Idk..like...Kidnapped?

Hopeless

The next two days were just as hellish as the days before. We had decided to attempt negotiations for the child all over again and the kidnapper just kept raising the deal on us so we finally agreed to meet him with 70 million dollars.

"I still can't see why we can't just make another puppet," Gina said to me.

"If another company gets ahold of the Child it will be breaking our deal with Legacy Effects and then we will be more screwed than we are now."

"Oh," she said, a little surprised at my irritated tone. I can't say I was surprised that I was irritated. We had been trying to negotiate for two days. The police had been in and out of this building trying to track him down. We finally set up a taped phone but they ended up being dead ends. The police busted into two houses of families to find no one was related to the crime in any way and they all had alibis.

We had narrowed down our suspect list to the security guy who disappeared the day The Child went missing. We traced his banking account and it was canceled days before that fatal event. We checked his apartment but it was wiped clean, fingerprints and all. We even ran a background check on this man, his record was spotless. It seemed that all hope was lost and we would have to fold to his heinous demands. To make it all worse the man threatened to hurt The Child or even not return him. On top of it all, we had to deal with the media going ballistic over the Child's disappearance. They had an informant on the inside of our company spreading the news to everyone. The fans were distraught and started to get wilder at our gates saying we weren't fit to care for the child in the first place. But in here, the room was as silent as the vacuum of space.

"I've complied with the demands," Favreau said, walking in the room.

"He's gonna run," I said.

"I have to take that chance," he said, "He wanted me to wire it to a 'secure' account and have no one tracking him."

"You can't do that!" I protested.

"It was my only option. Bob and I talked it over and we have the top cops searching the place and ready to ambush him when he comes."

"And you're sure that'll work?" I questioned, believing we were making a mistake.

"It'll have to. We have no other options," he sighed plopping down in a chair.

We waited that whole day for the cops to come. In fact, many of us waited until 9:30 that night, but they didn't come. Finally, I made the executive decision to shut things down.

"But-" Taika started.

"No, go home. Eat dinner, be with your families," I said, addressing the few who were still there, "They know where to find us. Also, they need people with alert minds, not bleary-eyed zombie people who can barely stay awake much less think."

The people around me bowed their heads in quiet agreement. It was clear they didn't like it but they couldn't argue with me. I watched them head into their cars and start to drive away. Jon was about to go into his car when two police cars drove up. We looked at each other and practically ran to them.

"Do you have any good news?" I asked, trying to remain hopeful.

The cop looked down at his shoes and then looked back at us. "We scouted that place from the time you wired the money over to about 9 o'clock in the evening. We found nothing. We questioned people and were very cautious and all of the money's gone. It's like you never wired it over. He must have had someone on the inside take it out directly.

I almost started to cry. No child, no money, no hope. I was devastated and it was clear that Jon was too.

"Thank you, officer," I said. He nodded and left. Jon and I looked at each other.

"How about you people tomorrow," I said. He nodded. "Go get some rest, you'll need it for tomorrow."

We both left not saying much, on the outside I was calm But on the inside I was boiling with rage.

"How could he have done that!" I screamed alone in my car. "How could he have slipped past every defense and still not get caught!"

I was still angry the next morning when Jon broke the news to the cast and crew. There was a lot of crying as many feared this would be the end of their jobs. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau both had to pry Taika off the pool of tears he had made on the floor, to keep him from suffocating. Bob Iger did not have the same reaction as the people. He was furious at the law enforcement and even angrier at the loss of the money. That day was called a half-day for most of them, as many were still not coping well with the news. I and a few others were still left in the building to deal with more trauma. Even poor Janet had to stay in the office, though she was mostly consoling those who were in tears, including poor Taika, who at that point was just resting his head on her lap as she worked.

The rest of my day passed by and I will admit I chose to forget what had happened that day. But I remember going to bed feeling exhausted from all of the drama and I was looking forward to a good night's sleep, however, I do remember, in exact detail, what happened the next morning at yet another ungodly hour.