57) Then We'll Fight For You Like We Were Your Soldiers

He'd headed up to the bridge once Serenity was in the air, conscious of River following him and of the fact that Carolyn would still be up there. Much as he wanted to pin River to a bulkhead and kiss her until she melted there were things to talk about.

Mal was in the galley, giving Bea and Cobb a hard eye. As well he should, considering the bounty hunter had found Serenity because of them. Annoying as that was it did have the advantage of keeping Mal busy for a while.

"Rick," Carolyn turned as he came in, standing, and blinked as she saw River behind them. "River?"

"A bounty hunter who had boarded Serenity before, presumed dead after we spaced him," River shrugged. "Stole away on Bea's boat. Heard she had someone who could find us. Smart move. Except for the hunting us part."

"I take it he's the one blew up the boat?" Carolyn sat back down.

"Yeah, looks that way," Riddick nodded and sat down in the co-pilot's chair. "Mal's busy glaring at Cobb and Bea so we've got a little time."

"Time?" Carolyn frowned at him, and he guessed she was getting tired of cryptic.

"Time to discuss the prison break," River pulled the arm of the chair he was sitting in down and perched on it. She wasn't quite in his lap, but he could wrap his arm around her waist and pretend he was steadying her. Pretty mouth curved in a smile as she glanced at him and typed in the Hunter Gratzner's manifest.

"The…prison break…" Carolyn looked and sounded uneasy looking from Riddick to River and back again.

"Relax Carolyn, River knows," Riddick shrugged. Plain as day on her face she was wondering when they'd slipped up and how badly they were humped. "Wasn't you or Jack. River's not an idiot. When Niska made his play for Serenity some of the mercs he hired recognized me. Called me by name more than once. She'd have to be blind and deaf and chī shǎ to not know."

"No intentions of turning him in," River shook her head. "Like him where he is." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help the smug little grin that tilted his mouth. "But his expertise will be invaluable in retrieving Zoë."

Well Carolyn at least relaxed a little, "What's the Hunter Gratzner's manifest have to do with breaking Zoë out of prison?"

"She has an idea, but it will not work if they are not willing," River actually looked and smelt worried. This must be one helluva idea. "He is known primarily, besides killing, as the man who can escape any prison, any slam, even a triple max cannot hold you."

Oh hell…no wonder she looked nervous. This was so gorram risky it was damn near suicidal. There was part of him, that same part that had told him to leave Carolyn and the other two for the sky sharks, that raged against the idea of endangering himself for someone else.

But hell, he'd done that anyway (more than once) since he'd gotten on this boat. Didn't mean he liked the idea. In fact, he was pretty sure he hated it. Because in order to bring him in they needed mercs. Or at least people who could pass as mercs. And they didn't have many of those on the boat. Kaylee was out. So was Simon, for similar reasons. Mal was a no go because at the moment he was also a wanted man. Although if River's lawyer came through that might not be an issue.

That left the ladies, Carolyn, River and Jack. And he wouldn't look at any one of them and think merc. But maybe that was River's point.

"You figuring to pose as a honey pot... with a kid to sweeten the deal?" He frowned thoughtfully.

"Can toughen Simon up," River shrugged. "He can look menacing in his own way. Myself to act the child, Carolyn made to look tougher."

She gave the blonde an apologetic look and Carolyn waved it off with a shrug, "'S okay, I'm not exactly gunhand material and I look it."

"Strong though," River reminded her. "Have to be to steer Serenity. Sleeveless shirt and a weapons' harness, boots and a knife on your thigh. Can teach you to look competent with a slant towards dangerous." She looked at Riddick, "But it is a pointless endeavor unless he agrees."

Carolyn chuckled suddenly as if something had just occurred to her, "Hell Rick, they have to pay out the price you've got on your head to whoever brings you in. Could make enough to turn a profit even, after we deduct fuel and any other supplies we need for it."

Riddick grinned reluctantly "Yeah that is a point." He sighed and swore half-heartedly, "Tā mā de niǎo, I used to be feared through the 'verse you know." He looked at River. "Mercs pissed their pants when they heard my name. Now you want me to voluntarily go into a double max slam for the sole purpose of breaking Zoë out."

"Daring exfiltration cannot be accomplished without an inside man in the know," River nodded regretfully.

"Lemme think on it for a day or so, we ain't headed towards Red Sun right now anyway," Riddick sighed. He was probably going to agree. They all wanted Zoë back. A baby deserved to have her mother. Especially when that mother was clearly willing to sacrifice a lot to keep her safe.

River nodded and kissed his cheek, affectionate and sweet but somehow, she managed it without implying she'd give him sex in return for his help. He could appreciate that. The look she gave him made it clear that he had nothing to worry about in that regard. Fine with him. When they finally ended up having each other it would be because they both wanted it. Not that he didn't now. In fact, he'd spent considerable amounts of time imagining River naked and how he could make her moan.

She shivered a bit against him and kissed him again, "Should behave himself." She admonished softly, a little smile curving her mouth. "Might get the wrong idea."

"The wrong idea," He had no clue what that meant. He was getting blue balls from wanting her so bad and every spar, every dance… hell every time he got to touch her it just made him want her more. He'd caught himself watching her more (okay almost more, at least an equal amount of time) than he looked at escape routes. He could spend hours watching her, just enjoying how she moved.

Oh, that mouth, soft, lips brushing over his, a whisper for his ears alone, "Will speak with him later. Privately." Slender fingers patting his hand, slipping out from the curve of his arm and off the arm of the chair.

Slender hips, long legs, swaying away from him out the door of the bridge and he found himself listening for her step and not hearing it. Damn he loved how soft she walked. His eyes snapped to Carolyn as the blonde smiled, shaking her head. She tilted her head back and looked down the hall before meeting his eyes again, "When we met, even after we got off that rock, on the pirate boat, I'd never have figured to see you like this." Her smile wasn't mocking, though she was definitely amused.

"Like what?" Yeah…he was feeling a little defensive. He hadn't gotten so wound up about a woman in a long time.

"Like you don't know what to make of her, but you want her anyway," Carolyn smiled. "Like she kissed you, nothing to do with sex, and you looked…happy." Forearms on her knees as she leaned forward to look at him, "It's not a bad thing. I mean, she knows who you are, and she's still…well…" She gestured towards him as if that explained her meaning and maybe it did.

"Not too many women willing to deal with me on my own ground, knowing what I am," He agreed quietly. "Never would've thought to find that with a Core woman."

"It's powerful," Carolyn's smile wasn't for him now as she leaned back in her chair. Her eyes stared out the window, but he'd be willing to bet that she wasn't seeing the stars. That curve of her lips, gentle and wistful as she spoke, "Knowing someone has seen the worst of you, or knows the worst, but they don't think less of you for it. Want you anyway. Maybe like that you aren't perfect."

"Hell of a thing," Riddick agreed. "What do you think of her plan?"

She took a deep breath and let it out in a long shuddery sigh, "I think if you can stand it, and I can play the part, that it could work. It's smart. Nobody's better at escapes."

"And the prison'd be expecting someone to come in from the outside to break her out. Not from the inside," Riddick nodded thoughtfully.

Carolyn shook her head, half chuckling, "It's insane if you think about it. No one would ever think that you'd let yourself be captured, turned in for a bounty and imprisoned, all so you could break someone else out when you escaped."

"Probably why the woman's considered a genius," He rubbed a hand over his scalp. Didn't quite need a shave yet but it was getting there. Couldn't stand for his hair to get more than an eighth of an inch ever since… He cut off that thought ruthlessly and looked towards the door hearing Jack's step.

"Who's a genius," Jack asked as she came through the door and sat at the navigator's station.

"River," Carolyn shrugged. "We were just talking about a way to get Zoë back."

"Yeah?" The teenager didn't look completely enthused about River's participation, but she did brighten at the idea of rescuing Zoë. "How?"

"Gist of the idea is the crew pretends to be mercs and bring me in," Riddick shrugged. "Once I'm in, Zoë and I break out." He waited. He thought he knew Jack well enough to predict her reaction. Sure enough-

"Is she fākuáng? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Jack didn't quite explode but her opinion couldn't be more clear. Sometimes it was a real burden being right all the time.

"What's wrong with it," Carolyn (bless her curious but non-judgmental tone) tilted her head.

"Apart from the fact that nobody on board could pass as a merc except maybe that huge guy Cobb, and we don't even know him," Jack shot back sarcastically.

"Yeah, besides that," Riddick waited. That wasn't Jack's real objection to the plan.

"You gotta get turned into a slam," She snapped. "What if your luck runs out and you can't get out again. What if you and Zoë are both stuck there? We lost enough people-" Jack broke off and looked down at her hands, twisted in her lap like tangled knitting.

Lost enough people... Yeah... he glanced at Carolyn and saw that she was remembering the same thing he was. Jack's reaction when Johns had gotten killed, 'We're gonna lose everyone out here'. It hadn't been for the merc, Jack hadn't ever liked Johns. But death... people she knew getting killed, that bothered her. As it should, nobody sensible brushed off the inevitable end of their life. But with Jack it was personal.

He had no doubt that Jack had lost her parents, at least one of them if not both, and she'd been on her own for a while. Close to sixteen now, very close if he remembered right, and he got the feeling Serenity was the most stable environment she'd lived in for a long time. But stability depended on people and when something happened that those people might change… well. Jack's reaction to him dancing had proved (more than proved) she didn't take change well.

"Well…nice to see your faith in my skill is unwavering," Riddick decided that bringing up his theory about Jack's issues wouldn't help at the moment. It wasn't likely to change anytime soon even if they did talk about it. And they didn't need the distraction. "You think I'm that chī shǎ?"

"I never said—" Jack protested.

"Jackie girl, I'm a lot of things, a mean ornery wángbā dàn de biǎo zi among them, but I ain't stupid enough to agree to a plan without knowin' all the ins and outs and possibilities of things going wrong," He rolled over her protest. "I told River I'd think about it." She relaxed slightly and he shrugged, "She's right though. It is a good plan. Biggest downside I see is that we'll have to let the rest of the crew in on who I am."

"Yeah that's—" Jack frowned. "How did she know?" No doubt from her tone who Jack was referring to. "Did you tell her?" Oh, that glare…she'd learned to glare from him and a little too well.

"You're just determined to think I'm some yú chǔn zì jiāo de dà zi ròu aren't you," Riddick let his head fall back and rest on the edge of the chair back, staring at the ceiling for a moment. "No. I didn't tell her. No. She didn't go snooping or trick Carolyn into telling her either." Well at least that shut Jack up a minute, not that it would last long. "Niska's mercs figured out who I was, and they didn't exactly have incentive to keep it to themselves. We're lucky River was the only one with me when we were busting all of you out."

Carolyn nodded, "River hasn't said a word to Mal or anyone else about who Rick is."

"Why would she keep it to herself? Mal trusts her opinion like he does Zoë's," Jack seemed bewildered.

"As I understand it," Riddick wouldn't give away River's secret any more than she'd give away his. So he lied through his teeth and counted himself lucky that he didn't have a reputation for deception along with escapes and murder. "Having worked with us all, worked with me a lot, she didn't think I'd suddenly turn into the ravening beast the mercs seemed to think I am." He shrugged, "She says how I am is more important than who I am." Which she had. Once. Long after their little confrontation/talk in the galley when he'd figured out she was a Reader.

He looked at Jack, "So let's leave it at that. Obviously, it's a very basic plan at the moment, we're all thinking it over, but right now it's the only plan we've got."

Jack grumbled but nodded and Riddick looked at Carolyn who nodded her agreement, "We'll put some thought into it."


Author's Note: So now we're really deviating from the comics, even if we hadn't with how Early was killed. And before anyone starts in about how canon Riddick would never agree to go into a slam for the sole purpose of breaking someone out, I'll point out that a) this is not canon, b) Riddick is changing/evolving, and c) it could be argued that in Chronicles Riddick allowed himself to be captured and taken to Crematoria so he could get Jack/Kyra out. Certainly if he'd wanted to avoid Toombs and Co, he could have.

And he also hadn't agreed to the plan. So we'll see.

Chinese Translations:

chī shǎ (stupid / foolish)

Tā mā de niǎo (goddamn it /lit. 'His mother's dick')

fākuáng (crazy)

wángbā dàn de biǎo zi (whore's bastard/son of a bitch(insult))

yú chǔn zì jiāo de dà zi ròu (stupid inbred sack of meat)