Free The Key To the Kingdom by Jeff Dixon Page A

Walt’s side of the desk. He gripped the black leather of the seat back and rolled the chair out of his way, then crouched, peering under the desk. Much to his disappointment, there was not a drawer there. Rales had told Hawk to do the same thing that Walt had done. He took a seat in the chair and rolled it back under the desk just as if he were getting ready to do some work. His eyes rapidly danced over the surface of the desk. There was nothing that required a key to open. Hawk looked across the desk to the far wall and saw the plans, notes, and photographs on display. Swiveling to his left, he remembered the wooden box he had spied perched on the credenza behind the desk. The box sat below a picture of Walt and Roy Disney. He studied the box closely and saw, on the front of the box, there was a keyhole. Hawk thrust his body forward to lunge toward the box. The chair rocked backward. The unexpected motion of the chair threw him off balance and he stumbled forward to one knee. This action sent the chair rolling backward and clunking into the credenza. The noise was not loud but in the quietness of the office it was deafening. Certain that the racket would alert someone to his presence, Hawk turned his attention away from the box and instead reclaimed the chair and attempted to place it back in its original position. Constantly looking back toward the window for any warning that someone might be approaching, he saw no one. The thought hit him that he had just sat in Walt Disney’s chair, behind Walt Disney’s desk, in Walt Disney’s office. Before he drifted too far away, his rational mind reminded him that he was going to go to jail if he got caught.
    Ripping his attention back to the box, he pulled the key out of his pocket and placed it against the opening on the front side. He moved it forward, butthe key did not fit. He lifted the key in front of his face and examined it closely, then knelt and did the same to the keyhole. Repeating his attempt to insert the key into the lock, he felt the resistance of incompatibility. His key simply did not open the box. Looking to both sides of the credenza, he saw nothing else that held a lock. His mind raced, trying to figure out what to do next. He had his doubts that this was a wise thing to be doing, but those doubts had been eclipsed by the hope that an answer might be found inside this office.
    The murmuring of distant voices shattered his concentration. Beginning softly and growing in volume, the sound told him people were approaching on the other side of the glass window. He was momentarily immobilized by the fear of being discovered. This hesitation stole his chance to get safely back out the door he had entered through. Impulsively he ran toward the window itself and then veered off to the left side of the office. Slamming himself into the corner of the office, he was now to the side of the viewing glass. Positive he could be seen if someone looked closely, he stood perfectly still. The angle of his hiding place drew him out of the direct line of sight; he hoped that would be enough. Posing like a statue flat against the wall, Hawk knew that the attention of most people would be on the desk in the center of the room. Hopefully whoever was coming by would not glance into the office too closely and see him. Now the voices that had started in the distance were right there at the window. Hawk studied the floor in front of the viewing window and saw the distinct shadows of more than one person. These people were looking in the window at Walt’s office! From the rapport of the conversation, Hawk could tell that they were not there looking for him. While that thought brought some relief, it also meant that they were likely to spend a few minutes searching the office details and in the process catch sight of him. As terrible as that thought was, there was another realization that hit Hawk as he tried to disappear into the wall. He recognized one of the voices. He distinctly