“It’s a place to start,” Finn said. “We have to start somewhere.”
Wayne said, “They’re keeping you from solving the fable. You see that, don’t you? Distracting you.”
“And if we solve it?” Philby asked.
“When we solve it,” Finn said, looking right at Wayne.
“Rescue your friend. Solve the fable. Only then will we know what’s expected of you.”
Finn and Philby wouldn’t be entering Space Mountain through the front door. Wayne told them of a trap door that existed in the very top of the pointed dome roof. The roof hatch was used by Maintenance, and to his knowledge had never been locked.
If the boys could climb to the first level of the dome—about fifteen feet up—they’d reach a metal ladder that ran up the back of the dome to the pinnacle. From there, they could enter the ride’s interior.
At Wayne’s suggestion, the boys borrowed some ropes from the firehouse. They then snuck through shadows, carrying the heavy ropes over their shoulders, and reached the backside of the attraction.
Crouching in some bushes, looking at the steepness of the roof and the small metal ladder that led to the top, Finn said, “The Overtakers have got to assume we’ll come for Maybeck.”
“But to them we’re kids, don’t forget.”
“They’ll have patrols. Cameras, maybe.”
“So when we do this, we do it quickly.”
The roof was shaped something like a magician’s hat, with a wide brim and a conical peaked crown. There were antennae on top.
Philby proved his climbing skills by tossing one of the ropes over a metal railing on the brim part of the roof. He tied it off. “We’re set,” he announced, waving Finn over.
Finn, who was not big on heights, shinnied up the rope. In short order he reached the brim of the roof. He threw a leg over and pulled himself up.
Philby followed silently and without incident.
They kept away from the edge of the roof, where they might be spotted, as Philby pulled up the rope and stashed it out of sight. Quickly they ascended the white metal ladder that ran to the peak. Attached to the roof, it ran at the same steep angle as the cone.
They reached the top, and sure enough, there was a metal trap door, exactly as Wayne had described it.
Finn reached for the handle and pulled. It lifted open. He peered down into a black square, completely void of light.
“Who’s going first?” Philby asked, his voice breaking.
Finn led the way down the metal ladder. Philby followed and they descended silenty. After a moment, Finn’s eyesight began to adjust. They were way up inside the pointy-hat part of the domed ceiling, a gigantic space that contained the entire Space Mountain roller coaster track. He made out a few red exit signs, but they were not bright enough to see by.
The track was a tangle of metal fringed by catwalks and supported by towering I-beams and steel columns. Finn felt as if he were inside a complicated clock. They reached a catwalk—a path that led along the roller coaster track, with a metal mesh floor—and followed it to a set of metal stairs leading down. This connected to another catwalk. Suddenly it felt as if they’d entered a maze.
“This is crazy,” Philby whispered. “The place is huge. Maybeck could be anywhere.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Finn said. “Agreed, it’s huge, but look around. Where are you going to hide him?” Now that his eyes had fully adjusted, he could make out the size and scope of the complicated track. But it was all exposed and open—not a good place to hide someone.
“Hey!” Finn said, holding out his hand. Seeing his hand.
“Yeah,” Philby said, “I know.” But he moved his own arm around to show Finn that the metal broke up the imaging. His arm appeared to be in pieces, separated by black stripes. The DHI projection in here was spotty at best.
“You take that side,” he instructed Philby. “We’ll meet in the middle over there.” He pointed out a low spot in the ride where the track turned sharply left.
“If something goes wrong,” Philby cautioned, “we get out of here and meet at the apartment.”
“Got it.”
Finn descended yet another ladder and then followed a catwalk toward one of the exit signs, using it as a beacon. The catwalks reminded him of submarine movies.
If he were hiding someone, Finn thought, he’d stash his hostage close to where guests made the most noise—in a place where any shouts for help would likely go unheard. Finn searched the track overhead for just such a spot. Then he leaned over the rail of the catwalk and looked below. Not far below him, and slightly to his left, he noticed an indistinct dark shape that, as he approached, he realized was geometric: a large rectangle. Now he recognized it as a booth or storage room. Like the catwalks, its walls were of heavy wire mesh. Finn climbed over the rail, lowered himself and dropped to a catwalk below. He reached out and touched the wire mesh—it was covered in a greasy dust that stuck to his fingers. It looked like a large garden shed, about six feet tall, ten feet deep, and fifteen feet long.