34. Trapped
34
Trapped
Matt
Well, that fucking sucked.
Obviously, we were well aware that we were significantly outnumbered. And while we certainly held our own for longer than we figured we would, getting taken down and chained up is always a downer.
And they weren’t even nice enough to put us all in the same cage, which is complete bullshit.
On the other side of that, though, they put us in cages next to each other, so I’m curious about the logic behind that move.
I’m sure it’s just so each of us can witness the other one being beaten and tortured, but by now, they should be aware that we kind of think that’s funny sometimes.
For example, Tony’s response the first time one of these fuckers punched me in the face was some variation of, “Hit him again.”
Not that I blame him. Tony has always been a rather straightforward guy, so the idea that he likely blames me for our current situation is not lost on me.
And then there’s his first response to someone hitting him in the face, which is basically just a challenge to do it again because he doesn’t have a fuck to give.
I never said any of us were smart.
I’m relatively certain Kaian managed to escape, which means he’ll have reported back the current situation.
And since Darius still has his watch, it seems safe to assume that they’re at least going to have eyes on us and most likely be storming the place at any moment.
There’s also the slight chance that the ladies will leave us in here just a little while longer, thinking we might learn a lesson.
We will not.
Having gotten the first interrogation over with, we’re now all lying around on the cold concrete floor, patting ourselves on the back for intentionally misleading those fuckers.
Because if nothing else, all of our lies will match.
All you have to do is play it up, delay, and then be a little morose, and they’ll believe fucking anything.
“How long have we been here?” Tony asks.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Darius replies blandly. “Maybe a day, definitely not two.”
I shrug, saying flippantly, “A day, two days, three. It all blends together.”
“How many times have we done this now?” Tony says tiredly.
Now, Darius sighs and then mutters, “Like a billion.”
I laugh, somewhat maniacally, and then respond, “Maybe a slight exaggeration. I would say more like a million.”
Darius laughs and then adds, “How pissed do you think Antoinette is right now?”
“She’s probably not even that pissed, mostly just laughing at you getting kidnapped again,” I answer lightly.
“This isn’t a kidnapping.”
“She isn’t going to fucking care. You were there, and then you vanished. Close enough.”
He snorts, obviously offended, and Tony laughs and says, “Can’t say I blame her. You do hold the world record of kidnappings.”
“Yeah,” Dare retorts. “I’m sure all the ladies are pretty annoyed that they’re going to have to come rescue us menfolk again.”
“Again?” I interject. “No one has ever had to save me from being kidnapped.”
Tony scoffs, “And how did we even get here, then?”
“Hey,” I reply. “I was never kidnapped. I came here intentionally, of my own free will.”
“Well, maybe if you’d shared with the class, we wouldn’t be here,” Darius replies, slightly bitterly.
“Maybe, maybe not,” I answer. “But regardless, here we are.”
“What do you think they’re going to do next?”
Dare says, “It’s hard to say, really.”
“What would you do?” I ask.
Darius is quiet for a moment, and then, after a few beats, he says, “I would definitely sell us off as a trifecta. They’re going to go crazy.”
“You think so? I would think that selling us off to the same person would be more of a liability,” Tony replies.
“Yeah,” Darius says. “And I suppose they might get more money doing it separately, but the same buyer could certainly buy all three. Right?”
Tony snorts now and says, “Could you imagine anyone wanting all three of us?”
“Hell, no,” Darius says. “And if I was in charge of the whole situation, I would pay for us and then put a bullet in us one by one before even opening the cage.”
Tony chuckles. “Well, good fucking thing you’re not in charge, then. I’m happy that we’re still surrounded by a bunch of dumb fucks.”
The door creaks open, and we all crane our heads around to see who’s coming.
Then I roll my eyes as I see Seamus walking into the room. He stops in front of the cage, puts his hands in his pockets and shakes his head as he says, “Was this really your plan, Matt?”
I give him a bland look and reply, “Well, not exactly, but sometimes, we gotta roll with the punches.”
He looks down at me thoughtfully, and then he frowns and asks, “Were you serious about all this Ferro bullshit?”
I nod but say nothing, and after a moment, he continues, “Everyone was of the mind that Lilith was the only one left, and as fucking crazy as she is, no one ever wanted to get involved. But now here you are, a serious threat to everyone.”
“I keep hearing that I’m a threat, which makes me even more confused on why they haven’t just fucking killed me.”
“Because there are still some rather big influences who give a shit about what happens to you. It has to go through the right chain, or it could backfire and blow up in their face.”
I yawn and then say, “Well, isn’t that all good and well.”
“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously,” Seamus replies sternly. “The likelihood you’re going to live through this is nil.”
I level him with a serious look and ask, “Did Jessica make it out?”
He nods. “Yes, your friends came and got her out.”
“Then I don’t fucking care.”
“Then you’re a stupid fucker. So basically, you piss off into the wind, worry her enough to come after you, so she ends up engaged to the enemy. Then you eliminate the enemy, marry her and go through all sorts of public displays, stand up on a stage, and make this big, dramatic statement only to then leave her as a widow?”
Darius and Tony both chuckle, and I glare up at him as I reply, “Well, when you put it like that.”
He shakes his head, and then Darius interrupts, “Are you here for a reason, Seamus, or just to rub his nose in it?”
“I’m just here to see if he has another plan. Because so far, each plan he has had has just led to more fuckery.”
“I don’t see what the fuck you care, considering you’re not going to do anything to help. You’ve made that clear.”
“I was very clear in the first place that there was nothing I could do. I have too many fucking people depending on me to throw it all away on your dumbshit ass.”
“Then get the fuck out of here.”
He continues to stand over me, glaring intently, but then he sighs, his hands coming out of his pockets to rub over his face briskly before he says tiredly, “I have some correspondence going with the outside, so if I hear anything in particular, I’ll try to sneak back over and give you a heads up. But there’s not much else I can do.”
I just roll my eyes, and then Darius says, “Well, we appreciate that. And don’t let Matt fool you. No one understands your position more than he does.”
I glare at him and show him my middle finger, and he blows me a kiss.
Seamus glances at Darius, then Tony, and back at me, and shakes his head as he says, “Fucking boys.”
Without any further comment, Seamus turns and walks back out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
We sit there in silence for a while, all of us caught up in our own thoughts. The silence drags on, so finally, I ask, “What are you guys thinking about?”
Tony immediately answers, “I’m kinda fucking hungry.”
Then Dare adds, “Sparkling water would be refreshing right now.”
I bite back my own laughter and then say, “We really can’t take anything seriously, can we?”
They both answer at once, “Nope.”
I laugh again, and then Tony adds, “I figure if it does turn out that I end up dead, I’d like it to be a surprise and not something I figured would happen.”
“Yeah,” Dare says. “I want my last thought to be some variation of ‘well, fuck’.”
“I think no matter which way we cut it, that’s pretty likely.”
Tony says lightly, “But we had fun, didn’t we?”
I smile. “We sure did.”