(A/N: To those who reviewed, thanks. I like the Hacker vs. Murderer thing too...you can be a criminal in any area.)
LANGUAGE IS A LITTLE MORE IN THIS CHAPTER. Be careful around the kids.
I felt a trickle down my back. The sharp end of the expected shiv had penetrated me slightly, causing blood to seep from the small cut.
"I saw you," I said firmly and I could feel his breath right behind my ear. He laughed lightly and gently gripped my arm, pulling me between a break in the bars of the rib.
"What happened to your finger?" He leaned against the wall of the hole, relaxing his spine, muscles rippling in a smooth motion. I cocked an eyebrow and crossed my legs under me.
"My merc shot it off when I was caught," I answered him, "but I never found it." Riddick smiled, removing his round goggles in the shade. His silvery pools wavered and then turned up into his head. He closed his lids and rested his head against a rock. "Riddick, how did you get away?"
His head snapped back up at the question. He swallowed. "Had to kill a few people," he replied but I didn't flinch. He read the message in my eyes and laughed, "No, baby, you don't wanna kill anybody. You got too much to live for."
"Give me one thing," I spat back.
"Those pretty little shit eyes you got goin'. And a fuck of a lot of hacking skills. Shit, I know boys'd pay one mil to have you mess up a few computers with some nasty records on 'em."
"You do?" I needed that money. But of course I had to get out of Hell first.
"You thinkin' about going back to it?" he asked.
"I can't use these pretty little shit eyes for much, can I?"
"I can think of a few things." Ass. But I had asked for it. "But you gotta do something for me before I give you any names."
"I don't swallow." He cocked an eyebrow at my retort but continued.
"You help me off this planet without Johns and I'll give you a name. No tricks. Once we get that ship outta this air, the name is yours." He held out his thick hand. It took me a few moments to decide. Was I really going to risk my ass for this? A measly name on a piece of paper that may or may not be the hand that feeds me. But I needed it desperately. I wasn't going to starve again.
I was wary. I didn't like deals.
"Let me think about it." His jaw locked at this response.
"And as an extra, I'll get rid of your merc. Guy's a bastard to you."
"He's a bastard to everyone. Doesn't like criminals or women – I'm his whole package."
"And his pretty payday." And with that, he had disappeared. In a blink.
"What the fuck are you doing, Murphy? Talking to yourself?" Royston's fat head appeared on the other side of the bones and I gritted my teeth. Mumbling choice words under my breath, I scooted from the small opening and stood in the bright sun, next to my cop and the rest of our group.
"It's a settlement." All our heads snapped in the direction Carolyn had her eyes trained at. A lump of buildings were in the distance, blocking out some of the sunlight.
"Look." Johns held a plant in his hand. But my heart skipped a beat as I walked closer to examine. Strings torn and the leather peeled back revealing a thick core...a kid's baseball. But something else caught my eye. Shining in the distance...
The blasts seemed so sudden it made me jump slightly. It made us all lurch forward and then turn around.
"What the fuck?" Johns began running back toward the crashed ship and we all followed, almost clipping at his heels. By the time we reached the site, my lungs were burning. Another shot. This time, fuller and a lot longer. The dark-haired woman, Shazza, was screaming hysterically, blood covering the front of her shirt and her hands coated in the red liquid. Everyone else was cowering. But Johns and Royston were gone. Running behind some spires, I could see them hovering over a large body, legs extended and kicking the living shit of it.
"Hey!" The words escaped my mouth before I could stop myself. Anger blazed in Royston's eyes; he came straight for me and gave me a quick view of the victim. Riddick. Lying there, letting these two asswipes kick him into oblivion. Roy's hands gripped the back of my skull and I plummeted to the ground, face-first.
"You two married now?" Royston's voice was harsh and irate, his weight focused on crushing the bottom of my spine. He sat down on my back roughly and the pain stabbed me sharply. I snapped, my mind switching and blinding my vision. I wasn't a fucking pony and he wasn't going to ride me anymore. I remembered turning onto my stomach but the rest was lost to me. But I did know that I ended up straddling the bastard's chest, his hidden .35 pointed to his temple, and my hand around his throat, pushing hard.
"Stop doing that!" is all I could scream. My mind was high on adrenaline and his eyes were almost bugging out of the sockets. I could hear the cocking of a gun behind me and I swiftly turned to Johns, barrel pointed right between his eyes. "Do it. I dare you." Johns let his shotgun go lax and I pointed the gun to Riddick's head. He cocked his head slightly and I looked back at Royston.
"What's...?" Carolyn approached us and her mouth dropped. I dropped the gun on Royston's chest and stood up. I was swaying, my body still shaking from the burst of adrenaline to every nerve and she looked at me.
"Self-defense," I replied and she approached a coughing Royston and Johns, who was cuffing Riddick and putting his shotgun away.
"That bitch is going to die," Royston sputtered, standing and grabbing his gun. Carolyn quickly grabbed his arm, lowering the gun target from my head to the ground.
"NO ONE is killing ANYONE." She looked sternly at all of us and I nodded, taking a deep breath. I hadn't held a gun in a long time. It felt dead in my hands; but I felt powerful beyond all reason. Riddick and I were herded back into the ship and chained accordingly, mine being tied extra tight by an over-zealous, angry merc. He leaned close to my face and I could see the bruises from my hand on his neck.
"When I get you back, that other finger is coming off. I'll feed you to the dogs." He spit in my face violently and stomped up the stairs, slamming the hatch shut.
It was silent, only the sounds of footsteps above echoing through the bottom of the ship. I lifted my head to look at Riddick, who stared coldly at me.
"You got a deal."
The corners of his lips curled upward.
"Where'd you learn to handle a pistol like that?" He leaned forward. I scowled.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"But I do."
I kept my silence. The guy was treading on sensitive territory. But was insistent.
"Look, I only seen that kind of handiwork from old cons on Demos. You got the mark?"
"No."
"Then how'd you do it?"
"Paid for it."
He chuckled. "You paid to handle a gun like that?"
"I needed it."
"For what? To impress a boyfriend?"
My blood was boiling. "I just did. My mother..." oh shit. My lips snapped shut. His brows raised and I could predict the words before they left his mouth.
"So you did have a happy family before computers? How sweet."
"Riddick, I swear to God if you ever want to see again, you'll shut the fuck up." Ice. His eyes froze and I could tell he wasn't taking the threat lightly. The little girl in me wanted to sink, soften, crumble at his feet and start bawling. God, it would feel SO good for a cry right about now. Before I knew it, his face was right against mine.
"I'd split your big ass in half before you even took a step." I have a big ass? NO. I was being threatened...I was supposed to be frightened. But all I wanted to do now was cry about how he had said I had a big ass and teased me about my mother.
But our stares were firm. His cold, mine fiery and burning into each other's skin. My tongue worked against my teeth to reply.
"Well my big ass is tired of all this bullshit you're spitting. I'll make your Code so twisted in the system that everyone will be clamoring for a piece of your fat skull." Touché. Riddick sat back and ground his jaw loudly. I thought he was going to explode, rip from his bonds, and tear me into small pieces, spilling my brains and guts all over the tubes around us. But he was silent, which was just as terrifying.
"You get Johns. I'll take out your merc. No funny shit. I keep you a secret, you keep me one."
"Deal." I didn't want to fuck up this relationship. He looked me over.
"You do have a big ass, Murphy."
"You have a fat skull, Riddick."
- - -
She came clamoring down the steps and it woke me from a short cat nap.
"So where is he?" Carolyn had her hands on her waist, leaning against a cooling tube. I blinked myself awake and looked at my cracked watch. I had been out for about half an hour, good as of late. Sleeping hadn't really been a necessary action. Who? But I could see was intent on Riddick answering. He sat there, eyes closed and she sighed.
"Fine. If you don't want to talk to me about what you heard..."
"The whispers," he interrupted and Carolyn seemed interested now.
"What whispers?"
"The ones tellin' me to go for the sweet spot - just to the left of the spine, fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta. What a gusher."
I could feel ice in my veins. Shit, this guy murdered people, not just killed them. I swallowed and watched her face pale. I wondered how white mine had turned. I had balls; enough balls to tell this crazy bastard he had a "fat skull" but when he spoke...chilled my blood. Despite being in the Slam, I was a major pussy when it came to some things.
"Human blood – got a coppery taste to it, almost metallic. But if you cut it with peppermint schnapps, that goes away."
My heart was in my throat. Riddick couldn't have killed that man. I would have smelled it on his breath. Blood had a sickening smell – like old, musty attics which you explored as a little kid. Riddick didn't seem like the type to kill and boast.
"Let's try the truth." Carolyn was slightly agitated now. Hate to see her when she's really pissed.
Sarcasm aside, Riddick shifted. "You know, most of you people are scared of me. And most days, I'd take that as a compliment, but it ain't me you gotta be scared of."
"Where is he?" Gritting.
"He's in the hole."
"He's not in the hole. We looked."
"Look deeper."
She stalked away.
- - -
"Ultimatum, Murphy." Royston was stocking his shotgun with big blue shells the size of hot dogs. Cool as they went into the barrel but hot when they shattered your brain into tiny pieces. He snapped the gun shut and put it on his shoulder. "You help Johns and me, I help you. No funny shit. You try me again, you'll be in the nastiest asshole of a cell I can find in the Slam."
I nodded. It was the only thing I could muster up to cover up my apathy. Royston was a liar; I didn't believe half the shit he promised because he never kept promises. Mercs didn't keep anything, except dirty money. And that's what I was. He shoved me hard between the shoulder blades and I stumbled through the ship and to the sun. It singed my skin and I shielded my eyes, walking toward the camp.
"Remember, sweetheart." Riddick was suddenly behind me, rubbing his wrists. I nodded.
"I know. My loyalty doesn't lie with a merc."
"I don't want your loyalty."
"I'm not giving it to you. I'm loyal to myself. And you just happen to be more appealing at the moment." He smiled. We approached the group of people, who became silent at our appearance. Johns came up, laying a bundle of cords and a power cell in front of me.
"Hope you ain't tired."