The Key To the Kingdom (12 page)

Hawk placed the key to the kingdom that Farren Rales had given him into the lock on the desk drawer. The old antique skeleton key slid into the lock without resistance. Now with the key firmly placed inside the lock, he exchanged a glance with Kiran. She nodded slightly, prodding Hawk to continue. He attempted to turn the key to the right and immediately felt resistance. It would not turn in that direction. He turned the key to the left and held his breath. A satisfying
click
and then another broke the silence as the lock opened, releasing the mechanism holding the drawer closed. Removing the key from the lock, Hawk hesitated, and for a moment, pondered the value of the key and wondered how Rales had managed to come into the possession of it. He slowly rewrapped it and placed it back into his pocket.

Kiran whispered impatiently, “Are you going to open the drawer or not?”

Tensing his arm, he gently flexed and pulled the drawer toward him. After a slight resistance, the drawer of Walt Disney’s desk slid open. Hawk stared with disbelief at what he saw inside.

C
HAPTER
T
WELVE

Day Four Night

H
AWK AND
K
IRAN STOOD STARING
at the contents of Walt Disney’s drawer. The elation he’d felt when the key actually unlocked the desk drawer was now surpassed by the confusion created by what the drawer contained.

“Is that it?” Kiran inquired.

Reaching into the desk drawer, Hawk pulled out the prize that had been awaiting him. He retracted his arm, clutching a stuffed Mickey Mouse attired in a dress tuxedo and tails. Holding it in his hand, Hawk looked into the drawer again, but there was nothing else to be seen. Bending down closer so he would be sure not to miss anything, he examined every nook and corner of the drawer. Now that Mickey had been removed, the drawer was completely empty.

“Tremendous,” Kiran exclaimed. “Close the drawer, we have to get out of here.”

Hawk slid the drawer back into place and moved around the desk toward the diminutive doorway. Kiran placed her hand on his back and pushed him down toward the opening. Complying and repeating his actions from before, he quickly was back on the other side of the exhibit. In a moment Kiran was through the opening. Hawk helped her to her feet, and she spun to close and relock the access door.

“I risked becoming your accomplice in this disaster so we could find a stuffed animal,” she scolded. “Stay right here while I put the key to the door back.”

She moved back toward the unseen area where she had found the key earlier. Hawk awaited her return, examining the Mickey Mouse doll. It was ten or eleven inches tall, had the familiar cute face, a hard plastic nose, but was slightly different than a normal stuffed animal. At the moment, although Hawk knew it was different, he wasn’t entirely sure what the difference was. Momentarily Kiran returned, her face a mask of frustration. Hawk wasn’t sure which one of them was the target of her frustration, or if it was both.

“Follow me,” she said as she moved past him, retracing their steps. “So this is why you couldn’t have dinner with me. Because you wanted to break into a theme park so you could find a stuffed Mickey Mouse?” It didn’t seem a question that she wanted an answer to, but Hawk couldn’t resist.

“This is not exactly what I planned, but how could you have had dinner with me when you had to be at work?”

“I didn’t agree to lead the tour until this afternoon, which is more than you deserve to know, by the way.”

They wound past the office where Kiran had found Hawk and continued back toward the maintenance door by the audio-animatronics display Hawk had originally hidden in. Arriving at the door, Kiran pressed up against it to listen for any activity on the other side. Satisfied that she heard nothing, she cracked the door open slightly to make sure the coast was clear.

Turning back to him she whispered, “You’re a guest and I’m leading you on a private tour. If we get lucky, we’ll get out of the park without anyone noticing us. No matter what happens, follow my lead.”

Reaching back and grabbing his shirt, she pulled him through the doorway. Once again he found himself on the guest side of One Man’s Dream as he fell in step next to Kiran. Silently they walked back toward the front entrance. Passing the massive window opening into Walt’s office, Hawk realized just how risky his stunt had been. As they turned into the early Disney years portion of the attraction, he heard voices in front of them. Without hesitation Kiran launched into a tour guide’s spiel.

“Walt was the ultimate storyteller. He was convinced that a great story would connect with audiences of all ages. He also was never satisfied with what he had already accomplished. He constantly was trying to discover better ways to creatively use film as a storytelling medium.”

Two cast members who were vacuuming the carpet and chatting nonchalantly paused in their work and smiled as Hawk and Kiran walked past. Nodding at them, Hawk turned back and waited for Kiran to continue her impromptu tour.

When they arrived at the front of the attraction, the noises of the cleaning began again behind them. They hit the crash bars on the doors and stepped out onto Mickey Avenue. Standing outside the main entrance to One Man’s Dream, Hawk felt a vibration in his hand. Looking down, he realized Mickey Mouse was the source. He glanced toward Kiran, who was looking in both directions trying to decide which way was going to be the best exit strategy. The vibrating stuffed animal stopped shaking and emitted a high-pitched
ha-ha!
in the distinct voice of none other than Mickey Mouse.

“Did I just hear Mickey Mouse?” she demanded.

“Yeah.” Hawk frowned at the toy. “He started shaking and then laughed.”

“I’ll bet that’s a Pal Mickey,” Kiran stated. “That’s what they do.”

“A Pal Mickey?”

“Yes, a Pal Mickey. It’s an interactive tour guide we used to sell here at the Disney Resort. No matter where you went on Disney property, your Mickey would talk to you. It would give you information about where to find characters in the park. You could learn wait times for certain rides and all sorts of insider information about everything related to Walt Disney World. They were expensive and popular. We sold them at gift shops throughout the property.”

“Sold? You can’t get them anymore?”

“No. Although they were popular, they were pricey. People liked them and there have been some new variations of the same technology. The technology was left on so they would still work, but eventually it will be phased out for new uses.”

“How does it work?” Hawk wanted to know.

“The plastic nose has a sensor that’s activated by transponders located throughout the parks and across Disney property. When you walk past one it activates Mickey and he vibrates, laughs, and talks to you. Come on Hawk, you’re a big Disney fan, you surely have heard of Pal Mickey!”

“I guess I just didn’t pay a lot of attention. How does he talk?”

Kiran reached down and snatched Mickey out of Hawk’s hand. Fumbling with the stuffed animal for a moment, she held it between them.

“You’re supposed to give him a squeeze and he’ll tell you whatever the transponder has activated based upon where you are,” she informed him as she gave Pal Mickey a squeeze.

The speaker mechanism inside the stuffed animal activated and the unmistakable voice of Mickey Mouse spoke to them.

“Gosh! It sure was dark in that old desk. Thanks for getting me out!”

Hawk’s mouth fell open. He looked up toward Kiran and saw her amazement.

“That isn’t something they would usually say, is it?” he asked.

She shook her head. The mouse started vibrating again.

“Ha-ha!”

“It has something else to say,” she stammered. Holding it out unsteadily, she once again applied pressure to the stuffed middle of the mouse.

“We are going to be great friends. Together we are going to go on the adventure of a lifetime. Please take good care of me, Hawk!”

Kiran’s hand opened and the stuffed animal fell. Hawk caught it and they both stared at it. Gripping the mouse, he held it away from his body.

Hawk spoke in a shaky voice. “Tell me that Mickey Mouse just didn’t say my name.” Kiran remained silent. “I thought I heard him say we’re going on an adventure and that I need to take care of him. I did hear that, right? You heard that, didn’t you?”

Kiran nodded her head in confusion. She pointed her finger at the archway leading to the Sorcerer’s Hat. Clutching his newly discovered pal, Hawk stayed right at Kiran’s shoulder as they briskly stepped onto Hollywood Boulevard. The entrance of the park lay at the end of the street.

After hours in the Disney Hollywood Studios is a beehive of activity. The park is cleaned from the traffic of the day’s guests. In addition, lots of touching up is done, some fixing and repair work, and many preparations are made for the arrival of the crowds to come in the morning.

“Is it this busy every night?” Hawk inquired.

“Every single night.”

“I suppose I never really thought about it before,” he admitted.

“That seems to be a pattern with you,” she replied with little emotion.

“What?”

“Not taking the time to give things much thought.”

“Wait a minute, that’s not true,” he protested.

As they continued to walk Kiran turned toward him with a stone-cold look that served as a reality check for Hawk. It was true that over the last hour she had not seen him at his best. He decided it was better not to continue the conversation. Instead he again got lost in watching the buzz of activity. As they walked past Mickey’s of Hollywood, a gift shop featuring character souvenirs, clothing, and assorted figurines, their escape was interrupted as a voice emerged from the shop.

“Good evening, Kiran!” came the bright greeting.

Pausing, Kiran turned and Hawk stopped slightly behind her so she could see who was calling her. Stepping out the doors of the shop was a young man with sandy blond hair. His name tag was imprinted with the name Sandy.

“Hi, Sandy, how are you this evening?” Kiran pleasantly returned his greeting.

“Great, are you enjoying your tour?” Obviously this was intended toward Hawk.

“Uh, sure, I’ve really enjoyed it,” offered Hawk, remembering to follow Kiran’s lead.

“Let me introduce you.” Kiran took control of the conversation. “Dr. Hawkes, this is Sandy. Sandy, I’d like for you to meet Dr. Hawkes.”

The two men shook hands. As they did Sandy studied Hawk more closely than Hawk had wished. Stepping back, Sandy smiled broadly.

“What have you seen this evening?” he asked Hawk.

      Hawk smiled crookedly and opened his mouth to speak. Kiran injected the answer for him.

“This is more of a quick browse than a detailed tour, Sandy. The doctor and I are actually running a bit behind.” She motioned for Hawk to begin moving
forward. “I’m supposed to have Dr. Hawkes somewhere else already. Good night, Sandy!”

“Nice meeting you, Dr. Hawkes,” Sandy called after they began moving away.

“You too.” Hawk looked back over his shoulder and gave a partial wave.

He noticed as they left that Sandy did not move right back into the shop he’d come out of.

“You know he’s still watching us,” he whispered to Kiran.

“Don’t flatter yourself. He’s watching me.” She smiled coyly. “Sandy is a good guy. He’s asked me out a couple of times, and he’s probably jealous that I’m giving you a private tour. If he only knew . . .”