"I have 14 grandchildren, and if I pay a penny of ransom, I'll have 14 kidnapped grandchildren."
— J. Paul Getty
When someone is kidnapped or abducted, one of the possible outcomes is that a ransom is demanded. If you want your loved one returned safely, you'd better be prepared to pay. Through the nose. To show they're not messing around, the ransom demand may come with a severed body part (usually a finger), or a photo of the terrified abductee holding up a copy of the day's newspaper. The kidnappers are out to make it perfectly clear they're not to be trifled with, and the ransom had better be gathered up and neatly placed into a briefcase for delivery.
But what's this? For whatever reason, the kidnappers are informed that they can take their ransom demands and insert them in a certain orifice where daylight never encroaches. They want their loved one back but refuse to bargain in order to buy time for a rescue can occur, or because they refuse to bargain with criminals. It's also not uncommon for a family to simply not have the money for the ransom, either because the kidnappers grabbed the wrong person or the victim's family is secretly impoverished and has been keeping up a masquerade.
You Can Keep Her! would be a subtrope to this, as with that example the people from whom the ransom is being demanded don't give a damn about the victim, for all they care the kidnappers can keep them, kill them, whatever.
Refusing to pay the ransom may mess up all the kidnapper's elaborate Ransom Drop plans.
This would be a subtrope to Screw Your Ultimatum!, as that is more about threats (we'll invade your country, poison your wells, burn down your cities, etc., if you don't comply) than demanding a ransom.
Usually dealt with seriously but can be Played for Laughs. There are Real Life examples, but please ensure that any of these examples are thoroughly detailed in relation to both circumstances and outcome.
Most governments advise their nationals against paying the ransom to kidnappers as it can encourage them to kidnap more people, not to mention giving them money to conduct their illicit activities. In some countries, particularly where the kidnappers are classed as terrorists or organised crime, paying ransom is actually illegal. The British government is especially resolute and, for example, prohibits its insurance companies funding ransom payments, with extra-territorial effect. By contrast, American companies are allowed to offer kidnap and ransom insurance
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Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Dragon Ball GT: In one moment, a pair of criminals "kidnap" Goku on the belief that he is the son of Bulma and Vegeta with intent to hold him for ransom. Due to Bulma and Vegeta knowing what Goku is like, neither is intimidated by Bulma merely telling the thugs to watch their backs around him and Vegeta saying they can do with Goku as they please.
Comic Books
- James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine: In an alternate reality story set in the future, Wolverine went to the local high school to pick up his daughter, who was a student there. An incident occurred at the school earlier that day when a classmate of hers was the victim of a kidnapping. All ended well, but the girl's Jerkass father refused to pay the ransom. While getting on his motorcycle, his daughter asked Logan if he would pay the ransom if she were kidnapped.
Wolverine: Never in a million years. I'd come and get you myself.
- Watchmen: In one of Rorschach's early cases, a kidnapper mistook a girl as belonging to a wealthy family due to having the same name, and demanded a hefty ransom for her return. They simply couldn't pay, and when he realized his mistake, he killed her and fed her to his dogs. This is the crime that causes Rorschach to truly snap.
Films — Live-Action
- All the Money in the World: This film deals with the Real Life kidnapping of J. Paul Getty's grandson, and his refusal to pay the ransom on the grounds that he firmly believed that paying the ransom would make all of his other grandchildren targets for kidnapping. Of course, that was his public justification for refusing to pay.
- Big Jake: When Jake's (played by John Wayne) grandson is kidnapped, a large ransom is demanded, along with where it is to be delivered. The family delivers a large luggage case to them, guarded by Jake and the rest of his family. When the Big Bad opens the case, he sees it's full of newspaper clippings. The family did want the boy back desperately, they just weren't going to pay for something that was already theirs. Only the Big Bad can see the clippings, not his henchmen, so Jake warns him he'd better play along.
Jake: [In a low voice] If anything goes wrong right now. Your fault, my fault, anyone's fault, and I'm going to blow your head off.
- Fargo: Wade (Jean's wealthy Control Freak father) has no intention of paying the ransom that Jerry says Jean’s kidnappers are demanding. He goes to the dropoff point armed with a revolver and refuses to hand over the money without getting Jean, which leads to him getting killed.
- James Bond: In the backstory for The World Is Not Enough, M convinced her and Bond's friend Sir Robert King not to pay the ransom Implacable Man Renard demanded for the safe return of King's daughter Elektra. Unfortunately, by refusing to pay the ransom Elektra became embittered against her father and M and after she managed to escape captivity by luring Renard over to her side she plots both of their downfalls as the Big Bad of the movie itself.
- Ransom (1996): When a businessman's (played by Mel Gibson) son is kidnapped, he tries to play by the kidnapper's rules and deliver the money. However, he quickly learns that they have no intention of returning his son, so he turns the tables on them and refuses to pay them, saying he'll pay the entire ransom money to whomever turns the kidnappers in. This causes extreme stress among the group of kidnappers, as they all realize that all one of them has to do to get the money and get away scot-free is betray the rest of the group and turn state's witness.
Literature
- Chrysalis (RinoZ): Alice Erry hates the ants and certainly won't pay their requested price to release Green Mountain's captured delvers. Not when the ants have only captured fifty, at any rate. Merchant expected that. However, once the ants have so many that Green Mountain's Dungeon-Based Economy is collapsing, that may be a different matter.
Merchant: Obviously, you won't agree now. That's fine. I'll come again when we have a hundred of your delvers. The price will have gone up, obviously. Then I'll come back when we have two hundred. Again, a rather sharp price increase can be expected at that time, I'm afraid.
- The Ransom Of Red Chief: In this short story by O. Henry, two hapless hoboes kidnap a young boy and demand a ransom from his father, who refuses to pay. It turns out the boy is a Bratty Half-Pint who is so incorrigible and headstrong that he drives his captors to distraction. They keep lowering the ransom, and the father keeps refusing to pay. Finally, the boy's father agrees to meet them with the boy and promises not to bring the police. Upon arriving, he informs the two men that while he naturally does want his son back, they'll have to pay him $250 to take the boy back, otherwise he'll just leave him with them. As he expected, the two quickly pay up and leave, while the father promises to restrain the boy for as long as he can while they make their escape.
- The Red Vixen Adventures: In the first novel, Captive of the Red Vixen, Rolas is captured by the Red Vixen and ransomed to his minor noble family, but they refuse to pay. Leading Rolas to explain that their Countess has been tormenting them ever since her son was arrested for abusing Rolas' sister, and they needed every last credit available in order to escape to a frontier colony. Fortunately a sympathetic noblewoman, the Red Vixen in her civilian identity, loans them the money for his ransom, and he's released.
Live-Action TV
- Burn Notice: Played with in "Hard Bargain"; Michael poses as a hostage negotiator after a young man's fiancée is kidnapped by a ransom ring. While making his final pitch to the ringleader, Reyes, he takes a call from Sam, then tells him that the family is refusing to pay in cash; the ringleader tells him to Get Out!. Reyes doesn't find out until he goes to kill the hostage that Michael was just a diversion: Sam and Fiona have rescued the hostage and called the cops to his hideout, since their client couldn't afford the ransom to begin with.
- The Righteous Gemstones: In the third season, Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin get kidnapped by their uncle Peter and his religious cult. The trio are ransomed off but Eli refuses to pay partly because of the advice from his sister May-May and believing that their uncle won't kill them. Of course, he is unaware that Peter's cult is starting to get restless and started to rebel against him so they were in real danger.
- Trust: When John Paul Getty III is kidnapped, the kidnappers demand a massive ransom, as he's the heir to the Getty fortune. Unfortunately for him, all the money in the family is tightly locked up in a trust controlled by his grandfather, J. Paul Getty, who refuses to pay the ransom. It should be noted that this incident occurred in Real Life, and Getty had from his perspective valid reason to refuse to pay the ransom, as he believed doing so would make his other grandchildren kidnapping targets.
Video Games
- In Metal Walker, when Emil Crowzer is kidnapped, her father refuses to pay the ransom and even cuts off her funds, leaving it up to the player to rescue her.
Web Animation
- Red vs. Blue: One three-part flashback during Season 14 featured Felix and Locus, and their fellow partner Siris, kidnap Gabriel Lozano, the son of the notorious mob boss Ruben Lozano. But before they could turn him in and collect the bounty, his criminal record was erased. Felix makes a new plan to hold Gabriel for ransom for double the original bounty from his father. But when they make the call and give their demands, with Gabriel begging his father to pay them what they want, Ruben refuses to pay, saying he doesn't give a shit about his son, outright saying he is the worst thing he's ever brought into the world, even saying Felix and Locus killing him would be a favor. However, he also makes it clear he plans to kill them anyway for invading his club and killing his men, to preserve his reputation.
Western Animation
- American Dad!: In "Frannie 911", Francine fakes a kidnapping of Roger and demands Stan pay a ransom in order to prove that Stan really does care about him. Stan's response is complete and total indifference, to the point where Francine lowers the ransom money down to a handful of pocket change in desperation. However, Stan still doesn't pay. After a few days, he reveals to Francine that he knew the kidnapping was fake all along because they have Caller ID and she made all the ransom calls from her own cell phone.
- Batman Beyond: In "King's Ransom", Wayne-Powers CEO Paxton Powers is kidnapped by the remaining members of the Royal Flush Gang who demand a ransom from Bruce Wayne. Bruce refuses on account of the company's policies on dealing with terrorists, so Paxton suggests a rare stolen item in his possession to be used as ransom instead.
- DuckTales (2017): Discussed in the episode "DuckTales (2017) S1E2 "Daytrip of Doom!"", where the Beagle Boys capture the triplets and Webby with the intention of ransoming them back to Scrooge. Once Ma Beagle finds out about it, she wastes no time in calling them idiots who Didn't Think This Through. She points out that not only is Scrooge a world-renowned adventurer, he's also a notorious cheapskate, meaning that, if he does care for the kids, he's far more likely to come rescue them himself than fork over any money. In the end, she's half right. Scrooge doesn't come (in fact, he never sees the ransom note), but Donald and Ms. Beakley arrive to rescue the kids, and Webby ultimately manages to get them out of trouble herself.
- Family Guy: In "Let's Go to the Hop", a Cutaway Gag to Lois' childhood is shown where she is kidnapped, her father refuses to pay ransom under the notion that their family doesn't negotiate with kidnappers.
- Stitch! The Movie: After capturing Jumba, Dr. Hamsterviel attempts go hold him ransom for the 624 experiments that the Pelekai house have. After Lilo and Stitch capture experiment 221, they realize the experiments are just as much family as Jumba is and arrive in time to inform Hamsterviel that they would not be giving him Sparky nor would they allow any harm come to Jumba, freeing the experiment and saving Jumba before working on taking back the other experiments.
- The Venture Bros.: In an attempt to get Red Death to surrender his arching right for Dr. Venture, Monarch and Gary attempt to act like they have his wife and daughter kidnapped with the rights being the ransom. Instead, Red Death delivers a threat that intimidates them into releasing them... if they actually had them in the first place.