third Imagineer.” She let her words sink in. “I have him and I will keep him…unless…”

“Unless?” Hawk sneered. She somehow knew things she shouldn’t have known. And she had blamed him for the things that had happened to Farren and George.

Kiran’s stare became icy. Her voice took on a more ominous tone. “You know me, Hawk. I am a very driven woman. If you want to see this third Imagineer, then I suggest you not only hear me out but you do what I want you to do. If you decide you don’t want to deal with me, that is your choice. But I can promise you, you will never see your mystery Imagineer, ever!”

“How do I know you really have him? How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“You don’t,” she answered honestly. “But then again, you have to ask yourself, how do I even know about this third Imagineer? How would I know you still haven’t met him? How would I know that he’s the missing piece of this Disney quest you’ve been on?” She leaned back, confident she now had his attention and was close to getting his cooperation. “So many questions…and you don’t know what to believe. Man, it must be awful to be you right now.”

Hawk was trying to think. Was it possible Kiran knew who the third Imagineer was? In all that was going on, he had not even been thinking about this mystery Imagineer. Maybe Hawk did need him to figure out the puzzle Farren had him working on. Maybe the Imagineer was what he was looking for. The CCA moved to his right and took a seat in one of the chairs opposite the desk. He sat back slowly and thoughtfully.

“What do you want?” Hawk smiled, masking his concern.

“Exactly what you want, really.” She got up from the desk chair and walked around the desk toward where Hawk was seated. “I want to figure out this mystery Farren created for you.” She slid herself back and took a seat on the front of the desk. Crossing her legs, she grasped her hands in front of her knee. “Hawk, I know you didn’t mean to get Farren and George killed.”

“I didn’t get them killed,” Hawk fired back defensively.

“Of course you didn’t, dear.” She hesitated. “There are some members of this group that I am part of that are extremely violent. This whole assassination thing is very messy. I think it is just nasty business.” Kiran leaned closer toward Hawk. “But the consensus of our group is that you have become expendable. You don’t like to play, and you aren’t willing to negotiate and share with others—namely us—very well. So my colleagues believe that they don’t need you to find what we are all looking for. I think they’re wrong, by the way. I think it’s going to be easier to work with you than do it without you. So, I have decided to offer you a deal.”

“Let me get this straight. You don’t like the way your band of criminals is doing business, so you’re going to go rogue and you want me to help you.”

“I just think I know how to do things better…and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” She looked down at the floor as if trying to decide what to say. Hawk had been tangled up in her web of manipulation before. Every warning alarm in his brain was blaring. She was an expert at acting like she had empathy. He knew better. Then her gaze reconnected with his. “How close are you to figuring this out?”

“Figuring what out?”

Kiran continued to look at Hawk, and once again he felt as if she were trying to work her way into his brain and steal his thoughts. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Kiran, you keep asking me very open-ended questions. If you want answers, you need to be more specific.”

She slid off the desk and took two steps and now stood directly in front of Hawk. She placed her hands on her hips, and he noticed for the first time that a MagicBand, probably his MagicBand, was fastened around her wrist. She caught him looking at her arm, glanced toward it, and then raised it in front of her.

“You noticed.” She smiled and lowered her arm. “Yes, this is the MagicBand we just took from you. We thought about the electronic tablet you have become so attached to as of late, but we figured you would need that—and since you hid it in Walt’s office, this was easier. You have used it once, but if Farren gave it to you, it will come in handy later. It’s a bit of insurance for me.”

“I thought you were going rogue.” Hawk wondered how she knew about the tablet, the MagicBand, and he wondered again how she could know so much.

“That is how you phrase it. Let’s just say some of my group are very loyal to me.”

“Of course they are.”

“We’ve been waiting a number of years to get to this moment. Long before you came into the picture, we were looking for answers. When you showed up, we decided to use you, see if you would help us, and you turned out to be much more than we bargained for. But with you or without you, we will find what we are looking for.” She leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “I just think it’s more fun
with
you.”

Hawk stood to his feet. His sudden movement surprised Kiran, who was standing too close to his chair. She stepped back awkwardly, almost losing her balance. In a seamless motion, Hawk reached out one arm to catch her and with his other arm grabbed her wrist. Now standing face-to-face with her, he kept the grip on her wrist and his fingers closed around it, covering the MagicBand she was wearing. He was taller than she was, and standing this close, he was now looking down at her. A smile broke across her face. If she was intimidated, she didn’t show it.

“I do like this new Grayson Hawkes.” She winked at him. “So what are you going to do now? Tear the MagicBand off my arm? Call the police?”

“Both,” he said.

“Ah, sweetie.” She patted his chest with her free hand. Then she pushed him back, creating a bit of separation between them. “You may be a little more rough-and-tumble than you used to be, but you’re a horrible liar. As a matter of fact, no matter how tough you are trying to act, you are just too good to be bad.”

“I’m not trying to be bad, I’m just doing what is right,” Hawk corrected her.

“But if you do what is right, by your definition of course, then you will lose the third Imagineer…forever.”

The standoff continued as silence enveloped them. Kiran’s clear green stare was riveted to his eyes as she waited for him to respond. Hawk was aware of how dangerous Kiran was. She had been involved in kidnapping Juliette once before, so it wasn’t a stretch to think that she really could have the third Imagineer somewhere. Years ago, she had convinced him to trust her, to let her help him, and she had been with him as he tried to figure out the mystery of the key when Farren originally gave it to him. She had betrayed him in every way. There was no way he could trust her.

She cleared her throat and with a slight tilt of her head communicated that she was waiting for him to do or say something. Her impatience amused him but didn’t move him. He couldn’t understand how she could know as much as she had just shared. Pieces of information were out there for her to pick up and put together, but she knew things that only a select handful of Hawk’s most trusted friends knew. Yet, Kiran had just thrown those tidbits of detail out like commonly known facts. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach signaled the regret of what he was about to say to her.

“Alright, Kiran.” He shook his head. “I’m listening. Tell me what your plan is.”

“Well,” Kiran said as she pulled her arm away from him. “You can start by letting go of my wrist.” She motioned for Hawk to once again be seated. Slowly, he eased back into his chair. Kiran slid into his chair on the other side of the desk. He didn’t like the way she seemed to take over his office. He would let her think she was in charge, for now. But he would not let her fool him again. She smirked as she took her place and crossed her legs. “I want you to know that I think you are making a very wise choice. My way really is the best way.”

“I know you think that.” Hawk slowed and measured his words. “I am listening to you because as you said, you have something I want. Maybe even something I need. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you are somehow in control here. That would be a mistake you would quickly regret.”

“Wow.” Her eyes opened wide in feigned surprise. “I know I said this earlier, but you really are much better at this now than you were when I first met you.” She tilted her head. “OK, listen up and let me tell you some things you don’t know.”

“Tell me.”

“The way we have dealt with you—”

“We? Who is we?”

“It’s not important.” She held up her hand in an effort to keep him from speaking. “It is not important to me that I tell you. Again, the way we have dealt with you has not been very effective. After you were given the kingdom key, your old buddy and former head of security, Reginald Cambridge, started calling the shots. He believed you would lead us to what we wanted to know, and you would get sloppy because you would be afraid. I tried to tell him you weren’t afraid, but he didn’t listen.

“So then his next plan was to get close to you, so close that you would trust him. Once you were loyal to him, he thought he could trick you into making mistakes. That didn’t work either, and as a result, he tried to force the issue and ended up in prison.”

“And according to you, I ended up with the key, the company, and Walt’s diaries…I think that is what you said.” Hawk nodded at her.

“Yes, you ended up with all of those things. And those things are valuable to be sure. But not really the most important thing to us.”

“You keep using the words
we
and
us
. How many people do you have in your army of Disney haters?” Hawk pressed.

“Disney haters?” Kiran licked her lips as though she liked the way the conversation was going. “My acquaintances are not Disney haters. Anything but, we are huge Disney fans. We just don’t like
you
…well, because you keep getting in the way.”

“But now that I am in charge of the company, your plans have unraveled. Right?”

“You being in charge of the company is just a nuisance. That’s why we went along with Cambridge’s plan to use you. But you weren’t as cooperative as we hoped. That is why the decision was made to change tactics, change direction, and that is when you became expendable. Not to me of course, as I told you. I think this whole assassination plan is unnecessary. There are far better ways to get you to cooperate. After all, aren’t we having a civilized conversation now, right here, just like very good old friends?” Kiran paused and before he could answer added, “By the way, how is Kate?”

“What?” Hawk flushed slightly at the additional question.

“I said, aren’t we having a civilized conversation?” Kiran shrugged. “You really need to pay attention. I am trying to tell you something of import.”

“You asked about Kate.” Hawk’s voice trembled as anger bubbled within him. “Why did you ask about Kate?”

“Oh, I was just wondering how she was. When is the last time you talked with her?”

Hawk suddenly remembered he had come back to his office to replace his phone. He wanted to stay connected to Kate, Shep, Juliette, and Jonathan, but he had kept Kate in the dark on some recent events to protect her.

“Have you done something to Kate?” Hawk felt himself getting warm as anger continued to percolate inside him.

“Of course not.” Kiran smiled pleasantly. “I just was being nice and asking about her. I don’t like her, in case you didn’t know. I guess it could be jealousy. We were talking about how important it is to be able to sit down and have a civilized conversation.”

“We were,” Hawk interrupted, “until you mentioned Kate. If you have done something to her or are…”

“I haven’t…we haven’t…and won’t. I’m sure you are going to keep her safe.” Kiran snapped her fingers. “Now can we get back on subject? I was saying that you being charge of the Disney company is just a nuisance. What we’re really after are the secrets.”

“The secrets?” Hawk knew Kiran was messing with him. A veiled threat on Kate, the mystery of the third Imagineer. She was playing him and reeling him into her scheme. He knew it—but he needed more information in order to thwart the plot against him.

“Yes, Hawk. The secrets. Walt Disney’s secrets! You know all about Walt and his life. Walt was a genius. He was an international superstar before the world really knew about superstars. He was a pioneer in animation, he revolutionized the film industry, he crossed over into live action films, embraced television in a way no one else had done before, and he redesigned the concept of theme parks forever. He influenced the way people travel, the way you run a company, and the way you shape the way people think.” Kiran knew Hawk was getting ready to jump in and ask another question, and she raised a hand to cut him off.