Riddick leaned down and pulled out a carefully concealed shiv from his boot. They weren't as careful as those back in Slam. At first, they were very cautious and rigorous knowing the fact that he was a notorious killer. But when the days turned into weeks and the weeks grew into months and Riddick didn't try anything conspicuous, they grew less careful. The guards had definitely underestimated him.
Riddick slowly went to work on his restraints and patiently waited for the next guard exchange. He knew it was late at night, and they tended to get sloppy with their work. He heard a man over the ship's com link.
"I'm on my way over, but I've got to stop by my room first."
"Okay, as long as you're on your way. I've got to go because I'm late to contact my wife. See you tomorrow for my next shift."
The guard strolled off and Riddick saw an opportunity. He forced the lock open with his shiv and caught up with the guard.
The guard heard something and spun around, only to come face to face with Riddick. He bumped into the killer's chest.
"Surprise motha fucka. We met before?"
"Nnnn…nnoo…no."
"Well, you meet me, and you meet other things you didn't bargain for."
He lifted his shiv and tapped it along the crease of the guard's neck. Riddick smirked, slit the wide-eyed man's throat, and then stepped over his newly limp body. Blood trickled from the man's neck and Riddick glanced over his shoulder as he walked away.
"Nice to meet ya."
'Now to find your little friend.'
Riddick stood in front of one of the few doors of the ship. He knew it must be the quarters of the other guard.
Seconds later, a short, but well built man exited the room. Riddick didn't wait for anything to go wrong. He thrust his shiv into the man's back and twisted it sharply. The man let out a choking, gurgling sound and then collapsed on the floor. He looked around and counted the rest of the sleeping quarters.
'Two bastards down, two to go.'
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"I'm sorry Tyana, but this is something we have to do, especially with your drug problem and all. You are officially relieved of duty when you reach the prison. Out."
As the message clicked off the screen, the figure sitting before it quivered. Tyana Maxwell couldn't believe what she was hearing. Work was her life, and now it was all gone—taken from her…by that bastard, Johns. She wiped her eyes and began to throw her belongings into a pack. She was strong; she knew she would survive somehow.
Tyana stormed out of her room and went to the control center of the ship. She saw her friend, Blake Malone, sitting in the pilot chair.
"Malone! That mother fucker actually did it! He told them that I was on drugs…that lying, no good, son of a bitch."
Tyana was blind with anger and her words began to run together while she was talking a mile a minute.
"Calm down Ty! It'll work out. You know that you are clean. Now Johns on the other hand is another story. Such a hype…only thinks about his next fix. I can't believe you are actually related to him."
Malone laughed quietly. Tyana's eyes flashed in his direction.
"This isn't funny. He's gonna pay for this. He knows I never wanted my mom to marry his damn dad. It's not my fault he's my stepbrother. If I had a say in it, I would have wished for the day that I had never met that fucker. He takes out his lack of ability to do his job on me. Aughh! He just pisses me off so much!"
"Whoa, take a breath girl."
Tyana tried to compose herself. Her mind drifted to the discovery she had made only a month ago. Johns thought he knew everything about her, but what he didn't know is that she had found a file on the main computer while she still worked on the main base back at Ursa Luna. It has some information that really made her wonder. She had the desire to explore it and learn all about it. The chance was something she had been waiting for. She wouldn't let Johns spoil it for her. In her mind, she had an ace up her sleeve.
Malone smiled at Tyana, who was slowly relaxing. She had her weaknesses, but she was still one tough chick.
"Why don't you calm down by getting some coffee. I'll talk to you when you get back."
"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for putting up with me Drake."
"No prob Ty…now go get some coffee before you drive both of us insane."
Tyana turned and walked down toward the small kitchen situated in the back of the ship.
Malone continued to press buttons on the control panel. He didn't hear someone standing behind him. Riddick stood poised to strike with his shiv near Malone's back. A voice broke the silence.
"Malone! Do you want anything to drink?"
"No, actually I--"
He was cut short as he turned slightly in his chair. He was met by Riddick's blade in his neck. He struggled momentarily before he fell to the floor with a thud.
"Malone? Are you okay?"
Tyana voiced her concern as she re-entered where she had left her friend. Her breathe caught in her throat as she came face to face with a well built man who was clutching a bloody knife. Her eyes caught sight of the victim. She teared up as she looked over Malone's bloody corpse. She could barely choke out a whisper.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Tyana didn't wait for an answer. She slammed her hand down onto a button on her right side. A loud alarm began to ring out through the ship. Riddick looked her over and began to laugh heartily.
"That won't do you much good."
Within a second Riddick was at her neck with his weapon. He was about to slit her throat when he heard footsteps approaching. He threw her to the ground and growled at her.
"Don't try anything or you're dead."
'Damn, I guess I missed one,' Riddick thought to himself.
An officer walked through the door. His eyes filled with fear at the sight of Riddick standing over him.
Tyana recognized him as one of the members of the ship's small crew.
"Thank God you're here Jeff!"
A glimmer of hope flashed over Tyana's eyes. To her shock Jeff instead turned to run.
"You yellow ball-less bastard! What the hell are you doing? Don't leave me here!"
Riddick smirked at the frightened man running down the hall. He stood completely still. He drew his gun and fired a few shots into the officer's back.
"They can run…and they can hide…but either way they die."
Riddick turned to face Tyana who was huddled the corner searching the room with her eyes in hope of finding something to use as a weapon.
"There's nothing to use. No need to try something stupid. Oh wait…it's too late for that. That wasn't smart. When I tell you to do something, you do it."
He slowly approached her as if he were stalking a prey.
"But I overheard you and your crew-pal here talking earlier." Riddick looked down on Malone's body as he spoke.
"No wonder you don't listen…you're related to Johns."
"You killed Malone you bastard!"
Tyana lunged at Riddick and attempted several blows that were all futile. She screamed at him as he easily flipped her over and had his shiv to her throat in an instant.
"Don't fuck with me. I won't hesitate to kill you. I never do."
"Get off me."
Tyana growled at him.
"Feisty one."
Riddick smirked and then grew serious.
"You being connected with Johns could come in handy later. But don't push your limits. There is a line that you shouldn't cross. Just remember that I will kill you if need be."
Riddick grabbed the restraints he had escaped from earlier that day. He bound her and left her in the corner. He then walked over to the pilot chair. He moved Mallone's body out into the hall and then came back. He wasn't positive where he was going to go, but he knew that he had to go somewhere. By now word had probably reached others, and Johns was most likely already on his tail. Riddick set a temporary course until he decided where he wanted to go. He turned to look at the girl again.
"So who are you?"
"Me! Who the fuck are you?!"
"Hey, no need to be rude. You first."
"The name's Tyana Maxwell. Former prison information processor, lieutenant, and pilot."
"Hmm. Richard B. Riddick. Just recently escaped convict, expert in many fields, and of course murderer."
Tyana nervously swallowed and tried to avoid looking in his direction.
"Now that we've been introduced, how about you tell me a little about that information you found at the prison base? The government always seems to hide all kinds of shit there."
"Why should I tell you?"
"Well I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am a convicted murderer with a thirst for blood, and you are tied up and completely vulnerable."
Riddick leaned down until his face was only inches from hers. He could smell her perfume, sweat, and fear. She smelled very good to him. He removed his goggles and looked into her eyes.
She gasped at the glow of his eyes. She had heard stories about this Riddick guy and how he had somehow gotten a shine job on his eyes while he was in Slam, but it was amazing to actually be looking into them. She had heard rumors that he had dug up a doctor and paid him twenty menthol cools to do the operation; all so he could see people sneaking up on him in the dark. She swallowed slowly. She was nervous partially because he was dangerous and also because he was only inches away from her. He was strong and very attractive. He screamed masculinity and she couldn't avoid noticing everything about him.
"Tell me about that information…"
He breathed the words, now right next to her ear. He moved around to look into her eyes again and waited for her to reply.
She felt paralyzed. His breath so close to her skin, made her tense up in what was almost excitement. He was so close that she could practically feel him. She thought about telling him what she knew, but suddenly her train of thoughts changed. She remembered Mallone's body laying on the ground and the way Riddick acted like it was nothing. She was now full of contempt for him.
"Fuck you."
Tyana spat into Riddick's face. He wiped his face off calmly and met her eyes again.
"Someday your luck's gonna run out. Then you'll be sorry. Trust me, I never forget when I owe somebody something. You better hope I will owe you something good rather than bad. When it's good it's really good, but when it's bad it's really bad. I personally would like to owe you something really good."
Riddick smirked as he looked her over and walked back over to the chair where he sat down to rest. He closed his eyes and relaxed after a day's work.
Tyana saw no way of escape. She was stuck on this ship with a murderer
who was playing some sort of mind games with her. No one knew where she
was or what had happened. The only person after them was Johns. He was
the last person she wanted to see. At this point Tyana realized that this
was going to be a very long trip. She laid her head back and tried to rest.
She probably wouldn't get much rest in the next few days; she was too on
edge.