The Ghost & The Darkness

So Many Of Them Die

It took four days for the change to become apparent to Riddick. River had been right in that their normal routine was resumed once the drugs had worn off. The training wasn't as intense though, the scientists seemed more interested in having River teach Riddick, his reactions were watched closely. River was keeping a sharp mental eye out for anything in their watcher's minds that would indicate suspicion. Apparently Riddick's size and rim language were enough to allay suspicion that he might be more than he seemed. Riddick freely admitting he was a murderer and escaped convict went a long way toward convincing people he was uneducated and stupid.

He grinned to himself as he watched River move through the graceful sweeps of her kata and carefully imitated her. The data book had a port which the scientists thought they'd disabled before giving it to River. A little time and River re-enabled the port. She'd spent a lot of time that night going over the program she'd inserted into the Academy's systems and confirmed that it would only take one line of code uploaded and everything would fall into place. Last night she'd verified that the Blue Hands would die within three days and the crazy girl would be dead within one. Riddick still felt his belly twist with sorrow and anger when he thought about those eyes filled with madness and rage.

"Time for sparring," River grinned at him. "This time I will prevail. Rick will not use his greater strength to overpower me." She slanted a glance at Doctor Lucas who was observing them and taking notes. "Doctor Lucas, should we use the boken today? Or do you prefer we practice hand to hand combat?"

"Swords today," Lucas told them offering River a thin smile. "And Rick, remember, no damage. I had cause for concern yesterday when you threw River to the ground."

"Why Doc?" Riddick frowned his confusion. "Thrown her lots harder'n that an' she always pops up again. Tough little girl." He looked at River. "Somethin' wrong with her?"

Lucas looked both smug and irritated but simply shook his head. "Just be careful of your partner Rick," Was all he would say.

Riddick grabbed the boken and tossed one to River, keeping the half confused look on his face. Sparring with her was always fun, they'd have to get some wooden swords to play with on Serenity. They were both sweating and had fought each other to a standstill when Doctor Lucas finally left, his refined features a mask of annoyed disappointment. River grinned up at Riddick and he moved closer to her, dropping the wooden blade to kiss her hard on the mouth. Her scent teased his nostrils, the salt of her sweat intensifying her natural perfume, silk and apples and blood and vanilla and honey. Pulling away from her he picked up the boken and put them away before scooping her up in his arms. "Gorram baby girl, sparrin' with you's almost as much fun as sexin' you." He grinned.

"Probabilities indicate we could not have one without the other, given our temperaments," River teased back before he kissed her, tasting her mouth and breathing her scent deeply.

Riddick nearly groaned she smelled so good. "You always smell so good to me baby girl," He told her, sinking down onto the mats. "Don't get why I ain't sick of you yet," He held her in his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist as he kissed her yet again. "Ain't ever been with a girl so long an' still wanted her." Riddick set his lips on her neck, her collarbone and shoulder, breathing in her scent and mentally evaluating the notes that made up her personal perfume, he'd always smelled blood and steel, silk and apples, cinnamon when she was angry, burnt cinnamon when she was afraid, honey when she wanted him...but vanilla was new. Her scent had changed and unless she was feeling something she'd never felt before...

River moaned as his mouth teased her skin, tasting while his hand moved up and down her back and into her hair. 'Love, you are worried...preoccupied...what is wrong?' She forced herself past the desire he ignited to send the mental question.

'Your scent changed wife,' Riddick's mouth came down on hers, implacable, filled with need and lust, near bruising in intensity. 'You're carrying my child in your belly. And we are leaving this place.' His hands moved to her hips, moving her against his groin so she could feel just how aroused he was at the thought.

'Can't tell yet,' River's mental voice was an awed whisper. 'Three more days and we are gone...but I don't feel any sparks inside me yet.' She slid her hands over Riddick's chest and up to his jaw, feeling the black stubble against her fingers. "Rick, want you inside me," She moaned into his mouth. "Please please please."

"Gorram baby girl," Riddick unwound her legs from his waist and lay back on the mats. "Ready for you an' I ain't gonna argue," He smirked up at her. "Just gotta take whatcha want." He pushed his loose pants down as River tore her own shirt off. With one powerful jerk of his hands, her pants ripped down the middle and River mounted him, moaning low in her throat as she impaled herself on his body. He groaned reaching up to touch her, drawing her body down to his, letting his lips find her breasts, caressing and suckling carefully. It was so hard to let her set the pace sometimes...the longer they were inside the Academy the more he wanted to protect, to cover her body with his, hide her from the bastards that watched them even now. But she was so gorgeous riding him, her hips undulating over his, rising and falling until she was crying out, her fall taking her by surprise.

"Rick," River was shaking, her legs weak with the force of her pleasure, "Please...fill her up." She bent down, her body length to length with his until Riddick growled and rolled her over, spreading her thighs again to piston in and out of her relentlessly, driving her to pleasure again and again on the way to his own fall.

He buried his face in her hair and howled the agony of his pleasure, his fall even harder than usual as she trembled under him. She was limp with bliss, her eyes dazed with it and Riddick kissed her neck gently, "Ya'll right baby girl?"

"Hmm..." River shuddered under him, "Just feeling a little tired, Rick likes to wear her out."

"Yeah, you're all sortsa fun," Riddick chuckled. "Better fix your pants though, an' put that shirt back on." He rolled off her and cursed mentally. All he wanted was to stay inside her, play with her and pet and tease like they had on Serenity, laughing and talking as they made love. More than two months of that closeness lost...it felt like the animal was starving and the man was going mad with it.

River let her hands reach for his chest, tracing his muscles as she smiled playfully. "Rick could help her," She pointed out. "Could take care of his partner."

"Why'd I wanna do that?" Riddick growled the question as he snatched up her shirt, balling the fabric in his hand. "Ain't you able to?"

"Perfectly capable," River smiled. "Just saying Rick could." She could feel his need to touch, the hunger for her skin that wasn't satisfied with only sex and sparring. Holding her arms up like a child she felt her husband's tension ease as he tugged the shirt down over her arms and head, smoothing it over her waist. His hands played with her hair pulling it out from under the fabric and stroking through the long dark locks. Before she could make another suggestion his fingers were finding the edges of her torn pants and tying them together. Silver eyes twinkled at her behind the dark goggles and she grinned. "Rick is excellent at taking care of his partner."

Riddick was just grateful his wife could read minds or he might have killed the next Academy person he saw. Pulling on his own pants he leaned down and helped River up. "C'mon, let's get somethin' to eat. I'm starvin'."

"Rick works up an appetite," River leered at him and got a grin from her husband before they left the practice room.


Sleep never came easily for him when he was being watched, so two days later when River shook him out of a dream of her he had to contain his irritation. "Huh?" He tried to sound as if he was still asleep and merely grunting in dreams. River's mental voice shouting his name nearly had him jerking in shock, 'Dancer, I'm awake, just don't want them watchers to know.' He didn't open his eyes but let his hand on her belly squeeze her flesh a bit to reassure her.

'We must leave, now,' River told him. 'The clones of the Blue Hands died ahead of schedule. The twisted clone of our DNA has already died.' She turned as if in sleep and pressed her lips to the bite mark over his heart. 'Doctor Singh waved Doctor Lucas. Lucas is not pleased. He plans to take me and perform the tests for conception early, it's first on his list when he gets in tomorrow morning, on the off chance that I am already pregnant.'

'And after that the chance of us getting out along with the baby are almost nil,' Riddick finished her unformed thought grimly. 'Are they watching now?'

'Watchers soon to sleep,' River replied. 'Best escape route?'

'Walk right out the front door.' Riddick answered after a moment of thought. 'Slip on over to the student section, steal some clothes from teachers or students, walk right out.'

'Sound plan,' River shuddered. 'Requires that we leave before the children, we will need to take the databook in order to trigger sleeping program.' Her hands slid around his waist as she pressed her body to his as if in sleep. 'Academy is in the Blue Sun complex which has its own space port. Children will be leaving for Bernadette from there. If we can board the ship we could disembark on Bernadette and go from there.'

Riddick thought that over for a moment, considering the probable difficulties they'd run into and agree. 'Good idea. Only problem is all the cameras on the way to the spaceport. Getting on the ship won't be hard for either of us, but heading to Bernadette means we'll have to come back to kill Doctor Lucas if we don't catch him in the Academy.'

River's hands rubbed over his skin soothingly. 'Watchers will be leaving their posts in approximately ten minutes.' She thought for a moment, dredging up information from her past reading of the teachers and staff of the Academy. 'Children and chaperones are booked on a Longbow class civilian cruiser, the Indigo, to be taken over by shuttles, cameras won't be a problem until we're near the ship, need to be disguised,' She told him after a moment. 'Theft of accoutrements will be required if we are to be seen in the open at all.'

'Yeah, figured on the clothes for sure, a pack or duffle maybe, this being a core world we'll look odd if we don't have at least a small amount of luggage,' Riddick agreed. 'Have to see what we can find over with the normal students. They got a lost and found or anything like that? Might have some clothing that fits you if not me.'

River slid her hand under the pillow to feel that the databook was where she'd left it before replying. 'Teacher in charge of physical fitness and anatomy is nearly as strong as Richard, slightly taller though. Shoes will be a little big, but double socks will help. Clothing for Richard more important than mine.'

'Ain't havin' you pretend to be my daughter or anything like that,' Riddick argued silently even as River slid out of the bed with the databook and stealthily pulled clothing from her little bureau. Handing him pants and a shirt she began to wiggle into her own clothes, layering a couple of shirts in order to minimize the amount of flesh exposed.

'An assumption of youth could work in our favor,' River informed him with a wrinkled nose. 'But I don't like the idea much either.'

'Lets just see how the escape goes and then we'll work on our cover,' Riddick suggested even as his mind turned how they'd get across the complex to the spaceport.

'Teacher's quarters first,' River suggested. 'He is not one of the chaperones so his luggage will be unused.' She looked down at her bare feet and rummaged around in the back of the drawer, pulling out the soft ballet slippers that had been her reward in her first month back at the Academy.

'Good,' Riddick nodded as he pulled the tight teeshirt down over his torso. 'Let's get out of this place.'


Slipping out of their side of the Academy wasn't too difficult, it was really amazing what could be accomplished with a skilled hacker, an open port and a databook, Riddick smirked to himself. The school side of the Academy was once again problematic. There was something about children, especially adolescent children, that defied predictability. After their third near miss due to children being out of bed and chattering excitedly about the trip to Bernadette River pulled her husband into a closet and began to figure out exactly where everyone was.

If he hadn't been so worried about escaping safely with his wife and their barely there baby Riddick would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. They were two of the deadliest, skilled people in the 'Verse, but they were being tripped up by gorram teenagers and prepubescent children. It was ruttin' ridiculous.

Finally River looked up from the databook, narrowed her eyes at the door of the closet and nodded in determination. 'We have a five minute window to get down the hall and to the stairs,' She declared. 'Once at the stairs we must go up and to the left to arrive in the staff wing.'

'We're doing this at a run aren't we Dancer,' Riddick nearly grinned.

'Yes, it is only a few hours until dawn and we must be ready to leave by that time.' River nodded as she opened the door and began a soundless sprint down the hallway, Riddick following her. 'I have added two additional places to the field trip, to be removed once we are aboard the Indigo. The Indigo has a separate system, I'll need to hack it once we get aboard in order to book our rooms, unless I can find one of their terminals. I thought we could be the Dantius'. I'll purchase another databook or find a semi public terminal once we're aboard the Indigo and hack their system with that.'

Riddick made a mental noise of acknowledgement as they reached the stairs. Barefoot he could run just as quietly as she could in her ballet slippers, who knew breaking out of high security Slam would come in handy on a core world, he thought to himself. 'All right, left to the staff wing, what door do we want?'

'Fifth door on the right of the hall is Mr. Halberg's suite.' River pointed soundlessly and began to walk down the hall, obviously listening for the sounds of the staff, whether mentally or audibly Riddick couldn't be sure. He couldn't hear anything past some snoring and River grinned her appreciation of his sensitive hearing. 'The teacher of literature is unwell, she will not be accompanying the students. Instead her aide will be attending.' River grinned. 'We have found my travelcase as well as yours.'

Riddick grinned as he tried the door and found it locked. Sadly River wasn't wearing hair pins or anything else that could be used to pick it. He bent to regard the latch and shrugged at River, he'd just have to break the gorram lock. It wouldn't make much noise and it wouldn't look abnormal from the outside. Wrapping his hand around the knob he twisted it sharply and felt the tumblers give way. 'Didn't even make a lot of noise,' He thought and caught River's amusement at his enjoyment of law breaking. 'Let's get in and make sure he's asleep. Or else I'll put him to sleep permanently.'

'Ill-advised,' River shook her head, 'Better to simply induce unconsciousness through suffocation.' She slipped through the door and Riddick followed her as she began to search the sitting room closet. The rolling travelcase was stored neatly inside along with several pairs of outdoor boots. Riddick nodded, River had been right, if he doubled up on socks the boots would fit, though shoes would stick out less. He grabbed the boots anyway and shoved them in the case. It was always better to have several possible identities. River tilted her head and nodded moving towards the bedroom. 'He is a light sleeper, come and help me hold the pillow over his head before he wakes up.'

'River, you listen for his brain to kick off, I'll hold the pillow over his head, got more upper body strength than you, he won't be able to throw me off.' Riddick moved ahead of her, picking up a throw pillow along the way. The teacher might be one of those people who only used one pillow in a double bed but it was better to not chance it.

'Appropriate division of labor,' River's mental voice held a chuckle, 'Brains and brawn,' she teased.

'Little smart ass,' He retorted, moving soundlessly next to the sleeping man and applying the pillow in the most efficacious manner possible given the mans position of sleeping on his side. He could feel the teacher struggling to breathe, his arms flailing and legs kicking under the sheets and blankets. The man was losing strength, his body arching in desperation before he began to lose consciousness. Riddick kept his hand hard over the teacher's nose and mouth and listened for River's signal that the man was completely unconscious.

River simply tapped her husband on the shoulder, 'Enough, he will remain unconscious for approximately three hours unless he is prematurely woken.'

'All right then, lets find clothes that'll fit me and we'll head down the hall to get your bag and see if anything the lady teacher has will fit you.' Riddick picked up the pillow and moved to the sitting room, throwing it carelessly on the couch before he went to the man's closet. River began to search through the bureau and pulled out several sweaters as well as a pair of sweatpants.

'Here,' River took the clothes from Riddick's hands and sorted through them for neutral colors, dark blue, gray and black. 'Sorry, forgot your eyes have trouble with light colors,' She apologized.

'Long as no one looks twice,' Riddick frowned, 'Which reminds me,' he tapped his goggles with one finger, 'Hiding these won't be easy.'

'Tinted spectacles with UV protection, peripheral protection as well, excellent for extended time outdoors,' River dug through the teacher's drawer until she found some and grinned as a thought occurred to her. Disappearing into the bathroom she returned with shaving equipment and shampoos, putting them all in the travel bag the teacher had kept beneath the sink. 'There, husband may groom himself aboard the Indigo.' She gave a mental chuckle and selected two pairs of shoes and six pairs of socks. 'Look around and see if there's anything else you'd like, but stay away from his jewelry; most of it is tagged against thieves,' She took everything into the sitting room and began to pack the travelcase. 'Richard, anything else to pack? Must don appropriate clothing before we leave the Academy.'

'Don't see anything that I could use, sides a very nice folding knife.' Riddick told her from the other room. 'Just pick me out a set a clothes and I'll get dressed.'

'Shoes on floor, socks inside, shirt and slacks hanging on closet door,' River told him. 'Travelcase is ready,' She nearly laughed at the domestic quality of the conversation. If they weren't trying to escape a corporate lab they'd be like any other couple preparing for a trip.

'All right,' Riddick put the sunglasses in his shirt pocket and left the goggles on his head, 'Gonna have to move a bit slower in these shoes, but lets get to the other teacher's room and see what we got there.'

'Plenty of time yet,' River smiled up at him. 'Three doors down from this room, opposite side of the hallway,' She grinned. 'The teacher has taken a soother to sleep since she was feeling ill. She will not wake until well into the day.'

'Love people who drug themselves up,' Riddick drawled in her mind. He snagged the travelcase by the side handle and carried it easily down the hall and to the literature instructor's door. This woman didn't keep her door locked, or she'd felt so ill that it had slipped her mind. He and River slipped in and she listened carefully for the woman's mind. After a moment the girl shook her head.

'She barely even dreams she is so drugged,' River frowned in distaste, 'I'll look for appropriate clothing if you will look for the travelcase.' She walked into the woman's bedroom and slid the closet door open as Riddick looked in the entryway closet for the case. A moment later her mental voice called him, 'The case is in her closet. Her shoes are the same size as mine, but her clothes will all be too big. I can take some of her shampoos and soaps though.'

'All right, who would be of a size with you and won't be awake at this hour?' Riddick wondered. 'Don't think the kids would have any clothing that would work.'

'Other teachers closer in size to me, one slightly more curvy, another slightly taller.' River shrugged as she continued to search the closet and bureau. In the bottom drawer she found several sweaters that seemed smaller than the rest of the clothing. 'Found sweaters that will only be slightly larger.'

'Found a box in the entryway closet,' Riddick told her. 'It's got more clothes in it.'

River grabbed shampoo and soaps along with a comb from the bathroom and hurried to the sitting area to examine the box after sliding the toiletries into a pocket of the travelcase. 'Looks like clothing that is too nice to throw away but doesn't fit her anymore,' She tilted her head. 'Very serviceable, Richard has mitigated the need for lost and found.' She sorted through the clothing for what she'd need and began packing it after choosing a pair of silk trousers and a tunic to be worn over them that she could change into. One last trip into the bedroom to grab several pairs of shoes and a pair of boots and she zipped the case shut. 'We are ready to go,' She stripped out of her hospital clothes and pulled on the elegant silk outfit. Her lack of a bra wasn't readily apparent with one of the wife beater tee-shirts under it.

Riddick grinned and picked up her bag as she stepped back into her ballet slippers. 'I'm guessing it's pretty near dawn.'

'Yes, must make haste to be on the first shuttle to the Indigo,' River agreed. 'Shuttles will run between the Academy and the Indigo until all students and chaperones are aboard. We are scheduled on the first one.'

Riddick nodded, taking a moment to change his goggles to the blue tinted spectacles River had found before he picked up his own case. 'Who else will be on the first shuttle?' He watched as River set the door to lock behind them and with a quick glance up and down the hallway left the room.

'We will be on the shuttle first, several students, overeager, will join us. Shuttle pilot will check us off the list.' River told him as they moved through the school. Riddick grinned, she moved as if she had every right to go wherever she wanted.


Riddick frowned as River tried once again to hack the Indigo from her databook. 'Stop trying to break in and just look,' He finally told her, his mental voice tense. 'They've got open berths for passengers right?'

River nodded without looking at him, her fingers flying over the screen. 'Several dozen.' She agreed.

'Then we wait, sneak on, along with a bigger crowd and find one of those cabins. Once we're aboard the ship it won't be as hard to hack the network,' Riddick suggested reasonably. 'We just need to get aboard the boat.'

'Won't be easy,' River shook her head. 'We have an hour and a half before the watchers wake and we're missed.'

'And what time does the boat leave?' Riddick asked, his big body next to hers radiating tension.

'Half an hour after that,' River leaned into him and he rubbed her shoulder. 'There aren't cameras in the cabins, only the hallways, so once we're inside we should be safe.'

'Here comes another group,' Riddick nodded towards the shuttle mule. 'We'll blend in with this one.'

River watched as a mass of students and several teachers disembarked from the mule. "All right," She reached for her travelcase only to have Riddick take it and his own.

"I'll carry these, look more like muscle than a husband anyway,' Riddick murmured low in her ear. "Don't worry, we've gotten outa worse places'n this." He walked behind her as River approached the back of the group, watching her posture deliberately relax and change to imitate the teenagers around her. One of the kids bumped him and apologized. He grinned and nodded as he followed River through the crowd and up the elegant gangway to the ship.

There was a lot of milling around and strident voices, Riddick winced at the noise but gamely followed River as she worked her way through the crowd. The steward was busy with several chaperones and multiple students, it was easy enough to slip away in the chaos. River looked around the passage they'd entered to get away from the entranceways and sent him a wicked little smile. 'Now we simply go up two levels and enter one of the cabins. Suites are on the top two levels. We'll pass a terminal along the way and I'll use that to put in our reservations.'

'When do you erase us from the Academy's logs?' Riddick inquired silently, following her up a set of stairs obviously used for the stewards and attendants.

'Right now,' River was working her databook as she walked and finally put it away. 'We've effectively disappeared from the Academy.' She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. 'Terminal up one flight, and I'll register us for a suite under Mr. and Mrs. Dantius.'

'When will you seal the Academy and start the gas?' Riddick asked with a smirk.

'Verification that all students have gone has to be done, I'll do that once we're in our room. Everyone is supposed to board half an hour before the ship departs, but I'll need to allow for stragglers.' River turned a corner and they entered a wider, more elegant hallway with a public access terminal set into an alcove. She grinned at him and her fingers began to tap the keys softly. 'How big of a suite would my husband like? Large bed and bathtub? Dining included?'

'May as well go all out,' Riddick grinned. 'Unless you don't feel like paying for it?'

'Not using our money to pay for it. So go down the hall to the last door.' River smiled up at him. 'I'll grab the passcards and we'll be set.'


When the door to the suite was unlocked Riddick didn't quite relax but he could feel some of his tension drift away. Before River could say anything he held a finger to her lips. 'Let's make sure there aren't any cameras or bugs, I'll give a listen for the machinery. Just be patient, I don't know this boat very well.'

'I'll start working on the Academy then,' River kissed his finger and pulled out the Academy databook. Riddick watched her for a moment as she frowned over what she read and then got to work himself.

A careful search of the room along with his superior hearing had turned up only one potential listening device, and unfortunately the cortex terminal was unavoidable. The best he could do was keep it off unless River needed to use it for something. He looked at River who had set her databook down and was unpacking their purloined clothing. "We're good Dancer," He said finally. "Only possible problem is the cortex terminal. I figure you'll need to use it now and then but you can probably do something to it to block outgoing video or recording."

River grinned at him. "And I have sealed the Academy. All children are now on this boat. All Academy staff are sealed within the building and the replacement of oxygen with carbon monoxide is taking place as we speak. Even Doctor Lucas is at the Academy."

"What about the records?" Riddick asked quietly, helping her put the clothes away. "I know you were worried 'bout them having a backed up system."

"Purging now," River's smile was smug, a panther kitten with feathers in her mouth. "Program Simon and Richard created has done its job well. Only program left in the system will be the one we made and uploaded from within the Academy, barring hard coded programs for cortex function. Self deletion after all life within the building has expired."

"Gotta say I wish I could sink my shiv into some of those folk," Riddick growled and wrapped his arms around her slender body, lifting her up to kiss her hard on the mouth. "Gaspin' for air seems too good for 'em, but as long as you an' the baby are safe that's all I care about."

River took a deep breath. "Still possible to kill the Blue Sun board if you like," She told him with a bloodthirsty smile. "But it would require a delay of our return to Serenity. We would have to acquire a ship, identities, intelligence on the targets…"

"How long you figure that'd take?" Riddick wondered carrying her to the bed and laying down with her on top of him. "Want you back on Serenity before you get too round." He put a hand on her belly where that tiny vanilla spark rested. "Ain't takin' any chances with you, wife."

"Potential destruction of Blue Sun would take years," River frowned as she thought about it. "Long term goal." She decided. "Short term goals are acquiring information, determining targets, begin to plan."

"All right," Riddick nodded and kissed her again. "Damn it feels good to just talk to you, an' hold you like you're mine."

"Very right," She agreed in pleasure. "In approximately ten minutes the Academy will begin to die. Would you like me to pull up the cameras on the databook?"

"Yeah, iffen I cain't kill 'em with my bare hands or a knife, I wanna see 'em die." Riddick was glad she understood that need. He had to make sure they were dead, that they wouldn't come after either of them again. "But you don't gotta watch iffen you don't want Dancer."

"Want to," River nodded fervently. "Need to see. Won't feel safe until they're all expired."

"All right then," He nodded towards the databook. "Let's watch 'em die then."


Riddick felt the ship tremble beneath them, felt the engines kick into overdrive as they launched the transport off of Osiris. He heard the announcement overhead, requesting all passengers seat themselves before the engines burned hard through the atmosphere. And yet he heard none of it. He was torn between watching River's face and watching the screen of the databook, the sight of the Academy dying. In the end he split his attention between his wife's rapt face and the screen. Their minds were still joined and part of him wondered if they always would be. Not that he minded. Being able to hear River talk, and talk back to her was the closest he'd ever come to feeling safe in his life.

"Academy is dead," River grinned at him as the last of the life signs faded from the internal sensors. "An hour to allow for full saturation and the seals will break again, oxygen to flow freely. Program is self destructing now."

"Any way you can set that place on fire?" Riddick inquired with a frown. "Right now they've got a body count and plenty of bodies, but iffen anyone really takes a look they'll see we ain't there."

"Definitely possible," River's fingers began to type and pull up schematics. "Complete purge of the Academy…only partial DNA remaining to identify subjects and staff…possibly. Will take time to determine if it can be done. No certainty."

"Try it then, don't care if it takes out other buildings or even the entire complex," Riddick commanded. "Ain't leaving a sign behind that we escaped."

River grinned at him. "Husband becomes more bloodthirsty now that he has propagated," She teased.

"Husband doesn't ever want to watch his wife walk away from him again," He retorted, his blood running cold as he remembered watching her crumple into the arms of the Blue Hands. "You're having our baby River. It's sooner than we ever thought it'd be, but I won't give you up. Not you or our little animal in there."

"No choice but to go with them, otherwise we would be outplayed," River said quietly. "Didn't want to leave you. Never want to leave you. But couldn't let them kill you or they'd have me forever."

"Yeah I get that," Riddick smoothed a hand over her long hair, grateful they hadn't cut it off. "Just don't think I could take it again. You don't know how it felt, felt like I could kill everything in the 'Verse until I got you back. Ask Simon, he an' Jayne, they're the only ones who understood at all."

"I could feel it, what you felt," River whispered. "When I woke that first night, I felt our animals howling to the skies for their mate to return."

"Let's make sure that it don't ever happen again," Riddick kissed her temple and indicated the databook. "How can I help with that?"

"Use the terminal to contact Hughes," River suggested. "See if he has any suggestions."

"Safe to use?" Riddick dragged a chair over to the terminal and regarded it suspiciously.

"Wouldn't try to wave Serenity, but Hughes should be fine," River murmured already deep into the Academy and Blue Sun's server programs. "Ask how thorough a cleanup or investigation of a fire would be please."

Riddick sat at the terminal and began typing in the Operative's cortex address. Soon enough the man himself was on the other side of the wave. "Hughes," Riddick greeted the dark man.

"Riddick," Hughes nodded, "You've changed your appearance since we last met. Dare I hope it was worth it?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Riddick replied in the same guarded words. "Travelin' now. And the wife has a question for you."

"I am all ears and eager to be of assistance to your lovely wife," The Operative's smile was sad and joyful at the same time.

"She's wanting to know, if there were a fire at a certain place," The escaped murderer began, a smirk tugging his lips, "Can you tell her how thorough an investigation would be, about the cause and the victims?"

"A fire that exceeded certain thermal levels would leave no doubt of arson, but it would also completely eradicate the victims. Even their bones would be ash. There would be no way to identify the remains." Hughes replied promptly. "But such a fire would require chemical assistance, a toxic mix of elements in the air and fuel perhaps."

"Could it be done in a closed environment?" Riddick repeated the question River had sent him mentally. "Say if a building were sealed, lotsa plasti, lotsa aluminum, what sorta fuel would a fire need to reach the ash level of heat?"

"It's possible, the concern would be containing it to the building," Hughes frowned thoughtfully. "There are many gasses that are highly flammable, and burn more hotly than those fueled by only oxygen."

"And if we weren't too concerned with limiting the fire or explosion to one building? Say it was in the middle of enemy territory?" Riddick asked curiously.

"Such a fire would be even more appropriate to the purpose of rendering bodies unidentifiable." The Operative said quietly. "An investigation of such a fire would take a great deal of time and while the cause would be found quickly enough, there could be no positive identification of the victims."

"Hmm…" Riddick turned and looked at River and then regarded Hughes again. "Mind passing on a message to the folks?"

"I did speak to your people recently," Hughes nodded, "I had to suggest they leave their port of call rather than remain without any business to see to."

"Probably a good idea," Silver eyes regarded Hughes from behind tinted spectacles. "Hope you suggested somewhere out on the Rim as a good place to set down again."

"I did," The dark man nodded solemnly. "I think they mentioned something about a seeing a carnival." He smiled slightly. "Your brother in law wasn't pleased with the advice, though reason compelled him to agree with it."

"Yeah, his emotions just run him," Riddick nodded. "We're headed in the wrong direction at the moment going to some museum about Earth That Was, but we'll find transport out that way soon enough." He frowned as he listened to River and changed the subject. "Wondering if you can recommend a quiet place to do some shopping. Need a portable designated sourcebox and an encyclopedia."

"There is a place on Bernadette that I have used before. The prices are reasonable and more importantly the quality is guaranteed." Hughes nodded. "I'll send you the coordinates."

"'Preciate it," Riddick smirked slightly. "Maybe we'll see you there."

"We could meet for lunch, enjoy some leisurely time together," Hughes' manner changed slightly and Riddick nodded, his own posture matching the Operatives.

"I'll speak to my wife, I'm sure she'd love to see you," The murderer replied, rounding his tones out elegantly. "She suggested The Elise as a suitable venue for the luncheon we were forced to miss."

"I do enjoy their Earth style cuisine," Hughes agreed. "She has excellent taste. Shall I see you in a few days?"

"We'll look forward to it," Riddick smiled, a cool expression, and continued the conversation with small talk until Hughes relaxed.

"Forgive the sudden inanity," The Operative shook his head. "I am occasionally subject to spot checks. But the invitation for lunch stands."

"Meet us at the cafe," Riddick suggested. "And we'll go from there."

"Then I'll see you in a few days," Hughes smiled slightly. "I'll let your family know your progress." He cut the connection and Riddick turned to look at River.

"Well, any ideas?" He tilted his head.

"Conduits beneath the complex convey various liquids and chemicals to the manufacturing and distribution centers." River said slowly. "Valves are in place to release dangerous buildup of gases. One is malfunctioning, within safety parameters but still it is not performing to capacity."

"Useful?" Riddick joined her on the bed, resting his chin on her shoulder as she studied the databook.

"Possibly," River turned and kissed his cheek enjoying the way his arm slid around her waist in an affectionate embrace. "Some gases tend to collect at the tops of the tunnels, rising with the heat. I can divert the processors so they send everything through the one pipe. It's a matter of telling the computer to round up by two decimal places instead of down. The combination of chemicals for the manufacturing plant, and the gases used by the distributing center in one conduit, added to the vacuum of the Academy once I break the seals."

"Nature abhors a vacuum," Riddick quoted wryly. "So they'll flood the academy with flammable toxins. How do you start the fire?"

"Turn off the fans of the server, and let the sparks fly," River smiled. "Best part is it will also destroy the cortex so any data that did not self delete from the program will be gone."

"How far along are you with this?" Riddick leaned over to the bedside table and picked up a menu.

"Another hour and I'll begin to flood the Academy. Two hours to saturate the atmosphere. Because the servers are so large…only a half an hour to let the heat build up." River grinned. "Most of that is just waiting and checking in at certain times."

"Good." He nodded. "Because I'm thinking a meal of not protein and a hot bath would do you some good."

"Only if Richard promises to get me dirty." River smiled wickedly and looked at her husband. "Miss my husband."

He groaned and kissed her neck. "Miss my wife," He admitted, his low voice rough with emotion. "How long 'til you're all done with the programmin'?"

"Nearly," Rive moaned at the touch of his lips. "Ten more minutes," She promised working feverishly on the screen.

Riddick slid his hand over her hip, his fingers finding the waist of her slacks under her silk tunic. He was so hungry for her he almost didn't care if the Academy blew to hell or not. Almost. He nuzzled her neck and sighed as she moaned and tried to work faster. "Tell you what wife," He kissed the skin over her jugular. "I'm gonna shave all this off," He indicated his scalp and beard. "You finish up your work there."

River moaned and turned to kiss his cheek. "I'll hurry," She whispered against his skin. "Need to feel my husband."

"Yeah," Riddick groaned and forced himself to withdraw, taking the shaving kit they'd stolen to the en suite bathing area. He'd noticed it was a nice space earlier and smiled at the thought of showering with River before they ate. It was more like a quarter of an hour than ten minutes before he was finished and wiping the excess foam off his head and face but he recognized the man reflected for the first time in a month and a half.

River had set the databook on the nightstand and was pulling back the soft velveteen bedspread. At some point while he'd been shaving she'd discarded her clothing and he groaned at the sight of her slender body bending over the bed to push a decorative pillow to the floor. "Gorram River," He began to pull off the shirt and pants he wore. Everything ended up on the floor but he didn't much care so long as he got his hands on her fast. Riddick wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, kissing the scar on her neck and loving her low moan. "I missed you so much," He muttered between kisses.

River shivered in his embrace and turned to look up at him. "Missed my husband too," She confessed, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. "Be with me now, my zhàng fu (husband)." She giggled as Riddick pressed her back down on the bed and knelt between her legs, sliding his hands up the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs until she was spread wide for him. His mouth began to press kisses to her breasts, her nipples and down to her belly until he reached the apex of her thighs leaving fire in the wake of his lips.

"So beautiful," He muttered against her skin. "I'm gonna taste that sweet honey of yours," Riddick shuddered with the need to consume her. She was hot under his tongue as he slid it between her nether lips and she moaned loudly. Over and over he licked and sucked on her, sliding a couple of fingers inside her body until she was panting with need. Her clit was filled with blood, swollen and ready for him when he surrounded it with his lips. River's cried out in shock as her body exploded under her husband' mouth. "Yeah, that's it River," He coaxed her, suckling her clit gently, "Fall for me again."

"Want you Richard, need you inside me, please," River clutched at his shoulders, trying to pull him onto the bed with her. She needed his weight to anchor her, his strong arms surrounding her, his body filling hers again. His kiss and hands were finally warming her after months of feeling cold. "Don't want to fall alone."

"Yeah, me neither," Riddick rose over her and easily slid her body up the bed before he joined her, covering her body with his own. "But I cain't last long nǚ ren (wife), it's been too long for us," He shuddered as he slid slowly and carefully inside her and braced himself to try and go slowly. She was warm and soft and moaning under him, her arms wrapped around his waist and sliding up between his shoulder blades. He could feel her trembling, her need matching his own.

"Richard," River lifted her head and pressed her mouth to his, her lips slow and languid as they moved over his. Pleasure drifted through her body, hot and sweet, and he stilled inside her, his body pressing down on hers as they kissed, sipping from each others mouths, delighting in their affection for each other. They hadn't allowed themselves tenderness or sweetness in the Academy, and reveled in both now. Riddick deepened the kiss carefully, his tongue slipping into her mouth to duel slowly with hers until they were both breathing hard and groaning with the need neither could deny any longer.

"River," Riddick muttered her name into her mouth. "Gotta move now love, can't wait anymore." Every muscle in his body ached for her, ached to move, to take his wife, his mate for his own once again.

"Then don't wait," River's voice came out in a breathy moan as her husband slowly began to move, his jī ba (dick/penis) hot and hard inside her, just what she needed but he was so careful, taking his time with each stroke until she couldn't help moving her hips under him. "Richard, please, not slow, please just..." She wrapped her legs around his waist and met his next thrust.

Riddick felt his body tremble and nearly succumb to his need for her. He wanted to pound into her, take her hard and fast and fill her body with his over and over until they were both near violent in pleasure. "River...that's..." His mind stuttered and failed as she arched her body up to his. "River..." He gasped her name and lost control, his body beginning to jackhammer into her, hard, quick thrusts that teased them both until he slid one hand beneath the small of her back and began to help her move, their bodies meeting with a smacking sound uniquely carnal in nature.

River cried out, she didn't know what she said, only that if he stopped she'd go mad. She was on the edge, trembling, ready and then he gripped her body in his big hands and began to plow her as thoroughly and erotically as only Richard could. His mouth found her neck, bit down hard where it met her shoulder and she felt the skin break. The feel of it, the sting of pain, the warmth of his mouth and the pleasure radiating out from her core overwhelmed and she fell, hard and fast, violently exploding around him in what seemed like an endless wave of bliss. He groaned at the taste of her, her blood in his mouth driving him mad until he was pounding into her body, pushing her into ecstasy and finally joining her, his seed rocketing out of him until he was sure he'd pass out.

Panting he rolled onto his back, bringing River with him. "I love you River," He told her, relief and rightness filling him now that he could safely say the words.

"I love you Richard," River kissed him on the lips and chin and his nose, smiling at him. "My husband, my mate."

"Wife, mate," Riddick agreed and stroked one hand down her long hair. "Whadda ya say to something to eat while we check the progress on fire preparation?"

"Starving," River agreed, reluctantly lifting herself off of her husband with still trembling limbs.


It was closer to five hours after River's initial explanation of the plan rather than four when the Academy finally caught fire. They'd enjoyed a good meal, showered and Riddick had checked the cortex for any information on River Tam or Richard Riddick but it was as if those names had never existed. River had barely stopped working to eat so Riddick had watched as his wife manipulated the Academy's venting system to allow for maximum saturation levels while pushing a plate at her until she picked up her chopsticks. It was an incredible stroke of luck that the Academy was so isolated intellectually even from the rest of the Blue Sun complex that utter silence from the building wasn't seen as unusual especially since the children had all left. Finally River nodded in satisfaction.

"Server temperature has risen to an unsafe degree. Sparks will fly in approximately fifteen minutes," She told her husband. "Unfortunately all cameras will be destroyed within the Academy."

"How's it you can get to Blue Sun's systems with the databook port?" Riddick asked curiously. "They've got a closed cortex network. Simon and I spent a lot of time trying to hack it but without anything linked externally we couldn't get in. But we're how many miles from Osiris now and you can still get to their system."

"The databook is connected," River explained. "When Lucas gave us access to the Academy library he put the permissions in the databook. From that point it was simply a matter of reactivating the port so I could do more than access books. It won't work with any system that isn't Blue Sun's. For instance I could change the Academy's school trip to show two more people, but I couldn't hack the Indigo to get reservations under Dantius until I got to the Indigo terminal."

"Gotcha," Riddick nodded his understanding. "So as long as you got that databook we've got an in to Blue Suns' systems?"

"Yes," River nodded. "Of course the danger is the external port being discovered and tracked to our location." She shook her head as she set the book down. "I've buried it pretty well but there's always the chance that someone will be overzealous in their work and find the link."

"Maybe keep it somewhere not on Serenity," Riddick suggested. "Or give it to Hughes."

"I thought of leaving it on the skyplex," River said slowly. "It wouldn't be easy to plot the downfall of Blue Sun from Serenity anyway." She shrugged. "We'll have to think about it a bit more." She leaned over and looked at the screen of the databook. "Oooh, it looks like my calculations were a bit conservative, the fire is starting six minute ahead of schedule."

Riddick grinned and moved so he was sitting behind her, looking over her shoulder at the screen. "Very nicely done," He complimented as flames sprouted around the servers. "Can you get one a the external cameras? Should give us a nice view a the building going up."

"Affirmative," She grinned at him. "Same camera that malfunctioned as we came out of the Academy and entered the shuttle." A few flicks of her fingers over the screen and the camera changed. "I estimate perhaps a half hour before the building explodes. All internal doors and vents were left open so the fire would not suffocate. It should be quite a show."

"And if they had less stuff controlled by the cortex, and weren't so secret, it wouldn't even work would it?" Riddick grinned as he watched the screen. "Just a few guards as weren't told where to go by some higher up or a terminal screen and we wouldn't a gotten out."

"Not without bloodshed," River agreed absently. "Though I prefer to think we would still prevail, it would have been more…impromptu. Spontaneous patrols wouldn't have allowed us to keep the children from dying."

"Yeah, more'n a little glad 'bout keepin' the kids alive," Riddick admitted. "Just don't set right, killin' anyone ain't had a chance really live yet." He kissed River's cheek and watched with her as the camera seemed to shake slightly and before their eyes the Academy began to shake, and crumble and then explode outward with a gush of flames. The camera went to static and Riddick grinned. "Now that's a pretty sight," He chuckled as River began to tap the screen finding another camera nearby, only to have that feed full of static as well. "Try further out liàn rén (lover/sweetheart) and we can work our way in." Riddick suggested when this happened again.

River nodded and after a few more tries found a camera undamaged by the fire. "That is…very satisfying," she said finally once she'd gotten a good view of the wreckage. "It appears the school is nothing but rubble and ash, and that the buildings surrounding the Academy were also damaged."

"Let's see what the news feeds have to say," Riddick suggested with a smirk. He caught River with a similar expression on her face and was again amazed at how perfect she was for him. There weren't many women who'd take such pleasure in the destruction of their enemies and even fewer who would actively carry out the deeds necessary for vengeance.

TBC


Author's Note:

Quote sources for this chapter are as follows:

Nature abhors a vacuum - Aristotle