Unlocking the Kingdom Read online

  “Want to borrow mine?” she asked, with a glint of excitement in her eye.

  “That would be helpful.” He reached out to take it from her, and she pulled it away, teasing him. “Hey . . .” He leaned across her and took it from her hand as they both laughed.

  “So this is going to be some kind of clue?” Kate asked. She had decided to allow the story to unfold and was determined to catch up with it. If that meant she had to become part of the story, then she was willing to jump in, at least deep enough to find out whether it was worth chasing.

  “I hope so.” Hawk fumbled with the phone, looking for the barcode scanner application. He found it and turned the camera toward the bottom of the boot. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  The scanner moved across the QR code information square, and the screen captured a still image of the black-and-white data box. Then little points of light began to dance across the code and across the viewer. The display screen flashed twice, and then they both put their heads next to one another as a video began to flicker, in the style of an old film, on the modern screen.

  “Greetings, Hawk. As the man who holds the key to the kingdom, you now must unlock what never was, to protect what is yet to be . . . . Listen carefully. You will only hear this once . . .” The image of George Colmes smiled as he spoke. He was in motion, as though filming himself in a moving car or ride. The familiar background flashed by quickly, but Hawk was focused more on the face and what he was about to hear just once.

  “Who is that?” Kate whispered.

  “Shhh, just listen.” He waved gently to keep her attention on the small screen on the phone.

  “Walt reminded us . . .” George spoke slowly and carefully. “It was all started by a mouse . . . . Go back in time to where and when it all began on a steamboat . . . and a foot became a year.” George smiled, lowered his head slightly, and the screen went blank.

  “Let’s see it again.” Kate whirled her finger in a replay motion.

  “OK.” Hawk touched the screen, but there was no replay icon available for the film. He aimed the camera again at the QR code on the boot. The scanner moved across the square, and the screen captured a still image of the box. The little points of light began once again to dance across the viewer, and then it went to black and displayed the message “The Information You Are Searching For Is No Longer Available.”

  “I’ve never seen one that did that.” Kate peered at the message on the screen.

  “He said he was only going to say it once. I guess he meant it.” Hawk handed the phone back to her. “He probably created it that way so no one could steal or intercept the clue.”

  “Who was that?”

  “That was George Colmes.” Hawk watched as she connected the dots to the information she had heard earlier in the evening.

  “And he just gave you a clue . . .” She smiled. “I bet you know what it means.”

  “No, I don’t.” Hawk got up and started pacing the room over and around the stuff. “Not yet, but I think I know where to start.”

  “Let’s go!” She jumped to her feet, eyes sparkling.

  Hawk stared at her a few seconds longer than he intended to and glanced away nervously before answering. Inside he felt like rushing out the door to solve the clue—and he wanted her to go with him. But common sense was calling him back to be cautious. He had been burned before when he had let a stranger in on his adventure. He was determined not to be singed a second time. “You want go? Don’t you need to go back and explain to your crew the change in plans for the documentary?”

  “They can wait.” Kate stepped over to him. “And you have to convince me that this is worth doing this way. Total Access has an agreement that protects you from giving away proprietary secrets, and ensures the security of guests isn’t compromised by our being here. The burden of proof is on you and the company to make that clear to us. You would be surprised at how often someone tries to tell us we can’t use our cameras or finish the work we have under contract to do, because it gets too hot for them to handle.” She pointed her finger at him. “I promised no cameras and to alter our original agreement with the promise of something bigger happening. So far, I am intrigued. But you have to show me something . . . so, like I said, let’s go.”

  His mind whirred through the potential pitfalls of taking her with him. If Farren was right, then they would have to give her a story. How much of a story and what she would do with it made him hesitate. Sighing, he resigned himself to what he was about to do.

  “Do you remember what ole ghost George told us?” “I think I can remember most of it.” She cocked her head. “And you?” “I’ve got it.” Hawk gave her a huge smile and turned toward the door. “It’s

  what I do. I remember details.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  * * *

  BUENA VISTA DRIVE IS THE MAIN ROADWAY that runs through the heart of the Walt Disney World Resort. Hawk guided his Mustang along the nearly empty road heading for Cypress Drive, which would carry him into the behind-the-scenes locations of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Kate rode in the passenger seat. He glanced toward her and noticed she was taking in the sights and trying to get her bearings as the car pulled up to a security booth. The roadway was blocked with cylindrical barriers that protruded from the pavement. The security guard inside the booth recognized Hawk but inspected his identification anyway. He glanced down toward the passenger seat and stepped back into the booth. In seconds, the barriers descended into the pavement. Once they were completely below the driving surface, the horizontal gate arm rose, and the security guard motioned the vehicle through.

  Hawk steered the car to a backstage parking area and swung open his door. Popping the release on the trunk, he motioned for Kate to put the cowboy figurine in the compartment. She carefully placed it inside, covering it with an old sport coat he kept stashed in the trunk, then Hawk closed it. The beep-beep of the key ring secured the car and set the alarm. Kate followed in silence. Being accustomed to backstage areas in public places due to her celebrity status, she would know that any moment they would immerge right in the middle of an unexpected place.

  Hawk was fascinated by the things that happened onstage and the things that happened behind the stage that helped make the magic the public would see possible. He never tired of understanding and trying to appreciate the work of the cast that made the guest moments possible. Hawk wound his way through a couple of turns that took them between buildings and down what looked like a long alley. When he got to the door he was looking for, he pushed it open, and they stepped into Disney’s Hollywood Studios, right beside the Hollywood Tower Hotel. The hotel, inspired by three different famous California hotels, the Mission Inn, the Biltmore, and the Chateau Marmont, was known best for its attraction name: the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This ride would take you to the top and then, in an elevator malfunction, send you plummeting toward the ground multiple times. Each fall was carefully controlled, and the thrill ride was a favorite among Studio guests. Hawk looked up at the massive attraction as they passed, and leaned over to Kate to speak.

  “If you ever go into this hotel, make sure you take the stairs. The elevators sometimes have glitches.” He laughed and pointed toward the top of the hotel.

  “Are you going to let me know what we’re doing?” Kate asked.

  “I’m trying to unravel the clue George gave us,” Hawk said as they continued to walk along Sunset Boulevard. A hammering noise coming from the Anaheim Produce market to their right captured their attention, as a team of cast members repaired a sign that was askew.

  The late-night activity in this theme park was similar to the activity that took place in all the theme parks. Workers would clean, paint, and repair things to get the park ready for guests the next day. Eventually, each street would be pressure washed and cleaned. It was shortly after midnight, and the night crew was hard at work. The attitude here was the same as in the other parks. If you were here at this time of the night, there
was a reason and you had a purpose. For the most part, the staff members stuck to the tasks they were trying to accomplish.

  Hawk and Kate moved toward the corner where Sunset intersected Hollywood Boulevard. Slowing his walk, he began to explain to Kate what they were doing. Or at least what he thought they were doing.

  “The phrase George used about unlocking what never was to protect what is yet to be has something to do with whatever it is I’m supposed to figure out. But I believe his specific clue started right after that. Remember what he said?” Hawk turned and looked at her as they moved along the street.

  “Walt reminded us that it was all started by a mouse.”

  “Right, then what?”

  “Go back in time to where and when it all began on a steamboat . . .” She raised her hands slightly. “I think.”

  “You’ve got it.” Hawk swept his arm across their pathway. “I have found from experience that these clues are very precise and yet vague at the same time. To go back to where it all began means that we have to go back to Hollywood. This is as close as we can get.”

  “But we also have to go back in time,” Kate reminded him.

  “True, and that’s where it gets a little bit more confusing.” Hawk continued to point out sights as they moved. This time he directed her attention to the Carthay Circle Theater. “For example, this is modeled after the theater where Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs premiered. The Studios were created to capture an era of Hollywood history that has long passed. A golden age of remembering the Hollywood that never really was but people always hoped for and believed in.”

  “And that means?”

  “By being here, we have kind of stepped back in time.”

  “So we are where and when it all began?” Kate absorbed her surroundings like a sponge and added, “You know, I kind of like being here at this time of the morning. You can see a lot more. It really is beautiful.”

  Hawk had noticed when they left his apartment that she took a lingering glance down Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. If they could find the time, he would try to give her a guided after-hours walk through the park of her choice.

  “Do you know what the steamboat part of the clue meant?” Hawk quizzed her.

  “I am guessing that if it all started with Mickey Mouse, then the steamboat was the movie Steamboat Mickey, right?”

  “Almost. The movie was Steamboat Willie, and it starred Mickey Mouse as Willie.”

  “Silly of me, I should have known that.” She waved her hands dismissively.

  “Ah, but that is where you have to be careful. Because around here, the details matter. They’re here on purpose, and if you can figure out why, then you have an entirely different guest experience.” Hawk stopped as they reached the corner of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. “Like right here.”

  “Here?” Kate looked around.

  “Right here.” Hawk tapped his foot on the concrete. “I think we have to start looking here to solve the clue.” He knelt and motioned for Kate to kneel down as well.

  She struggled to squat in her high heels but didn’t hesitate to join him on the sidewalk. After getting down next to him, she giggled. “What are we getting ready to do . . . pray?”

  “Nope, though maybe we should. We need to figure out the clue, and divine intervention wouldn’t be a bad way to figure it out.” Hawk smiled and pointed down. “Look here.”

  He ran his hand across the ground, showing her a semicircular imprint in the concrete next to the curb. Kate placed her hand next to Hawk’s and softly traced the outline and a few of the letters in the concrete.

  “Mortimer and Company.” She moved her finger from the words stamped in the arc of the half circle and pointed to the bottom of the imprint. “Contractors, 1928,” she read. “Mortimer and Company Contractors, 1928.”

  “This imprint pays tribute to Mortimer Mouse.”

  “Mortimer? Silly name for a mouse,” she stated. Hawk glanced at her, and she added, “If you ask me.”

  “Funny, that’s exactly what Walt’s wife said.”

  “Smart woman.”

  “Indeed. When Walt first drew his new lovable character, he named him Mortimer. Mrs. Disney said that he looked more like a Mickey than a Mortimer. So Mickey Mouse was born.” Hawk pointed to the year. “The 1928 refers to the year Steamboat Willie premiered. It was the year Mickey became a star.”

  Resting her hands on her legs, she looked down again at the imprint on the concrete. When she glanced back up at Hawk, he could see the wheels were turning as she rolled over the information.

  “It was all started by a mouse, Mickey, also known for a brief time as Mortimer. We are where it began . . . in Hollywood, and back in time when it began . . . 1928.” Kate looked at Hawk expectantly. “So what did we find?”

  “I don’t know . . . nothing yet. But this is the place to start.” He stood and extended his hand to Kate.

  She placed her hand in his, and Hawk pulled her easily to her feet and held on while she steadied herself on her heels. When he released her, they both brushed the sidewalk grime off their hands. Hawk noted that this had not been pressure washed yet. It was too early for the cleaners to have been by. He put his hands on his hips as he studied the imprint, thinking. Then he took a step so he was right on top of it, facing the oversized sorcerer’s hat directly in front of them. Tilting his head as he looked toward the hat, he slowly stepped back and looked down toward the imprint again.

  “What are you thinking, Hawk?”

  “The last part of the clue is throwing me. It all began on a steamboat . . . and a foot became a year. That doesn’t connect. Steamboat Willie came out in 1928, so we have the time and the place. But there’s nothing here except the imprint. The last part has to mean something.”

  “So how does a foot become a year?”

  “I’m not sure. Let’s check more 1928s.” Hawk smiled at her, rested his hands on her shoulders, and turned her around. “See?”

  Kate’s eyes traced the tall building before them to the top, where its name read Pacific Electric . . . World’s Wonderland Lines. Her eyes widened, and she pointed to a spot right below the circular sign with the building name on it. There on the building was the street number for the Pacific Electric Building: 1928.

  “Glad you figured it out.” Hawk grinned.

  “Then we must be onto something, right?”

  “I don’t know. Tell me how a foot becomes a year.” Hawk began pacing the sidewalk. He would pause and look down at the imprint then step back and look up at the 1928 on the Pacific Electric Building. Turning toward Kate, shaking his head, he shrugged. “I’m not seeing it here.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “Like I said, we check out more 1928s.” He moved back down in the direction they had come from originally. A few seconds later, he heard the hurried clicking of her heels.

  “You mean there are more references to the year Steamboat Willie came out?” Kate asked as she fell in step with him.

  “Sure, if it all started with a mouse, then that year was a very significant year. I believe I remember hearing or reading that the Imagineers have placed numbers to commemorate that in a variety of places. The real question is going to be, if we can find them, will they show us how a foot can become a year.”

  They made their way back down toward the end of the street where they had entered. Sunset Boulevard dead-ended into two major attractions, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. The area was themed to look like a historic area of Hollywood and called Sunset Hills. As they got to the end of the street, Hawk paused and pointed toward the metal sign affixed to the stone entranceway at the edge of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. Streetlights illuminated the street names posted on the traffic light supports.

  Kate stepped off the sidewalk and walked to the entrance, where she gazed up at the raised lettering on the metal sign. Sunset Hills Estates. Established 1928. Turning back toward Hawk, she motioned
for him to come over. He did, and she stepped away from the sign.

  “Another 1928 . . . but how does this have anything to do with a foot becoming a year?”

  “Don’t know, Kate. I just don’t know . . . yet.”

  “Maybe we’re missing something, Hawk. I mean, we have three 1928s, but they don’t seem to connect to the last part of the clue.”

  “We haven’t found the right 1928 yet.” Hawk took Kate by the arm and gently nudged her back down Sunset Boulevard.

  She picked up the pace. “So, let me make sure I’m getting this right. Walt Disney chose you to be the new head of the company?”

  “Yes. Farren will give you the details tomorrow at breakfast.” He offered nothing else.

  “And solving clues or a mystery is how you got the . . . ”

  “How I got the what?” Hawk knew she was fishing, but he had made the mistake once before of giving someone too much information too fast. That mistake had been named Kiran Roberts, and she had been trying to take the

  kingdom key from him.

  “I don’t know . . . I was just looking for more info.”

  “I know you were.” He was impressed at her admission and felt a bit sorry for her. He could read the confusion on her face. She was a woman who had built her career on finding answers. Right now she had very few.

  Cutting across Hollywood Boulevard, they moved down a half block to Vine Street. With Kate still in tow, Hawk stepped up onto the curb and looked across at the Hollywood and Vine Diner. Kate followed his gaze toward the diner.

  “Another 1928—the address is 1928 right there on the building.” She smiled in satisfaction.

  Hawk nodded confirmation of her discovery. This building had been a stop in his original quest to find the key to the kingdom, but this time he saw nothing that seemed to help. The outline of Roger Rabbit on the window made him smile. The reference to Eddie Valiant right next to it connected the two main characters from the innovative film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? But this time there seemed to be no secrets here to discover. This couldn’t be the right 1928 reference.