Wow, it has certainly been a hot minute. Sorry about the wait, (the very long wait yeesh), but I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for all your comments on the last one. Enjoy!

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The creak of the cell door woke Joe from his slumber, his eyes shooting open to see who was entering. He gripped a waking Vanessa a little tighter as Egorov strolled in, followed closely by Vadim, who, just like last time, held a pair of handcuffs.

A look of defiance took over Joe's face as Egorov smirked at the couple, twisted amusement playing in his dark eyes. His voice sent a chill down Joe's spine.

"Good morning. Or, maybe it's good evening? You wouldn't know, I guess." He rolled his shoulders, nonchalantly pulling his gun from his holster. "Do the same thing as last time. Joseph, stand at the back wall, Vanessa come take a seat."

Joe complied uneasily, squeezing Vanessa's hand as they rose from the bed. He watched with eyes full of anger as she was handcuffed to a chair, and as she flinched when Egorov's gun pressed against her head. Still, the smile that resided on Egorov's face never wavered, even as he spoke.

"Vadim, please, give Joseph his choice." Vadim walked forward, his black hair covering his expression. Bringing a container out from behind his back, he shook the contents onto the floor. This time, instead of a spider, a lizard scurried out. Joe's eyebrows rose, just as confused as last time. Lost in thought, he didn't realize that Vadim had approached him until he was inches from him, holding a knife out. Joe's gaze shot over to Egorov, a questioning look on his face. Egorov simply nodded, and instructed, "Take the knife, Joseph. You will need it if you choose to kill the lizard."

Joe tentatively reached out and grasped the knife, his smoldering eyes remaining on Egorov as he did. Egorov only smirked, adjusting the gun in his hand as he spoke.

"Now, the choice again, Joseph. Kill the lizard or I kill Vanessa. You have a minute and a half to decide."

His words echoed those he had said earlier, Joe noted, his eyes now trying to find the lizard. Of course he would kill the lizard, what choice did he have?

The small reptile's death was quick and clean, and the knife was pulled from his hands as he finished. As an instinct, his grip tightened around the knife, eliciting a small noise of annoyance from Vadim, who then yanked the knife away, receiving a nick in the process. Joe thought nothing of it until he heard Egorov's voice.

"Oh, Joseph," he crooned, anger dripping from the words, "What did I tell you about hurting my brother?"

Joe immediately scoffed, crossing his arms.

"I hurt him? That's a tiny nick that he gave himself."

Joe barely had time to register Egorov's hand coming down on Vanessa's face. He was moving the next moment, screaming bloody murder at Egorov for touching his girlfriend. As he shot forward, Vadim's muscular arms came to wrap around his chest, stopping him from reaching Vanessa. His yells only increased as Vadim brought his hand down again and again, Vanessa's free hand unable to protect from his blows. Her cries of pain made Joe's blood boil, and he struggled fiercely against Vadim's hold. Though strong, he was not strong enough to break from the grasp of a man almost twice his size, and he watched helplessly as Egorov beat his girlfriend. The man only stopped when the chair that Vanessa was cuffed to toppled over, and she curled into a ball to protect herself from his vicious blows.

Egorov smiled at Joe, who was still struggling against Vadim's hold, his blue eyes alight with rage. He walked over and put a hand, slightly damp with Vanessa's blood, under his chin. Chuckling at the look on Joe's face, he spoke loudly.

"Don't touch my brother again, or she will receive worse." A sickly grin grew across his face. "The only reason she isn't dead is because she is pertinent for your choices."

Giving Joe a light slap on the face, he turned on his heel, motioning for Vadim to follow. As soon as Egorov exited the room, Vadim released Joe, who rushed to Vanessa's side. The cell door slammed on the couple, sealing them off once again.

Joe's eyes ran up and down Vanessa, searching for any serious looking injuries. A small breath of relief came from his mouth as he found none, and as Vanessa uncurled from her defensive ball to turn her eyes to look at his.

"It's okay. I'm okay." She told him softly, reaching up to touch his face.

Grabbing her hand, he kissed it gently, shaking his head.

"No, it isn't," he said, his voice thick as he surveyed the new bruises that were starting to form on her face, "This was my fault. I'm sorry, babe. I'm so sorry."

Vanessa shook her head, her eyes closing.

"You can't blame yourself, Joe. You didn't mean to cut him, nor did you make us end up in this situation to begin with. None of this is your fault."

Joe said nothing, watching her with sad eyes. He rubbed her hand gently, pursing his lips. 'I'll get you out of here, babe. I will...Somehow.' He told her in his mind. He helped her sit up slowly, her back now resting against the cell wall. Vanessa huffed as she did so, remarking in an annoyed voice,

"He didn't even uncuff me this time." She pulled gently on the cuff that tethered her to the chair.

Joe sat next to her, a small smirk growing on his face. "He just beat you up, and that's what your mad at?" She only gave him a small smile in response, resting her head back on the wall and closing her eyes, obviously in pain. Joe stroked her hand mindlessly, his eyes wandering up to the ceiling.

'Anytime you wanna find us Frank, anytime would be good." He thought, biting the inside of his cheek.

He stayed awake even as Vanessa gave into sleep, thoughts too loud in his mind for any rest. His bleary eyes hardly noticed the door swinging open some time later, what he assumed to be the next day. He didn't even listen to Egorov's words as he found his place on the back wall, watching with a clenched jaw as Vanessa slowly positioned herself back into the chair, letting out a few hisses as she did so. Egorov's gun found its regular place against Vanessa's head, and Vadim was holding what Joe assumed to be something else he had to kill. He found himself to be correct as a rabbit stared back at him from Vadim's hands, Egorov's familiar words of a choice pounding in his mind. A knife was placed in his hands, and Joe scarcely felt the rabbit's blood flow over his hands.

He watched with defiant eyes as Vadim grabbed the knife from him once again, and picked the rabbit up from the floor, exiting swiftly, though this time stopping quickly to release Vanessa from her cuffs. Egorov left the room without a word, his humoured gaze saying everything he needed to. Joe felt his blood run cold as the door clicked shut, finally realizing what Egorov's game was. His eyes shot to Vanessa, who was slowly making her way over to him.

"It's going to get harder," He said, uncharacteristically quiet. Vanessa looked at him strangely, not understanding.

"What do you mean?" She asked him, placing her hand on his back.

He led her to the bed where they sat down, and Joe spoke again.

"The choices. They've been getting harder already, I just haven't noticed."

Vanessa's eyes widened.

"Oh," she managed, suddenly understanding.

They stayed silent till the next time the door opened, lost in thought.

Joe found his theory to be right as he now stared at the deep brown eyes of a labrador retriever, held in place by Vadim. Egorov had resumed his usual position, the barrel of his gun pressed against Vanessa's temple. Though usual, Joe would never be okay with it, his heart would never stop pounding as he watched his love be threatened day after day.

"Another choice today, Joseph," Egorov equivovated, his voice dripping with false sweetness. "Kill the dog or Vanessa. You will have two minutes to decide. Vadim is going to place a gun on the bed, and you will wait until I say you can pick it up. It only has one bullet in it, and if you shoot either of us, the other will kill Vanessa."

Joe only nodded, his eyes glued to the large animal in front of him. 'I'm sorry, doggy.' He thought sadly, his mind already made up on his choice. Still, he hesitated as his finger hovered over the trigger, pointed neatly between the dog's unsuspecting eyes. This, of course, was the clear choice, but somehow it felt more real to hold a gun in hands, rather than a knife, about to kill something that was so obviously alive. Something that would soon no longer have life in his eyes, because of him.

In the corner of his eye, he watched Vanessa flinch as the gunshot rang out. The dog fell to the floor, as did the gun from Joe's hands. He barely heard Egorov's conformation of his choice, his mind lost in thought. The next logical choice he would be given was between Vanessa and another person. He would hate himself either way.

The clang of the cell door shook him from the despair within his mind, and plunged him back into the despair that was his reality. He barely noticed Vanessa grab his hand and pull him back to the small bed, rubbing his back lightly, whispering things he couldn't quite discern. Joe turned slightly to watch her, taking in the haggard look in her eyes. She shouldn't have to comfort me, He thought sadly, reaching up to caress her face, silencing her. Her eyes fluttered up to meet his. Joe shook his head slightly, leaning closer to Vanessa.

"I won't be able to do it." He told her quietly, praying she wouldn't ask for clarification. He didn't know if he could say what he knew he would have to do the next day. She only nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder. Joe was comforted by the gesture, slowly reclining until they were both lying down on the bed, Vanessa's head resting on his chest, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Somehow, they both found sleep that night.

The morning met them nonetheless, with a rude awakening from Egorov's voice, deep and vile. The routine passed Joe by in a blur, his heart slowly sinking as he heard muffled protests come from outside the cell. A moment later, Vadim appeared, a young woman being dragged behind him, her eyes wide and her mouth gagged. Vadim shoved her to the floor, and Egorov grinned from where he held his all too familiar gun to Vanessa's head. His voice sent a chill down Joe's spine.

"It is time for one last choice, Joseph. You have three minutes."

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Thank you all for reading! Again, sorry about the extremely long wait. (And the cliffhanger?) Anyways, leave a review if you want to, (I love reading them) and have a great rest of your day!

'Till Next Time,

Nix.