Ch 4
When Theo saw the ships’ lights flicker off across the console, he decided he had taken about all he could take of Andreas. The ‘accidents’, the fires, even the explosions; the whole crew would mutiny at some point. He had lost four good men earlier, they had demanded to be let off at Tangiers and even the promise of more pay couldn’t keep them, and without decent men, he couldn’t be a merc, or anything else for that matter. That other little dream would account to nothing, because he sure as hell couldn’t do that by himself. If the Odyssey was anything but what she was, a top of the line ship, she never would have left Tangiers with her skeleton crew. Andreas had to go, brother or no brother; except it would appear that someone had already done the deed for him. The puddle of blood beneath his body was still warm.
Theo felt himself go cold when he looked at the wound; the abdominal aorta. Tucked next to the spine, it was the trunk of the whole system, to get cut there was to die almost instantly. Perhaps it was a kinder, cleaner death than what he had intended for him; he thought more along the lines of a shotgun blast followed by a trip out of the airlock, whether Andreas was dead or not. Theo crouched down and looked around him warily as he looked at the wound. He had never met the man in the flesh, but every merc had heard of Riddick, Richard B. Riddick, and how he liked his kills; this was his trademark. Riddick was on his ship, and he had just killed Andreas, to say nothing else of the others. Tyler lay close to the docking bay doors. The night vision goggles cast the blood in a strange glow which made it easy enough to follow. Mark lay just outside the door, and that’s when Theo knew that Riddick wasn’t alone.
It was a messy kill, and he couldn’t imagine someone like Riddick would kill like that. He stopped himself for a moment and took a deep breath. ‘This isn’t one of your story books, Theo.’ He didn’t know Riddick, he only knew what he had heard from other mercs; it would be dangerous to start to put thoughts in the man’s head. Raw terror fought with excitement as he carefully followed the trail of blood. He knew this was in no way a logical reaction. He should be terrified, furious, hell, he should be on his way to the nearest emergency pod, but curiosity drew him forward.
He crept down the hallways, away from the main corridor that ran the length of the ship. He very nearly stopped when he passed an emergency pod, but pressed on down the service tunnel until he reached a small corridor across from the kitchen where he saw Jenkins in a heap; there was no doubt that the man was dead. Theo realized he was the last one left alive. It was bargain or die time. “Hold it right there…Riddick…” He watched in the weird green light of the night vision goggles as Riddick pulled a blood spattered woman and a young boy, or was it a girl, behind him. If he had pulled them in front of him, he would have expected that; Theo stowed it away for the moment as just another occasion when you couldn’t believe everything you heard.
Theo watched the blood drip slowly off Riddick’s knife, the woman’s too, and knew that he was on very thin ice here. They both had the kid held behind them, and he knew that if he made a single wrong move, that they would kill him and worry about the consequences later; he didn’t know what the dynamic was yet, but he knew enough to know that people with children to protect were dangerous. “I really don’t feel like shooting anybody today Riddick. Well, aside from my idiot brother and you seem to have taken care of that.” He watched as the muscles in Riddick’s arms bunched; it wasn’t just about preparation to lunge, he was getting ready to take a shot. A shot that at this range would kill him without a doubt. A man who still thought some things were worth dying for. “You’re not a payday, Riddick, the skiff was just salvage. We do this; everybody gets hurt, for nothing. You’ll kill me, I’ll kill you, nobody gets to go anywhere.” He swallowed hard, and shook the dice for the biggest gamble of his life; he just hoped it wouldn’t be the last one. “I’m going to put the safety back on this shotgun Riddick; I just want you to know that, it doesn’t have to go any further.”
Riddick heard the click, and watched carefully as the merc lowered the shotgun to the deck. He knew the man was afraid, he could smell it, and he could hear his heart race, but he just stood back up and asked in a dead man’s voice, “Do we have a deal.” Riddick stepped closer and kicked the shotgun to the other side of the corridor, his eyes didn’t move once off the merc, who followed his movements in the dark. Theo whispered when Riddick was close enough to hear, “they’ve seen enough, don’t you think?”
Riddick looked over at Shazza, at Jack. Shazza’s knuckles shone white, even through the blood, as she clenched the knife. He knew from experience that her hands would hurt for days when she finally relaxed. She stood in front of Jack and shielded as much of the girl as she could, she couldn’t see in the dark and so had no way to know that they wouldn’t all be shot. She had taken enough; she was so strong, but there was only so much a person could take, and he didn’t want her to take anymore; not either of them. He slipped closer to the merc, so that only he could hear him, “make one wrong step and I’ll see it takes you a week to die.” The shiv left a cold red trail of partially congealed blood across Theo’s back, at the sweet spot, as if to hammer home the point of Riddick’s next question, “Do we have a deal?”
“Deal.” Theo’s voice was still and cold when he answered, even as his mind tried to work its way around the angles. If Riddick was a payday, he would be the biggest he had ever taken. And Riddick would skin him alive for it. Probably literally. If he was to play this, he would need to buy time anyway. That was the merc part of his brain that spoke; underneath, a quieter voice told him to drop his life, drop the endless trawls in the dirty places between the large planets. That voice told him to think and plan, instead of just dream, about those charts he had worked on for years. “We were about to have dinner. I won’t guarantee champagne and caviar, but it should at least be hot.” Theo had intended it to sound light hearted but he didn’t really expect a reaction, he just wanted to ease the tension a little, so he was surprised when the corridor filled with the sound of laughter. Not nervous laughter, either.
Riddick watched as Jack first snorted and then broke into a fit of giggles that turned into a great laugh that echoed off the walls. It was contagious, and he grinned as he looked at Shazza cover her mouth with her hand to try and stop her own laughter. She couldn’t cover it completely however, and the small muffled sound of it hit him hard and made him grin in spite of himself. Theo just looked puzzled, but then how could he be expected to know about their last meal on that planet. Champagne and caviar, although the caviar did get left alone after the first whiff.
Riddick squeezed Theo’s arm once, a silent warning to stay exactly where he was, before he stepped over to Shazza. She stilled and turned to face him, even though she couldn’t see him and her eyes sought his in the dark, despite that fact. “Shazza…you okay?” He touched her face and let her know where he was before he whispered in her ear, “I need you to get the lights back on. Do you know anything about comm systems?” When she nodded, he continued, “You’ll have to lock out the comm, so no one can call out from the ship. Keep Jack with you.” Her eyes searched for his again. “It’s okay, take the shotgun, I’m going to stay with this guy…” Theo belatedly introduced himself. “And clean up.” He leaned in to whisper against her ear, to ask her again if she was okay. He listened with every fiber of his being when she answered, and knew she would be okay.
“You might want to take those off.” Riddick gave Theo a fraction of a second warning before the lights came up. Being sensitive to light, he had gotten used to the tiny sound emitted before the lights came on full; sometimes it was the only thing that stood between him and blindness. If Theo took the lights at full through night vision goggles, he would be blinded. Riddick wondered if that was necessarily a bad thing.
The two men had waited until Shazza and Jack were out of sight before they disposed of the bodies. Riddick pulled Theo close when they had finished with the airlock and his voice dropped dangerously. Theo had absolutely no doubt that Riddick would kill him, so he made a point to listen, very carefully. If there was anything he could offer, now would be the time. Bargain or die, it was that simple.
“I suppose it wouldn’t come as a shock to you that I don’t like mercs.” Theo said nothing; he had absolutely no doubt that Riddick wasn’t yet at a point where this was a conversation, this was to be an announcement of rules, or boundaries, where Riddick would lay it out how it was to be. He had heard that Riddick was a stone cold killer, and he supposed that must be at least partly true, but there was something else in his face, in his voice, when he mentioned the two he was with. There was an incredibly contained violence, when he laid down the rules about them. The woman was not to be touched, or even looked at, or he would kill him, and the same went for the kid. Neither of them was to be spoken to unless he checked with Riddick first. There was to be no contact with anyone outside the ship. Theo had been around violent men all his life, but he had never felt anything that black before; this was a man that sought to protect what was his, in no uncertain terms. If he even thought to cross Riddick, he had best kill himself first.
“They’re safe as houses Riddick.” Theo glanced at Riddick’s slightly confused look at the saying, but decided now wasn’t a time to start with the explanations. “They won’t be harmed; I just want to come out of this with my skin intact.” He shifted his weight, unsure of where to start. “Did you have any idea where you wanted to go?”
Riddick watched him for a moment. It wasn’t a completely innocent question, the merc was up to something, or wanted something. This didn’t surprise him in the least, he expected to be bargained with, and dependant upon the answer, Theo would live. Or not. It didn’t really matter to Riddick. “What did you have in mind?”
Theo swept his hand forward, in a gesture for Riddick to go first, before he realized that a lot of the things he took for granted would have to be reassessed. Riddick didn’t seem like the kind of person that really gave a shit how much charm Theo had, in fact, it would likely just annoy Riddick and get him killed sooner. “My charts are on the bridge.” Riddick stalked down the corridor beside him, the air around him thick with menace. Theo swallowed as he realized just how thin this rope was that he found himself on.
Shazza turned to speak to Riddick when he came onto the bridge but her voice died when she saw him; Jack froze. It was strange, she didn’t feel afraid of him, although she knew that she should be, that anyone would be. Clearly Theo was, although he tried to hide it. Theo wouldn’t look up at either one of them, and didn’t say a word, and Shazza knew that Riddick had everything to do with that as well. It felt strange to say it, but she looked at him and felt completely safe; despite the fact that he looked absolutely terrifying. Everything in him was cold and hard and murderous, but all she felt was his thumb as it traced her cheek, ‘trust me’ the words forever in her heart every time she looked at him. Shazza looked at him as she spoke, “The comm.’s shut down, and you’ll need to clear yourself for access to the bridge, the captain’s locked out.” Riddick’s face didn’t change, but it didn’t matter, she felt him smile at her all the same; it was like a change in barometric pressure.
Theo looked at Riddick before he stepped past Shazza, to roll his charts out on the desk in front of him. He bit the inside of his lip before, and thought, bargain or die, one last time before he began. “I’ve never even seen it…” Theo’s voice was quiet when he started, and he realized that this might not be the best way to sell staying alive. He coughed and cleared his voice and started again. “It’s out here on the rim, the very farthest edge of the galaxy. No Company out here, no mercs. It started out as free settlers…” Riddick glanced at Shazza, and they shared the look quietly between them, it was deep enough to nearly be felt. “There’s something about the place. I don’t know how much is myth and how much is true; I don’t think anyone does anymore, but it may be one of the last places a person can really disappear, can really be free…”
Riddick listened to the faraway wistful sound of Theo’s voice as he spoke. For all he knew the merc had just lied through his teeth, but he didn’t think so. He might not have all the facts, he might not have any, but it was a direction, and one that took them far from where they were now. Theo knew that if he crossed him that he would die; if he was very lucky he would die quickly. He didn’t think the man had lied. Riddick looked at the charts, plotted meticulously by hand, and listened to the man’s voice; wherever this place was, Theo wanted to reach there, in one piece; he wanted it with every cell in his body.
Jack’s hand touched Riddick’s and she looked up at him before she spoke quietly. “You would be safe there Riddick.” Riddick looked down at her and squeezed her hand gently before he looked up at Shazza. He hadn’t wanted to ask Shazza where she wanted to go, in case she said somewhere he couldn’t be with her, or maybe she wouldn’t want to be with him, he just hadn’t asked. He asked now, with a look, as he held Jack’s hand. Jack felt the tiny tremble, and felt his hand sweat, the only outward sign that he felt anything. She knew Riddick would never ask, not with words. Maybe he couldn’t. Jack looked at Shazza too, and asked silently with him.
Shazza felt the weight of his gaze, despite the goggles, the weight of an unasked question in the air. She looked down at Jack and then at their joined hands, and knew she belonged to them both forever. “What are the nearest coordinates…?” A tiny nod from Riddick was all Theo needed to answer Shazza, and she plotted the course to the massive Trieste system, in search of the mythical planet Trieste Nine.
Riddick didn’t say anything else as they quickly got something to eat, the food was cold now but it didn’t matter, Riddick could barely taste anything anyway. Shazza found quarters, two adjoining rooms close to the bridge. Riddick stroked over her hair and kissed her forehead at the slight blush, as she got flustered for just a moment, they hadn’t actually spoken about sleeping arrangements. He kissed her again and felt his own heart race with hers when he told her to wait for him, and that he would be right back. He turned to watch as she let her hair down right before he closed the door again.
Theo wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of spending the night in different quarters, with the door locked from the outside, but he knew he didn’t really have much of a choice, not if he expected to live. He did ask for books though, and was surprised when Riddick agreed, he seemed different somehow, the tiniest of smiles pulled at the corner of his mouth, and Theo knew the woman Shazza had everything to do with that. He would have to tread very carefully there; Riddick had all the earmarks of a man in love, and that could be about the most dangerous thing in the world.
Shazza opened the door to their quarters before he had even touched it, and he stood frozen, before he remembered to breathe and stepped towards her after he kicked the door shut. He buried his hands in her hair as he kissed her deeply, and held her naked body close.
Copyright © august 2006 xxxevilgrinxxx