Cara stared at the chains on her. She had the two still attached to her feet and then another pair shackling her wrists together and an even heavier chain connecting the two. Cara felt a smile pull across her face as she pictured fighting with the chains and killing the mercs. But that wasn't the plan. The plan was going the way it should. But she didn't have to like it.
Her frown deepened when they connected Riddick and her together limiting their movement. Cara was already having issues caring all this weight let alone not being able to move freely to compensate for the extra pounds attached to her. She stood at Riddick's side and waited for the transport to come and take them to the main complex.
The Crematoria prison complex had a no fly zone for miles around it and the only way to gain entrance to the complex was through flight hangers that were completely computer operated from the main facilities. The triple max prison was state of the art, fifty years ago that is. Cara looked around and thought of a thousand and one ways to hack the system. It was a basic section lock down facility, meaning if one section was breached in any way it would immediately set a series of lock down bulk heads to close each section one at a time, each with a separate computer system that would need to be hacked to open the doors. It would be time consuming but doable. But if one was at the main computer in the core of the facility theoretically one could control the whole complex, but that would be far to guarded to gain entrance.
"Let's book it." Toombs snapped out and the mercs finished their respective jobs and gathered around. The Mercs circled them and slowly began to heard the two over to the small transport unit they would take to the main facility.
Half the guns point at Riddick and the other at Cara. She smiled slightly to herself. Riddick and Cara walking side by side, in full light, with guns pointed at their faces, and chains on their limbs… Even with all this she wouldn't change the moment. This was as close to strolling in a park they would ever get.
The transport was more a converted jeep without any roof and instead of tires it had metal railings attached to a track that disappeared into a cave system, leading to the main facility. Cara curled her nose just a bit at the prospect of being on the unsafe transport. The mercs threw their canvas bags down in the trunk and forced Cara and Riddick to lie down side by side stretched out. Cara wouldn't have minded but they twined their chairs around the support rail of the transport. Cara was left stretched out and vulnerable to the elements. She didn't like it.
The fat merc climbed on after them and plopped down on top of Riddick who was closer to the edge. Riddick's breath rushed out in a huff and the fat merc lean back until his back was leaning against the support railing of the transport. Cara was wedged against the support rail and computer for the transport on one side and Riddick with the fat merc hovering just above her ribs on the other. She watched as the Fat merc smiled down at Riddick, "Comfy?" He asked snidely.
The pilot and the co-pilot took the first two seats and Toombs and the dark skinned merc sat in the other two seats. Once they were all settled Cara found her eyes attracted to a light post. It had been flashing red but once they were all 'cozy' the pilot hit a green button on the transport and the light post changed to green. It was a rudimentary system but it got the job done Cara supposed.
The transport slowly eased forward and a horrible screeching noise emanated from the wheels. It set Cara's teeth on edge and she gritted her teeth feeling the vibration in her molars. They picked up speed quickly and Cara sensed Riddick doing something, she could feel his mind turning.
Before she could think more about it Cara suddenly felt the fat merc lean over her. She glared her eyes at him and he just leered at her, his fingers skimmed over her breasts as he copped a feel. Cara growled and she saw Riddick twitch slightly he jaw tightening. She thought of very interesting ways to kill the man. The merc then leaned over to Riddick, "When the ride's over…" He licked his finger that had just been groping Cara and squeaked them against the plastic of Riddick's goggles, "…your goggles are mine."
Cara saw Riddick's mouth twist in distaste and watched the lights flicker by in his goggles. Slowly she smiled evilly. Almost at the moment she thought it he began to tap his foot to the beat of the lights passing by. Cara sat back to watch the show. He was always so interesting to watch she mused.
As if to some grad crescendo only he could hear he swayed his head slightly and tapped his foot. Then suddenly he arched his body lifting the merc high up into the air. The fat mercs head connected perfectly with the lights flickering by. He grunted but then was ripped harshly from the transport. He flailed at the last second and Cara yelped as his boot connected with her forehead. Her yelp drew the attention from Toombs. But Cara and Riddick just shrugged at him and he let loose a loud gaffing laugh and slapped the dark skinned merc to his left good-naturedly, "Four-way split!" He didn't respond but actually looked a bit perturbed that his boss didn't care that one of their group just died. Not that he would complain to more money.
Riddick glanced over to Cara, examining an angry red mark just above her right eyebrow. It would most likely bruise, he wanted to apologize… but he never apologized. Cara made him want to apologize even when it wasn't something major, he just wanted to show he…cared. He frowned at that. He wanted to savior her, like a good meal. Never wanted her to end.
The transport rounded a bend and slowly slid to a stop. Riddick's inner odometer pinged back to him, "Twenty nine point four kilometers." He whispered more to himself than to Cara. She didn't respond but glared like an angry cat at any merc that came near. They circled wearier of the pair after they just killed one of their own while still restrained.
Cara was not happy to be here. Her head ached and she could feel that what was just beyond the large concert reinforced bulk heads was not going to be a picnic. The Asian pilot unchained Cara first and instead of helping her to stand, pulled her up into his arms and carried her off the transport in a princess hold. He dumped her onto the ground and Cara landed on her feet. "Thanks." Cara commented as he pulled his gun on her. While he was a gentleman he was still a merc, so Cara scowled at her liking for him.
Riddick was still attached to the transport when the concrete door rolled open. A group of sweaty semi uniformed guards strode in. Like the facility they were just as run down and uncaring of their appearance. Cara knew the type of man who chose to be a guard. Men who liked to show power over another, and if the convicts happen to be women then it was for all the better. Cara let her impassive mask slip up as they entered the camber. Toombs turned to address them but the leader spoke first, "So, this is Riddick and Cara, the guard killer." His voice was heavily accented and slurred, making it almost impossible to understand him. He had a few days worth of growth attached to his jaw and chin while his hair was hidden by a cap that signaled him as the leader of the facility.
Cara watched the man as he spat on the ground. The tobacco scent hit her hard. She almost stumbled back from the rolling scent as it made her stomach turn in sickness. They dragged Riddick from the trailer and shoved him over to stand near Cara. She inched slightly toward him, forcing herself to remember that she wasn't alone, she wasn't weak anymore.
The boss man walked over to them and his guards took over the gun pointing. He didn't pay attention to Riddick, he was watching Cara. She kept her eyes down cast and hoped she could hide behind her hair. Sometimes beauty was the curse life cast upon its occupants. His rough fingers brush her hair back and Riddick gritted his teeth at him. "Beautiful." He whispered.
Riddick was about to attack the bastard when Cara pitched forward and jumped, connecting her head solidly with the Boss's in a vicious headbutt. She swayed on her feet, her head already tender from the heavy boot from earlier. Riddick supported her as the mercs came forward and the guards swarmed. Cara couldn't help but notice the pilot had his back to her and was facing the Boss as if he was the threat. She smiled, guess he didn't condone rape.
"Bitch!" Boss snared and rushed at her but Riddick threw him back hard and the guards just managed to catch him. Riddick examined Cara's work. Nice clean break that would bother the Boss for some time. He smiled.
The guards advanced on the two and the convicts glanced at each other. They needed to be alive and in the prison for their plan to work.
Bollocks this is gonna hurt'. Cara thought watching the guards pull batons. Cara glared at the weapons, each had a large spiked hammer end and she winced at them. The beating was hard and fast. Riddick took the hardest shots but half way through the Boss dragged Cara out by her chains and punched her hard in the mouth. She tried to stay conscious and she succeeded in seeing Riddick collapsed on the floor. Anger filled her but a well-placed boot to her ribs had her blacked out in pain.
"What in the bowels of Christ are you talkin' about, seven hundred K?" Toombs voice was the thing that dragged Cara from her stupor.
A loud clanging noise, "Don't take this one, boss." A new accented voice said.
Cara tried not to groan in pain but damn did it hurt. She cracked her eyes but no one was watching her. She was folded in on herself as if someone had just dropped her into place next to a man-sized hole in the ground. She was still chained, Riddick was gone, and she was in one of the control rooms.
"See? Anatoli here has a nose for trouble. And this one, this Riddick guy...this…this Cara…" She could almost feel his gesturing at her as he searched for the words.
"Big, big trouble." The Anatoli's voice said. Cara closed her eyes and tried to think of the feeling she had when Riddick was near her. She could feel something but it was faint. She frowned and opened her eyes to glance around the room. It was a large circular room with a makeshift card table and a weight room off to one side while banks of computers ruled the other. A simple joist system was in the center of the room just above the man-sized hole in the floor. She watched the Boss get up and switch a switch. The rope began to unwind down into the hole with a heavy weight at the end.
"So, seven thousand is good money." The Boss spat at Toombs.
"I'd take the money, Toombs." Cara tried not to react to Riddick's voice but she could tell no one else heard it. But only one person saw her twitch. She met the slanted pair of eyes as the pilot leaned against the wall, ...the look her sent her. He glanced away quickly and watched Toombs. Cara felt a frown on her face. If she didn't know better she would have thought he was trying to help her by ignoring her.
Suddenly Cara starts hearing a clanging from the mouth of the hole. She closes her eyes in understanding. Crematoria, a slam, a pit. She concentrated on the noise and felt the space below, the large cylindrical shape of it with the numerous catacombs in the rock surrounding the main center space. The clanging intensified, Cara smiled as she realized it was the other convicts welcoming the fresh meat.
"The guild pays us a caretaker's fee for each prisoner each year. We pay mercs twenty percent of that total fee based on a certain life expectancy." A bald guard spoke up and crunched at his snack of cashew nuts. He sounded fairly intelligent.
Toombs slid his thumb through his belt loops on his pants. "How's about this? You open that safe you got hidden behind the console there, show me the real books, then we figure out my cut. Then I'll be on my way." He smiled kindly at the Boss and Cara felt people shifting around her.
"Open my books. This is what you suggest?" Boss asks in an equally pleasant voice. Cara heard gun holsters unlock and the dark-skinned merc switched off the switch and the rope stopped moving.
"Wasn't a suggestion." Toombs leaned over the desk into the Boss's personal space. He just smiled at Toombs and turned to get a bottle of alcohol. Boss came back with two glasses.
He poured the shots out, "These are dangerous days, if you believe the talk." He sat back in his chair and shot gunned his drink while Toombs took his and did the same.
"Talk?" Toombs prompted.
"About dead planets. About some ghost army. About them." Cara let her attention wonder and watched everyone in the room. Still no one noticed she was conscious, well except for the pilot but he was keeping it on the down low. Most were intently watching the exchange between the two great forces in the room. Now how the hell was she going to get out of this unmolested?
"Them?" Toombs scoffs at the over dramatic statement. He attempts to change the subject, "How much for the sex kitten?" As both men turned to see Cara, fully awake, she froze and so did they. Without much of a plan she smiled brightly at them, waved, and very un-gracelessly rolled into the hole.
Welcome Bumblebee1013, PeytonFrederick, and Shadowed Replica! :D
Sorry, I've been swamped at work for some reason recently! I've been so good with this story too:/
Have no fear though! I plan on keeping with this, and hopefully will even get it done before the next movie!
Supper excited, BTW. Depending on how much I like the movie I may or may not write it, it really depends on what you all want!
Share your thoughts and let me know if this chapter is alright!