The Deadliest Cast Member - Disneyland Interactive Thriller Series - EPISODE FOUR (Jack Duncan) (SEASON ONE) (8 page)

“Jack Duncan. You are quite resilient aren’t you?”

“I knew you wouldn’t meet me here in person, Nikolai, you’re too much of a coward.”

“Listen, Jack, this is what you need to do to save the lives of everyone here. You and your father need to meet me on Tom Sawyer Island, alone, unarmed, and the entire Island better be empty. That’s all you need to do.”

“I already told you Nikolai my dad is in Northern California, dying, I can’t even reach him by phone, how am I supposed to get him here?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that part, Jack. Since you were unable to make it happen, I picked up your father and had him delivered.”

Jack’s mouth dropped as the video feed panned to an image of his father, lying unconscious on a gurney.
 

“It’s simple, Jack. Of course, you won’t get what you truly want, which is revenge, but on the flip side, you’ll get to be a hero again and your kids will live.”

Jack cringed at the idea of putting the fate of his kids into the hands of a madman. He was angry at the thought of not getting to watch Nikolai squirm under his control—at the thought of never getting revenge on the man who took his true love.
 

“I know you want to break those doors down, and get to me in here, but you’ve probably realized that’s impossible. Doesn’t it frustrate you that your father never bothered to tell you about any of this? I thought he trusted you with Walt’s secrets? Clearly he didn’t.”

Jack tried to hide his anger, to not let Nikolai get the best of him, but it was painful—and all he could think about was breaking his neck.
 

“You know Jack, you have your father to thank for all of this. If he wouldn’t have brutally murdered my son, I would’ve never come after your family.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He never told you that either? He keeps a lot from you, Jack. Your father brutally tortured and killed my son, years ago, and he’s known that for quite some time now. It probably would have been good information for you to have in 2005.”

“You’re a liar Nikolai.”

“No, I’m telling the truth. I have lied in the past, for the greater good, but this is the truth. If your father was awake he would admit it. But you are right, he is in fact dying, we haven’t been able to wake him up, and we’ve tried everything.”

Jack heard a loud electrical zap, and he saw Stan’s body jerk on the screen in front of him.
 

“You will pay for this Nikolai if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Stop with the threats, Jack, they have no merit, you’re powerless,” Nikolai paused and grinned. “This is a fair outcome when you think about it. Your father took my only son—and now I will take his—while he watches.”

“What guarantee do I have that you will not detonate the bomb?”

“You have no guarantees Jack—the only guarantee you have is that your wife is dead, and you will cause the death of everyone around you if you don’t comply—that’s your guarantee.”

Jack came unglued when he mentioned Kate and yelled, “NIKOLAI,” as the screen flickered and turned off. He ran out of the Blacksmith Shop towards the giant steel door. If only he could get in there to kill Nikolai and disarm the bomb. He desperately ran the palm of his hand over the embossed “D”, the decorative border, and the small circle underneath. He headed back to the hatch and up to the
Pirates of the Caribbean
, towards the CM entrance to the Blue Bayou.

“Jack,” Gaur questioned, “what happened, what did he say?”

“He wants my dad, and I to meet him on Tom Sawyer Island.”

Gaur looked worried, “Jack, you can’t trust Nikolai to hold up his end of the bargain.”

“I know.” Jack was getting an incoming call from Ruddy.

“Jack—” Ruddy said quickly.
 

“Where are you?” Jack scowled.
 

“Listen to me very carefully, Jack, if Gaur is in front of you, just confirm it by remaining silent.”

Jack looked at Gaur and continued to listen to Ruddy.
 

“I did some research, checked sign in logs, Bill said he was here with his family today—I checked everything, and this is not true. I made a few calls to verify, and his family is out of state right now.”

“You’re lying.”

“No, Jack, I’m not lying, Gaur is involved somehow.”

“Where are you at right now?”

“I’m near the front gate where you told me to stay.”

Jack pressed his earpiece, “Luke?”

“Yes, Jack he’s telling the truth.”

Jack took a deep breath and glared at Gaur, who looked concerned.
 

“I’ll call you back.”

Jack moved closer to Gaur and then quickly drew his SIG from his side, pointing it directly at Gaur’s face. He knew this was the quickest way to get to the truth.
 

Gaur raised his hands and nervously uttered, “Jack?”

Jack’s voice boomed, “WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME, BILL?”

“Lie to you? About what?”

“Your family was not here today—why would you lie about that? Also, why are you getting funds from the Russian mafia?”

Gaur stammered and tried to get words out, but he couldn’t. A Cast Member unexpectedly walked out of the Blue Bayou entrance and froze when she saw Jack with his gun drawn, she gasped as Jack looked over at her.

“Go back through the door,” Jack told the CM as he looked to his left.
 

Gaur reached back and pulled a small knife from above his shoulder blades. He hurled it at Jack. The knife flew end over end towards Jack and landed deep in his upper arm. Jack felt the knife enter his flesh as a flash of pain swept through his body. His arm holding the gun lowered as Gaur pulled another knife out of an ankle holster and charged towards Jack.
 

The CM screamed. Jack timed a lethal roundhouse kick that landed just below Gaur’s hip. The force of the kick swept Gaur off his feet as his body smashed to the ground. He was, writhing in pain as he squirmed on the floor. Jack drove his knee into Gaur’s chest to restrict his breathing, pulled the small knife out of his arm, and thrust it through Gaur’s forearm. The knife went through his arm and anchored in the wooden floor. Gaur’s face flushed, and his mouth opened wide as he shrieked.
 

“Tell me how to get inside those doors, NOW!” Jack roared.

Gaur struggled to speak.

“J—ack, I—I—I don’t know how to get in.”

“WRONG ANSWER.” Jack applied more pressure to his chest and pulled his arm towards him—splitting Gaur’s flesh. Gaur’s mouth was wide open, he tried to scream, but he couldn’t.

Max arrived and moved in to help Jack.
 

Gaur spoke rapidly fearing for his life, “Jack—I do not know how to get in—Nikolai, and al-Haddad are in the tunnel with the bomb—that’s all I know—I swear.”

“You’re lying,” Jack gripped Gaur’s other arm and applied enough pressure to remove it from its socket.
 

“NO, JACK! Please—stop.”

“Why would you do this, why would you give terrorists access to the Resort?”

“Your dad—he took away everything from me, I was next in line for the presidency. It ruined my career, it ruined my relationship with my wife and kids—your dad blacklisted me and made it impossible for me to move forward.”

“So that’s a good enough reason to betray your country and cause the death of thousands of people?”

“It wasn’t just that, I needed the money to save my house and to pay for my wife’s medical bills. Initially, they paid me for general information. Then they took my kids. I had no other choice.”

“You should’ve known better. Now you need to help me get in these doors, NOW.”

“Jack, I swear to you, I don’t know, but I think it is something that your dad gave you. Something only you would have access to.”

“That doesn’t help me at all,” Jack stood up, “Max, take him to Reuab, tell him to use all available techniques to get the truth out of him.”

“NOOO Jack,” Gaur screamed.
 

August 11, 2010

Blue Bayou

Disneyland Park

Jack walked through the kitchen of the Blue Bayou as he studied the incoming intelligence on his device. He ended up in the dimly lit dining room. Candlelight emanated from the small tables; fresh rolls were everywhere, and the food smelled wonderful. He briefly looked up, and his family’s special table caught his eye—the one they’d used for years to celebrate momentous occasions. Jack’s mind raced back to the last time he was there with Kate, Stan, and the kids.
 

2005

Stan established a long-standing tradition of celebrating his and Genie’s wedding anniversary with Jack at the Blue Bayou. It began when Jack was a young boy because he wanted to make sure that Jack always remembered his mom. When Jack got married and had kids, the whole family joined the annual tradition. The Blue Bayou was Stan and Genie’s favorite romantic place to eat, and they made countless memories together at the plantation style restaurant set on the shores of the most famous theme park attraction in the world.
 

Stan always reserved the same waterside table that gave them a view of the dark water, the old rickety shack across the way, and Lafitte’s Landing. Sometimes, guests on the boats would call out for a roll, and Stan would take one of the dinner rolls from the cloth-covered baskets and chuck it at the lucky people. This always made Andy and Grace giggle.
 

“Do you kids know how much your grandma would have loved you if she had the chance to meet you?” Stan looked into Andy and Grace’s eyes. “She always wanted to have kids, and it was her dream to have grandkids someday.”

Andy and Grace smiled at their grandpa. Jack looked into Kate’s eyes as they held hands under the table.
 

Stan had gone through several phases of his life, from a deadly assassin, to a government spy. He was selfish and ambitious and didn’t care about anyone who got in his way. He turned from his selfish life when he met Genie, and he regretted the hurtful things he’d done. He was a new man. He tried to shed his old baggage and become a better person.
 

“Kate, you look beautiful tonight,” Stan smiled at Kate as she blushed.
 

“Thank you Dad,” Kate put her hand on his at the table, “and you look quite handsome yourself!”

Stan looked at the kids, “You know Andrew and Gracie, your mom and dad have a relationship similar to what your grandma and I had. We loved each other and were committed to each other through good times and bad. Always remember that there’s one person out there who God has made for you, be patient and don’t settle for lesser treasure. You will not regret it—just ask your dad.”

The kids giggled.
 

“I always want to celebrate our anniversary here together, as a family, for as long as I can.”

“Definitely, Dad,” Jack said as he reached under the table for a box. “We have something for you.”

Stan’s old and seasoned face formed a smile as he eyed the box. “You guys didn’t have to do that,” he smiled at Kate and leaned over towards her, “I know you probably put this together, knowing that my son has zero thoughtfulness when it comes to gifts.”

Jack scrunched his eyebrows and gave Stan a dirty look.
 

“You deserve it Dad,” Kate said, laughing at Jack.
 

Stan slowly opened the crisp white paper around the box and removed the red bow. He found a beautifully framed picture of Genie and himself on their wedding day. They were standing on each side of the golden spike at the entrance of
Sleeping Beauty Castle
. Walt Disney, Stan’s best man was on his left and Kurt Russell was standing next to Walt. On the other side was Genie’s sister. It was a classic picture, in a fairy tale setting, capturing their unending love.
 

Stan smiled as he gazed at Genie’s image, and a tear started to trickle down his cheek.

“This means so much to me, thank you very much,” Stan got up to hug Kate as she stood. He put his hand on Jack’s shoulder and then sat back down to address the family, “Listen, I don’t know how much longer I have on this planet, but I have a special gift for you, son.”

“Dad, please, let’s not do the end of life speech in front of the kids?” Jack whispered to Stan.
 

Stan smiled and continued, “Our wedding day was the best day of my life, the second best day was when Jackie was born.” The kids chuckled when they heard their grandpa call their dad “Jackie”.

“We’ve celebrated this day together ever since Jack was a kid,” Stan continued, “and now that Jack has his own family, I want to continue to celebrate this day for as long as I live, with all of you. And I expect you to continue the tradition when I’m gone.”
 

Everyone smiled in agreement.
 

“I still have some pull in this place, so I’ve reserved this table for us here at the Bayou indefinitely, every year on this day, so please promise me you will honor this tradition.”

“Sure Dad,” Jack smiled at him.
 

“I want our love to be an example to all of you, for generations, and I hope you can use it as a guide for your own lives.”