“We’re waiting for the movie,” Finn added.
“And you’re not going to do anything about these threats?” Maybeck said, sitting back and crossing his legs. “Seriously?”
A vein in Bob’s neck was doing the Macarena.
“This is all going in an e-mail tonight,” Maybeck said. “Maybe five e-mails.”
“Are you expecting to turn your acts of vandalism into something I just excuse? Forgive?”
“We know you found the balloon, because you told us,” Philby said. “It wasn’t us.”
“Animator’s Palate was us, but in self-defense. I swear!” Finn said.
“Just now…maybe ten minutes ago…the Overtakers stole something that belongs to the company—”
“That was in our care,” Finn said, interrupting Maybeck.
“And we need it back,” added Philby.
Bob raised his hand. “Settle down, boys.” He studied their faces one by one. “What do you know about a stowaway? And I want the truth.”
“No idea where he’s hiding,” Philby said.
“But he’s the one who gutted the hyena,” Maybeck said.
“The what?”
“The…never mind.”
“You stole the protein-spill cart,” Bob said to Maybeck.
“Borrowed. Yes, sir.”
Bob nodded. “Takes nerve to be honest with me, boys. I respect that.”
“Thank you, sir,” Finn said.
“Not what you’ve done. Not the damage you’ve done.”
Finn started to object, but Philby stopped him, allowing Bob to talk.
“As for your safety, young man,” Bob said to Finn. “It is and shall remain my top priority, just as the safety of every soul aboard this ship is my priority. As for your…escapades, yes, I’m in contact with Wayne periodically. Am I a ‘believer’? No, I am not. But I’m willing to give you and him a certain amount of leeway, because when you work for this company as long as I have, well, you see things, hear things, that most people would think impossible. Also, because I do happen to believe in your cause: protecting Disney, keeping the experience ‘magical, not tragical,’ as Wayne once put it.” He grinned. “Wayne’s clearance is above mine. I’m not one to argue up the ladder.”
The man’s expression told them he’d revealed too much. He spoke quickly to cover himself.
“I’m going to give you a pass. We’ll scratch the slate clean. I’m also going to endeavor to keep a closer eye on you all and make sure you remain safe, since you’re of such importance to the company.”
Philby glared at Maybeck.
“But for this, I’m expecting a little quid pro quo. A little tit-for-tat. Meaning I want to hear from you before you go destroying my ship again. Do we understand each other?”
Finn spoke for the three of them. “Understood. But—”
“Do not tell me you have to have the last word, because that is not going to happen in my office, young man.”
Finn shut his mouth.
“Do you have something to say?”
“No, sir.”
“That’ll do.” Bob motioned to the door.
“WHAT DID YOU SEE when you touched? What, exactly?”
The girls were riding in the back of a different taxi, the Aventura park now safely behind them. Or so they hoped. Apparently the driver of the original taxi had been too freaked by what he’d seen to return. Their current driver was a Costa Rican woman about the same age as Charlene’s high school librarian.
“I told you guys, it’s more a feeling. Quick little pictures sometimes.” Mattie’s face twisted in disgust. “You would not believe what people are thinking most of the time. Some of it is disgusting. What I picked up from that guy was his being all uptight about a zipper on a duffel bag not closing. There was a boy inside.”
“Dillard,” Charlene said. For all the excitement she’d felt, the burden of failure owned her. Leading a mission wasn’t everything she’d thought it would be. They were going home empty-handed. No matter what they would say, Philby and Finn and Maybeck would view her as a failure. “Dillard was in the duffel bag.”
“Being put on a bus. I’m pretty sure it was our bus. The girl was all worried about the ship. And the guy, more jungle and rocks. He was desperate. Afraid. It was daytime. People spend a lot of time imagining what’s coming. Don’t ask me why, since they can’t change it. But they do.”
“Was Dillard there?”
“It’s not a movie. I read their feelings, Charlene. There’s a lot of love. Way too much hate. Hunger. Worry. Fear. Anger. People waste a lot of time.”