Free Kingdom Keepers VI (9781423179214) by Ridley Pearson

Finn said. “Maybe she’s part of the 2.0 upgrade. Maybe it isn’t rumor.”
    â€œMaybe she was a hologram,” Willa said, silencing the group.
    The rumor about 2.0, begun by Finn’s making assumptions about things said by Storey Ming, was that the Keepers might be facing early retirement. It seemed possible that, unbeknown to them, Wayne and the Imagineers were testing out the beta phase of 2.0 before fixing bugs and installing it onto a new set of DHIs—bigger, faster, stronger.
    â€œThat’s hardly critical thinking, Willa,” cautioned Philby. “There’s nowhere near enough empirical evidence to bring us to any kind of conclusion. It’s pure speculation. Speculation can be dangerous.”
    Willa looked crushed. He’d blurted it out in typical Philby fashion; now he looked as if he wished he could take it back.
    â€œWhatever,” Finn said. “We need to make plans to spy on the OTs.”
    â€œSay, what?” Charlene said.
    â€œWe have to follow them,” Maybeck said. “We have to know what they’re doing. Same with the OTKs. If they leave the ship in Aruba, we need to leave the ship. If they stay on board, we stay on board.”
    â€œHow can we follow them if we don’t know where they are in the first place?” Charlene said.
    Philby said, “I have access to all the shipboard
camera feeds now. We’re not without assets.”
    â€œSpeak English,” said Willa, irritated.
    â€œLet’s assume Jess’s sketch of the cave is accurate,” Maybeck said. “We know there are caves on Aruba. In her dream, there were women in the cave. Women—as in witches and dark fairies, maybe.”
    â€œMaybe,” Philby said, emphasizing the word. “We don’t know any of this to be fact.”
    â€œShut up a minute. Let’s assume it’s fact. Okay? If so, we need to know what they’re doing in that cave. Right?” Maybeck answered himself: “Right. So… Thanks to Philby’s cameras, we can cover a lot of the ship. The problem is getting off the ship at the exact same time as the OTKs, so we don’t lose them.”
    â€œForward following,” Philby said.
    â€œSay, what?”
    â€œNow you’re just talking nonsense,” Willa said, her irritation showing again.
    Group meetings had gotten way too complicated, Finn thought. Clearing his throat, he waded in, determined to break the tension.
    â€œWilla, Philby’s saying that we don’t need to follow the OTs off the ship. There are probably only a couple
of caves this could be. We can narrow it down using Jess’s drawing. Then we let them come to us for a change, by getting to whatever cave it is ahead of time. They walk into our trap.”
    â€œNice,” Maybeck said.
    â€œWe’ll have to check out the island tourist information for caves. I’ll bet one will match up pretty closely with Jess’s drawing.”
    â€œI can do that,” Storey said. “Being a Cast Member, I can get a look at all the excursion stuff.”
    â€œIt could be at one of the other stops,” Philby reminded them.
    â€œAruba is known for its caves,” Storey said. “Not so sure about Costa Rica and Mexico.”
    Philby took in the faces staring at him. “Fine. Charlene and Maybeck will get off early and,
providing Storey’s found a match, go to the cave and hide. I will use my hack of the shipboard security
cameras to keep an eye on the various gangways
off the ship. If I see Luowski or any OTs leaving,
Willa and Finn will follow them.” He added, “I should be able to get us all walkie-talkies.”
    â€œMeanwhile,” Finn said, “we’re keeping an eye out for the girl with the bright red streaks in her hair.”
    â€œThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Maybeck said.
    â€œHa. Ha.” Finn wasn’t amused.
    â€œBut, Finn, if she wants to be