Ch 39
Duncan knelt by the side of the ship and listened to John’s voice as he argued with someone. He was accustomed to the dark after his run through the field to get back to the ship, so he trained his weapon carefully on the back of the man that argued with Johns, and waited. Johns was afraid, of that there was no doubt, but he held his ground in front of the other merc; Jacobs, the huge merc that Duncan had faced down earlier in the village.
The medic stood uneasily off to the side; Duncan knew from previous experience that the man was a conscientious objector. He wouldn’t handle weapons and yet there he stood with a firearm in his hand, although he didn’t look happy about it.
Duncan didn’t take his eyes, or his aim, off the big merc as he slipped forward a little more in through the partially open bay door. There were two more mercs that flanked Johns, at enough of a distance that it would be impossible for Jacobs to shoot them both. They had weapons trained on Jacobs.
He listened intently as he watched the back of the big merc, and guessed that Jacobs had thought this would be a perfect time for a sort of a mutiny. Duncan grinned coldly as he watched. ‘That little fucker Johns has a set on him.’ Johns didn’t back down, and Duncan believed that he would have done the exact same thing even if there was no one else to back him up. He also believed that Johns wouldn’t have done it earlier, on the trip out here. This place had changed him; it had changed all of them.
Shapiro, another of the mercs he thought he might have to keep an eye on, had apparently disappeared, and Duncan had a pretty good idea where he might have gone. Riddick had said that there were about a dozen rogue villagers out there, and that would be a good place to start to look. Jacobs had something else in mind; he sought to take over the ship, and its weapons, for himself. Duncan had no doubt that Jacobs would likely pair up with Shapiro at some point. No matter how Johns handled it; and Duncan knew he would handle it, there was no way Jacobs would walk away from it.
He watched carefully as Johns raised his weapon, his voice grown hard, and demanded Jacobs get the hell out. Jacobs looked carefully at the other two mercs off to the side, and then slowly backed out of the bay doors. Right past Duncan, who slipped out afterwards to see to it Jacobs wouldn’t be any more trouble to anyone.
—
Riddick pulled Shazza closer; her warm body spooned perfectly into his. This was still a strange thing for him, to sleep safely, to sleep with her, with any woman for that matter. He nuzzled through her curls until his skin touched hers and listened to her murmur, a purr of contentment, as she cuddled closer to him.
He let out a sigh; he was tired but Theo had had even less sleep, and he had a woman of his own to take care of. As much as wanted to stay down here with her, to wake up with her later, he couldn’t. He lipped the soft hairs at the base of her neck which made her smile in her sleep.
It made him happy, which was an unfamiliar feeling in itself; he wasn’t used to feeling happy. It also made him uneasy and he leaned up on his elbow to watch her and pulled her tightly to him. It made him realize just how rare it was for him, and how few things he had that were really his. Now he had Shazza, and Jack too. Theo as well, and a place he wanted bad enough to kill for.
He wondered what would happen when all of this was over; it was another thing he hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about. He could plot for months if it meant he got out of slam or escape from mercs, but it was harder to plan for this. They would need a home; they could live in the ship of course, but for how long? Shazza had been a settler before this, and she would want a home, and Jack would as well. It was too much to think of all at once.
He cupped her breast and leaned down to kiss her ear before he eased carefully out from behind her so she wouldn’t wake. The ship was silent as he got dressed and went up onto the deck; Theo hadn’t moved but stared watchfully out over the field. He turned and shot a quiet grin only when Riddick came up beside him. “You look a little tired, Theo.”
“Not as tired as I’m going to be.” Theo muttered under his breath, not really surprised that Riddick not only heard him clearly, but listened intently. He sighed and leaned against the railing. “She’s just lost her husband; I don’t know what to do.”
Riddick looked out over the grass before he spoke. “Shazza lost someone. They weren’t married but I don’t think that really makes a difference. Zeke. He was killed nearly right in front of her; she was the one that first found him.” It was hard to think about Zeke, about her being with anyone but him, but he listened all the same, when they were in the skiff. Shazza had told him about Zeke, and then she went back to go to sleep, but Riddick knew that she had cried. “Just let her talk.”
Theo ran his hands over his face; he had never really been good at this sort of thing, and he didn’t want to hurt Joanne. He turned to cross the deck again as Riddick spoke quietly. “We have to move soon.”
“Let me get a couple of hours and we’ll get her off the ground again.” Theo turned back at the chuckle.
“There won’t be anything left of her.” Theo was about to snap something back but broke into a laugh instead; when he had first met Riddick he wouldn’t have imagined joking with him.
Theo stopped himself before he opened the door to his quarters and knocked instead. She would be here; she didn’t really have anywhere else to go. The spare cabin had nothing in it but extra bits and pieces and he thought she would be more comfortable here. He almost turned around to go sleep in one of the chairs on the bridge when Joanne opened the door. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying and she looked as though she had only recently stopped.
“Sorry, I’ll go find Anna…” Joanne put her head down and made to slip past Theo but he held her arm, firmly at first, and then gently, before he let her go. Theo looked past her into his room; Anna was gone, probably asleep already in Jack’s room. Joanne had been curled up in a chair rather than his bed.
Theo let out a hard sigh; he really wasn’t very good at this, but if Riddick could do it, so could he. “Don’t go, Joanne, please.” He held her arm again as she wiped her tears and she broke a little; Theo realized that Shazza was made of sterner stuff than Joanne. She had taken all she could take. Theo pulled her close and shushed into her hair; she struggled at first and whispered more to herself than anything that she was okay, it was all okay. Her voice broke as the tears took over again and he held her as she sobbed, her heart broken.
He left the door to his room open as he pressed her back towards the edge of the bed and ignored her panicked struggles. Theo could only imagine what was going through her mind, but it wasn’t going through his; all he wanted to do was hold her. He shushed her again and sat on the edge of the bed, with her beside him. She again fought for control of herself and this time he didn’t stop her, he just held her and stroked through her hair and down her back until she was still. “I want you to stay here, Joanne, don’t sleep in the chair. I can sleep out on the bridge until we can get something arranged.”
“I ca…can’t kick you out of your own room. I…” Her hands flapped up in defeat as she looked up at Theo and knew that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Joanne reached up to cover her scar; it wasn’t something she didn’t even think about doing anymore.
“Don’t. Don’t cover it; it was one of the first things I noticed about you.” Joanne closed her eyes and fought harder to cover her face again but Theo wouldn’t let her. “Stop it!” He held her hand again, more firmly this time, before her took her face between his two hands and made her look at him. She looked like a small frightened animal, and Theo supposed that’s exactly what she was right now.
His voice soothed again, to a murmur, as he spoke to her. “It was the first thing I noticed, but I don’t see this, Joanne.” One hand ran over the scar that ran from just over her eyebrow down to the corner of her lip. “I don’t see it, do you understand? I only see you.” She looked up at him silently and he wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t just bolt anyway. She was still so nervous and he decided to change tack, to try to make her more comfortable.
He stood up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll make you some tea; we can talk out on the bridge. Just talk. It’s okay.” He felt her trembles ease as they left the bedroom and she walked easily by the time they reached the small galley, his hand protectively on her lower back.
They both reached for the tea kettle at the same time and he grinned at her quiet smile and let her make the tea. He fidgeted with the cups on the counter while he watched her, until all she had to do was wait for the water. He let out a quiet sigh and looked at her while he asked her. “You had mentioned another village, past this one. Did you know anyone? I mean…” He fidgeted with the cups some more.
Joanne looked up at him, hurt and lost again, everything in her laid bare. She felt tossed everywhere, with nothing to hold onto. She didn’t really have anywhere to go; something she didn’t realize until this very moment. She had lived here so long, with Marcus, that the idea that she would ever have to be anywhere else overwhelmed her. Things had happened in her life, and she had coped as best she could, but she wasn’t a strong person, not like Shazza. Not even like Jack.
Theo’s heart ached at the pain in her expression. He might not have caused it but he hadn’t helped it. ‘This is a lot harder than it looks.’ He crossed the distance that separated them; he didn’t care anymore how nervous she was. His arms folded around her and held her tight and went back to shushing her, the only thing he could think of.
She had just lost her husband, and nearly lost her daughter. Her home was likely burnt down, between the mercs and the rogue villagers. Theo held her and stroked her back again and kicked himself for being so insensitive. ‘Riddick probably wouldn’t have said anything, he just would have let her talk.’
She still trembled against him and he realized just how fragile she was, and that he would have to be gentler with her. “Its okay, Joanne, its okay.” His words lost all meaning; all that remained was the comfort in them, as he held her. “Stay with us, you’re safe here, both you and Anna. You’re safe.” Tenderness wasn’t something he was used to, but that’s what he felt as he held her. Tenderness and a fierce protectiveness. “I want you to take my room.” He silenced her protests and continued. “No, you take my room. The spare cabin doesn’t really have anything fit for anyone to sleep in. We have to go to the other village, people need to be warned, and if there’s going to be a fight, we’ll need help. You’ll be safer here with us, okay?” He cupped her face again at the last, to press upon her how deeply he meant it, that he wanted her to stay here.
Her eyes teared up again and he ached for her confusion, for her hurt. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head and let his hand cup her cheek once more, before he let her go. It was all too much, for her and for him. He moved back to where he had stood before, but his gaze held her just the same. Joanne lowered her head and blinked back her tears, and finished making the tea.
It was easier for her when she had something to do; one small thing at a time and she could continue. It was when she had nothing to do that it all crashed in on her. Theo stayed beside her as they walked up to the bridge and sat down across from each other in the near dark, the dim light out on the deck all there was to see by.
Theo held his tea and just sat and waited, and listened. Joanne started slowly, the sentences yanked from her painfully at first. She cried a little more, and at some parts she laughed, and Theo knew that she would be okay. He didn’t let her argue when he insisted she take his room, and she didn’t let him argue when she gave him his blanket. He stood outside the door when she had closed it, his forehead against the strange warm wood. In time she might let him join her, but not yet.
—
Riddick hadn’t heard her; he wouldn’t have heard her at all if she hadn’t made a noise deliberately. “You kill your new cell mate yet, Jack?” He looked over at her once and grinned at her, before he went back to scan the field for any sign of movement. He didn’t laugh. She had a weapon slung over her chest, and looked like a smaller version of him, right down to the battered pair of goggles she still had perched on her forehead.
The rain had lessened to a mist, and he backed up along the deck so that they both stood under the cover of the cabin. He could still see out across the field, but Jack wouldn’t get soaked. Jack had dropped her head and busted out in that crazy grin that always got him when he asked about Anna. When she grinned like that there was no way anyone could think she was a boy. She would be beautiful when she was older.
He ran his free hand over her stubble before he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Glad you didn’t kill her; it’s a lot harder to get rid of a body than most people think.” It was an odd conversation to have with a twelve year old girl, but it was Jack, and that made all the difference. They had been through enough that he didn’t watch what he said around her, the way he would with some. She would get his quirky humor, and laugh at the same kinds of things he did.
“She’d probably just keep talking after she was dead and I’d be found out.” Jack tried to keep a straight face but when Riddick looked at her she threw her head back and laughed.
He ran his hand over her head again; it was like soft velvet against his hand now. “Are you gonna grow this in?”
She looked up at him, quiet for a moment, her face serious as a heart attack. Jack moved closer to rest against his side and he moved his hand down around her shoulders. “Not yet. Maybe when I’m older.” Her voice dropped even further and she pressed her face into his side, her arms loosely around his waist. “I like looking like you. Nobody fucks with me.”
“I’d kill anyone that fucked with you, Jack.” Her eyes glittered with unshed tears when she looked up at him and he knew he had never been surer of anything in his life. She poked him in the side and grinned up at him again. “You staying out here with me for a while?”
Jack snorted, and let out a short laugh. “I’m not going back in there until I know she’s asleep.”
Riddick walked back out to the railing, with Jack beside him. He showed her what to look for, how to watch the grass for movements that would show that someone was approaching, and she told him everything she had learned about the Moorglade from Old Thomas’ papers.
Copyright © December 2006 xxxevilgrinxxx