[What in five hells had these people eaten to make them so damn suspicious? Getting arrested might have been part of it, but the bluntness of this particular question sets him on edge.]
Errrr- [A pause. "force" wasn't the word he'd choose, it was better to say "bribe" or if you had to, "coerce".
No??? [The word was accompanied by a shrug.]
But if they choose worship me, I ain't complaining.