Chapter 6

"Anything?" Toombs asked gruffly, watching Kat punch a few keys on the console and shake her head, standing. She ducked back out into the main cabin, sliding into one of the chairs along the walls of the ship, rubbing her eyes. He sighed, plotting a course and setting the autopilot before joining her on the main deck, taking the seat across from her. It was a small undercutter, much like the one Riddick had stolen from him though with less room and larger engines.

"What's the closest system?" she asked quietly, removing her weapons from their hiding places and checking them over. It had been a while since she'd had to bother with them, even though she'd spent every Sunday night cleaning and tuning them up. He watched her fiddle with her guns for a moment before responding. "You got enough fuel to get to the Solar System?"

"Are you crazy?" he asked, the exhaustion setting in. He leaned back in his chair, propping his head on a fist. She glanced up at him, shrugging a little before turning back to her weapons.

"Here's what I'm thinking," she started. "There's supposedly an abandoned bubble on Earth's moon. They built it when the nuclear wars started and evacuated as many people as they could. If we can get the pressurizer working again we can hide out there for a while."

"Couple problems," Toombs sighed, shaking his head. "First off, it's probably still monitored regularly. Any changes to it and they'll know and be all over it. Mercs'll pick it up on the scanner and know it's us. Check it out just to make sure, anyway." She sighed, falling back into her chair. "Second, I don't have the gear if it's not pressurized."

"Fuck," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Any other ideas or are you gonna let me take over?" he asked gently, leaning his elbows on his knees. Her eyes met his, brow arching slowly. "I say we head out to the Nubis system." She snickered, shaking her head. "Switch up transports, and just hop around for a while."

"And what are we going to do for money, then?" she asked quietly, standing to strap her guns to the gun rack. She stuck her hand out, and he stood slowly, handing her his weapons one by one.

"I've got some accounts I can empty. Should last a little while. We can figure something out." She sighed, walking to the back of the cabin and rummaging through one of the duffels. He caught the MRE she threw him and ripped it open, returning to the pilot's chair. She settled back into her seat, choking down the goo in the packet as quickly as she could.

"You realize we're fucked," she said quietly. He glanced over his shoulder at her, then shook his head, turning back to the window.

"Ion drive kicking in," he announced. The ship shuddered, but neither really noticed. She continued staring at the MRE packet, even after she'd emptied it, as he settled into a chair and strapped in. "Get some sleep."

"You don't know who I am, do you?" she asked quietly, sighing as he glanced up at her. She let the question hang in the air, strapping into her chair and shifting into as comfortable position as she could find.

"What are you talking about?"

"See, I always thought you would have been a careful guy, Toombs," she continued cryptically. "I figured you'd eventually run my picture through the system, but you never did." She paused, cocking her head at him. "Did you?" More statement than question. His brow rose.

"You're in the system."

"Not under Katrina Marshal, no. But my picture is." He blinked quickly. "But the thing is, you can't run me now. You log in and they'll track you in seconds."

"That's why you're telling me this now, huh? You feel safe that I can't do anything about it."

"I'm telling you this now because I want you to trust that I know what I'm doing, that's all," she said defeatedly. "I never would have done it otherwise." She heaved a sigh, closing her eyes. "Taylor West," she said quietly. His eyes widened, mouth falling open slightly.

"You're Taylor West?" She lifted her head, eyes meeting his as she tucked her short black hair behind her ears. "I thought Taylor West was at Ursa Luna," Toombs said slowly, narrowing his eyes at her.

"System says she is," Kat said with a small shrug. "Truth be told, she's actually just someone who looked too much like me and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Too convenient to do anything about it at the time."

"You let an innocent woman go to prison for you."

"She wasn't exactly innocent," Kat snapped. "And anyway, that's not important right now. Taylor West is in prison, and Katrina Marshal has a shit load of problems to deal with right now. It doesn't matter now. All that matters is keeping both of us alive until this blows over." His eyebrow rose slowly. "Aren't you out of it anyway?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, "I am."

"So what, are you going to turn me in? Got too much of a fucking conscience to help a convict survive? If I remember correctly, I've gotten you out of some shit a couple of times now. You owe me."

"I don't owe you shit," he spat. She glared at him, and he sighed. "A merc and a con," he said finally, chuckling a little. "Classic."

"An ex-merc and a rehabilitated con," she corrected. "I've lived straight for nine years," she said quietly.

"Is that right?" She unbuckled her harness, and he followed suit, quickly getting to his feet. She shot an amused smile at him, shaking her head a little as she dug through a duffel bag, pulling out a can of soda. He watched her pop it open and take a long swallow, his eyes lingering on her as she dug through the bag again and held one out to him. "I guess I really didn't want to know all this," he said after a moment. She snickered, dropping back into her seat. Her eyes followed his hand as he reached under his seat, producing a pack of cigarettes.

"Yes you did," she said quietly. "You needed to know that I know what I'm doing with this whole disappearing thing. Had to do it every few months for a good three years until shit finally settled down and I got the chance to start over in New Harlem. Figured it was a rough enough town they wouldn't bother looking for me there" He nodded slowly, handing her a cigarette and lighting it for her. They sat there in silence for a while, both smoking and avoiding each other's eyes. "There is another option," she finally said softly.

"What?"

"I drop you off at Lupus Five and go on my way." He stared at her for a moment, brows furled. "You don't need this. Just go back. I can take care of myself."

"I'm not gonna do that, Kat," he said quietly.

"Why?"

"Because if I go back and something happens, they'll come to me to track you down." Her eyes held his, expressionless. "I don't know if I could turn it down."

"Like I said, I can take care of myself."

"Why are we even having this conversation?" he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You still have a chance. Either you go back to the guild or you end up on the other end with a price on your head."

"Look," he sighed, "you said it yourself. Taylor West is in prison. We get situated and we'll be fine." She shook her head, tearing her gaze from his.

"You're sure you want to do this." The leather of his chair creaked as he moved, sliding to crouch in front of her. He reached out, turning her head back to him. Her eyes reflected her apprehension, and she looked away quickly. His lips met hers for a brief moment, his fingers threading through her freshly cut hair.

"You will always be Katrina Marshal to me," he said quietly. "Normally I wouldn't give two shits about keeping a promise to a con, but this is different."

"Toombs, you can't –" He cut her off with another kiss, shaking his head as he pulled away.

"You're right, I can't." Her brows furled in confusion. "I can't go back. I promised you I wouldn't and I'm not going to." He pulled her from her chair into his lap to sit on his thighs, her arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders. "Now's as good a time as any to change careers, right?" She let out a light chuckle, running her hand over his head.

"You're sure." He nodded, dropping a kiss on her shoulder. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you, and I couldn't take the chance of something happening to me. I died on you once." She sighed, shaking her head. "I won't let it happen again."

"It's more likely now than it was before," she said with a small laugh.

"I don't know about that," he said quietly. "Spending my time tracking down convicts who want to get the fuck away from me or staying with one who doesn't mind my company." Her hold tightened on him for a moment, and she stood, digging through another bag.

"I've got some contacts on Kygon 3," she said, holding a stack of papers out. "I might be able to get us wired for new ids, completely legit." She paused, licking her lips. "Well, they check out as being legit." He glanced down at her before thumbing through the documents. "Look, I need you to trust me on this okay? And I need to be able to trust you." He nodded. "They'll hook us up with the best they can find, biometrics, DNA, photos, background, everything. Just fill out the paperwork with what you want your new name to be and everything you remember about your past so it can be deleted. The more you disclose, the more thorough the transition." She paused uncertainly. "Toombs, you have to trust me." He looked up at her quickly, setting the papers on a seat. "If you really want to do this, we have to do some stuff that's not exactly legal. It won't come back on us, but if you're not willing to take the chance, tell me now so I can figure something out."

"Kat, I'm with you all the way," he said slowly.

"Once this starts I can't stop it," she warned. He nodded, closing the distance between them and taking her hands in his.

"You have to trust me too." She pulled her hands away, wrapping her arms around his waist. A slight chuckle rumbled in his chest, and she looked up at him. "Even with your money." She smiled, looping a hand around his neck to pull his face down to hers, kissing him with all she had. He lifted her off the ground, slowly lowering to his knees and pushing her down onto her back under him.

---

Kat glanced at Toombs out of the corner of her eye as he approached the docking bay. All their stuff was packed, the entire ship cleaned of fingerprints, both of them now wearing gloves. As soon as the ship stopped, they grabbed up the bags and left the ship, the keys sitting enticingly on the console, in plain view from the windshield. It would probably be stolen within the next few days, as they were hoping.

They walked into town quickly, checking in to a dumpy motel under one of Kat's many documented aliases. She was looking forward to getting rid of every one of them for good, but it couldn't happen yet. Not for a while. As she walked through the room, memorizing every detail, Toombs relaxed onto the bed, letting out a tired sigh.

"I have to go into town and get a few things," she said quietly. He sat up quickly, the bed groaning in protest. "I'll be back in a couple hours."

"Kat—"

"Trust me," she said quickly, looking at him over her shoulder as she slid a pistol into the back of her pants. He nodded slowly, and she left, the door clicking quietly behind her.

As always, she went out the back door, which led out into an alley. She shoved her hands in her pockets, boots thudding quietly down the pavement. After stopping in a few electronics stores, never buying more than three things at any one place, she ducked into a little corner market and bought something easy to put together for dinner. She didn't waste any time getting back to the hotel, knocking on the door quietly. He pulled it open, glancing out into the hallway as she slipped past him into the room, closing it and locking it behind her, the do not disturb sign hanging from the outside handle.

He stood at the foot of the bed as she dug through her bags, hands on his hips, still in his wifebeater and jeans, though his boots were tossed in a corner. She set a new laptop computer on the bedside table, plugging it in to charge before going to her other bags. His eyebrow rose as she laid out a communications scanner, keycard reader, and other little devices. She nodded to a brown paper bag she'd set on the dresser, and he snatched it up, smiling as he removed two sandwiches and two bottles of orange juice.

"I went ahead and closed out all of my accounts," she said quietly. "Told them I decided to join up with a team of settlers heading out to a new colony." He nodded slowly, cracking open his juice and taking a long swig. "Made small talk. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as far as I could tell."

"How long do you plan on staying here?" She glanced up at him before powering on her computer.

"I have to make some modifications to this bad boy," she said, tapping on the computer's lid. "Probably take a few days." She took the sandwich he held out to her, smiling slightly as he opened the other bottle of juice and set it next to her. He watched her work as she ate, the room silent except for the clicking of her keyboard. A few hours later, just as he was starting to doze, she snapped the computer shut and rubbed her eyes with a sigh.

"Gonna wear yourself out," he warned. She shrugged, sliding down the headboard to plop her head on the pillows. He shifted on his side next to her.

"God damn James," she whispered, scrunching her eyes shut and shaking her head. He chuckled quietly, sliding a hand over her belly and around her side to pull her across the bed against him. She turned toward him, burying her face in his chest as her arms went around him. "I could never have handled that place by myself," she continued. "I thought I could trust him."

"And you could until I showed up." She pulled away a little to look at him, one brow twitching downward.

"This isn't your fault," she insisted quietly. He took a breath to argue, but she shook her head, settling her finger over his lips. She smiled, replacing her finger with her lips in a slow, gentle kiss before settling against him with a heavy sigh. "Night, Toombs." He mumbled a response, giving her a little squeeze before the room fell silent for the night.

---

Toombs woke suddenly, sitting up in bed with a strangled gasp. His brows furrowed as his eyes darted out of the room, focusing on the one duffel and backpack still lying in the floor. He glanced around again, rising from the bed as he noticed a sheet of paper in the floor in front of the door.

"Fuck," he muttered, scanning the note.

Toombs – I can't let you make this mistake. Go back to the guild and stay safe. I'll be fine on my own. Maybe we'll meet again some time, hopefully not work-related. Please don't be mad. I'm not doing this because I don't trust you. I'm doing this because I love you too much to let you fuck up like this. You don't want my life now. Don't track me down. If I really need you, I'll find you. – Kat.

He crumpled the note in a hand, his jaw clenched and nostrils flaring. With a frustrated grunt, he snatched up the duffel and pack she'd left him, slamming the door behind him. After stopping at the front desk and learning she'd already paid for another night, he left the hotel, the keycard sitting on the counter and the concierge staring at him in confusion. With every step back to the hangar, he cursed the universe. He came to a halt on the tarmac, breathing a sigh of relief. The skiff was still there, keys still sitting on the console. He heaved a sigh, shaking his head and marched toward it, yanking the door open and throwing the bags in with all he had left. A moment later, he had clearance to take off and was on his way back to New Harlem.

---

Kat sighed, rubbing her forehead. She was perched in the pilot's chair of a ship she'd just bought off the lot. It needed work, but it would do for now. Nothing special – just a tiny cruiser with one bunk, a small shower, and several lockers. It hadn't been cheap though, not with the communications system and navigational equipment. With just a few hours of manual labor planetside, she'd be good to go for a while. It was low on fuel usage, and once she got done altering the identification system, no one would ever suspect it was her, and she'd be nearly impossible to trace.

A sad smile touched her lips. His arm had stayed around her the whole night, and when she'd moved to get up, he'd tightened his grasp on her, mumbling in his sleep. She'd let out a quiet chuckle, watching his eyes open blearily, and she'd shushed him, telling her she was just going to the bathroom. It'd hurt to leave him like that. Packing everything up and stealing away in the middle of the night. She shook her head. It had to be done. There was no way she was going to let him come along and risk everything he'd tried to build for himself, which wasn't much, but enough to make her feel guilty about dragging him down with her.

After checking her course for the third time in the past five minutes, she stood and went back into the main cabin. She settled onto her bunk, returning to working on her new laptop. With her old programs on disk and several more tricks up her sleeve, she'd be ready for anything. She'd already zapped off a message to her identity contact, uploading and sending her paperwork and support materials. The rendezvous was in a few days, and she'd be hard-pressed to make it, but she'd do what she had to. Her computer would be ready by the time she went to bed tomorrow, and then she'd feel better about this.

With a heavy sigh, she pulled up a picture of him, running her fingers down the screen. She'd downloaded it on the sly from the mercenary guild, making sure to dust her tracks before logging out of the system. She set the picture to her desktop, a reminder that she was doing all this for him. Sure, she'd get something out of it as well, but he didn't need her. Maybe if James hadn't fucked her over things would be different, but it didn't happen that way. She closed the computer and set it gently on the floor, curling up on her bed to sleep for a while.

---

Toombs burst into the watchtower, scowling as he hoofed it up the steps, throwing the door to the control room open. Three faces peered back at him with a mixture of interest and annoyance. His eyebrow rose.

"I need the call signs, identification numbers, and clearance information on any ships that have left this port in the past three days." One of the men stood slowly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's confidential information." Toombs' unhappy-face grin slid onto his lips, and he reached into his pocket for his ID card.

"Mercenary 25694," he said stiffly. "Get it for me."

"You're Toombs?"

" S'right," he said, turning his head slowly toward the one who'd asked. "Lemme guess. I'm dead, right?" The man nodded slowly. "Misinformation. Run me through the fuckin' biometrics database if you want to, but work on getting me that information while you're at it." After verification, he left the control room, boots pounding quickly down the steps, documents in hand. His engines had barely cooled down before he took off again, keeping them at full throttle as he worked on finding out which ship was the one he wanted. After an hour, he had it narrowed down to three. With the corresponding documents, he quickly researched the ships and any information he could find. Three hours later, he had it down to two, and had a pretty good idea which one was his bogey. He set his course, stuffing the papers into a locker and falling into a chair in the main cabin with a heavy sigh.

She'd left him. In the middle of the night, while he was still sleeping, she'd just snuck out and left him. He shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face. This was completely fucked. Another heavy sigh and he stood, deciding the only way he'd be able to make it the whole way without going on a major rampage would be in cryo. Her face flashed in his mind before he knocked out, the cryo drugs taking effect.

---

Toombs waited in an alley until he saw his mark emerge from a back door, glancing around before going the other direction. He knew he'd been seen, and he knew what the next few minutes would entail. He just hoped his guts could take the abuse. With a shaky breath, he followed, not surprised when he turned a corner and found himself on the sharp end of a blade.

"Thought you didn't need my help."

"I never said that," Toombs stammered, managing a small chuckle. Riddick's eyebrow rose slowly, head tilting to the side just a bit, but the blade didn't move. "Look, guy, I do need your help." Slowly, Riddick pulled the knife away from Toombs' throat, satisfied that he'd left a thin line of blood. "Kat's gone off on her own," he said quickly.

"She's a big girl. She can take care of herself," Riddick growled, turning to leave. Toombs quickly followed.

"I don't give a shit whether or not she can take care of herself. She's going to Kygon 3 to get her papers changed." Riddick's steps slowed slightly, his eyes meeting Toombs. "I know who, and it's not good. If she pulls it off I'll never find her." Riddick stopped walking, turning to Toombs slowly.

"Did it ever occur to you that she might not want you to find her?" he asked slowly, a hint of amusement in his voice. Toombs sent him a look, holding a crumply piece of paper out to him. Riddick's brow rose slowly, his eyes never leaving Toombs' face as he took the paper from him. Toombs shoved his hands in his pockets as Riddick read the note, sighing heavily. "How did you find me?"

"Had to pull my ID, but I talked to the guys at the control room and got the flight info for any ships that left between the last time I saw you and yesterday," he said slowly. "Narrowed it down after a while." Riddick nodded slowly, nodding toward the street.

"We can't talk here," he said quietly. Toombs nodded, following Riddick out onto the street, down another few streets, and into a dilapidated warehouse. Riddick led him up to the top floor and into what seemed to be an old office, settling in a chair behind a dusty desk. "What makes you think I can help you?"

"You know the systems like the back of your hand," Toombs said quietly. "I only know the most common places well. Lupus, Helion, you know." He paused to pace the room and run a hand over his head. "And I don't know enough about this guy to know how to do this. You're good at tracking people when you want to be." He stopped, eyeing Riddick warily. "Do you have any idea how much it pisses me off to have to tell you all this shit?"

"Go on," Riddick said with a grin.

"Anyway, I figure you're probably the best person to go to." Riddick's eyebrow rose. "To try to find her," Toombs clarified. Riddick took a slow breath, leaning back in his chair. He let it out in a slow sigh.

"What's in it for me?"

"The satisfaction of finding out I don't give a shit about the pay day on your head and respect you enough to let you call the shots. I'm willing to trust you if you'll help," Toombs said slowly.

"You'll trust me," Riddick repeated with an evil chuckle. "This is just too fuckin' humorous." Toombs sighed, rubbing his eyes. "A merc asking a convict for help."

"I'm not a fucking merc anymore!" Toombs yelled, surprising both himself and Riddick with the force of his voice. An uneasy silence settled over them until Toombs cleared his throat and broke eye contact. "I…" he stopped, shaking his head with a sigh.

"You what?"

"I love her, Riddick," he said quietly. "I don't expect you to understand that, or even give a flying fuck about it." He set his jaw for a moment, his blue eyes meeting silver again. "I love her too much to let her take this chance by herself." Riddick rose from the chair slowly.

"So you're willing to jump into hell to burn with her then, is that it?" Toombs blinked quickly. "Kygon 3 isn't the Lupus system. Fuck, it's not even the Helion system with the fucking Necros setting up shop." Toombs sighed, shaking his head and falling into the chair behind him. "If you don't get to her before she gets there, you might as well just shoot her yourself." His eyes darted up to Riddick's, narrowing slightly.

"I have to take that chance, Riddick," Toombs insisted quietly. Riddick sighed, shaking his head as he turned his back on Toombs, sitting on the corner of the desk. A long silence ensued, and Toombs thought seriously about leaving quietly.

"You think I don't know anything about love," Riddick said quietly, his voice carrying an edge to it Toombs hadn't heard before. "Kyra was the closest to that I ever knew, and she wound up dead because of it." Toombs' brow furrowed, and Riddick stood, turning back to him slowly. "You do exactly as I say and don't make the mistake of questioning me." Toombs nodded, standing slowly. "Where were you when she left?"

"Nubia Alpha." Riddick nodded.

"If she takes a straight course, she'll still have to stop for fuel. That'll give me time to track her down. It's a starting point, but I'm not making any guarantees, got it?" Toombs nodded quickly. Riddick stepped forward, glaring down at the former merc with obvious disdain. "You fuck me over, merc, and I'll kill you." He paused for effect. "Very, very slowly."

"Quit wasting time and let's get this over with," Toombs ground out, narrowing his eyes up at the taller, bulkier man. Riddick let out a chortle and nodded. Toombs sighed, following him out of the building.