Lifeline

Chapter 16

Her arms collapsed under her, but she didn't fall back onto the bed. Riddick just held her there for a moment, feeling her stomach tremble against his as he slowly lowered her back against the mattress. The kiss they shared wasn't demanding or hungry, and neither moved to deepen it as both were satisfied with the soft, shallow teasing they gave each other's lips. Her fingers tightened around his neck before pressing him away slightly, her chest heaving as she caught up on oxygen. Her eyes remained closed as she licked her lips slowly, a small smirk appearing at the groan she prompted from him. Though opening her eyes granted her no vision of him, she did it anyway, waiting for his to appear in the darkness before speaking.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" she nearly whispered. He thought for a moment and realized that although he'd been expecting some sort of feeling like he'd fucked up big time it wasn't there. He nodded slowly, the hand she cradled the back of his head with catching the gesture. She pulled him against her, feeling him nuzzle his nose into the side of her neck as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, her lower lip quivering only the slightest bit. Her embrace remained as he wriggled under the covers, lying halfway on top of her as his hands roved over her body lightly. She pressed her cheek against his for a moment before kissing a shoulder. He hissed, his whole body tensing as she bared her teeth and sunk them into his flesh, just hard enough to draw the slightest prick of blood. His fingers dug into her hip, staying that way as she maintained the pressure on his skin, then let out a shaky groan as she released him, dropping a light kiss on the offended spot. He lifted away from her and for a second she thought she'd gone too far, until he shifted his weight and she felt the effect she'd had on him. His lips claimed hers once again, this time in a possessive, greedy fashion.

"Don't ever do that again," he warned, moving his explorative kisses along her neck and collarbone. Her eyebrow rose, and she took a breath to ask why, but it left her in a moan as he ground his hips against hers. Fighting with the covers and their clothing took a while, but it was time well spent in the rediscovery of the territory of skin they'd once known of each other. She cried out in pain as his teeth clamped roughly around a nipple, knowing it would leave a mark but not caring as the insistent need filling her grew. Her ankles crossed, fastening her legs around his waist as she tried to pull him closer to her, but he resisted, his slow, torturous investigation of her body continuing instead. She moaned in protest, but he only chuckled, shaking his head. "Patience."

All breath left her in a whimper as he finally pressed his hips into hers, moving against her slowly. His arms slid under her back, hands grasping her shoulders as he kissed her, all movements of his body simultaneous. She held her breath, catching his lip between her teeth as she willed herself to let go of the mounting tension, but his pace slowed and he pulled his lip free, lifting his face away to grin down at her. Her back arched, hips grinding against his, but he was still, opting instead to return to light kisses dropped on her face. His lips found her ear, and her eyes squeezed shut as she shuddered, goose bumps rising on her skin. "Don't rush me," he whispered. She laughed, prompting a groan as she tightened around him, and his movements returned. A light sheen of sweat glistened on his skin, his fingers digging into her shoulders rhythmically as quiet groans grew more and more frequent. She trembled as she neared the edge, and he took her over with him, both writhing in a world filled only with sensation. His forehead dropped to her chest, hurried breaths fanning out across her damp skin as he gasped for air. Finally he sighed, settling on his back next to her. She laid there for a moment, waiting until the spots cleared from her eyes and the room stopped spinning before rolling to her side to cuddle against him as she pulled the sheets up. Her back arched into him as he traced her spine lightly between his fingers, glancing down at her to watch her fight to keep her eyes open. He smiled, pressing his lips to her forehead as he gave her a gentle squeeze.

---

The bed was cold and empty when she woke, and she sat up suddenly, glancing around the room. Her clothes had been picked up and laid neatly over the lip of an opened drawer, and his were nowhere to be seen. Her eyebrow rose, and she sighed, scratching her head. She stood on still shaky legs, wobbling as she dressed before heading out to the kitchen. He sat at the table, pouring over satellite image maps. She smiled lightly, leaning against the far counter, just watching him. Finally, he glanced up, also smiling at her before leaning back against the wall, lifting a cup of steaming coffee to his lips. Her eyes lingered on the angry, purple bruise peeking out from under the strap of his wife beater. He followed her gaze and his smile deepened.

"Sorry about that," she said quietly, dropping her gaze to the floor before turning to pour herself some of the aromatic coffee. He chuckled, shrugging, eyes following her as she sat across from him. "Working out a plan without me?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Just going over several I had in mind." She nodded, pulling the maps closer to her as she looked at them over the rim of her mug.

"This it?" she asked, tapping the image of a building. He nodded. "Here," she said, pointing. "What, three clicks south?" Another small nod. "Land there, hike in through the woods here," she said, drawing a path with a finger. "Leave at dusk, hide out until dark and then do some surveillance." She analyzed the maps more closely. "Hell, we'd have several options as far as angles if we landed there. Go around this way –", she suggested, drawing another imaginary trail, "and this way. Get the whole shebang."

"That's what I was thinking." Her eyebrow rose as she met his eyes.

"That's scary." He grinned, and she matched it. "Good coffee," she commented after a beat. He nodded.

"Fresh ground." Her brows arched. "Beans are from Ptero."

"Expensive."

"Worth it," he corrected, lifting his mug to take another sip. "Think it'll work?"

"We'll see, won't we?"

---

Riddick paused to take off his goggles and deposit them in his pack, while Chikage dug through hers to find her night vision glasses. She dropped two extra battery packs in a pocket and powered them on, risking the extra cell usage to hide the green glow. No risks now. She nodded up at him, and they both drew a pistol, screwing on silencers as they continued moving slowly through the thickening forest. They slowed, now creeping as the trees thinned, a large meadow coming into view, a large and well lit building glowing in the middle. Her eyebrow rose. They were getting close. Riddick glanced around, finally pointing to a tree, and she glanced at it quickly before shaking her head. She nodded toward a small patch of thick brush, and his brows furrowed, but he nodded. They moved toward the bushes slowly and silently, finally crouching down behind them. Riddick kept watch as she unzipped her pack, producing a sniper rifle in three sections. He glanced at her, then returned to scouting as she assembled it, finally screwing on the last piece – the silencer. Three surveillance darts were loaded, and she set it quietly on the ground. Another disassembled rifle appeared and was put together, including the silencer, and she settled into position. Riddick sat beside her, watching from behind.

Chikage took a few moments to focus, waiting until her pulse lowered to an even fifty beats per minute and her hand stilled before taking up a weapon. Riddick couldn't help but watch as her slender, graceful fingers adjusted, readjusted, focused, and refocused her sights. One pale brown eye closed, her cheek crinkling as she took aim. She pulled the trigger and waited until she saw and confirmed that the dart hit its mark before panning the area through the scope, watching for any sign of alerts. None. Forty minutes later, the second dart hit home. Forty-two minutes after that, the third. No alerts. She nodded, pursing her lips to make an insect-like chirping sound, and Riddick patted the back of her thigh. They each disassembled a weapon and headed back to the ship.

Riddick's eyebrow rose as she plopped behind a notebook computer she'd set up at the kitchen table, instantly checking her work and the status of her surveillance darts. He watched her for a moment, switching between the three cameras, audio turned down to barely audible.

"You okay?" She nodded without looking at him, still leaning forward in her chair staring intently at the computer screen. He took the seat next to hear, stretching an arm out across the back of her chair.

"Do you have floor plans yet?" she asked quietly.

"Still working on it. They've got encryption like I've never seen before." She smirked.

"I'll work on it tonight," she said. He scowled.

"You need to sleep sometime, you know that?" She glanced at him sharply. "I can't have you running around that place running just on adrenaline."

"I'll be fine. Four hours a night is optimal for me."

"Chi." His voice held a warning tone, and she outright glared at him. His eyebrow rose slowly, a challenge, and her face softened.

"You think we need internal surveillance?"

"How?"

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "Open window maybe?"

"Yeah, a dart lodged in a wall is really inconspicuous." She winced, nodding slightly as she swore under her breath.

"I'll upload the floor plans onto mobiles," she finally said, leaning back in her chair. She stretched with a groan, and his arm settled around her shoulders as she recoiled, yawning.

"Four hours, huh?" She snickered. "Take it easy, okay? It's gonna take us a while to get all the surveillance shit in place, and then we have to actually figure out patterns and all so we know when to hit." A small, compliant nod.

"I got little video sights for the floor plan, that's why it's so important. We can't get lost in there." He nodded, pulling her against his side. Her head settled against his chest as she flung an arm over his middle. "I can patch in the audio and video surveillance, too."

"Can you?" He sounded impressed, and she nodded.

"Touch screen even. Master directory with thumbnail graphics size video. Touch it and it maximizes and patches the audio in."

"Sweet." She smiled, stifling another yawn as she righted herself and returned to the computer.

"Hell, I could even install GPS so if we have to split off we can still locate each other if we have to," she said with a modest shrug. 'Overlay it with the maps and we're just dandy."

"How long will that take?" he asked slowly. She shrugged, popping her neck.

"Depends on how much you want me to do."

"All of it."

"Mobile, headset, GPS, floor plan, everything?" He nodded, and she thought for a moment. "Between outings and sleep and whatnot, probably four, five days tops."

"Two days between surveillance oughta be safe, huh?"

"Yeah, relatively," she answered with a pensive nod. "I'd suggest three, but we don't exactly have the same timelines we had back in the day." He grimaced, and she sighed, leaning her elbows on the table as she hung her head, avoiding his eyes. "Level with me here, Riddick." She heard him shift in his chair, then felt his hand flatten on her back, massaging slowly. "Do you really think she's still alive?"

"Yes," he said without pause.

"Do you really think we can get her out and keep all three of us that way?" His hand stilled suddenly, resting in place for a moment before resuming, as though she'd caught him off guard.

"I think so, yeah," he answered quietly. She nodded, looking over her shoulder at him. He wore a somewhat pained expression. She took a breath and paused, glancing at him quickly before averting her eyes again.

"Think we can handle whatever shape she's in?" He sighed.

"That's the least of our problems right now, Chi." She nodded slowly. "Don't worry about it." He continued watching her monitor the computer for a while before standing, not really knowing if she'd noticed he'd left. After a short debate with himself, he flopped into her bed and sighed heavily, tossing his forearm over his eyes to block out the tiny stream of light filtering into the room, the other arm stretched out across her side of the bed. She joined him a while later, rousing him partway out of a light sleep as she curled up against his side, her back to him. He shifted next to her, spooning against her as his arms settled around her loosely, pressing his lips against the back of her neck before drifting off again.