“Agreed?” Finn said.
“So look where it is,” Philby said.
“Dinoland.” Philby looked around at the others. “Do any of you ever come to this Park?” he inquired sarcastically. “Dinoland is ridiculously boring except for one attraction.”
“That research thing—Dr. Grant Seeker,” Willa said.
“Dinosaur. Remember anything special about it?”
“Only that it was really cool,” Willa answered.
“Not cool—well, yes, it’s cool—but it’s also cold. And it’s computer controlled. Majorly computer controlled. There have to be some serious computers running that ride.”
“The second server,” Finn whispered, “could be hidden among them.”
“As good a place as any.”
“Listen to you!” Maybeck sniped. “We don’t know any of this for sure!”
“No…” Philby said. “But there might be a way we could find out. If I can get back on VMK, and Wayne gets me into the control center, I may be able to track network bandwidth usage.”
“Speak English,” Maybeck snapped.
“Think about it: if we go after Jez, how is Maleficent going to come after us?”
“With birds,” Maybeck said.
“And monkeys,” Willa added.
“And lions,” said Finn.
“And DHIs of all of the above,” Philby said. “The more DHIs she uses, the more bandwidth usage on the network. What I’m saying is this: we want her to come after us with everything she’s got, because when she does, I can probably locate the second server. And if I do, then maybe I can cut it off the network. That would take all the DHIs of animals out of the equation.”
“So we split up,” Finn said. “Maybeck, Willa, and Philby will team up to take out the second server, to destroy it if possible. Charlene, Amanda, and I will get inside the tiger yard and get into that hatch.”
“Oh, yeah, like that’s going to happen,” snipped Maybeck.
“Philby said the tunnel makes sense for maintenance. If that’s the case, do you think the maintenance workers go through the tiger yards every time there’s a problem? I don’t think so. There’s going to be another entrance—a hatch, a manhole, something—probably hidden in the jungle. Something that Jez can’t get to, or isn’t strong enough to move. Philby can check it out when he gets into VMK. There must be a way to open the hatches in order to move the tigers. Philby can look for that, and we’ll be in position, ready to move.”
“There are still a few sketches in the diary that we haven’t run into,” Amanda reminded everyone. “We shouldn’t forget about them. There’s the hairy gorilla and the owl on the branch. There’s the elephant and the hunchback guy who looks sort of Indian.”
“Everyone will stay alert for those,” Finn said.
“Alert?” Maybeck said. “I’m half asleep on my feet.”
“No sleeping!” Philby warned. “Willa and I messed up things by getting caught. We’re both sorry and appreciate everything you did for us. But the Park is closing soon: six o’clock. And that means the animals will all be moved backstage, including the tigers. If there is a tunnel between the tiger yards, and Jez is down there…” He didn’t have to finish the sentence.
But apparently Maybeck felt obliged to. “Then she becomes kitty chow.”
51
CHARLENE INSISTED THAT she could slip over the wall of the upper tiger yard with no one the wiser.
“I don’t think so,” said Finn. He, Amanda, and Charlene were assembled along the edge of the Jungle Trek, very near the tiger yards.
“I can stay close to the wall, like I did at the bat enclosure,” Charlene said. “No one’ll see me, and that includes the tigers.”
“Tigers are fast,” Amanda reminded her. “Very fast. And they can jump, let’s not forget.”
Charlene nodded. “But also lazy. I’ll be on the opposite wall. If the tiger moves or shows any interest, you can warn me. I can vault the wall in a nanosecond. It’s not as if it’s going to get me.”
“No, probably not,” Finn said. “But it’s also not worth the risk. At the very worst, we wait until they try to move the tigers. If we’re right, they’ll open the hatches at that point. Jez will get out of there. Our jobs will be to distract the tigers so Jez doesn’t get attacked.”
“Tiger bait?” Amanda asked, horrified. “Your plan is to use us as tiger bait?”
“My plan is to rescue Jez. At the very worst, we wait out the Park’s closing.”
“Let’s look for a maintenance entrance,” Amanda encouraged. “If it actually exists, it can’t be far from the bridge.”
“Agreed. And Charlene promises not to jump the wall,” Finn said, looking up at her. “I would suggest you scout the perimeter looking for other hatches, gates, or anything else we should know about.”
“I can do that. But I can also—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Finn said, interrupting her.
Amanda and Finn set off down the path toward the tiger bridge. At Finn’s suggestion, they kept a few yards apart in case they came under attack from the Overtakers. They sharpened their senses, alert to what was overhead and all around them for anything out of the ordinary—especially monkeys and orangutans.
They scouted both tiger yards from an old Indian temple made of stone and plaster, which was at the top of the tiger bridge. Amanda stared out the window that matched what Jez had sketched in the diary. An enormous tiger was stretched out in the shade about twenty feet below and across the yard. She couldn’t see the trapdoor from where she stood but could place it just to her left in her mind’s eye. She switched sides and kept looking around.
Finn patrolled the center of the bridge, also switching sides and looking into both tiger yards. He’d hoped to see a manhole cover in the path—some indication of maintenance access—but there was none.
“I think I have something,” Amanda said from behind him. She faced some plants and a beautiful section of the wall, where four large stone panels had been carved, each depicting a unique scene. Finn recalled these from having seen them earlier, and he said so.
“I don’t think we should be seen staring, so I’m going to turn my back, but check out the second panel,” Amanda said, spinning around.
“The owl!” Finn said. “And the elephant with the headdress.”
“Both of which she sketched in her diary,” Amanda reminded.
“It’s a secret panel,” Finn said. “The access to the tunnel.”
“We don’t know that,” Amanda protested.
“Screen me,” Finn said. “I’m going back there and looking for some kind of switch to open it. The way it’s on the corner, it’s perfect for maintenance, because you’re hidden to start with. No one’s going to see me, but just to make sure…”
“I’ve got you covered,” Amanda said.
Finn slipped into the vegetation and stepped into shadow. The ground here was disturbed, and he noticed several large shoeprints in the mud, convincing him all the more that they were right about this.
He ran his hand along the edge of one of the large stone panels, hoping to find some kind of trigger. Nothing. He tapped on it lightly. It sounded hollow. “This has got to be it,” he hissed. “But I can’t find anything to open it.”
“Try the owl,” Amanda called over her shoulder.
Of course! he thought. He stretched to reach the owl, opened his hand, and pushed. The tile with the owl moved. The panel clicked and popped open an inch. Finn threaded his fingers behind it and pulled. It was incredibly heavy.
“I’ve got it!” he announced.
But behind the panel he saw a metal gate. And the gate was padlocked. This helped explain why, if Jez had found this entrance, she’d been unable to get out.
He didn’t hesitate for a moment. Understanding the risk he took, Finn flushed all thought from his mind. He was neither anxious nor excited. Neither angry nor tired nor hungry. He felt the now familiar tingling in his arms and legs and witnessed a slight glow on the back of the stone panel that hung open: he had crossed over. He stepped through the wrought-iron gate, his glow illuminating a dank, stone stairway that spiraled down to his left. He turned around, his DHI already fading as fear crept into him. Fear of the dark. Fear of the unknown. He was himself again. He reached through the gate and grabbed a heavy iron handle on the inside of the panel. He pulled with all his strength, and the massive stone door clicked shut.