Twenty Questions

Min opened the door to the suite and stepped into the hallway. She didn't move like an addled child this time as she turned slowly to face the guards. They ignored, as usual, her until she lifted her head from staring at the floor; her eyes were shining quicksilver blue. Before they could do more than register surprise, Riddick attacked them with Furyan speed from behind. They were unconscious before they could make a sound. Min was pleased with Riddick's control. She didn't want them dead, she wanted them talking later.

"The myth begins," she grinned at him.

Min led Riddick through the shadows, far enough away from the Marshall suite to avoid any hidden sensors. Then she produced a small tool that looked like a toy but fit perfectly into a recessed service panel keyhole. It had been an item on her need list. Min twitched her lenses up and led Riddick into the walls and bowels of the flagship.

The way was tricky, black and noisy. Not meant to be scaled and traversed except on the technicians' catwalks, which, of course, they avoided. At a particularly difficult obstacle Riddick suddenly asked:

"What's your deal with the Elemental?"

"She knows too much about Furyans." Min didn't skip a beat. "What's your deal with the girl?" She shot back over her shoulder.

"I saved her life once. She saved mine." He kept it simple but she thought there was more to it than that.

"How did a Furyan become the Purifier?"

Great, Min thought, twenty questions in the dark. She sighed.

"He was President of Fury when the 'Mongers came. We were a new democracy. He thought submission would save lives, spare the planet.

"He didn't understand politics then. He didn't understand about power...until later."

Now it was her turn.

"How did you end up on Earth?"

"I don't know." His low voice dropped a notch. Dissatisfaction. He really didn't know.

"Point for me," she told him. "My turn again." He grunted.

"What do you know?"

Bitterly, "I was found in a trash bin with my umbilical cord around my neck."

Min paused. "Strangled?"

"Uh-uh, I answered, it's my turn." He closed that subject. But Min's mind was racing. Strangled? An escapee? After she'd been cleansed? She almost missed his next question.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

That made her stop and turn around. "Why?" She demanded.

Riddick stood facing her, eyes glittering in the dark. "Is that a point for me? Or do you always get to ask two?"

"No. Yes," she said, then clarified. "I've killed. My turn, why?" Could he really get into her head? Was there some myth she'd missed?

"There's going to be some killing in your plan." That challenge in his voice again. "Are you expecting me to do it all for you?"

"That's your turn," she quipped and turned away from him to lead the way again. "No, I'll have my share. I'll hold up my end. Besides, I get to kill you last, remember?"

He laughed behind her before following. "Fair enough. Your turn."

And most of my killing will come after you leave, she thought. I don't think you actually have mass murder in you and I have genocide in mind.

"How long do you really plan on staying in this mad house?" That was the loaded question; the one really on her mind.

"I haven't decided." He started, then before she could say anything, "That's not a point for you. You just have to accept that answer."

She laughed. "Okay. Fair enough. Your turn." They were almost there.

"Did you see Kyra when she came to the ship?"

Oops. She forgot to mention that before. She meant to but things were moving so fast. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Is that your question?"

She saw his body tense. This was not a conversation she wanted to have balanced precariously on a pipe forty stories from the nearest hard place to land; this was a sensitive subject to him. He wasn't playing now.

"Well?"

"I saw her when they took her to the cleansing room." Min paused but there was just light enough to see the muscles in his jaw were working overtime and she decided to continue. "I wandered in, they ignored me as usual. She was fighting mad and they were goading her on. The cleansing works best if they can get you worked up..."

"Go on." He sounded calm but the menace underneath was perfectly clear to her. And that was making her angry. She had no control over what happened to Kyra, she had tried to help...

"I tried to help her."

"How?" More obvious menace now.

Min crossed her arms, she'd already seen her escape route if he became unreasonable. She knew this area by heart and figured she was fast enough if she got a jump on him.

"She was going on about you, but I didn't know who she was talking about. One of the techs said her Furyan was dead or she wouldn't be here. She started to cry..."

"No way Kyra cried." Threat in his voice.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

"She was strung up, they were pumping her full of drugs, she saw the armada when they came in. Of course she cried! Everyone cries!" Min's voice was raised now in exasperation. "I put my arms around her and said 'poor girl' until the techs turned around and I whispered in her ear how to beat the cleansing."

"You... you can beat the cleansing?"

"That's fourteen."

"What?"

"That's fifteen."

He grumbled low in his throat. It wasn't quite a growl, not quite a laugh; more like a realization that she was trying to break the tension and he hadn't decided if he would let it work. But he didn't say anything more, just stared levelly at her. Min decided he had himself under control.

"Yes, to some extent you can beat the cleansing." Min's voice dropped back to conversational level. "It's not something anyone figures out on their own. The techs make it almost impossible unless you've got excellent self-control...

"So I told her, 'the techs want you mad, if you want to beat this, relax.' And then I did something really stupid."

"What?"

"Sixteen!" She said quietly in her little girl voice. That almost got a smile out of him. Almost. Min continued quickly, "I held her face in my hands and got very close and... I... twitched up my lenses."

Min was embarrassed. She had taken a huge risk, doing that, but the girl... Min hadn't known if the girl herself was Furyan but the effect was what Min hoped it would be.

"Your Kyra was smart. She didn't say anything. She kept up her screaming at the techs but I could see she had calmed down." Min took a step forward and laid her hand on Riddick's arm. "She had a lot of self control. She came out of the cleansing better than I thought she would. She was a good girl." Min hoped it was enough.

"She was tough." He said finally.

Min had seen the girl as they were walking her to the throne room too. Min had danced up and hugged the girl and whispered 'pretend' as she slipped her a knife. It was all she could do. She still didn't know why she had taken the risks. Min didn't want to think on it.

You wanted a friend, the voice in the back of her head blurted out. You saw something in her and you wanted to save her.

But did I kill her? She asked the voice. Did giving her that knife kill her?

The voice didn't answer.

"Are we close?" Riddick broke the silence.

Seventeen. Min thought, but she didn't continue the game. They both had thoughts weighing on them and one more climb to focus on. Min turned and led the way.