21. Reunions and Revenge

Gin was sending out feelers in an attempt to contact Ven. It was an arduous process that made beads of sweat pop out on her forehead and upper lip. She knew that whatever contact she was able to establish, it wouldn't be like sending a message and getting one in return. Gin could convey feelings, not thoughts.

Just when she was ready to give up, she felt a thrum of response snake into her mind. Ven knew she was there. Breathing a sigh of relief, Gin lifted her head and nodded at Riddick. "They know," she said, trying to catch her breath.

"Good. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Gin stood up from her position on the floor and turned to face Jack. "Jack," she said, knowing things could go wrong and that she might never see the girl again. Knowing the girl couldn't go with them.

"Leaving me behind again, Gin. I know. I'll be here when you get back."

Gin smiled wryly at the girl and pulled her close for a hug. Jack pulled back after a moment and smiled at Gin. "I'll be seeing you around," Jack whispered. Gin nodded and the two hugged again for a moment before Riddick reminded them of the task ahead.

"Gin, let's go," Riddick said, standing in the doorway, looking dark and dangerous. Gin nodded and they headed out towards the house.

The sun was setting low on the horizon and the dim light made it easy for both Gin and Riddick to go free of darkened goggles over their sensitive eyes. They ran through the night like silent shadows, covering the ten miles between the ship and Gin's old house with amazing speed.

When pinpoints of light became visible in the night they replaced their goggles and slid along the edge of the clearing that the house occupied. They lowered themselves to the ground, backs against trees, to check their weapons.

Riddick pulled his shiv and studied the sharp edge coolly, checking for any dull spots. There were none. Gin did likewise with her knife and then they checked the ammo in their guns, cocking them swiftly before looking at each other. It was time to move in.

The plan had been thought over in detail. Gin had drawn a schematic of the house, pinpointing the best places to hide. Then Riddick had figured out what to do from there.

They'd split up and enter from the south and east sides. Riddick east, Gin south. From there Gin would enter the den and slide down the hall to the master bedroom where she would meet Riddick. They could cover the house faster that way and signal each other if there was any trouble.

Gin made to step into the clearing and Riddick grabbed her arm. She froze and turned to him. He yanked her close to his chest and kissed her deeply, sliding his tongue into her mouth and fisting his hand in her hair. She moaned under the onslaught and raised herself against him, responding in a way that said they could both die that night. He groaned then let her go, then they broke and silently ran for the house.

Riddick split away from her and headed towards the east entrance leaving her to the south as they'd planned. The door was locked and that surprised her. She'd never had any locks on the doors. There had been no need that far out. They'd been ready for this though. She pulled the glass cutter from her bag and stuck it on the glass pane of the door. The arm reached around that and she pressed it down and slid it in a circle around the suction handle. The class pulled out easily and she set it on the ground before reaching into the door and finding the lock. She gave it quick twist and then eased the door open as quietly as she could.

The lights in the house were strangely bright and Gin was thankful for her goggles. She could smell Ven and Brand, and someone else. She didn't like it, but the scent of her siblings made her almost giddy. She shook her head to clear it, hoping neither Ven or Brand would make any signals to say that they knew anyone was there. Gin was sure they wouldn't.

Riddick's presence was obvious to her sharp senses and the hint of his scent was a comfort. The scent of her siblings became stronger as she headed for the bedroom. They'd know she was in the house now. It was just a matter of time before they were all back together again.

------

Ven shot Brand what she hoped was a comforting look, knowing he couldn't answer her without giving away Gin. Knowing Gin was so close was almost enough to make Ven shout out loud, but unfortunately such overtures of exuberant joy weren't an option.

Ven had sense more than heard two people entering the house, and at first she was confused. The almost imperceptible hint of a scent Ven couldn't place had entered the air. Someone was with Gin, but who?

She looked at Brand and caught his eye. Ven was surprised to see the knowing look on Brand's face.

"Riddick," he mouthed silently, keeping his head turned away from their captor.

James, as he'd introduced himself, was sitting on Gin's old bed, and reading one of her books. He knew Gin was coming. Once he'd dragged Ven and Brand on board his ship, finding out who they were hadn't been hard. Ven had her last name tattooed in plain sight on her shoulder, directly beneath the howling form of a wolf. They'd used each other's first names in the fight that had ended in their capture and Rain's death. The overly cocky Ranger wasn't so stupid as to not remember who the Wolf family was.

Exploiting Ven's minute ESP, he'd forced her to try and contact Gin or watch Brand get skinned alive before he set to work on her. The answer had been easy. Call Gin, save Brand and herself, and watch Gin slowly take care of James. And now Gin and Riddick were here and James didn't have a clue.

Ven leaned back in her rough wooden chair and closed her eyes. Feigning sleep was a good trick, and Brand quickly followed her example.

There was a sudden bang and James bolted to his feet, pulling his gun as he stood. Another bang and he was running for the door. There was a grunt and yelp and suddenly James' head was visible on the floor, blood coming from a cut on his temple. A dragging sound and James' head disappeared again.

Then Gin was stepping into the room with Riddick behind her. Gin froze and stared at her brother and sister, tied to straight back chairs. Her eyes misted and she dashed her hand across them before rushing to their sides, pulling her blade. She cut their bonds and then they were all standing together, holding each other, while Riddick watched from the outside.

But then Gin held out an arm to him and he stepped closer slowly and she grabbed his hand and yanked him to her, hugging him.

"Thank you," she kept repeating in his ear over and over again, and he held her close to his chest. Then she pulled away and was hugging Ven and Brand again, all of them grinning like fools and crushing the air out of one another.

------

Gin, Ven, Brand, Riddick, and Jack sat around the table talking quietly.

"Okay, start from the beginning," Gin ordered.

"Okay," Ven began. "After we left Jack on Dres we searched for you about two weeks before getting a lead that you'd been on Titan. Our ship crashed on Rhea, so we headed to New-New York with the rest of the survivors.

"There was a convict named Rain aboard the ship, and she escaped after the crash. Later we found out she used to be a Ranger. We thought she might know where you were, so we made her a deal. 'Help us find our sister and we'll get you as far away from the Company as we can.' Riddick was on the ship, too, but we didn't know he was looking for you." Ven turned to Jack. "We didn't know Jack knew you either.

"Me and Brand had been saving up creds for years by that point and we were able to pick up a pretty decent ship without any trouble. The three of us were getting ready to take off for Dres when that bastard," she pointed at James, who was tied and gagged on the floor, "comes flying outta no where, shoots me and Brand and tosses Rain through a glass door."

"You didn't let him get away with that, did you?" Gin asked.

"Hell no. I slit his throat," Brand answered, glaring at the man himself. A dark scowl marked the boys features as he added, "Unfortunately, I missed his jugular."

"It was a good thing Rain got us out of there before we were all dead," Ven said.

"You know the rest from there," Brand said.

Gin turned to Brand. "Where's Rain?"

"Dead," Brand whispered. "You'da liked her, I think. You met her, Riddick. Did you like her?"

Riddick turned to the kid and shrugged. "She liked to kill. That's dangerous. She killed more than me and that's even more dangerous."

"Yeah. We thought so, too, Riddick," Ven replied. "But in the end, she changed. It was weird, but she died for us, and I'll never forget that."

"And neither will I," Gin added. "Whoever Rain was, she saved you guys for me, and that warrants more debt that I'll ever be able to repay. Only one matter of business left now."

They all turned and looked at James, sprawled prostrate on the floor, hands and feet bound tightly.

James, conscious the whole time, knew he was in for the most painful experience of his life by the look in the five peoples' eyes gathered around him.

Gin stood first and pulled a chair after her to James' side. Riddick grabbed the man and hauled him into the chair where Ven began to tie him up. They worked like they had a plan, and James began to wonder if maybe they did. In any case he didn't like what was going on, and he felt he never would.