14. Closing In

Alec Cross didn't have a clue where to look for Riddick next. His radar picked up a small ship coming up behind him and he checked his monitors. The prowler buzzed past him, and his instruments picked up a single life form aboard. Not Riddick, though. Riddick would be long gone by now, not behind him.

The fact that a prowler was so close behind him peaked his curiosity, though, and he decided to follow it. It had to bring him somewhere.

------

Gin and Riddick hauled the dead Ranger's body into the cockpit of Riddick's ship. Riddick had drained all the power cells but one, giving it just enough gas to fly about eight hundred miles away and then take a dive.

They left a few things on board to identify the body as Riddick. The Ranger was Riddick's height and build, and because he'd obviously been trained locally and was a newbie at best, there wouldn't be many people to worry about his disappearance. They'd just figure he got stationed somewhere else. Everyone would take it as Riddick's death, accepting it at face value, especially since Gin had swapped the Ranger's dental, blood, tissue, and DNA records with Riddick's.

Riddick punched in coordinates for an area of the planet more than twelve-hundred miles away and then put in the command for auto-pilot. They got off the prowler and watched it lift off, heading eastward.

Gin gave it a small, mocking salute. "Bye, Riddick," she murmured.

Riddick grinned, his white teeth showing bright in the dark night. "Good riddance, too. That Riddick was nothin' but trouble for everyone."

She smiled at him. "Oh, yeah. He can go join that murdering Gin Wolf in hell."

They laughed quietly and headed back towards the main settlement to check on the cell charging sequence for Gin's new ship. Gin had made a deal with the Trysian shop keeper and gotten her and Riddick a Hydro-quad 650. She'd paid, so the ship was hers now. She was extremely pleased with herself because her last ship had been a Hydro-quad 570, and it had been top of the line. This was much better.

Four cryo-lockers, two sleeping quarters, good sized cockpit, and a large cargo space with room for a small work-out area made it worth the bucks she'd been forced to dish out of her bank account. She was set, and Riddick admitted easily enough he wouldn't mind having one himself. It was a good investment for anyone, especially cons like themselves.

They headed back to their sleeping quarters, the hardest part of Riddick's death finished.

"You gotta name?" she asked him. "Because if you don't, I have some great ones. Wilbur Cummins, Biff Jefferson. . ." she ticked off a few more god-awful names before Riddick stopped her.

"Thank God I did think of somethin'," he said. "Yeah, I gotta name. Victor Rennick." He shot her a questioning look.

She considered the name. "Yeah, it fits, I guess. Victor though. . . I don't know. Vic for short?"

"Sure. Why not," he answered.

"Rennick," she smirked. "Cutting it a little close there, aren't we?"

Riddick nodded. "Yeah, maybe, but I like it, and if someone called out the name Rennick I'd remember it without trouble."

"I like it. So, no more Riddick in public. Kinda sad, I like the name. Oh, well.

"So what's next on the agenda, Vic?" she questioned teasingly, abruptly changing gears.

Riddick wrapped his arm around Gin's waist and pulled her close to his side. "I don't know, Reese. What are you doin' tonight?"

She grinned up at him, sliding her hand into his back pocket. "You."

And they disappeared into their hut for the night.

------

The man from the supply shop back on Riddick's dust bowl passed the merc in his prowler. The dust bowl, X-14, had been a temporary place for him, but it had been easy to set up shop there, and he'd lived in peace there.

Gin hadn't been the only one having trouble with Rangers. They'd killed his family, too, so he'd left. But now Gin was going to need to know about the merc that was after her and Riddick, and he was the man to tell her about it.

He had to find her fast though, the merc was following him. He could feel it.

------

"You're close, Gin. Keep lookin', sis."

Gin sat up with a start, heat rolling off of her skin in waves and she could feel a trickle of sweat dripping down the center of her back. Her hair was plastered to her head and her breathing was labored.

It had been Ven. She'd been reaching out to her, her cheek was bruised, and she'd been able to make out Brand's shadow in the background.

The words echoed in her head. ". . . close. . ." Over and over again. Her sister was in trouble, and so was Brand. She had to find them.

Riddick's hand grabbed her thigh and she jumped.

"Hey." He looked at her questioningly. "You all right?"

She shook her head miserably and slouched down. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his bare chest. She didn't cry, but he could feel the pain radiating from her.

"Ven and Brand are in trouble. We're close though, Riddick. . . God, I'm so close, but I can't find them!" Rage, helplessness, and sorrow warred for possession of her soul as she tried to grab back her sister's essence.

Suddenly Gin went very stiff. "Someone's coming," she whispered.

Riddick felt more than heard her comment. "Who?"

She lifted her head and closed her eyes. "Friend. I can't smell him though. It's different. . . Trysian maybe."

Riddick reached out with all his senses, trying to pick up on something. He could just make out the low breathing of the guy in the hut next to theirs. He could smell the community cafe, the too strong coffee and cheap food.

Then he felt it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he sensed someone intent on finding them. "Friend?"

She shifted slightly. "He's closing in. He can sense me, too. Friend though." Gin looked Riddick in the eye. "He's trying not to alarm us." Her head went up again, as if she were trying to detect some elusive odor.

"Got him," she murmured. "Familiar. . ." she trailed off. "I know him, but the scent is old, I can't quite stick it."

"Get dressed," he commanded.

The rolled off their cot and pulled on cargos and shirts, the cool night air raising goosebumps on their flesh.

When there was a knock on the door, Riddick strolled over to it and pulled it open. The man from the supply shop on X-14 stood before him, dressed in black, his yellow eyes glowing slightly in the dark.

"Where's Gin?" he asked.

Riddick didn't move, standing between Gin and the man. Gin had said the man was a friend, but she might have been wrong. Riddick studied him thoroughly. He couldn't pick up any hostility, but there was a sense of urgency about him, belying his relaxed position.

The man was large. Roughly six foot four, massive chest, shoulders and arms as well. He stood a few inches above Riddick, but he wasn't playing off his size to try and intimidate him. Riddick decided to agree with Gin. Stepping away from the entrance, he gestured the man inside. The man stepped through the door, ducking his head, and shoved a hand through his short black hair.

Gin stood in the darkest shadows of the hut, her goggles on despite the darkness. She was hiding her eyes, knowing this man would be able to read her if she had them off.

"Gin," the man began when he spotted her. "Oh, God, girl, you look good." He stepped forward and Riddick shifted uneasily at the man's comment.

She was silent as she studied him from behind her goggles, her muscles coiled. "Who are you?" she asked quietly, her voice so low even Riddick had a hard time hearing it.

The other man didn't have the same problem. "You don't remember?"

Gin felt the man was very familiar. The scent was not quite recognizable, but the voice was much like her father's. Same accent as her father and gravely deep, like Riddick's.

She closed her eyes and tried to think back. "Malloy. Craig Malloy," she said, opening her eyes and looking at the big man.

"Yeah. You do remember." He looked pleased. "But you've got trouble, Gin."

Riddick stepped to Gin's side. "What sort of trouble?"

"There's a merc after you guys. Slick one. He came lookin' for Riddick a few days after you two took off. I passed him on my way here. He might be following me."

Riddick tensed. "Great. Did he know what I look like?"

"Yeah. Described you to a T," Craig answered.

"Shit," he growled quietly.

Gin placed her hand gently on Riddick's forearm. "We changed your identity. Riddick is dead. When he gets here, he'll learn that quick, and we'll be gone. I've gotten the information I need here.

"How many days ahead of him do you think you are?"

Craig thought for a moment. "A day. Maybe."

This time it was Gin's turn to swear. "We can't leave tonight. The power cells on the new transport aren't charged yet."

"When will they be done?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. We need to pack."

They threw together all their belongings, stuffing them back in the leather duffel bags.

When they were done, Craig looked at Gin. "You look like your mother," he murmured. "She was an amazing lady."

Gin felt a sudden rush of emotions stream up to clog her throat, making her chest feel tight. "Uh, yeah," she managed around the lump in her throat, uncomfortable talking about her emotions.

Craig headed back to his ship and Gin and Riddick climbed back onto their cot. Riddick, feeling something was wrong with Gin, pulled her against his side, holding her as they fell asleep.