Help me keep my hostage alive

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, I’ve decided I need to keep a hostage safely tucked away for ten days. I don’t want him to suffer unnecessarily, and definitely not kill him, just have him confined so he can’t do something that will block my otherwise Infallible Plan (still working out the details of that part) that will end with me safely away in a country with a nice climate and no US extradition treaty. Oh, and with a billion bucks, too.

The most convenient holding method for me involves digging a pit 16 feet deep and 10 feet in diameter on a chunk of undeveloped land that I happen to own. (Yes, I’ve no concerns about being IDed afterwards.) Down in the pit will go a concrete cylinder, with thick strong walls and floor and roof, with the inside about 8 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter. In the roof will be an access hatch that opens up. After my hostage is inside, the pit will be filled in level with the surrounding ground, so the weight of the dirt will mean he can’t force the hatch open.

At the end of the ten days, a message with a map will be delivered to the closest FBI office (and the local PD or Sheriff’s office or whatever is suitable as a backup) so they can go let him out. And I’ll explain all this (trying to keep the gloating down) to the hostage so he can worry as little as possible about being stuck down there and forgotten.

Now, since I’m not an unfeeling monster, I will have included everything he needs to remain safe and reasonably comfortable for those ten days. Fortunately my hostage has no major medical problems that require on-going medications. Here’s what I’m thinking of supplying:

Food: 15 MRE packs. A few extra in case he absolutely hates creamed chip beef or whatever. They seem to have like 3,000 calories each, so he’ll be fine even if he insists on spending the entire time doing calisthenics.

Water: Enough of those water ‘blocks’ to cover 15 days. Extra again, in case he spills some.

A cot with a mattress and pillow and three? blankets, maybe? I’m not sure how cold it is 20 feel down. Well, I can throw in some more of those, if you think it’s needed.

Clothes: Not going to bother with more of those, he can just keep wearing whatever I snag him in. Yeah, he’ll stink by the end, but it’s not like there’s a bunch of people around to offend, right? Okay, okay. He can have some packs of extra undies and socks.

There’ll be a battery operated clock on the wall so he can do that ‘prisoner ticking off the days on the wall’ calendar thing if he wants.

Also two of those battery operated LED emergency lanterns (one to use, a spare JIC), with enough batteries. The ones I researched claimed they gave light for 14 hours from 4 D cells, so 50 batteries should be plenty if he at least turns the lantern out when he goes to sleep.

For distraction he’ll have a bunch of books, assorted genres. Also a bunch of magazines – Car, Field and Stream, Puzzles, Science, Girlie, what ever I find at the newsstand.

For elimination purposes he gets a couple of five gallon buckets with lids and some rolls of tp.

The big problem I’m uncertain about is ventilation. Obviously there isn’t enough air in my cylinder to last him for ten days, so somehow I’ve got to get fresh air in, and stale air out. There’s no electrical service available on that land. Would simply having a couple of tubes running from the cylinder up to above ground work? But what would make the air move? I have a vague idea that if you run one of the tubes from somewhere high on the wall of the cylinder and up into the air a ways, simply the wind blowing across the upper opening will tend to pull air out? And have the second tube run from lower on the cylinder wall, maybe on the opposite wall, up to just a bit above ground will allow replacement air to be sucked in? Is this true? If so, how big of tubes are we talking about? Must be way smaller than the hostage could crawl through, obviously.

Or, what about those whirley finned things you see atop some sort of shafts on buildings? Are those powered fans (not good) or do they work by wind blowing on them, like windmills do?

If not, what can I use? Some sort of foot operated bellows, maybe? If hostage wants to breathe, he has to pump his feet a while every so often?

I’m okay with that forcing him to work a bit to stay alive. Heck, wouldn’t want him to get fat and out of condition, right?

And I overlooking any other real necessity?

2

This is very creepy.

3

Second that.

4

Need answer quick or are you writing a book/movie?

5

Please don’t threadshit. If you think a thread is inappropriate, report it.

6

Same here.

7

This goes well beyond what’s appropriate for GQ. Let’s move this to IMHO.

The OP clearly intends this as a hypothetical. But if you wish to question his character or morals you should take it to the Pit rather than attacking him in this thread.

8

Colibri is the inside man.

9

You’ll need a powered ventilation system. Carbon dioxide sinks and requiring the hostage to use muscle power will just increase the CO2 accumulating in the bottom of the pit.

10

Well, not VERY quick. Just digging the pit is going to take quite a while…

No, it’s inspired by the book I’m reading, “Road Rage” by Ruth Rendall, in which five people are taken hostage by eco-terrorists to stop a new road from being built.

Basically, it got me thinking about how awkward it actually is to hold a hostage. You’d constantly have to be supplying them with food and water and bathroom facilities, keeping them from being discovered by neighbors or just people passing by. Just having to be somewhere nearby and attending to them multiple times a day would leave you tied down so you couldn’t go on with your normal life in an inconspicuous way. And this isn’t even considering the problem once law enforcement starts looking for them.

So… a sort of ‘set it and forget it’ system?

11

The username/O.P. combo is unusual.

To address the CO2 concerns, the simplest solution is to situate the holding cell on an elevated outcropping in an area with constant wind.

A windswept mountaintop would be quite the picturesque hostage setting.

12

Befriend him, and convince him to stand in line for you in the Covid vaccination line. He’ll be there at least ten days.

13

Just build/buy a bomb shelter and then switch the locks to the outside rather than the inside.
If you go for a pre-fab one, the prepper people have already worked out the little things like air/water/etc. They already plan for storage for years of food. Theoretically, your hostage could live in (relative) comfort in one of those long enough for you to complete your plans and get away - and even longer if the plans go astray and accidentally result in nuclear fallout.

That, or you could build a really nice panic room inside the large house that you happen to own (if you can have a chunk of undeveloped land, you can have a large house somewhere else) - again with the locks on the outside and without the panic button to call the cops. Again, sealed off from the outside, invisible to casual observers, soundproofed, etc. This way, they can have access to plumbing and electricity. Which seems like a kinder, gentler way to keep someone from foiling your evil plans.

14

Thanks for the reminder. Have done so.

15

StarvingButStrong, has your research included a documentary called 9 to 5 ?

16

Why dig? Just get a cottage in the woods with working plumbing and secure every opening.

17

Drat. Okay. Well, if my unimproved land is in a desert-ish area, perhaps one of those small, movable solar panel setups would be feasible.

You know, that’s a beautifully simple solution? Pricey, yeah, but considered as a cost to be set against a billion dollar gain…

Heh. Not since it came out, decades ago. But even that short clip demonstrates the nuisance problem/danger in having to interact with your “guest” on an on-going basis. I mean, not only do you have to deliver meals to the hostage, but get dressed up in ruffles and heels? Not in the cards.

Hmmm. Solar cells, windmills. What if there was a small creek that ran down nearby? If you can drive a millstone, surely there’s a way to hook up a fan somehow. Hmmm.

18

I feel the OP is overthinking this. As somebody with years of experience in keeping people confined, I can say it’s not as hard as it looks. Get a good solid building with no windows, put a solid door on it, and put a good locked bolt on the door from the outside. Your hostage is now securely confined. Put some food and water inside. Install a bed and a chemical toilet. And you’re done. Leave them a sudoku book and a pencil if you’re feeling generous.

19

Those bomb shelter plans from the 1950s always included a hand cranked blower with filters. I don’t know if anyone actually tried them.

20

Have you tried freezing your hostage in Carbonite?