Storming the Kingdom (36 page)

CHAPTER FIFTY - NINE

Aftermath—
Post Storm—Day Three
3:00
P.M.

H
awk had lost a day of his life. The day after the storm and his confrontation on Tom Sawyer Island had left him exhausted. The week before that, sleep had come in irregular bursts. After facing down Kiran Roberts and the assassin, whose name he now knew to be Peter Breck, he had finally slowed down and fallen into a deep, deep sleep. The better part of the day had him tucked away in his apartment over the Fire Station as the Walt Disney World resort was reopened, and for the most part, business was going on as usual.

He walked down the hallway of the Celebration Community Church. He still felt tired, his emotions were raw, and the heaviness he carried was now evident in the stoop of his shoulders as he walked with Jonathan, Juliette, and Al Gann toward the conference room at the end of the hall. In the background, Hawk could hear the noise and movement of people leaving. He had just officiated the funeral of Kate Young. The casket had been taken out of the sanctuary and placed into a hearse, which had driven back to a local funeral home to ship her body back to her parents’ hometown. The interment would be in New York, and in a week, he would be flying up to conduct a graveside service for her family there.

Hawk had known the funeral would be a media event, as much of the activity of the previous week had been. The decision to allow cameras in the worship center had not been an easy one, but Kate had lived the better portion of her adult life in front of cameras, either making or covering news. Her life would be remembered by many that way, so the decision had been made to let them in. The church was full, and the people were still buzzing about the things that Hawk had said. He had been very open and transparent about his feelings in losing Kate and the manner in which she had died. He had made the statement that people often try to bargain with God and ask him to give them more time with those they love. Sometimes God answers that prayer and they get more time. Often they don’t.

He reminded people that when God doesn’t do what they want him to do, it is so important to not be angry, because God really does have a better plan and a better script for our lives. He told people that when God doesn’t give us what we like, we get mad, bitter, and sometimes decide that God isn’t really good and kind. Yet, when we ask God to give us more time with a loved one, it rarely is about the loved one, it is more about ourselves.

Hawk had confessed that he had argued with God and told God that he should have more time to spend with Kate. But God reminded Hawk that Kate was now with God, in his presence. If she had a choice, she would not come back because she was in the presence of her Savior, Jesus. So while he had been arguing that God had not been fair, or had not been good, or had not been kind…God had told him to be quiet and pay attention. God was being more than fair, more than good, and more than kind—because Kate was now with him. She was better than she had ever been. There was no more pain, no more struggling, and no more suffering. God had told Hawk to quit making it about himself and start honoring Kate.

The crowd had watched as Hawk wept. He told them it was hard to imagine a better version of Kate Young, because, well, she was spectacular already. But he couldn’t wait to meet the new, improved, and even more awesome version of Kate one day…the version God created her to be.

He shared that how we live our lives is important and that each day is a gift. That precious gift is not to be squandered by whining, griping, complaining, or holding on to hard feelings of hurt and anger.

He had said this while he was looking at his friend Shep.

If anyone had looked closely, they would have seen Hawk wink at Shep when he said it. Forgiveness had been given.

Hawk had closed with the powerful story of how Kate had met Jesus and decided to follow Him during a time she was being shot at covering a riot in Detroit. He had said bluntly that this time as shots were fired, she had no reason to panic, no reason to fear; her eternity was secure. He encouraged the crowd to live life forward as followers of Jesus. No excuses.

His open and straightforward message had connected with the crowd. Many had lingered to talk and to share their sympathy, and thankfully Jonathan had stepped in to get Hawk away from them before he was overwhelmed.

Now Hawk walked with his friends into the conference room. In a swirling moment of recognition, Hawk realized this was the room where he first met Kate. She had busted into a meeting to introduce herself. His world was turned upside down from that moment on.

Already inside was Sheriff Cal McManus, seated alone, waiting for them. He stood, and Hawk motioned for them to take seats. As they did, the clock ticked loudly on the wall; the silence lingered before McManus spoke.

“Nothing has changed, I’m sorry to say.” McManus cleared his throat. “We still haven’t found Kiran Roberts.”

“How can you not have found her?” Hawk asked. It was the same question he had asked the first day when the police had cleared Tom Sawyer Island. The dark-haired assassin had tried unsuccessfully to hide in the mine, but Kiran was nowhere to be found.

“We’re tracking down the leads you gave us about her mother, Nancy Alport. But we haven’t seen her for years. About the time the Reginald Cambridge was trying to hurt you, and she disappeared from the grid.” McManus leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “I think your theory is correct. She had been working with the group Cambridge put together to kill you, but she decided to splinter off and create her own plan. That put you in the position of having two groups trying to kill you instead of just one. Shep has been willing to help us in any way he could. Of course, the number he used to contact her is a dead end. There are just no traces of her…yet. We will find her.”

Hawk sighed and leaned back in his chair. This was not what he wanted to hear. He should have known better. Kiran always seemed to be able to survive. Even in stopping her, he had underestimated her…again.

“We still know nothing about a third Imagineer, except what you told us she said. There are no reports or details about any current or former Disney Imagineer being missing. We’ll keep looking, but she may have been bluffing to get you to comply with her wishes. Peter Breck, your assassin, is a mystery. The guy has no record, almost no traceable identity. However, he connected with Cambridge, and how he was recruited was very professional, very slick, very intricate. Time will unravel it. But you are safe from him. No worries there.”

“Thanks,” Hawk said reluctantly. It bothered him that there were so many loose ends still hanging out there, but there was nothing he could do about any of them.

“Now, what was this all about?” McManus asked Hawk. It was not the first time, and it would not be the last.

“Walt Disney and the secrets the man had.” Hawk was honest.

“What secrets?”

“If I told you, they wouldn’t be secret, would they?” Hawk smiled.

“Are they worth dying for?” McManus asked.

“They are now. Others have died so I could keep them, so I could protect them, and so I could discover them in the first place.” Hawk nodded. “So the secrets will be mine to keep now.”

“OK.” McManus sighed and got to his feet. He walked over and warmly hugged Hawk and his friends, and he exited the room.

Once the room was empty, silence returned. Juliette spoke first.

“So what happens now?”

“I’m leaving,” Hawk said. “For a while. I have some things I need to do.”

“Like what?” Jonathan asked.

“Things. I don’t know how long it will take. You guys can take care of things here until I get back. Right?”

“Yes, but where are you going?” Juliette had concern in her voice. She was worried about Hawk and how he was emotionally, no matter what he was showing on the outside; they had known him long enough to know he was hurting badly.

“Let’s see…we have theme parks in California, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and here. I think I have plenty of places to go. If you need me, all you have to do is call. I’ll check in, I promise.”

Hawk stood, and they all hugged one another. They shed a few more tears and watched, stunned, as Hawk left the room.

CHAPTER SIXTY

Aftermath—
Post Storm—Day Three
11:59
P.M.

Its discovery could turn the world upside down…all you have to do is go get it… in the same place it was found…and then you decide what happens next.

T
he clue had taken a few moments to figure out, but Hawk had known what it meant shortly after he had found it. He decided that, since Kiran had been misdirected by the receipt for the rock, it would be best to wait to finally pick up what Farren had hidden. Whatever was waiting for him had been the reason this entire mystery had been created.

The Magic Kingdom was closed for the day. The park was empty, and with the exception of a few waves and handshakes, Hawk had moved through the park easily with no distractions. He crawled along the infrastructure of Space Mountain. This highly detailed rocket ship roller coaster was where he would find the secret of Walt Disney given to him by Wernher von Braun. On this thrilling ride, the rocket car is pulled smoothly up the hill to the top of the building before being released with its riders into space. As they get ready to take off, they pass a launch control center that features two astronauts in a spacewalk working on the launch station. Their
world
was
upside down
, Hawk reasoned, and the discovery was made in space originally by von Braun,
where it had been found
, so all he had to do now was
go get it.
That was what he was here to do.

Carefully climbing below the two spacemen, he searched for what might hold the secret that had cost so many so much. On the back of the display, out of the sight line of those going up the hill, but easily spotted by those who would streak by as the ride progressed, he saw it—a small, circular opening on the workstation. The last item he had found on his quest he hadn’t mentioned to anyone, and he was the only one who knew what was hidden under the rock at the monument.

He took the ring he had found, lined it up, and pressed his fist forward. The ring locked inside, and he felt the mechanism give. It was another lock, opened by the ring. The bottom of the workstation opened up, and inside, tucked into a slot, was a thin, leather-bound notebook. Hawk reached in and took it. He flipped it open and saw the distinctive handwriting of Walt Disney. A red grease pencil had been used to make notes on the pages, and the pages themselves were handwritten by—Hawk assumed—Wernher von Braun. This was it, the discovery conspiracy theorists had wondered about for years. The secrets he found as his rocket did things no one ever anticipated it could do.

Hawk stepped down. He realized he would have to read this book, try to understand it, then decide what to do next. Pausing, he again did a quick review of the notebook as he stood inside the massive metal mountain. The information was technical, there were details, lots of details, and he flipped to the back page of the book. A personal note to Walt had been left by von Braun.

“Walt, what you have here are things I don’t think the world is ready for. I believe these discoveries can revolutionize what we know about energy, power, and in the right hands can be used to accomplish great good. In the wrong hands, they could be used to control others. So I am placing them in your hands. I am hoping you can figure out how we can best use them, when we can share them, and who we can trust.—Wernher”

Hawk assumed von Braun had given this to Walt when they traveled together in 1965. Walt died before he could ever do anything with the information but did manage to figure out how to keep it safe. Wernher had died in 1977 and never told anyone except Walt what he had discovered. And now, Hawk held those secrets in his hands, and it was up to him to decide what to do with them. He had already determined he would make the decision carefully, not recklessly.

He wanted time to do it right, so he had made the decision to go away for an extended period. He wanted to visit the rest of their theme parks, spend some time there, and eventually…decide what to do with Walt Disney’s secret.