“So, who’s going to die today? It’s a simple question, with a simple solution.”

Jack stared down the barrel of the gun, still in disbelief. He couldn’t even tear his gaze away for a second to see how Gina was dealing with this.

“I know I hit you hard, but you should still be able to ANSWER ME!” The last two words echoed throughout the room as the man shouted them with such intensity that Jack finally regained some of his sense.

“Neither of us,” he breathed raggedly.

“Wrong choice,” the man growled, pulling the hammer back.

It had been a day like any other. Jack had gone into town for groceries while Gina remained at home to make some coffee and breakfast. One of Jack’s favorite things about his new wife was her preference to brew coffee after breakfast, as she said it “doesn’t taste right on an empty stomach”. He had always been the type to need a cup before he could get anything done, but he adored Gina and her quirks.

Jack yawned as he slowly wended his way through the aisles at their local supermarket. He thought about getting a coffee at the kiosk inside the store, but it felt like cheating. After perusing the bakery, Jack decided on making French toast; his secret was to use croissants as the bread. Picking up a pack of these as well as a dozen eggs, Jack once again ignored the coffee kiosk as he returned to the car.

Fifteen minutes later, he was pulling into the cul-de-sac and parking in the driveway. A sleek black car was parked at his neighbor’s house, Jack noticed with a thought to how those retirees could afford such a high-end vehicle.

“Honey, I’m home!” Jack announced, pushing the door open. The silence that answered him made him cringe at the cliché, but after arriving in the kitchen and smelling the burnt coffee, Jack felt a gnawing anxiety like a worm in his chest.

“Gina? Where are you?”

“Up here.” Her voice sounded strained, frightened.

“Gina? Sweetie?” Jack tentatively began climbing the stairs. It wasn’t until he was halfway up them that he realized that he was still carrying the bag of groceries. Turning around to deposit them back in the kitchen, Jack felt a blinding pain on the back of his head. The pain wasn’t the only blinding effect, as Jack’s vision blurred. He felt something cool against his cheek, then everything went black.

Egg yolk puddled on the tile, shells making miniature continents in the sea of albumin. Jack’s blurry vision took in a horrific scene; Gina sat across from him, her face grimy with blood. Tracks had been worn from her eyes down to her jawline by tears and her eyes were red and puffy. Her usually perfectly styled hair was sticky with blood and he could see a large gash right at the hairline above her right eye. Jack moved to comfort her but found his arms fastened tightly to the arms of one of their kitchen chairs.

“So, who’s going to die today?” a malevolent voice said from Jack’s side. “It’s a simple question, with a simple solution.”

The man walked into view, wearing all black complete with a black balaclava. Before Jack could answer, a pistol was aimed between his eyes and the man cocked his head, seemingly mocking him. The man was not large by any means, in fact, he was quite small compared to Jack. Though Jack prided himself on his fitness, he was by no means a body-builder, yet this man was nearly half his size.

“I know I hit you hard, but you should still be able to ANSWER ME!”

Jack’s attention snapped back to the gun barrel in his face and a cold sweat broke out. His mind was blank with fear, and he returned his gaze to his wife, who had begun crying again. She strained against her bonds and screamed through a dishrag that had been shoved in her mouth.

“Neither of us,” Jack managed, though he knew this was futile.

“Wrong choice,” the assailant sneered, pulling the hammer back on the gun.

Liam watched as the man left the house, not even locking the door behind him. That was Liam’s favorite thing about this part of town; the illusion of safety. These fucking people always thought they were safe. He had learned from close calls in the past to give the man at least ten minutes before making his move, just in case he had forgotten something. Liam didn’t want the man to get home before he was ready for him.

Pulling on his gloves and tucking his balaclava in his back pocket, Liam exited his black car and made his way to the unlocked front door. He locked his car smugly as he looked at the expensive facade of the house. A breath-takingly beautiful woman turned from the window dressed in a robe. Liam smiled a ghastly smile. The woman would be preoccupied in the shower while he made his entrance and set up.

Opening the door as quietly as he could, Liam heard the water running upstairs. He slowly crept to the foot of the stairs, peering up before ascending. The carpeted steps muffled his approach and the wood made hardly a creak. Another reason Liam loved this part of town. He heard the water a few doors down from the landing and he followed the noise. As he passed through the doorframe, Liam stopped dead. The woman was still in her robe and stared at him in shock. Her perfect rosebud lips parted, showing a row of pearly white teeth. Anger bubbled in Liam’s stomach at her beauty. The woman turned and began running for her phone on her nightstand. Liam vaulted the bed and slammed her into the wall. She screamed, giving Liam the pleasure he was looking for, but it was cut short when she swung back with perfectly manicured acrylic nails. They raked across his face, slicing four neat lines down his cheek.

His rage stoked, Liam whipped the pistol from his hip holster but managed to control his fury and slammed the butt of it against the woman’s head instead of shooting her on the spot. She crumpled to the ground immediately and Liam groaned as he saw the blood splattered on the wall and now pooling around her head. Her robe was hitched up to reveal her entire lower body and Liam suppressed a shudder. Her well toned butt and legs only further fueled his fury. These people did not know how good they had it. He would show them.

Carefully and delicately pulling the robe back over the exposed legs, Liam checked the woman’s pulse to make sure he hadn’t already ruined his work. With a sigh of relief, he set to work moving her and setting his trap for the man.

Jack closed his eyes as the man looked ready to squeeze the trigger. He was at least happy the last thing he saw was his wife’s face; no matter how battered and bloody it looked. Time seemed to slow and Jack could feel his heart thundering in his chest.

“Why are you doing this?”

Jack’s eyes flew open and he appeared just as astonished as the man to see Gina had managed to spit the dishrag out of her mouth.

“Why am I doing this?” the criminal seethed, swinging so that the gun was now pointed at Gina. “Why am I doing this?”

“Stop pointing that fucking gun at my wife!” Jack shouted. The man swung violently back to Jack and punched him in the gut with his free hand. Gina cried, begging for the man to stop. Jack coughed and gagged but the man relented.

“Why am I doing this?” he said a third time. “You would ask that, wouldn’t you? You just think that nothing bad could ever happen to fortunate you. You who life has handed everything with others fight for every breath they take. You sit up here on your fancy cul-de-sac, looking down on what you call filth as you go into town.

“You might lie to yourself and say you take pity on the destitute, handing some random junky a dollar or maybe the coins you got from the coffee shop that you felt inconvenienced to have anyway. But that’s no help, that’s just to make yourself feel better. I wonder how you could even sleep at night; you, the whore, and he, the cog in the infernal machine.”

The man paused here for a bitter laugh. Jack’s eyes were only rivaled for shock by Gina’s, which were now the size of saucer plates.

“But,” she tried.

“SHUT UP!” the man yelled in a high voice. He was now flinging his arms wildly and exaltating in a frenzy. He paid no heed to the gun he gestured dangerously with. “I’m telling you why, aren’t I? You have no soul, you’ve never had to make a truly hard decision. Your lives are soft and easy. Well, guess what. Here’s one of the hardest, simplest decisions you’ll ever make. You, or him?”

Now, the man was leveling the gun back at Gina, his eyes seemingly glowing with insanity. She had not stopped weeping since he had last beat Jack and she couldn’t speak.

“ANSWER ME!”

“Leave her alone!” Jack yelled again and the man wheeled on him.

“It seems our decision has been made,” he growled menacingly.

“How is this making the world better?” Gina shouted, catching the criminal off-guard.

“What?” he sneered.

“You’re saying that we are making the world worse, but how is you killing people like us making the world better?”

The man stopped dead in his tracks. He actually seemed to ponder this conundrum. Fury vascillated with bemusement as Jack could see the wheels turning in his mind.

“You’re right…” the man finally whispered. It almost sounded like he was defeated. “There’s only one thing to do now. Thank you. It seems the decision has a third option.” Before Jack could understand what he meant, the man turned the gun, placed it in his mouth and squeezed the trigger.