Who Hid the Silver Bullet?

Riley bites back a curse as their finger catches in the drawer. Shaking out the pain they continue to rummage through the rest of the desk, panic and doubt starting to gnaw at their insides.  
 “It's got to be here, got to be somewhere, can't be nowhere, can it?”
They mutter to themselves as they continue to search, Riley is moving to another desk as Quinn strides into the office, laptop bag slung over their shoulder. A pause as Riley stares at Quinn and then the spell is broken as Riley throws themselves at the next desk the rattle of drawers and cupboards punctuated by more muttering. Narrowly avoiding slamming the drawer into their hand Riley jumps as Quinn’s voice breaks through their manic concentration. 
 “Riley, are you ok? Because right now you seem more than a little... are you looking for something in particular?” 
Riley doesn’t look up from what seems to have turned into a never-ending quest. How can one office have so many desks?  
 “Have you not seen the results from the stocktake?” Riley asks without turning round, moving to the next desk along. Riley continues to search, hands a blur, eyes straining as the sound of a laptop booting up is followed by frantic tapping on keys. Riley feels rather than sees Quinn join them in their search, Quinn yelps as they get their finger jammed in a stubborn drawer.  
 “Riley?” 
 “Yes?” 
 “Just a quick one, what are we looking for?” 
 “The boss wants the silver bullet.” 
 “Why?” 
 “Because that is going to fix our losses. Apparently.” 
 “Right, of course it is.” Quinn replies as Riley sees them move onto the next desk. Riley speaks into the tense silence. 
 “Apparently Taylor had it last” 
 “Did they? Are they in today?” 
 “No idea” Riley replies as footsteps approach and Taylor steps into the office, yawning, a breakfast sandwich in one hand and a coffee in the other. Quinn sighs in relief. 
 “Thank God you’re here Taylor! Where's the silver bullet?” they ask panic stricken. Taylor looks at both Riley and Quinn, their mouth full of sandwich though they answer anyway. 
 “The silver what?” 
 
Now this is obviously a fictional scenario (mostly) but it highlights a recurring theme I have seen throughout my time in retail, at all levels. Preventing loss only becomes important when the numbers upset us, and we search for that silver bullet that will fix it (there isn't one).  
 
A Divisional Manager once told me that your stock result should never be a surprise, and its true. LP should be a constant, consistent conversation. The end of Q3 is in sight, and then it's into the golden quarter. Exciting but also a time where controls can slide, standards can slip. 
 
Loss prevention when executed correctly, is not an expense but a vehicle for growth.