Riddick came between River and Floyd as they walked and looked down at her in concern. They were close to the coordinates Waller had given them which meant they were headed for another fight. The last thing River needed was her mind going haywire with overload because of the mess they were all in. "All right?"
"Will live," She nodded again. "No time for respite." No lie in her scent, some pain but not a lot. And she wasn't mixing her pronouns either. But if she needed a break, more than the little one establishing that metas were better anchors than humans…
"We will make time if we have to," He told her firmly.
"Hopefully, not necessary," River shook her head. "We must be ready for a fight."
"We're always ready for a fight," Waylon growled from behind her and Harley grinned.
"Truer words ain't ever been spoken."
They'd managed to get to the front plaza of the building where HVT-1 was located and Flag called a halt, "Take a knee." He pointed at the building, "Our body's at the top of that building. We get up there... Pull them out of the vault they're hiding in. Shuttles extract us off the roof." He made a dusting motion with his hands, "It's huān lè shí guāng."
"Who's up there," Mal gave the building a suspicious look. John F Ostrander Alliance Building, could it be anymore foreboding for Browncoats and sympathizers, not to mention the assorted convicts?
"It's none of your concern," Flag shook his head and spoke into his earwig. "Waller? We're about to enter the building. Get that shuttle ready."
Mal rolled his eyes at the Colonel and tilted his head at River, Riddick and the rest of the Squad. His little girl grinned and slanted a mischievous look over her shoulder at Deadshot.
The assassin smirked back and strode forward as if just as impatient as Mal, "What you say we get this over with?" He muttered in Flag's ear as he kept walking towards the building.
"What the hell?" Confounding Flag could be a lot of fun, "Deadshot. Fall back."
Proving once again that dealing with this group of killers was more like herding cats than running a unit, Deadshot ignored him.
Finally Flag stood and gestured for the rest of them to get going, taking his place next to the assassin, "You mind if we tag along?"
Mal approved of the way the Purplebellies dispersed themselves around the Squad, none of them too close. Grouping together was an excellent way to attract grenades. Riddick and River… if she hadn't made it plain that she followed him, either she or Riddick would have commanded the Squad, with Floyd Lawton right behind them. Waylon was bigger but uninterested, Chato arguably more dangerous and again uninterested, and Harkness too unreliable, Harley would be too busy playing mind games to lead.
But Riddick, River or Floyd had that quality, knowledge or strength of will, maybe just the spine enough to do what needed to be done and live with it, if it mean getting their people through something alive. Maybe Flag had that, with his men, his people, Katana followed him for a reason. Nothing that could be seen now, but for a few sardonic remarks and a concern for his men.
River and Floyd were both scanning the upper levels of the atrium, their training coming into play, especially as the two of them had experience as snipers. Riddick's glowing eyes stared around the ground level, peering into the shadows before he scanned the upper levels. Flag had gotten busy with the guard/reception desk, bringing up the layout of the building and where HVT-1 was located.
Chato and Waylon had stationed themselves near Mal and Chato nodded towards Flag and Katana while Digger looked at the schematics. "Get the feelin' he knows more than he's tellin'?" Chato nodded towards Flag.
Mal slanted a wry half smile at the self-named 'El Diablo', "You think?" He quipped but nodded all the same. "Yeah, I got the same feeling." He looked over at River who met his gaze, "And so does she."
"She can't get it out of him?" Waylon rumbled curiosity almost buried under the rasping growl of his voice.
"As I understand it, it's hard to Read stuff that ain't being actively thought about," Mal took in the postures of the Purplebellies. It had not been an easy walk to the building. The men were tired, GQ and Leila were doing all right, but the entire situation wore on folk who weren't used to everything going wrong at once. Clearly life as a surviving Independent did more to prepare a body for a 'gone-to-the-dogs' situation than the easy Alliance life. Even if they were soldiers. War, horrifying yeah, but the atrocities men could commit against each other in peacetime, in the name of a greater good, made war crimes look like stealing candy. "So whatever he knows, unless he thinks about it, she might not be able to pick it up."
"Great," Riddick had come up behind him and Mal hadn't even noticed, jumping about a foot as the huge man's voice sounded damn near in his ear. "So we got secrets, he's got secrets, this is gonna turn into a clusterfuck."
"Gǒu niáng yǎng de--," Mal cursed and caught himself. "Don't do that." All he got in response was a dark smirk from the aforementioned gǒu niáng yǎng de."
"But he ain't wrong," Chato agreed.
"Looks like they finally got somewhere with the schematics, let's see what's up," Riddick nodded towards the desk area.
"They'd'a let River deal with the gorram thing it'd've been done in less'n half the time," Mal muttered the complaint quietly and got a smirk of commiseration from Riddick.
The cameras didn't show much in the way of movement, not anywhere. Mal rubbed the back of his neck against the feel of someone walking over his grave. Digger, of course, couldn't keep his mouth shut, "Looks like we have a spot of luck, eh?" He looked around with a grin just short of shit-eating, "Be a walk in the park. Easy peasy."
Mal, Flag and River all gave him identical looks that said for him to shut his mouth. Riddick growled and fingered one of his ever present shivs meaningfully. Floyd simply stared at the man, "Don't make me shoot you."
"Bì zuǐ," Riddick snarled at the same time. Digger just chuckled, unfazed by the malevolent aggravation aimed in his direction.
After a moment's study of the schematic they began to make their careful way across the lobby floor. And then of course, something had to go wrong. Harley deciding to take the elevator up did not fit in the plan. Mal had no doubt she was up to something, she'd been way too quiet on the shuttle ride in, and most likely involving the Joke. He could use just a little less excitement in his life, he decided as he watched the scantily clad young woman from his position on the ground floor.
The perfect touch was Harley's little wave and happy grin as she rode up the glass lift.
"Seriously," Floyd shook his head as they all began to rush the stairs.
"Yeah," Mal agreed. "Let's just be ready for any surprises. River says Harley's almost as smart as she is. And she's twice as manipulative."
"Oh, there's some good news," Riddick quipped from behind them.
"You want good news watch the puppet theatre they call a broadwave cast these days," Mal sniped back.
River was giggling as she ran along with them, "Not everything is plots and plans. Though much is." She slanted a glance in the direction of the elevator. "Not as easy a time of it as she thought though."
"And am I right," Mal wanted to know as they hit another flight of stairs.
"Not wrong," River told him. "Timing is everything."
"Nǐ tā mā de tiān xià suǒ yǒu de rén dōu gāi sǐ," Mal cursed again as they ran.
"Yeah, I don't see that going well," Riddick agreed. Well that surely made him feel better, River's big hún dàn of a partner thinking the same thing he was. Not by much, but some better at least.
The Captain increased the speed of his pace, "Pick it up or we'll die of old age."
When Harley stepped out the elevator they saw what River had meant. While their charge up the stairs had been tiring, it had also been relatively uneventful. Harley, however, had to deal with the attention a rising elevator drew, and a few subsequent attacks.
Riddick exchanged an amused look with River as Harley hopped out of the lift with a chipper, "Hey, guys!" The one-time gymnast and psychiatrist strutted past them, "Come on. Let's go."
He smirked as Lawton, Waylon, Mal and Flag regarded Harley with identical expressions of frustration. Funny as hell, seeing the same thing on four different faces.
River grinned up at him, "Dichotomy of different race, upbringing, genetics versus all being male and annoyed with the female."
"Get the feeling they'd be the same way no matter what her sex was," Riddick commented as they took rear guard.
The route Flag had mapped out took them through a suite of offices and a bullpen set up for desks, what was it about Alliance buildings that everything looked the same? Riddick shifted, inhaling and caught a whiff of that same odd stench he'd smelled on the streets. "Somethin' ain't right," He muttered.
Waylon had been doing the same thing, scenting the air, "Them things, close by…" He agreed.
He didn't need to hear the alert from Flag's comm unit, "I got motion detectors going off on the secure floors. Flag. They're all around you."
"Hold," Flag held up a hand.
The comm continued advising, "Use extreme caution."
"Yeah, as opposed to merrily charging in all crazy," Mal muttered, maybe to himself. GQ and Leila shook their heads in amusement, despite the situation, guns at the ready. "We gotta keep moving Flag, we stand still we're even more of a target," He informed the Colonel.
"They are all around," River murmured, and Riddick gave her a sharp look.
"I don't like this, Flag," Lawton hadn't missed that either.
"I don't like it either." Not exactly a reassuring reply. River tilted her head and eyed the ceiling meaningfully and Riddick bit back a curse.
Lawton was taking out his mask with the built-in targeting and Harley, likely from pure reflex, taunted him, "Pussy."
"I will knock your ass out," Floyd's voice, even and controlled, said more than his words. "I do not care that you're a girl."
Mal had gotten them moving again by dint of pushing forward, the soldiers following his lead, but too late. The damn drop ceiling caved in on them bringing dozens of the enemy with them. And of course, everyone with a gun unloaded on the enemy. Problem was, since the things were everywhere, you ran a high probability of shooting an ally. Riddick pulled the shivs he carried, noting River had her sword and axe out, and went back to back with her.
Thankfully, after the initial frenzy of gunfire, the Purplebellies got their act together and reacted more professionally. Lawton gave a shout, more irritation than dismay, "They're after Flag again!"
Mal had the Purplebellies holding position, taking out the enemy in a good methodical fashion. Riddick and River, along with Katana were holding the rear.
Flag's curses filled the air, "Gǒu niáng yǎng de! Get off me!"
Chato hadn't used his flames yet but the Grizzly he carried did very nicely instead. Mal shouted to the rest of the Squad, "Get Flag, we'll cover you."
He and River couldn't disengage without opening a hole in the line and he said so, "Deadshot, you got this?"
"On me," Deadshot shouted back as he shot down the enemy. "Put him behind me," He called to KC as the huge meta grabbed for Flag and dragged him away from the creepazoids. Harley covered him while she and Harkness hauled the Colonel up. "Circle up! Circle around him!"
"Let me fight!" Flag's hollering didn't make it easier for the Squad to protect him, nor did his trying to use his one weapon.
Riddick mentally blessed Floyd's quick mind as the assassin retorted, "You die, we die." Not that there was a whole lot of time to dwell on details but he'd rather Flag continued to believe they had that explosive nanite in their necks. The longer the Colonel believed it the better off they were.
Chato had been using his weapon to good effect, covering GQ, Leila and Mal as they reloaded until the creepazoid monster enemy had either fallen back or been killed.
"Clear up," Mal shouted from his end of the wrecked office space. With no response he repeated himself, louder, "Clear Up!"
"Clear down," The call came back from the opposite side, the huge black head of Bravo waving back.
"Right, bandages, reload, breathe for two seconds and then we move out," Mal ordered. "River, you and Harley got the most medical experience. Anyone else with knowledge or skill speak up. We'll need every bit of help before this is over."
Riddick lifted his hand and got a shocked look from Flag and Katana, "You think finding the sweet spot is pure dumb luck?" He shook his head and moved to the nearest Purplebelly, checking the wound to his shoulder and slapping sealant over it after soaking it with cleanser. "Gotta study anatomy to get as good at killing as I am."
Waylon was helping someone up, "Think this one's got a fractured arm, got slammed into something."
River and he converged on the soldier and Waylon, River expertly feeling along the man's forearm, "Slight fracture, movement is good," The man obligingly wiggled his fingers and River turned to her Captain, "Bà ba need the cast bandages."
"Gotta set it first," Riddick reminded her. He looked at Waylon, "Hold him steady, shoulder, upper arm, while I put it in place."
The other meta nodded and got a firm grip while Riddick grasped the man's arm below the elbow and above the wrist, "On three," He told the man. "One…" A quick jerk and the bone was snapped into place completely.
Blood welled up from the soldier's lip as he bit it in an effort to contain the shout of agony. "Thought you said on three," He gasped a protest.
"Yeah, so you wouldn't tense up and make it worse," Riddick shrugged as River began to wrap the cast bandages around the man's arm. They'd keep it fairly immobile but he'd still be able to shoot.
A few more like that, and other minor wounds treated, and they were ready, "All right, let's move out," Mal commanded. It was to his credit and theirs, that the Purplebellies obeyed him as readily as they would Flag.
Getting through the building was worse than slogging through a swamp. When she voiced as much Waylon grinned and said at least in a swamp one of them would be comfortable. The atrium appeared deceptively light and bright, and the Purplebellies took point with Riddick along the balcony.
They'd barely made it a quarter way around when the creepy crawly mutated things that had once been human began to come down the walls. No escape but back the way they came.
"Chato," River turned to the meta urgently. "Please. We need you, we won't survive this otherwise."
"Yeah, where you been homie," Floyd undoubtedly though he was helping with that challenge.
"Floyd, not now," River glared at him repressively.
"I could bring the whole building down," Chato's mind twisted and keened, the need to help opposing his fear of losing control.
"I'll help you," River took his hand. "Floyd will guard us," She saw Mal hurrying forward with Harkness and Harley. "Chato please!"
The handsome face twisted under the skull tattoo, "I can't."
"You can," She told him flatly. "I won't let you lose control, I'll help you channel it." Dark eyes met hers and she pressed, "Feel my mind in yours? You anchor me, but I can anchor you. You won't get lost in the fire." Deadshot's guns punctuated her words, "Chato, they need help, now."
She felt more than saw his capitulation, and he moved her hand from his, pulling her between his arms and against his chest, "Safest place for you." He thrust both hands out and fire streamed from his palms like twin rivers of heat and fury. The enemy had no chance.
Heat, rage, like standing in a volcano, fire surrounding her, the spirit of it pushing back against her mind, wanting to break free of Chato's will, her calming influence. River clenched her fists and knew immediately that fighting back would avail her nothing. Calm, sweetness, the gentle breeze of a spring day, the sensations unfolded in her mind and flowed to his, dampening the fire, cooling the rage.
"What in the tián mì de xié 'è tā mā de d'you think you're doing," Riddick's furious growl brought her back to herself and she forced her eyes open to see him standing over she and Chato, glaring at the other meta human. She couldn't stop panting, as if she'd run kilometers on short oxygen and Chato was shaking behind her.
"Riddick," She extended her hand, fingers trembling, and he took it, hand sliding under her forearm in support as he felt the extent of her shaking. Strength, firm, safe, a bulwark in her mind to lean against and she let out a long slow sigh of relief.
"I knew you'd come through," Harley pressed a happy affectionate kiss to Chato's cheek.
Mal stood beside Riddick, when had he gotten there? River shook her head and Riddick pulled her closer to his body, "Wèi le tā mā de yuán gù, what happened?" The Furyan growled the question at the group of them.
Chato was leaning against the railing, Floyd shaking his head, "That's shit crazy." He continued after a moment, reloading as he spoke, "She could tell ya'll were about to be overwhelmed. Convinced homeboy here that she could help him control the fire."
"She did," Chato nodded, straightening as strength came back to him. "But I had to put her between my arms, out of harms way." He looked Riddick in the eye, "Only place I could be sure she'd be safe from the flames."
"River," Riddick's voice…gentle but with that growl of possessive fury beneath it. "How much did this take out of you?"
"Need to ground herself. Feet on the ground, breathe, water," River pushed the words out with an effort. "Not an anchor, a…levy, against the fire. To slow it, remind him of something besides the flames."
"So what do—"
Flag cut off Mal's question, "If you ladies are through standing around, gossiping like a sewing circle." He rolled his eyes at the Squad and their positions around River and Chato. "Maybe you'd like to continue onward?"
"Fèi fèi gāng mén," Harley sneered.
"You missed it sir," GQ looked as if he'd gotten a little singed. In fact everyone sported some sort of charcoal smear across their faces or clothing. "El Diablo, he saved our collective pì gus, but without her, don't know if he could've pulled it off, not without cooking the lot of us."
"Yeah," Flag seemed unimpressed. "Isn't that what they're for? Let's go."
River narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head, "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not."
Author's Note: So we've made it all the way to the building! Yay! I'm actually following the movie more closely than I planned initially, just so that I don't forget anybody. Ensemble pieces aren't easy for me to write without some sort of guideline, lots of moving parts, and I can forget to have people talk or mention where they are. I'm hoping to avoid that sort of faux pas.
Chinese Translations:
huān lè shí guāng (happy hour)
gǒu niáng yǎng de (son of a bitch)
Bì zuǐ (Shut up)
Nǐ tā mā de tiān xià suǒ yǒu de rén dōu gāi sǐ. (Fuck everyone in the universe to death.)
hún dàn (bastard)
Bà ba (Dad, pops, daddy)
tián mì de xié 'è tā mā de (sweet unholy fuck)
Wèi le tā mā de yuán gù (For fuck's sake)
Fèi fèi gāng mén (baboon's asshole)
pì gus (butts)
Quote Sources:
Jeremiah 5:21 - Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.