The Key To the Kingdom (24 page)

“We have a problem,” Hawk informed the team.

“What?” Juliette whispered as she immediately looked around the lobby.

“Don’t look, just listen.” Hawk kept his gaze from straying back to Reginald. “There’s a man watching us, a cast member named Reginald. He saw me when I found the DVD at the Studios. He wasn’t very friendly and I don’t think it’s a coincidence he’s here now.” Hawk risked a glance and saw Reginald now headed their way. Shep, completely unaware of what was transpiring, caught up with their group as Hawk hurriedly gave instructions.

“Jonathan, you go and get a room at the Contemporary. Call me when you get checked in. Juliette, you and I are going to head up the grand staircase and move to the monorail landing. Shep, I want you to make sure the gentleman with the bald head, dark glasses, crooked nose, and the name tag that says Reginald doesn’t stop us.”

They immediately moved into motion. Jonathan peeled off and headed toward the resort’s exit. Juliette and Hawk hustled toward the huge staircase that connected the entrance level to the next floor, where shops and the monorail station were located. Shep trailed a short distance behind them. By the time they rounded the first flight of steps and turned to head up the next flight, they’d broken into a run. Hawk glanced back as they crested the last step and charged to their left, headed for the exit doors past the shopping area.

Reginald broke into a casual trot, quickening his pace to a sprint as he avoided guests lost in the ambience of the Victorian resort. As he reached the top of the steps Shep grabbed him in a bear hug. Reginald’s momentum knocked both of the men off balance. With both arms pinned at his sides, he managed to get his legs back underneath him and kept both of them from falling.

The monorail doors were open and loading guests as Hawk and Juliette exited the automated sliding glass doors that opened up from the interior of the resort. Moving through the doors Hawk ventured a last glance behind them.

Shep was grinning, pounding Reginald on the back as though the two were long-lost friends. If they weren’t in such a rush to escape, Hawk would have stopped to watch the brilliant acting.

Heels clicking on the concrete, Juliette picked out an open car and veered off toward it. She reached back and clutched Hawk by the arm, pulling him toward the opening. They breathlessly hurtled into the empty passenger compartment of the monorail and sank back into the seat. It was only after they were seated that Hawk dared to look out the window to see if Reginald was still in pursuit. Seeing nothing, he looked over at Juliette seated next to him.

“You will never believe what I just saw!” Hawk said, trying to catch his breath.

The automated announcement warned, “Please stand clear of the doors,” as the doors silently slid to a close and the monorail streaked out of the station.

“Uncle Reggie!” Shep exclaimed. “Don’t you remember me?”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-S
EVEN

Day Six Morning

S
ILENTLY GLIDING ALONG THE TRACK,
the monorail accelerated sleekly from the Grand Floridian toward the Magic Kingdom. The short journey gave Juliette and Hawk very little time to plot their next move. Each stop of the monorail involved a turnover of guests. The doors would open for passengers to disembark, then the doors on the opposite side of the car opened allowing new riders to climb aboard. Although extremely efficient and fast, when you were being pursued the moments of waiting could be excruciatingly slow. Hawk realized that if Reginald wanted them stopped, he could radio ahead and the monorail would be delayed until security arrived.

“Who was that?” Juliette asked.

“Like I said, he was watching me at the Studios.”

“Security?”

“I assume so.”

“So what do we do?”

“If he’s security and radios ahead, they’ll hold the monorail and we won’t make it to the Contemporary.”

The monorail they had managed to escape on was designated to make the resort loop around the Seven Seas Lagoon. The next stop along the rails would be the Magic Kingdom, then the Contemporary, the Ticket and Transportation Center, followed by the Polynesian Resort, and then once again at the Grand Floridian. The system was designed to get guests to their resort locations and allow them to navigate all of the Magic Kingdom Resort areas connected to the monorail line. There was a second monorail line running parallel to the first, making the same circle around the resort. The other track was the express track transporting guests nonstop between the Ticket and Transportation Center and the Magic Kingdom entrance. The express monorail ran in the opposite direction of the resort loop, giving guests the chance to see another monorail zipping past them going the other way.

As these monorails slid past there was just a few feet of clearance between them. Hawk was thinking about what to do next as a monorail passed going the other direction.

“We have to get off,” he softly stated.

“And then?”

“Not sure, let’s do one thing at a time.”

The monorail slowed and pulled into the station in front of the Magic Kingdom. A ding signaled the opening of the door. As soon as the door slid open Juliette got up to exit as Hawk had said. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back toward the seat.

“Wait!”

“I thought you said we needed to get off.” She frowned.

“We do, but casually look out there.” As he pointed, Juliette turned her head to the massive unloading area that dumped into a ramp carrying people toward the security checkpoints in front of the main entrance. “Have you ever seen that many security guards standing on the platform?”

She looked closer. “I count at least five.” This was unusual because the security checkpoints were waiting for all of the guests at the level below.

Another ding signaled the opening of the opposite side door so passengers could climb aboard. These doors slid open and passengers began to make their way into the car. Hawk jumped to his feet and signaled for Juliette to follow. They moved against the flow of people surging aboard. Unusual movements in crowd flow always catch the attention of cast members and theirs was no exception. A cast member helping to load passengers headed to intercept them to see what was happening. The cast member smiled as she moved in front of the pair.

“Everything all right, Grayson?” The cast member smiled a friendly smile.

“Just great, Ashley, we’re just getting a feel for how things are working.” Hawk traded smile for smile, without hesitating.

Juliette turned toward Hawk with a puzzled look. Then her gaze slipped to the Imagineer’s name badge he’d clipped to his chest. This, which had enabled the cast member to call him by name and Hawk to return the courtesy had also given them an official pass for going the wrong way.

“Take care,” Ashley offered as she waved them on.

“You too, Ashley.” Hawk nodded as they moved down the curved ramp. Trying to look nonchalant, they walked shoulder to shoulder as they searched for any possible obstructions to their escape.

“I didn’t see you put the badge on,” Juliette whispered in his direction.

It had been a last minute impulse as he and Juliette surveyed the security guards on the landing platform. His hunch was that while Reginald might have had time to get security to be there to meet them at the exit, they wouldn’t be looking for them to exit through the entrance. He also knew that Reginald did not have time to launch an all-out effort to look for them, since it had probably taken him a few moments to get out of Shep’s bear hug.

“We were lucky.”

“Never hurts to have a little luck,” she responded.

The pair moved to the bottom of the ramp and began to mingle into the movement of people heading toward the next stop of their vacations. To their right was the boat-docking area where passengers could travel in a variety of different directions. Ahead of them in the distance they could see the Contemporary Resort; above them the monorail they had been riding on passed over headed in that direction.

“Are we going to walk?” Juliette, like Hawk, was familiar with the resorts, transportation options, shortcuts, and how it all worked. Her family often relaxed and took advantage of all the entertainment choices Disney World offered. She knew it was just a short walk to the Contemporary along the pathway below the monorail line.

“Let’s take a bus.” Hawk moved toward the massive bus loading zone. “Buses don’t make the short jump to the Contemporary, so we can go to Wilderness Lodge and make the connection there.”

Finding the right bus was easy and in moments they were waiting in line for the bus to arrive. Hawk had removed the employee name badge, and they tried to blend in with other guests, occasionally risking a look for arriving security.

The bus arrived and the pressure of the brakes brought it to a halt. The click of the door being opened invited them to enter. They stepped on board and shuffled to the back. Collapsing into their plastic seats they looked toward each other and sighed.

“After we get to the Contemporary we can go around the back of the hotel to the boat docks. We can hang out there until we hear from Jonathan. That way, we don’t get anywhere near the monorail stations and we aren’t even in the hotel until we know exactly where we are going.” Hawk unfolded his rapidly created plan as the bus began to move.

Juliette nodded. “I know you said Reginald saw you at the Studios, but why exactly would he be chasing you?”

“Not sure. Maybe I just look suspicious?”

“Maybe, but he would have tossed you yesterday if he thought you were up to something.”

Hawk wondered if it was just coincidence that Reginald had been in the Grand Floridian. If it was coincidence, then his hurried escape had cemented his guilt in Reginald’s mind. He needed to stay calm and not panic. If he was going to solve this puzzle, he couldn’t afford to make mistakes. The ride was short and they quickly arrived. Juliette hesitated as Hawk began to move off to go around the building.

“Hawk, I’m going to have to run inside and find a restroom.”

“You should have taken care of that before we were being chased,” he jokingly scolded.

“You’re
the one being chased. I’m just curious enough to help my pastor figure out why before he gets tossed in jail. I’ll meet you by the boat docks.”

As they went their separate ways, Hawk heard his cell phone ring. The display read Kiran. She must have captured his cell phone number when he called her last night. He opened the phone.

“Have you gotten in any trouble yet today?” Her tone was playful and he wondered if somehow she knew about his escapades today.

She couldn’t know. There would be no way.

“No, no trouble today . . . yet! What about you? Been helping anyone break any rules today?”

“Not yet, but it’s early.” She chuckled. “Someone kept me out too late last night. I decided to sleep in this morning. I have to work in a little while.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I was out late last night too. But I managed to get to work early today.”

“Awww,” she feigned sympathy. “So seriously, what trouble do I have to get you out of today?”

“None, I hope.”

“Really? Pardon me if somehow I don’t believe you.”

“I haven’t figured out what to do next,” he told her truthfully. “I don’t have a clue or a direction to go any further.”