Immunity - Chapter 6
Disclaimer: Same as before. Don't own a thing.
Ailis took to walking the corridors of the space station. Not really paying attention to where she was going. She didn't even pay attention to the other people that were on the station. The words of her friends still running amok in her mind. 'Marry Richard, that's absurd. He'll never go for it. Even with me.'
Rounding a corner, Ailis was hit square in the back, landing face first to the floor, her Browning knocked out of its holster and skittering away down the corridor. Trying to turn over, she found a heavy boot pressing down into her back. The pressure making it hard to breathe.
"Scream, and I'll crush you." Came the deep , heavily accented voice.
"You know I never will." She ground out between breaths.
The pressure lifted and she turned over, getting a better look at her assailant. It was Marcus. The man was tall, over six feet, with dark hair cut close to his head. Ailis thought that it made his ears stick out more. He had a heavy, heavy Mexican accent. Marcus was a big man with huge, broad shoulders, easily outweighing Ailis by 100 kilos, if not more. He had a reputation for using his size as intimidation. That, and he was just plain evil.
Marcus pulled his boot off of Ailis' chest. Glancing up, Ailis noticed that he had a gun pointed at her. The same place his foot had just vacated. "What now, Marcus? Hmm? Come to threaten me again? I've already told you everything I know." Ailis wasn't afraid yet, just annoyed. She really didn't think that he'd do anything to her in public. "What do you want with me now?"
The man bent down and grabbed a handful of Ailis' hair, pulling her up by it. Ailis used both hands to try and pry his hands out of her hair. "You're such a bastard, you know that?" She spat through gritted teeth.
"You flatter me. You will come with me. Now." He continued to pull her up. Once she was standing fully, he let go of her hair. He then placed the gun in her back. Pushing her forward. "You see, I knew that following you would lead me to my prey." He pushed the gun further into her back. That will leave a mark. "Move."
Ailis stopped and stood still. Or tried to. "You know he's here. It's public knowledge. So what do you want with me?" Fear started to bubble in her stomach.
"You are going to ensure that I have Riddick's full cooperation." There was a sneer in his voice.
"You mean I'm bait." That much was clear. That meant that he was going to kill her this time, not just torture her. She tried to pull away from him but his grip was to strong.
"Yes, you are." Marcus pulled her close, circling one of his arms through hers, pinning it to her back. He brought a large hand up to her breast, giving it a hard squeeze. It was all Ailis could do not to cry out with the pain. Memories of their last encounter filled her mind. 'Oh god. Let him kill me quick. I can't go through this again.'
Her prayers were not answered. Marcus brought his mouth to Ailis' neck and started to kiss her. Taking nibbles that were more bites, leaving teeth marks along her jugular.
"Get your hands off my wife." Riddick had come around the corner and stood staring at the scene before him. He held her Browning loosely in his right hand. He was using every ounce of willpower he had not to launch himself at Marcus. He could smell Ailis' fear. Riddick knew that he was more dangerous than Marcus, but she wasn't afraid of him. She was afraid of Marcus.
"Your wife? Isn't that convenient. But, I will not take my hands away from her." He squeezed her breast again, this time bringing a cry of pain from Ailis. "See? She enjoys it. Just like last time."
Ailis looked at Riddick, then her gun. "Rid, don't shoot him." She was breathing heavily, partially because of the position of her body, but mostly because of the pain.
He sneered at Marcus. "I ain't gonna shoot nobody. Not yet anyway." Ailis thought she had never seen him look so dangerous. He had his goggles on, so she couldn't read his eyes. Which was probably just as well. "What do you mean 'last time?' You raped her didn't you?"
Laughing, Marcus suddenly released Ailis, pushing her into the nearest wall. Hitting with such force, she lost her breath as she sunk to the floor. The world around her seemed to be spinning as she forced the rising nausea down. "Of course I raped her, it was delicious, she was delicious."
Finally gaining her senses, she turned to face the two men. They were facing each other like gunslingers. Marcus had his weapon raised, Riddick didn't. 'Why didn't he?', Ailis wondered. The Browning was still held loosely at his side. All Ailis could do was watch helplessly as these two towering men battled it out.
Riddick was still, trying to plan his next move. Scanning the area, he noticed spectators were starting to arrive to watch the show. He felt Ailis' eyes on him. He wanted to throw her weapon to her, but Marcus was in the way. Instead, he tossed the Browning in the opposite direction, behind him, hoping his backup was there.
The corridor was getting noisy. But Riddick didn't let it distract him. The news had spread like fire. Richard Riddick was about to kill. It was something that nobody got to see and live. It was something EVERYBODY wanted to see. Steven and several military police had finally managed to push their way to the front of the crowd. All were stunned to Riddick standing aside watching the scene.
Riddick may not have been distracted by the crowd, but Marcus was. The mob was getting bigger, noisier. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ailis rise and rush towards him. He swung at her. She swept his arm to one side, past her. She then brought her knee up into his stomach, hard. She stumbled back and Marcus ended on all fours, trying to catch his breath. His weapon having been knocked out of his hand.
As Marcus dropped to all fours, Ailis swept her boot out, catching Marcus in the right elbow. The joint snapped, the force bringing his face into the ground. Blood and teeth were forced out of his mouth. Ailis staggered back just a bit, pulling a small dagger out of her boot.
As soon as he saw Ailis stagger, Riddick tried to move forward. He had eyes only for Ailis. He didn't see Steven and the MP's come up and hold him back.
"No, Rid, this is for her." Steven said calmly as the MP's put cuffs on him.
Riddick tried to lunge forward, but was stopped by the two big men. "Shit, Doc, let me go." He growled.
Steven was calm. "No. I'm not going to let you send yourself back to slam." Riddick gave him a glare. "No. Watch her. Really watch her. And remember what I was telling you about that DNA marker. And that mark on her shoulder." Riddick paled at that. "Look at it. It's almost healed. She seems to have some of your fast recuperative abilities." Both men, and everyone else present, had their eyes on Ailis to see what she would do.
She didn't wait to surprise them more. Marcus was spitting blood, trying to get up, his right arm obviously broken. Ailis moved quickly to him, bringing his left arm behind him, bent at a painful angle. She placed her knife tip into the soft spot under Marcus' chin. The tip of the blade drawing blood.
Gasping for breath, Marcus was trying to speak, trying to breathe. Looking directly into Riddick's eyes, she bent low to Marcus' ears. "I could push this blade up into you brain." She whispered.
Riddick thought he saw something slide behind her eyes. Something animal. He knew that look, he had it himself. "Shit, Doc, we have to stop her. She's gonna kill him." Steven nodded and the two MP's released Riddick's handcuffs. He moved slowly to where Ailis had Marcus held.
Marcus suddenly coughed, and the blade pushed in further. He hissed in pain. His eyes darting everywhere. He wasn't sure who the real evil was here. He felt the blade slide deeper into his chin. Another hiss of pain escaped his lips. Ailis smiled.
"Ailis, don't." This was from Steven, who had pushed himself away from the crowd. He was trying to catch her attention as Riddick slid beside her. "You know you don't need to do this." He was rushing forward with several Military Police. He stopped about five feet from the three.
Riddick stepped right next to Ailis, gently taking her hand off the dagger. He pulled the blade out of the man's chin, bringing more pain. Riddick then scooped his other arm around Ailis, drawing her away from Marcus. "It's over. You don't have to kill him." The two were then shoved back to let the military police move forward and take Marcus into custody.
Riddick let himself be pushed away. He drew Ailis into his arms. Never in his life would he have backed down from a fight like this. But, something in him had told him that she could handle it. Gazing down at the woman in his arms, he wondered if he was indeed becoming weak.
Suddenly, he felt Ailis shaking. He quickly pushed off his goggles and bent to look at her face. Sure enough, she was crying. He could no longer sense her fear or her anger, so he really had no idea why she was crying. "Hey." He said as gently as he could.
Ailis looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Her face broke out in a huge smile. That one that lit up rooms.
"Keep that up and I'll have to put the goggles back on. What's it for?"
"You said 'wife.'" She whispered.
Ahh, now he got it. "Yes, I did." He pulled her again to his chest. Richard B. Riddick had just rejoined the human race. Voluntarily.
A/N: This is it. Completed. I have more Riddick/Ailis tales. The Beast Within is actually one.
