Prologue: EPCOT Incident

Disclaimer: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts or Princess Diaries franchises. I also do not own the MI-5 TV series, who my main characters (Tom, Zoe, and company) are based on. The world of Britannica, however, is my creation. I had to make up some information on Joe because very little is known about him. For fans of my other works, I'm still working on them, fear not. This was inspired by my cousin watching the Princess Diaries several weeks ago.

The morning sun shone lazily through the light cloud cover over the city of London as its busy residents milled about in their day to day routines. The city park was already teeming with morning joggers, people walking their dogs, and others just walking through when a bearded man in a leather jacket stood under a tree.

He was a fairly quiet fellow, a nondescript who could blend into crowds and vanish. In his line of work, such things were considered assets. Right now, he waited within sight of the dead letter box for his contact. In intelligence parlance a dead letter box is a place that is hidden in plain sight. It can be a stone with a message hidden underneath, or a park bench with a small envelope taped underneath. He was careful not to have done something obvious like hide in a bush, because that would clue passers by into the fact that something was afoot. No, like the dead letter box, the man hid in plain sight, eyes unreadable behind dark sunglasses. He was a very patient fellow, the lone man, he was waiting for his contact.

Running is a great way to relieve stress and keep one's cardiovascular fitness. These were secondary motives for the lone jogger as he ran through the London park. His real mission was to meet his contact. As he ran towards the dead letter box he noticed the nondescript casually leaning against the tree.

The runner picked up the message and read it. It consisted of two simple words: Look up. He complied to see the nondescript walking towards him. The runner, sweating despite the fall chill, stood up. He was a fairly compact, lean fellow, with blue eyes and black hair in his late twenties or early thirties.

"It's great to finally connect..." the bearded man said.

"Likewise." the runner replied, "And you are?"

"Joe. I believe we have further business." the bearded man replied, "And you must be Tom?"

"Yes." the runner replied.

The cramped confines of car was where other members of the surveillance team waited. The two occupants were a black man, fairly compact, with a shaven head and a white woman, with short brown hair and hazel eyes as well as a slender build.

"Tom's made contact..." the black man said, into a hidden wire device in the collar of his jacket.

"Danny, try not to look so obvious." the woman said, "We don't know how paranoid this mystery agent Tom's been working is."

Tom, Zoe, and Danny were all members of MI-5, the intelligence agency responsible for internal security and counter-espionage in the U.K. Lately Tom had been spending a lot of late nights at the office since contacting his mystery contact. But then Tom had an awful lot of time on his hands since Ellie, his girlfriend, had left several months ago. Zoe suspected as both a co-worker and a friend, that this was Tom's way of dealing with the grief of a broken relationship.

"And they said you had great surveillance skills." Zoe added, semi-playfully.

"Zoe Reynolds, I am hurt..." Danny replied, "But, I am, as Tom said, 'Sharp as a blood hound and as enthusiastic as a puppy.' so at least someone else thinks I'm sharp..."

"Danny," Zoe replied, "I think the boyish enthusiasm outweighs the sharp instinct."

"Ouch, you wound me Zoe." Danny replied, "You and Tom both."

Out of the three, Tom was most experience and therefore their supervisor. Zoe was next in experience and Danny was the most junior of the three. "I do wish Tom had let us in on this sooner." Zoe mused.

"Oh relax, at least you're not Harry. If the man still had hair he'd have lost it over Tom pulling this stunt." Danny replied. Harry was a fellow in his late forties, a somewhat round figured and bald man, he was nonetheless the head of MI-5 and in charge of the whole lot.

Tom, if this goes bad, I'll kill you in cold blood. Harry thought testily. True, Tom was his best officer, one of the rising stars of MI-5, but to find out at the last minute that he had been secretly making contact with an unidentified member of the Court of Genovia was really unlike him. Genovia was a world under attack by the Heartless. According to MI-6, the Intelligence agency responsible for intelligence on worlds outside of Britannica it had only a few weeks left to it.

Genovia was an important strategic location for Britannica, for frequently the land had been a staging area and hideaway for British covert operations. The Heartless, evidently, had found out about Genovia's benign aid and attacked the world. Britain had rushed the Parachute Regiment and a taskforce from the Royal Navy to stave off the invasion, but the mission had shifted from containment to evacuation. That can of worms, however, was the domicile of Parliament and MI-6.

The wire Tom was wearing underneath his windbreaker was set to pick up every exchange between the two men. The surveillance van was where Harry personally had stationed himself. Three other technicians were inside the van as well. The visual feed was coming from Zoe and Danny, however. If they even suspected something was to go wrong, they would call up a nearby police unit that was on hot standby. At any rate, things appeared to be going smoothly.

"So, is the meeting still on?" Tom asked.

"So many questions, so little time." Joe replied, "But perhaps it might be best to discuss matters in a more private setting..."

"This is reasonably private." Tom replied.

"Where we are not under the eyes of surveillance." Joe replied, "My Queen was explicit in that no one else in MI-5 other than you, Tom Quinn, was to be trusted."

"Well, I didn't quite put it that way." Tom replied, "I said that I would meet you and discuss the matter, but I hardly think that it is appropriate to be making demands..."

"That coffee shop on the outskirts of the park seems nice. Meet me there in half an hour. No surveillance." Joe replied, "Otherwise my superiors will insist I withdraw from the matter. Perhaps Traverse Town will be safer."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll be there in half an hour." Tom replied, "Just how did you know I had surveillance here?"

"When you've been in the field as long as I have, you just know." Joe replied, "If you must know, that Renault in the corner didn't park there until five minutes before you showed up. And also the occupants did not leave their vehicle. There are only two reasons one parks a vehicle and stays inside it. One is to spy on someone, the other is..."

Joe grinned mischeviously, "Of course I shouldn't be discussing the other reason too far in depth."

"Right." Tom replied.

Half an hour later Tom showed up at the coffee shop. For safety's sake he still had surveillance. Zoe and Danny were the sole company he had, Zoe disguised as a coffee shop waitress and Danny as a customer.

"Genovia, as you know, is being evacuated by Britain and the United States." Joe began, "But our Royal family is another matter. Most of them are missing or have returned to the United States."

"How does it apply to us?" Tom replied.

"Helen Thermopolis and the Prince of Genovia have returned to the US, where the CIA has them at a secure location." Joe replied.

"Right, again how does Five fit into this?" Tom asked.

"The Heartless are relentelessly pursuing the Royal family of Genovia. The fact is, they know that Helen and her husband are in the US." Joe replied, "We seek safety for the future of our realm in Britain."

"Excuse me?" Tom asked.

"Princess Amelia, she is the future of Genovia." Joe replied.

"Why not just send her back with her parents?" Tom asked.

"Excuse me gentlemen, could I take your orders?" Zoe said, as she walked by them.

"Coffee, black." Tom replied.

"Espresso." Joe replied, "It was a long night."

"Just a few moments, gentlemen." Zoe replied.

"The CIA already informed me that Helen and her husband have been compromised." Joe replied, after Zoe was well out of hearing distance, "Princess Mia is at an undisclosed location right now, but she's in grave danger, for even now the Heartless seek her."

"Is it here in the U.K.?" Tom asked, "Because Special Branch can handle it if..."

"No, the Queen was very explicit in her order that no military involvement is to occur." Joe replied, "Stealth is the name of the game."

Zoe returned with their orders and the two men enjoyed their coffee. "Thank you." Tom replied, and winked at her.

"Right, as it is in anything involving our field." Tom replied.

"As to your question it is somewhere within and without the boundaries of the U.K. It is a place where the future is realized. And in the land of the future is where the Princess of Genovia is." Joe replied, "And by the way, that was almost clever how you had your backup installed."

"Excuse me?" Tom replied.

"First I recognized them from the car this morning." Joe replied. At this Danny, who appeared to be busily reading the Daily Express turned, "Particularly this gentleman."

Zoe shot Danny a dirty look and Danny defensively raised his hands. Joe continued, indicating Zoe, "Then there was the fact that she kept appearing at most inopportune times in our conversation."

"Waitresses can be nosy." Tom replied.

"And thirdly, this is the worst cup of espresso I've ever had." Joe replied, "No self respecting coffee shop employee fails to know how to make espresso. Your 'co-workers' all looked at you like you carried the Plague as I watched you make my cup."

"Don't worry, they can be trusted. Danny and Zoe are my co-workers. I've worked with them many a time." Tom replied.

"The Queen specifically requests that no one but you is to be trusted." Joe replied.

"Me?" Tom replied, "Why?"

"There is a traitor in your midst, who it is we can't say, but she'll have the Heartless on my sovreign lady faster than you can type." Joe replied, cryptically.

"EPCOT, she's in EPCOT." Zoe said, to Joe.

"Correct." Joe replied, "But too much has been said."

Joe departed, leaving an extremely confused Tom, Zoe, and Danny at the table. As he left he placed a folded piece of paper into Tom's jacket.

"In your defense, Zoe, I think you make a good cup of espresso." Tom replied, grinning and taking a sip of Joe's cup and promptly wishing he hadn't.

"Danny, not one word." Zoe said, coolly.

"EPCOT?" Harry asked as Tom stood before his desk.

"Yes." Tom replied.

"Tom, you do realize I have to pass that information onto MI-6." Harry replied, "It's a Foreign Office matter now, not anything in our jurisdiction."

"Harry if someone other than me shows up at the rendezvous, Genovia's security force will put the Princess in hiding again and we'll have to start at Square One." Tom replied, he was holding back on the traitor accusation for now.

"It's procedure Tom, we have to make this a Foreign Office matter now." Harry said, "I don't make the rules, only Parliament does. MI-6 will need this information."

"Right." Tom replied.

"Call your cell together for a meeting in fifteen minutes. Zoe should have that briefing on this 'Joe' character done with by now." Harry replied.

"Joe, a Genovian national who moved into the U.K. eight months ago under an assumed name." Zoe began, "He supposedly was the limousine driver for the royal family. But evidently he was also the bodyguard for the Princess as well."

"Eight months ago," Tessa Philips, a woman in her early forties with shoulder length blonde hair, asked, "Tom, isn't that when you started making contact with a fellow by that name?"

Tom was mildly chagrined the leader of another counter-terrorist cell had gotten wind of his agent, but there was no point hiding that fact. "Yes." He replied.

"His last known address was in Soho, but it's since changed. A surveillance team checked the apartment but found not a trace of him in it." Zoe continued.

The slide changed to show a young girl, about sixteen, with her brown hair piled atop her head, wearing a gown that likely cost at least three of Zoe's paychecks at least. The tiara atop her head likely was about as priceless as England's Crown Jewels.

"Princess Amelia Thermopolis, the Princess of Genovia." Zoe began, "The sixteen year old heiress to the throne. Before her grandmother, Queen Clarice Renaldi, Queen of Genovia, went missing shortly after the Heartless attacked their world, Amelia was placed into hiding under Joe's care after a daring rescue by Zionist Special Forces."

"Joe evidently has been an active member of the Genovia Intelligence Service." Zoe continued, "He became a confidant of the Royal family when he saved Queen Renaldi's life in a spectacular manner. Since then he's handled all security arrangements for the Royal family under the guise as the chauffer."

"Evidently that's why he contacted Tom." Tessa remarked, "Both men have a lot of time on their hands."

Tessa's snide remark was uncalled for. Since Ellie left several months ago, with her daughter Maisie, Tom had been spending a lot of late nights at the office. He'd run across Joe by chance when he was researching the Genovia situation. Since Genovian refugees were becoming quite commonplace in the UK it didn't hurt to have a general knowledge of their situation when he had to profile them. Tom had heard of the situation where Princess Amelia had been saved by an six man rescue team from the land of Zion. But he'd received personal knowledge when Joe had made contact with him, saying he looked like he could be trusted.

Tom ignored the snide comment for what it was. Tessa seemed always content to be at her position, but she always was a master at office politics, often getting more funds to bribe or pay off her agents than any other officer of MI-5.

The briefing concluded and Tom walked out of the meeting room. Zoe fell into step beside him. "Tom, I know it's sucks that MI-6 is going to handle the case now." Zoe replied, "But you know some things we can't just fix."

"I feel like I just let the kid down." Tom replied. His tone was calm, as usual, in that omnipresent Windsor accent of his.

"Tom, you can't make good on every promise you make." Zoe remarked, "I wonder if I could trouble you to go water my plants tonight."

"Let me guess, big plans." Tom replied.

"Yes," Zoe replied, "I've got a nice lovely long night at the office planned."

"I thought Glen was taking you out tonight." Tom replied.

"He had to cancel at the last minute so I figured I'd catch up." Zoe replied, "On the Genovia situation, once MI-6 gets the Princess to us."

"I'll tell you what, I'll give you my notes on the Genovia situation. That's all I've been doing for the past few nights." Tom replied.

"Thank you, Tom, you've saved me a bit of work, but I'll be bored all night then." Zoe replied.

"Oh how about this, we could go out for dinner, I'll find Danny and invite him as well..." Tom began.

"Sorry, Danny's got another date tonight." Zoe replied. Zoe and Danny shared the same two bedroom apartment and the same rent because Danny was in serious credit card debt.

"Speaking of which, I hope Glen isn't too jealous about you sharing a room with a strapping young black man during your engagement." Tom replied, referring to Zoe's fiance, Glen.

"Tom..." Zoe said coyly, "You are a wanker sometimes, you know that?"

"I've been told often enough." Tom replied, "But you know what they say, once you go black..."

"Tom, enough." Zoe said, laughing lightly as they went their separate ways.

"Tom, I'm sorry, that's not acceptable." Joe said as they sat in the booth at the pub.

"Joe, you don't understand, MI-6 is responsible for all international matters." Tom replied, "Now they could smuggle her into the UK and MI-5 will handle it from there."

"No, my queen was quite specific. We know you are resourceful, trustworthy, and dedicated. You'll find a way around this somehow." Joe said.

Tom looked over to see Zoe coming their way, "Am I interrupting?" Zoe began.

"No, you aren't. I was just explaining to our friend how MI-6 is going to take the case." Tom began.

"Well, I'm sure anything in the world of Intelligence can be done if you know how to ask..." Joe began cryptically and walked off.

"Zoe, why do I get the feeling we're in for a real bollocking when we talk to Harry tommorrow?" Tom began.

"What do you mean we?" Zoe replied.

"You're right." Tom replied, "I'm in for bollocking tommorrow."

"You do deserve it." Zoe said, candidly, "After all, you did go over Harry's head in arranging all this. Then promising something you couldn't deliver."

"Zoe, that's it..." Tom replied, "I could temporarily get myself assigned to MI-6, long enough to resolve the matter, and then we'll still have support from the Genovians."

The next morning, in Harry's office, Tom stood before his boss with his typed up request on the desk.

"Tom, do you have any idea how ridiculous this all sounds." Harry began, "First you want a temporary transfer into MI-6, then permission to travel outside the UK to EPCOT, then bring the princess back here. I approve, but under one condition."

"What is that?" Tom asked.

"Zoe's going with you." Harry began. Before Tom could protest he addded, "I know you think you can handle this on your own. But Zoe's one of our best surveillance experts in the Grid (another term for MI-5), plus she's equal to if not better than you are in computer skill. EPCOT does have a large database that MI-6 has access to, for intelligence on the various pro-Heartless gangs, some of whom have branches in the UK. Officially you're to collect the princess, unofficially you're to hack into the EPCOT database by any means available. I've got your transfer approved, Zoe's as well."

"Harry for God's sake..." Tom began, before Harry shot him a 'not one word' look.

"Right, I'll let Zoe know." Tom replied, "Shall I call her in?"

"I've already informed her." Harry replied, "It seems your friend Joe has friends in high places, namely MI-6."

"Right." Tom began, "Anything else."

"Yes, when you get into the database, remember MI-6 nor anyone other than us must know about it." Harry began, before flashing a two millimeter grin, "I'll be looking forward to putting one over on old Jules."

Harry was referring to Jules Siviter, head of MI-6. The two had been professional rivals in the intelligence field for nearly thirty years. Tom said, "Anything more, sir?"

"No, Tom, that's all." Harry said, "Remember this conversation never occured."

"Right." Tom replied.

"So, I suppose Harry gave you the good news?" Zoe said.

"He did." Tom replied, "Now I've got to get home and pack."

"So do I." Zoe replied, "And your friend Joe will meet us at Heathrow."

"At one o'clock this afternoon, meaning we've got four hours to get ready." Tom replied.

"I'll see you there." Zoe replied.

"Are you sure Glen won't mind the fact that you're heading off with me." Tom replied.

"Glen's CIA, he understands what the job entails." Zoe replied, "Anyway he doesn't know the cover story. He only knows I'm on the job, with you, and can't be reached."

"Then if I receive the good news from a shotgun blast I'll be sure to blame you." Tom deadpanned as they walked into the elevator.

"Oh piss off Tom..." Zoe said, smiling.

Mia Thermopolis looked out her window, at her excellent view of EPCOT Center from her room at the hotel. She could see the geodesic dome of Spaceship Earth framed by the copper disc of the setting sun. She could see the reproductions of many different famed structures from all around the world at the World Showcase. She could see everything but wasn't allowed out of this hotel room.

She knew Grandma and Joe all meant the best but she wished she could go out of the hotel to see the wonders of this particular land. She also wanted to see how the refugees that had taken up residence in EPCOT were doing. A princess should always care about her people, and thus be amongst them in their time of need. She shouldn't hide like a frightened rat.

However the two bodyguards in the next room were under orders not to permit her out of the room at any time. She wasn't allowed to use the phone or the internet because any signal could possibly be traced. Mia wished she could know where her grandmother was, or how mom and dad were doing but that was impossible.

She'd been here for nearly a week, but it felt like she'd been in for a month. She'd watched TV for hours on end, used a couple of her mother's workout videos, read and re-read a couple books and magazines, and paced around the small suite of rooms until she could find everything in any given room blindfolded.

She now sat on her bed, drying a few tears that had been shed. She'd cried almost every night for three days, since the commandoes had come into her palace while it was under siege by the Heartless. They were a six man unit of Zionist Special Forces, from the small state of Zion that was a bordering world. They were an ally of Genovia, but in this case the Zionists had mobilized their citizen army towards protecting their own world.

She had spent the next forty eight hours on various military and civilian aircraft and ships. Joe had rejoined her at EPCOT and set her up at the hotel. Her Grandmother always said, "A princes should always put her best foot forward. But that doesn't mean she doesn't get to have feelings."

Mia knew her diary had so many entries in it, detailing her feelings at being pulled out of the palace. First mom and dad were spirited away, shortly after Grandmother disappeared, by the CIA. Then the palace was besieged by the Heartless and her small, but determined force of guards and even a militia formed of her own subjects counterattacked and formed a perimeter around the palace. But against the might of the Heartless they stood little chance. Of the nearly four hundred men and women who had defended the palace, only one hundred and fifty were ultimately evacuated by the British Royal Air Force. She remembered the shooting, the screams, the acts of heroism that the ordinary people had shown.

Now where was the princess that so many of her subjects had given their lives for? Cooped up in a hotel when she should be making encouraging speeches to her people. Joe said, however, it would be best that she lie low for a while before making any speeches. But for how long? What kind of ruler hid from danger?

She had to be there when her people needed her the most. Which was now. Thousands of Genovians had fled to all the worlds of the universe as the Heartless consumed their homeland. Soon, supposedly, the British were going to take her out of EPCOT to the UK. Hopefully then she could go among her people and stop hiding from the menace that threatened them all...

TBC