It felt eerie traversing the death row block so late at night. Especially when he was so sleep-deprived and already felt a little paranoid. Ryan had decided he wasn't sleeping until he figured out why he had woken up in a bathtub with bloodstained skin and clothes. His best working theory was that he had sleepwalked and stumbled into something. That used to happen a lot when he was still drinking and came home from a bar at some ungodly hour. But being sober… he had to believe it was some bizarre stress response. However, what negated this theory was the lack of bruising or marks.

This time, Ryan was directed straight to Joe's cell. Something about that felt… intimate. It was like he had been invited to his home. The FBI had concluded that Strauss was murdered by whoever had given him refuge and that they were highly skilled. The killer had to be capable of surpassing their master and catching him by surprise. Not just any of Strauss' students but one of his best. The only student of Strauss they could contact was, well, Joe. Ryan prayed he would have some decent insight. His lead technically had paid off last time. It all added up. Joe knew the man. The FBI could admit that. But Ryan also prayed he wouldn't have to sit there and let Joe psychoanalyse him.

Joe looked incredibly happy to see him. "Ryan, you kept your promise!"

He decided not to acknowledge that. "Who's Strauss' best student?"

The chains on Joe's cuffs rattled slightly. "You're looking at him, obviously."

"Yeah. Not according to Strauss."

Joe furrowed his brow.

"He considers you a failure," Ryan explained. "Too reckless, too desperate for publicity."

He seemed almost offended by that. It was almost humorous to think a man who had taken so many lives could be so easily bristled by criticism from his mentor.

"I was having a perfectly lovely dream before you barged in here and woke me up-"

"You can sleep when you're dead," Ryan said bluntly.

Joe sputtered. "Well, if you're gonna be like that, Ryan, you can go and find Strauss and ask him yourself."

"Oh, I found him... or what was left of him." Ryan smiled and took a seat to be closer to Joe. "Somebody tried to remove his head. Word is it was his star pupil."

He hummed with interest. "The king is dead. Long live the king."

"Screw the king." Ryan kept his fake smile of sincerity. "I need a name."

"Oh. Need." He chuckled. "Such a vulnerable word, Ryan, and so very dangerous when you... when you need something from me."

Did he have to make everything an innuendo? Could he ever just talk to Joe without it turning into some kind of amusement for him?

"You got a name for me or not?"

"I'm not your trick…" Joe went to gesticulate somehow but was halted by his cuffs. He relaxed, consciously trying to keep himself still. "I'm not a trick pony. I'm not just here to do your bidding, at least not without a little foreplay first. So, go on. Tell... tell me about this new love of yours."

He didn't even want Joe to know about Gwen, regardless of how little he actually felt for her — at least, romantically. Somehow, Ryan felt that not letting people like Joe, Strauss and Mark know about the people he cared about kept them distant. It protected them. Sure, they could use their connections to infiltrate government databases and discover their identities. But they wouldn't know just how much he cared about them. They couldn't hold it against him. Not as much as they wanted to.

"Have a nice death." Ryan got up. He was done here.

"Oh, don't pout, Ryan."

He stopped in his tracks. God, was he that desperate for answers that he was still going along with this?

"Arthur had rules." Joe exhaled sharply. "He was very careful to keep us isolated from each other."

Ryan started walking back over to him.

"He... he claimed it was for our own protection. I always suspected it was because he wanted us to depend solely upon him."

"But he threw all that away when he forced his students to free him from jail," Ryan pointed out.

"And this best student of yours clearly hasn't taken it terribly well."

Before Ryan could speak again, he heard a buzzer and turned to see the warden enter with a stern expression.

"Evening, Deputy Warden," Joe said, beaming.

The warden was not amused. "It's 12:01 am. Your official death warrant has been issued. Your execution will take place exactly fourteen days from today. As mandated by the state of Virginia, you will get to choose the method of your execution: death by lethal injection or the electric chair." He then left promptly, leaving him and Joe in silence again.

"Well, that certainly puts a... a damper on things, doesn't it?" Joe commented, and Ryan took that as his cue to leave.

It was a difficult situation. Finding Strauss' students was hard enough, but trying to find his best, who had the means to not be on the FBI's radar, was another issue. He had to splash cold water on his face before he left the prison, too afraid to drive home when he was so occupied with his thoughts. As the warden's words replayed in his mind, Ryan felt panic set in. It didn't feel right. Certainly not now when he was the only person able to give the FBI intel about Strauss' students. As much as a part of Ryan knew death was the only necessary way to end Joe's treachery, he couldn't bear to part with him. It felt like it was happening so suddenly, even though the date had been on his mind for what felt like forever. Ryan wished he could say this urgency was driven by Strauss' death and the unknown number of students, but the truth was he was looking for an excuse to make these days count. He would never consciously acknowledge that, but it was true.

Ryan found himself unable to resist sleep anymore and collapsed, fully clothed, on his bed. His neck would hurt like a bitch, but he was too bone-tired to care. To his relief, he woke in the same position he'd fallen asleep in. That being said, he hadn't slept for very long. He doubted he had slept deeply enough for it to be of any value. He had been woken by Gwen's keys opening the door. She looked at him with worry and seemed surprised by his presence.

"Are you alright? Did you… sleep in your clothes?"

He nodded, running a hand over his face. "Yeah, I… I was just exhausted."

"Why didn't you tell me you were back in Virginia?"

Shit. He'd neglected to tell her that he was going to see Joe. He'd made the decision so quickly. Everything that had happened after finding Strauss' body had been quick. They'd packed up and gone back to Virginia, and Ryan had decided seeing Joe was of the utmost importance. He hadn't even called Gwen to let her know.

"I'm sorry. Everything… everything just got hectic."

It was a poor excuse, one he had given her many times before. But even though she didn't seem happy with it, she didn't seem to want to start a fight either.

"I was going to clean a few things up in here. Why don't you get some more sleep?"

"Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them." Joe's voice seemed to come from behind him this time. It was like he could actually feel Joe breathing down his neck. The visions always felt more real when he'd seen Joe more recently.

Ryan closed his eyes. "Yeah, I might do that."

Gwen bent down to kiss his forehead. "Sleep well."

"Yes, Ryan… sleep well," Joe echoed.

It was funny. When Gwen said it, it sounded like a genuine wish, a hope for him to get the rest his body deserved.

When Joe said it, it sounded like a threat. Ominous. Foreboding.

Like his slumber would be anything but.