As Octavius paused momentarily from giving orders to watch the man leave, he couldn't suppress the growing suspicion that something was wrong. But with the man in question now gone, he shook the idea away and went back to commanding the men preparing the catapults for their all too famous artillery show. That is, until one of his men ran up to him panting breathlessly, which was not in script, and began speaking in a swift slurry of words.
"Sir!" He said urgently, trying to calm himself enough so the little exchange didn't look strange to the spectators who stood excitedly above them. "Word from the West!"
"What is it?" Octavius questioned, the suspicion returning as he listened intently, trying to make it seem to the expectant audience that this was part of the show.
"We have a code blue. Their leader has been taken."
Jedediah! Octavius thought, though he refrained from saying it. "Spread the word. Tell Marcus to take a team out to find Larry, and tell anyone you see we have a code blue situation. This is serious, and it is crucial we do this as simply and believable as possible."
The soldier walked away slowly, which was rather painstaking for Octavius, since Jedediah's abductor was probably already outside the walls of the museum. But it was necessary as to avoid more dangers with the people who watched with puzzled expressions as the tiny men below them began acting, well, strange.
The museum had a very special way of passing the word amongst the exhibits if something went wrong, and had different color codes to symbolize certain situations, and ways to fool the people from the outside world into thinking there was a problem with wiring and controls and whatever else they thought powered the marvelous exhibits. In the event of a code blue, the most serious emergency, as it meant the Tablet's secret was in danger, and everyone was to take immediate action.
The word was passed very simply, without any suspicion from the visitors. Since the alert started in Rome, one of the cavalrymen would fly a blue ribbon, which would alert the other two dioramas of the situation. The cowboys, with their own way of alerting their fellow exhibits, would fly a blue flag over one of their buildings, which in turn would alert the Mayans, who didn't really care about any of the other exhibits, but knew enough that a code blue was bad, and would have a few of their warriors painted blue parade around the exhibit.
If the miniatures were lucky, than the bigger exhibits, who had been trained to detect these minor shifts, would notice and pass the word their own way. The Civil War men would fly a blue flag, and the Huns, who were either doing a story or magic tricks, would pull out a blue handkerchief. And even the animals understood the color meanings. A monkey with a blue tipped tail meant they were to "act broken," and "stop working." Eventually, the message would meet Larry who, with his right hand men Teddy and Ahkmenrah, would tell everyone that there was a system malfunction and the museum was closing early.
All around the museum, the exhibits that were thought to be controlled somehow suddenly stopped working. The miniatures, who would have been walking around about their nightly routines, were to stop working immediately and "freeze" in place, while the animals were to stop roaming and "freeze" as well, along with the statue exhibits, like the Moi statue lovingly referred to by all as Dum-Dum, and Rexy, who was to slump down as if broken. And the exhibits who people presumed to be "actors" were to act confused and explain that the "controls" had gone out.
Sure enough, the message had reached Larry, as his voice could be heard over the intercom; "Ladies and gentlemen, due to technical errors with the system the museum is now closing early. All complaints will be taken and refunds will be given at the front desk. Thank you."
As the people began filing out of the various rooms and halls, the "controlled" exhibits remained as still as possible until the last person had left, and then finally moved once again, shifting sore muscles and gathering in the main entrance area to hear what was the matter. But first, thanks to Marcus and the small team he'd assembled, Larry was going to the Hall of Miniatures to check out the situation right at its roots.
"Octavius," The night guard said, jogging up to the display as soon as he entered the room. The Roman general turned from reassuring his own people at the sound of his voice, and stepped to the lip of his exhibit to face Larry, who was squatting low as to easily converse with the smaller man.
"Larry," The Roman replied with a slight bow.
Larry noticed he looked rather upset, and a little worried, and decided that it was best to speak quickly as to not waste precious time. "I got the message. Is everything okay?"
Octavius shook his head, and tried hard to keep down the panic that threatened to explode within him. "Jedediah has been taken by one of the visitors. A man, a very short man, old, but with enough youth to pull off such a heist, very dressed up, fancy." The Roman paused, shaking as he struggled to keep the panic under control. "And...and he took Jedediah…"
"Alright." Larry said, showing no fear as it would surely spread to the other exhibits and cause havoc. He took a moment to walk over to the Western diorama, and questioned a few cowboys, only to find he was given the same story and description. He went back to the Roman diorama and lowered his hand for Octavius to walk on, and gave a sharp order to everyone else to stay put until he returned.
He hurriedly made his way down the hall, and waded through the tide of exhibits that had gathered in the main room, and set the Roman general down on a stack of papers as he took up the small microphone and spoke.
"Alright. You're all aware there's a code blue situation, and that the museum has abruptly closed. Now. The reason is very serious, but I want everyone to stay calm and take this without too much panic." He paused, and waited for the murmuring to settle before continuing. "Jedediah has been taken."
A shocked gasp ran through the startled exhibits, and anxious murmuring filled the room as they discussed the matter amongst themselves. Most of the exhibits didn't understand what Larry was saying, but they all knew the cowboy, and understood enough to know the trouble he was in and worry.
"Settle down, please. We're going to think of something, but until then I want you all on high alert in case the man who took him is still around. Meeting dismissed. Teddy, Ahk, could you please meet me here by the desk?"
Waiting on the stack of papers, Octavius was finding it hard to keep his worry in, and the fear he felt for his friend's safety was overwhelming him as he could only imagine what was happening to him at that very moment. Larry noticed, and gently rubbed his back reassuringly.
"Everything's going to be okay," He said, smiling slightly. "We'll find him."
A moment later Teddy and Ahkmenrah were before them, and Larry laid out the description of the man. "Short, in a tuxedo, with greying hair, and that's about all." He said, upset he couldn't give better description.
"What do we do, Lawrence?" Teddy asked, looking at the night guard expectantly.
"I...I don't know what to do," Larry replied, seeming a little flustered. Since he was among exhibits with good control, he could afford a little venting panic.
"Larry," Came Octavius' quiet voice, which was worried and afraid and everything that came with such a catastrophe. "What about the sun?"
The three bigger exhibits stood rigid for a moment, neither of them realizing before then that particular danger. After a moment of thought Ahkmenrah, who had been holding the Tablet, since it was a code blue, and spoke softly under his breath, touching a few of the hieroglyphs as he spoke. He then looked up, and placed the slab of gold down with a sigh.
"That should give him time," He said, looking around at the others. When he saw the confusion on their faces, he explained. "I extended the Tablet's power on him, so he will stay alive without needing to be in its vicinity, Though I fear I do not know for how long."
They were all silent, and after a few moments the two larger exhibits left, leaving only Larry and Octavius behind, both silent and solemn, trying to process what had happened. After a few more moments, Larry sighed, and picked him up, carrying him back to his own exhibit, as it was almost morning. He heard the little Roman sigh, and knew exactly what he must be thinking. But Octavius spoke his mind before Larry brought it up.
"Why can we not do something?" He asked, staring desperately up at Larry.
"Octavius, you know why. It's almost morning, and we don't even know where he is. And besides," Larry said, staring down at him. "You're the last leader in the hall-"
"Please," Octavius said, his voice seeming to almost crack. "Do not say that…"
"Alright. I'm sorry. You're the only leader here."
"I just want him back," Octavius whispered, a small tear slipping from his eyes.
"Don't worry," Larry said reassuringly, giving him a little hug. "We'll find him."