“Mom, Dad! Wake up! Steve will be coming soon. Come on!”

Ed and Nicole Hughes moaned their irritation at being risen so early in the morning, but swallowed their annoyance for their daughter’s sake when they realized that today was Samantha’s grand tour of DisneyLand with her famous escort, Steve Austin. He had footed the bill for their luxurious accommodations at the Contemporary Hotel on the theme park premises.

Ed rolled over and kissed his wife. “Got to get ready for my job interview.”

“I’ll call room service for breakfast.”

“Order light, Honey. My stomach’s in knots. I’m a nervous wreck.”

“Meeting the CEO of DisneyLand can be nerve-wracking.”

“Got to thank Colonel Austin again for providing me with this golden opportunity.”

“He should be here in about two hours.”

“With two women and just one bathroom, I’ll never get there in time,” he ribbed at his wife who hurled a pillow at him.

Steve stepped out of the monorail and went to the elevators, unaware that two enemy agents had been shadowing him for quite sometime. They balked at the idea to follow him up to the Hughes’ hotel room for fear of blowing their cover.

“How are we going to nab him with all these people around?”

“The boss has something else planned. We were mainly instructed to report his every move. He apparently has an operative on site who will spring into action at the proper time and place.”

“Good, ‘cause I wasn’t too keen on the prospect of risking creating a scene front of all those witnesses.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not our job,”

“Did the boss say why he wanted Austin for?”

“No and I don’t care. I just want to get paid and flee to South America for a well-deserved retirement,” he said with a pleased smile.

“Amen!”

Nicole was finishing braiding Samantha’s hair when Steve knocked on the door.

“It’s Steve!” Sam squealed with delight and dashed to the door. “Hi Steve!”

“Hello pretty lady.”

She clasped his hand to steer him inside.

“Good morning, Colonel.”

“Mrs. Hughes. Are the accommodations satisfactory?”

“They are. Thank you very much.”

“My pleasure, believe me.”

Sam tugged at Steve’s sleeve to have him squatted down to her height. “Are we going to see Goofy?”

“Absolutely!” he happily informed, squeezing her small waist.” Not only Goofy, but Mickey, Minnie, Snow White, Cinderella..”

“Cinderella too?” she gushed with sparkling eyes widened in wonder.

“Of course. We are going to meet them at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. We even have a lunch date with them, just the two of us.”

“Oh, Steve!” Samantha flung her arms around Steve’s neck and strangled him in a tight clench. “Thank you.”

Steve’s heart pounded wildly at the little girl’s ebullient enthusiasm. He clapped her on the back “You’re welcomed, Sweets.”

“Mom, isn’t it wonderful?” Sam asked as she excitedly bounced up and down.

“Yes, it is.”

Steve stood upright. “Are you ready to go?”

“Just about. I need to go to the bathroom, but dad has been there for hours,” she complained huffily, making her annoyance known by stomping her foot. She sighed and rapped on the bathroom door. “Dad! Steve is here. I have to go to the bathroom before we go.”

“Just a few more seconds, Samantha. I’m almost finished,” came the voice behind the door.

“That’s what you said twenty minutes ago.” She looked at an amused Steve and exhaled in exasperation.

Ed opened the door and let Sam in.

“Colonel Austin.” Ed extended his arm to shake Steve’s hand. “I wanted to reiterate my gratitude for that job interview.”

“I merely made a phone call. The rest is up to you.”

“How do I look?” he asked his wife as he straightened his tie.

“Perfect. You’ll knock that Eisner fellow dead.”

He reached for his suit jacket spread on the bed. “I don’t want to kill him, just make a good solid impression,” he laughed. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck!” Steve and Nicole chorused.

As Ed walked out the door, Sam came out of the bathroom. “Ready!”

“Alright, let’s go.” Steve took her hand and turned to Nicole. “Oh yes, I made dinner reservation at the Polynesian Hotel restaurant for seven tonight. If we’re not there yet, asked for Steve Austin’s table and they’ll sit you.”

“Thank you. Ed and I will be there. By the way, if you need to reach me I will be here.”

“You’re not going out? Explore the grounds?”

“It’s not really for me. Besides, I kind of look forward to this time alone. It’s good for the soul, not to mention the ears.”

“I know what you mean. See you tonight.”

“Bye mom!”

“Bye!”

Steve and Sam met with the Disney characters at the entrance gates, making the girl envious of the others kids around her. Among the throng of visitors to the park, was a burly man who nodded to his agent in the Goofy costume. He acknowledged back by scratching behind one of his floppy ears before he and his companions led Sam and Steve inside the theme park.

While the young girl was marveling at the wonders her Disney friends were showing her, Goofy took Steve aside to advise him that Oscar had called and wanted him to contact him back as soon as possible.

“Why didn’t he just page me at the hotel,” Steve asked dubiously.

“He did, but you had already left. Since he knew you’d be meeting with me, he called security and had them relay the message over to me,” the agent explained in a muffled voice disguised by his costume.

“Alright. Where can I find a phone?”

“Follow me.”

Steve glanced back at Samantha.

“Don’t worry about your little lady, she’s in good hands.”

Goofy led Steve through an alley. At the other end, a man with a tranquilizer gun shot a dart into Steve’s neck, rendering him unconscious within seconds. Goofy lifted him in his arms and dropped his limp body in the back of a van.

“What about the girl? She’s going to ask about his absence,” Goofy said.

“You take care of it. And make it good. We don’t need her to sound the alarm before we drive him out to the remote area.”

“What’s going to happen to the guy who wore this costume?” he asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry about him. It’s not your concern. Go on now, before they start getting suspicious.” The man slapped Goofy on the back and hopped in the passenger seat of the van. “Good luck,” he saluted before signaling the driver to leave the premises.

Goofy returned to the gang. Remaining in character of a mute dog, he asked Cinderella to explain to Samantha that her friend had to meet with his boss on urgent business, and that he should be back shortly.

Samantha didn’t flinch at her heroin’s explanation, whom she trusted implicitly, and continued on her journey through the wonderland.

By late afternoon, as the tour drew to an end, Goofy gradually distanced himself from the group, lagging behind until he disappeared out of sight.

An hour later, Cinderella and Snow White waited with Sam at the gate for Steve to return.

“That’s strange. He should be here by now,” Cinderella confided in Snow White.

“Or he would have given word that he was going to be late.”

“Michelle, you stay here with her. I’ll go check with security.”

“Okay.”

Cinderella strode up the wooden stairs up to the security building where she notified the guards on duty of Colonel Austin’s absence. They called Oscar at the OSI in Washington who sprung out of his chair when he first learned of the supposed urgent call he gave earlier today.

“I didn’t speak to Colonel Austin at anytime during the day. Who told you that?” Oscar asked, speaking in ragged bursts.

“Our guy in the Goofy costume.”

“Find him and hold him in custody until I get there. I’m catching a plane right now.”

“Sure thing, Mister Goldman.”

The guard hung up the phone and picked another to alert all security posts throughout the theme park to be on the look out for Goofy or the man playing the character.

Cinderella returned to Snow White and Samantha who was getting restless at Steve’s lateness.

“Where’s Steve!” Sam asked.

“I don’t know, Honey. Can you tell us where your parents are staying? We’ll take you to them.”

“Sorry ladies, but my Sweetkins and I have a dinner date,” Steve announced, as he walked up to them from behind.

“Steve!” Sam whooped with joy and threw herself in his arms.

“Sorry, Honeybunch. I was detained for awhile.”

Sam kissed him on the cheek before sliding down his arms. “Are we going to meet mom and dad?”

“You bet.”

Cinderella and Snow White both stood confounded by Steve’s sudden manifestation. They knitted their eyebrows, prompting him to fill them in on the reason for his long absence.

“Everything’s fine, ladies. I took a trip with some unfriendly folks who I’m happy to report are safely tucked inside a cell in Frontier Land.”

“You just had to rope yourself some outlaws, heh cowboy?” Cinderella teased.

“You know me so well, Cindy,” Steve replied with a friendly wink.