"You know, I'm not sure anyone has tried bribing him. I'm not convinced there's anything we have that he wants. His story is that he's brought us all here to facilitate bonding." And, for all that his strange adopted family as good as proves Igor's point, he almost spits the word.

"As for killing him?" An odd note enters his voice; he'll never like the thought of Drake. "That has certainly been tried."

He leaves the fear unremarked. They are, to coin a phrase, in the same boat.