Chapter 11

A pair of large hands suddenly grasped her arms, and she started, glad the chair she'd occupied was bolted to the floor or she would've knocked it backwards. Then again, there was the giant body standing right behind her that would probably have blocked her fall. His fingers dug into her skin, and she let him pull her hands away from the keyboard.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he growled, the gravel in his voice raising goose bumps on her skin.

"Toombs disabled the tracker on my ship. We can't find out where he is," she stammered, trying to no avail to pull her forearms from his grip. He only tightened it, and now there was no question whether or not she'd have bruises.

"I know that. Knew that a week ago," he said. "I'll ask you again. What the fuck are you doing?" She sighed, shaking her head. "You know, I got to thinking…" he trailed off, pulling her from the chair and twisting her around and into a chair in the main cabin of the ship. "You said you didn't know how to pilot, right?" She swallowed thickly. "When I asked you a few hours ago?" She gave him a quick nod. His cheek twitched, and she didn't take that as a good sign. "See, you can't lie to me, Kat." His voice had dropped to a deep purr, yet another change that couldn't be a good sign. She was frozen under his gaze, only realizing that he'd gotten her right where he wanted her when she felt the cuffs go around her wrists again, twined around a bar at the back of the chair he'd wiggled her into. "I know that you can pilot." Her eyebrow rose slowly, and she stared up at him angrily. "You have your own ship, with a shit ton of modifications I'm guessing you made, and you expected me to believe you can't fly? Christ, Kat." His lips now hovered just a breath away from hers.

"I can't just pick up any ship and know how to fly it, Riddick," she snapped, turning her face away from his. Her brows furled as he grasped her chin, a little too hard, and turned her back to him. "You know how long it took me to learn how to fly that thing?"

"Aww," he crooned, bending to kiss along her neck, and her jaw clenched as she stared up at the ceiling. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"Fuck you," she spat weakly, hissing as he bit down on her shoulder hard enough to draw blood.

"You already have," he whispered, locking eyes with her as he backed up toward the doorway, not turning away from her until he was hidden in the shadows. She sighed, shaking her head.

---

Toombs stared at the blinking yellow light, eyeing the monitor suspiciously as though it were lying to him or pulling him into a trap. In all actuality, it could very well be a trap. It hadn't moved in two days now, and Toombs had spent the day and a half since he'd arrived hanging out in orbit, unsure of what to do. On one hand, judging from what he knew about his ship, Riddick could have stopped for repairs, and those would definitely take a few days once started. On the other hand, Riddick could have found Kat's remote and planted it to get him alone and vulnerable. He sighed, tearing his gaze away from the monitor only long enough to glance at the comm handset and sigh. Finally, he snatched it up and patched in to the control tower.

---

Kat sighed, testing the restraints again. Riddick had been gone for hours, and she'd had nothing to do but try to wriggle free and listen to the cruisers and skiffs landing and taking off every so often. A sudden thud in the belly of the ship drew her attention, and she stared at the doorway, her breathing slow and shallow to leave the room nearly silent, save the noises coming from down below. Boots thumped up the ladder, and a shadow stood in the doorway. Her eyebrow rose as Riddick stepped out of the shadows, holding brown paper bag in his hand.

"What's that?" she asked after a moment.

"Entertainment," came his gruff reply.

"Yours or mine?" He only shrugged, dropping the bag on the chair next to her. She watched in shock as he tied her feet down as well, not even bothering to try to fight him. "You gonna tell me what's in the bag?"

"You said you were bored," he said quietly, pulling the sleeve of her sweater up to bare her forearm. Her eyes widened as he pulled a needle and two pens out of the bag, along with a box of rubber bands, rubbing alcohol, a roll of medical tape and several boxes of gauze pads.

"Riddick?" she asked quietly. He only glanced up at her face quickly, leaving to retreat into the small bathroom. When he returned a few moments later with a disposable razor and a cup of water, she fought against the restraints as hard as she could, knowing they would cut into her wrists and scrape her up but too terrified and desperate to care.

"You done?" he asked after a moment, smirking as she stopped thrashing to stare up at him in horror. "It's not like you've never had it done before," he said, slowly sitting next to her and running the backs of his fingers down the outside of her thigh over one of her tattoos hidden under her cargos.

"It's different," she said, yanking her arm from his hand. "Those were voluntary." He reached for her arm again, and once he had a firm grasp on her, he pulled the cap off a syringe with his teeth, spitting it across the room. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to read the label, but it was moving too much. "What's that?" she demanded, trying again to pull her arm away.

"You keep fighting me and it's gonna hurt a lot worse," he cautioned. She scrunched her face up as he buried the needle in her arm, the liquid, whatever it was, stinging as he shot it into her. She writhed for a while as it burned up her arm, finally unable to make herself move, her eyelids drooping. "Now, it's not gonna knock you out, and it's not gonna kill the pain."

"It's a fucking sedative," she drawled, swallowing thickly. "You shot me up with a fucking tranquilizer." His chuckle sounded distorted to her, and she tried with all her strength to turn her head toward him. He planted a kiss on her forehead, and she couldn't do anything but watch as he shaved the top of her forearm and put together a makeshift tattoo machine.

---

Sometime in the middle of the process, she'd fallen asleep, and now as she drifted somewhere between reality and unconsciousness, she was dimly aware of the throbbing itch in her arm, the only thing telling her it really happened. She groaned, desperately trying to figure out which direction was up, since she hadn't yet been able to pry her eyes open. Finally, she got them apart just enough to make out blurry figures in the tiny strip of vision she had, slowly pulling her eyelids further and further apart. He'd left again, evidently, as the ship was dark and quiet. Then again, she thought, just because it was quiet and dark didn't mean he'd left. She rolled onto her back, somehow through the course of her nap twisting her restraints to let her lie on her side. Her eyes darted around as the fog cleared, and her ears strained to pick up the slightest sound.

"Riddick?" she called quietly, not hearing anything. She repeated his name louder, finally yelling it at the top of her lungs and getting nothing in return. She heaved a sigh, letting her head fall back to the chair, staring at the ceiling again for a while before struggling to get the tape holding the gauze pad to her arm between her teeth and rip it away. It took her a while to get it unstuck from her lip, and she finally dropped it to the floor, twisting her arm around to get a look at what he'd done to her while he had her drugged. It was still a little oozy and bloody, but she made out two small Rs linked together with a chain. "Shit," she muttered, dropping her head again.

---

Toombs waited until dusk before leaving Kat's ship, sneaking between all the other cruisers. He paused behind a tree and checked the mobile GPS unit he'd brought along after synchronizing it with Kat's computers. The yellow light still blinked steadily, and he sighed, glancing around the tarmac before sliding to a crouch as boots crunched in the sand. His eyes narrowed as Riddick looked around, pausing before disappearing into the hangar. He decided it would probably be best if he waited until Riddick left again, assuming he didn't notice he was being watched and try to leave, and just remained behind the tree, straining to hear something, anything that was going on inside that hangar.

---

Kat wriggled around, trying once more to loosen the ropes holding her ankles. Just as she thought she might be able to get loose, the hydraulics of the hatch groaned, and she froze, tilting her head to the side to hear better. Riddick appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he clicked his tongue at her.

"Couldn't wait until it started healing to find out what it was, huh?" he drawled, a sly smirk on his face.

"You're one sick fuck, you know that?" she spat, glowering up at him.

"At least I made it small enough for you to cover it up if you ever get yourself out of this mess," he said with a shrug, pushing away from the doorframe and walking toward her. She shifted, trying to re-establish blood flow to her toes, and a plastic clink on the floor caught his attention. Her stomach lurched as his eyes went to the object that skittered across the floor. "And what's this?" he asked quietly. Her jaw worked, but she couldn't think of anything to say as he stooped, holding up her precious remote as he righted himself.

"Um…" she finally managed. His eyebrow rose slowly before he looked down at the object he turned over and over in his hands.

"A remote control to what?" he demanded calmly, though she knew he had to be upset by now. No, not upset, pissed off. "Probably got GPS in it, right?" His eyes darted up to hers, watching her swallow thickly. He eyed her for a moment before chucking it against the wall. She cringed as it shattered, a red chip blinking regularly bouncing off the wall and landing at his feet. He bent to pick it up and flicked it a couple times. Her mouth fell open, stomach sinking as he easily snapped it in half and tossed it at her.

---

Toombs glanced down at his mobile unit as it beeped twice, and swore under his breath. The light had stopped blinking, meaning either her batteries died or he found out and destroyed the chip. He glanced around quickly, deciding against his better judgment and stealing toward the hangar. Luckily for him, there was a loose board in the wall, and he pried it open further, slipping in silently. He stared at the ship for a moment, watching for any movement in the cockpit before reaching out toward an access panel on the side of the ship.

---

Riddick's head jerked to the side as the ship started beeping loudly, and he swore over the annoying sound, launching himself into the pilot's chair to run diagnostics. She sighed in relief as the beeping stopped, and turned her head toward her captor.

"What is it?"

"The oxygen tanks are out," he said quietly.

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning I need to refill them," he answered in a growl. "Fuck. That'll take a good two or three hours." Her whole body tensed as she listened to him click at the keyboard, and she jumped as he rammed the keyboard back into its shelf with a roar, standing and thundering toward her, stopping at her feet and pointing a finger at her. "Don't you move a fucking muscle or I'll kill you," he threatened. She nodded quickly, and he took a few more steps toward the door before turning back to her. "Slowly." She let out a quick tantrum as he disappeared down the hallway, and settled back down.

---

Toombs peeked through a crack in the boards making up the old hangar, crouching a few planks away from his little sneak-in hole to watch. Riddick ripped open the panel and swore, quickly glancing around the hangar and immediately going to the handle Toombs had removed, leaving the valve open to spew the tanks' contents. It wasn't much time, but he hoped it would be enough. Riddick threw the handle across the hangar, and it bounced off a few things before landing with a dull ping in the dirt. He stomped up the ramp and was gone for a few moments before Toombs heard his footsteps return. He pressed against the side of the building, hiding between two bushes as Riddick headed toward the main store on the port campus. Luckily, Toombs had thought to check the store's logs before sabotaging the ship and known Riddick would have to go at least to another store off the port to get the valve handle replaced, meaning more time for him to find Kat. Once Riddick had entered the store, Toombs slipped back into the hangar, swearing at the realization that Riddick had remembered to close the hatch. He glanced around, finally digging through his pockets for his utility knife. His hands shook as he slid under the ship, making it harder to loosen the screws of the main access panel at the belly of the ship. Only six screws, but the trembles worked against him. He finally got it open and pulled it loose, sliding it next to him under the ship before hoisting himself up.

"Kat?" he called quietly, hearing nothing. "Fuck." He glanced around, his eyes finally falling on a ladder, and he darted toward it, moving quickly up into the main cabin. "Oh, shit," he sighed, this boots pounding as he went to her side. "Kat?" He shook her, but she didn't respond. His eyes focused on a small syringe tossed to the side, and he leaned over her to pick it up. Her body was still warm, chest rising and falling slowly, and the veins in her neck pulsed. She was alive, but out. He turned the syringe over in his fingers and shook his head. Tranquilizer. Son of a bitch. With his handy utility knife, he cut the ropes holding her feet to the chair and moved up to her arms, stopping in his tracks. "Damn." He reached out slowly, running his fingers over the cuffs. Time was running out and he knew it. She stirred, groaning in her sleep, and she shifted against him. "Hang on, doll," he whispered, crouching next to her chair to see what Riddick had tied her to. He held the metal bar of the back of the chair in his hand as he looked around for another option, quickly deciding there wasn't one. Luckily for him, his utility knife had a small hacksaw. He just hoped he could get it done quickly enough. He was about halfway through when the cuffs jerked in his hands, and he launched off the floor to look at her. She blinked a few times, mumbling something incoherent, and he took a precious moment to press his lips to hers and smooth her wet hair from her forehead. "Just hold still for me baby," he whispered quickly and harshly. "I'm almost done. Just stay still." She whimpered, but held still. Finally, he got the damn thing cut and worked the chain loose, hoisting her over his shoulder, an arm wrapped around the bend of her knees to hold her steady. Once he worked them both down the ladder, he glanced at the access panel still open and the hatch, still closed. He debated for a while, but the sound of approaching footsteps decided for him. With a grunt, he lowered her through the access panel and slid down next to her, quickly replacing the cover and leaving the screws loose. One more thing for Riddick to need to fix before taking off.

He gathered Kat into his arms, clamping one hand over her mouth and holding her wrists together with the other, the chain held a few inches off the ground in case she decided she wanted to move. Her eyes opened suddenly, and she struggled for a moment, the chains hitting the ground just as he shushed her, and just as the door to the hangar scraped open, covering the noise. Riddick's boots appeared next to the ship, within reach of the two hiding under the ship, and they both listened as he went to work on the oxygen tank handle. A few moments later, he grunted, the ship shuddering as the hatch lowered. Kat closed her eyes and concentrated on the wild thumps of the heart beating against her back and the footsteps thudding above her. Toombs closed his eyes, swallowing thickly as Riddick's steps stopped directly above them. His lips moved as he swore silently, the scrape of a metal tool drawer opening and the footsteps following the path back out to the hangar. Fifteen minutes later, they heard the hiss of the tanks refilling slowly and the satisfied grunt Riddick huffed, his boots lingering a moment before returning to the ship, the hydraulics groaning again. Toombs waited, his thighs squeezing into Kat's sides, until the hiss and click signaled a secure lock. He dumped her to his side and slid out from under the ship, quickly glancing up to the cockpit before reaching under and grasping her shirt, dragging her out from under the ship.

"I'm still not completely awake," she mumbled quietly, rubbing her legs.

"Can you stand?" She shrugged, glancing up at the ship. "Try." He caught her just as she started to fall, and flipped her over his shoulder again, pounding toward the hangar door. Just as he got to the tail of the ship, an arm darted out, catching him in the throat. Kat saw the ground quickly approaching and braced for impact, finding herself tangled in Toombs' limbs.

"Now, you didn't really fall for the whole 'hatch closed, he must be inside,' ploy, did you?" Riddick snarled, stepping out from behind the ship.