Disclaimer: Don't own TCOR – but Merrick, Marcus, Jonesy and the guards are products of my own imagination so if you want to borrow them, lemme know first.
Summary: Six years can be a long time. A long time away from him. A long time for something to go wrong. AU that picks up right after Dark Fury - some TCOR spoilers.
Pairings: slight R/J
Warnings: Language, mild violence…
Authors Note: Okay, I've taken a few liberties this time around with the set up of the slam and how the guards do business – nothing too big, I don't think, but I couldn't remember enough details from the movie to get it perfect… so I fudged a few things. Hopefully it's nothing too glaring, but if you see something majorly wrong let me know and I'll work on fixing it if I can. Also I apologize if this feels a bit choppy in places – there were so many things going on at once that the only way I could write it out the same way it was playing out in my mind was to jump back and forth between scenes. Thanks again for all the feedback!
Chapter Five: Cheap Shots
"So what'll it be, gents?" Toombs clapped his hands together. "One mil, or one point two?"
A Russian guard by the name of Mikael, set down a handheld vid screen displaying Riddick's stats and sordid convictions. He glanced back and forth between the lanky form of Toombs and the bound prisoner, scratching thoughtfully at the two days worth of stubble adorning his chin.
"Five hundred," he countered.
As if on cue, a portly guard who stood behind Riddick, chains in hand, grabbed the prisoner roughly by the shoulder and guided him towards the center of the room. When he moved to attach the chains to his wrists, Toombs held up a hand.
"Hold up there, tubby," he interjected, ignoring the negotiations for a moment. "Lowering him in by his wrists is too good for this jackass."
Riddick shifted his mercurial gaze towards the merc, a motion concealed by his dark goggles. What was Toombs up to?
"Tie the bastard up by his ankles with this," Toombs removed a length of rope that he'd worn slung over his shoulder since they left the ship and tossed it to the large man.
It was then that Riddick understood the action, if not the motive behind it.
The merc was actually helping him.
He turned towards Riddick with a wink, "Consider it payback for that cheap shot earlier, sweetheart."
The guard looked to Mikael, who nodded his head in approval. "Do it, Uri."
He laughed and obliged, feeling slight pity for the man he was about to lower into the slam. New additions always took a beating until they were let loose or freed themselves from their restraints. This poor bastard would never be able to defend himself upside down.
The guard nodded to Toombs. "You're a sick man, no?"
The merc only chuckled. "So what do you say to nine hundred?"
x x x x x x x
"Well, well, well," came a voice from behind her. "Look what we have here, Jonesy."
Kyra spun around, threw the owner of the voice against a wall, and had a shiv pressed to his adam's apple before he could find the time to react.
"A saucy minx, aren't you?" he said carefully. His friend stepped out from the camouflage of a nearby shadow, approaching slowly.
"Marcus," Jonesy said, warning in his tone.
"Another step and your friend here gets a new hole to breathe out of."
He held up his hands in surrender and came to a stop, a smirk planted firmly upon his face.
He took another step. She cut the other man's throat.
Just a nick this time, nothing fatal, but Marcus grabbed at his throat and staggered to the side, just out of her grasp.
Jonesy arched a brow, slightly surprised. "A girl that's not afraid to play with knives. I like that in a woman."
"She fuckin' sliced me man!" Marcus said, ripping a piece of his sleeve so he'd have something to press against the wound. "You're gonna pay for that one, you bitch."
"A warning," she said, sending a glare in his direction. "Next time, I'll finish the job."
She turned to walk away, and Marcus launched himself at her.
x x x x x x x
Merrick climbed down to ground level, all the while envying Kyra's agility. Sliding down six levels in as many seconds sure beat taking two minutes to climb down a rickety ladder.
Somewhere up above a machine whirred to life, creating a circular opening in the floor of the control tower.
"Ahh," he said, craning his neck and watching as a man was lowered through the gap. "Fresh fish."
He glanced around. Other convicts had noticed the new arrival as well and were lining the terraces to get a better look, beginning a steady pounding against the railings.
"Upside down?" he muttered to himself, then started walking off in the direction Kyra had vanished. "Won't want to be him in about five minutes."
x x x x x x x
Riddick took in his new surroundings as he was lowered down into the bowels of the slam.
Quaint.
He'd definitely been in worse.
Trying to ignore the rush of blood that was making its way through his head, he pulled himself upward and reached his rope bound wrists in the direction of his boots.
Missed.
He growled and tried again, this time his fingertips grabbed hold of something cool and slick. Pulling the shiv from his boot he easily cut off his bindings, leaving only his feet tied to the rope that continued lowering him at a steady clip. Had they used chains, he would have been forced to find another way to release himself. Not impossible, just more time consuming.
Screech.
The ancient machinery ground to a halt, stopping the decent and causing him to sway from side to side like a pendulum.
Still too high to cut the rope and be able to stick the landing, he had no choice but to wait.
He sighed. "Just take the money, Toombs."
x x x x x x x
"What do you mean seven-fifty?" Toombs said, lowering a fist to the table and leaning forward in what he hoped was a menacing fashion. "The behemoth is worth nine hundred at least."
Mikael shrugged. "We just paid for two new cons last week. Not enough money in the budget to pay more than seven-fifty, so take it or leave it."
Toombs mumbled something under his breath which vaguely resembled the phrase, "Fuckin' Russians."
"Alright," he conceded. "Seven-fifty it is."
"Always a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Toombs," he said, gesturing for one of the guards to step forward. "Alexai here will show you to a room where you can rest for a few hours before departing. Oh and Alexai?"
"Yeah, boss?"
"Tell Vladimir the dogs could use some exercise, will you?"
"Sure thing, boss."
x x x x x x x
The machine once again whirred to life and Riddick continued the slow decent.
Somewhere, an alarm started ringing, barely audible over the steady pounding of tin cups on metal railings.
Barely heard, but it was loud enough.
Within moments, the men who'd been lining the aisles disappeared from sight. Riddick quirked a brow in amusement. This ought to be interesting.
x x x x x x x
Marcus slammed full force into Kyra's back, knocking her to the ground and sending the shiv flying from her hand.
The breath knocked out of her, she struggled to regain her senses and rolled onto her back.
Before she could reach for the fallen shiv, Marcus had straddled her and placed his own blade at her throat.
He sneered. "Not so tough when the tables get turned are ya', baby?"
"I'm not your baby," Kyra snarled.
"Shut up!" Marcus barked, using his free hand to slap her across the face.
As she struggled to get her arms free, she began raising her leg in the hopes of grabbing him by the neck and rolling him backwards. An attempt that was stifled by Jonesy as he stepped down hard on her ankle before it had lifted more than a couple inches. There was a sickening crack and she bit down hard on her lip, swallowing the pain as best she could.
"You two really enjoy taking cheap shots, don't you?" she spat, continuing to squirm under Marcus' weight. "Real 'kick 'em when they're down', kind of guys."
A shadow fell over the three, and both Jonesy and Marcus turned to identify the source.
"Let. Her. Go," a rumbling voice demanded.
When they didn't respond, the man stepped closer, a sliver of light separating his face from the shadow and shining a rather menacing reflection off of the machete in his hand.
Merrick continued to walk closer and the two men exchanged something of a panicked look.
"Alright, man. Alright," Marcus said, climbing off of Kyra and taking a step back. He held up his hands in a placating gesture of surrender. "We were just having a bit of fun, that's all."
"Beat it, pukes," he ordered in a low voice. As an alarm began to echo through the corridor, the two men turned and hurried off.
Merrick watched them go with an amused expression on his face. He looked down at Kyra, who was still sprawled out on the floor staring angrily at the ceiling. She looked pissed.
His face appeared hovering before her line of sight, his trademark grin firmly in place. "And what might this be, doll? It couldn't be… No… It could never be the day, could it? The same one you swore would never happen?"
"Shut up and give me a hand, would ya'?" she snapped as she struggled to sit up. He offered her his hand and she climbed to her feet. When she tried putting weight on the ankle Jonesy had crushed, she let out a growl of annoyance.
"Dammit!"
"Can you walk?"
"Not really," she said, trying to walk as best she could.
Merrick thought for a moment, glancing up and down the corridor as the alarm droned on.
"We'll have company here soon," he said. "I know you'll be fine, but I've got to get out of sight."
"Just go," she said, leaning against the wall for support. "I'll find you when it's over."
x x x x x x x
Riddick sliced the ropes binding his ankles and flipped lithely to the ground below.
As he removed the last of his restraints, a low rumble cut through the sound of the siren. This time, it wasn't Riddick doing the growling.
He turned to face a large dog. Or what might once have been a dog, before numerous genetic recombinations. The overgrown beast was only a few feet away and closing, but Riddick wasn't all that concerned.
He crouched down, staring the animal directly in the eye. For a few moments nothing and no one moved. Finally, the dog whimpered and bowed his head. Walking forward, Riddick rubbed the animal's neck in a soothing manner. The creature licked his hand and then started backing away.
"Only one other person I know who can do that," a voice called from the entrance to the corridor.
As the beast turned around and started back for its cage, Merrick stepped closer. "You're him aren't you?"
Riddick only looked at him.
"You're Kyra's Riddick."