HELLO BEAUTIFUL

Ch 8

The four stood in taut silence as they looked out at the merc ship that drifted out before them. It didn’t pick up speed or appear in any way aggressive, but its presence was enough. All of them had different experiences with mercenaries, but at that moment, all of them felt the same sense of dread. Both Shazza and Jack feared for Riddick, and feared for themselves, without him. Theo saw his chance for freedom slip away as the other ship approached. Riddick hated mercs with a passion, he hated what they were and he hated what they did; now he hated them for a new reason, as he glanced quickly at Shazza, and at Jack. His gut twisted at the thought of Shazza’s lips on his and that he would never touch her again, her hard voice as she ordered the lights off, for him. She would be gone before he ever got to really know her. She was strong, so strong, but if mercs captured them, she would be slaved out. As would Jack. He gripped the back of the pilot’s seat as hate boiled through him uncontrolled; if he was anyone but who he was he would fly into a rage and there would be no telling when it would end. He leaned closer to Theo and ground out, “What kind of fucking weapons does this ship have.”

There was no question about whether he should answer Riddick or not; it was not a voice that asked, he stated a demand. Theo spelled it out simply, quickly, he could talk afterwards, this was not the same Riddick that looked unsettled at just the thought of Shazza. “Pulse cannon, nuclear tipped missiles. We have a weapons locker here as well.”

Riddick lowered his goggles off his forehead and moved to take the pilots’ seat, to take control of the weaponry. Shazza was already in the co-pilots’ seat, her own face as hard as his; she had just tried to tell Jack to go lock herself in her room and was told in no uncertain terms to fuck off. It wasn’t said cruelly, it was simply stated as a matter of fact. None of them wanted to leave.

“Wait, Riddick…” Theo placed his hand over the controls before the weapons could be powered up. His voice shook as he asked, and he fully expected to be killed outright for it. “Wait. If you hit that ship, we could have a dozen merc ships on us before it’s done….”

Riddick’s expression grew even colder as Theo watched and he felt his heart pound in primeval terror in his chest and wondered how he would manage to speak. “Changed your mind about our little deal, merc?” If Riddick’s blank face radiated danger, his voice made that fear solid. He didn’t need to shout, or yell; his voice deepened, and it was steeped in a terrible sensuality that had a person listen, hang, on every syllable; to look for anything, any scrap of sound that said he wouldn’t kill. Neither Shazza nor Jack could tear their eyes from him; they had both seen him kind, and gentle. Shazza felt his voice, an almost physical presence, against her skin. This was the same Riddick, he was always dangerous, it was only the intent that changed.

Theo’s hand shook, as did his voice, but he went on. “Let me talk to them Riddick. They’re bigger than we are, and in a pitched battle, there’s a good chance we won’t make it. A firefight will attract others. Look,” Theo pointed down at the console in front of Riddick, “Their weapons aren’t hot Riddick, they don’t expect a fight either. If we can get out of this without getting hit, it would be best. I haven’t forgotten the deal, Riddick. Trust me; I want out of here as badly as you.” He watched the muscle in Riddick’s jaw twitch when he said ‘trust me’.

Riddick felt Shazza’s hand on his shoulder; he hadn’t even heard her move, so intent was he on Theo. Theo could never know what those two words, ‘trust me’, meant to them both. He hated the sound of those words in the other man’s mouth, and hated what they meant more; he didn’t want to trust the merc. Unbidden, Imam’s voice echoed in his head, as he sat chained up in the crash ship. Imam had not looked at the circumstances, he didn’t judge by another’s words. Imam had sat beside him and called him Mr. Riddick; Imam had looked at him, not as a murderer, a felon, but as a man, and it was Imam’s voice in his head now, in his heart, now, that insisted he look at the man Theo was, and not what he was.

He raised his goggles and looked hard at Theo. He didn’t want to trust him, and he did at the same time. Shazza felt Riddick’s muscles tense and ripple under her hand as Riddick first fought with himself and then stood and moved aside to let Theo sit before the console. He didn’t move far, but stood behind Theo as he hailed the other ship. Theo had no doubts that if he slipped even once that Riddick would kill him without a second thought. At least under these circumstances it would be, by necessity, quick. Theo had no desire to find out.

No one breathed in the silence that drew out while they waited for the other ship to answer. Theo didn’t need to turn to feel the knife at his back; it wasn’t physically there, but its presence was felt nonetheless. It buried deep in him and traced patterns on his heart as it thundered in his chest. Theo jumped when the captain of the other ship answered the hail, using his full last name, Theopoulis; which made Theo jump in spite of himself; he wasn’t that man anymore. “Just Theo will do.” His voice caught at first but he covered it with a cough and continued to ask of the other captains’ business in the brusque official tone he adopted when he dealt with other mercs. None of those he dealt with would have considered it as Theo did, as contempt; instead they saw him as cold, which served to keep others at a distance. He was thankful for that now.

Accustomed to lies, Riddick listened to every sound, every nuance, as Theo spoke to the other captain; he waited for the slightest sign of betrayal, and found none. Shazza stayed close to Jack, and the two women scarcely breathed, the tension was too thick in the air. She found that she stared at Riddick, and several times tried to stop but gave up, and took the rare opportunity to watch him. Outwardly he was still and his face was a hard emotionless mask. It was only through careful observation that she made note of his preparation for violence. His body seemed larger than normal, as though the very force of the violence within him had expanded him somehow. Occasionally the muscles in his arms and neck would ripple as his hands clenched on the back of Theo’s seat, and his jaw tightened and released.

“We’re en route to Helion Prime to pick up replacements…” Riddick tensed; the Odyssey would pass Helion Prime, but he didn’t like the sound of the other captain’s voice, there was something slippery about it.

“Yea, we had heard about you having to drop off mercs at Tangiers, you’re flying light, Theo.” Theo heard the tone as well, and it hardened him a little more. ‘So that’s how it will be.’ He took a deep breath and again felt Riddick at his back, but that didn’t bother him in quite the same way it had before. This wouldn’t be the first time there was a hostile takeover in the backwaters of the Soltrek shipping lanes; it was after all how he ended up with the Odyssey. If it weren’t for the deadly seriousness of the situation he would be amused by the irony of it all.

“Yes, we’re flying light, but the Odyssey nearly flies herself, so we can do without.” Riddick tightened on the back of the chair again, he didn’t like where any part of this conversation was going; to him it sounded as though Theo had baited the other captain, had dared him.

“Helion Prime is still days away, do you want us to send over a few hands to see you through? We could stop off on Helion and recover them; you know, after you’ve picked up reinforcements.”

Theo eased out of the pilots’ seat after he had pointed at Shazza to take his place; he hadn’t stopped his conversation with the other captain. Riddick said nothing about the unspoken order to Shazza. Theo had accepted the offer of ‘aid’ from the other captain with a calm voice, despite the fact that Riddick now had a painful grip on his arm. Theo told the other captain that he would set the Odyssey on autopilot, and meet the boarding party in the docking bay before he broke off the connection and stood to face an angry Riddick.

Riddick’s grip tightened a little more as he fought the urge to kill Theo outright. Theo should be afraid, he should be terrified, but he wasn’t, and Riddick wanted to know why. He didn’t ask, he just waited, and radiated menace. Theo glanced at Shazza, his mouth opened for a moment; he didn’t speak until Riddick gave an almost imperceptible nod, and allowed him to speak to her. “They’re going to send a boarding party over.” He pointed to lights on the console, and continued to speak in a clear sharp voice. “You’ll know when they get here when that light goes off.” He looked at her before he reached over her shoulder and tapped out a code on the console in front of her. “When they’re docked, I want you to release that switch, the weapons will get hot almost immediately, a little alteration of my own. Hit them here…and here. Blow those bastards out of the sky.”

Riddick dropped Theo’s arm and leaned in close to Shazza and whispered in her ear, “Are you okay with this, Shazza?” He grinned at her answer and nuzzled her ear when she muttered under her breath, “bloody right I am.” Jack was already strapped into the co-pilots seat and Riddick knew that he would have a fight on his hands if he tried to move her. He didn’t really want to grin but did anyway as he pictured Jack’s curses and struggles. Even at twelve or so he knew she would fight back.

He turned on his heel and followed Theo out into the corridor; Theo didn’t turn or ask to be followed. If he was afraid before he wasn’t any longer; he stopped outside a weapons locker and pulled out weapons for himself and Riddick. The two men stood in silence and quickly loaded weapons and got prepared. The docking bay was just ahead, but Theo didn’t go in; instead he stood before an access panel at the side and fiddled with some switches. “Lockout, Riddick. They’ll never get farther than the docking bay.”

Riddick began to look around for other ways to access the docking bay; if the boarding party couldn’t leave, Riddick and Theo couldn’t enter either. He spotted the panel in the ceiling further down the hall just as Theo started to walk in that direction, and knew that the man had planned just that all along. Theo had to jump at first to grab hold of the panel, but he scrambled up easily enough, which left Riddick with the impression that this wasn’t a first for him. Doubt flicked across Riddick’s mind and was gone again as quickly when he handed his weapon up to Theo, who dropped it beside him and then extended his hand down to Riddick to pull him up. That he didn’t have to wasn’t the point.

They crept forward across the grate ceiling of the docking bay. All of the bright lights in the bay would come from whatever ship docked; the rest of the lights in the bay were low and dim, for the most part, as bright light was only needed for certain repair work. As long as it stayed dark, Riddick and Theo would never be seen as they lurked above. The grate ceiling offered them a clear shot at anything in the bay, but it also made them an easy target should anyone choose to turn a spotlight on the ceiling. They would have to make sure they killed the boarding party before that happened.

Copyright © sept 2006 xxxevilgrinxxx