A gunshot blasted the relative peace of the jungle into smithereens. It was shortly followed by pained squealing and thrashing as Corey, fighting down a stream of vomit, ran over to the boar he'd crippled and shot it again, this time putting it out of its misery.

"I have to tell you Menino." Vaas came up behind him, tutting slightly. "I've seen native grandmothers that can shoot better than you." He cocked his head at Corey's hands, which were shaking violently. "Jesus, you've only been on it a month, Menino. You need to slow down or you're gonna snort me out of house and home."

"I've never shot a gun properly before." Corey admitted as some way of defence, shouldering the rifle with difficulty. Vaas bent down and inspected the carcass with disgust.

"You blasted its fucking legs off. You were no more than ten metres away. What's wrong with you, eh? Tonto?" He cuffed Corey roughly.

"Bashing me every time I miss a shot isn't going to improve my aim." Corey muttered, rubbing the affected area. Vaas' hand shot out and gripped him by the hair, pulling him down and shoving his face near the boar's mouth, which was currently oozing pink foam.

"You see this? You fucking see this, Menino?" He snarled. "What is it?"

"It's a pig, Vaas." Corey whimpered.

"No, it's dead. It used to be a pig, and now it's nothing. And this'll be you some day if you don't stop being weak as pig's fucking piss." He let go and shook his head as Corey struggled to regain his balance and avoid falling in the mess of blood and brains. "Ah fuck it, what do I care."

Suddenly, Corey was plunged into darkness as Vaas pulled the hood that the boy had worn all those weeks ago over his head and wrestled the rifle from his grip. He heard the zip of a cable tie and began to panic.

"No. No, no... Vaas, please, I'll do better, I'll-"

"Shut up, you fuck." Vaas snarled and tied his hands. "Walk." Corey obeyed, his heart hammering in his chest as Vaas frog marched him onward through the jungle and onto the road. He calmed once the familiar smells and sounds of the town reached him and he felt the stairs to the den beneath his feet. He kept a wide berth of the tiger cages, even in his blinded state, and finally was in the safety of Vaas' room. The hood was removed, yet Vaas made no move to cut the ties around his wrists. "In your corner, and think on your failures."

Corey slumped where he was pointed to and sighed, bottom lip curling into a pout when he thought Vaas wasn't looking. "What's the matter, Menino, is life not fair?" Vaas snapped sharply. He was in a particularly bad mood today. "I'd say your life was pretty fucking easy. You're fed, you're high half the time and all you gotta do is suck my dick once a day or so. I could make things a lot harder for you. Do you want that?"

"No, Vaas." Corey murmured sheepishly.

"No, of course you don't, you little bitch. So just stay there and-" Vaas' phone went off in his pocket and he drew it out, half looking like he was going to throw the offending item at a wall. Instead he flipped it open. "WHAT?!" he roared down the receiver, but fell silent when the voice on the other end began to babble frantically. Without even bothering to reply he snapped the phone shut and returned it to his pocket. "Gotta work, Menino. Like I said, don't fucking move."

Corey heard the key turn in the lock and Vaas' footsteps fading rapidly, followed by frantic shouts outside. Peering out of the window on tiptoes he watched Vaas, brandishing a gun and yelling orders in the streets below. Panic started to rise in his throat like bile and his bound hands shook. All seemed to come to a rough mimicry of discipline, the pirates surrounding Vaas, guns clutched in hand.

A horrendous explosion rocked the ground and a truck, mere metres away from where the pirates were standing, was reduced to a fireball in less than a second, throwing several men off their feet and engulfing them in flames. Screams ripped through the evening air, and it took Corey a moment to realize that his was one of them. He ran to the window, practically throwing himself against it, shaking from fright. Relief flooded his body like adrenaline as he saw Vaas get up, spit, and ready his gun.

"Call for backup!" Corey heard him howl at one of his men. "Call Hoyt! Now! They've got fucking rockets!" Gunfire broke out elsewhere and more screams and cries of fury could be heard. Corey wracked his brains for something, anything, before it dawned on him. Tightening the zip ties even further around his wrists he brought his arms down past his hipbones as hard as he could. It took a few tries but finally the ties snapped and he was free. He banged at the window frantically, but Vaas had disappeared out of sight. Instead his frantic gestures brought a different attention. Three men clad in blue pointed up at him and exchanged a look, before running towards the building.

Corey threw himself at the locked door desperately, but his weight was nowhere near enough to break it down, and he knew it was too late. The slamming of boots on the metal staircase could be heard, getting closer and louder by the second. Thinking of nothing else to do, Corey rushed for the AK-47 propped up against the wall and shouldered it, quivering.

Two sudden smashes against the door later and a figure, cloaked in darkness, burst in. With a feral scream Corey fired, bullets peppering the man until he fell and lay still, his friends throwing themselves back from the fire. Not wasting any time Corey took a chance, sped for the stairs outside the door and jumped the banister. He landed painfully despite the roll he attempted, but spurred himself to his feet, running awkwardly with the heavy weapon clutched in his hands. He couldn't die. Not here, not now. Vaas would kill him if he did.

He dived behind the flaming wreckage of the upturned truck, cowering with his hands over his head. The two remaining men rounded the corner, just as Corey let out a scream of terror.

"VAAS!"

He heard two shots, and flinched, but the expected agony never came. He opened his eyes to see his pursuers lying face down, the dirt surrounding their heads slowly turning red. A hand closed around his upper arm and shook him roughly. Corey looked up, green eyes wide and tearful, his face falling in agony when he saw a stranger's face staring down at him.

"You're Vaas' boy!" The pirate shouted over the gunfire. "Why the hell are you out here?"

"They... they came for me..." Corey whimpered, struggling to hold back sobs. "Where's Vaas? Please, I need..."

"I don't know if you've noticed, kid, but he's pretty fucking tied up right now! I'll take you somewhere safe. Know how to use that gun?"

"No!"

"Then you're gonna have to learn on the job! Come on!" He pulled Corey up after unzipping the combat vest he wore and pulling it over the boy's head. They lunged from their hiding place, returning the fire they were instantly under, the pirate considerably more accurately than Corey. They ducked from shield to shield, before a rocket slammed into a nearby building and threw them both off their feet. "Are you okay?" Corey's protector cried out, crawling towards him through the dust and smoke.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" Corey spluttered. "Where are we-" suddenly he felt something warm and wet splash across his face. He watched in horror as the pirate's eyes rolled back in his head and fell to the ground, unmoving. He scrambled away from the body, beginning to hyperventilate as horror gripped him.

"Menino!" He heard a furious yell from across the ramshackle street, his heart all but stopping. Vaas cleaved through one of the blue-clad fighters with one sweep of his machete, splattered in blood from head to toe and his face contorted with more blind anger than Corey had ever seen in him. The boy had never been so pleased to see him.

Vaas broke out into a run and was at the boy's side in seconds. "What the fuck are you doing out here?!" He screamed in Cory's face, shaking his shoulders.

"They broke in!" Cory wailed, gripping Vaas' arms. "I tried to find you, I..."

"Menino, I need you to run. I need you to run into the jungle, and get up a tree, anything. Like you did last time. I'll find you. Fucking run. Get out of here! NOW!"

Terrified, Corey leapt to his feet and obeyed, covering his head with the gun as he leaped a fence and threw himself into the undergrowth, not noticing the man in blue at the edge of the jungle see him and give chase. Vaas shot at the disappearing Rakyat and missed, the bullet ricocheting off the fence. "Fuck!" He cursed, and ran after Corey and his pursuer.

Corey zigzagged through the trees, stumbling and slowing down as the trees grew thicker, before bursting out onto a road. He took a moment to catch his breath, resting his hands on his knees, almost heaving with the exertion. He straightened up, throwing his head back, a manic giggle escaping his lips, just as the Rakyat burst from the undergrowth and fired the Desert Eagle he clutched in both hands. The bullet hit Corey point-blank in the chest and he fell backwards into the dirt, laying there. He didn't get up. He didn't scream. But Vaas did.

Reaching the scene in time to hear the shot and see Corey fall he charged into the Rakyat with an inhuman roar, cleaving limb from torso with his machete in a wild, hate-fuelled rage. The man's screams soon ceased and Vaas hauled himself to his feet, staring blankly out onto the road where Corey lay, motionless.

That is, until he heard him cough and whine like a child with a scraped knee, and saw him sit up, looking down at the slug embedded in the Kevlar of the combat vest. Vaas staggered slightly, coming over dizzy for a moment, before his face cracked into a maniacal grin. "Get up, Menino, that didn't hurt."

"Easy for you to say!" Corey spluttered, getting to his feet with difficulty, but a shaky smile forming on his features. "You're not the one who-"

Vaas barely had time to register the sound of the engine or the glare of the headlights before the boy was gone from his sight, the armoured vehicle hitting him at full speed.