Chapter 17
"That's the best I can do," Drew said slowly, dropping a duffel bag onto Riddick's floor. Riddick's eyebrow rose.
"What's the best you can do?" Drew sighed.
"Well, we had to fake a death a while ago." Riddick nodded slowly, eyeing Drew from across the room. "Had to use the last of the squibs to get out of there alive." Riddick sighed, dropping his head between his shoulders. "But." Drew grinned, watching Riddick's head rise slowly to look at him. "I've got some empty pouches. Figure that way if they want to run tests to make sure, they can." Riddick's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "We use your blood. Fill the empty squib pouches. Give you a mondo sedative – knock you out to look and appear dead without actually being dead."
"How's that work?" Arana, Drew's co-pilot, asked. He turned to her slowly, still grinning, as he was rather pleased with his idea.
"Well, it's kinda like cryo, only not really," he explained.
"Exactly the same only different, right?" Riddick asked with a snicker. Drew's smile fell as he mimicked Riddick's chiding.
"Shut up and listen. Cools the blood enough to pass, slows the heart rate, and masks brainwaves. They'll examine the squibs from the blood and it'll come back clean, since we'll collect it before you die without dying." Riddick nodded. "I'll make sure my guy Darren examines you," Drew continued, smiling brightly before demonstrating how upset he would act during the ordeal. "Riddick was such a good friend of ours for so long," he weeped, "and I couldn't live with myself if he didn't get the best post-mortem care we could offer. I want my crew to do the autopsy." Riddick chuckled, and Drew finished his acting. "So anyway, we'll mock up an autopsy suit, complete with dried blood and all, and send you on your way."
"And how am I supposed to pilot when I'm dead?" Riddick asked.
"You won't," Drew answered with a sly smile. "I'll say I'm taking you back to wherever it is you want to claim as your homeland for burial."
"And if they send someone to make sure it goes okay, which they probably will?" Riddick pressed. Drew's confident smile fell, and everyone in the room looked at each other in silence. Finally, Arana sighed.
"We'll set you up in a casket with an oxygen supply so you'll have enough air to survive until they leave. One of us will stay behind to dig you out," she suggested. Riddick nodded with a pensive expression as he mulled over the idea.
"That just might work," he said slowly. "Now the only problem is talking Vaako into playing along."
---
"You ready?" A small nod of the head. "Okay, it's gonna burn a little bit for a while but it'll go away." Sevic nodded again, closing her eyes as a long, thin needle invaded the back of her hand, then the burning started. Her brows furled, and Doc patted her shoulder. "Just let it work for a minute, and breathe." She nodded slowly, letting out a huge sigh. "Okay, now count backwards from ten for me."
"Ten… nine…. eight … … … seven… … um… … … six?… um…" Her eyes fluttered closed, and Doc gave her another couple of minutes before starting the procedure.
Sevic stirred, hearing someone calling her name from far away. Her brows furled, and she shook her head, mumbling something. She heard her name again, closer this time, and she strained to hear the voice.
"Riddick?" she whispered.
"No, honey, he's not back yet. You need to open your eyes for me, sweetie." She struggled, but they felt like they'd been glued shut. "Open," the voice commanded gently again. She finally got one open, and everything was blurry. A light shone in her eyes, and she winced, shutting it out quickly. "No, doll, open." Both eyes slammed open, staring up wildly. "Good girl. Just keep them open for me, okay?" The light was so bright it hurt, but she felt like someone was holding them open. Strange clicking sounds, and then her lids were released. "Okay. Get some sleep." She nodded, unconsciousness not far behind.
---
Riddick nodded as Vaako entered his quarters, glancing around at the crew who had so recently attacked the armada, a twinge of nervousness glinting in his eyes for a short moment. Vaako raised his eyebrow at Riddick, who just gestured for him to sit. He complied, glancing warily at the renegades staring back at him as Riddick sat in the chair across from him.
"I need you to listen to me, Vaako," Riddick said slowly, expression unreadable as he leaned forward in his chair. "And listen well." Vaako nodded only once. "I offered to give you leadership, and you convinced me otherwise." Vaako took a breath, but Riddick shook his head, a wry smirk playing on his lips. "I told you to listen, Vaako, not talk." Vaako's mouth closed, his breath visibly quickening. "Now, Drew here," Riddick continued, gesturing to Andrew, who acknowledged Vaako, "has a plan that can win you the title and make it look legitimate, if you catch my drift."
"You mean fake your own death," Vaako guessed. Riddick nodded. "Why?"
"Why?" Riddick repeated with a snort. "Can you believe this guy?" Drew shrugged, a wide grin sliding across his lips. "I know you don't think I'm the leader type, Vaako," Riddick commented mockingly. Vaako swallowed. "Look, I'm giving you a chance to take what you tried to take before, Vaako. We worked together, I guess, to bring down the previous Lord Marshall." Vaako's eyebrow rose. "You distracted, I capitalized." Vaako nodded slowly, glancing around as if digesting that bit of information. "I never wanted this, and I sure as hell don't plan on keeping it."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the one who got the closest last time," Riddick said simply, his tone daring Vaako to ask another question. Vaako only nodded again. "Here's how it's gonna go."
---
"Doc?" Doc looked up over the rim of his coffee mug and smiled, pushing a chair away from the small table with a foot as Sevic shuffled into the room.
"How you doin'?" She shrugged, lowering herself slowly into the chair and sitting back with a sigh.
"I feel like someone ran over me in a dump truck," she said with a small laugh, instantly crouching forward with a cringe. Doc smiled sympathetically.
"It's gotten a lot easier over the years," he said, returning to his newspaper and coffee. She nodded. She'd heard the horror stories about regen operations. "The first procedures they tried couldn't be used with anesthesia."
"I'm hungry," she interjected quickly. "Tell me later. Right now all I can think about is food." Doc chuckled and stood with a nod, rummaging through the refrigerator for a small plastic container. She watched as he heated it up and placed the container in front of her, steaming hot. Damn. Had to be soup. She bit back a cringe and plastered a thankful expression on before delving in. It tasted better than she expected, but it was still soup. Only slightly solid. "Do you think Riddick's really coming back?" she asked quietly. It'd been nearly a week now. She heard the hitch in Doc's breath and sighed. "I don't expect him to, you know."
"Why's that?" Doc didn't do a very good job of masking his discomfort at the sudden subject change.
"Well, for one thing, if he tries to fight or sneak his way out, they'll know. If they know, they'll kill him." Her eyes met his. "Slowly." Doc nodded, his jaw tightening. "If he tries to play them, I'm not sure there's anyone there he can really trust. So unless he gets lucky and just happens to run into some old friends, he's up shit creek there." Doc couldn't help but chuckle. "And then, he's got to worry about fooling everyone, and not just the people whose opinions count." Doc nodded. "Then, he's gotta figure out a way to get a transport back here, and short of stealing one of the jobs they've got stashed or sneaking out planetside and stealing something there, I don't know what he could possibly pull off."
"Sounds like you've been thinking about it for a while," Doc commented quietly. She nodded slowly, swirling her spoon in the remaining broth at the bottom of her plastic container.
"You said if anyone could do it, Riddick could," she said quietly. Doc nodded, and she lifted her eyes to his again. "I don't think even God could get out alive." Doc drew in a sharp breath and let it out in a sigh, returning to his coffee cup. "But I hope I'm wrong," she added with a small shrug.
---
It took Daniel a week to record the act and get it into the database without being seen or detected. He'd holed up in a corner of Riddick's main room after the plan was laid out and agreed upon. They'd considered a live performance, but thought better of it, as Riddick didn't exactly trust Vaako not to seriously wound him by missing the squib pouches. His body and the video would suffice. Drew and the rest of his ship crew had rehearsed over and over, and had the reactions down pat. Vaako and Riddick would be late to dinner tonight, and all would be well. Riddick watched from the corner as Daniel typed furiously at the com terminal, trying to upload the video into the database before his window of opportunity closed. He glanced at the clock, and Riddick took it as a bad sign.
"How we doin'?" Daniel jumped a mile and stammered a polite 'shut the fuck up' before returning to his mad typing. "If you can't make it, don't chance getting caught."
"I'm fine," Daniel snapped, the keys clicking feverishly even as he spoke. "Two more seconds and it's in." Riddick nodded. "Then five minutes hacking from another angle to change the upload time." Another nod.
"Channels clear?" Riddick asked, hoping Daniel had remembered to cover his tracks to avoid detection from mainframe security.
"Crystal," Daniel responded with a strained grin. He nodded and closed down quickly, sighing as he looked at the clock. Thirty more seconds in and they would have been toast. He rubbed his eyes and started back up, fingers moving at lightning speed as the upload stampings were changed and the trails covered. Finally, he slumped back in the chair and let out an enormous sneeze. Riddick chuckled.
"Bless you."
"Video's inaccessible until the system clock matches the upload stamping," he said wearily. Riddick nodded.
"Do me a favor." Daniel turned, eyebrow arched, bags under his eyes. "Find Arana." Confusion spread over the boy's face, and Riddick smiled. "She'll take you to their ship and you wait there."
"You can't do that, Riddick," Daniel said quickly. "When they notice I'm gone they'll know." Riddick blinked. "Vaako will be in a heap of shit and we'll both have the whole armada on our tails when they're finished with him." Daniel gulped. "I have to stay," he said with a reassuring nod. "But thanks."
Vaako sighed, glancing up at the clock again before returning to watching Riddick check the squibs under the fake skin Arana had matched so perfectly to his natural skin tone.
"Are you sure about this, Riddick?" Riddick paused, glancing away from his work only long enough to grant Vaako a short grunt before returning to his preparations. Vaako watched as Riddick sliced them open, his blood pouring out though he wasn't wounded. A heavy sigh, and then a needle. Riddick stared at it for a while and thought back to how Drew had directed him to do this. Reminded him too much of Johns. He shook his head and sat, watching Vaako watch him. He forced a grin.
"Show time," he rumbled, tilting his head back. Vaako's expression went unnoticed as the needle pressed into Riddick's tear duct, the sharp intake of breath the only indication he'd felt anything. A growl as the needle was withdrawn and Vaako reached forward, taking the syringe from Riddick's hand as the drug took effect.
"Show time," Vaako repeated. He glanced at the clock again. Two minutes. While Riddick slipped further into his semi-death, Vaako staged the room, splashing blood here and there before wounding himself to make the fight believable. Finally, the time came, and Vaako whispered an apology before grasping Riddick's wrist and pulling, gritting against the pain he'd caused himself, his own blood flowing now as he dragged the limp body toward the stairs. Stairs, Vaako thought with a start, glancing down at Riddick's seemingly lifeless form. He sighed, grunting as he hoisted Riddick over his shoulder and slowly descended the stairs, finally throwing open the doors to the dining hall.
Drew jumped as the doors flew open, an angry and paler than usual Vaako standing in the shadow, breath heaving, a large body thrown over his shoulder. He bit back a grin. Vaako's eyes met other Necros as he stalked forward, finally tossing the body off his shoulder and onto the table with a thud. Arana elbowed him in the ribs, and he let out a strangled gasp.
"Riddick?" he whispered. Vaako just stood there, as scripted, while a murmer went through the crowd of Necro royalty. Arana caught him around the waist as he lurched toward Riddick, restraining him.
"It's not worth it," she whispered, loudly enough for others to hear. "They'll kill you and where will that leave me?" Drew grasped the back of the chair he'd bolted from, knuckles whitening as his grip tightened, his head falling between his shoulders. The Necros stood, and knelt silently, the only people left standing being Vaako and Drew's renegades.
"Take your body," Vaako commanded through gritted teeth. "We have no use for it now." Arana made a show of swallowing thickly before nodding quickly. She nudged Drew, and they, along with two others, dragged Riddick from the table. "Leave my ship, and leave my armada," Vaako snapped, waiting until Riddick was on his way out the door before sitting where he would have been, had he not been "dead." The Necros stood, and, as predicted, took their seats as though nothing had happened. Programmed, Vaako thought with a cringe, covering it by tentatively touching a seeping wound.
"You're injured, Lord Marshall," Toll said gently, pausing as Vaako held out a hand to halt him.
"I'm fine." Toll nodded, sitting again. No minds of their own, Vaako thought. And I've inherited it in a small way. Another cringe. Maybe this wasn't such a grand idea after all.
Doc started, his attention torn from the television at the insistent pounding on his back door. He glanced at Sevic, who was still sleeping on the couch, obviously bored to death at his choice of movie, and he scrambled across the floor to her side, shaking her gently. She mumbled in her sleep and batted his hand away.
"Sevic. Up. Now. Trouble," Doc whispered firmly. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up quickly. "Back door. Go to the safe room until I come get you." She nodded, and Doc watched her go before heading toward the pounding shaking his door again. He pulled it open slowly, just a crack at first, and then wider. "Drew?"
"Move, Doc," Drew demanded, pushing the door open with his free hand. "Eyes, man. Hurry." Doc nodded, moving out of the way as the crew came piling in.
"What's going on? What happened?" Doc asked, following them down the hallway toward his makeshift hospital room.
"Nothing," Arana said with a small smile. "He'll tell you when he wakes up."
"Wakes up?" Doc asked incredulously. "He's covered in blood. Is it his?" Drew nodded. "Well, shit. Let me have a look at him." Arana snapped out an arm, blocking Doc's patch toward the cot Drew was now lowering Riddick onto.
"It's his, but he's unscathed," she explained. Utter confusion made Doc shake his head. "Like I said, he'll explain when he wakes up."
"Here," Drew said, handing him a vial of green liquid. "Fluids, and in two hours give him this. He'll be groggy when he wakes, so watch yourself. We know Riddick when he's groggy." Arana snickered in response, and Doc stared, still holding the vial up in confusion as Drew and Arana led the men out of his house, closing the door silently behind them. An electronic beep signaled the lock was secure. He glanced down at Riddick, then back to the door before staring at the vial in his fingers.
Riddick stirred, moaning as his senses returned to him. For a moment, he panicked, unsure of where he was but very much aware his limbs were numb. Memories came as flashes, short and confused vignettes. He inhaled slowly. Bleach. Stale air. Cigarettes. Must be at Doc's place. At least I know I'm safe for now. His brow knitted. Ah yes. The Necros and my great escape. He tried to smile, but found it was harder than it should be. Drew failed to mention the drugs worked so well.
"Riddick?" The voice was definitely female, but sounded distant and confined. He groaned in frustration.
"Jack?" he whispered. No, that can't be right. Kyra died on the Necro ship. That was days ago. He struggled to open his eyes, the vision greeting him blurring and distorted. A flash of color made him start, but the gentle squeeze on his arm calmed him. The whole scene playing out seemed too familiar.
"Riddick, can you hear me?" He nodded slightly, struggling to focus. Warm hands cupped his cheeks, turning his head slowly. A face gradually came into focus, and a small smile lit his eyes. Sevic returned the smile, leaning down to kiss him lightly. "You need to rest," she whispered, resting her fingers gently over his eyes, sighing as his lashes fluttered closed.
