power plant, including Hugo Montcliff being a DHI. That news was the hardest to take. Finn tried to swallow away his terror. Other kids as DHIs. Where did that leave the Keepers?
Philby told Finn about Charlene winning back the fob and dropping it into a drawer in the control room. Despite some losses, there were gains, he realized.
Finn told him, “Something happened during the power failure when I was in projection shadow. Cruella said something about tomorrow morning. That by seven it wouldn’t matter. The Queen stopped her. She didn’t want me hearing it.”
“Maybeck’s theory is that the power failure has to do with the prison break, which makes sense, but we have no way to know if it’s true or not,” explained Philby.
“Don’t we?” Finn said.
“I’m listening.”
“This is your stuff, not mine, but didn’t you say that counting Hugo that made five DHIs for them?”
“Yup.”
They had yet to identify the remaining two, but Finn now had an idea. “Have you checked the server log since the power failure?”
The line crackled.
“Are you there?” Finn asked.
“Thinking. Checking…Stand by…”
Finn heard Philby’s fingers clacking on the keyboard through the phone.
Philby mumbled, “I thought I was supposed to handle the techie stuff.”
“Whatsup?”
“Bandwidth bump. How’d you know that?” Philby said. “Stand by…”
More clicking from his end.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Philby said.
“Try me.”
“The prison?”
Finn nearly came out of his chair. “Yes?”
“I think it’s in the Animal Kingdom. There’s something I’ve got to show you. Check your e-mail…now.”
A moment later, Finn opened the e-mail from Philby, recognizing Jess’s artwork immediately.
“She drew that
Finn studied the diary entry. A gate? A ladder on its side? Bunk beds? Something hanging on the wall. Or was that a window?
And if it was a window, that small, that high on a wall-where would that be? A basement. Only basements had weird, tiny windows like that.
Basements and…
…prison cells.
Finn felt physically sick to his stomach. He leaned over his trash can thinking he was going to hurl. His mother patted him on the back.
“What’s wrong, dear?”
It was like being blindfolded and spun around, trying to hit the pinata, only to have the pinata hit back at you. Smack you in the head.
A prison cell.
Finn said, “I know how they’re going to do it.”
Finn’s mother waited at the curb, the car running. He knocked on the door, rang the bell, then knocked again. Wanda Alcott answered, fully dressed. Finn knew there was no way anyone could dress that fast, much less an older lady-she had to be at least thirty. It meant she’d been awake all night. It was past four am. Doing what? he wondered. Monitoring the situation, perhaps?
“I need to talk to him,” Finn said.
“If it’s about the power failure, we’re looking into it,” she said.
“We were there,” he said. “The cogeneration facility.”
She looked stunned. She nodded thoughtfully. “The supervisor mentioned children.”
“One was an OT. Two were us: Maybeck and Charlene. All DHIs. The Return’s there. We need it back. Now. We’re not safe until we have it back. It’s in a drawer. You have to get someone to get it for us.”
“I can do that.”
“I know you can; that’s why I’m here.”
“He’s safe. I appreciate your concern-”
“It’s not concern. Not for him. The power failure was part of the jailbreak. They’re going to bust them out.”
“Yes. I’m sure that was the intention. The power failed there for nearly ten minutes. But it’s all under control. The…Our guests are where they belong.”
“No,” Finn said, “they’re not. Do you have clearance? Can you get me into the prison?”
She stared at him.
“I need to see him. I need clearance.”
“That’s not going to happen,” she said. “No one sees him. You’ll have to tell me.”
“I’m not telling you. I’m sorry, but I can’t. I’ll only tell him. Face to face. No more video. No more tricks.”
“That’s impossible.”
“By seven this morning,” Finn said, “they’ll be gone. And it’ll be on you. Think about that.”
She did just that.
“What’s happened to you?” she said. “When we spoke earlier-”
“Everything you said at Epcot was true. You’ve been a tremendous help. An amazing help. I need you to help me one more time.”
“When did you get so all grown-up?” she asked.
“It’s been a different sort of night.”
“I guess.”
“And I’m tired,” he said apologetically.
“Amanda?”
“Is fine. She Returned, with the spell broken.” He waited only a matter of seconds. “I’ll try on my own, but they won’t listen to me.”
“You don’t even know where it is,” she said.
“And if I do, will that convince you?”
Her eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Good,” Finn said.
Less than a minute later, he marched back to the car and indicated for his mother to roll the passenger window down. “I’ll be with an adult,” he said. “She’s Wayne’s daughter.”
“I know, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I know it’s late. I don’t expect you to understand but-”
“If your father finds out, you’ll be looking for a new mother.”
“I only have one mother.”
“That may change,” she said, although she glowed from his comment. “Your father will be at the breakfast table promptly at seven-thirty. You’d better be too, buddy boy, or I don’t know what.” Her eyes grew glassy. “I’m scared,” she said.
“Don’t be.”
“For you. Not for me.”
“I know, Mom.”
She rolled up the window, looked at him once more through the glass, and drove off.
