“I like the way you think, Clayton. Fine work.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Catch me that stowaway, and I’ll put in a good word for you with the people upstairs!”
“Trust me, he’s ours!”
WITH THE KEEPERS CONFINED to their staterooms because of Kingdom Keeper DHI activities onboard, Finn and Philby were victims of cabin fever—they took room service breakfast in the stateroom and were basically prisoners until noon, while their Disney hologram guides entertained passengers.
With the advent of the 2.0 upgrade, the Imagineers had rolled out a two-server system. Currently, a company- sanctioned Disney Host Interactive server projected the kids as guides and entertainers in version 1.6; a second, 2.0 cloud-based server was used to project the Keepers during missions. While the two might be able to operate over the same projectors simultaneously, it had never been tried. With their Disney DHIs out on deck, the kids could not be seen. Company policy forbade two of any Disney character to exist at the same time.
Finn opened the stateroom safe and removed the Imagineer journal. He sat on the bed; Philby leaned back on the couch, his laptop out, his feet up on the coffee table.
“When the lightning hit,” Finn said, “I was thrown down, and I ended up looking at the AquaDuck.”
“So?”
Finn ignored Philby’s rudeness. Philby was tired, as were all the Keepers. Maybeck’s condition and their inability to help had put them all in bad moods.
“The AquaDuck stairs, to be more specific.” Philby liked things exact, so that was how Finn served it up.
“Is this going somewhere?”
“The stairs in this drawing,” Finn said, referring to the journal, “are not stairs. They are steps. There are three of them: as in, three steps.”
Philby looked up from his computer. “Okay. I’m listening.”
“It was never about buried treasure in a cave. It was about a flower. A key flower, right?”
“Right.”
“This part of the journal is an owner’s manual.”
“To wake up Chernabog. We all agree that’s a big possibility.”
“The picture is saying: ‘There are three steps.’”
Philby set the laptop aside and joined Finn on the bed. He studied the artwork for a long moment, and then shook his head.
“It’s too simple.”
“This is Walt’s journal, don’t forget. For the Imagineers, before they were called that. Walt studied magic. If he discovered an ancient way to raise their gods, what would he do?”
“He’d make it simple, but difficult.”
“Three steps.”
“And you’re the reincarnation of Walt, I suppose?”
“That would be Wayne.”
They laughed. Philby reached out for the journal; as he did so, a folded piece of paper popped out of his pocket. Philby tried for it, but Finn’s arm moved with inhuman speed and seized it.
“What’s this?” Finn said.
“It’s… How did you grab that so fast?”
Finn ignored the question. “This is an e-mail from Amanda.”
“Yeah.”
“To you, or us?”
Philby didn’t answer.
“A Jess sketch.”
“Correct.”
Finn studied it. “A cave, looks like.” He turned it slightly; his eye found the date stamp at the top. “Hey! This was sent at 4 a.m. the morning before we docked in Aruba.”
Philby, being a redhead with a light, freckled complexion, had no chance of disguising a blush.
“She says it’s Charlene in the drawing. Again! That Charlene’s the target!” Finn said. Philby jutted out his chin. “Why didn’t we see this before we went cave hunting?”
“I didn’t think it was relevant.”
“Is that right? A drawing of a cave, with notes at the bottom about Charlene being hung by a rope. Not relevant?”
“Not a cave. More of a tunnel. We needed all of us.”
“What is it with you, anyway?” Finn said. “All the secrecy. The attitude. The lying!” He held up the e-mail as his evidence. “Charlene’s obviously their target!”
“Three steps,” Philby said. “I like it. Simple. Easy to interpret.”
“Don’t change the subject,” Finn said. “Explain the secrecy.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You have something going with Wayne. Something the rest of us aren’t included in.”
“You’re paranoid.”
“It has to do with 2.0,” Finn said. “What they have planned.”
Philby pursed his lips. “Storey said more than she should have. She does that sometimes.”