Read The Key To the Kingdom Online
Authors: Jeff Dixon
The Key To the Kingdom (25 page)
“So you aren’t going to do anything?”
“Well, not this minute. I don’t have anything to do.”
Silence hung for a moment. “All right, then, if you’re sure you’re going to stay out of trouble.” She hesitated again. “Call me if you change your mind, something happens, or you figure anything out.”
“I will.” He didn’t know if he was telling her the truth. It bothered him; lying was not something he did as a habit. In this case he decided it was best if she operated on a need-to-know basis. “Thanks again for helping me. I
will
call you later.”
The call ended and Hawk again pondered the mysterious Kiran Roberts. It had been a long time since he’d met anyone who intrigued him as much as she did. At the same time there was that nagging sense that the timing of her walking into his life was not random. Still, she had done exactly the same thing he had. The more they had found and the more she knew, the more curious she became. Her knowledge and her position in the company, along with his Pal Mickey, had been his most valuable resource on this chase for the unknown.
Hawk’s phone came to life again. This time the display read Shep.
“How did I do, boss?” Shep’s voice rang with enthusiasm.
“Great.” Hawk laughed aloud, remembering his last look at Shep grabbing Reginald in a bear hug. “Looked to me like you were a professional wrestler.”
“You should have seen the look on his face when I called him Uncle Reggie.”
“I’ll bet.” Hawk smirked. “Brilliant thinking.”
“He informed me in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t anybody’s uncle and I was sadly mistaken. Apparently he’s an only child, so no nieces or nephews.” Shep was snickering. “But I did hear him radio someone telling them that he had to cover the Magic Kingdom monorail station.”
“We saw some added security,” Hawk told Shep. “We weren’t sure if they were waiting for us.”
“They could have been your welcoming committee. I take it that since we’re talking, you managed to get away.”
“Uh-huh. I’m out at the boat docks at the Contemporary waiting to hear from Jonathan.”
“I’ll head that way.”
Looking up, Hawk saw Juliette coming down the sidewalk heading toward him. She waved as she approached, and then his cell phone rang again.
The name on the display was Farren Rales.
“ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER IT?”
Juliette asked.
Hawk opened the phone “Hello, this is Hawk.”
Silence.
“Hello.” He tried again.
Silence.
Pulling the phone away from his ear he saw it was dead.
“What happened?” Juliette looked intently at it.
“It died. I haven’t had a chance to charge it.”
“So you missed a call from Farren because you had a dead battery?” She reached into her purse passed her phone to Hawk. “Here, call him on mine.”
“I would.” Hawk slumped. “I don’t know his number. It’s stored in my phone.”
“Which of course you can’t get to, because your phone is dead.”
“Right.”
As if on cue Juliette’s phone rang. It was Jonathan. She answered and Hawk eavesdropped as she got the details on where he was and what was happening. In short order they were on their way to the room Jonathan had secured. Soon they were all gathered in Jonathan Carlson’s suite, pulling chairs close to the television. Juliette fished her phone charger out of her purse. While she finished hooking up Hawk’s phone, he slid the
Old Yeller
DVD into the player. The usual fanfare loaded with logos filled the screen and the Old Yeller interface offered them a selection of choices. All four stared at the screen in contemplative silence, formulating which choice might be the best. Shep scrolled through the choices offered on the screen and each one changed color slightly as it was highlighted. Finally the BONUS FEATURES changed colors.
“Try that one!” Jonathan instructed.
The screen paused, faded, and then another series of menu selections appeared as the bonus features were presented. The film was an older film created long before the invention of digital video. Therefore the extras that are so prominent on more recent film releases were not available on this particular disc. The last bonus feature listed read A
Conversation with Walt
.
“What do you think?” Juliette looked toward Hawk.
“A conversation with Walt
is as good as anything else.” He didn’t hold a great deal of expectation.
Shep highlighted the feature and pressed the enter key on the remote. Once again the menu screen faded and the television screen momentarily went to black. The emptiness was replaced by a brilliant flash of color and the cartoon image of Tinker Bell flying in a circle around the screen. She smiled and touched an animated wand to the center of the screen, and a dazzling splash of shimmering pixie dust exploded across the screen, opening into another image. This one looked familiar. It was Walt Disney’s office, or at least the way it had been created as a set piece for the
Wonderful World of Color
television series. The series had aired from 1961 through 1969, allowing Walt to enter the homes of millions of viewers each week to be both the host and emcee of whatever wonderful adventure he had chosen to make come to life that week. It was this on-screen persona that had given Walt the familiarity so many felt comfortable with. Viewers felt like they knew him, could trust him, and he was a friend they looked forward to spending an hour with each week.
The four glanced at one another as the image of the empty office remained on the screen. Finally the sound of footsteps was heard coming from the speakers and Walt Disney himself walked into the image and smiled toward the camera.
“Well hello there.” Walt spoke toward the camera in that familiar friendly voice, resurrecting memories of childhood within Hawk. Jonathan and Juliette had nostalgic looks on their faces. Shep was too young to have watched the Walt Disney-hosted shows; his fond memories would be connected to what he had seen on DVD or archived specials. “Sorry I’m late, I have been very busy, you know, working here at the Studio, keeping up with all that is happening at Disneyland, and working on our Florida project. These are exciting days to say the least.” Obviously this had been filmed a short time before Walt’s death. He looked to be in his sixties and his eyes twinkled above that familiar mustache. He wore a gray suit and white shirt, highlighted by a dark tie adorned with a golden tie clip with three initials: STR. He looked just like the classic images of him that graced the pages of books and the displays in theme parks, and most importantly the images blazed into the memories of children from the past. He continued, “I don’t know who you are, but I wanted to take a moment to meet you. I wish I could see you in person, but since you are watching me like this, that just isn’t possible now, is it?”
Hawk’s eyebrows rose slightly. Juliette tilted her head. Jonathan leaned forward in his seat. Shep was the only one who spoke. “That sounded like he was talking directly to us!”
“Shhhh!” The other three replied simultaneously, keeping their eyes riveted to the screen.
“I guess I have always been a dreamer. Along the way I have been fortunate enough to have a lot of success. Oh, there have been failures, for sure, but I think the failures taught me some valuable lessons about how not to make the same mistakes the next time I tried to do something.” Walt lowered his head and looked down for a moment, then returned his gaze to the viewer through the camera. “I’ve seen a lot of my dreams come to life, but mind you, I haven’t done it all alone. I try to surround myself with great people, and together we make magic come to life. The one thing I want you to know is that no matter what we are working on, I am never afraid we won’t pull it off. It sometimes takes a lot more work and imagination that I thought it would, but we always seem to make it. I suppose most people know that when we run into a problem, I try to find the best person to solve it.” Walt sat back against the front of his desk and ran his hand along his tie, slowly straightening it. “Usually I head straight to Roy; that’s my brother. I expect he will tell me we can’t afford to do whatever I am trying to get done. But eventually I convince him, and he figures out how to get us the funding we need to make it happen. We’ve done a lot of things together, and . . . um . . . he is always watching over me, trying to take care of me, keeping us safe. Most people don’t realize it, but going straight to Roy has kept me on track. You see, we’ve been partners in this thing from the very beginning.”
Walt grew silent for a moment. As they watched him on the screen it appeared he was lost in a memory. His face took on a reflective demeanor and it was now even more apparent that this broadcast recording was a unique rarity. It was an unscripted dialogue that Walt was creating as he spoke it. The gaze of the legend on the screen looked back through the camera lens.
“I would imagine you are wondering what all this rambling has to do with you. I know I would be.” Walt chuckled. “Like I told you, I have seen a lot of dreams come to life. I have learned some tough lessons along the way, and one of them is how important it is to protect and take care of your dreams. There have been a few people I could really trust to keep the magic we have made alive. That is why I am talking with you now. I’ll bet you are wondering about this.” Walt rose up from leaning on the desk, reached into his inside suit pocket, and pulled out a key, the very same key that Hawk had in his pocket now. Silent gasps rippled through the group of four gathered around the screen. This was the key that had opened some of the most unbelievable locks in the most unlikely of places. Holding the key in front of him toward the camera, Walt glanced at it then looked back toward the camera and ultimately the viewer once more. “This is what I call the key to the kingdom. You already know that, don’t you? Of course you do, because this is the very same key that you have now. The fact that you have it means that you can be trusted to do the right thing for me. It means that you can be counted on to do whatever it takes to keep some of the dreams and plans that I have made alive. It also means I am not able to be with you or able to take care of things myself.” Walt smiled a crooked smile as if admitting what he never wanted to admit. In that smile he acknowledged he had run out of time to live before he ran out of dreams. “I don’t know who you are, but I do know that I would like you. And I am counting on you. The moment you were given this key, you really were given the key to the kingdom. What you do with it will affect the future of everything I have built and created. Since I don’t know who you are or where you are, let me tell you what I do know. You are now holding on to the key that will unlock the future. So, my friend, now you are my partner. Be extremely careful and very wise. I am counting on you. I know you won’t let me down.”
Walt slowly replaced the key in his pocket and began to walk out of the camera shot. As he arrived at the edge of the filming area it dawned on Hawk that at no time during this film had the camera moved. There had been no zooming, panning, or any indication at all that there was someone operating the camera. Apparently it had just been turned on. This allotted for the extended time of the view of the empty office before Walt Disney had walked into the shot. Walt himself had turned on the camera. He was alone on this set, filming a very private and personal message to be seen by an unknown friend from the future. The friend had turned out to be a stunned Grayson Hawkes. Walt stopped before walking out of the shot and turned once again toward the camera.
“Thanks,” Walt said with a wink and a smile. He then walked out of the shot. The moments that followed were filled with an empty office as before, and then the picture went dark. Hawk opened his mouth to voice his astonishment at this message from Walt Disney himself, but suddenly the picture faded from darkness into another scene. The blackness dissolved into the familiar face of Farren Rales. Hair disheveled, body enveloped in a comfortable cardigan, and beaming with a wide smile, he sat behind a desk that looked strangely familiar to the preacher.
