Lifeline

Chapter 32

"Fuck! No fire escape," Chikage said after peering down each side of the small building. "What do we do?"

"Jump," Riddick said calmly.

"What?!" she hissed. "Are you fucking nuts? We can't jump. We're fifteen stories off the ground. What the fuck is wrong with you?" He sent her a look and pointed to an adjacent building. Her incredulous expression was replaced with a sheepish smile, and she glanced at the stairwell door.

"Now, Chi," he warned, drawing his gun.

"What about you?" They both heard the shuffling behind the door, and she stared at it, wide-eyed.

"GO!" Without a second thought, she took off, sprinting toward the edge of the roof and leaping, pulse racing as she hung in the air. The door slammed open, and Riddick fired. She landed hard, turning her wrist under the weight of her body, and she let out a yelp, rolling onto her back, gritting her teeth against the pain. Two more shots rang out, and Riddick was beside her. "C'mon," he gruffed. "Get the fuck up. We gotta move." She was up in an instant, the pain forgotten as another roof was crossed, then three more. She was about to sprint toward the next building, but Riddick's arm snapped out, his fingers wrapping around the back of her belt to restrain her.

"What?"

"Fire escape." She groaned, nodding, and followed him to the side of the building, pulling her pants out of her ass as she walked.

"Who are they?"

"Company," he said, extending his arm. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist with her good hand, watching his fingers wrap around her wrist as she straddled the small wall following the perimeter of the roof.

"Think Mason called them?"

"No, I don't think so," He grunted, now supporting her weight as he lowered her over the side of the building. "He didn't know we were coming, and didn't call while we were there." The metal fire escape landing clanged as she dropped, the impact shaking the ladders below her. He swung himself over the side and dropped to the landing. She looked up at him.

"And they wouldn't have had time to get here if he'd called as soon as we left."

"Exactly," he said, a grim look on his face. She sighed.

"So now what?"

"We lose them." Her brows furled, and he pointed up. Boots landed on the roof above them, followed by a strangled groan of pain, the Company operative evidently landing wrong. Two more pairs of boots followed, and Chikage's eyes widened, staring up at Riddick for a moment before they both ran down the stairs of the fire escape. They got to the bottom and Riddick reached out, pulling Chikage aside. She watched with a quizzically arched brow as he lowered himself down the ladder first, then pulled himself up to grasp the lowest rung in the pits of his knees. "Come on," he said, looking up at her as he waved for her to follow. She slid to the edge of the opening on the landing leading to the ladder and he held his hands out to her. "Give me your hands," he said, looking past her to see four Company men peering over the wall at them, one sliding to the top landing of the escape. "Now, Chi."

"My wrist…" she started.

"Fuck your wrist. Give me your fucking hands," he snapped. She reached out to him, cringing as his hands once again wrapped around her wrists, the throbbing returning as the adrenaline rush waned. He pulled, and she whimpered, her fingers digging into his skin. Before she could think again, she let him pull her from the landing, the end of her fall marked with a cry as her injured wrist was jerked at the violent stop. "Hold on," he grunted, his brow knitting in concentration as he held onto her. Her eyes widened as his legs straightened.

"Riddick…" her words stopped as he started to slip, and she stared up into his eyes as he fell. She squeezed her eyes shut, howling in pain as his boots caught the outsides of the ladder, getting her closer to the ground, but once again, the sudden stop too much for her wrist. Her breath came in struggling gasps, sweat beading on her skin.

"I'm going to let you go," he gritted, his head snapping to the side to see all four Company men heading down the fire escape now. "You hit, you get up, and you run. I'll find you."

"Riddick, I'll wait for you," she whimpered, the strain on her wrist from supporting her weight becoming too much for her to handle.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You won't. Go to the hotel we passed. Wait in the alley behind it, between the dumpsters. I'll find you."

"Riddick…"

"Just fucking do it!" he roared, loosening his grasp on her wrists. She slid a little bit in his hands, and glanced down at the ground fifteen feet below her, then back up to him. She nodded, and felt him let go, forcing her body to relax to lessen the damage to her. The impact knocked the wind from her, and she lay there for a moment, struggling to breathe. "Chikage!" Her eyes opened slowly, watching him swing up to grasp the bottom rung of the ladder. "Go!" Instantly, she was up and running, ignoring the pain as her boots pounded on the pavement. She heard other footsteps following her and glanced over her shoulder, swearing as two more Company men appeared, gaining on her quickly. Shots rang out, and she flinched, but kept going, ducking into an alley as she drew her pistol, flipping the safety lever and firing. One of the men fell, gasping for breath as blood poured from the wound her bullet had left in his neck. She smiled in spite of the situation and turned down another alley, tucking the gun into the back of her pants and leaping to grasp a gutter, biting her lip as her wrist protested.

"Don't puss out on me now," she whispered to the injured wrist, growling as she pulled herself to the roof of the building, rolling to the floor behind the wall and holding her breath, closing her eyes. She counted her heartbeats as they slowed, then let out the breath, keeping it slow and deep. Footsteps pounded down the alley and stopped, shuffling around just below her. The Company guy muttered to himself, searching behind, between, and in the dumpsters at the intersection, finally looking up. His eyes narrowed, and he took a slow step forward, a smear of blood on the gutter above catching his attention.

"Fucking bitch," he whispered, half to himself. "Think you can fool me, huh?" She winced, shifting against the wall as she reached behind her, pulling the pistol from her waistband. Silently, she crawled along the wall, saying a silent thank you as thunder rumbled and the clouds opened up. She tucked herself in a corner, eyes widening as metal groaned against asphalt. Slowly, she peeked over the side of the wall, raising the pistol as a flash of lightning illuminated the sky. The Company guy continued to strain to drag the dumpster closer to the building on which she was crouched, and she lifted herself up to rest her elbows on the top of the wall, taking the time to make her aim accurate. She pulled the trigger, and the man's head snapped up.

"Fuck," she breathed, seeing the man's eyes narrow up at her. She closed an eye and took aim again, but paused, watching the man's face go blank. Her brows furrowed as she watched, and he wavered, finally falling over as a pool of blood appeared behind him. She let out a sigh and collapsed against the wall, smearing her own blood on her forehead as she tried to clear the rain collecting on her skin. After a full fifteen minutes of listening, she lowered herself to the ground, her shirt ripped to wrap the laceration in her hand and her other wrist held gingerly against her chest. Her body ached, her brain trying to shut down, but she slowly and cautiously made her way toward the hotel, an exhausted sob escaping her as she slid between the dumpsters. With no adrenaline left, she was spent completely, and despite her best efforts, she slowly drifted to sleep.

---

Her eyes opened slowly, brows furrowing in pain, but she pushed the thought away, concentrating instead on the boots she saw slowly approaching her hiding place, only visible in the small crack between the bottom of the dumpster and the ground. Still pressed against the side of the building behind her, she raised her gun, still ready to fire from the fight the previous night, and held it steady in the opening between the two dumpsters on either side of her. Her hand shook, blood dripping after soaking through the piece of shirt she'd ripped off, and her finger tightened on the trigger as a face appeared between the dumpsters.

"Give me the gun, Chi," he said gently. The trembling grew more violent, her hand shaking so hard the gun rattled quietly. He held his hand out, and her lip quivered, her nostrils flaring. Her skin was pale and clammy, dark circles under her eyes, and random scratches, cuts, and abrasions on her face. "It's okay," he whispered. "Give me the gun." His hand closed around the barrel of her gun, pulling gently, and she let it fall, the trigger guard hooked in her finger. He cleared the weapon, tucking it next to his in the back of his pants, and reached out to her. "Let's get you out of here." She only stared at him, her whole body shaking. "Chikage, you're in shock. You have to let me get you out of here." His fingers closed around her wrist, and she gasped, wrenching her arm out of his hand. He cringed. "You're gonna make me do this the hard way aren't you?"

"My ass is numb," she said flatly. He chuckled, nodding as he stood. She closed her eyes as he pushed one of the dumpsters away from her, sliding to the ground as the gap between the dumpsters widened. Riddick crouched beside her and gathered her into his arms. She didn't bother to cling to him, instead just hanging as dead weight as he carried her through the maze of alleys toward the hangar.

"I told you I'd find you," he whispered, lowering her to her feet as he punched in the code to lower the hatch of the cruiser. She leaned against him, the arm he still had around her waist the only thing holding her up. Pins and needles started moving in her toes, and she wiggled them in a useless attempt to ease the pain.

"You almost found me dead," she mumbled, her voice muffled in his shoulder. His lips pressed to her temple as the hatch ground against the pavement.

"Can you make it up or are you gonna make me carry you again?" he asked, a hint of a smile in his voice. She groaned, pressing her forehead into his shoulder.

"I'm just now starting to feel my toes," she said quietly, and he chuckled, hoisting her off the ground and kicking the button to close the hatch behind him. Jack's steps thundered down the upper stairs, across the kitchen, and halted at the top of the ladder leading to the cargo hold. She watched intently as the top of Riddick's head, and Chikage's ass next to it, appeared. She stepped back, giving him room to pass, and followed him as he crossed the kitchen toward the bedrooms, watching him lower Chikage from over his shoulder to her feet next to the bed. She immediately fell back, collapsing onto the mattress.

"Jack, there's a first aid kit under the sink in the kitchen. Grab it for me, will ya?" She was back in an instant, holding the kit out to him as he pulled Chi's boots from her feet, dropping them to the floor with two loud thuds. "What'd you do to your hand?" he asked gently, reaching out to start unwinding the strip of blood-soaked shirt material.

"Two guys followed me. I got one before I got to the alleys, but the other one was still back there. Had to get on a roof to get a shot without him seeing me first." Riddick nodded.

"What'd you cut it on?" He inspected the wound, pulling pieces of unknown material from the gash.

"Gutter." His eyes snapped up to her face, but her eyes were closed, brows drawn down into a grimace.

"Put these in one of those bags, Jack," he said, holding the pieces out to her. She opened a zipper baggie and held it out for him to drop the fragments into and zipped it shut. "You do anything else to yourself?"

"Well, let's see. I think I sprained my wrist, my ankles hurt like hell, I'm freezing my ass off, still soaked, probably have cuts and shit all over my face…" she trailed off, opening her eyes to stare at the pillows. "Did I forget anything?"

"I don't know," Riddick said with a shrug, going to work on her socks. "You tell me." She was quiet for a while, finally shaking her head as her eyes closed. She felt his hand settle against her cheek and nuzzled against him. "You're cold?"

"I think I said 'freezing', didn't I?"

"Don't be a smartass," he chided, letting a smirk slip into place. Jack grinned. "I think you have a fever." He turned to Jack. "Is there a thermometer in there?" She shook her head.

"No, one of those digital things though." He nodded, and she pulled it from its plastic packaging, reading the directions as Riddick reached for the clasp of Chikage's jeans. She did nothing to help him – couldn't really. Her body was too worn out to even think about moving of its own accord.

"Alcohol and gauze, Jack," Riddick said quietly. She laid it out on the bed next to Chikage as he rounded the bed to pull her shirt off.

"God," Chi groaned.

"What?" Riddick asked suddenly, thinking something was wrong.

"I feel like a fucking steak on display here," she mumbled, wincing as he unwound her shirt gingerly from her injured wrist. Riddick chuckled, crawling on the bed next to her. She tried to jerk away from him as he poured the alcohol onto the gash in her hand, but his grip was too strong. "Ow."

"Ow?" Riddick asked, grinning. Jack raised an eyebrow at him, handing over a fresh wad of gauze. "That's all you could think of?"

"Fuck you." A snicker, and he was back to work. After placing a couple of stitches in her hand to hold the cut closed, he wrapped the hand up, then started on checking out the wrist she claimed was sprained. He watched her face for reactions, pressing against her skin gingerly, then harder until she reacted or he decided that area didn't hurt. When she hissed, he let out a breath.

"It's not sprained, I don't think," he said, reaching for a brace in the kit. "Probably just turned it or strained it, but it doesn't seem to bad." She snorted or something, turning her head toward him to watch him fasten the brace around her wrist.

"Am I done?" she asked weakly.

"Not quite," he said, shaking his head. "You need a hot shower and dry clothes." She moaned, rolling onto her side, facing away from the concerned glances of Riddick and Jack.

"I just need to sleep," she mumbled, reaching for a pillow. Riddick intercepted her, grasping her elbow to pull her to her feet.

"You need to warm up first, and a hot shower is the quickest way," he insisted.

"Stop fussing over me, Riddick," she snapped, the demand coming out much weaker than she'd intended. "I can't even fucking stand right now, how the fuck am I supposed to take a shower." He only stared down at her, and her brow rose slowly. Jack pursed her lips together, slowly backing out of the room. They heard her feet move up the stairs to the library, still staring at each other. "Don't, Riddick," she said quietly. "It's bad enough you had to undress me and treat my little cuts and shit." She shook her head, pausing to swallow. "Don't embarrass me."

"Embarrass you how?"

"Just let me sleep a few hours and I can take a shower on my own later," she pleaded. He tilted his head to the side, and she narrowed her eyes up at him, squeaking as he pulled her to her feet.

"Riddick, please," she whispered, clutching him tightly. "I'm just really tired. Please just let me sleep."

"You're not getting in my bed after spending the night crunched between two dumpsters," he said firmly, kicking the bathroom door closed before setting her on her feet and guiding her to sit on the toilet. She watched him undress through sleepy eyes, and moaned as he pulled her to her feet again. "Hang on to me," he said quietly, lifting her arms around his shoulders. Her hands settled around his neck, and she pressed her forehead into his chest as he removed her remaining clothes, turning the water on before pulling the elastic bands from her hair, letting it fall in the after-braiding-crimps down her back. "Listen," he said, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I don't care how much you think you don't need me right now, I'm looking after you until you're back to 100 percent, okay?" She made a noise at him, and he lifted her chin with a curved finger. "Got it?" She scowled, but nodded, and he pressed his lips to hers in a short kiss before picking her up and carrying her into the shower stall. The pins and needles slowly worked up her legs and into her lower back as the hot water thawed her out, and she leaned against either Riddick or the wall as he lathered them both up and rinsed off.

"Don't mess with the conditioner," she said weakly as he reached for the bottle. He glanced down at her, and she shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she repeated, heaving a sigh. "I just want to go to sleep." He nodded, holding her against his chest as he leaned to turn the water off, bending her backward slightly. After wrapping a towel around his waist and tucking the tail in to secure it, he pulled another towel around her and picked her up again, pausing in the hallway.

"Hey Jack?" he yelled up the stairs. "We're going to bed." After Jack yelled her reply, he took Chi into the bedroom and lowered her to the bed. She watched as he ruffled through her pajama drawer, pulling out microfleece pants and a long sleeve tee shirt, then selected a pair of underwear. She let him pull her to her feet again, leaning heavily on him as he dressed her, then stared at the door as he left, returning a few seconds later with her comb and the two rubber bands he'd taken out of her hair.

"You're going to braid my hair," she said disbelievingly. He nodded, crawling onto the bed behind her. "Where'd you learn to braid?"

"I watched you a couple times," he said with a shrug, pulling the comb through her hair. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensations as he pulled it into a ponytail and then braided it, all the way to the end before tying it off.

"I must say I'm quite surprised," she said through a yawn. He snickered, shaking his head as he dropped his towel and pulled on a pair of sweats. She fell to her side, just missing the pillows, and heaved a sigh as she let her eyes close.

"I'm full of surprises," he said playfully. She did her best to laugh, but it was half-hearted. "Anyway, you can sleep now."

"Thanks," she said, adding a smile. The bed gave as he sat down behind her, and she just lay there, sleep closing in quickly as he struggled to get her head on the pillows and pull the sheets out from under her to cover her up. She was snoring lightly when he finally settled behind her, throwing an arm over her side and stroking her forearm lightly. An exhausted groan escaped him as he finally relaxed, his own slumber not far behind.