(I created a lot of this, but not Riddick, as stated in COPYRIGHTS listed in chapter 1)

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Chapter 14

Faith & Trust

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"It's me, Joshua," Doc Josh called cautiously, just in case, from just outside the doorway of Daria's 'apartment.'

"Hi ya, Doc," Riddick was grinning as he materialized smoothly from the shadows looking astonishingly strong and stable for a man who, to the best of Joshua's knowledge, had been comatose last night. Joshua suspected a portion of the young man's airs were bravado, but it was certainly an improvement over his last visit, both in patient condition and welcoming technique. He wanted to be pleased, the young man's recovery was phenomenal, but his recent findings lay heavy on his mind.

"Mr. Riddick, I'm glad you're feeling better," Joshua nodded curtly as he entered. He hesitated, watching sidelong as the young man's grin faltered and died, then the convict's face hardened. Joshua turned away and kept walking.

"So it's Mr. Riddick now," Riddick said ominously as he watched the doctor walk down the hall not failing to note that the man had knowingly given him his back. Whatever it was, and he suspected he knew, he had learned something else about Joshua Jacobson – the man trusted way too much.

He followed the doctor listening as Doc Josh greeted Daria. The Doc's voice was cheerful, but even Riddick could tell it was forced. Was the girl perceptive enough to pick it up? As Riddick entered he saw Jacobson holding Daria's hands companionably in his own, a gesture as intimate as any heart felt hug in Daria's case, but she looked passed the doctor to meet Riddick's eyes and was unsettled by his impassive expression. "See, I told you it was Doc Josh," she exclaimed, but her eyes begged something else, "What's going on?" they pleaded searching for reassurance in his face, but Riddick had none to offer.

"Bertam is having problems with his weight scale again," the Doctor told Daria, "Why don't you pack things up here and go take a look at it. He said if you can fix it he'll give you first pick of the circuits he just got in."

Daria looked at the Doc, then to Riddick and back again. "Bertam is our local recycler," the doctor explained trying to be casual, but the tension was evident on his face, "Daria also does repairs for some of the merchants. They pay her with cash, food, parts, pieces, whatever they have. She uses the parts and pieces to make complete units, and we have a friend who sells them for us."

He turned back to Daria, "Why don't you go have a look." She was hesitant, but the look on the doctor's face did not invite discussion. Doc Josh helped her pack up her tools then carry the shield generator's work surface down the hall. The board was carefully slid into one of a number of cubbies lining one side of the hall where Daria kept current projects and her spare parts, then the doctor saw her to the doorway. "Go on, I'll keep Mr. Riddick company," the doctor promised. Daria hesitated, looking back at Riddick, but he jutted his chin toward the door indicating she should go. Her being here for this discussion wasn't a good idea. Outnumbered, she obeyed.

Joshua stood in the doorway long enough to ensure Daria was gone, then turned back. Richard stood at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed watching Joshua coldly. The doctor felt a chill go down his spine as he recalled the young man's hand on the back of his neck. This task was no less dangerous than going to Steinen to lie about Daria, and Joshua had prayed every step of the way toward that undertaking as well. Even so he found himself praying again as he took a deep breath and exhaled.

Christ's promise from the book of Hebrews fluttered through the doctor's mind like a blanket caught in the wind, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' Joshua caught onto it and wrapped the verse around his thoughts continuing, 'The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?(1)' pulling courage from it.

The worst Richard could do was kill him. Then again, it was not death he feared so much as the manner of it, and what would happen to those he would be leaving behind. Joshua knew he should trust the Lord to have all that worked out, but he couldn't help but worry. They were so close, and who would look out for Daria? Distracting thoughts, the doctor chastised himself, that have no place in this moment, and he pushed them away.

"We need to talk," Joshua met Richard's eye, then he walked past into the 'kitchen.' "Something to drink?" he asked out of courtesy, glancing at their disquieting houseguest. The young man's eyes had not left him, did not leave him, even as he shook his newly shaved head. Although his own mouth was dry, Joshua did not bother with a drink for himself either. His stomach would not appreciate it at the moment. Joshua knew what his heart told him, but it warred with his good sense, especially as he reached into a cabinet and withdrew the talon shaped knife Daria had found on the rocks beside the young man. Daria had said the blood on the blade was fresh when she first found it, but it had since dried dark and hard. The Doctor didn't have to ask if it was Richard's knife. He would have known even if he hadn't seen Steinen brandishing its twin for the leather harness that Richard had been wearing was designed to hold two of such weapons. He shook his head, glad for the one missing. The single blade looked quite deadly enough by itself. He carried it to the table reluctantly and as he sat down he saw Richard was still watching him, a new and perilous light in the youthful convict's eyes.

Riddick didn't bother moving as the Jacobson walked by. He wasn't feeling 100 percent yet, but he was confident there was nothing this man could do that he couldn't stop, with extreme prejudice if necessary. He couldn't be sure what the Doc had in mind, but he thought he knew. It wasn't just the Doc's form of address. Riddick had smelled it the moment the doctor walked past him. Jacobson had a rough woodsy scent overlaid by the cologne he wore and the disinfectants he hung out with, but there was an undertone of controlled fear on him today. The man's heart was probably beating double time. The Doc asked if Riddick wanted something to drink, and when he'd said no, Doc Josh had skipped too. Riddick knew why. If Jacobson drank anything right now, the convict thought with a smirk, the man'd just as likely puke it back up. But when Jacobson reached into a cabinet and pulled out one of Riddick's shivs, the young man's eyes narrowed. Things had just got interesting.

The doctor carried the shiv to the table as if it weighed a great deal, then just sat down and stared at the thing. Riddick could tell the blood on the blade bothered the doctor. Bothered him too. Not good to leave blood on a good forged blade. Did things to the metal. Finally the doctor broke the silence that had settled upon them, "You've killed a few people haven't you, Mr. Riddick?" It was said quietly, more statement than question, but there was a note in it that hoped Riddick could deny it.

Riddick snorted derisively, knowing the Doctor's understatement deliberate, and he wasn't going to play those games. If Jacobson was going to come asking about the truth Riddick wasn't going to make it sound nice. "I've killed lots of people, Jacobson," he corrected coldly, "broke necks, slit throats, arranged 'accidents'… It's what I was trained to do."

Joshua glanced at the young man who remained leaning against the wall; every line of Richard's frame was relaxed and casual while his deep voice carried a soft threat of death like the distant thunder of an approaching avalanche. 'You don't want to know,' his tone promised. All trace of his previous openness was gone as if it had never been. The convict's face was hard as his eyes glittered dangerously, no hint of emotion in them. The doctor dropped his gaze back down to the bloodstained knife and quietly set it on the table in front of him. The truth was what he was after, but he hadn't expected it to be delivered so bluntly, "489 'accidents'?" he asked hoping somehow what he read was wrong.

"And more besides," Riddick answered remorselessly, "'though not all for the same reason." He saw the doctor flinch as if he'd been struck, "but those you mentioned; weren't none of them accidents. Environmental sabotage, toxins in the air and food in the chow hall, lots of one on one, but none of them were accidents," Riddick added with malicious honesty indicating his first hand involvement in the deaths of 489 men. The doctor flinched again and the sheen of his face seemed dull. Riddick suspected that if the man's skin weren't so dark, he'd be ashen, and eyed the shiv on the table.

Stupid move bringing a shiv to the table for this conversation. His mind was already plotting the action. A single easy movement… a quick step, hand closing over the hilt, a single upward slash, another throat cut – the throat of the man who had saved his life, the throat of the man who could destroy this chance he had to start over, the throat of the man who had who had saved Daria... whose sobs he still heard when he closed his eyes. Daria. He still needed her. A cut throat would be too much mess to clean up. New plan. A quick step behind the doctor, two hands, grab the chin for leverage, break his neck and lose the body outside in the rocks. The plan was doable, even easy, and yet Riddick didn't move.

"Why?" the doctor asked with quiet deliberation.

That took Riddick by surprise. "Why?" he repeated in a bitter snarl. He moved then, storming the table in a single step to lean down invading the doctor's space, one hand on either end of the bloody blade, "Because I'm a shiv-happy psychopath," he rumbled low and dangerous, "didn't you read that while you were lookin' up Mr. Riddick, Richard B?"

The doctor nodded faintly, refusing to look up and meet Riddick's eyes but stared at the muscled hand bare inches from the talon knife's handle, "But there was another man; the judge who placed you with the mercenaries, Peter Nachman,…" It was Riddick's turn to flinch, a glance away, a slight turning of his head, "…he said there would be a reason. He said you didn't do things without reason."

Riddick closed his eyes and sighed. He had tried hard to blame the judge for what happened, but the truth was the man had done right by him. Placing him with Grycov's Mercs had been a good move – gave him the best three years of his life. For the first time he had felt like he could almost fit in, felt like he might have found a place he could stay. If he hadn't accepted the posting to Sigma 3... if he hadn't gone to Strikeforce... But he did, and he had. "And if I had a reason," Riddick asked, his demeanor subtly changed, "would that make it right?"

"No," the doctor answered softly, "but it might make it understandable."

"Why would you believe me?" the young convict growled, "No one else would."

"Firstly, because I want to," Joshua answered slowly. "My faith believes there is hope for every man, and I can't believe a man could be so evil as to kill 489 of his colleagues for his own pleasure. If you are such a man, then I may have committed the gravest error of my life in saving yours," he glanced up briefly and saw an incredulous scorn building in the young convict's eyes that he would base his willingness to believe on such a purely emotional argument, but that was not the sole reason. "Secondly, I know the girl you were with is Vanessa Grycov, whose father is the owner of the mercenary company you..." The doctor stopped abruptly, then took a deep breath before continuing, "... you killed. I saw her shortly after she was captured, and she was desperate to believe that you had survived and would be coming back for her. That attitude is not consistent with a girl being taken by a kidnapper, but it is for a girl traveling with a bodyguard, and that is what Captain Cuddian called you. Finally, if you were acting as Vanessa Grycov's bodyguard, then Raspin Grycov himself stands witness for you. A man would not trust the safety of his daughter to a convicted psychotic killer unless Judge Nachman truly had the right of it…" he looked up and met the young man's eyes, "there was more to your deed than was being admitted."

Riddick stared at the doctor, and for the first time the doctor did not look away.

"I had reason." Riddick stated without his previous arrogance, and when the doctor continued to look at him expectantly, Riddick continued. "You heard of the Wailing Wars?"

"Not in detail," the doc shook his head.

Joshua wasn't sure what to expect, but when the young man finally hooked the other chair with his foot and maneuvered it into position, Joshua suspected he was about to hear something few other people had. Richard settled in across from the doctor with brooding grace. His elbows were on the table, his hands remaining mere inches from the strange knife Joshua had laid down, but somehow the doctor no longer felt threatened.

"Two sides, one sector. Both thought they should own the whole thing, and were willing to do most anything to get it," Riddick began his tale with reluctance, "Lotta merc units hired out fer that one. Sigma 3 Company, the one I was stationed with, wasn't one of them, not officially, but that didn't stop them from cashin' in on the action. Nasty war." he muttered grimly, "Bloody. Lot of colonist stuck in the middle – both sides. Heard someone say it was called the Wailing Wars for all the people left grievin'. Don't know if that was true, but there were plenty." He paused, a flicker of some emotion touching his dark eyes. "Lot more than there needed ta be," he added. "Sigma 3 Company wasn't there fer the war. Grycov had a station in the Sigma 3 system; a training academy on one of the moons, and a long term contract protectin' Sigma 3's natural resources," his sarcasm was heavy, making it clear they were only protecting the resource collection operations of their employers from others rather than acting in any way to preserve the planet's environment.

"I worked the dirt for nearly a year then got promoted upstairs," Riddick recalled, "went to the academy. After I graduated they sent me back down to enforce security," his inflection gave the last two words new meaning as well. "Curious though, how orders required occasional holes big enough to fly ships through," he supplied as an aside, the doctor's first clue that Sigma 3 Company wasn't playing on the level. The young man continued, "Enforcement wasn't a pretty job... think slavery... but compared to what else they were doing, it was cake." Riddick went quiet as he reflected back. Remembering was something he didn't like to do, for many reasons, but the doctor was patient. "Guild don't care if a company does a little moonlighting so long as it gets its cut," the convict finally resumed, "and so long as it don't do the guild's rep no harm. Rep's a big thing to Grycov," he added bitterly.

"As mercenaries go," Joshua commented, "his guild is considered among the more honorable."

"That ain't saying much." Riddick growled, "Ain't saying much at all. Grycov don't have much honor of his own, but honor sells and he's all business."

"And you were in a position to learn this," the doctor predicted.

"First hand," the young convict answered flatly. "Sigma 3's Company had been getting aggravated. They were stationed closer to the war than any other post, and they didn't like that all these other units were getting' paid the big bucks to fight while they had to sit on their hands and guard a dirt ball. Then one side of the war approached them quiet offering high pay if Sigma 3'd augment a small E-TAC troop they were sendin' on the sly. They'd supply the suits, the hardware, the weapons, if Sigma 3'd provide the mercs to fill them. This was a job even Steinen wouldn't touch... up front anyways." Riddick stared at hands a moment, "Sigma 3 Co figured since they were goin' to be wearing somebody else's clothes, if they took it under the table they wouldn't have to pay guild fees and Grycov would never know."

The young man shook his head, "Hate to disappoint you, Doc, but my kind of evil ain't the worse there is out there. This little war council that hired Sigma 3 was core evil, but at least they had an agenda. They figured if they kept the war going long enough, their side could take the whole sector. Sigma 3 Company threw right in there with them for no call but greed. My understandin' is Sigma started going sour before the wars, but even so I'm sure there was still some that objected at first, but they were culled out quick and hard – 'accidents', 'illness', that sort of stuff. By the time I got there the whole company was dirty. Didn't know it right off, but figured it pretty quick. I had learned what they had to teach me and I was good at it. Most the other graduates were dispersed out to other units, but they figured with my history as a hard core juvie-dee inclined ta violence, their kind of sly work was right up my alley so they kept me on at Sigma 3."

"What kind of 'sly work' were you expected to do?" Joshua asked hesitantly.

"Take out civilians," the young man said brusquely, "What's more, it was their own colonies this little war council was setting up for targets." The doctor's eyes grew wide. "Long wars wear a people down. When the war council thought people were getting restless, thinking about peace, they'd take Sigma 3 in mocked up like the other side to make an 'unprovoked attack' on a civilian colony they considered expendable or troublesome. War council'd be happy when the slaughter of an innocent colony perked folks up, kept their blood boiling and Sigma 3 Co was happy to get a fee they didn't have to share. On occasion they even managed to come up with some untraceable salvage besides."

"Entire colonies?" the doctor whispered, "men, women, children?"

"Entire colonies," Riddick confirmed, "Men. Women. Kids."

"Did you participate?" Joshua asked quietly.

"Yeah," the young man answered plainly, but his dark eyes were suddenly filled with revulsion and disgust, "yeah, I did." The big knife on the table remained untouched, but from somewhere below the table, a boot perhaps, a smaller one appeared in his hands. It was straight, double edged, but Richard seemed almost unaware of its presence as he began to twiddle with the sharpened blade distractedly the way someone else might twiddle with a stylus or a piece of silverware. "They pulled me from my enforcement duties sayin' I was going on a special ops assignment. The eight other academy graduates they'd kept on at Sigma 3 came with and I had already started wondering cause it seemed they'd kept the moral dregs of the class. En route to our target I was comin' down the hall and passed an air duct. Funny how sound travels when you least want it to. Commander and troop masters were meeting somewheres, divvyin' up the cadets, and I could hear them talking so I stayed and listened. They talked about watching the probies for scruples. Didn't understand till later."

Riddick closed his eyes briefly recalling the fateful attack that had set him on this path, "It was my first combat outside field training. I went down high on half truths and killed anything that moved. Met resistance, but not much. Wasn't till it was over I realized that they were civilians. I hadn't run into any kids, but some of the other cadets had. Nine of us went down. Four went back up alive and it wasn't the colonist that took out the ones what died. They called it initiation and when we got back I had to sign off on a couple 'security accidents.' Sure the others had to do similar. Insurance. Some 5 months later we did it again, then we did one for the other side." Riddick laughed, but it was a dark humorless sound, "Murderin' their own folk was an idea so damn twisted, neither side could imagine the other'd even think of it, and Sigma 3 Co wasn't about to tell them it was playin' both ends for the middle, so the war kept on."

"Isn't there a code among mercenaries that you can't work for both sides of a conflict?" Joshua murmured, shaken by what he had heard, for that code also restricted mercs to military targets in a war unless there were extenuating circumstances such as civilians housing munitions or providing cover for troops. Prolonging the conflict certainly did not qualify.

Riddick shook his head. "Code had nothing to do with this. Merc's true creed is greed and Sigma 3 took it further than most." The young convict sighed, "I never did kill any kids, made sure of it, but I saw others do it. Watched women die trying to help their men, moms and dads tryin' to protect their kids. I watched kids tryin' ta pick up dad's gun to protect moms and sibs. On that last one I saw a boy, couldn't have been more than seven, trying to protect his mom and sister. He took three slugs before he went down and stayed. I couldn't stomach any more. Man can only take so much before something in him's gotta change, somethin's gotta die. I couldn't do that."

"Don't get me wrong," Riddick clarified, "I got no problem ghosting a woman, providing she's intent on doin' the same ta me, or thinks she's taking me back ta slam, but these folk had no real part in the war save they lived on one side or the other, maybe some had kin serving. They were just reasons to keep fighting. I knew if I said anything I'd just get culled, so I started working a sly of my own. I contacted Grycov, started collecting intel for him. We were going to hang Sigma 3 Company out to dry before anyone else got killed." Riddick fell silent, his thoughts caught up in the repulsive memories so recently dredged from the depths of forgetfulness.

Doctor Joshua was surprised to see an expression almost like pain on the young convict's face. "Then what happened?" he encouraged, pulling the young man back to the here and now.

"Peace," Riddick answered, "The war council got overruled and both sides decided they were tired of dyin'. Called a ceasefire, started talking treaties. Things were real shaky, but it looked like both sides were serious this time. Sigma 3 Company was furious. They hadn't been pulled in till later, and didn't feel like they'd gotten a chance to earn their fair share so they started making plans of their own. Carawa Colony was a quiet place. Some 300 families settled there, and they had taken in who knows how many refugees. Nickname was Haven. Sigma 3 Co decided they were going to mock up and take it out. They knew a place like Haven falling unprovoked would jumpstart the war machine with a vengeance. I informed Grycov of the plans, and he ordered me to go cold. I told him he needed to do something. I told him if he didn't, I would," the young convict stated grimly. "Well, he didn't. Turns out that Carawa was going to be his final bit of evidence. Stuff I had for him was mostly circumstantial; Sigma 3'd done a decent job of covering their tracks, but if Grycov could catch'em killin' civilians, it would nail Sigma 3's coffin shut. The lives of a lot of colonists Grycov didn't know were cheap next to the credits he'd have to shell out for almost 500 prolonged trials. Then I went and made it easy for him."

"Couldn't you have just disabled the ships or something like that?" the doctor asked.

"Could have." Riddick answered honestly, "Coulda done a lot of things, but any of them woulda tipped my hand, then I'd be the one dead and Carawa would have been attacked a little later than sooner." The young man shook his head, "Believe me, I considered all the particulars, but if Grycov wasn't going to step in I only had two choices; go cold like he told me or stop 'em final. I know what you probably read." Riddick looked at the doctor, "I may be good at killin', but I don't necessarily enjoy it. It don't bother me when its gotta be done, but I don't do it just 'cause I like it."

The Doc nodded, "It seems Judge Nachman was right," he murmured, "there was reason," and Riddick was amazed. He'd expected righteous condemnation from this man, but it seemed the Doc was taking his account at face value and actually considering the circumstances. "Then what?" the doctor asked.

"I told Grycov." Riddick responded watching the doctor, "Big mistake. The next thing I know I'm under house arrest and he's got sweeper teams cleaning up the place. Not the stuff I've done; just any evidence of Sigma 3's part in the war. Everything I'd collected for him, all the com-logs of my contacting him, anything that might explain why I did what I'd done, all deleted, an me too stupid and trusting the man to have made back-ups. That left me with near 500 dead bodies to explain and not a scrap of evidence to argue with. Was kept in Deep Storage till just before the trial, then got stuck with a damn system lawyer. I'd never earned a credit that wasn't on Grycov's payroll, and hadn't seen a reason to keep it outside the company bank. That vanished with everything else so I couldn't hire one of those fancy attorneys. My system rep was over worked, under paid and thought I wasn't worth his time cause he figured me for guilty from the start. I hated the man, but I'll say this much for him. He didn't fold under Grycov, and he argued my case as best he could with what he had, which was nothin'. Instead of paying for 500 trials, Grycov only had to pay fer one and the guild got to keep its tidy reputation. Grycov hung me out to dry and called it good business." Riddick spoke in a low seething voice like far off thunder and it sent chills down Joshua's spine. If tones could kill, the doctor thought briefly.

"So now what?" Riddick asked sharply, an edge of wariness returning. Just because the doctor believed him, didn't mean the man wouldn't turn him in. 489 was a lot of men to ghost and this man had religion. Riddick's experiences with religious people had been few and far between. His last foster family had dragged him to church – figured getting religion might straighten him out. It had been a monster building – looked like something out an old horror movie. People inside hadn't been much better. Teacher in his class had taught silly stories about magic trees in a garden with a talking snake and a boat that held all the animals on Earth Prime during a flood - like these really had any relevance to his life. Then there had been a story about a guy named Samson – Riddick could get into him, killing lions with jaw bones, playing mind games with the dudes out to kill him, bringing down buildings with his bare hands, but when Riddick had tried to ask questions the teacher had gotten angry, accused him of disrupting the class and had him punished – some verse in The Book about sparing the rod and spoiling the child.

Another verse brushed his memory. Something about the rod and staff comforting. He didn't know where that came from, but it was obvious the teacher had never read it. He hadn't stayed for any of the lessons that followed. Every time they went to church he'd duck out of class at the first opportunity and disappear somewhere, then come back just before the grown ups were done with all their hoo-dooin'. The class was big enough that the teacher never noticed he was missing or if she did she never said anything to his foster parents.

Riddick found a few other guys doing the same thing so they started planning their escapes, meeting in different places. One guy snuck in some of his dad's dirty vid-mags, another brought supply catalogs full of weapons and stuff for merc wanna-be's. Riddick learned quite a few things in that church, but religion wasn't one of them. The holier-than-thou judgmentalism and rigid hypocrisy of religion was repugnant and remained so. Nowdays he tended to avoid anything that stunk of it. He already knew where he stood. He really didn't need someone else to tell him how bad he was; that'd been drummed into him since childhood. And he didn't need to have this "do good and be saved" crap shoved in his face either. The way he figured, he didn't have enough lifetime left to make up for the bad he'd done, so why bother trying. If there really was a place called Hell, he was pretty much living there already. Devil had already picked out his bonfire and hung up the 'Reserved for Riddick' sign. Riddick supposed all he was doing now was adding a few logs to it. No, he didn't need religion, but this man Jacobson seemed different somehow. Riddick didn't see the attitudes he normally associated with religious folk in Jacobson, that holier-than-thou stuff, but what that meant for him, Riddick didn't know.

Doctor Joshua stared at the blood stained blade on the table, lifting it back up and turning it as he reflected on what he had just heard. He had come looking for the truth, and it seemed to have been given to him no holds barred. Either Richard Riddick was an extraordinarily well-informed and deliberate liar, for much of what the young man said had dovetailed perfectly with the doctor's own research, or, as his heart was inclined to believe, the young convict was telling a bitter truth. And if such was the case, while the crime had been horrific, the reason for it had been almost noble. Had the young man truly had no other choice? Had it been that simple? Kill or be killed. Kill or let kill. 300 families on Carawa. Men. Women. Children. 900 people, maybe more. And then there were the refugees. How many refugees? And if the war continued... how many more casualties?

As a doctor Joshua understood the need to excise diseased flesh so that healthy tissue could thrive. He knew that under certain wretched conditions a few individuals that might be difficult to save would have to be sacrificed to give others a chance to be saved – it was a concept he struggled with even now. That was the bitter essence of triage, but was it truly the lives of 500 corrupt mercenaries versus the lives of 1000, 1200 or more innocent colonists? This wasn't flesh! These were souls… many souls! Could it still be that simple? Joshua shuddered as he considered the act, then forced himself to focus on the facts concerning Richard's trial: the fact that Grycov seemed to have gone to a great deal of effort to influence the judicial system – keeping Richard not just locked up, but cryoed until his trial; that the guild leader had pushed the trial through the bureaucracy so quickly; that he left Richard with a system lawyer instead of letting him have a paid attorney, nor would Joshua be surprised to learn Raspin Grycov had something to do with preventing the young man from testifying on his own behalf as well. It all seemed to justify the young convict's story more than disprove it. And that must have left a lot of bad blood between the two. 'So now what?' The young man had a very good question.

"So now I find myself wondering," the doctor finally voiced his continued train of thought, "how you, of all people, would come to be acting bodyguard to the daughter of the man who had you slammed?"

"Ironic as hell, ain't it?" Riddick stated, "Truth is her father sent me to get her out of Steinen territory," and he watched the doctor's eyebrows rise in disbelief.

"Perhaps you would care to elaborate," Joshua suggested unable to keep skepticism out of his voice entirely despite his best efforts.

"Yeah," Riddick grinned briefly, "That's how I felt," then he grew somber, "but it's simple. His kid's wild. Went where she shouldn't. Grycov needed someone who wasn't on his payroll to slip in and pull her outta Steinenland. He knows what I can do and I was in the right place to come do it. I hate the man, but he holds the leash to a 1 mil payday on my head so we made an agreement; I get his girl home safe and that payday and all it's little pals do a disappearin' act. I get a chance to start over, make a new life somewhere."

"And what about Grycov?" Jacobson wondered aloud, "He betrayed you once."

"He won't do it again if he knows what's good for him," Riddick rumbled dangerously, his voice as rough and unforgiving as granite stones, "I don't forgive," the convict growled shortly staring at the doctor peculiarly, "but if he keeps his end of the deal, I'll let Sigma slide."

The doctor stared at Riddick in silence a long moment, his expression tight, then he got up and walked down the hall. He walked like a man with a burden, and Riddick knew what that burden was; what to do with the escaped killer of 489 plus men. Every instinct in Riddick's body told him to follow the man, break his neck and hide the body before the man could turn him in, but again, contrary to his impulse, Riddick didn't move. When Jacobson reached the end of the hall, the doctor stopped, and leaned into the wall, his head bowed between his out stretched arms as his palms pushed against the stone. Riddick heard murmuring, and though he couldn't hear what was being said, he guessed Jacobson was praying. Waste of time, the young convict thought to himself remembering the pompous recitations he'd heard as a child, and yet when the doctor finally returned, something had changed.

The Doc stopped at the room's entrance and leaned up against the wall, a casual imitation of Riddick's earlier stance. "You'll still be an escaped convict. Won't there be a warrant out there with your name on it?" The doctor picked up the conversation where they'd left off.

Riddick's eyed the doctor warily as he nodded, "Yeah, but no bounties mean no hunters. I can stop running. Maybe settle in one place long enough ta learn some things, figure out a legal trade. I don't wanna to be a merc again."

"You know," the doctor began with careful carelessness, "Trishary 4 might not be a bad place to settle in for awhile. It's relatively remote. The only people who come here are tourists and scientists, and both are usually too focused on their own pursuits to pay serious attention to the locals."

"Steinenland?" Riddick scoffed, even as he was amazed. The Doc wasn't going to try turnin' him in? A convicted murderer? His thoughts were turned on end, thinking past getting Vanessa home, past the ghosted bounties... actually taking a moment to consider the future. Why not Trishary 4? It wasn't like he had reason to go anywhere different, and Jacobson's reasoning was sound enough... if it weren't for Steinen.

Jacobson didn't move, but as if aware of Riddick's consideration the doctor's eyes shifted like lightning. "Steinen won't always be in charge of Trishary 4," the doctor said portentously, the same grim fire in his eyes that Riddick had seen when the doctor's hackles rose over Daria. "Someday… someday soon… he may find himself out of a job." There was a tremendous weight to that statement, but Riddick got the distinct impression it hadn't all been downloaded yet.

"And?" the young convict drawled.

"And you can help make it happen," the doctor said intently. Riddick's surprise grew. Not just a place on Trishary 4; Jacobson was inviting him to join the resistance! Inviting him to help take down Steinen! Jacobson stared at him, then misunderstanding the young man's expression, he came back to the table and sat down again. "There are those that actively oppose Steinen's presence on Trishary 4 and many other places," the dark physician began to explain.

That's an understatement, Riddick thought, there are those who actively oppose Steinen breathin'.

"Steinen wore out his welcome long before he set foot in our snow eleven years ago," the doctor was saying, "There were two rebellions in the first three years but he dealt with them efficiently and without mercy. Several tourists killed were in the second one and there was as much damage done to the economy by the bad press as there was by Steinen's punitive actions. It very quickly became apparent that frontal assaults were not the way."

"When the Third Resistance started up seven years ago it was decided the best way to remove Steinen from power would be by a subtle infiltration and permeation," the Doc said seriously, "Steinen knows the TR exists, but occasional front operations against military targets keep him from realizing our true agenda. We now have key members in every critical level of Steinen's organization throughout the Trishary system, and five systems beyond. When we finally take action here, changes of leadership, forced or otherwise, will ripple outward like a stone thrown in water and by the time realization of our coup reaches the ears of those beyond us there will be nothing they can do for we will have stabilized our power base and Steinen will be out of the picture."

It was an afternoon of surprises. And in the back of his mind Riddick wondered if Steinen might not find this information more valuable than Vanessa. "How deep you into this?" the convict asked wondering how much more information he could get out of the doctor without making the man suspicious.

"Deep enough to get myself killed," the doctor answered with a wry smile, "I have an important role to play, but I'm not essential. Few individuals are."

"And how deep you want me in this?" the young man asked. It was a loaded question. How much danger did Joshua want to involve him in? How much information was Joshua willing to trust him with?

As Joshua gazed at the young convict he felt his heart clashing with his common sense again. He had already told Richard enough to get himself killed and put the Third Resistance in jeopardy, but if he continued on he could well be signing their death warrant. He never missed his wife Sarah so much as now. She had always heard God's voice so clearly. 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart,' he heard one of Sarah's favorite verses whisper in his mind, "and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths(2).' I'm trying, Lord, Joshua declared silently, and I DO trust You, but this boy's got a mind of his own! It felt like the biggest gamble of his life, and there was no time to ask for second opinions.

"As deep as you can get," the doctor answered gravely after a moment, "The TR is made up of relatively anonymous cell groups. Each cell's membership is determined by a target, and consists primarily of members who have positions in that target. The groups take their names from individuals in the Bible so that personal identities aren't divulged if one of our communications is intercepted. I'm on call as Steinen's personal physician," Jacobson said, as if the position was a curse, "There is no respect to the title, and little trust beyond those things medical, but it does put me in the position to learn things on occasion and it does give me access to the stronghold." Now that would be an effective combination, Riddick considered, if Daria was involved - one in the halls, one in the walls. "That places me in cell Ehud(3), and while I am guessing the name means nothing to you, Mr. Riddick, suffice to say we are the fine point of the wedge. If we fail, the whole attempt may very well fail for we have the task of securing Steinen, and with him his stronghold."

Riddick held his silence as he digested the data he'd just been given. There was enough information here to guarantee the doctor's death, if not destroy the whole Third Resistance. He knew what Steinen would trade for this kind of intel and it was MORE than just Vanessa. It astounded him that the doctor was being so open. No one had trusted him like this since... He shook his head mentally. He couldn't remember anyone ever trusting him like this – not to this scale. It just confirmed his previous observation about the Doc - the man trusted way too much - confirmed it in spades. "And my part in this?" he finally asked.

"It is said the Lord works in mysterious ways, Mr. Riddick" the doctor answered, "and I think you're here, at this time, for a reason. While I cannot even begin to guess the whole of it, there is one thing I'm sure of; your presence in Ehud could change everything. I want you to help us capture Steinen. In return we will help you recover Vanessa, and I think I can promise that Trishary 4 will be a much more pleasant place to stay by the time you get back."

"I don't need your TR to help me get Grycov's daughter out," Riddick stated flatly, "I got plans a lot less dangerous than cracking open this whole wasp nest looking for the king bee, and there's other places than Trishary 4 that I can settle on. This ain't my fight."

"No," Joshua agreed feeling his stomach lurch, "it's not your fight." Had he made a mistake? He knew what at least one of those plans could now be, and that any other could jeopardize the TR in any number of ways. "But you acted once before to defend women and children from death, and in truth this is little different save that they die slowly over the months and years instead of in one great slaughter. Can you imagine what it is like to live in a city never knowing if soldiers are going to burn your house or perhaps just break in and drag away fathers or mothers, or both, right before the eyes of their terrified children? Where a child like Daria must live in a hole under rocks like a Snatchit just to stay safe? Where pregnant women are run down in the streets mere blocks from their home?" his voice caught, and Riddick suddenly knew how Jacobson's wife had died. "Nor would you be fighting alone this time." Joshua argued persuasively, "You would have allies fighting by your side for the same cause, and when you return, these allies would be friends."

"Please, Richard, consider it," Jacobson implored, "You can make a difference here. You could help a lot of people... on Trishary 4 and beyond." Riddick stared hard at the dark skinned man. So it was Richard again. The Doc was capable of playing that game, and then, in the same thought, Riddick realized he wasn't. The Doc spoke with his heart. It was Richard again because the doctor cared, wanted to care, but he couldn't unless they were on the same side. It wasn't a ploy, it was a plea, and if Riddick didn't agree, they would have conflicting agendas, it would be back to Mr. Riddick as the Doc tried to distance himself, and Riddick didn't know what the Doc would do; what he might have to do to the Doc… and to Daria. His gut twisted at the thought. Damnit! he snarled to himself, don't let emotions cloud the issue. I don't need friends.

"I'll think on it," Riddick finally said, then snagged the shiv on the table and strode over to the wall. After jamming the dirty knife in its harness, he grabbed his coat, "I'm going for a walk."

"Wait," the doctor stood up startled, "Promise me you won't betray us," Jacobson commanded plaintively, "Promise me you won't do anything to hurt Daria."

"I'll think on it." Riddick said again.

"Please, Richard," the doctor added fervently, "She trusts you. I've trusted you."

Damn him. "Yeah, way too much," Riddick growled as he shrugged on the garment. He pulled the shiv harness up onto his shoulder then grabbed the thermal barrier that blocked the tunnel. What would the Doc do? Try to kill him?

Doc Josh stood and Riddick tensed, his hand easing quietly to his shiv as the physician walked over, but the doctor only took the thermal barrier from Riddick's hand and held it aside for the young convict. "Be careful," the doctor said tightly, "Captain Cuddian is looking for you. Mr. Grycov won't deal unless he sees your body."

Damn him.

"By the way," Joshua added, trying to lighten the moment, "I like the new look."

Damn him. "Yeah, thanks," Riddick answered distractedly as he ran his hand over his now smooth scalp, then ducked into the tunnel. He needed to think.

-oOo-

Something new :o) - my WRITER'S NEWS, NOTES & THANKS:

At the end of one of the stories I've been following, the author made a point of thanking reviewers personally. I liked it. It was a neat way to recognize and interact with the people who had taken time to read and share their thoughts so I decided to incorporate the idea, (Thanks for the idea Haynet) so here we go...

THANKS:

JackylnK – Welcome back! Hope you're summer trip was enjoyable! Thanks for the kinds words. You don't know how much they are appreciated. After all, reviews are the food we starving amateurs crave, and good reviews are icing on the cake ;-)

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CARE TO LOOK THEM UP? Here's the Bible references used in this chapter:

1) Hebrews 13:5

2) Proverbs 3:5

3) Judges 3:15