Sorry about the delay in the update.. been crazy around here lately. Stick with the story for some Clark and Lex ….and remember to review!

Lex couldn't remember how many days had past or what time of day it was. He had just recently earned enough links to be able to kneel and was surprised at how quickly your muscles can start to weaken without use.

He had done his best to try to stay active. The chain around his neck allowed him to sit, kneel and crouch on his feet. He had been shifting positions as much as possible now that he could. He needed to keep his muscle mass if he wanted to escape. He had been doing push ups, sit-ups and crouching on his feet as much as possible to work his quads and calves.

Lex had mixed feelings about his performance in the last week. He had degraded and humiliated himself by cooperating with Joshua and for what? To earn a few inches of movement with each visit. He tried to convince himself that the means would justify the ends and that justice would be his in the end. Still he found that without much effort at all he would start to slip into the beginnings of depression.

If he wasn't careful he could easily lay there in a semi-comatose state thinking about all that he had lost and feeling completely hopeless. He had to remind himself on a continual basis that his cooperation was all a façade in order to win the war for his freedom. He kept himself from going crazy with boredom and self-loathing with thoughts of his father's face when he returned to Metropolis victorious.

He sat up on his knees when he heard the door unlock. The look on Joshua's face was unnerving right at the onset.

"What's wrong?" Lex asked concerned about the direction this conversation seemed to be about to take.

Joshua strolled across the room to stand in front of Lex. He tossed his bag forcefully across the room and some of the contents spilled out onto the floor.

Lex swallowed visibly when he saw the ball gag and handcuffs roll out onto the cement.

Joshua smiled at the look of fear on Lex's face. He crouched down in front of Lex and grabbed the chain at the base of his neck. Lex cringed slightly with the pain of the chain rubbing against his neck that was rubbed raw from the chain links on his skin.

He roughly pulled Lex forwarded and forcibly stuck his tongue deep into Lex's mouth. Lex tried to remain calm but couldn't help pulling away slightly. The kiss was hard and full of anger. Lex didn't return the kiss and was rewarded with a backhand for his lack of effort.

"What-" He started as he tried to recover from the shock of the slap. He was up on his hip and wiping away the blood from his mouth when Joshua approached him again, this time forcefully kicking him in the stomach.

"Just seeing if that mouth of yours is good for anything other than lies." Joshua spat out as he kicked Lex squarely again and again.

"Stop!" Lex gasped between kicks.

""Get on your knees!" Joshua screamed into his face.

At this point Lex clearly saw the benefits of complying as he rushed to sit up. Clutching his stomach he struggled to regulate his breathing as he assumed a very subjugated position on his knees in front of Joshua.

"Stay!" Lex's stomach knotted at the command. He hadn't seen this side of Joshua since the first night at his apartment and he didn't like the way things were playing out.

Joshua stormed across the room and kicked the bag and the loose contents over closer to Lex. As he approached Lex he bent down and snatched up the handcuffs off the floor next to the bag. He roughly grabbed at Lex's wrists and secured them with a deafening click behind his back. Lex knew better than to put up a fight. He stood no chance and he knew it. His best bet was to go along with the tirade and try not to antagonize the situation.

"We've established your mouth is shit for kissing so it had better be good for something else." Joshua slapped the back of Lex's head as he walked back around to his front.

Lex's breath caught as Joshua's hand reached down in front of Lex's face and unzipped his pants. Lex turned his face to the side and closed his eyes in resolve for what he knew was expected from him next.

"Let's go! Suck it!" Joshua barked from above him and he pulled himself out of his pants.

"What's going on here?" Lex stalled.

"What's going on? I'll tell you what's going on. I looked into your friend Mr. Larry Mathews. Seems he isn't so much of a friend, is he?" Lex didn't bother to respond to the obvious rhetorical question.

"Let's go. I don't have all day." He paused, "Suck! Now!"

Lex's stomach turned at the thought.

"Looking into your past at those night clubs, this shouldn't be too much of a stretch for you and your abilities." Joshua shot, looking down his nose at Lex.

His first mistake was opening his mouth in response. Before the words were out of his mouth it was filled with Joshua's erect penis. He was prevented from pulling away by Joshua's forceful hand on the back of his bare scalp.

His gag reflex was hit a number of times and he really had to focus on not throwing up the bile that threatened to fill his mouth. The strokes were so forceful that he couldn't seal his mouth to get any suction. His eyes watered and his nose was beginning to run.

Joshua roughly pushed Lex away. "You can't even do that right! Maybe I was right, your mouth is only good for lies. If you can't do something as simple as this then maybe you shouldn't use your mouth at all until you can!"

Lex lay crumpled on the floor looking up at Joshua with worry as he watched him march heatedly over to retrieve the ball gag.

"No wait-" Lex started but was silenced by the instant glare.

"If I was you I would strongly reconsider speaking right now." The tone was ominous enough to silence Lex yet again.

Joshua forced the gag past Lex's reluctant lips and secured it to the back of his head. He grabbed the back of Lex's neck and forced him forward. He was on his knees and bent over with his upper body weight resting on the floor on his forehead. With his hands still secured behind his back, he had nowhere to go.

He still hadn't earned any clothes so it was easy to breach him from behind. He cried out in pain and frustration at his limited ability to move. Lex had hoped that if he cooperated this wouldn't happen again, so much for hope.

The pounding continued and with every stroke Lex lost more and more hope. Fingertips dug roughly into his hips and moved him back and forth rhythmically.

"I was speaking to your father today," Joshua grunted, "he mentioned something about being followed by some boy. Oh what was his name now, ah yes I remember, something Kent, I think." There was a pause for effect as Joshua drove home again emphasizing his words.

"He figured he was a friend of yours but I assured him that he wasn't. After all you haven't mentioned him in any of our discussions. Anyway, not to worry, it's taken care of. My men will have him killed within the next few hours."

The words sparked a reaction in Lex that Joshua was hardly prepared for and he had to secure his grip. Lex bucked wildly beneath him mumbling loudly into the gag. Panic stricken, Lex fought for all he was worth. Joshua almost didn't suppress the laugh that the reaction inspired. Seeing Lex with a passion for something for the first time all week pushed him over the edge and he came with surprising force.

"Something to say?" He mocked as he zipped up his pants.

Lex flipped around, the adrenaline was greater than the pain he would feel later. He shouted into the gag but his pleas went unheard.

"I'll be back tomorrow and maybe we can try to put that mouth of yours to some good use. I am sure you have lots to think over in my absence so I'll leave you to your thoughts."

Joshua strolled casually from the room, deaf to Lex's cries.

Alone in the room Lex felt the sickening reality of his complete lack of power. His lies had cost Clark his life and for what? All he had hoped to do was protect his friend from harm and now he would ultimately be responsible for his murder.

He slumped to the ground sobbing into the gag. He sniffed deeply finding it difficult breathing through his despair. Clark's death played over in his mind as he tried to convince himself that Clark had tenacity for life that made him special. Maybe he would be okay he tried to console himself but with no luck.

­

The next day Lex still lay on the cold cement floor. He hadn't shifted from his position since his encounter with Joshua the day before. He figured he might have shed the last tear his body could produce as he lay there still feeling the misery of his friend's fate aching through his entire body. He was dehydrated, cold, hungry, his jaw hurt from the gag and he had a major headache from crying for so long but he didn't care. What he did care about was Clark. He wanted to stop Joshua but he knew it was too late. He lay there waiting with despair filling the empty pit in his stomach.

He turned his attention to the door when it finally opened. Joshua wasn't surprised nor was he upset with the sight before him. He smiled down at Lex as he entered the room.

"Rough night?" He teased.

Lex didn't respond, he simply stared at him with tired, red eyes.

"Should we try for round two?" Joshua came forward and crouched down beside Lex.

"I am going to remove this gag and you are going to prove to me that you can put that mouth of yours to some good. If you so much as utter one word it will be your last until sometime next week." He paused and ran his fingertips along Lex's stiff jaw line.

"Nod if you understand."

Lex nodded slowly.

"Good boy. If you are as good as I think you can be, I may let you ask one question about your friend's fate. Only one question, Lex, so pick it wisely. You can use your time thinking of what you may want to ask as you earn your question."

Lex sighed deeply and was surprised when his eyes filled with tears that he didn't think he had left in him as he struggled to kneel in front of Joshua.

Joshua reached around and unbuckled the straps on the gag. He gave Lex a moment to recover the mobility in his jaw before he placed his hand on the back of Lex scalp and brought him in for a deep kiss.

Lex returned the kiss with as much passion as he could muster. He mixed all his emotions into that one kiss and hoped that it would be enough to appease Joshua's appetite for lust. He had to know if Clark was dead or not.

"Mmm," Joshua moaned quietly, "So good. Your off to a great start." He praised as he stood in front of Lex and unzipped his pants.

Lex repeated the words in his head as a type of affirmation for what he was about to do, "-one question-". He needed this; he needed that one question to find out about Clark. He could do this if it meant opening up negotiations for Clark's life.

He opened his mouth and willed his throat to relax as he ran his lips along the stiff shaft in front of him. He worked his tongue up and down its length and then began focusing his efforts on the head itself. He flicked his tongue across the slit a few times before moving to spend time sucking and licking Joshua's balls. Without the use of his hands he was limited and awkward but managed to draw a number of groans and sighs from above him.

Encouraged by the sounds he was eliciting he continued his efforts on the shaft and head again. He picked up his speed and rhythm and tried not to choke with surprise when Joshua grabbed his head and slammed him forward deeper into his groin.

It was pretty much in Joshua's hands after that. He took over control of the rate, rhythm and forcefulness of the act with the rocking of his hips and the secure hands holding Lex in place. Lex did the best he could to satisfy as quickly as possible and was both relieved and disgusted when Joshua came in his mouth.

Once he was pushed away he started to spit out the contents of his mouth but a resounding "Don't!" stopped him in his tracks.

"Do not waste the gift that I have given you. You will swallow my essence or you will not get the question I know you so deeply desire."

Lex thought briefly to himself that no sane person would talk like that; no sane person would buy another person for that matter. He struggled to swallow and not bring it back up in revulsion. He breathed deeply when it was over and searched Joshua's face for signs that he would be granted his question.

"Today was a huge improvement from yesterday's performance. What is your question?"

Lex started to speak but found that he had to stop and clear his throat. It had been a while since he had spoken. He used the time to think about his question again. He couldn't ask if Clark was dead for two reasons, one he didn't think he could handle hearing the answer delivered so directly and two if he did that would be his only question and it would be wasted.

"What do I have to do to ensure Clark's safety?" He finally asked. The question seemed relatively all-inclusive. He would learn if Clark was still alive and how to keep him that way all at the same time.

Joshua smiled in approval at the question. "You chose your question well Lex, I am impressed. I did not have your friend killed as I told you yesterday. I could tell from your reaction that he may search a better purpose to me alive. Today was a test to see just what you were willing to do to learn about your friend's fate. I believe that his life will be a good incentive to keep you in line. Your friend's life will be spared on one condition, you must call him and ensure him that you are safe and not to worry. If he continues to snoop around, I can't guarantee his safety. It will be up to you with one phone call to suppress his curiosity and concern."

Joshua searched Lex's eyes to determine if what he had said was understood. Lex nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"When?" Lex asked simply in confirmation.

My men will come to attend to you. They will get you washed up and dressed. They will escort you to my private quarters to make the call. I will be there to witness it so think about what you are going to say and rehearse your lines well. It won't do for your tone to speak louder than your words now would it?"

With those words Joshua left the room and the lock fell securely into place.