"Getting out might not be the best idea" Victor tried to tell her.
"What do you mean? You think it's better to be sitting ducks for whenever Allison Perkins decides to come torture us?"
"Look, I know it sounds bad, but he's right" Todd said, "She's feeding us, she's not torturing us yet. We don't know where we are, even if we get out we could walk right into more trouble"
"We just have to wait for an opening to escape"
"I don't believe that of all the people in the world I'm stuck with the two of you, and you're actually agreeing on something"
"Being in seclusion will do that to you" Todd said.
"Well, don't hold your breath on me complying" Natalie said, starting to look around the room.
"Natalie, we've been in this room for over a week. Don't you think we've thought of every possible way out? There are none. Waiting to crazy to slip is going to be our best bet"
"And when have you ever known Allison to slip?"
"I got out once" Victor pointed out.
"There's no way she's working alone"
"No, but she's definitely calling the shots. Mitch was the only one who could ever get her to shut up. I don't see her taking orders from anyone else, do you?" Victor pointed out.
"I certainly don't"
The three turned to see Allison herself with their meal for the day.
"What, not happy to see me? I brought you food and drink" Allison said, setting the tray on the table in the middle of the room.
"How do I know it's not poison?" Natalie asked.
"I want you alive, Natalie" Allison told her, "Besides, Mitch would send down a bolt of lightning to kill me if I so dared to murder you"
"That's comforting" Todd noted sarcastically.
"Don't try to figure me out, you three. You'll learn in due time" she said, "Spend your efforts on reacquainting yourselves instead" she suggested.
"You didn't call him the Messenger" Natalie said, "You usually do"
"Things have changed. I'm the Messenger now" Allison said, "Eat up. You're not getting anything else til morning" she said and left.
Once she was gone, Natalie skeptically looked at the food.
"Have you been eating regularly?" she asked the two of them.
"Yeah" Todd said.
"I don't think she's poisoning us" Victor told her.
"Well, I don't suppose I'm getting out of this completely unscathed anyway" Natalie said, and finally decided to eat.
"So what's the deal so far, fellas?" Jake asked as they debriefed over beers after dinner in their living room.
"The bank's a little sketchy" Aaron said, "Not everyone in power is on the up and up. I don't have anything to back me up on that, but-"
"Always trust your gut" John told him.
"I didn't see anything out of the ordinary today" Josh said, "Lots of people speaking fluent English, though"
"We're in an American territory" Jake pointed out.
"The PD is actually in great hands. The commissioner and the lieutenant are definitely on our side, and the lieutenant's a great guy, me and him combed through intel on this all day. He's got some solid information. I hate to jinx it, but I think that this might be it" John said.
"It was a good day on the beach" Jake said, to all of their laughter, "but there was these two guys, one old, one young, totally creepy and trying not to seem it"
"Guess we have our target areas" John said, "But Josh, I really do think you still need to stay where you are. Wherever this cult is hiding out, they're going to need food at some point"
"That's true. And John, you should spend tomorrow seeing if we can narrow down where to look. We all want this over with" Jake said.
