"Jackie!"
Jackie dropped her bags just inside Abu al-Walid's front door and opened her arms to catch the flying five year old. "Ziza! You've gotten so big!" She swung the little girl around in a circle, moving toward one of the overstuffed chairs, and let go, sending the giggling girl into a soft landing on the chair. She pretended to be out of breath, rubbing the small of her back, brushing her long curly brown hair out of her face. "I won't be strong enough to keep doing that for long." Jackie looked around the front room, taking in the homey sight. Not much had changed in the three years since she had left for the Academy on Aquila Prime. Ziza jumped up and ran to the smaller of Jackie's bags.
"Let me help! Mama got your room ready, and she's making maqluba!" Jackie could smell the chicken and rich spices already. Her stomach growled. Lajjun appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Ziza, calm down, don't pester her. She's had a long journey, and she's tired."
"She's not a pest, just excited. I'm glad to see all of you too," Jackie replied, stepping over to Lajjun and getting enveloped in a warm hug.
"Your exam scores were amazing. I know it wasn't easy, but we are so proud of you, habibi," Lajjun murmured in Jackie's ear. Her eyes watered a little, but she brushed the tears away, beaming at Lajjun. She felt Ziza's arms wrap around her legs, and rubbed the child's back.
"It wasn't that bad. There was so much to learn: piloting, mechanical repair, physics, emergency medicine, plus a little self-defense-" She playfully mimed boxing down at Ziza, who laughed and jumped back into her own boxer's stance. "At least it was never boring! And like they never got tired of telling us: now not even the sky's the limit!"
"Go get settled in, we'll be ready to eat in an hour!"
Jackie grabbed her other bag and headed upstairs, hand-in-hand with Ziza.
Stuffed full of chicken, rice, and eggplant, Jackie finally put her fork down and pushed her chair back from the table. "That was amazing. You wouldn't believe the slop they tried feeding us at the Academy." Lajjun laughed and began to gather up the dinner dishes. When Jackie made a move to help, Lajjun waved her off.
"Sit! It's your first night back, I'm sure you and Abu have much to catch up on," Lajjun said with a twinkle in her eyes. "I'll put you to work tomorrow."
"Merciless!" Jackie teased. She turned to Abu, who had been watching their interaction with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He looked at Ziza.
"Go play, habibi." Ziza nodded, ran over to give Jackie another hug, then scampered off into the living area. Abu leaned forward. In a hushed tone, he said, "I received a message last night from Carolyn." Jackie's eyes widened. He took out his tablet and pushed it over to her. Anger and concern whirled through her as she read it. She pushed the tablet back over to Abu.
"So what?" She said, crossing her arms and leaning back. "She cut us off. Maybe that's not even her, maybe it's a scammer."
"Have you not heard? There is a new bounty on him." Jackie's heart started to pound. "500,000, out of Corovan. I got the news a few days ago, then this. I do not believe in coincidences," he said. Lowering his voice even further, "We could be in danger."
"Again, so what? She left us, not a word for almost five years, remember?"
"We must be careful. Do not talk to anyone you don't know. We should not respond to her, someone could be watching."
"Or you could be jumping at shadows." She stood up and turned toward the stairs. "I'm gonna turn in. Good night."
Once in bed, Jackie tossed and turned. Those six months after the crash, when the four of them had gotten to Helion Prime and Riddick had taken off, had been wonderful. Carolyn had been like the older sister she wished she'd had, helping her with school assignments, holding her when she cried at night, encouraging her to open up to her therapist, talking to her about what she could accomplish if she applied herself. She believed in me. Or made me think that she did, at least. Then New Oslo finally took Carolyn off her suspension and sent her to Lupus 5 with another merchant vessel, and Carolyn had never come back from it. She was shaking like a leaf on that last call, almost crying at the end. Then no word, none at all. The therapist had helped Jackie see that maybe Carolyn was simply still traumatized from the accident, and putting up boundaries to move away from it, but that hadn't erased the hurt much. Still, if he's right . . . She could have been risking a lot to reach out. Both of them know more than what they told me about where Riddick went . . . Jackie groaned, and picked up her tablet. Carolyn's contact information was still on it. She debated, then finally tapped a quick message out, choosing her words carefully.
Hey. I heard the news. You okay?
Once she hit Send, she finally felt her eyelids start to droop, and dropped off to sleep.
Ash gasped and cried out, her head tipping back as her body arched and contracted. Dahl lifted her head, her hands tracing over the other woman's bare thighs. When Ash finally came back down from orbit, she met Dahl's eyes and they both laughed.
"Does that make us even, or do I owe you one now?" Ash asked, those grey eyes fully here now, not off in some remote place. Dahl laughed again.
"Well, let's see . . . Subtract three, carry the one, solve for x . . ." She ducked as Ash tossed a pillow at her.
"Please, no maths. Nothing gets me out of the mood faster." Ash sat up, leaning back against the headboard, and Dahl moved to sit beside her. Ash grabbed her cigarettes and shook one out. She offered the pack to Dahl, but she waved them off.
"What brings you to Lupus 5?" Ash asked.
"Big hunt, what else? This one's pretty personal to my boss."
"Boss Johns, right?" Dahl's eyebrow went up in surprise. "Did a little research on you."
"Stalker!" Dahl said playfully.
"More like making sure my date wasn't a complete psycho, that's all," Ash said, somewhat apologetically, offering a shy smile that made her look years younger.
"Well, I guess that makes us even. I couldn't find much on you though, aside from the misdemeanor assaults here." A shadow seemed to pass over Ash's eyes. "Hey, I get it. This planet's crawling with amateur mercs, they don't know when to take 'No' for an answer. Based off the mug shots you won most of those fights."
"True. Most of them dropped the charges too; didn't want to admit they lost," Ash said, smiling again. "One request . . ." She leaned over and kissed Dahl softly. "Don't ever call me by my first name." Dahl laughed.
"You've had some training. Seems like a waste to be working at that hanger. You could make some real bank if you went merc. You could probably even get guild-sponsored."
"I owe Grif," Ash said, taking another drag. Her expression went from playful to pensive as she contemplated the faintly glowing end of her cigarette. Then, "He likes to fix broken things."
"You don't seem broken to me." Ash's eyelashes came down, veiling her eyes again.
"I'm knackered, and I have the night shift again." Ash stubbed out the last of her cigarette in the saucer she used as an ashtray. "You're perfectly lovely, but I really should get a few winks in." She fluffed her pillow and shifted to curl up on her side. Dahl reached out and gently traced the side of Ash's face.
"I guess I should get going too." She leaned down and kissed Ash's cheek, then got out of bed to get dressed. "Not sure how long we'll be here." Ash was already drifting off as Dahl let herself out, making sure the door latched behind her.
Boss Johns looked up from his screens as Dahl let herself into their quarters. She saw his eyes survey the red marks on her neck from Ash's teeth, and he chuckled. "Hope you managed to get some intel over the pillows."
Dahl shook her head. "Not much. I tried leading the conversation there last night, but doesn't seem like she talks to Fry. Typical Aquilan." Dahl smiled involuntarily. "But if you want me to try again, I will happily do so."
"We're here to track down Riddick, not get you laid. We may not have much more time anyway, lots of mercs are sniffing around, looking for him too."
"You could take another crack at Fry yourself," Dahl suggested. Boss Johns shook his head.
"Best chance was when I dropped into the hanger. Her guard's probably up now. Not going to hold my breath waiting for her to come around. I do plan on going to the Rusty Nail to listen in on the local card game."
"You really think any of these dregs know anything about where Riddick is?" Boss Johns snorted in contempt.
"No. But I might find some more crew members."
If this tattooed asshole doesn't shut his fuckin' trap soon, I'm gonna use it for an ashtray. Toombs looked over the other mercs at the table. The air smelled like cigarette smoke, unwashed bodies, and cheap liquor. And amateurs. Fuckin wet ends don't know their guns from their dicks.
"The fuck you lookin' at, Grandpa?" The tattooed asshole-Asher, that was his name-was glaring at him. He had a bandage across his nose, and a splint on one finger.
"A shit-talking baby with a full diaper, that's what I'm looking at. What happened to your face? Your boyfriend hit you with a loaded g-string when you got on your knees for him?" Asher began to move, but stopped when Toombs put his hand on his gun.
"Fuckin' old timers. I could fly circles around you and catch that fucker, Riddick, before you'd even make it up your ramp with your fuckin' walker." Asher drank another shot. He was starting to slur his words. "Those fuckin' back roads, they're the key. Last confirmed sighting of the fucker out there." Toombs laughed.
"You really think so?" Idiot. Hasn't seen the data logs from the Kublai Khan yet, or he'd know better. Not that Corovan's been forthcoming.
"Damn right I do. Fuckin' con, big and dumb just like the rest of the trash I've taken out. Gonna catch him and then I'll be on easy street. Not before I deal with that fucking dyke bitch of Grif's, though," Asher snarled the last bit, touching the bandage on his nose. "Just trying to be friendly, and that cunt just up and breaks my finger, then some blonde cunt cheap-shots me in the nose." Toombs's opinion of Asher sank even lower. Fuckin pussy. Carolyn Fry weighs what, 45 kilos soaking wet, still manages to break his nose?
"Sounds like you just couldn't handle their idea of foreplay."
"You're on my list, too. I'll deal with you later."
"Go get your nails done first, ya pussy." Asher stood up, snarling, his knee hitting the table and making the drinks tip. Toombs was faster, catching his drink in one hand and pulling out his gun with the other, holding it to Asher's chin. He finished his liquor, eyes never leaving Asher's bruised face. "You couldn't catch Riddick if he laid down in front of you and put the cuffs on himself." The bartender pushed in between them.
"Asher, get the fuck outta here. You've used up your strikes. I see you again and I'll nail your balls up on the sign out front." The bartender turned to Toombs after Asher had stumbled out. "No guns out, Toombs. You get a warning this time." He waved him off, heading outside for some relatively fresher air and a cigarette break.
He surveyed the front of Grif's hanger. He had watched from outside earlier, spotting Carolyn as she had left for the evening, this time on foot. Grif had been outside at the time, watching her leave, so Toombs hadn't tried to approach her. She had seemed spooked, eyes darting around the streets. Easy there. No running. He remembered from the chase on the Kublai Khan, even injured she had been able to run like a gazelle. If she spotted him first and recognized him, she could probably outrun him. Game over if I get my hands on you first, though. We've got a lot to catch up on . . . Just need to get you in the corner, see if you know how to sing. One of the young mercs from the card game joined him outside.
"You got one to spare?" The kid asked, gesturing to his pack. Toombs took another cigarette out of the nearly-full pack.
"Fresh out, sorry." The kid snorted, but otherwise gave no reaction to the slight.
"Heard you're looking for a crew here, to go after Riddick," he said. He had a rifle on his back that looked almost as tall as he was. "Might be I'm looking for a job. Think we might suit?"
Toombs studied the kid: late teens or early twenties, round face, brown hair in a military-looking crewcut, maybe 5'7 to Toombs's 6'2. Fuckin baby. Even the weakest con could probably snap him over their knees without breaking a sweat. He'd take one look at Riddick and drop a load in his shorts. Couldn't scare a con to save his life, probably. Looks completely harmless . . . An idea began to grow in Toombs's head.
"I just might have something you could help with. Trial-basis, say." He offered the kid a cigarette. "What's your name, kid?"
"Evac," the kid answered, lighting up.
"All right,I've got a lead on some intel, but can't risk spooking her. Here's the plan . . ."