Chapter 14
Her eyes opened slowly, focus not coming easily. She groaned, rolling onto her side as she squeezed her eyes shut again. A finger trailed over her forehead and she whimpered, pulling back slightly, but the hand didn't retreat. She pried her eyes back open, jerking backwards when the face coming into focus wasn't Riddick.
"Nice shine," he said quietly.
"What the fuck do you want?" she snapped, coughing violently as she tried to sit up.
"Easy," he murmured, reaching out. She held out a hand, and his arm stopped, still hovering over the bed.
"I asked you a god damn question," she rasped, eyes narrowing at him. "You might want to fucking answer it before I lose my patience." He clicked his tongue at her, and she glanced over him, searching for weapons.
"I'm clean," he said quietly, nodding at the counter where his array of hardware was strewn.
"What. Do. You. Want," she repeated, biting off each word to stand on its own.
"I don't want anything," he said. She glared at him, and he smiled slightly. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. Take me back," she grunted, trying to push herself off the bed. His hands gripped her shoulders, forcing her back down just as another cough raked over her.
"You're not fine," he insisted. "Take it easy. You're safe here."
"Like hell I am," she spat, batting his arms away. "Take me back."
"Just rest for a while. I'll take you back in a while," he promised. She blinked.
"Why are you doing this?" He sighed, standing. She eyed him, watching him walk to the small kitchen and remove a mug from the microwave. Ceramic, she thought. A real fucking mug.
"Here," he said, holding the cup out to her. She glanced at it and back to him. "It's hot tea. It'll help the cough." She only stared at it warily, prompting another small smile from him. "Green tea with honey." A shaky hand reached out and took it from him, bringing the steam under her nose. Smells okay. Another glance back up at him as she took a sip. Tastes okay. "Are you hungry?" She shook her head, just as her stomach decided to growl. He chuckled lightly, rummaging through the refrigerator. "Special requests?"
"Vegetarian," she said quietly.
"Really?" He turned with the question, eyebrows raised in surprise. She nodded slightly. "I won't tell you what they put in the, uh," he cleared his throat.
"I know what they put in it," she said quietly, choking back a wretch. "Don't give us much of a choice do you?" His brow furled at his indirect involvement.
"There's a few of us out there who know the system's fucked up," he said quietly. She snickered. "Not much we can do about it, really." He held out a small tub of potato salad with a fork stuck in it.
"You really want to trust me with the fork?" she asked quietly, eyebrow arched. He shrugged, watching her eyes shift back to the food before she snatched it away from him. Once again, she sniffed it. Hunger won, and her fingers closed around the fork. Her eyes closed as the taste hit her, stomach gurgling happily. She moaned. Food never tasted so good. "They'll fire you," she warned.
"I know."
"Probably throw you in."
"Nah," he said with a shrug. "Probably just kill me." She couldn't help but snicker. "If they find out," he added. She looked him over.
"They know about that tat?" she asked quietly, nodding at a small mark on his arm exposed by the gray wife beater he wore. He glanced down at it, a heavy sigh finally seeping through his lips. She grinned evilly. "You're an ex-con," she blurted. He cringed. "You're the fucking liar here," she scoffed. "Where were you?"
"Thaler Two."
"Minimum," she said with a shrug. "What'd you do?"
"Involuntary manslaughter." She nodded.
"Self defense?" she asked. His turn to nod, but only slightly. "That explains a lot," she said, poising the loaded fork in front of her while she spoke. He shrugged. "Riddick's gonna shit."
"Don't tell him," he said warily.
"Why not?" He took a breath and stopped, glancing at her before looking away quickly. Her eyebrow rose. "If you tell me you were at Thaler Two with him and he had a beef I'll know you're lying," she warned.
"No, that's not…" he paused, glancing at her again. "That's not it."
"Out with it then," she pressed. "Why the fuck shouldn't I tell him?"
"I don't exactly want to be on his bad side," he said finally. She laughed.
"See, I would think him knowing this would put you on his good side," she pointed out. Her smile fell slowly, and she played with the potato salad. "Thanks for the shower, by the way," she said quietly. He nodded, both falling silent.
"When?" he asked suddenly. She jumped.
"When what?" He glanced up at her sharply, but she didn't give in.
"How do you think Twosy got the security codes?" She swallowed, looking down at her potato salad.
"He told me he swiped them off a snoozer."
"Never told you, huh?" She shook her head. He sighed. "Check under his bed. There's a loose brick under there somewhere." Her eyes met his. "Screwdriver's in there."
"Fuck," she spat. "He was gonna leave me once I got him there, wasn't he?"
"I don't know," the guard said. "But I do know why he needed you in the first place." She nodded. "Must be nice."
"Not really," she said, shaking her head. "Kinda gets crowded in there after a while."
"How does it work?"
"I don't know," she said, mystified herself. "Most of the time I just have to think back and focus, but sometimes pictures just pop in my head and I can't get rid of them. Gets annoying sometimes." He nodded, and she cocked her head to the side. "What's your name, by the way?"
"Chris," he said quietly. "Chris Meyer." She nodded.
"Company killed your wife," she said plainly, deriving a small amount of pleasure from his cringe. "So, what, you're running a prison style underground railroad here?" He shook his head. "What's the deal then?"
"Guilt."
"For what?"
"Having a part in treating you all this way," he said quietly. She frowned.
"Why the fuck did you come back anyway? I would think a prison would be the last place an ex-con would want to work."
"Got recruited. Didn't have a job and the money sounded too good to turn down."
"They recruited you," she said in disbelief.
"I have a friend on Helion Two that's a hacker genius," he muttered. "Changed my name for me."
"Convenient." He nodded slightly, still staring at his hands.
"Dennis Whitaker. Ask for Whitty at Mud's Pub in Demetria," he instructed. Her eyebrow rose. "He's expecting you to show up eventually."
"And what do you get in return?" she asked slowly.
"Absolution."
"I don't believe you." He sighed.
"Didn't think you would, but I figured I'd try anyway." The expression her eyes granted his glance made him think twice. "I get a good cut of the business I sent him."
"So who sent me?"
"He knows you." She nodded. "Riddick might be a problem though."
"What makes you think he's coming with me?" she snapped. He only looked at her. "Why is he gonna be a problem?"
"He's not expected." She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I'll try to contact him."
"Too dangerous," she said quietly. "I'll deal with him." He took a breath to argue, but she sent him a glance that shut him up.
"So when is it happening?"
"I won't know until it does," she lied. The information was nice, but she still didn't trust him enough to tell him all the details. She might if she found the screwdriver.
"I'll sneak you a couple of concussion guns into that room Twosy found." Score. Still don't trust him though. "If you go at night there'll be less security in and around the hangar. Not as many runs then." She nodded.
"Thanks for the food," she said quietly. He smiled slightly. Her eyes followed a pointing finger to a vent grate above the small table.
"That'll take you back to the hallway past the canteen," he instructed. She nodded, holding out the empty container with the fork in it, watching him take it. His eyes followed her as she climbed onto the table. "I'll close it behind you," he said, getting no response as she hoisted herself and crawled into the vent. She lay there for a while, watching him through the grill. He paced for a while, finally sitting on his bed. When she was convinced he wouldn't squeal, she made her way back to the canteen hallway.
Riddick's eyes opened slowly as he heard her walk down the hallway. She paused in the doorway, a halfway worried expression furling her eyebrows. They stared at each other for a while, before she finally entered and sat on the edge of her bed, hands in her lap.
"You okay?" he asked quietly, sitting up. She nodded. "He do anything to you?" Her eyes met his, and she held his gaze as she shook her head. His eyebrow rose, but she held his gaze.
"We need to talk," she said quietly. He nodded, watching her stand and walk toward him, crawling onto the bed with him. She crawled under the covers next to him, both lying on their sides facing each other. "Hell, I don't even know where to start," she whispered. His eyebrow rose, and she finally sighed, letting her eyes close. "Twosy didn't get the codes off a sleeper," she started. "The guard that let us into the showers was helping him. There's a screwdriver under his bed behind a loose brick. He was gonna leave me, Riddick." Riddick didn't say anything, just kept listening. "His name is Chris Meyer."
"That guy that killed a bunch of Company guys." She nodded.
"I heard about it too. Saw a tattoo on his arm from Thaler Two and asked him about it." She rubbed her forehead. "He knew everything," she sighed. "He knows about the room, the plan, my memory, everything." Riddick's forehead crinkled. "I lied and told him I didn't know when we were going. He didn't push," she added. "There's a guy named Whitty in Demetria on Helion Two that's expecting me. Identity hacker." Riddick nodded. "Not expecting you though, so we'll have to convince him." The lights flickered, but neither noticed. "Said he'd slip us some concussions. Leave them in that room." Riddick's eyebrow rose.
"I'm going to ask you a question, and I want a completely honest answer," Riddick prefaced. She nodded. "Do you trust him?" She paused.
"Honestly, I don't know." He sighed. "The fact that he knew everything makes me want to, especially with the shower thing." She nodded watching the wheels turn. "But he's still a fucking guard." Riddick nodded.
"An ex-con though."
"But still a guard."
"As long as he doesn't know when, we should be okay." She groaned, shifting under the covers further. "Are you really okay?" he asked slowly. She nodded. "Kody." The tone in his voice made her open her eyes. "You were coughing blood." Shrug.
"That blow to the kidney hurt pretty bad."
"I could tell."
"I'll be fine," she insisted. He nodded slowly. "Bruised, but fine." He smiled, reaching up to run a thumb down the side of her face. "Where are we going to go?"
"I don't know," he responded.
"Do you want to mess with Whitty on Helion Two or find our own guy?"
"I know some people." She nodded, closing her eyes at his continuing touch. "We can wait and see."
"How are we going to pay for it?" she asked, moving her head to rest on his arm, scooting closer to him for warmth.
"I have some hidden accounts," he said. Her eyes opened. "Coded. Secure." She nodded.
"You don't have to take me with you forever," she said slowly, focusing on his chest. His thumb paused in its movement, but resumed again after the moment passed.
"I know." Her eyes flitted up to his quickly, his thumb sliding down to bring her lips to his lightly. She inhaled sharply, pressing against him. His arm slid around her side and up her back, pulling her full against him. He smiled against her as she wound her fingers in his shirt, arching into him. His knee pressed between hers, and she gasped quietly as his thigh made contact. She bit her lower lip as he pulled away, his lips trailing down the side of her face and down her neck, concentrating now on her collarbone. Fingers dug into his shoulders through his shirt as his hand slid down her back and over the swell to rest behind her thigh. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, voice barely audible as he glanced up at her. Hungry eyes met his, and a low growl escaped him as she conquered his lips, her hands cupping the back of his head to hold him there as she ground against him.
"Are you?" she asked, suddenly pulling away. He blinked, searching her eyes and finding nothing but sincerity. His hand tightened on her thigh, pressing against her, and she shook her head.
"Don't think with that," she whispered, kissing his forehead as she ran her fingers over his stubbly scalp. He stifled a laugh. "I'm serious, Riddick," she pressed. "I don't want you to do this if you're not ready to let her go." His eyes closed, a pained expression passing over his face.
"I can't let her go," he whispered. She nodded, dropping her gaze. "But I don't want to let you go either."
"I'm not asking you to choose," she said slowly. "But I don't want you to do something in the heat of the moment that you'll hate me for later." He sighed, running his hands through her hair.
"I won't hate you."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah," he said, "I know." His lips brushed against hers, and her eyes closed again, an audible hitch in her voice as he pressed against her insistently. They remained under the blankets as their clothes were discarded, Sarge leaving the wife beater on just in case. He pinned her arms above her head, attacking her neck as he slid into her slowly, feeling her arch against him with a quiet whimper. He paused, running his hands over her arms to cup her cheeks as he kissed her gently, feeling her arms settle around his shoulders. "Okay?" he asked quietly. Her eyes opened slowly, staring up at him. She lifted her head, her teeth catching his lip as she ground up against him, prompting a hiss. He moved slowly, gradually building them both up to the release that had been so long in breaking. His mouth covered hers, kissing her to stifle the loudening sounds she tried to catch in her throat. She stiffened, breath halting as her face scrunched, jaw falling slack as her eyes squeezed so tightly they quivered. Her head dropped back, hand covering her mouth as they both shuddered. From the moment it was decided he would share a cell with her, this moment was inevitable. They trembled against each other as the quaking continued, her arms shaking at the tight grip she had on his shoulders. With a final grunt, he stilled, and she reveled in the weight of him crushing her into the mattress. He rolled onto his back, holding her tightly against his chest. She sighed, bringing goose bumps to his dampened skin.
"Christ," she whispered.
"What?"
"Oh, I needed that," she said with a small chuckle. He moaned, planting a light kiss on her forehead. "My faith in the male species is restored." A smile broke on his face.
"Thanks." She smiled, burying her face in her neck. She sat up and glanced over her shoulder at the entrance to the cell before standing and collecting her pants. He watched her dress, catching his clothes out of the air as she threw them at him before crawling back under the covers. He curled up behind her, his arm draped lazily over her side.
"I take it I get the wet spot then," she chuckled. He kissed the back of her neck with a lazy grin.
"Naturally."