Disney at Dawn

i would suggest we look for another access point.

philitup: there’s no time, besides, the cables are right here.

[ ]: have you considered the cables themselves may be part of a trap?

Philby had not given it any thought. The data flow had convinced him he was following the right cables. If it was a trap, then Maybeck and Willa were also walking right into it.

[ ]: please…another door, it’s safer for all of us.

Philby hesitated, incredibly tempted to follow the cables. But Wayne had gotten him this far. He had to trust him. He backed his avatar out of the entrance, took his hands off the controls, and texted a message to Maybeck’s DS

philitup: if u can get backstage @ dino institute, u r looking 4 a rack of servers, there will b thick blue or gray ethernet cables clipped into the back of each server, there may be a hub—a box with flashing lights.

As his avatar stepped out of the structure, the schematics returned to two dimensions. He studied the full schematics. The biggest backstage areas were to the right.

philitup: workshops are @ end of ride, must destroy server.

He waited to make sure Maybeck had received the messages.

mybest: got it. . i hope.

58

THE APES AND MONKEYS ENCIRCLED FINN, closing around him like a net. How simple to cross over briefly into his DHI and just walk right through that hairy line, but it was not to be: he was terrified. He wasn’t going to cross over on his own.

He spun, looking for the weak link in the circle. He considered charging some of the smaller monkeys, breaking the line there and ru

He caught sight of Jez as she reached Charlene. Excitedly, the two girls worked it out to where Charlene was leaning her back against the wall, and the nimble Jez now climbed up the stilts—using them as a ladder—toward Charlene’s waiting hand. Fi

“Over here!” a high-pitched voice called out.

Fi

Where had she come from? Fi

Disney Security would be on them in minutes. They had to get Jez—and themselves—out before they were either eaten by the tigers or caught by Security.

The other two cats arrived at the same time. They, too, began to circle, along with the tiger that escaped the hatch—a wider circle than the monkeys, one that included Amanda.

The escaped tiger still confused Fi

Only the prowling tigress that had emerged from the shadows remained on her own, majestically moving with long, confident strides, restlessly back and forth. She seemed to be agitated, studying the commotion in her yard, calculating a strike.

Several of the monkeys spun around, distracted by Amanda, and broke their chain. Fi

The two charging tigers turned at the last minute, now aiming for Amanda.

Fi

The leaping tiger flew through the air and landed with a roll.

The slinking tigress sat back on her haunches and sprang for the charging tiger. It looked as if the tigress were trying to defend Amanda. The two tigers growled at the tigress and the three cats began to circle each other.

Ignored, Amanda lowered herself to the grass.

“The wall!” Fi

Amanda sprinted toward Charlene.

Fi

Looking over the heads of the monkeys, Fi

Charlene let out a squeal as Amanda climbed up her stilts; her hand had become caught between a stilt and the wall.

With that squeal, all three cats turned. One minute fighting each other; the next, acting like curious cats. They clearly saw the monkeys, then Fi

They charged.

Fi

This is it, he thought. It was too late to turn and run. Too late to escape.

The cats were lightning fast. They seemed to pull the earth, and Fi

Fi

The two smaller tigers leaped into the air when just five yards away, perfectly calculating the distance. They would land on Fi

Fi

59

PHILBY’S AND WAYNE’S AVATARS HAD, only five minutes earlier, moved around the right wall of the Dino Institute, as it appeared on the virtual schematics.

philitup: if you helped create the place, how about a little hint of how to reach that room?

Near the south wall of the institute, the purple cables terminated. The blueprint showed a series of walls around them, but no door. So was the server in a closet? A workspace? The ceiling? The hiding place in the floor?

[ ]: computers came way after my time. I have no idea where that is.

philitup: none? are you sure? they don’t need much space, but it has to be a cool room, and they require a lot of cabling, so they would be over a tu