Corey often awoke in pain these days, but the moment he opened his eyes they snapped shut again and a drawn-out whimper escaped his lips. Bruises lined every limb of his body and blood and cum had dried on his chest. One or two cuts were inflamed and oozing, hot to the touch. His head spun, his throat was raw and when he tried to stand his legs shook furiously. He peered out of a window, trying to gauge what time it was, and watched as Vaas arrived in a cloud of dust and fumes, jumping out of the truck and tugging on the hand of a stumbling girl with a skirt up to the middle of her thighs. She fell into him, giggling with one hand on his chest. Corey felt bile rise in his throat and looked away, sitting down heavily and putting his head in his hands. Despite his best prayers Vaas and the girl were soon stumbling into the den and the pirate pulled her towards the mattresses. He said nothing to Corey, simply watched him over the girl's shoulder or through her hair as they fucked, never breaking eye contact, never dropping the satisfied smirk on his lips.

Corey watched him back, green eyes impassive but his hands curling into fists on his knees. He gave no indication that the situation moved him at all, only keeping his gaze fixed on Vaas' face, which slowly began to contort. His smirk changed to a tight-lipped line of anger and his eyes burned into Corey's, until finally he shoved the girl away, causing her to land painfully off the mattresses and onto the hard floor. She shrieked in protest and Vaas reached out, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her into standing, cock still hard as he bundled it back into his pants.

"Pull your fucking skirt down." He snapped, picking up her panties and stuffing them into her mouth, snapping his fingers at Corey. "Menino. Come."

Corey obeyed, getting to his feet and following Vaas out into the town. The girl was bundled into the back of the truck she and Vaas had arrived in and started wailing in fear, banging at the sides. Vaas slammed a fist into the doors. "Shut the fuck up!" He screamed. "Get in, Menino, and not a fucking word, you hear?" He slammed the accelerator and they roared from the town, not stopping even when they almost ran down several pirates returning from a job. Corey watched Vaas carefully but his owner remained completely unreadable as they reached a patch of burned earth. A stench of death rose from a pit in the centre of it, making Corey's hand fly to his mouth and nose as they exited the van.

Vaas pulled the girl from the back and shoved her towards the pit, pulling a handgun from the holster at his thigh and shoving it into Corey's hands. "Hold that, Menino." He demanded and pulled a rifle from the seat of the truck. The girl peered over the edge of the pit and began wailing again, holding her head in her hands and pleading, wide-eyed with terror as she fell to her knees. "Alright, Menino. Safety's off, even a fucking imbecile could do it. Shoot her."

Corey froze and turned to stare at Vaas, and then at the gun. He shook his head furiously and took a step back. Vaas raised the rifle and pointed it at the boy. "If you don't, amigo, I'm going to blow her fucking head off. Kill the bitch, or I'll do it. Now."

"No." Corey mumbled. Vaas advanced on him, fury etched on his face.

"What did you say? Huh?"

"No." Corey repeated, taking a step away and shaking his head again. He gnawed on his bottom lip. "No. I won't do it. I can't."

"What, you think you're going to fucking prison for it?" Vaas prodded him in the chest with the rifle. "She's gonna die either way. Shoot her, Menino, or I'll make you fucking pay for it. I'll make you hurt, I swear to fucking god, unless you shoot this bitch, now. Ten. Nine."

Corey raised the gun, his breath catching in his chest as the girl's pleas became higher and louder.

"Eight. Seven."

He squeezed his eyes tight shut and gritted his teeth, running a finger over the trigger as Vaas counted down.

"Four. Three. Two."

With a cry Corey dropped the gun and lunged to get between the girl and the rifle.

"One."

The bullet clipped his ear in a burst of blood as it whistled towards its target, embedding itself in the girl's skull and knocking her backwards into the pit. Corey curled on the ground, one hand clutching the side of his head as blood trickled through his fingers. Vaas strode over to the pit, peering over the side and sniggering, before walking past Corey and tapping his head roughly. "What's the matter Menino, don't like your new piercing? I said I'd make you hurt."

When they returned Corey felt sick and dizzy, pale from the loss of blood. Vaas rooted in the girl's handbag, pocketing any cash and drugs, before drawing out a sanitary towel and slapping it to the side of Corey's head. "What? It says three times more absorbent." He cackled and reclined on his mattresses, rolling a joint from the little bag he'd taken from the girl's belongings.

Corey held the pad to his ear until the bleeding stopped, then tossed it aside and buried his face in his hands, beginning to shake. Tears ran down his face, making tracks in the dirt, sweat and blood and dripping to the floor, though not a sound escaped him. Vaas watched him with a cocked eyebrow. "Ay." He snapped, making Corey jump. "You stop that now, Menino." The boy refused to look at him or even obey, simply staring at the floor and still letting the tears slide down his cheeks.

He heard the stomp of Vaas' boots coming towards him and braced himself for a blow, but large, rough hands closed around his own and pulled them away from his face with something that almost resembled gentleness. Vaas crouched in front of him and forced his chin upwards. "You could have killed me today, Menino. I put a gun in your hand. You could have..." He put his fingers to Corey's head in an imitation of a gun. "Bang. And it would have all have been over. But you didn't. And now you've got a hole in your ear because you couldn't even shoot some skanky chica that I fucked in front of your very eyes." He shook his head. "And now you're back here pissing blood. Is this what you want? Is this what you thought you'd be spending the rest of your life doing?" His eyes were cold, searching Corey's face with invasive calculation. Corey met his gaze, staying silent but wiping the tears from his cheeks. Vaas paused for a moment, shaking his head with a heavy sigh. "It's down to you that you are here, Menino. The choices that you made in life have brought you here. If I see you crying again, I'll take your eyes out with a fucking knife. Am I clear?"

Corey nodded, steeling himself and raising his chin. Vaas stood, tugging the boy upwards, still keeping his grip on his hands. He steered him towards the mattresses and forced him to sit. "You stay there and wait for me, you understand?" Vaas let go and turned away.

"Vaas." Corey croaked. His owner paused, looking over one broad shoulder and raising an eyebrow.

"What, Menino."

"I will."

"I know you will." Vaas' mouth quirked into a smirk and he left.