Storming the Kingdom (29 page)

“Why would you want to take things from me that I love?” Hawk asked.

“Because you have taken so much from me.” Kiran stepped in front of Douglas, facing Hawk. “You took what should have been mine. So I decided to get it back, and along the way, I would strip you of the things you love most. I must admit, you are much tougher than I ever thought you would be. I tried to take away what Farren gave you, I took one of your friends away from you, and I tried to steal Walt Disney World from you. But somehow, you figured out how to stop me.” Kiran brushed back the streaks of rain running down her face. “So I took something else from you… your heart.”

Her words caused him to take half a step backward. “My heart?”

“Yes, your heart. No matter what you say or how you try to act like it didn’t happen…I got you to fall for me. You fell in love with me—or as you would explain it, you chose to love me. I took your heart…and then I tore it out when you found out I had been playing you. And you still haven’t recovered.”

“I have nothing to recover from.” Hawk studied her face. “But you have allowed your hate to consume you. Evil has unhinged you. The tragedy is that you could have been so much more.”

“I am so much more than you will ever know.” Kiran lunged toward him aggressively. “And I’m not done. I am still taking from you the things you love…you’ve lost Farren, you’ve lost George, and I will take the third Imagineer from you as well. I will also take Walt’s secrets, and you will be disgraced, you will have failed, and you will never know or understand all that was yours. And just because I want to, I won’t stop taking things from you until I am satisfied.”

Hawk saw an opening, a crack in Kiran’s rant. Again she had overplayed her hand. She still did not know that he had figured out there was more than one group of people trying to stop him. On her orders, Doug had blown up the Mustang while Hawk was fighting the assassin. While she was trying to send him a message, someone else was trying to kill him. Two plans, two agendas, and he had to conclude there were two different strategies in place. Kiran and Doug controlled only one of them, so while she was claiming credit for what had happened to Farren, George, and the third Imagineer—if indeed she really did have him hidden somewhere—that credit may or may not actually have been hers to claim. Perhaps she really had gone rogue from the original group, although he wondered if she was ever really a part of it, but now it seemed as if his enemies were everywhere and pulling out all the stops to take whatever he was trying to find. But now he could see that for Kiran, this was personal, emotional, and that might be her misstep.

Behind her, three other men stepped out of the Commissary and joined them in the rain. They positioned themselves around the CCA and fastened their gaze directly on him. He searched their faces to see if he recognized any of them. One of the men looked familiar—he may have been on some sort of security detail Hawk had seen over the past week—but he couldn’t be sure. The other two didn’t look familiar at all. Kiran smiled coolly as she reached back and joined hands with Douglas.

“You were about to find a man named David. And you are about to give me the secrets that Wernher von Braun gave to Walt Disney for safekeeping.” Kiran motioned to the men surrounding him. “These gentlemen are here to make sure you hand over what you find. So what do you say, Hawk…one more adventure together? Let’s solve this mystery.”

“Fine.” Hawk glanced at the men surrounding him. “If that’s how you want this to end, so be it. Follow me.”

Hawk led the group down the street to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. He paused at the door, which was locked, and removed his kingdom key and opened it. Douglas Hall reached over his shoulder and grabbed the key from his hand. He held it up in front of Kiran and then, inspecting it closer, closed his fist around it.

“I have waited a long time to take this key from you.” Douglas spoke loudly to be heard over the pounding rain. “I will be keeping it now.”

CHAPTER FORTY - FIVE

One Day Ago
10:30
A.M.

T
he dark, cavernous interior of the restaurant was designed by the Imagineers with such detail that it looked as if you were outdoors at a drive-in theater at night. Surrounding them were a series of six-seater automobiles arranged in four rows, which were tables for dining. The front of the room featured a twenty-foot-high movie screen. Although the restaurant was closed along with the rest of the theme park, the film reel that played each day, entertaining diners while they ate, was playing on the screen. This was a classic forty-five-minute film reel that was pieced together from at least nine major 1950s B movie creature features. Mingled among the trailers of the science fiction horror films were some News of the Future snippets, a few cartoons, vintage snack bar commercials, and clips from Disney’s
Man In Space
TV series. The television show he and Kiran had seen a short time ago, which had set the backdrop for their conversation with Ollie, was where he had gotten the idea to come into the theater. The back of the theater featured tables for larger parties. He led the group past them and into the rows of cars.

“Keep watching the screen, Kiran.” Hawk pointed to the film loop playing. “Somewhere in this footage, you will see scenes from Walt Disney’s
Man In Space
special. That’s what we just saw. I remembered that it was a part of the film in here. We have taken to the streets, ended up here, and there’s some connection to someone named David in that clip. All we have to do now is figure it out.”

“No, all
you
have to do is figure it out.” Kiran stalked around Hawk as she spoke, like a predator circling her prey.

“OK, I’ll figure it out.”

“How you just explained the clue didn’t make sense to me.” Kiran stopped in front of him and eyed him suspiciously. “Usually you connect the pieces of the clue more tightly than that. Why don’t you explain it again?”

She was right. He was bluffing, but he didn’t want her to catch on so quickly. He had decided there was no way he was going to lead them to the secret Ollie had been telling them about. Kiran wasn’t going to be fooled for very long. She did know a great deal about Disney, trivia, and park details. He had to act fast. However, he was outnumbered, if there was help coming it should have been there by now, so every plan he was coming up with was foolish.

“I’ll say it slower so you can keep up this time,” he said smugly.

At that moment the
Man in Space
clip featuring Walt began to play. Silently he pointed to the screen, and they all turned to look and listen for a hint as to what they were searching for. Hawk knew it was time to do something. Foolish ideas are sometimes all desperate people have to work with, he concluded as he rushed toward Douglas Hall.

Hawk led with a right cross that tagged Hall right across the jaw. The element of surprise, the wallop of the punch, and the intensity of Hawk’s charge sent Douglas sprawling backward across one of the dining cars. Landing with a thud on his back, Hawk followed him and was over top of him before he could move. Hawk’s second punch made contact before anyone else had the chance to react. As his fist found its mark, Hawk reached over and snatched his kingdom key from Hall’s hand with little effort.

Jamming the key back into his own pocket, he felt Kiran grab him from the side and start pulling him away from Douglas. As Hawk looked over his shoulder, one of the other men threw a fist toward his face. He ducked and the punch sailed over his head. Hawk turned back into Kiran and shoved her away with one arm, as he balled up his fist and threw another roundhouse toward the man who had just missed.

Hawk connected again, but he knew his time was running out. He was out-manned, and the numbers alone would mean this plan was not going to go far. But he didn’t have anything better, so he kept swinging. As he ducked and threw another punch, he became aware of motion surrounding him.

From every corner of the room, cast members came streaming in. Dressed in their costumes for a normal workday, there were at least seven, if not more, men descending on the clump of people fighting around the dining cars. The man who had thrown the last punch at Hawk was swallowed up as two men grabbed him and pulled him across the room. Turning to his left, he saw another cast member locked in a wrestling struggle with one of the other men who had been working with Kiran. As he watched, Hawk saw something that each of his rescuers had in common. Protruding from the left rear pocket of each man, a red handkerchief. The Order of the Red Handkerchief had come to the rescue, just as George Colmes had promised.

Hawk felt a hand on his shoulder, and someone spun him around. He readied himself to throw another punch but found himself looking into a face he recognized. The man’s name was Sandy. Hawk had met him years ago when he had first been given the kingdom key. He had originally thought Sandy was an enemy but had discovered that Sandy, despite a fairly abrasive personality, had been trying to help him. Years ago, he had been the first person to warn Hawk about Kiran, but Hawk had ignored him. Now he was here, rescuing Hawk, and fighting alongside of him.

“You never learn, do you, Hawk?” Sandy surveyed the brawl taking place around them. “Still hanging out with bad company.”

“This time not by choice,” Hawk responded. “Thanks for showing up.”

“Of all the days to signal for help with the red handkerchief. Do you know there’s a category three hurricane on top of us?” Sandy guided Hawk away from the melee and toward the door.

“Kind of got a storm of my own I’m battling.”

“Then let us take care of this.” Sandy looked at him with no reservation or additional commentary. “Do what you need to do.”

Hawk nodded to him and took one more glance over the drive-in theater. The men with Douglas and Kiran were mercenary types to be sure. But although bigger and probably stronger, they were now getting beat down by the numbers of the Order of the Red Handkerchief. Suddenly Hawk’s eyes widened.

“Where’s Kiran?” Hawk did not see her.

Sandy turned and surveyed the room. Indeed, Kiran had managed to slip away during the fight. Sandy understood how important it was that they not lose her. He shoved Hawk out the door.

“I’ll find her, Hawk.” Sandy turned back into the battle, yelling over his shoulder, “You go and do what you need to do!”

Hawk ran back outside into the stormy morning. The rain was coming down in sharp droplets and the wind was whipping around him. He covered his eyes and raced past the Writer’s Stop into the Streets of America. This unique set of streets creates the illusion of being in New York City, San Francisco, and other places using forced perspective techniques. The buildings are all facades, but depending on where you are standing and which way you are looking, you’ll spot a midtown street or a street right out of Chinatown. Normally, when you listen, you’ll hear the sounds effects of a busy city in the background. Today the storm became the background noise.

Hawk was rolling the dice by being here and playing another hunch.

He had been on these streets many times. He loved the detail and had been here recently when he found the subway station for the train that didn’t really exist. This time he was hoping he was right, but this was purely a guess. He ran along the street and turned to his left. He slowed and started searching the buildings surrounding him. Reading each house number, building number, building name, business name, and tenant name, he searched and made his way down the street.

Occasionally, he glanced back down the street behind him to see if he was being followed. He was alone on the street. The clue had been clear enough:
Hit the streets, find a man named David, but don’t become part of his business or you’ll never come back
. He had hit the streets, and he was now looking for a man named David. Reaching the end of the street, he saw something that made him smile.

To his right was a building with a green door and green-trimmed windows. A black iron gate displayed the address as 790. And the name plaque on the side of the building read David L. Davies, Funeral Director.

CHAPTER FORTY - SIX

One Day Ago
11:45
A.M.

H
awk knew he had guessed correctly.
Hit the streets
had meant the Streets of America as he had hoped.
Find a man named David
clearly was the reference to David L. Davies, and his job, funeral director, was the rest of the clue being unraveled:
but don’t become part of his business, or you’ll never come back
.

He unfastened the gate and descended the steps toward the green door. Since these homes and buildings were all facades, you never knew what you might find. They could be nothing but walls, the doors themselves might not actually open, or you might discover a makeshift storage area where things could be stashed out of the sight line of guests in the studios. He wouldn’t know what he would find until he opened the door, but whatever it was, it was a connection to Wernher von Braun and Walt Disney.

As expected the door was locked, so Hawk used the key he had just taken back from Douglas Hall. It slid into the keyhole. With a click, the locking mechanism released. He twisted the doorknob, and the door creaked open.

Hawk stepped inside a tight, closet-like storage area. There wasn’t much inside. A few chairs stacked on top of one another, a few portable stanchions that were used for crowd control, and a small table about the size of nightstand that was placed so it could be seen through the window. On top of it sat a lamp that would come on in the evening to give the place a lived-in look. Tucked under the corner of the lamp was a piece of paper. Could this be it? Hawk moved in front of the table and knelt down to look at it without touching it.

It certainly was not secret papers given to Walt Disney by the world’s premier rocket scientist. It looked like a receipt. It was out of place and odd for sure but not what he was looking for. Hawk quickly began turning over the chairs and checking underneath them for something that might be hidden. Nothing. He lay down and looked up under the table; there was nothing there. The feeling that he might have been wrong about this clue began to creep into his mind. He turned over each stanchion and looked underneath. Again, nothing. He moved the lamp to see if there was anything he missed. It seemed to be normal. The only thing that looked remotely out of place in this room was the piece of paper on the table.

Hawk picked it up to look at it closely. Expecting a stash of papers or a journal had given him reason to dismiss it earlier, but the reality of knowing that this might not be the end of his quest but just another clue now dawned on him like the sun breaking through a cloudy morning. A sudden thudding against the window caused him to jump.

He turned toward it to see who had made the noise, only to discover it was the rain being driven against the window by a shifting wind that had suddenly gusted. Returning his attention to the paper, he confirmed it was a receipt, yellowed with age. He read the top line. It was dated January 21, 1966. The letterhead noted it was a receipt from the Gem & Mineral Society of Burbank, California. The words in the memo box describing the transaction had been typed, as would have been expected, by an old typewriter. The block letters read “This gift of Redstone is presented to the City of Kissimmee as a gift from Walt Disney and the Walt Disney Studios.” That was it. He reread the notation. Hawk recalled that Ollie Elsie had said that von Braun had converted a Redstone rocket and gotten it ready to launch Explorer 1 into space. So Redstone was given to the City of Kissimmee, which is right next to where Walt Disney World, by Walt and the studio in January of the year he passed away. The gift was supplied by the Gem & Mineral Society of Burbank, so it was a receipt for an actual rock.

Hawk scratched his head. The Redstone connection couldn’t be an accident. This wasn’t the secret, it was indeed another clue. But where would he find the rock that Walt had given to the city of Kissimmee? He folded the paper up and placed it into his pocket. With difficulty, he pushed the door open against the wind. The storm must be getting closer, but he still had some time before the really bad stuff arrived. Hurricanes were terrifying; what was happening now was just the first wave of weather carried inside the feeder bands of the storm.

Back in the Streets of America, he decided to leave in a different direction, bypassing the restaurant where the fight might still be taking place. Cutting around the back of the area, he jogged through the backstage buildings and started to wind his way back toward the front of the studios, where he had left his security car. He was going to need it again. He had not yet replaced his phone, but inside the car was a radio used by their security cast. It took longer than he had hoped, and by the time he got there, the storm was whipping around him. The wind shoved him in one direction then another, it was tough to see when the rain hit him in the face, and the gusts turned the rain to projectiles that stung him even through his clothes.

The car was still sitting by the turnstiles, just where he and Kiran had left it. Jumping inside, he grabbed the radio and spoke into it. He was answered instantly by security dispatch. After taking a couple of moments to convince the female cast member on the other end of the radio who he was, he gave her Shep’s phone number and had her patch the radio through to his cell phone. Shep answered on the third ring.

“Shep, are you safe?” Hawk began, still very concerned about his team.

“Yes, I’m checking into the—”

“Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know where you are as long as you’re safe.” Hawk stopped him from revealing his location verbally in case someone might be listening in.

“I’m safe. Are you?”

“Well, the weather is getting rough, but other than that, I’m fine.”

“You’re outside in the storm?”

“Right now, yes.”

“Hurricane Ginger is a category 3 storm. We’re getting the first of the storm bands. It will only get worse before it gets better. The eye will pass over us tomorrow sometime—we’re in for a wet, windy, and dangerous few hours.” Concern crawled over Shep’s voice.

“Got it.” But Hawk had no time to wait out the storm. “I need your help. Do you have access to the Internet right now?”

“Sure…what do you need?”

“I need to find a rock.”

“Can you repeat that? I think the storm might be interfering with our connection. I thought you said you needed a rock.” Shep spoke louder in case Hawk couldn’t hear him.

“You heard me right. Listen closely. Where would I find a rock that was given as a gift to the city of Kissimmee, Florida?”

Silence fell as Shep processed what Hawk had just asked him. Hawk knew Shep would realize he was serious about the question. The situation was too urgent for Hawk to be playing a joke on his friend.

“I don’t know, boss…give me a second to see if there’s a museum or something.”

“Hurry.”

“Where did the rock come from?” Shep asked over the clacking of a keyboard.

“Walt Disney Studios in 1966.”

“OK, 1966, that’s the year Walt died. What have you figured out, Hawk?”

“Nothing yet. I need to find a rock.”

“Maybe you should wait until the storm passes.”

“No time. Did you find my rock?”

“Besides the ones in your head…I might have something. But I have nothing to connect this to Walt Disney Studios.”

“Give me what you found.” Hawk put the SUV into gear and pulled out from under the shelter into the storm. He switched the wipers on at full speed. They didn’t really help.

“There’s a monument of states in downtown Kissimmee. Near or in the town square. Apparently it contains rocks from all fifty states and other places. But I can’t find anything about a rock Disney gave to the city.”

“That gives me someplace to start. You said it’s downtown?”

“Yes, but you aren’t going there now, are you?” Shep asked, startled.

“I would rather not tell you what I’m doing.”

“How are you getting around anywhere in this weather? You don’t have a car anymore. I got a call asking me if I’d heard from you and if you wanted to move some monorails back off the tracks for the duration of the storm.”

“What did you tell them?” Hawk pulled out of the parking lot of Hollywood Studios and headed toward US 192, the main thoroughfare into Kissimmee.

“I told them to leave things where you put them,” Shep noted. “Did you really borrow some monorails in this weather?”

“Again, best not to tell you. Thanks, Shep.” Hawk clicked off the radio.

The roads were empty, but the traveling was slow. The wipers fought off the rain with limited success as Hawk navigated at speeds much slower than he might normally travel. The downtown Kissimmee area was just off US 192, which had turned into a huge tourist area, much like had happened around Disneyland in California. The only difference in Florida was that Walt had vision enough to purchase a huge amount of property that would keep his Walt Disney World isolated from all of the other hotels, motels, gimmicky gift shops, roadside attractions, and other eating places that would push up against his creation. All of them were designed to make money in the shadow of Walt’s creation and most of them did quite well.

Kissimmee had been a cow town, known more for rodeos and livestock than theme parks. Until Disney changed things. Hawk guided his vehicle through the storm toward the historic district of the city. He was looking for a monument of states and, hopefully, the Redstone given to the city by the studio years ago.