The Return: Disney Lands (25 page)

Jess bit back a grin. She wasn’t going to let him see it, see how happy he’d just made her. “The word ‘legacy’ means a gift or birthright. It’s something
passed on.”

“Yeah.”

“I want to know what you and Nick know.”

“You mean, are there other Hollingsworths? Is that what you’re asking? Because I don’t know, Jess. Was the guy as nasty as Nick says? I don’t know that,
either.”

“But if I could get the files?” she proposed. Her own words shocked her even as she uttered them.

“Never gonna happen,” Tim said. “I heard Langford held both Emily and Amanda after classes.”

“What? Is that why Mandy wasn’t on the four o’clock shuttle? I thought she was in conference.”

“I think she
is
in conference...with Langford, and probably Bernie Crenshaw.” Tim stepped away,
leaned out into the hallway to look in either direction. “They’re
gone. What do you mean about
you
getting the files?”

“I never said that. Forget I said that.”

“You didn’t want anything to do with that.”

“And I still don’t! Look, Tim, is Nick for real? Is the Legacy for real?”

“Nick, yes. The Legacy? How should I know? And hey, calm down. It’s not like it’s a matter of life or
death.”

Jess said nothing.

“Right? Jess...
right
?”

She looked at Tim with sad, crestfallen eyes and answered in a sullen voice. “I’m not so sure.”

T
HE FREEZE-FRAME VIDEO SHOWED
giant
cards flying wildly in all directions, scattering among a throng of
Disneyland guests. Although shot from a security camera at a distance, the people were recognizable.

Amanda saw herself in the crowd, hands outstretched. She remembered that moment clearly.

Tobias Langford had made her take a seat in the conference room, empty but for the two of them and another woman who sat in the
corner behind Amanda. This woman had not been introduced, nor had
she spoken. Langford stood a few feet from Amanda, looking tall and angry.

“That is you. There’s no denying it. The cards are flying, which is you as well, I’m assuming. You’ve used your—power? your ability?—in public
inside one
of our parks
. You have done so without permission and apparently with little regard for our guests.”

Amanda clutched the edge of the office chair to keep her arms from shaking. “Excuse me, sir, but Peggy, the assistant dean, told me to use what you all brought me here for. That’s
all I was doing. Ask her, if you want.”

Langford looked cornered and unsure how to answer. Instead, he played the video. A moment after the cards flew, the sword raised by the Jack of Hearts floated up into
space and then clattered
heavily to the ground. The crowd parted, seemingly of its own will, and people moved in a wiggling line as if they were being shoved out of the way by an invisible force.

“And that is Emily Fredrikson, is it not? In her invisibility project.” Langford began pacing. “Well? Speak up, girl! Don’t lie to me! If you want to remain at DSI, you
had better start talking.
Right now!”

“
Who is she?” Amanda said, her voice shaky. She jerked her head back at the woman behind her as she spoke. Questions, too many questions, swam in Amanda’s head. Why
hadn’t Langford said anything about the cards coming alive, for one? It felt like he didn’t want to bring up the subject of Overtakers in front of this other woman, and that made Amanda
wonder why not.

“An observer.
Never mind her.”

“What, is she here to make sure you don’t hit me?”

“I don’t hit. I don’t bite. Tell me about the basement. Ah! Your eyes flared just now. You know exactly what I’m talking about. You and Emily in the basement.
Why?”

Amanda considered how to lie without, well, not telling the truth. “I don’t like basements. They remind me of a place near Baltimore that I don’t like
one bit. Not a big
fan.”

“Emily has perfected her invisibility suit, hasn’t she? That’s why the sword in the video appears to float.”

“You’d have to ask her.”

“Do you deny having been in the dorm basement?”

“I told you: I don’t like basements. Have I heard stories about Dirk? Yes. But everything’s a story with Disney.”

“Fine, then. Let’s start there. How about I tell you
a story?” Langford braced his hands on the table and leaned in toward Amanda. She jutted her chin, staring right back.

“Another time, maybe? I’m gonna be late for the four thirty shuttle.” She appealed directly to the stone-faced woman behind her. If Amanda had guessed right, it was her job to
make sure Langford didn’t harass her in any way. “I need to get back to the dorm for personal reasons,”
she added.

“What were you after down there?” Langford said, refusing to yield. “Who sent you? Was it hazing? Or something more...directed? These are important questions we need answered,
Miss Lockhart!”

“No one told me to do any such thing,” Amanda said honestly. Philby had told her where she might find the files, sure, but not that she had to go get them. That had been her choice
entirely.

“There’s more going on here than you realize. That invisibility suit is the property of this company. Ms. Fredrikson is required to obtain written permission to operate any such
device outside of this teaching facility. Did she tell you that? Did she tell you what kind of trouble you’d be in for assisting her?”

“The only slightly related thing I’ve heard is that the school
administration values
transparency
,” Amanda said, raising an eyebrow.

The woman behind her coughed with what sounded like amusement, but quickly recovered.

Langford’s face had started to mirror the American flag on the wall: red skin, white eyeballs, blue eyes. He leaned in so close that Amanda could smell his coffee breath. “Let me
advise you, young lady! Sixty-eight seconds before
you’re seen doing...whatever it is you do in this video, we observe an atmospheric anomaly over a particular carousel horse. It’s what
we call ‘oil.’ That phenomenon coincides, on the following rotation, with the identification of two Disney employees whose role in the company is known as DHI. I believe you know these
individuals as the Kingdom Keepers. I believe you call them your friends.”

He straightened, clasped his hands behind his back, and fixed Amanda with a withering gaze. In spite of herself, she squirmed.

“You are associating with the wrong people, Miss Lockhart. This oil, this phenomenon, is of major interest to the company. It has cost us downtime on our attractions. It has baffled some
of the most brilliant minds Disney employs. You have signed confidentiality
agreements, so I don’t mind sharing this with you. We
will
get to the bottom of it. When we do, anyone who
has not come forward will be in grave danger of losing not only
her
standing here at DSI, but may face criminal and civil lawsuits as well. Do I make myself clear?”

“Is that another pun on
transparent
?”

The observer slipped again, barking out a laugh. Encouraged, Amanda added, “The
four thirty? I really
need
to be on that shuttle.”

“Go!” Langford barked the word so loudly that Amanda jumped.

Collecting herself, she rose out of her chair. Nearing him on her way to the door, she spoke as softly as she could. “I would never,
ever
, do anything to hurt this company. If
you’ve read my application, I think you know that.”

She slipped out the door before he responded,
before he could call her back and ask her to explain.

“Y
OU LOOK AWFUL
,” Jess said, from
her bed.

“So we’re speaking now?” Amanda replied, dropping her backpack with a thud and collapsing onto her own bed.

“Don’t, okay?”

“You’ve been treating me like dog dirt. What do you expect?”

“I have not.”

“I am not interested in Tim, Jess. You’ve got that all wrong.”

“I’ve had a lot of things wrong.”

“So now you want to pretend they never happened?” Disbelief radiating
from Amanda’s every word. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“Look, Mandy, not everything revolves around you, as surprising as that may be.”

“Seriously? This is us making up?”

“I didn’t say we were making up, did I? Have you apologized? Have I? Though I will if you want.” Jess paused, and then added in a gentler voice, “Honestly, this bites. I
hate this.”

“Yeah? Well, me too.” Amanda
rolled up onto an elbow, tried to make out Jess’s features in the dark. “I got grilled by Langford. He has park video of me pushing the
cards. He suspects Emily and I were in the basement, too. I assume I should start packing.” Headlights flashed outside; in their brief glow, she got her first good look at Jess. “Whoa!
Talk about looking awful. What’s with you?”

“What was it Wayne told
the Keepers? The most recent message?”

“You know perfectly well.”

“Mandy, come on. What...was...it?”

“Gosh, Jess! You don’t have to treat me like I’m a simpleton. It’s funny; Charlene gets that treatment from so many people. Just because she’s pretty, what, she
can’t think? So don’t start doing it to me.” Amanda paused, and her voice dropped, trembled a bit. “Besides, I’m not that
pretty.”

“You’re gorgeous. Stunning. And you’d better know it, though I’m glad you never seem to. Why are we even talking about this? Do you think I’m jealous?”

“There...is...nothing...to—”

“I know! I got it!”

“Then what?”

“What was Wayne’s most recent mes—”

“‘It’s about time.’”

“Correct,” Jess said.

“So what?”

“Some things bear repeating.”

“I know that
expression,” Amanda said. “Mrs. Nash used to lay that on us all the time.”

“Yes, she did. When did she use it?” Jess’s voice was steady and calm. She was leading them somewhere, but for the life of her, Amanda couldn’t see the destination.

“When she was trying to hammer something into us.”

“Correct.”

“What is this, a quiz? What’s going on, Jess?”

“Play along.”

“With what?”

“Some things bear repeating
to others
.” Jess rolled off her bed, got up, and closed the window shades, casting the room into pitch darkness.

“Wait a second! You’re not quizzing me. You’re trying to tell me something.”

Jess said nothing. She flipped on the desk lamp beside her; as she did, she allowed a casual smirk to cross her face—a look that confirmed Amanda’s theory.

“You can’t
tell me something, but you need to tell me something.” Amanda had sat up too, was leaning forward, every inch of her body quivering with intensity.

“There are limits on all of us.”

“Limits,” Amanda said, deciphering. Decoding. “‘Repeating to others.’ The Keepers.” She waited. “Oh, come on. A wink? You smiled just now. Do it
again.” Another pause. “You’re not going to, are you?”

Jess shook her head gently.

“That must have been some oath!”

Amanda was onto something. She could tell by the way Jess nodded.

“The paperwork when we enrolled? No one really takes that ser—”

Jess shook her head, cutting her off.

“Oh. I see.”

Jess nodded.

“Limits. The Imagineers are upset about the carousel, the cards. I
know
that much. Langford’s so ticked off by all
of it he could start a fire with his eyes. The Keepers
have pushed the limits too far.”

Was
she onto something? Jess just stared, her eyes fixed on the far wall of their room. Amanda racked her brain, desperate to come up with some—any—answer. “Oh,
please!” she exploded. “Come on.”

Jess remained unflinching, unmoving.

“Limits...” Amanda repeated the word several times. “‘It’s about
time’ bears repeating
to the Keepers
. They’re being
investigated...attacked...limited...switched off.”

Jess’s eyes flared unintentionally. She looked to the floor, where Amanda’s dirty laundry lay in a heap. “You really should do your laundry at least once a month.”

“Don’t change the subject.”