Jhalya … thanks for letting me use your line. *hug*

XXVI.

She had lost another hair tie and the blood had glued her curls together to a sticky mass. Hope and her hair ties … but that was another story. Riddick shook his head in disbelieve … how could he possibly think of something like lost hair ties in such a situation?

Coz you try to stay sane, that's why. Concentrate now!

His hand touched her neck nearly reluctantly in search of her pulse. YES! It was still there, erratic, nearly not palpable but definitely there.

"Taylor, Hope is severely injured; she needs a doc NOW or she won't make it."

To his surprise he heard Serenity answering.

"Riddick, I'm working at the ER at our hospital, I'm the chief physician there; I'll take care that everything will be ready for her at your arrival."

"She won't make it that far … the Defiant is much nearer and has a more than up to date sickbay; we've got everything you'll need, can you treat her there?"

"Do you know how to move her? Make sure you don't hurt her any further. Which docking bay?"

"X 81/C. Better hurry."

"Riddick, take care of her spine and ..."

"SERENITY!"

"Sorry, I'm already on my way."

Of course Riddick knew how to transport Hope … at last his Ranger training paid off. For the first time in his life he was thankful that he'd been a ranger; they had been drilled for situations like that; rescuing injured comrades was one of the things they had been taught.

He had Hope on the med bed and already removed most of her tattered clothes before Serenity arrived with a big bag of meds and instruments. They removed the rest of her clothes together and not till then they saw the whole extent of her injuries. Riddick took in a sharp breath and Serenity closed her eyes for a second … it was more than a miracle that Hope still breathed.

Serenity instantly started to run scans, programmed the med bed to stabilize her, administered meds and prepared everything for surgery; it was a fight against time and all odds but she was the best at her job and with her Hope had at least a slim chance to survive.

Riddick refused to leave Hope; he stood by her side, whispering calming and encouraging words, telling her everything would be all right again. He watched Serenity's movements with worry, ready to step in if necessary … as if his trembling hands would be any help. His behavior didn't make Serenity's task any easier.

She stepped around him until she was fed up enough to muster the courage to speak up to him. "Riddick, you are constraining me, please let me do my work, I'll call you as soon as I'm finished."

"I am staying."

"Riddick, please …" Serenity sighed deeply "I know you don't want to leave her but she's sedated, she doesn't know you are here and you are emotionally too attached to be of any help. Your equipment here is state of the art, I've never seen anything that good outside a hospital; I don't need any help." She didn't tell him that a nurse would come in handy but she wanted him to leave so badly she would have said anything to get him out of the ship. He still scared her and she was afraid of his reaction if Hope wouldn't make it. And he WAS constantly in her way.

Riddick gave her the 'that's not the end of the discussion but as long as it's good for Hope I'll do it' look and bent down to Hope again. He'd do anything that'd help her and maybe he actually should make a duty call on the mercs right now, cool off some of the anger that had piled up in him during the last weeks.

"Babe, I let Serenity do her work; I'll go and look for those mercs now but I'm back soon and you'd better not stop fighting babe." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and was gone.

Serenity was relieved when Riddick finally left the ship and the hatch closed behind him.

"Now, Hope, let's make you better. You've rescued my baby and now I'll save your life; do you hear me? I won't tolerate any dissent on that, understood? Just hang in there for a little while longer, yes? When I'm finished with you you'll be as good as new. Now, your Riddick is quite a scary big guy, isn't he? But … and don't tell Taylor I said that … mighty fine to look at, no?" And she didn't stop talking to Hope the whole time; she was used to the talk in the operation room and the silence on board of the Defiant worked on her nerves.

In the meantime Riddick had reached the hotel in which the mercs were hiding. The entrance hall was empty, the reception area deserted except for a big plant … everybody was curious what was going on in the cargo area and had headed there. The mercs who knew perfectly well what had happened would stay in their rooms, trying not to draw any attention. Riddick went to the reception desk and had a look at the computer there … the mercs had booked the whole penthouse suite … dumb fucks, already spending money they'd never earn. He used the stairs up to the roof; elevators were death traps. He had a look around … the penthouse suite had a large terrace, half opened glass doors leading inside. He climbed down and hid behind some flowerpots. Voices were trailing out … snippets of their conversation wafted outside …

"That dumb slut has killed herself …"

" … stupid bitch; didn't deserve any better."

"Would have been good money."

"Yeah, but there's still Riddick."

"George said that ship's very fast; should keep it."

"Stop fucking smoking inside! Don't want that sprinkler drown us."

The glass door slid completely to the side and one of the mercs stepped outside. "There already a plan how to get Riddick when he arrives?" he shouted over his shoulder and stepped to the balustrade, sucking the smoke from his cigarette deep into his lungs and looking fascinated at the burning cargo area.

"Don't think so." a hoarse voice whispered in his ear. "But there's a plan how to get rid of a bunch of fucking mercs." In the first moment the merc was too stunned and too dead a moment later to cry out and alarm his pals.

Riddick's shiv had opened the merc's jugular and he stepped back to not get soaked with all the blood splattering out as he watched him bleed to death. All too soon it was over; a low growl escaped his throat … that had been way too easy, not satisfying in the least.

Without making any noise he stepped nearer to the glass doors. Soft light filtered outside through the curtains, lightened about a meter of the terrace. Riddick stood on the verge between light and dark, watching the men inside. They sat on chairs, boots on the table between them, bottles in their hands, empty ones scattered all over the room, dirty dishes and litter on the floor. He knew one of them … Mitchel. Had once brought him to slam. Sick bastard. He would spare him for last. Mid-sentence Mitchel scratched his balls and belched and the other mercs nodded as if he'd said something important. What a disgusting bunch of losers.

The room was lit by a single lamp on a small table near the glass doors … how convenient. Riddick picked up a piece of decoration from the terrace and silently slid inside the room; a precise shot took the lamp out, wrapping the room in darkness, making the mercs jump up and cry out and leaving them in utter confusion. Guns drawn they tried to find out who and where their attacker was.

"You are not afraid of the dark, are you?" Riddick asked with a hint of amusement and lots of anticipation in his voice; he just fucking loved that sentence.

"Shit, it's Riddick!" Shots got fired into the direction where Riddick stood only a second before. "Lights, we need lights!"

Riddick's question had caused a bedlam; the mercs were scared shitless, tried to find out where he was and tried to find the switch of the ceiling light.

Riddick was enjoying himself immensely; maybe he should turn on the light himself, would be even more fun that way.

He grabbed the head of the merc standing close to him without sensing the danger in a firm grip and with a satisfying crunch the spine snapped when Riddick twisted the merc's head in a quick motion to the side. Riddick was in full fight mode by now; the beast so long contained had taken command; it wanted revenge, wanted the blood of those bastards spilled.

He closed his fist around the throat of the next merc and dragged him to the side of the room, his feet dangling nearly a foot above the floor. He ripped up the merc's shirt … he needed to see the blood spill out. The shiv penetrated the skin, went into the flesh as far as it would go as if it belonged there … the sweet spot, fourth lumbar down. When he removed his shiv the blood immediately began to cascade from the wound, with each beat of it the heart pumped blood out of the merc. Mmh, maybe he should have a taste of it; what a shame that he had no peppermint schnapps with him like back then when he had stabbed Johns. He felt the blood run warm over his hands and the beast in him roared.

The stink of fear filled the room now, the sweet, copperish aroma of blood, the sharp stench of cold sweat.

He stepped over the corpse and went up to Mitchel who had nearly found his way to the light switch; a straight right took him out … his time hadn't come yet.

The only remaining merc crouched behind the couch; that chickenshit tried to hide from him ... how amusing. He walked up to him until he nearly touched him.

"Boo!"

The merc shrieked like a little girl, turned around and jumped through the closed window.

Who said he had no sense of humor? Although he highly doubted that the merc got the joke … he didn't look very amused as he laid down there, smashed on the concrete, limbs spread in impossible angles and very dead. Well, humor might be one of the things that are in the eye of the beholder.

Riddick couldn't help but grin at the sight. "Ouch."