XXVII.

Without any hurry he picked up the lamp from the floor, put it back on the table and soon soft light filled the room again. It didn't take long until Mitchel started to regain consciousness; the blow hadn't been that hard.

Riddick sat down on the table and watched the merc come to, the muzzle of the merc's gun pointing at its owner. Riddick had decided to play for a while with Mitchel, the others had died way too fast and easy. He saw the panic bubble up in Mitchel's eyes as soon as his vision got clear enough to see Riddick sitting there, watching him. He tried to crawl back but the wall stopped his movements; he gasped and cold sweat glistened on his forehead when Riddick started to speak in a voice death itself would have used.

"I'm not very pleased about what you did to my woman, Mitchel. Did you really think I let that slide?"

"Riddick, you know it's nothing personal. It's our job."

"Your job ... I see. Well and it's my job to make sure you'll understand what a mistake it is to mess with any of us."

"Any of you? There are more like you?" panic giving the merc's voice a high pitch.

"Yeah, in fact lots of. A whole planet full of us. What a shame you won't be able to tell."

Sweat was trickling down the merc's face, burning in his eyes. He wanted so badly to wipe it away but was afraid that Riddick could shoot if he moved.

"Riddick, please, I'll spread the word that you are dead, tell the others to stop looking for you, but please …" his eyes searched the room, saw the corpse lying at the couch, the one on the floor … he did the math … there were two missing. He glanced at the door to the terrace, hope glimmering up in him.

A small cruel smile played on Riddick's lips. "Smoking kills you, could have told him that. And if you wonder … your other friend took the shortcut out through the window."

Mitchel swallowed hard. "Riddick, what do I have to do to get out of this mess?" He thought because Riddick hadn't killed him yet he had a chance to survive, that Riddick wanted something from him.

Riddick' lips were curled up to a sneer. "Do I really have to spell it out for you? Death, merc, that's what gets you out of here. I just haven't decided yet how to ghost you. So many ways to end a life and just one merc left to perform; isn't that a shame? I'm afraid it will be a rather long night for you, merc."

Faster than Riddick would have thought a body that fat could be able to move the merc came to his feet and tried to run for the door; but not half as fast as he should have been to escape his nemesis. Riddick moved like a panther, elegant, smooth, silent and with deadly precision … a well placed kick let the merc's thighbone crack. With a scream he fell back to the ground and tried to crawl away.

Riddick was hovering over him, his face showing a demonical expression. "I say when we are finished."

"Please, Riddick, please." The merc finally had realized that his death would come as a relief. Tears and snot were streaming down his face, his sobs shook his whole body violently. And then his erratically wondering hands found the shiv he had hidden in a side pocket of his trousers.

Riddick hadn't bothered searching the merc for hidden weapons; it would make it all the more fun when the merc at least tried to fight back.

"Oh, please, Mitchel," Riddick grinned. "Now I'm really frightened."

The merc had gotten himself up on one shaky leg, his knife aimed at Riddick. "You want me, you have to get me, Riddick." He spit out in a trace of bravery. "You are a crazy fuck and you know it." the merc panted.

"And you have figured that out all by yourself? Very clever, merc. Very clever." Riddick taunted him. Yes, that would be much more fun than he would have thought. Too fast for the merc to react Riddick had passed him, his knife cutting a big gash across Mitchel's biceps; blood was immediately running down his arm, the sudden hurt made him stumble and fall back to the floor. Riddick still didn't take the merc's knife away; as long as he had hope he would fight. The merc's cry had the beast growling in satisfaction but it wanted more, much more.

"Get up, merc."

"Why should I? You'll kill me nonetheless."

"Never met a merc that smart before, Mitchel. And now get up."

"Riddick, please!" The merc tried to beg his way out of this situation; it looked … and smelled … like he had actually wetted his pants.

"Fuck, Mitchel, you are a disgrace for even your profession!"

The next hours passed as a cat and mouse game ... Riddick hunting and hurting Mitchel but not too bad to disable him to fight back, Mitchel fleeing and trying to get out of the room and coming nowhere near the door. Mitchel's clothes were soaked in blood and Riddick had to admit that there was more in the fat merc than he would have given him.

The merc was leaning heavily panting on a wall as far away from him as he could get in this room and Riddick had decided to let him recover for a moment; he still didn't want to end the game but the merc was getting too slow and clumsy to be any fun anymore.

He was thinking of the things he still could do to the merc when Serenity's voice sounded through the earpiece and interrupted that pleasurable line of thought.

"Riddick, do you hear me? Riddick?"

"Talk!"