There's always a part of him that flinches whenever he hears the word, but because he'd always been so careful to guard this secret, he'd never heard 'bastard' actually directed at him. And sure, it's not like Hickey's saying it in a particularly pointed way, but that doesn't mean it isn't still something of a shock and he's glad that he's facing away from the other man at the moment.

The next remark, although seemingly meant as far more of an insult than the first, is far less so, and it's easy to regain some sense of control of the situation through some unimpressed sarcasm.

"Unfortunate. I value your opinion so highly."

And he thinks he's found the tunnel, a glimmer of distant light far as the end of a winding passage.