Ridley Pearson - Power Play

But his job was to keep the trash system down. He could stop it again, hide amid the boxes, and see what happened.

He hit STOP.

As Philby and Finn left Data Operations, Philby noticed that the overhead rumble stopped.

“Maybeck,” he said.

“About time!” Finn said.

The two boys hurried back and reentered the trash system. They moved incredibly quickly this time, knowing exactly where they were going. Reaching the vertical pipe through which they’d entered, Philby knocked three times. The lid opened and Maybeck reached down a hand.

“Hurry!” he said into the dark.

He helped Philby up, then Finn.

“Oh, man!” Maybeck said. “You guys reek like diaper poo.”

“Nice to see you, too,” Finn said.

Minutes later, they were attracting unwanted attention on their way out. But thankfully, the state of their smell kept the curious at bay. They cut a wide swath as they walked out of the employee gate at the front of the Park.

Finn caught sight of the time and called his mother. The arrangement had been for them to be picked up in Downtown Disney, but they were already late. He was going to have to risk the truth, or something close to it.

“Good grief!” she said as they piled into the car, Maybeck riding shotgun, Finn and Philby relegated to the back. “You two look disgusting.”

“We went Dumpster diving,” Finn said.

“You what?!”

“I threw my wallet away by accident,” Philby said. “It was on this food tray, and I just dumped it in there by mistake, and by the time I realized it they’d already emptied the trash-”

“So they went Dumpster diving,” Maybeck said.

“And we found it,” Finn said.

“In the Magic Kingdom,” she said. “What happened to Downtown Disney?”

“Our plans changed.”

“You aren’t allowed in the Magic Kingdom without permission.” His mom didn’t miss much.

“Something came up,” Finn said.

An ominous silence overcame the car’s interior. His mother was clearly considering how far to push her son with the other boys in the car. “Well, at least it has a happy ending,” she said, letting Finn off the hook. For now.

She rolled down the window. “Can I just say, you stink?” She burst out laughing, as did the boys, though their laughter was faked.

Then she went through the typical mom stuff: “Did you have a good time?” “Did you see any friends?” “How much money did you spend?” It was like she was reading from the same script anytime Finn did anything with his friends.

“Willa’s mother called.” She dropped it like a bomb and checked the rearview mirror for impact. The thing about his mother: she could lay little traps that he would fall into before he knew it.

“She said you knew what it was about,” his mother continued.

“Yeah. Okay, thanks,” Finn said.

“So,” she said, addressing Maybeck, “now you can tell me the real reason you were in the Magic Kingdom. And if you lie, I’ll know it. And I won’t be happy.”

She met eyes-mother eyes-with Finn in the rearview mirror.

“It’s probably nothing you want to hear about,” Maybeck said.

“Try me.”

Maybeck hesitated.

“Mom,” Finn said.

“We had an understanding, correct?” his mother said.

Philby knew that of all the parents, Mrs. Whitman had a love of all things Disney, and was maybe the only parent to support their efforts. He said, “The Overtakers crossed over Willa and she’s stuck in the Syndrome.”

“That’s why her mom called,” Finn said, joining in on the explanation. It wouldn’t look good if Philby was the only one telling the truth.

“They tricked us and phished for my password-a back door to the DHI server-and they got it. They blocked us out and I couldn’t Return Willa.”

“Oh, my…And tonight?” she asked. There she was, staring down Finn in the rearview mirror again.

“The Utilidor,” Finn said.

“The server room,” Philby said. “We had to gain access to the server. We set up a trap and the maintenance people fell into it. I trapped the master password, which allowed me to create a new back door. I can control the server remotely again now.”

“How do you know it wasn’t the Imagineers or Maintenance who locked you out in the first place?” she said.

“Attenuating circumstances,” Finn said.

“ Extenuating ,” his mother corrected, then added, “Which were…?”

Finn answered. “If someone from Disney had locked us out, it would have meant we were in big trouble. They’d have called you and Dad, right? The parents? But that didn’t happen.”

Mrs. Whitman nodded. She pulled off the highway and into a gas station. She parked the car and faced the three boys. “I realize I don’t get all of this, but if you’re back in the server, why not just bring Willa back now?”

“I tried when we were down there,” Philby said. “A manual Return is different than using the fob. When we use the fob, our DHIs and the signal are in the same location-the same projection coordinates. A manual Return only works for sure at the landing-the hub in MK, the fountain in Epcot. If her DHI is not on the plaza, there’s no guarantee it will link up.”

“So we’ve got to get her to the plaza,” Finn said. “We’re doing everything we can for Willa. What we need now is to get home and get to sleep.”

“To cross over,” she said. She didn’t sound pleased.

“Willa’s mom,” Maybeck said, “knows she can’t take her to the hospital because of what happened to Philby when his parents took him.”

“It’s up to us to get her back,” Philby said. “Tonight.”

Mrs. Whitman put her hands to her temples like she had a headache. “But to get her back you have to use that button, right? It’s in one of the Parks somewhere, isn’t it?” She was basically talking to herself. “Which Park?”

“Epcot,” both Finn and Maybeck answered at once.

“You have to find her first.”

“Yes,” Finn said.

“And then use the button to bring her back.”

“The fob. Yes,” Philby said. “It’s the best way. But as a backup, I can bring them back remotely.”

“Why would you need a backup?” she asked.

Philby responded, though tentatively. “Because…for some reason she hasn’t used the fob to Return. We don’t exactly understand that. The first thing is to find her.”

“So, shouldn’t I be taking you to Epcot?” she asked.

Finn looked dumbstruck.

“We’d never get in,” Philby said. “And even if we could, it would be too-”

“Dangerous,” Finn said.

“Risky,” Maybeck said.

“Dangerous, or risky?” she asked.

“Both,” all three boys answered, simultaneously.

Finn said, “We need to be DHIs. It’s way safer.”

“These are just Disney villains,” she said, as if trying to convince herself. “They are fictional characters.”

The boys said nothing. Unless you’d met Maleficent face-to-face, there was no explaining it.

“I thought they locked them up,” she said.

Philby said, “There’s no real way to know, but, yeah, we’re pretty sure they’re locked up.”

“Then who’s doing this?” she asked.

“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Finn said.

“Try me.”

“The two we’ve seen so far are Cruella and the Evil Queen. There are probably more.”

“Oh, I hate the Evil Queen,” she said. Then she started laughing, and the boys joined in. She cleared tears from her eyes as they stopped. “What are you going to do? How can I help?”

“Seriously?” Finn said, wondering if the Overtakers had gotten control of his mom. This was his mom, right? “For one thing, you could call Jelly and Philby’s parents and tell them they’re spending the night.”