The Deadliest Cast Member - Disneyland Interactive Thriller Series - EPISODE FOUR (Jack Duncan) (SEASON ONE) (2 page)

Stan sunk back into his chair. His head spun with a mixture of rage and regret. His chest tightened with pain, and it was hard to breathe.
 

Nikolai continued his tirade, “When my wife became ill, I watched her body deteriorate in front of my eyes, she was a beautiful woman, and her illness robbed her of everything she had. She never recovered from the death of our son, and depression ate away at her until she ceased to exist. As I held her shriveled hand on her deathbed, I could not believe how the loss of our son had killed her mentally and physically. We wept together, and I asked what I could do for her, how I could ease her pain. The last words she uttered, the thing she wanted more than her own life—was for me to avenge the death of our only son. The son that YOU took from us, Duncan.”

Stan’s eyes shifted side to side, and he leaned over. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and splattered on his mahogany desk.
 

“I will honor her wishes, if it’s the last thing I do, I will give up everything to haunt you and your family for the rest of your life. It might take time, but I am a very patient man—I will wait for the right moment, and I will strike when you least expect it. I will devastate you, your family, and your despicable amusement park.”

The line clicked, and the call disconnected.
 

August 11, 2010

Security Control Center

Disneyland Park

Thin rays of light pierced through the dusty darkness of the demolished Control Center room. Thick white powder floated throughout the room, creating a fog of debris that made it hurt to breathe. Jack’s face was on the floor.

“Jack—” Kendall recognized Jack’s body and ran to him. He put his hand on his back.
 

Jack tried to lift his head. His vision was blurred, everything was in slow motion, and he felt as if he was stuck to the front of an
Astro Orbiter
rocket. He fought disorientation and focused on Andy and Grace.
 

“K-Kendall,” Jack strained to speak.
 

“Jack are you ok? Can you feel the rest of your body?”

“Yeah, I think so—Andy and Grace—?”

“They are fine. I called Kim, and they are unharmed.”

“What happened?”

“Something ignited in the Control Center, this is the only building that was hit. We have several casualties.”

Jack breathed a painful sigh of relief. He tried to force himself up, but he still couldn’t get his bearings.
 

“Jack, you need to stay put, I’ll get a medic over here.”

“No, Kendall, I cannot just stay here, I’m ok, I need to find Nikolai, NOW.”

“Ok tough guy, you can barely get up off the floor. You need to stay put for a minute so I can make sure you don’t have a spinal cord injury.”

Jack ignored Kendall’s request and with all his strength, he made it to his knees, then used the power he had left in his arms to push himself to his feet. Kendall reluctantly held him from behind. Jack turned his wrist to get a glimpse of Andy and Grace on the live video feed. It was the best thing he’d seen in a long time. Grace’s pretty blonde curls and sweet, untainted face. He saw Andy’s golden curly hair and his pure and innocent face.
 

“Tony,” Jack said to Kendall as he grabbed the back of his neck. His chronic pain was an indication that he was still alive. “He said something to me before this blast went off that there was a bigger plot that he’d uncovered.”

“Yeah, but do you trust him Jack?”

Jack was silent, “I don’t know, I don’t know who to trust right now.”

“He’s probably on the right track because that’s what I’ve been saying. I think your best bet is to meet with Nikolai and figure out what he wants. If there truly is a massive tunnel network under the River, our chances of finding this bomb are slim. By forcing your way through those doors, we could be sealing everyone’s fate.”

Jack’s head throbbed and pulsated with excruciating pain. He couldn’t shake off the effects from the blast, and his ears rang with agonizing pain.
 

“Also, with the Control Center down, the little coverage that we had is gone. We’re totally in the dark.”

“We need to talk to Tony, and figure out what he discovered.” Jack attempted to walk on his own so Kendall would stop coddling him.
 

“Tony is unconscious, Jack, and he doesn’t look good.”

“Someone is working with them on the inside, Kendall. They must have someone in upper management who gave them access to The System, and the Park. I don’t trust that little punk Ruddy—where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where is Conroy?”

“I saw him on the way in here—he’s unconscious with serious injuries.”

Jack dialed his dad’s house again out of desperation.
 

No answer.
 

He switched over to Luke.

“Luke, I need you to get someone at my dad’s house on the line for me.”

“Jack? Are you ok? I’m monitoring this explosion, and it looks as if it was limited to the Control Center.”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Standby I’m calling your dad.”

August 11, 2010

El Capitan Presidential Suite

Grand Californian Hotel

Kim stared through the door of the balcony attached to the El Capitan Suite’s master bedroom. Her eyes bounced between the nighttime view of Condor Flats and her phone as she desperately tried to get more information about the explosion at the Control Center. She’d been mulling through the clues that Luke had sent her earlier, trying to help decode what Jack had found. But ever since she heard the news about the blast, she was trying to figure out what happened to Jack, and she didn’t like keeping the kids out of the loop.
 

Sweat streamed down her forehead, and her hand shook as she obsessively manipulated her phone.

“Are you ok Kim?” Andy could tell she was on edge.

Kim flashed a smile at him, realizing that she was sending the wrong vibe to the kids with her erratic behavior.
 

“Oh yes, Andy, I’m just trying to get some information to help your dad.”

“Hey Kim,” Grace said cheerfully as she watched old Silly Symphony cartoons, “do you like my dad?”

Kim was caught off guard.
 

“Um, of course I do Grace, your dad is one of the most generous men I’ve ever met.”

“No, I mean do you
like
him.”

Kim blushed, realizing what Grace was hinting at. “Oh, Gracie, not in that way, your dad is my boss.”

“Oh, because sometimes you look at him like you might like him.”

“I do?”

“No, she doesn’t Grace,” Andy said.
 

“Stay out of this Andrew,” Grace fired back as she turned back to Kim, “sometimes I wish daddy would find someone, so he wouldn’t be so lonely and mad all the time. But then, I think that I don’t want him to find someone else because I don’t want another mom—unless she was like you, Kim.”

Kim gasped, surprised and deeply touched by what Grace said.
 

“Gracie—that is so nice of you to say,” Kim said with an adoring smile as she knelt down and held her hand. Kim’s device buzzed with incoming information. She squeezed Grace’s small hand affectionately, and then stood up to analyze the data.
 

“Where’s Tony?” Andy asked.
 

Kim stuttered, not knowing how to explain the situation with Tony, “Oh, your dad called Tony into the Park because he needed him for something down there.”

Kim knew that Tony must have been in the Control Center when the explosion ignited. She was sick to her stomach not knowing what his condition was.
 

“I have a bad feeling about this whole thing, Kim,” said Grace, “my dad usually resolves things faster than this, and we haven’t heard from him at all.”

“Don’t worry Grace, I’m going to try to get him on the phone right now.”

Kim dialed Jack. No answer. She dialed Luke.

Luke answered, and Kim headed for the master bathroom as she whispered, “Luke, is everything ok with Jack? What happened?”

“Kim, I can’t talk right now, but there was an explosion, Jack is hurt, but I think he’s ok.”

“What about Tony?”

“I don’t have an update on Tony, but he was unconscious after the initial blast.”

Kim’s heart sunk, and her shoulders dropped as she leaned against the wall of the bathroom.
 

“Look Kim, I’ll call you back.”

“Wait, Luke,” she continued in a low voice, “those clues you sent me, they all have to do with Stan, they have his prints all over them.”

“Why do you think that?”

Kim spoke rapidly, “The golden spike, Kurt Russell, it’s from their wedding—the Park bench, that’s where Stan proposed to Genie, Fortune Red is based on the talk Stan had with Jack about Kate. Don’t you see, it? Everything has to do with Stan.”

“Ok, I need to regroup and figure this out from a different perspective. Thanks Kim, let me know if you find anything else.”

Kim walked out of the bathroom, and she stopped to examine herself in the mirror. She needed to pull herself together for the kids.

“Well guys, your dad is still busy, but I’ll keep trying him. In the meantime, what if I send someone into the Park to get you some churros and popcorn?”

Both of their faces lit up—they were missing out on a fun summer night in the Park, but at least they could have some of their favorite treats.
 

Grace looked up at Kim with her big blue eyes. “So, what about Tony? Do you like him?”

Kim smiled again and sat next to her, “You know, Tony is a—” she hesitated, “he’s a really good man and I have a lot of respect for him. Out of anyone I know, I think I’m the closest to Tony in that way. So, yeah, I think I do like him.”

Grace opened her mouth and put her hand over it as her deep blue eyes sparkled. She glanced over at Andy, who shook his head at her.
 

“That would be so cool if you two got married!” Grace squealed.
 

Kim put on a courtesy smile that quickly faded. She squinted her eyes and took a deep breath, and she returned her gaze to the view from the balcony door. She looked out at the towering redwood trees surrounding
Grizzly River Run
illuminated by strategically placed lights, and she wished this was just a normal summer night at Disneyland.
 

August 11, 2010

Disneyland Park

Jack’s phone buzzed, it was Kurt Russell.

“Kurt, thank you for calling me back so soon.”

“Of course, Jack,” Kurt said in his instantly recognizable movie star voice.

“I can’t go into details, but we are in a major crisis and I need your help. Do you remember my dad’s wedding inside the Castle?”

“Sure, I mean I was young, but of course I remember the wedding. It was a spur of the moment thing, but definitely something I’ll never forget.”

“I found your picture in an underground basement here at the Park with a group of clues starting with the golden spike.”

“What? What clues?”

“A range of things—everything from Lafitte, to Fortune Red, Fowler’s Harbor, the Griffith Park bench, the crypt in front of the River, and 1764—that number is attached to everything.”