12 - The Whole World is Listening
"Wait, wha-" The next thing she knew she was being escorted out of the museum, a guard on either side of her and one walking in front, one behind. "What the hell is going on?" But no matter how much she asked, or rather demanded an answer, nobody had one. "I didn't agree to this!"
"Sorry Ma'am, but it's an order."
From Max. "He can't just order me around like this!"
But her protests fell on deaf ears as they continued to lead her further and further away from her place of work, and where to she did not know, and wasn't all that sure she even wanted to know that much, not at this point.
But it became clear soon enough: a helicopter. And not just any helicopter, but the President's own personal one.
What the actual hell?
"Is he President now or something too?" she wondered, partially aloud, muttering it mostly to herself.
She was escorted - mostly shoved - up the stairs and into the helicopter. It was already occupied by - "Max?"
And-
"Barbara?"
"Audrey?" her colleague seemed just as surprised.
"Okay, now I'm really confused.
"Sit, Audrey, please," Max told her.
"Max what the - Max, what's going on with you?" Her snap ended abruptly as soon as she looked at him. He looked very ill, the colour drained from his face and his eyes sunken in and bloodshot, dark veins crawling across his skin starting at the side of his head. But, despite all that, he was still wearing the biggest grin ever.
"Dr. Minerva, will you please go and check with the pilot - we'd better be reaching our destination soon, and I wish to speak with Audrey alone."
Oh boy...
Barbara did so, leaving them alone. Max tried to speak again, but his words crumbled into a pained groan, that struck deeply within Audrey.
She was worried about him - she cared.
Well of course she cared about him, if her romantic revelation earlier in her office was anything to go by. And it hurt her to see him like this, in such a state - a state she had no idea how to describe, but she had the feeling that despite his wild grin, he was in a great deal of pain. She could tell just from his movements.
Despite how mad she was at him, that all seemed to fade away when she looked upon his current state. "Max, what's going on? What's happening to you?"
He reached out to take her hands in his visibly-shaking ones. She hung onto them tightly. "I am on the brink of success!"
Okay then...
"Max, where are we going?"
He answered cryptically: "To a very special place where I can reach everyone."
"Citizens of the world! Allow me to introduce myself - I am Max Lord. And I am here to change your life..."
"How many signals would you like us to open, Sir?"
"All of them!"
"Okay..."
"All you have to do is make a wish, anything you want... Anything you can dream of, you can have it! If you can dream it, you can achieve it! So just look into my eyes and make a wish... Anything you dream of, have it... Wish for it. I can hear it... I can hear you... Take it, take it, it's all yours! It's all yours for the taking! That's right - you're doing great!"
"Lights, camera - ACTION!"
"That's right, just wish for it. It's yours now... All you have to do is say it out loud. Make a wish, any wish! Just look into my eyes and everything you been waiting for is all yours! Granted! Granted! GRANTED!"
The site was a giant satellite dish, able to broadcast all around the world all at once. Max had everyone's attention - literally.
"Why not more? Why not wish for more?! We want what we want! Keep going!"
More more more - that's all he kept saying, all he kept focusing on.
"And I take this from you, and that from you-" A rapid-fire give and take, give and take, again and again and again. And Audrey was caught in the middle of it all.
Barbara had disappeared - she had entered the building with them but Audrey hadn't seen where she went from there. The room itself was chaos, like a storm was thrashing around through the room itself. Everyone, all of the personnel, fled themselves, until it was just her, just Audrey and Max.
And-
Suddenly, the door burst open and they were no longer alone. Before them, fighting to reach Max, stood a golden figure.
Before them stood-
"Diana?" Diana and Barbara? "What the hell is going on?"
Well this was turning out to be a Smithsonian colleague reunion - a very strange one.
Diana continued to fight her way forward, but in vain. "Audrey, I can't reach him!"
Wait, maybe Diana couldn't - but maybe she could...
"Maybe I can!"
Max was too distracted by all the wishes pouring in from across the world to pay them any attention.
"I need to distract him," Diana explained.
"Okay, I have an idea-" She turned to Max and called out, "I want to make a wish!"
This he heard. "Yes Audrey! Anything you want! Anything your heart desires! Your wish is my command!"
Well, now it was now or never-
"I wish for the stone back!"
I just watched this movie again with my friend and I still love it! :)
Almost at the end now! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)