A Whole Clown

Natalia looked at her husband as she wondered who exactly was the poor sap he had involved in his schemes. Only someone naive and childish would think a plan like that would work. Without a doubt she was certain that he had conned someone's innocent child into doing it. She just didn't know whose child.

Her lips curled in disgust as he pretended to be devastated by his daughter's disappearance. She couldn't be bothered with the play he was attempting to perform for everyone at this time. To her, he simply looked like a clown, jumping around, making funny faces and doing his best to entertain his equally clown-like audience. Would a father who was really worried be sitting here like this without making any moves? Especially one with such a broad reach as he had? Did no one have sense anymore? 

It was as though she could see the big red nose, white paint, and colorful hair on him. Her lips twitched as she fought valiantly to keep from laughing. A battle lost whose loss was both decisive and disastrous. 

"Pffftttttt!" 

"Theodore paused his show---tears to look at her in surprise. What was this woman doing? Was she laughing? Now, of all times? Was she serious? They needed to sell this and look like concerned parents. Who would laugh after their child was just kidnapped? In his heart, he muttered, "Truly a pig teammate."

"Haaaaaa! My goodness. My poor little Theia was just... pfffftt. Natalia buried her face in her hands. "Now... "sniffles could be heard as she tried to collect herself. "And now, she's just gone. I'm sorry. I was trying my best to hold it…. But she must be so scared right now. I'm so worried about her. "

The people surrounding them looked at her with pity. It turned out that the sound was from her trying to hold back her tears, not from laughing. She was, after all, a mother first and foremost. Of course, she'd be affected. She was trying to be strong, and it didn't work for her. Yes, in their mind, that was exactly what happened. Meanwhile, the husband was unconcerned about her and completely focused on his own feelings.

Natalia smirked while continuing with her halting sobs. Judging from their sudden well-meaning words and heartfelt wishes, she knew they had bought her story.  That was a really close one. She actually laughed at a time like that. She usually had so much better control over herself. It seems she was truly worried. 

Theodore could feel the gazes in front of him change from sympathy to scorn after her words. This damned woman wasn't just a regular fox, she was a nine-tailed legendary Immortal fox that had honed her skills for centuries. Just a few words, and there was a complete shift in the atmosphere. Now, instead of a doting father, he was a neglectful husband. Just like that, his tears and the past fifteen minutes were wasted.

******

When Theia was grabbed and thrown into the car, she felt her heart drop. She was surrounded by four huge men, and she was too scared to even utter a word. Why was this happening to her? Who would do something like this to her? She simply didn't understand. The man turned to give her what she swore was the coldest stare she had received in her life. 

"If you behave, you'll be out in less than half an hour," he said. "Don't do anything foolish or else...."

*****

When Alexander pulled up to the abandoned warehouse lot, he saw a few of his men waiting for him. He nodded in satisfaction with their efficiency. They organized and managed to kidnap, obtain a confession, and make sure they were already there waiting in case the kidnappers showed up before he got there. His men were indeed the best. He would have to give them a bonus for this. He parked his X5 and leaned on the hood of his car, waiting for them to arrive. 

Less than five minutes later, a van was seen driving up to the warehouse lot. For some reason, when Alex stood up, his men started taking up positions in front of him. He tried moving them to the side so he could see what was going on, but they refused to move, saying that as soon as they had the situation under control, or at least saw what was going on, they wouldn't let him take the lead. Even if they were fired for it later. They were fully prepared to protect him, whether he liked it or not. 

As the van opened, they saw a 6'1" man with bulging muscles come out of the van, along with a 6'3" buff man. Just as they were about to go forward to directly confront them, they saw them smiling at someone in the van. They then watched in surprise as the boss' sister, who was "scared out of her mind and traumatized beyond belief" from this situation, according to the boss, held onto their hands and jumped out of the van, letting them hold her up for a while before laughing as they put her down. This... what exactly was this? Was this how a traumatized person behaved? 

Theia had never thought much about what being kidnapped would be like, but she had never expected it to be so... friendly. There were no guns that she could see, and no one threatened her, except to tell her if she behaved, she'd be out in a half hour. He then told her to behave or else she might hurt herself by doing something stupid. One of the men in the back even opened a bag of chips and offered them to her. She politely declined, wondering to herself if this was really alright. Was it really okay for them to be this non-threatening? She was baffled, but grateful as well. 

Five minutes later, Theia was actively engaging in conversations with them about the activities they found fun. The ride came to a stop and they decided to lift her into the air like she said she had always wanted to do as an adult. When she went up she really did feel like she was flying. It was an amazing feeling. She felt like she was a cloud, floating. When she got down, she couldn't help but laugh, thanking them. 

"Theia!" She heard her brother call out. 

Eh? Why was Alex here? She thought.