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~"No, I wasn't afraid of dying. I didn't want to die, either, but..." Nick said, pausing for a moment. "At that moment, I didn't think death could be worse than what I've already been through."

Greg nodded, closely listening to what Nick was saying. It was hard for him to comprehend, though. He never experienced anything similar to that before.

"It was just... I was in there for so long, dying didn't feel like a bad way out."

"Did you lose hope of getting rescued?" Greg asked with caution. He wasn't sure if it was okay for Nick to be asked that kind of questions.

"You know how they say, hope dies last? It's true. I never gave up hope that I'll get out of there. But if I'd have died in that box... It would've been okay. Being buried alive for that long does that to you, I guess..."

Greg nodded again. "And now? How do you feel about dying?"

"Different than before, I'm telling ya. I'm not afraid anymore."~

Greg opened his eyes. He's been asleep for only an hour, but it felt like much more time has passed. He wasn't rested, though. Sleeping on a wooden floor for an hour didn't help heal the exhaustion from being a hostage for almost 20 hours. Having this weird dream about the conversation he had with Nick after he was buried alive didn't help, either.

Nick lied to me, he thought. Sure, it's not easy to compare being buried alive to being held hostage, but it was somewhat alike. Both were held somewhere against their will for way too long and both had to fear for their lives. And yet, Greg didn't feel what Nick claimed to have felt. He was terrified of the thought of dying. Death was pretty much the worst outcome Greg could think of right now. And he did start losing hope of getting rescued. How would they find out where he was, anyways? The city would never release a convicted murderer just to save his life. And right now he had no idea how he could escape by himself. No way out. At least not alive.

"You should get some more sleep." Greg startled when he heard Corey say that. He was sitting on the bed Greg was lying next to.

Greg shook his head. He didn't want to go back to sleep, fearing he'd dream again. It wasn't a nice, comforting dream. Also, he feared he wouldn't wake up again.

"It's gonna take a while, you have to get some sleep."

"What time is it?" Greg rubbed his eyes.

"Just a few minutes after 4a.m."

"Did you call Brass yet?"

The hostage taker didn't answer.

"They're not letting him out, do they?"

"We're working on it."

Just do it. Get it over with, Greg kept thinking. Staying alive in this situation was like torturing him. But he didn't want to die. He just wanted to go home. But he kind of gave up. He didn't have the strength to hope everything was going to be alright. He was tired, exhausted, bruised and sad.

"Okay... don't tell the others, alright? But... If they refuse to release Neil, I'm gonna let you go," Corey said pitiful.

Greg looked at the man in surprise. Did he just say that? Or did his mind play a trick on him? He wasn't sure.

As Greg stared at him in disbelief, Corey repeated what he just said. "I don't want to kill you. I don't want the others to do it, either. It's not your fault if they don't release him, why should you pay for it, then?"

Greg couldn't keep the tears from rolling down his face. He wasn't sure if he could believe this man, but he wanted to. "Thank you..." he muttered.

Brian joined them. "I don't think they'll do it." He had a gun in his hand. "Maybe we should just get rid of him."

Greg quickly stood up. His hands were still tied behind his back. "What? No! They're trying their best to get him out, I'm sure. It's just not as easy as you think! Give them some time! They believe you!"

"Sorry, but there's just no point to keep you here. You're nothing but a risk. This was a stupid idea to begin with." He pointed the gun at him.

"Hey, hey, Brian. We need him." Corey walked up closer to Brian and whispered to him. "Besides, I don't want to go down for killing a guy working for the police."

"Oh yeah?" Brian asked with a grin on his face. "Didn't we all agree on our plan?"

"Sure. I mean, what if they release Neil from jail, after all, and we already killed our hostage? Would make us look bad. Just wait another hour, alright? Look at him, he's too weak to do anything, anyways."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man." He walked away.

Greg slowly sunk to the floor relieved.

Corey stood up and walked towards the door. "Try to relax a bit," he said without turning around to face Greg and walked out.

"Hey Jim," Gus said on the phone. "You got some news?"

"Yes. But I want to talk to Greg first."

"How about you tell me your news first and then I'll decide if I allow you to talk to him?"

Brass paused for a moment. "Well... Okay."

"So?"

"The City of Las Vegas will release Neil Donovan, but it'll take a while."

"And what exactly is going to take a while? Just let him out!"

"They have to get some paperwork ready and need a judge to sign, stuff like that. Four hours, tops, and he'll be a free man."

"...Four hours, you say?"

"What's two hours after the 20 you've already waited, huh?" Brass said jokingly. "Listen, I'll do my best to speed it up, but I need to talk to Greg."

"...Four hours, alright. I'm gonna get your friend on the phone." He walked with the cell phone in his hand into the bedroom where Greg was. "It's for you," he said as he held the phone to Greg's ear.

"...Yeah?"

"Greg, it's Brass. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, yeah..."

"I just told them. They're gonna let Neil Donovan out of jail, it'll take a few hours, but we'll get you out of here, you understand?"

"Mhm..." Greg said, trying to choke back the tears.

Gus took the phone from him. "That's enough. And now get back to work, the sooner Neil gets out the better." He hung up.

As Gus left the room with the phone in his hand, Greg noticed something. They were just talking on the phone. Maybe Archie was able to track them down, he thought. Well-organized criminals like them might know how to prevent that, but he hoped they didn't. But was this enough to sit around here without trying to get out? Maybe it should, but it wasn't. He was trying to get the cuffs off his hands ever since he woke up. Not sure what he'd want to do once they're off, he kept on trying.