PART SIX
Walt DisneyWorld Operations Center, Tuesday, 11.30 am
They had already checked their bags into the hotel when they approached the Operations Center. Lee held the Security Reception door open for Amanda and they walked up to the reception desk. "We're looking for Mike Bannon, Chief of Security,"
"He's expecting us." Amanda picked up on Lee's lead.
The receptionist, Joanne, according to her name tag, smiled as she asked for their names.
"Lee Steadman and Amanda Keane," Lee replied. Francine had set up their covers the previous day in case anyone checked up on them. According to the Disney employment records, they would just be ordinary cast members.
"Take a seat." Joanne indicated some armchairs in the lobby. "He'll be with you shortly."
"Thank you," said Amanda.
A couple of minutes later, a man looked out from behind a door marked 'Private' and said, "Mrs. Keane, Mr. Steadman, would you step this way please?"
As they followed him into the Security Chief's office, Mike Bannon offered them both a coffee, indicating the two chairs in front of his desk. Lee and Amanda sat and Bannon passed them their drinks. Then he took his own seat behind his desk.
"So," Bannon began, "now that we're away from prying eyes, it's King and Stetson isn't it?"
"Yeah, that's right," Lee answered. "We thought a cover story was better just in case."
"Makes sense. So how can I help you?"
"Well, as my office informed you yesterday, information has come to light that an arms deal is likely to go down in the park within the next twenty-four hours. We're here at Senator Hume's request. Amanda is my assistant. All we know, or think we know, is that the two suspects are planning a meeting at the Pecos Bill Cafe at one o'clock today. We need to get out there and observe, see if they turn up and what we can find out. Any suggestions?"
"Sure. We do a 'meet the characters' session near there, at Splash Mountain, around that time. No one would notice if you were in the vicinity, especially if you were in a character suit. You'll have loads of kids in your face of course, but you'd be able to observe without looking suspicious. I've always thought that hiding in plain sight was the best way to carry out surveillance."
"Sounds like a plan," agreed Lee, remembering Francine's comment about dressing like a giant mouse. "Assuming it happens, we can come back later and work on the next step."
"Absolutely," said Bannon. "Do you want any of my men in support?"
"I don't think, so. We've got it covered."
"Right," said Bannon, concluding the meeting. "I'll get one of the guys to take you down to the costume department and they can get you suited up. Meanwhile, I'll ring ahead and let them know you're on your way. I'll tell them you're new but that you know the drill - that you've transferred from California on a temporary assignment. There'll be no problem."
They all stood up and Lee shook Bannon's hand. "Thanks for your help. We'll see you later."
As Bannon then shook hands with Amanda, she said, "Yeah, thanks."
~
Frontierland, Near Splash Mountain
By one o'clock, Lee and Amanda were undercover as cast members. As part of their cover, one of them had to dress as a Disney character and meet the kids while the other would ostensibly run interference from the stampeding hordes. In reality, they would be watching Cadiz at a nearby cafe.
As Lee emerged from the changing rooms, Amanda couldn't help but laugh.
"I bet Francine's responsible for this!" he said, testily.
"Whoever it was," she replied, "They certainly got it right!" Lee was standing there, in a foam rubber suit, wearing a red coat, purple trousers and an orange hat with matching boots. "You make a perfect Grumpy."
"Hmphh!" was all he could manage in reply.
Amanda reached out and put her hand on his arm. "Lee, you're being a sore loser."
"I'm sure you've got a double-headed coin, Amanda. This isn't the first time you've out-coined me."
"Fortune smiles on the brave." She smiled back. "Anyway, it's about time I got to do the real agent work. I know you'll watch my rear!"
"Anytime." His voice softened as he responded, and he gave her a wink, smiling when she blushed. "But I'm still gonna have a little chat with Francine when we get back. How am I supposed to chase the bad guys in this?"
"Well, I think you look adorable. Do you think they'd let you keep it?" She smiled.
Lee just stomped off in the direction of the restaurant. "Oh, shut up!" she heard him mutter as he walked away. Checking the camera she was carrying to make her look like a tourist and to facilitate surveillance photographs, she headed off after him, grinning all the way.
~
Lee had been working the crowds, alongside several other characters, when he suddenly felt a familiar pressure on his back between his shoulder blades. "Over there," he heard his partner say. As he maneuvered the group of children who were stuffing autograph books at him from all directions, he managed to gain the desired vantage point. Their target Cadiz, had been sitting alone at a table at the Pecos Bill Cafe, but now he had company. From their position they could see an animated discussion between the two men. Unfortunately, they were too far away to hear, and they hadn't had enough warning to arrange for surveillance equipment.
After ten minutes, it was clear the dealing was over. Cadiz stood up and shook hands with Martinez, then they both walked from the café, in different directions. As agreed earlier, Amanda nodded to Lee and followed Cadiz, the organizer of this deal, if Auggie's information was to be believed. She'd been working on her surveillance skills as part of the Agency training she'd received under Beaman's watchful eye. Although she'd been working with Lee for more than four years, now that she'd become a proper agent she'd begun an intensive training regime. As she maintained a safe distance between herself and the target, various points kept repeating themselves over and over in her head. Don't attract attention to yourself – she tried to act like a tourist, stopping now and again to take a photograph, sometimes of the park, mostly of her quarry; have a reason for going in the same direction as the suspect – I'm going to meet my boys by the such and such ride, as she tried to maintain a mental picture of the park in her head; don't make any sudden moves – it didn't seem like Cadiz had noticed her, and the camera was a useful cover tool.
As she neared the edge of the public area, the crowds had thinned. Cadiz had passed through a 'cast members only' door behind the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. At the door, Amanda stopped. Had he spotted her? Would she meet him waiting for her on the other side? She took a deep breath as she thought to herself, If you don't hurry up, you'll lose him! She pushed open the door and stepped inside. For a second, she thought she had lost him and panned her head from left to right as she tried to locate him. Then, she saw him, alongside an office building. It was difficult to differentiate between his dark clothes and the dark walls, but it was him. He pulled open a door and went inside.
Walking briskly, she pursued her quarry. She was determined not to fail here. She'd made Lee stick to his bargain over the coin toss, so she would stick to her part in surveillance. As she walked, their discussion once again passed through her head.
"As the senior agent, I should do the surveillance. You can wear the suit," Lee said, and he was adamant about it.
Amanda couldn't let it go. "Now, Lee. I've done the training, let me apply it. I can do it, I know I can."
"What if something happens to you?"
"Lee, what could possibly happen in such a busy, public place?"
"Please, Amanda, don't you say that….I'm the senior agent and I get to make the assignments. You're in the suit."
"Yes, sir," Amanda said sarcastically. "Any other instructions for me? Iron your shirt for you? Polish your shoes? Any other menial tasks you have for me?" She bowed at him, facetiously.
Lee was surprised at her tone and at how badly she was taking his decision. He'd just wanted her to take the lower risk option. She knew that, but she was an agent now and she wanted to be treated like one, not just like a civilian assistant. Anyway, she knew that if anything happened, he'd be there to protect her.
Chagrined, Lee was determined to try to make it up to her, and thought he'd chance his luck. "How about we toss for it?"
At this her face brightened a little. "Really?"
"Sure." He smiled. He never could say no to his wife/partner. Heck, it was a routine surveillance operation anyway, low risk.
Amanda reached into her purse. "Okay," she said. "Heads I win, tails you lose." She smiled.
"A-man-da," he said, firmly.
"Alright, alright. I call heads. If heads comes up, I do the surveillance, and you wear the suit, agreed?"
"Agreed," he said reluctantly.
She tossed the coin and caught it, placing it to the back of her hand.
When she removed her hand, he could see George Washington's face staring back at him from the quarter. For a split second, Lee was sure he saw him wink. "You win." Now it was his turn to be subdued and he sat down on the bench near where they were standing.
"It's all right, Lee," she said, sitting on the bench next to him. "I can do this."
"I know you can," he returned. "I just didn't want to have to wear the dumb suit."
Amanda headed towards the building, clutching the camera in her hands as she tried to contain her nerves. When she got to the door, she pulled it open and stepped inside. She had only taken a few steps when she heard two voices talking. She wasn't sure if it was the man she had been following or some ordinary people, although one of them definitely had a Spanish accent. She stepped closer. Just before the corridor branched off to the location of the conversation, there was an alcove housing a photocopier. Amanda ducked into it. As she heard something about cigars and guns, she knew she'd stumbled onto something. Thinking of her training, she planned a cover story as she listened, placing her camera on a low shelf where it would be inconspicuous. She turned to the copier and pulled out a paper tray. All those temp jobs will finally pay off. If anyone caught her now, she'd be an office worker dealing with a paper jam. She held onto a couple of sheets of paper to give weight to her story. All the while she was going through her Agency routines, she was listening intently.
"So they bought the whole deal?" said an American voice. The accent seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it.
The Spanish voice replied, "Yes. He was not interested at first, he demanded cash, but I was able to convince him that Havana cigars would fetch a better price and would be easier to launder."
"Good," the American replied. "I figured they would see sense."
"Of course, it did not hurt to play on the starving Cuban farmers. He ate it up. I told him my family had been able to steal the shipment of cigars from under the noses of the Cuban authorities. They'd be helping defraud the Cuban government, while selling guns to the freedom fighters."
The American laughed. "Don't you just hate people with a cause. It makes them unpredictable. Oh, well. As long as he does the deal, I don't care what his politics are."
Cadiz raised an eyebrow, but didn't rise to the comment. "I will go and get ready for the shipment, then meet you later, as agreed?"
"Sure."
Assuming the conversation was at an end, Amanda turned back towards the copier and crouched down, ready to play her cover if necessary. She was pulling levers and rustling papers when, after a couple of minutes, she heard footsteps pad past her. Cadiz was leaving the way he'd come. Unsure which way his accomplice would leave, she thought she'd better wait a little longer. Suddenly she felt something pressed into the small of her back, but it wasn't the familiar feel of her husband's hand. "What the-" she began.
"Please stand up slowly, Mrs. King." She knew she'd heard the voice before. "Mr. Bannon!" she exclaimed, shocked that the voice belonged to DisneyWorld's Chief of Security. Slowly, she stood upright. With her body between Bannon and the copier, she was able to reach her hand inside the machine and remove something, keeping it hidden as she held her arms in front of her. Slowly, she turned to face him, allowing her filled hand to remain hidden behind her thigh. "You."
"Me," he returned. By now he was leaning against the wall of the alcove nearest the exit. He seemed very relaxed, obviously not considering her much of a threat.
I'll see about that. With the gun in his hand now raised and resting across his chest, he flicked his wrist, indicating the exit. His eyes followed the direction of his gun as his hand twitched and that's when she made her move. Swinging her right arm around in front of her, she threw photocopying toner from the cartridge into his face. Shocked, his eyes began to sting and he choked as the insidious black powder covering his face got up his nose and in his mouth.
Amanda didn't wait to see what effect she'd had on him. She ran towards the exit door glad, and a little impressed, that she'd been able to escape so easily. Just as the words never underestimate the suburban housewife passed through her mind, someone grabbed her from behind. With a large hand over her mouth and a long arm wound around her, she was well and truly captured. She struggled against her captor but she was unable to extricate herself.
"Did you get her?" came a spluttering voice from the doorway of the building.
"Yes."
She saw Bannon take a bottle and cloth from his pocket. Her eyes widened with alarm and she attempted once again to free herself but it was no good. The man holding her had six inches in height and at least fifty pounds on her. "Here," was the last thing she heard Bannon say as her consciousness slipped away.
~