Charlie and Kalani were seated next to each other on a bus bound for Hollywood Studios. According to Mason’s facial recognition software—which had so far only located four members of Chaos Squad—as of ninety-six minutes ago, two mercenaries were near the Tower of Terror, and records showed that they’d been in the same place all day near the entrance to the queue. Charlie and Kalani had no plan of attack once they acquired a visual of the enemy, but Kalani assured him that improvising was ‘kind of his thing.’ All Charlie could do was shrug, grin and offer up his mind as a resource to his gigantic new Hawaiian friend.
•••
Earlier, before leaving the Liberty Tree, Charlie had handed over Jeremy’s weapon to Mason for disposal. After leaving the Magic Kingdom, Kalani had thought it would be a good idea for Charlie to remain armed, so they’d returned to the Caribbean Beach to pick up his Walther. Kalani had remained at the bus stop while Charlie headed for the room, just in case Holloway was running surveillance on the place.
Entering the room, he found it much the way he’d left it, although housekeeping had clearly made their daily visit. A rabbit-shaped towel animal sat on the bed nearest the door. The pirate-themed gift basket still lay on the table, although it had been neatly repacked. Ignoring the tidy room, Charlie quickly made his way to the safe and unlocked it.
Over the years since he’d purchased the black Epcot T-shirt he was wearing, he’d filled out with muscle, so the shirt fit him more snugly. Still, it adequately covered his holster and spare magazine—so he didn’t bother to change. Looking at himself in the mirror, he noticed how terrible he looked. His eyes were ringed with the dark circles that come as a result of a lack of sleep, his five o’clock shadow had made an appearance and his shoulders slumped with the heavy burden and stress of the crisis at hand.
He placed his hands on the counter and leaned in, staring his reflection straight in the eyes and having a silent conversation. As he looked into his own bloodshot eyes, he steeled his nerves for what was certainly to come: violence—and lots of it. As an officer of the law, Charlie had never been a proponent of violence, having seen firsthand the results of such passionate releases. He’d seen the bodies of countless victims of violent crimes and they’d affected him deeply. He’d become a detective to put an end to these things, not to add to the number of casualties.
All of his training told him to search for a peaceful resolution to this crisis, but his brain and his instincts told him that peace was no longer an option. The primeval man that lived within his mind—that lives within the minds of all men—was taking charge, telling him that peace was an illusion, and that this had escalated into an all-out war.
Wars were fought and won at the hands of the most powerful and violent combatants. To emerge victorious and save his family, he must become that which he worked every day to defeat: a killer. To be the savior that his family needed, Charlie knew that he must adopt the mindset of X-ray Team. Meghan, Violet and Katie were good people—pure, innocent people—who weren’t able to help themselves out of their situation. They needed someone who was willing to match the evil that held them, stride for stride. One last glimpse in the mirror revealed a changed man. A ferocity that he’d never before seen had washed over him. He looked hardened. More determined. Stronger.
He looked ready.
Sighing, Charlie loaded the Walther and chambered a round before holstering it. He looked around the room one final time, praying that it would be the last time he would ever see the place without his arm around his wife and his giggling daughters jumping across the beds.
He grabbed one of the Blackberry batteries Holloway had left and installed it in the phone.
Finally, he left the once-cheerful room and headed straight for the frontlines.
•••
As a testament to Disney’s security forces, Charlie and Kalani walked straight past the bag search with their firearms concealed beneath their shirts while elderly security guards picked through the diaper bags of mothers and the fanny-packs of toddlers. Charlie shook his head in bewilderment as he and Kalani passed by unhindered, never glanced at twice, while innocent senior citizens were having their oxygen tank carriers searched.
Thankfully, we’re the good guys, Charlie thought.
Kalani already had a Park Hopper ticket so they made it inside without delay. Wasting no time stopping to see the sights, Charlie led Kalani directly toward the Tower of Terror. The huge faux-hotel lived up to its namesake, towering over the masses, visible from almost any place in the park. The crowds seemed strangely light for the time of day, but Charlie was just thankful that Kalani was able to keep up with him in his haste to reach the attraction.
Stopping halfway along Sunset Boulevard, Charlie and Kalani bought turkey legs from a nearby stand and sat at a table near Fairfax Fare affording them a clear view of the entire area. Charlie wasn’t hungry, and he’d only bought the slab of meat to keep up his cover, but Kalani eagerly set to work, ravenously devouring his. Charlie laughed while watching the big Hawaiian and shook his head lightly.
“What?” Kalani asked, powering through another mouthful of turkey.
“Nothing, man,” Charlie said. “Pull out your phone. What do these guys look like? Mason sent you pictures, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Kalani replied, setting the turkey leg on its foil wrapper and fishing around for his phone. He pulled up the pictures and handed the phone to Charlie.
Before Charlie could get a good look at the Chaos Squad boys, Kalani’s phone began to ring. Victoria’s name flashed on the screen, along with a picture of her wearing a black bikini and holding an assault rifle—clearly taken while on what would seem to be a very interesting vacation. Charlie pointed to the screen and showed it to Kalani.
“What’s that all about?” he joked.
“Inside joke, braddah. Answer it, will you? I’m sure it’s for you anyway.”
Charlie did as he was told while Kalani fought a losing battle with some flimsy napkins.
“Victoria, it’s Charlie,” he said.
“Good, Charlie, I was hoping you’d be nearby. An opportunity has come up, and I’ve made a decision,” she informed him.
“Talk to me.”
“Ten minutes ago, a kid threw up on Space Mountain. And I’m literally talking about on Space Mountain. Splashed the people behind him. Huge mess.”
“There’s our opening,” Charlie said, seeing where she was heading with this.
“You’re damn right it is. I’ve already moved on it. I’ve got Jen-Jen and McCoy heading down to City Hall to get Space Mountain evacuated before they get that mess cleaned up.”
“Wait—you’re calling in an evac order on the ride?” Charlie asked.
“Yes. It’s the only way to be completely sure. They’re not telling them why, they’re just telling them who we are and that the attraction needs to be empty and offline ASAP. But Charlie?”
“Yeah?”
“All hell is possibly about to break loose. My Dad will know as soon as the place is evacuated. That means that he and his boys will be on high alert from this point on,” Victoria warned.
“This is our only chance to take the bomb out of the picture. It’s the only way. Do it.”
“I’m glad you agree. Have you and Kalani had any luck finding the Chaos guys at the Tower?” she asked.
“Not yet, but we just got here. The area is not that crowded, though. I’ve scanned it, but I haven’t seen anybody who looks like they could be a merc. You called before I could look at the pictures.”
“Okay,” she acknowledged. “Keep up the search and call me if you find anything.”
“Likewise,” Charlie said before terminating the call and looking at the photos.
“So, Vee’s evacuating the Mountain, eh?” Kalani observed. “Good call. Might make some trouble for us back at the Company, but she’s saving a lot of lives—it’s worth the extra paperwork.”
“Agreed,” Charlie said, absently, his focus still on the two men in the photographs. He didn’t recognize either of them, but he was absolutely certain that they were not here. He’d scanned the area several times in the ten minutes they’d been there and he hadn’t seen anyone who came close to resembling the two mercenaries. It was discouraging and frustrating.
“So, you find our guys yet, Sherlock?” Kalani asked, finishing his turkey leg and stealthily reaching for Charlie’s, which he’d abandoned after getting his hands on Kalani’s phone.
Noticing Kalani’s slowly encroaching hand, Charlie slid the turkey leg toward him before replying. “No, Kalani. That’s the thing—I don’t see these guys anywhere. The facial recognition software had shots of them every five minutes since right around nine this morning. Where the hell did they disappear to?”
“Are you sure they’re not here?” he asked, shrugging and picking up Charlie’s turkey leg. “Maybe they just went to take a piss or something.”
“A ten minute piss?” Charlie shot back. “No, something isn’t right. Let’s check the area by Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster, just to be sure, but I have a feeling that these guys bugged out.”
They stood and quickly hurried to the adjacent area, standing on the knee-high brick wall in front of the giant red guitar to get a better view. Still, the area wasn’t very crowded and it didn’t take more than a couple of minutes for Charlie to realize that the Chaos Squad mercs were nowhere to be found.
“Damn it, Kalani. Those guys are gone,” Charlie breathed, frustrated.
“You sure, braddah?” Kalani asked, even though he knew the answer. He took a bite of the turkey leg.
“I’m positive. Where the hell did they go? Get a hold of Mason for me. We need to track these idiots down.”
Kalani pulled out his phone and, once again, Victoria’s name and picture popped up on the screen before he could do anything. He answered the call and Charlie listened to his side of the conversation. He watched the big Hawaiian’s joviality slowly disappear from his face and be replaced by steely determination as the call went on.
“Hey, Vee...Yeah...What? When?...Do you know where they went?...Okay. Here, tell Charlie.” Kalani handed the phone to Charlie, his expression grim.
“What’s going on, Victoria?” Charlie asked, worried that something had happened to his family in retaliation for Victoria evacuating Space Mountain.
“My Dad’s cooking up something new. We just received facial recognition hits on all twelve members of Chaos Squad.”
“What?” Charlie exclaimed, incredulous. “Where?”
“They were all captured in less than a half-hour by a camera in the lobby of Bay Lake Tower.”
“Jesus,” Charlie breathed.
“Charlie, they’ve turned that tower into a goddamned fortress.”