“Missed the crossover,” she said.
“I’m assuming.”
“But how do we find the OT server if he’s not monitoring the network data flow?” Willa said.
“We need to get back down there and get our phones. Without that guy seeing us.”
“I totally spaced that part.”
“We need the phones.”
“So…what now?”
“We think like an Overtaker.”
“Meaning?”
“Tia Dalma’s somewhere on board this ship,” Finn said. “Wherever they’re hiding her, you can bet it’s as far away from where they’re hiding Chernabog as possible. So where is that?”
“Somewhere at the stern,” she said. Then, “Is this about your mother?”
“We were at Typhoon Lagoon. The theme is beach and water and island and shipwrecked boats and—”
“—Creole witch doctors fit in with that. Yeah, I can see that,” she said. “It’s Tia Dalma.”
He thought back to his spying on the voodoo lady’s meeting with Jafar and the crew members, about her demand that the crew members be brought to her. He wondered how many characters could stand up to Maleficent in this way.
The elevator arrived and they disembarked, mindful of the number of security cameras throughout the ship. Without Philby crossed over, their situation had changed. Security could easily be monitoring two kids wandering the ship in the middle of the night.
“So…what now?” she said.
“The kitchens are busy all the time,” he said. “Preparing all the meals. Baking. Room service.”
“You’re hungry? Seriously?”
“Not a perfect place to hide, but a nice cool place for a computer server.”
“And a certain fairy who likes the cold.”
* * *
Storey didn’t wear a watch, had no idea of the exact time. But she didn’t need a watch to know that if she was on this side of the locked door, she wasn’t where she needed to be.
She absolutely had to get inside the studio and attempt to cross over Philby, to warn them about the trap. She had to be there to return Finn and Willa if they got in trouble.
She saw her Wave Phone through the glass—her chance to warn them…
If she failed to get inside the studio and return Finn and Willa when they requested, there’d be two fewer Keepers by morning.
And she’d be responsible.
* * *
Maybeck used the second of the four Cast Member ID cards Wayne had given him to collect his steward’s uniform. Wearing the brown pants and shirt of a stateroom steward over his DHI outfit, he cleaned the wood paneling running the forward length of the starboard companionway on Deck 3, from which he could keep an eye on the door leading to the backstage access. Granted, there were any number of ways a Cast Member could access the Walt Disney Theatre. But this door was the most convenient to the area beneath the stage and therefore the one to watch.
Now, for the third time in the past hour, two Cast Members came and went through the backstage door, only for two others to leave a few minutes later.
Shift changes, Maybeck thought. Or repairmen to fix the crate that had broken up, spilling out the dreaded Chernabog. Or maybe couriers delivering orders from Maleficent. Maybe, he thought, he could follow one of these pairs to the green fairy’s lair. Maybe he could bust this thing wide open all by himself. He’d have to leave his post for a few minutes, during which time they wouldn’t know who came and who went. It would be a risk, certainly, but one worth taking.
Being a Kingdom Keeper required flexibility. Creativity and ingenuity. Being a team player was important, to be sure. But for Maybeck, being the hero was more important.
And he sensed a chance to be the hero.
* * *
As holograms Finn and Willa entered one of the unoccupied staterooms in order to get away from the prying eyes of any companionway security cameras. From there it was a matter of following Philby’s description of his having moved through the floor to the deck below. Though in their case, the floor they dropped through belonged to a balcony and delivered them to the balcony below. And then the balcony below that. And finally to Deck 4 and the walking track and overhead lifeboats that wrapped the ship’s entire perimeter.
They landed holding hands. Looking down the length of the vacant exterior deck, Finn felt a small shiver of familiarity. He couldn’t immediately place it, but he’d been here before. With Willa. So much was the same. But not everything.
“The phones,” she said, breaking into his thoughts and robbing him of the moment.
“Yes,” he said.
“Philby.”
“I know.” Finn screwed up his courage to ask. “So what’s up with you and Philby?”