Disney at Dawn

“Agreed,” said Fi

“A tattoo?” Maybeck quipped in complaint. “What about Chernabog? What about the two apes we left spi

“If it’s in the diary,” Philby said, “then it’s part of the puzzle she left us. That makes it significant. Amanda’s right: we have to pursue it.”

“Says the one who just got a couple hours’ sleep,” Maybeck complained.

“I know this may sound foolish,” Amanda said, apologizing to Maybeck, “but I feel it’s important. I really do. I wouldn’t have called you out here otherwise. I know how hard you’re all working to help Jez. How much risk you’re taking. I can’t tell you how I appreciate it. I have no right to ask you to do anything more.”

“That’s true,” Maybeck said.

“Shut up,” said Willa.

“I’m agreeing with her.”

“You’re being a nimrod, and you know it,” Willa protested.

“A tattoo!” Maybeck shouted, a little loudly.

“Everything in the diary has proved out,” Fi

“Change Rob,” Willa said. She reviewed Fi

“And that too,” Fi

“The apes,” Philby added.

“And now the tattoo,” Maybeck mumbled. “Okay. I get it. So what now?”

“I’m going back there,” Fi

“And I’m going with you,” Amanda stated, leaving no room for argument.

“I can take over the viewing station,” Philby offered eagerly.

“Willa and I will stand guard,” said Maybeck. “Our DSs at the ready.”

“What’s the code word if there’s a problem?” Fi

“Give it a rest, Whitman.”

“Chernabog,” said Philby.

All eyes fell on him.

“At least that way we’ll all understand it’s serious,” Philby said.

48

FINN SWIPED HIS ID in the card reader. A small light changed to green. An even smaller light went off in his brain: what if the Overtakers had figured out the kids were using fake IDs and were now tracking them through the use of their cards? He shook it off.

He tried the doorknob, and the door opened. He and Amanda stepped through, leaving the sounds of activities behind them.

The hallway he found himself in reminded Fi

He knew that no matter how they tried, he and Amanda still looked like kids. Tired, even exhausted, kids—but kids nonetheless. There was no getting around it. And he had no idea if unaccompanied kids his age were allowed backstage. With this in mind, he signaled to Amanda to hurry, and they moved down the hallway with an eye out for someplace to hide. Thankfully, most of the doors had glass panels, allowing them to see inside. They passed an examination room, and another, filled with medical equipment. There was one door marked PRIVATE, and another with stickers and cartoon clippings taped to it. It was this door Fi

“I’m terrified,” Amanda said.

“Me too,” Fi

“We have no idea what we’re looking for.”

“No. But she must have dreamed about that tattoo. That has to mean something.”

“But what?”

“The tattoos are given out to kids who take the private tours. Maybe there’s something on the tour we’re supposed to see?”

Amanda’s blue eyes brightened. “That’s got to be it! You’re a genius.”

Fi

There was noise in the hallway, and both of them instinctively looked for a place to hide. But the employee lounge offered them nothing: a few lockers, all padlocked.

A text message appeared on both their DSs

angelface13: the green one just left the ice palace.

“Maleficent just left the ice truck,” Fi

“Yeah…I saw that. But what’s it mean?”

“No idea. But it can’t be good.” Amanda looked terrified. “Okay, here’s the thing: try to look like you belong here,” he advised, bracing himself for whoever was out there to come through the door.

Instead, he saw a woman dressed in green nursing scrubs leading two adults and a string of four or five kids down the hallway. A tour!

“I’ve got an idea,” Fi

A moment later, he and Amanda were in the hallway trailing only a few feet behind the family. For anyone seeing them they would appear to be a group. The nurse, busy with her explanations, a memorized tour she probably did too often, seemed to pay little attention to those at the back of the pack.

The guide pointed out the purpose of several of the rooms, explaining in some detail about the care and attention lavished on the animals in the Park. This facility was so advanced it was used not only for Disney-owned animals, but for all sorts of wild animals rescued throughout the state. Fi

On the wall was a corkboard. Pi

“The tattoo!” Amanda said.

She was right: the similarity of the subjects was unmistakable. A photo of a gorilla with a broken leg and a tattoo sketch of the same thing.

“But how does it help us?”

“I don’t know,” Amanda said, “but we’re in the right place.”

Fi

And then he saw them: an M near the bottom, and a C near the top.

For a moment his breath caught; it felt as if a bone were stuck in his throat. His hands were moving before he knew exactly what he was doing. He pulled the thumbtacks from the four corners of the satellite photo.

“How stupid could we be?” he muttered.

“Fi

“Hey!” came a man’s voice. “You can’t do that! Put that back!”

Fi

“Fi

“They’re both here: the M she wrote in her diary, and ‘Under the Sea’!” Fi

The man picked up his pace, heading toward them. “Hey there!” he called out.

“It wasn’t ‘Under the S-e-a,'” Fi

“Oh…my…gosh!” Amanda squealed with excitement. “You found her!”