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I nod. “We’ll eat what we can, but let’s ration the water. Once we have a reasonable enough supply…”
“Then we dig,” she says firmly. Dani reaches for my hand. I’ve never been happier to lace my fingers between hers. “How did it go today?”
“Good. Their accounts are set up, now it’s a question of how to transfer the funds without raising any alarms. I’m still thinking about it.”
She rests her head on my shoulder. “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
I press a kiss to her hair. “This is more than enough.”
“You should get some rest.”
“Lie with me.”
She gives my fingers a squeeze. “Of course.”
Chapter 26
Dani
They take Luka to work a total of five more times, which tells me we’ve been here for almost a week in total. There’s no doubt in my mind that the FBI is looking for us, but I’ve never been good at sitting still and twiddling my thumbs. I’d rather not wait around for rescue. I need to be proactive, which means digging my way out of this place with my bare hands. I know it’s crazy and feels impossible, but Ihaveto get back to my sister. I don’t even want to think about how worried she must be.
We have seven glasses of water tucked into the corner of the room, but I can’t be gung-ho about this. Slow and steady wins this race. If I push myself too hard, I could overexert my muscles and burn through what little energy I have. I did the mental math—because there’s frankly nothing else to do in here—and I’d have to estimate that our daily breakfast provides us with roughly a thousand calories per day. Five hundred each, since Luka and I have to share.
On the eighth day Jerome and Calvin take Luka to work, I get started on my own project.
I don’t know very much about tunneling, only that it’s dangerous if done incorrectly. The walls could collapse. I could scratch myself and the wounds get infected. All around, the risks are high—but so is the reward.
I get started in the corner on the same side as the door. Our guards never step inside, but they do peer in twice a day from the hall. This corner will be in their blind spot. I’m obviously going to do everything I can to keep my work neat and tidy, but this spot is my best bet at keeping our escape attempt from view.
Dragging my fingertip over the compacted dirt wall, I trace the shape of a rectangle. Taller than it is wide. This will be my start. And then I get to digging, using my nails to chip away at the dried, impossibly hard surface. It comes away in bits and pieces, dust gathering upon my knees. I have to fight the urge to claw my way out like an animal, constantly reminding myself that energy conservation is just as vital.
I’m aiming for a steady upward slope. Digging horizontally will make it difficult to climb and increase my chances of a cave-in. Digging down simply isn’t an option. It’ll take me longer this way, but it’s safer than going straight up.
As daunting as my task is, I find it strangely meditative. I keep my mind blank, pushing away thoughts of Tabitha or the dire circumstances I’m in, and focus on the hole now forming in our wall. It takes me an hour to make a substantial dent, only a few inches deep, but progress is progress.
I chip my nails on errant rocks. Dirt stains my fingers. It isn’t long before my forearms begin to cramp—but I keep at it.
Slow and steady, I have to remind myself.Slow and steady.
Hour after hour, I clear away the loosened dirt. By the end of hour twelve, my arms ache and my shoulders are sore. I had to take a couple sips of water, but there’s still a good six and a half glasses left. Tomorrow, our supply will be replenished with breakfast.
The shuffle of footsteps in the hall is my cue to stop. I hastily refill the hole, but I make sure not to pack it in too tight, just enough to conceal my work. I scramble on my hands and knees toward the mattress and hug my knees to my chest, leaning forward to conceal my grubby palms. Jerome and Calvin don’t strike me as particularly observant, but you never know.
Luka stumbles in. I can’t see his face, but the slump of his shoulders and the drag of his feet tells me he’s had just as hard a day as I have. Once the cell door shuts we finally speak.
“How’d it go?” I ask him.
He exhales deeply. “I’ve located one of my brother’s accounts. It took me all day to circumvent the bank’s firewall, but I’ve got a steady stream of money flowing now. It’s going to take a few days to completely deplete the funds.”
“Do you think your brothers will realize what’s happening?”
“They’ve got a handful of accounts. I’m worried they might not realize it until it’s too late, but I have a plan for that. My next course of action is getting a message to them.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I don’t know yet,” he mumbles sleepily. “But I’ll figure it out.”
“I know you will.”
