Winnie the Pooh Day

It’s Winnie The Pooh Day! Who doesn’t love the silly ol’ bear.

And for this day – a Sylum Snippet.

Now quick note – this is based off real events. See Notes after the story.

It had been a spur of the moment decision. If he had known that it would turn into a mission that would cross over three continents and a team of spies to finish the project, he would’ve left behind the adorable pin on its hook and walked away.

But hindsight didn’t finish the mission.

Brandt knew he was over his head, and if he was going to finish this insanity, he was going to need help.

Lucky for him, his wife was not out trying to save the world, even better the hacker Mate was in Australia. Brandt waltzed into the Sanctuary Hacienda, giving a quick wave to Wadsworth who was glaring as he strode by. He found Ethan out in the back area doing yoga, not the first time, though the sword was new. He stopped for a moment to admire the spy, then shook himself out of old memories. He was here on a mission.

Ethan came out of a low stretch, set the sword down on the mat, then straightened up. “What brings you all the way to Rio?”

“I could just be stopping by to say hello.” The look Ethan was giving him was the same one Anya would give him, when he was stalling. “I need your help.”

That got his wife’s attention. “What’s the situation?”

Brandt took a deep breath. “Winnie the Pooh.”

Ethan picked up the sword, then quickly rolled up the yoga mat. “Explain to me why we’ll be hunting down a silly ol’ bear, as I put these away and pack.”

The two made their way back into the hacienda, as Wilhelm explained the situation. “It started off back in January ….

January:

Wilhelm glanced over at Luther who was animatedly talking to one of the vendors on the advancements of AI technology. IMF had sent them both to the tech conference that was hosted by Stark Industries, though it was a collaborative group of companies that had come together. Luther was having a field day, Wilhelm had been interested for the first day, but slowly lost interest.

He wasn’t the tech guy, not compared to his Mate, who at the moment was stuck on an op with Ethan in the middle of Italy, someplace Wilhelm would rather be. He had grabbed as much interesting information that he knew Benji would love, and there were a few programs that would be helpful in analysis that he made note to follow up with.

Bored out of his mind, he escaped the Anaheim Convention Center and decided to wander over to Downtown Disney. He sent a quick message to Luther, to let him know where he was, smiling at the reply to see about finding food, as both were sick of Convention buffets.

As he walked up the crowded street, he ducked towards the pin trader hut, trying to avoid a double decker push chair. He grabbed his phone, smiling when he saw his Mate calling. “Hey, tell me you’re having a better time than I am.”

“I would kill to be where you’re at!” Benji’s excited voice came over the line. “All those tech companies, let alone the demonstrations from Stark on those new virtual tools they had developed. Besides being next to Disneyland!! I mean come on! Tell me you ditched to go visit Mickey or at least went down to Pooh Corner!!”

“Why would I go to Pooh Corner?” He had no idea what Pooh Corner even was.

“Winnie the POOH! The most cuddeliest silly ol’ bear!” There was a pause, then some cussing. “Gotta go.”

Brandt hung up then saw on the corner of the small building a pin that had said silly ‘ol bear. The employee told him it was a series of pins that would come out once a month through the year, and it went on a special frame. It was a perfect Christmas gift for his Mate.

February:

Brandt was sure Ethan was going to take out Huntley, the only reason he hadn’t was they all liked Sydney. The political climate in the US at the moment wasn’t helping their situation. He had left Ethan and Luther in London, and was slowly making his way back to DC so he could check in, and then hopefully flee the area and steal his Mate for a long weekend locked in a hotel room, so they could just nap.

He took the advantage of being away from Benji, and had a layover in Orlando, Florida so he could drop into Disneyworld and get the second pin. He had stashed the first set in his office in DC, in the back closet only he had access to. After he had returned from the conference in January, Benji had made sure to up his Pooh education. Brandt was pretty sure Ethan was Tigger, Luther was Eeyore, Benji was Piglet … but he refused to be the cuddly bear and figured he was Kanga.

It took a bit of searching but he found the pin, grabbed it along with some lunch then headed on his way.

March:

How was finding a pin so hard?

Brandt had snuck into California specifically to get the next pin, only for it not to be available. After a long conversation with the employee, he discovered there was a supplier change, and the next one would be out later in the month.

Which meant he had to figure out how again to sneak off to a Disney property and get it. Only for the employee to let him know he could order it online.

He refused to acknowledge the knowing look on her face, reminded him way too much of his wife, so he fled. While he was there he grabbed some beignets and did some shopping before making his way back to the airport.

Two weeks later he ordered the pin and it arrived without any hassle, nor a Mate any wiser.

April:

By luck he was in Paris two days ahead of his team, so he took the advantage and headed to Disneyland Paris. Brandt was disturbed how much of a connoisseur he was becoming of Disney Parks, let alone the costs of getting into said parks to buy one pin. He was about a week behind his normal time period, but figured it wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

When he got to the park, he proceeded to each of the pin locations only to discover they were sold out. At least they had it at this park, for a moment he wasn’t sure. It seemed that the silly ol’ bear was popular all over.

While heading to the next pin location he checked online, but they were already sold out.

By pure luck he found one at the last place, the employee informed him that there were only a few left, and the collection had become popular so be cautious on his timing.

He should’ve paid attention.

May:

Brandt smiled as Benji, who had dreamt of Lightsabers, was having a blast at Star Wars Night, at Disneyland. He had read about it back in January and knew it would be a fun surprise for his Mate. Also worked out perfectly for him to get the next pin!

Except he wasn’t finding it anywhere.

It had been released that day, and it was nowhere.

Trying not to panic, he let it go for the night, just enjoying Benji being a Jedi, while he contemplated if he should build a droid. It would be fun to annoy everyone as he sent it all over the castle.

The next morning, while Benji went on the Pooh ride for the 3rd time, Brandt accidentally found the pin in the Pooh Shop. He thanked every deity he could think of, bought it and promptly hid it.

June:

Oh he really should’ve paid attention to the warnings.

He had been distracted, and didn’t get to any of the parks until the end of the month. Only to discover that it had been sold out for weeks. Grabbing his normal beignets and coffee he sat down with his phone, and figured out what the next options were.

It was sold out online.

Figures.

With some search he found a company in Hong Kong who could get the pin to him in about three weeks. Well since it was for a Christmas gift, the time was no issue. He quickly ordered it, praying it would get through customs.

The analyst in him started to dig for information on why he was having a harder time getting the pin. It was a bear, a cute silly ol’ bear, but a damn bear. As he scrolled through a variety of websites it started to become clear. It’s always easy to start the collection, finishing it is the more difficult part.

Each month fewer pins were made.

Making it more of a collectible.

And Pin Traders were a ruthless bunch of assholes.

He had to make plans for July.

July:

He made his way to Disneyworld on the 1st Tuesday of the month. He was damn proud he had been able to do that, except it would seem that just being there on that Tuesday wasn’t enough.

They had been sold out across the park, and it was just 2pm.

Grumbling, he pulled up that nice place he had found in Hong Kong and ordered the pin. At least it wasn’t that much more expensive, and it had arrived with no hassle.

Maybe he should just order online next time.

August:

He made plans and they went straight to hell.

Brandt had told Benji he had meetings in Los Angeles, so flew out at the first of the month. He got a hotel near the airport, then drove out to Disneyland. He had tried to get the pin online, but it was already sold out – how did that even happen! It dropped at 8am, and was sold out by 8:15.

Brandt got to the park by 9am and the line was huge.

How is this even a thing!

He listened to everyone around him. So many were talking about how this was meant to be a fun collection, and now everyone was having a hard time getting the next ones in the set.

He hadn’t reached the middle of the line, when was told the pin had been sold out. Frustrated beyond reason, he stalked off looking for coffee. Sitting at the Starbucks drinking his much earned coffee, his blood pressure rose when he couldn’t find the pin on his normal store.

This Christmas Present was becoming a nightmare.

Grudgingly he opened up Ebay then promptly choked on his coffee.

How Much!?

These pin traders are making a fucking fortune. He squinted at one of the posts, that picture was next to the damn Pin Trader store! Maybe he should consider a career change. After watching as the price kept going up, he found a seller with a good rating and bought it before he thought too hard about his banking account.

Brandt just kept telling himself Benji was going to love this gift. And making his Mate happy was worth all the hassle.

September:

This time he was in the line before 8am, hell he showed up at the damn park at 7am when the garage fucking opened. How the hell was there so many people in front of him?

WHY?

“So what brings you here?” An older woman behind him in line asked. “My daughter is at class and asked me to pick up the pin. She told me to come early but wasn’t expecting this.”

“I’ve been collecting the Pooh pins for my boyfriend. Thought it would be a nice Christmas gift. It’s only been the last few months that have been difficult.” He answered easily as he checked his phone, making sure Ethan was recovering like he should be, and not trying to do something stupid. “I slightly regret it, after the hassle it’s been, but now I’m just determined.”

The two talked about random things as they slowly moved through the line. Brandt kept watching the employee that came out to show what was available, frowning when the Pooh pin disappeared. He was right at the front of the line, the family in front of him – individually went to the register to buy pins. The father was paying cash so had to wait, but they also made him wait despite the fact a register was open.

By the time he got to said register the pin had just sold out. The damn family in front of him had each bought two.

He stalked off, trying not to admit there may have been tears. After coffee and beignets, he pulled up his phone, cringed at the price and bought it on ebay. The silly ol’ bear was costing him a fortune.

He couldn’t keep doing this.

He needed help.

“So here I am.” He glanced over at Ethan, who had listened to the whole damn tale. “I have no idea what to do, but this has to be a military campaign. It’s just going to get harder, with each month. By the time we get to December, there will be half the available pins that started in January.”

Ethan simply nodded. “Okay let’s do it.”

October:

Ethan had told Luther he was on a special mission with Brandt. The hacker hadn’t looked happy, but let them run off and ‘play’.

No mission worked without surveillance. Ethan studied the pin boards, social media, and discovered more about pin trading than he likely ever needed to know. But then in his job, weirder shit has come in handy.

He played tourist and scouted Disneyland. It was the easier park to infiltrate, and more of a controlled environment. While doing this he found Pooh Corner, and discovered Tigger Tails, the chocolate covered marshmallow treat, maybe his new favorite things.

With a grin and sob story about the pins, he discovered that the Pooh Corner shop had the Pooh Pins on release day. They normally do not have ‘pin releases’ but since this was Pooh, they had made an exception. He was informed they will not have any of the other pins available, just that one.

Ethan had a plan.

It involved rising before dawn and a pirate.

Brandt stared at him in shock, as they went over the plan with Sparrow. The pirate took everything seriously, nodding in all the right places.

“Distract the masses while you kidnap the bear.”

Ethan paused for a moment. “We’re not kidnapping the bear, but yes distract the masses.”

“I think the bear would be worth a lot.” He pointed out, just as an option. “People love that silly ol’ bear.”

Sparrow sauntered off into the back areas of the park. Brandt glanced over at Ethan. “If we kidnap the bear we could hold it hostage for the pin.”

“We’re not kidnapping Winnie the Pooh. At least not yet.”

They made their way into the park, not surprised at the long lines at the Emporium or the Pin Trader shop on Main Street. Hell the Emporium wasn’t even open yet.

“I’m going to break for Frontierland, you head for Pooh.” Brandt slipped his earpiece in, then headed for the already crowded line. “I’m about two rows back on the right-hand side, as that’s the side of the store once let into the area.”

“I’m three back, with a lot of kids in front of me.” Ethan responded.

The two chatted lightly as the countdown to 8am began. “Five minutes to door knock.”

Brandt’s head snapped up as he glared at the vicinity his wife was located. “Haha.”

“Accruate though.”

“Sadly.” Hell, getting the nuclear codes was less stressful.

Ethan got caught up in the excitement. The employees gave the DO NOT RUN speech, and let everyone know what rides were closed. The groans indicated some were not happy.

Then the rope dropped.

He might not be able to run, but he was able to maneuver around a group of people easily. As he made his way through Adventureland, he still had a large crowd with him. There on the bridge over Pirates of the Caribbean was his pirate.

Ethan slid by as Sparrow who stepped in front of the crowd getting the exact reaction they knew he would get. As he made his way past the Haunted Mansion, he could hear Brandt.

“How the hell did I end up this far back? No seriously. Who are these pin people? I just want the bear!”

As he went over the hill, and turned left at the Hungry Bear restaurant, the surveillance had paid off. Ethan was tempted to go to the Pooh ride, he heard the first person gets to sign a book! But he stayed on course, and was in the line, only 3 back. He wasn’t sure who the two women in front of him were, but he felt as if he should recruit them since he never saw them.

Not even 5 mins later the store opened.

“Mission Accomplished. Pooh Pin has been bought.” He stated as he exited the building.

“Thank you!” Brandt practically yelled. “I’ll meet you at Pooh Corner.”

“I’m going on the ride!” Ethan secured the pin in his backpack, then went to visit Pooh and Friends.

By the time he got off Brandt was waiting for him. “Sparrow is having a great time, and the employees are trying to figure out who the hell he is. But since the guests love him, they can’t drag him off.” He then pulled Ethan into a hug, and kissed him soundly. “How about I get us some breakfast and we hit some rides.”

“We can play November’s escapade.”

November:

Sadly using Sparrow as a distraction wasn’t going to work a secpmd time around. It had taken the employees three hours to get him out of New Orleans Square, then promptly lost their minds as they tried to integrate him.

‘I’m Captain Jack Sparrow.’ He took off his hat and bowed.

‘No really, who are you and how did you get in here?’

‘Luv. I’m Captain Jack Sparrow.’

Once he had escaped their clutches, Will though had thought the situation humorous refused to let Ethan borrow his Mate again. Last he checked they were off sailing somewhere, just to keep the pirate out of trouble

Ethan had another idea.

On the last surveillance mission, he was able to discover how Disney characters worked, and surprisingly which ones he would fit into. After a much needed sugar raid on Tigger Tails, he came up with a plan.

Brandt stared at his wife like he was insane.

This was not a new look.

“Your choice.” Ethan held out the grey costume. “I’m ironically too tall, words that we never thought would come out of my mouth, for the Pooh costume. I’m too short for Tigger, so Eeyore it is.”

“Should’ve brought Luther.” Brandt muttered softly.

“My Mate is not Eeyore, more like Kanga trying to reign us all in.” Ethan shook the actually heavy material at his husband. “It’s either you or me.”

Wilhelm scoffed. “I’m Kanga.”

“It’s cute you think you wrangle us, you’re just as bad. If anything you’re Owl.” He shook it again. “Okay so I’m going to be the grumpy donkey, since you’re being an ass.”

The plan was simple.

One of them, it would now seem Ethan, would distract the masses by being a member of the 100 Acres Club. He would’ve preferred Pooh but for once he was too tall, and Tigger was way over his height, so Eeyore it was.

Brandt wore a suit, making it look like he was a Disney employee, but not one of the handlers. The two set out from the back area of Pooh Corner, and just as the mob of people came around the corner. Ethan waddled towards them, and Brandt waited until at least a few people were in front of him, then got into line.

After he got the pin, he took some pictures to send to Luther. Ethan was having a blast with the kids, and making sure to keep within the parameters of the conduct Disney set forth for their characters. He let a few more minutes go by then escorted Eeyore off, before the real employees showed up.

December:

Since October and November had gone smoothly, the two just decided to get a room at the hotel and be as early as possible. They would get in the front of the line for rope drop, and between the two of them, haul ass to Pooh Corner.

Get the last god damn pin, maybe some breakfast. Ethan had booked them both into a spa treatment at the Tenaya Spa, it would be a nice treat after all the hell Wilhelm had gone through for this damn silly ol’ bear.

It didn’t take them long to get down to the area, most of the people dropping off for Galaxy’s Edge. They got into line, about five back, so no doubt they would get the pin …

“What?” Brandt frowned as he heard the last part of what the Disney Employee was telling the ones in front of the line.

“We’re sorry, but the Pooh Pin has been delayed. It won’t be available today. We are told it will be available next week.” The employee gave them a small smile, and took a few steps back just in case.

Wilhelm glanced over to Ethan, who was working furiously on his phone. “Damn.” He shoved the phone into his pocket. “It’s already sold out.”

“Can we come back next week?”

“We actually have a Mission next week.” Ethan pointed out. “Plus there are no reservations available for the next two weeks, it’s the Holidays.”

“I guess it’s back to Ebay.”

“Oh no.” Ethan stepped away from the small shop. “We’re bringing in Luther.”

Luther stared at his Mate, and the tagalong husband. They had shown up in Rio that morning, looking exhausted. He had wondered what the two had been up to, and even questioned Sparrow, who just smirked and sauntered off. As he sat back in his chair and listened to the whole tall tale, blinked a few times, then pulled up his laptop. “I could’ve hacked the system to get these pins.”

“That would’ve been too easy. Besides, this was kinda fun.” Ethan smiled at his Mate, as he leaned against the desk. “I dressed up as Eeyore.”

“I thought Brandt would be better at that one.” Luther ignored the indignation. “I have no idea what algorithms they got on this site, but I either want to find and murder them or recruit them for the IMF.”

“I have to admit there were a few pin traders that thought about recruiting, still no idea how they got there before me.” Ethan enjoyed watching his Mate do his magic. “What’s the plan?”

“I found out why they were late, it seems there was a problem at the factory, so they weren’t shipped. The first shipment left Vietnam yesterday. Normally this type of product is shipped via containers, but it looks like this particular one is going by air. Flights heading to Japan, Singapore, Paris, Orlando, and Los Angeles.”

“Do we know what warehouses?” Brandt asked, glancing over at Ethan who was already grinning. “We can break in and grab a pin, and no one would be the wiser.”

Luther glanced between the two of them, shaking his head as he stood. “Let me pack my gear. Brandt, get us a plane, and we can be in Paris in ten hours. The pins won’t be released for another day, so we have a short window. If we miss this, you two are buying tickets for Disneyland Paris, and a spa day for me.”

Ethan chuckled then kissed his Mate. “I haven’t been to Disneyland Paris. I say we get tickets anyways. It will be fun.”

Luther despised theme parks, but he would suffer the mouse to see that grin on his Mate’s face. “I still want a spa day. Plus some time at the fashion houses in Paris.”

“Deal.”

They didn’t have much time to prep, it was likely the pins would be moved to the merchandise stores at the park, to be ready for release day. The warehouse they were located at, was near the airport and Luther was disgusted at the lack of security.

“It’s Disney merch, not nuclear weapon codes.” Brandt pointed out as he found a spot to give Ethan cover. Maybe having a sniper nest was overkill, but Christmas was less than twenty days away. He still needed to get everything cleaned in the display frame and wrapped. Benji was suspicious as hell, when he suddenly got called into a tech conference in Vancouver, but it kept him out of this particular mission.

“Have you met Disney adults?” Luther asked from the van they had stolen. It was for a local delivery service, and didn’t look out of place outside a distribution warehouse.

“Yes. They scare the shit out of me, and I admire them greatly.” Ethan laughed lightly, enjoying this particular mission way too much. “I kinda get behind the whole just act like a kid, screw adulting.”

Luther was seeing more Disney trips in his future. Wait … Nathan. He plotted to get Uncle Nathan to take his hyper active nephew to Disney parks in his area. Yes this could work.

“Can we focus?” Brandt tried to keep the impatience out of his voice. “Let’s just grab the bear and leave.”

“That sounds very criminal.” A new voice popped onto their coms.

It took Luther seconds to locate the person, and their team.

“Paul?” Ethan asked incredulously. “What brings you here?”

“I have a suspicion the same thing.” He dropped down into the warehouse, using the same rope Ethan had just used. “Joshua, say hello to the other spy team.”

“Hey. Never done this spy thing. It’s kinda fun.” Joshua’s voice came over the coms. “Wait who’s in the van, how did you get a van – that’s cool.”

“New to this type of gig?” Ethan looked over at the Double-O. Paul just rolled his eyes. “Luther grab Joshua, and we’ll finish up here.”

There was some grumbling, followed by the slide of the door, then silence before a yelp. “Got the idiot. You couldn’t have brought Jake?”

“Stealing Pooh pins doesn’t normally call for Assassins.” Paul muttered. “Why are you guys here in Paris?”

“Closer than LA.” Ethan shrugged as he made his way over to the crates. He read through the manifest, then found the corresponding crate. It took him seconds with a crowbar and had the thing opened. And there it was – the last pin. The Hero’s Party. He reached in and grabbed two, tossing one over to Paul. “Let’s get out of here, and then you two can explain why you’re here. Not really MI:6 type of mission.”

“Nor IMF.”

“Both of you are clear, the guard is asleep at his desk.” Brandt sighed as he got up from his perch and headed for the van.

An hour later, they were at one of Paul’s safe houses, cleaned, and passing around drinks. Wilhelm gave a quick rundown of why he was after the Pooh Pin, and the hassle it had taken to get each month.

Paul laughed lightly.

“David had seen it online, thought it was adorable and a nice memory of A.A. Milne. He had met him a few times, said was a genuine nice guy and loved his stories. But in typical fashion, lost track about March so Joshua took to getting them, thinking it would be a nice surprise.”

“By May I couldn’t get it online, but took a quick trip to Disneyland Paris and was able to get it. Then it just got worse from there.” Joshua added to the conversation.

“He brought me into the whole thing, and by the time we got to December, we had Hannibal, Yuski, and Dan involved. I thought Dan was going to do damage when it was discovered the pin wasn’t released last week. I thought about just waiting until it was released this Tuesday but was so done.”

“Hence the raid on the warehouse.” Brandt sipped his wine.

“It was that our let Hannibal lose at Walt Disney World, and well that would just be … “

“A very bad idea.” Joshua finished for him.

Ethan held up his glass. “To Winnie the Pooh a silly ol’ Bear.”

***

It wasn’t often Ethan and Luther visited Sylum Manor. Well together. Nico has had fly by visits from the International Spy, usually to let him know any information that would be useful. Especially about Phelps and the Illumanti.

Ethan had found the Stieff Pooh Bear on one of the shelves in his office, it had been a gift from Langdon, he had got him the whole set. The spy started telling him about the hunt for Pooh.

“You could’ve just asked Langdon. He’s practically Disney royalty. Was friends with Walt. Though it wasn’t written down or officially or anything, I know he put money into building Disneyland.”

Ethan sat in the chair across from the desk Nico was sitting, still holding the bear. “Robert Langdon, in Lealta, he was part of the whole Illuminati, tried to blow up the Vatican situation.”

“Yeah that one.” Nico sat back laughing lightly.

“Wouldn’t have pegged him as a Disney Adult.”

“Yearly trips. Annual passes. Club 33. The whole thing.”

“Good to know.” Ethan put that down in case of future pin hunts. “So about your foray into politics I have something that could help you.”

***

So yes this based on Speed and mine’s adventure last year trying to get these pins.  WE WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN.   And yes about June we had a hard time getting the pins, and had to use CastlePlanetHK – to find a few of them and when they didn’t have it ebay.   We may have not used a pirate for distraction, but our Sparrow was kind enough to try and help get it online.

Yes – unlike Brandt I did break down in tears when the family of 3 in front of me each bought 2 of the Pooh Pins and they were the last ones.  I’m still pissed about that as the dad was paying cash and they made me wait until he went to the only cash register despite the card one being open.

Yes – in December the day I got down to Pooh Corner in record time was 5 from the door when it was discovered they were not being released because of a delay.  Disneyland takes reservations, and the next Tuesday was already booked, and I couldn’t take another day off work.   We didn’t raid the nearest warehouse, instead we were lucky to find it on CastlePlanetHK and just bought it pre-ordered.

The pin came on the 29th of December and we were able to put it up on the 31st to finish out of the year.

And here’s a picture of the full collection.