Kingdom Keepers V (9781423153429) (7 page)

M
any of the Keepers were now busier on the weekends than during the school week, trying to balance athletics and social commitments with their Keeper time.

Charlene—she was at cheerleading practice—missed the meeting in the Magic Kingdom's Columbia Harbour House. But the rest of the Kingdom Keepers made it, as did six recent recruits to their cause—four boys and two girls. The meeting was held upstairs where the crowds rarely ventured, in a small room that bridged the boundary between Fantasyland and Liberty Square.

The six newcomers were all Cast Members from the various parks, employees who supported the Kingdom Keepers' cause and had an allegiance to Disney and were sworn to secrecy by the nature of their employment agreements. It made for a tight group, where trust was never questioned.

Finn perched on the edge of a table looking at their faces. He felt a sense of pride and encouragement from there being twelve people where only a short time ago there had been seven. The oldest of the group was in her mid-twenties, a looker by the name of Megan Fuchs, a woman who had once helped the Keepers at DisneyQuest. Two boys were interns for an Imagineer named Alex Wright; because of this, they knew more about the Kingdom Keepers and their current activities than most.

“All of us,” Finn began, “are part of the battle for Base.” Heads nodded. “Some more than others. Some more in support. We all know it's getting worse there. The other night there was a direct assault. A pair of DHIs turned them back, but the OTs are getting more and more aggressive.”

“If there was an enemy to fight, we could fight them,” one of the newcomers said.

“Exactly!” Finn said. “The big problem is we don't know where they are and we don't know what they'll do next. Hard to fight an enemy you can't see.”

“We see them by day,” Megan said. She meant the witches and fairies, Audio-Animatronics and Cast Members, who were Overtakers by night. There was a growing sentiment among legitimate Cast Members to take the battle into the day, when the Overtakers were, in some ways, more vulnerable and more easily identified. But the reality was that it was difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between a Cast Member playing a villain and the actual villain. Attacking Cast Members was frowned upon.

“If we can't launch our own attacks, then we're always on the defensive,” said Bart, one of the two interns. He looked like a surfer. Willa couldn't stop herself from staring at him.

“That's how this goes,” Finn said. “We all know the drill. We all know it's bogus.”

“If we're always on the defensive, how can we ever win?” said Megan.

“We can win…” Finn began. But this was a legitimate issue and one he couldn't easily answer. He offered the short version: “…by recapturing Maleficent and Chernabog. By taking Cruella and the Evil Queen prisoner.” He thought back to the theft at the library; that had been a missed opportunity. To have seized the three—all the principals but Chernabog—would have set the Overtakers back considerably.

A restaurant worker in uniform and hat went about wiping down some tables in the far corner. Finn motioned for the others to lower their voices. He did so as well.

“What about the home invasions?” Maybeck asked in a whisper. “I say we take out the OTKs right now.”

“I agree. It's time,” Finn said.

Eyes bulged. Finn had been the voice of calm and reason for so long no one could believe he would advocate an attack on other kids.

“Finn?” Amanda asked, as if he had to be an impostor.

She and her sister, Jess, changed their looks all the time: hair color, length, makeup, the way they dressed; some believed they were just trying to be cool, but Finn knew that back in Maryland, the girls had been part of a group called the Fairlies—kids with “unusual or paranormal skills.” Maybe part of their constant switching of looks had something to do with that.

“I was attacked in bed and nearly poisoned having just returned from crossing over,” Finn said. “Maybeck was attacked at home. By Tasers! His aunt was injured.” The group muttered among themselves. “It's become too dangerous for us. All of us! Enough is enough.”

The murmur grew to a low roar.

“So what do we do?” Amanda asked. Any mention in the press of kids attacking kids might leave a trail to follow to her and her sister. Fairlies were often at the heart of such stories because of their unusual powers.

“I don't know. I'm open to suggestions,” Finn said. “But since they're willing to send OTKs after us in our homes, we know how badly the OTs must want us out of the picture. And that must mean that we're doing something right.”

“Maybe they're getting close to the end of the Siege,” Maybeck suggested.

“Either through withdrawal or a full-scale attack on Base,” said Willa.

“I wouldn't be too hasty.” It was a man's low, gravelly voice. It belonged to the worker in the corner.

Finn was immediately alarmed that a Cast Member had overheard them. Worse, the old guy—ancient, by the look and sound of him—dared to butt his way into their discussion.

“Wayne?” Willa had a musician's ear. She'd picked out the man's voice instantly.

The Cast Member's tam lifted slightly, and trans-lucent blue eyes appeared beneath a shock of white hair. It was a weathered face from years in sunny Florida, creased with worry lines. Etched with experience.

A sly grin swept over the man's face.

“Present and accounted for,” Wayne said.

A collective gasp filled the room as the Keepers and volunteers identified the stranger. Being in a room with Wayne Kresky was like having a meeting with Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney—rare air.

Finn rushed over and hugged the man, experiencing a sense of guilt about his feelings the night before. Suddenly feeling very awkward, he let go of Wayne and returned to his perch facing the others. Wayne smiled at him, but the usual twinkle in the man's eyes was not there. Finn felt the pit return to his stomach.

“Haste makes waste,” Wayne said. He introduced himself to the newcomers as “a friend of the parks.” But they all knew who he was, if not by recognition, then by reputation.

“These are difficult times, no question. But if I heard right, for you to act against those you refer to as OTKs would be a mistake. This will only incite and inflame and allow your enemies to raise even more volunteers. That is something to avoid at all costs.”

“But my aunt!” Maybeck said. “That's not happening again.”

“Tasers!” Finn said.

“Yes. Problematic, and worthy of redress. But we must be wise. The smarter the army, the fewer the battles.”

“So we just wait for the next attack?” Willa said.

“No. Not hardly,” Wayne answered. “We must not be moved off our primary objective: undoing the Overtakers. Reducing their power base. Eliminating them as a viable threat to the Kingdom. I won't, for a moment, pretend we don't all have our individual grudges and causes. But for the moment, we must put these aside in favor of a higher calling.”

“And that is?” someone said.

“First, defending the Base. You realize any effort, any energy you put into these OTK attacks is energy drained from the more critical battle.”

“That's the point of them, isn't it?” Willa said.

“Of course,” he answered. “Distraction is critical to any success in battle. That is why we must meet them head-on. We mount an offensive. It is unexpected. The timing is perfect.”

“Tonight?” Finn asked.

“Haste…” Wayne said. “Need I remind you? We will act just as soon as we can organize an effective strategy. These things are not to be entered into lightly. There is much at stake.”

“How 'bout our survival?” Maybeck asked. “I'm telling you, I am not putting my aunt through that again. I'd rather break some heads than sit around waiting for some dumb plan. No offense.”

“The question we must ask ourselves is not how we defeat a particular enemy, but evil itself. Yes? For that's the real battle at hand. Don't be blinded by the powers of someone like Maleficent. Believe me, she is but a puppet. There are far higher powers at work here. Chernabog, for one.”

That silenced Wayne's small audience. As far as the Keepers were concerned, things didn't get much scarier and dangerous than Maleficent. The idea she was someone's puppet did not bode well. Wayne had warned about the powers of Chernabog before, but they'd witnessed none of the beast's powers. Like the Yeti he'd once inhabited, he seemed more the puppet—a big, furry nothing. Only once, in a performance of Fantasmic! when Chernabog had transfigured into a dragon, had he presented a real threat. And that had seemed like Maleficent's doing, not his own.

Finn spoke first. “What are you saying?”

“I'm saying we need to present a unified strategy and realize the worst is yet to come.”

“Worse than having your aunt Tasered?” Maybeck said.

“Worse,” Wayne answered. “I believe an attempt will be made to kill one or more of you.”

“You mean the Syndrome, don't you?” Willa said. “To put us in the Syndrome?”

“No. I mean what I said.” Wayne settled in, sitting next to Finn on the windowsill. He looked ridiculous in the costume. “For months our technicians have been attempting to pin down the location of the Overtakers' DHI server. This is nothing terribly new, unfortunately. We've been through this before.”

Philby nodded. He and Wayne had once entered the parks' Virtual Maintenance Network as gaming avatars in an attempt to defeat the Overtakers. He liked the man and Wayne liked him. He cradled his phone in the pocket of his shorts, happy to have gotten it back after Mr. E.'s imposed study hall; he hated being without it.

“We possess highly sophisticated equipment for such efforts,” Wayne continued, “and yet the Overtakers continue to elude us. The Internet protocol address continues to move from place to place. We send in a strike team: no server. We've repeated this pattern, well…repeatedly. The only consistency in the pattern is that the IP address holds to coastal cities like Boca and Miami. That brings us to the more urgent topic at hand.” He surveyed the faces gazing up at him. So young, he thought, recalling his own youth and the heady days leading up to his career with Disney. “The upcoming cruise has been well publicized, as has your participation in it.”

The Keepers had connected a comment Maleficent had recently made to one of Jess's drawings of a uniformed officer. At the time, it had seemed as if Maleficent intended to steal the
Magic
––a Disney cruise ship. Now, the reminder of the upcoming cruise made Finn wonder if they'd gotten the ship wrong. Was it the
Dream
? Was it the cruise they were all about to take?

Finn interrupted. “But you told me the cruise was no big deal!”

“Things change, Finn.”

Finn shuddered. Wayne had said it so condescendingly. Like he wanted to humiliate Finn in front of the others.

“Security on the
Dream
, as with all our cruise ships, is the best in the business,” Wayne continued. “Better than any other line. But I put nothing past the Overtakers. Disappearance is the most convenient form of murder.”

Amanda whispered to Jess, and they both looked over at Wayne.

“I don't love the sound of that,” Maybeck said.

“A man overboard is a body never found,” Wayne said. “It has never happened on a Disney cruise ship, but it has on others.”

“That guy who threw his wife over the rail,” Jess said.

“Among several others,” Wayne said. “Yes. Should the Overtakers find a way to get aboard, or send their agents…”

“OTKs,” Philby said.

“It would make for an easy way for them to do away with at least a few of you.”

“Lousy Luowski is not a murderer,” Finn said. “A tool, yes. But not a murderer.”

“But if under a spell?” Wayne asked. “Can we be so certain these kids are acting of their own accord when they are attempting such heinous acts as poisoning and Tasering?”

“They're under spells?” Finn said.

“Do you have a more suitable explanation?” Wayne asked. “Finn, you watched that silly recruitment video. You think that explains how Maleficent has been able to enlist so many students so quickly? By some counts they have dozens.”

A unison gasp filled the room. This was new information to all, including the Keepers.

“Then what?” Finn said.

“I have no proof,” Wayne said.

“But you suspect something.”

“I suspect it's not a video, but a spell. I suspect she ‘owns' them.”

For a moment only the joyful sounds of the park could be heard.

“I have no proof,” Wayne repeated quickly.

“The green eyes are proof,” Finn said. “They aren't contact lenses. I got close enough to one of them to see.”

Another group gasp.