The Key To the Kingdom by Jeff Dixon Page A

the key but to use it,” Hawk said softly.
    “So he actually told you to use the key?”
    “Yes. That’s what has me standing here with you.”
    Kiran’s demeanor was less angry and now more puzzled than before. While Hawk waited for her to decide what to do next, she raised her head and gazed off to her left. With a look that balanced caution and confusion, she focused back on Hawk as if trying to decide to say what she was thinking.
    “If Walt was in Florida at the Dwarfs’ Cottage in 1939, there’s no way he could have gone back and reflected on his trip in his office,” she said with conviction.
    “So Farren was just telling me a story?”
    “I have no idea what he was telling you. I’m telling you that Walt could not have come back and sat down and did whatever he did in this office. This was the office from the Walt Disney Studios that didn’t exist until years later. Like I told you, this was what his office looked like in 1966. That would have been twenty-seven years after he went to the Dwarfs’ Cottage.”
    Awareness dawned like a sunrise ending a moonless night. Recreating the moment as Walt sat down behind his desk in this office couldn’t happen because it had not existed until years later. Realizing the idiocy of his plan, he nodded.
    “You’re right.” Hawk’s voice echoed with a twinge of disappointment. He lowered his face.
    “Bad plan, huh?” she said softly.
    “Yes, bad plan,” Hawk agreed as he looked back toward her.
    She cocked her head over her right shoulder. “To do what Walt would have done, you’d have to get back to the office he had in 1939. That building and office disappeared years ago.”
    “Kiran, will you get me out of here?” Hawk asked and waited as silence fell between them once again.
    “I am going to regret this.” She shook her head from side to side as she spoke.
    Hawk felt a wave of relief that Kiran was willing to help him extract himself from this mess he had created. However, she held up her index finger.
    “You can’t visit the office Walt had in 1939, but you could still get behind his desk.” Her voice took on a conspiratorial tone.
    “What?” Hawk’s pulse tripped.
    “The desk from his office at the old studio is here.”
    “Here?”
    “Yes, it’s here, in this attraction. You’ve walked past it every single time you’ve walked through it.” Kiran clamped her mouth shut again as though realizing she’d offered too much information.
    He waited to hear what she was going to say next. Finally Kiran reached out and took Hawk by the hand. She led him forward through the narrow passageway that curved to the right and then made a slight jog behind additional exhibits. Kiran stopped at a wall with a small door that resembled an oversized doggy door. The door was large enough for a person to get through, and like the others, had a keyed lock. Kiran once again faced Hawk and handed him the old skeleton key Rales had given him. In all of their discussion, he’d forgotten she still was holding it.
    “Here, you hold your key to the kingdom. I need to find a key to the door. Don’t go wandering off,” she instructed, then moved away, leaving him standing there.
    Hawk looked at the key in his hand. Earlier he had been so sure he needed to get into Walt’s office. Speaking with Kiran had shown him how ridiculous his line of thinking was. Now he didn’t know what to think. Hearing footsteps, he turned his attention to the sound of Kiran returning from around the corner of the passageway. She smiled triumphantly, holding up a key.
    “I’m going to open this door and we’re going to crawl through. We only have a few minutes inside. This key is a maintenance key, which means the crew isn’t working inside this part of the attraction yet.”
    “What about security cameras?” Hawk inquired.
    She looked at him with astonishment. “You’re worried about that now?”
    Kiran did not wait for an answer. She knelt down and placed the key into the