Rating: R mostly for language
Genre: Drama/ a little comedy to break it up
AN: I hope you like it please read and review because I will only write more if I get enough readers.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the concepts of characters from PB or COR.
Part One"Where to holy man?"
The gruff voice penetrated Imam's thoughts as he stared at the young girl crying in the corner of the skiff. The trio had been through too much in the last twenty-four hours. Imam released a breath that he didn't know he was holding when Riddick had lifted of that forsaken planet. He had been unsuccessfully trying to wrap his mind around the recent events when the disembodied voice called to him again.
"Yo! Holy man?" only two silver floating globes greeted Imam when he turned to the direction of the voice. The black abyss of space entered the windshield of the skiff cloaking everything with a black curtain except an illuminated screen on the panel board.
"What is that Mr. Riddick?" Imam asked curiously.
"It's a Vcomm, it tells us our coordinates and maps out the different systems. "I just got it to work," Riddick said grinning sinisterly at Imam, which he concluded, was the only type of grin Riddick possessed. "I ask again…Where to holy man?"
"What system are we in?"
"Quate" Riddick answered after pushing a couple of buttons on the Vcomm.
"Are we anywhere near New Mecca?" Imam questioned hoping fate would look out for them one more time.
"To far for this piece of shit," of course fate couldn't be too kind "According to this map we are closes to the twin planets Rema and Suma. Then there is Proxen 8,000 miles east of…"
Imam had stopped listening to Riddick after he said Suma. Imam knew that place. Well… He knew of that place. Most importantly, he knew some one there who could help them.
"Suma Mr. Riddick, that is where we'll go," Imam looked from Jack to Riddick, "My daughter… she lives in the Western Hemisphere of Suma." For a few minutes, nothing was heard except Jack's sniffling. Imam squirmed under Riddick's hard and calculating stare. Finally he grinned and roughly said "Then we'll be in Suma's orbit in thirty two hours," he programmed the aircraft towards their destination and nonchalantly lounged back in his chair as if four hours earlier he hadn't been fight for his life. Imam only wished he could be so indifferent, but he couldn't help thinking about the demons on that planet or the demons that awaited him on Suma.
Unknown to Imam, Riddick was anything but at peace. His mind was reeling with all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. He couldn't get the picture of Fry being ripped from his arms out of his head and he knew that he never would. There was this feeling in the pit of his gut that he couldn't quite decipher; It crawled up his esophagus, wrapped around his throat, and threatened to choke him. A sense of loss that he never felt before. Could it be guilt? Fuck No! Richard B. Riddick didn't feel guilt. Why should he? Especially not for some broad that got herself killed for going and trying to save him. No one asked her to… she should have had a stronger survival instinct.
Riddick kept telling himself this but the small stream of conscious that he still possessed knew that he had never seen a stronger survival in a woman. He looked over at Jack as she hugged her knees to her chest. He didn't know how someone could have so much faith in him, especially a runaway kid. He didn't know her past but he could bet that she's been hurt several times by adults, so what would make her trust another one so blindly?
He didn't understand her or the feeling that he wanted to do any and everything in his power not to let her down. He looked over at Imam. Now this man intrigued Riddick; ever since he mentioned his daughter he has been fidgeting and looking as if he's fighting some other demons than the ones they left on that shit hole T2. He'd have to wait and meet this daughter.
Jack waited patiently in the back of the skiff. It had been thirteen hours since Riddick set the course for Suma. Some of the shock had settled leaving just sadness and despair in her for all that was lost on that fucked up planet. Now the tiredness and hunger only remained with in her… and oh, how she was hungry. She hoped that Imam's daughter had decent food because she craved a fat juicy burger and a strawberry banana milkshake to go with it. She had never had one due to lack of money, but Fuck! I deserved one after the shit I'd been through. Her eyes were drooping but she knew that once her eyes closed the nightmares would surely greet her.
Riddick landed the plane in a dock in the Western Hemisphere near the city that Imam had said his daughter was likely to be. The landing was completed without a hitch and the three passengers exited onto the station's platform. Suma was almost identical to old Earth and shared a sun with its sister planet, but unlike old Earth Suma harbored a huge variety of species. A member of one of these many species sat behind the counter of the information center eyeing the trio suspiciously as they approached.
" I am looking for someone… is there a directory that we can view?" Imam tiredly asked the tortoise looking being behind the counter, which he guessed was a female due to the bright lipstick and the pink cardigan that adorned her hunchback form. 'Oh yeah, and the badge that said Wisteria' he thought.
She answered in a ' I smoke two packs a day and don't think I'm stopping' kind of voice rudely "What business do you have looking for someone at two in the morning?" Wisteria stretched her long neck to get a better look at Jack through her bug-eyed bifocals.
"Look! He didn't ask you for your fucking questions he asked if you could look someone up!" A tired and hungry Riddick equals a very pissed off Riddick and he wold kill someone if he didn't get anything in his stomach in the next hour.
"Well you don't need to be nasty," She said rolling her eyes "What is the name?"
"Her name is Anissa McBride." After what seemed like ages of typing Wisteria found her " Anissa Kira McBride, 31 years old… wait a minute what am I gonna get for giving you this information?" she asked abruptly
"I thought this was a free informational booth?" Jack asked looking at the sign that hung above the window.
"Yes it is" Wisteria snapped " Except when punks like yourselves disturb my soaps during the graveyard shift!"
"Please! What do you want? We have no money?" Imam said desperately.
"Well… there is something you could give me besides money." She was eyeing Riddick savagely, pursing her lips and batting her eyes.
"Fuck no!" Riddick exclaimed and started walking away and yelled back" Shit Holy Man, will just knock on every door 'till we get lucky!" he was half way down the platform when Imam finally caught up with him.
"Please! Mr. Riddick?"
"What? You want me to fuck that monster back there so we can get some information… What happened to premarital sex being against you're religion?… don't even think about it!" Riddick said firmly shaking his head.
'I am not asking that of you, Mr. Riddick, just say a few kind words to her so we can get the information" Riddick just stared, his eyes unreadable behind the goggles, " We are all hungry and tired, especially the child and we have no where else to go."
Riddick sighed and marched passed Jack who was on her way to stand next to Imam. After much flattery and toothy smiles, Riddick returned, to the odd pair standing at the exit of the station, with a piece of paper.
"Your daughter doesn't live to far from here" He handed the paper to Imam, "there is all of her information… she better have hot water!"
After stopping to talk to some homeless man on the street, who knew the city like the back of his hand, for directions the trio wondered through the streets of Nash before finally reaching their destination. The house was located in an urban area, but the street was pretty quite at this time in the morning. Anissa's house sat in the middle of a crowded block; the houses sitting mere inches from one another. She lived in a two-story brick house that looked pretty sturdy to him, and had a neat front yard with a small garden in the corner that looked like the work of a landscaper. 'She must be well off is she's paying some one else to do her yard' Riddick thought as he entered the front gate and moved to the side for Imam and Jack to follow. Imam hesitated before ringing the doorbell, which was greeted by loud and deep inhuman yells and growling. Riddick was on edge and had his shiv in his hand ready to attack whatever was on the other side of the door in an instant. A few minutes latter, a human voice joined the racket.
"Move Cojack! Who in the hell is at the door? Don't they know what time it is? Cojack shut up!" was heard from the other side of the door as the locks and chains were twisted and turned. The door opened roughly to reveal a very pissed off woman, who couldn't be denied as the daughter of Abu Imam al-Walid. She was the spitting image of her father though with soft feminine features especially curves that Riddick could not help but admiring before she pulled her robe tightly around her. She had deep golden eyes that contrasted with her dark skin that Imam remembered she hated when she was a child because all the other kids thought she was weird. She had grown so much since Imam had last seen her, no longer the troublesome knobby kneed girl he remembered, not the girl he hurt….
Her expression changed to an unreadable one as she stared at the trio, "Anissa?" Imam said but was greeted with silence. After a few minutes, she stepped to the side giving them access into her home. Her right hand ran over her head smoothing over her pixie bob that had been disheveled during sleep; she led them into the a cozy living room that was decorated in a deep cherry wood and was simple with only two tan couches and a abstract painting on the wall. Though, what really caught Jack's and particularly Riddick's attention was the giant black four legged beast that panting and wagging its tail in the corner. Jack screamed having been through so much with monsters already and Riddick pulled out his shiv the second time that morning ready to cut the motherfucker if decided to charge.
"Wait!" Anissa screamed seeing that things were going to turn for the worse very quickly, grabbed the happy Great Dane by his collar and pulled him back " what the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded turning to Riddick who still had the shiv in his hand.
"What the fuck are you yelling at me for? I wasn't about to let the motherfucker bite the shit out if me!"
"He's just a dumb dog he isn't gonna hurt you, just happy to see you! He isn't very brave you just have to yell and you'll scare him away."
"Dog?" Jack looked from Anissa to the animal, whose head was passed her elbow.
"Yeah a dog, you know ruff! ruff! man's best friend, don't tell me you have never heard of or seen a dog?" She answered the young girl but only received blank stares in return. Anissa sighed and began to drag the dog into another room, "I'll be back, please don't touch anything."
The three of them sat down not sure what to do with themselves but wonder if she'll let them stay. Anissa returned to the room about five minutes later and just stared at her father.
"Why are you here?" her eyes never wavered.
"Anissa, child, we had no where else to go… we were in a horrible accident, I'll explain all of the situation later. We haven't eaten or slept in days… we just wanted to know if we could stay here…" Imam asked unable to meet her eyes.
'Who is this man? This surely isn't the same drunk that had beaten and disowned me when he learned of my pregnancy thirteen years ago. He's dressed in robes like some kind of religious man… the man I knew would never have sounded unsure of himself and surely would have never been ashamed to look her in the eye.' Anissa looked at the other two 'Where did he find these two? Must have to do with the accident looking at the cuts and bruises on the girl and the man, but I haven't heard of any accidents on the news. I bet the girl is a runway the way she is making herself look like a boy… and that man is huge, I bet he'll eat everything in the house, damn that means I need to go shopping. I can't believe that I am about to do this…"
"O.k. you all can stay here until you find somewhere else to go. I'll talk to you later" she pointed to Imam "but for now let me try to find some fresh clothing and something for you guys to eat" Anissa soften her voice and focused on Jack.
"What's your name sweetheart?"
"Jack"
"Well Jack, your about the same size as my daughter Brianna, she's still at a sleepover so you can go and pick something yourself out of her closet, ok?" Jack just looked at her opened mouthed
"How did you know I'm a girl," she asked looking down at herself.
"Hun, when you have a child you miraculously gain this ability to see right through lies" she smiled sweetly at Jack, crushing the panic that began to swell in the girl's chest. "Ok, come with me" she reached her hand out and Jack hesitantly grasped it.