Chapter Ten

Casteel stood in the toilet stall, shaking. Richard B Riddick. *Fuck, you came that close to losing it girl, that bloody close.* She shut her eyes and leaned against the door. Events had taken a bizarre turn now that Riddick had thrown himself into the fray. It was hard enough for her to keep Jack safe from one psycho, two was another matter entirely.

And she knew that she had antagonised 'Dick', possibly not the smartest thing she had done recently, but he had caught her so off guard that she had resorted to Alpha Female behaviour to try and stay on top of the situation.

Casteel sat down on the bowl and put her head into her hands. "Why me?" was prevalent in her thoughts. Had there been any warning signs telling her that she was going to run into Riddick? Certainly she hadn't seen any, but that didn't mean that they weren't there. She racked her brain and came up with a blank. No, Riddick was just--well, unexplainable.

She stood up and shook her limbs, physically trying to shake her tension from her body. *It's about time I started carrying a gauge at all times,* she thought, *in case I run into any other 'Galaxies Most Wanted Madmen'*. The weight of the knife strapped to her arm drew her attention, *and next time don't be so cocky. If you sense danger use the damn blade, stupidity and arrogance get you dead.*

Riddick felt as though his head weighed a giga-ton. His arms didn't feel that great, either. In fact, neither of his arms wanted to work. He opened his eyes and found out why. He was tied to the toilet bowl. That bitch Merc had knocked him out and tied him to the toilet. He tested his bindings. His left wrist was tied loosely, compared to his right, which he was sure had its circulation completely cut off. He worked his hand slowly out of the cloth. Finally free of it he ripped the other binding off. He spied his shiv in the doorjamb and stood up to get it. He didn't get far before he was sprawled on the floor again, rather unceremoniously. He looked at his feet, unclear as to why he tripped his mind still foggy from being smacked in the head. He looked at his bootlaces, comprehension dawning.

She had tied his bootlaces together.

Riddick felt the familiar rage he had harboured his entire life rise. He was going to get this Casteel, or who ever she was, and he was going to make her suffer.

Casteel watched silently as Jack was loaded into another ambulance. She would have preferred a plain vehicle for the transport, but she had to move Jack now. It was imperative for both their safeties.

The driver motioned for her to go to him and she joined him next to the ambulance. "Are you going to let me know where we are going now Maam, it's highly unusual for an ambo to not know where he's going despite what the hospital folk may say to the contrary."

Casteel smiled. This man was the first one on this planet not to act afraid of her, it made for a nice change. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you until we've left the hospital. You understand that this is for your own safety?"

"Yes, Maam, I do. As long as you're good at giving directions, I don't think I'll overly mind not knowing where I am going," he said.

"Thank you," she said meaning it, "we'll be leaving in a few minutes."

Riddick looked out the window of Jack's room. After he had de-tangled his laces and retrieved his shiv, he had stumbled into the room to find it empty. His nostrils told him that this had only been done very recently, the smell of the Merc was still in the air. He had glanced out the window briefly and what he had saw drew his full attention. He could see Casteel standing next to a man in his thirties, an ambulance driver, maybe. He had a uniform, so he was staff of some kind. They talked briefly and then Casteel disappeared. A few minutes later, the man followed and not long after that an ambulance pulled out from under the main entrance's canopy. With all certainty, Riddick knew that Jack was being moved in that ambulance. He charged out of the room.

He had to know where the Merc was taking Jack, he wasn't going to lose her just when he had found her.

After changing ambulances twice along the trip, they had finally arrived at Keratan Three Private Healing Retreat. *Fancy words for Maximum Security Psychiatric Institution,* Casteel thought, looking up at the looming concrete mass. But it was what she needed to keep Jack safe. Maximum security with doctors on hand 24 hours a day. She was counting on it being one of the last places anyone would look for a critically wounded girl. Behind these walls, Jack would be safe and that meant Casteel could do what she did best: hunt.

Riddick emerged from Jack’s room less than a minute after the ambulance had left and he cursed his rotten timing.

Jack was being taken to God-knows-where and he was powerless to stop it. He imagined Casteel laughing her head off at the prank she pulled with his bootlaces, He would make her pay for that. And he was sure that it would be soon. If she was after him, she'd be back and he wasn't going to disappoint.