Page 113 of The Devil We Know

“Nothing super fun, that's for sure. I assume they'll try to ransom me. They may try to do the same with you, but that's less likely, given you're worth more being sold off to the less savory.”

I snort. “You know they've tried that a few times and failed. At some point, you'd think they'd smarten up.”

“Well, if the only thing keeping us alive is stupid people, then God bless them.”

“I would cheers to that if I had a drink,” Ivan interjects.

“I could go for a drink.”

“Yup. Me, too.”

“And at least you can rest assured that since they've moved us a couple of times within sight of other people, that at least one of them would spill the beans. There's always somebody out there looking for a cash payout. And they would know that this would be a big one.”

“Good,” I answer. “Then that means my people will be coming.”

“They won't think just you're dead?” Ivan asks.

“I'm sure for a fair amount of time there they did. But my people aren't the type to just assume someone is dead.”

“The giant explosion wouldn't be enough for them?”

I laugh, and, for a moment, I feel bad because, for at least a small amount of time, they would've grieved. “First rule. Never assume anyone's dead without real proof.”

Ivan snorts and mutters, “You’d think a kaboom would suffice.”

“And see, that's where you'd be wrong because look at us now. Not dead.”

“You have a fair point,” Seamus replies. “There was certainly a time in my life I would've believed the explosion. Now, I'm way too old to assume anything.”

“The only good thing about dehydration and my previous stay in a cage is I'm less likely to have a need for the facilities anytime soon.”

Ivan snorts and retorts, “And speak for yourself.”

“If nothing else, piss away from me. Okay?”

“Hopefully, we'll get rescued before I have to worry about that.”

“Do you think that'll be soon? Do we know how long we've been here?”

Seamus answers, “Last time we tried to assess, we figured it'd been a day or two. I figure it would take them a couple of days to get word that you're possibly not dead and then maybe another one to determine where you're being held, so we're probably still looking at another day or three.”

“For fuck’s sake, man,” Ivan exclaims. “When you word it like that, it may as well be years.”

“Not really. They're going to have to come tend to us at some point. If they let us die of dehydration, heads are going to roll.”

“And shockingly,” I respond blandly. “This is not the first time that I had to consider the possibility that I get snuffed out in the dark. Nothing more than rat food.”

Both men are silent, and as time drags on, I finally ask, “What? Is it something I said?”

“I don't know,” Seamus retorts. “You're just a regular ball of sunshine.”

“That's quite funny given our current circumstances.”

“I think I liked it better when he was knocked out,” Ivan mutters.

"Me, too," I say with a laugh.

“Do you hear that?” Ivan asks.

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