"Blast!" Covington seethed once he was out of the apartment. He was so close to getting the talisman. Once the little squirt yawned, her mother said her goodbyes early to tuck her in. Rebecca was as gullible as she was pretty. Being an actor himself, he could knew a fake yawn when he saw it. The tyke was smart, he'll give her that.

As he stormed out of the elevator to the lobby, he gave little notice to the young babysitter at the main door. She had pushed the door half open when Covington shoved past her, bumping into each other on the way out. The girl muttered an irritated, "Excuse you," but Covington ignored her. However, in one brief moment, something from her backpack caught his eye. He dismissed it as his imagination. He was having trouble getting the relic out of his mind.

Covington froze. He did imagine that, right? He turned to see the girl going the opposite direction. From the corner of her backpack, the precious doll stared.

As he hurried to catch up with the girl, a tug on the back of his coat hefted him off his feet. Covington found himself dangling from the grip of his old colleague Arnold. A tall bulky badger wearing a blue jacket and cap. With him was his short, stout partner in a yellow trench and fedora, Wallace.

"Gentlemen," Covington trembled. "What a pleasant surprise."

"You know what'd be more pleasant?" sneered Wallace, the brains to Arnold's brawn. "Having the doll in our possession. Now hand it over!"

"Now, now," stammered Covington. "Let's not be hasty. Oh!" In that instant, Arnold flipped him over, shaking him by the feet like a school bully stealing lunch money. Out tumbled loose change, a handkerchief and Covington's toupee, but no doll.

Wallace brought his face inches from his red-faced victim. "Where is it?" he hissed.

Too busy gasping to speak, Covington raised a shaking finger. His tormenters followed i's direction. They only caught one look at the wooden face just as the girl turned a corner.

Wallace and Arnold froze. Then Arnold dropped Covington and dashed with his partner toward the corner. What they had in fat and muscle, Covington had in speed, giving him a chance to grab their coats and halt them.

"You want to cause a scene?" he demanded.

The two badgers snarled, at first because he stopped them, then because he was right.

Covington released their coats and straightened his own jacket. "Clearly, this calls for a gentleman's method. So, I will approach her." But as he strode in the girl's direction, Arnold had him by the collar again.

"And trust you not to run off with the doll?" he sneered.

"Y-yes."

"We'll go the subtle route," said Wallace. "But this time, we're doing it our way." He poked Covington's chest. "Got a problem with that?"

Covington shook his head.

As Eliza made her way for the bus stop, her mind filled with questions about the strange doll. How old was it? Where did it come from? Could it really have been made for a burial? So lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the black car slowly tailing her until its headlight was parallel with her. The lights seemed to be glowering at her like a beast stalking its prey.

You're being paranoid, she scolded herself. Though, with a supposedly stolen relic in her backpack, who wouldn't be? To reassure herself, she glanced at the car. A short badger in a yellow fedora was at the wheel. Behind him, sat a taller, bulkier badger obscuring the view of the person next to him. She could just make out the pencil mustache and yellow wig.

Covington!

Maybe they weren't following her. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, but she didn't want to stay in view either. As she picked up her pace, the car picked up its own. Before she could run, the side door flung open. A thick hand stretched out and closed around her arm. As Eliza screamed for help, she was pulled into the car. One hand clasped over her mouth while the other entangled her like a boa constrictor.

The door slammed and the car sped on. As Eliza squirmed in her snatcher's grip, Covington snatched at her backpack and removed the doll. Had it been peeping out of the bag? Even though it wasn't a real person, Eliza felt a stab of betrayal.

"At last!" Covington sighed, holding up the doll as if he had uncovered the Holy Grail. "The stuff that dreams are made of!"

"I wanted to say that!" The driver groaned.

All this fuss for a piece of wood? That confirmed Eliza's hunch, though it didn't explain the doll's purpose. At his point, she no longer cared to find out. The man holding her had been so focused on the doll that his grip had loosened enough for her to shake his hand off her mouth.

"You can have it. Just let me go!"

Covington and the tall badger looked at her as if she had just appeared out of nowhere. So wrapped in their treasure, they saw her as no more a package than her backpack.

"Ah, yes," Covington stroked his mustache. "Unfortunately, my dear, we can't risk you telling the police."

"I won't tell!"

"Yeah, right," the driver scoffed. "Like we'd trust a twerp with a secret."

"I promise I won't- " Before she could finish, a gag bound her mouth. While Arnold restrained her, Covington pulled ropes from the front seat's back pocket. Did all criminals prepare for hostage situations?

"Sorry, my dear," said Covington, maintaining his gentleman persona. "But I'm afraid we can't take that chance."

"Whatta we do with her?" asked Arnold.

"Skull Island's miles from Cape Suzette," said Covington. "We can dump her on the way out."

Eliza's blood curdled. She kicked and screamed behind her gag, but there was little she could do against men twice her size and weight. A cruel reality she had to accept when pirates abducted her.

Arnold grit his teeth as he restrained her. "Can't we bump er off now?"

"I ain't havin no stiff ruin my car!" Wallace protested.

"Here!" Covington grunted, struggling to tie Eliza's thrashing feet. "Pull up and we'll throw her in the trunk."

It took all three of them to carry the squirming girl to the back of the car and fling her into the trunk. As the darkness shut her in, one question filled Eliza's head: What did she get herself into?