THE MOTHER LODE BY ABRAXIS
Chapter 32 – The Plot Thickens
Riddick was awake at the first sound of a key in the lock. He was on his feet with his new sticker in his hand as the door banged against the back of the cabinet. His internal time-sense told him that he couldn't have slept for much more than an hour, just enough to let his muscles stiffen up again. As he shoved the pain to the back of his mind, he thought that whoever came through that door better be peaceable because he was definitely in a mood to kill something. As if in answer to this unspoken thought, there was no effort to force the door open and Nagia's pleasant alto came through the small space allowed by the cabinet.
"First? Doctor? I have been sent to see to your conditions. Are you awake, Sirs?"
Riddick relaxed slightly. At least that was one more of the rescue party alive and accounted for. Since Riddick really didn't care what happened to Rafferty, he was now free to start making plans for a quick escape straight to the BC.
"Who's with you?"
"The four guards who rescued you. They have been ordered to apologize for leaving you injured and unattended and not fetching me immediately."
Yeah, Riddick could really believe that the guards' first order hadn't been to report to their boss! And if Nagia taking care of them had been top priority, it wouldn't have taken over two hours for her to show up.
"Close the door and stand back." Riddick moved the cabinet and then returned to stand between Syrus and the door, his sticker hidden but easily accessible. "All right. Come in now."
As Nagia entered the room, Riddick was disgusted. Gone was the proud woman who had come to life during her time aboard the Hole. Even the confident presence she had had at the compound was gone. Her head and face once again swathed in heavy veiling, she walked with tentative steps, her head bowed and eyes averted. When the guards following her, now dressed in a house livery rather than as compound guards, actually went to their knees in preparation for making their apology, his stomach rolled. He dropped his pretense of not knowing the language and spoke directly to the guards.
"Stand up! Tell your master whatever you have to about this and I'll back you on it but brother warriors don't insult each other with such lies."
This speech was a bit flowery for Riddick's taste but the culture and language of New Mecca forced that sort of thing. Still, it got his point across to the guards. They quickly stood up and the understanding looks they exchanged with him suggested that he had possibly secured some allies. Not that they would do anything to put their own asses in a sling but they might not be super pricks while guarding him. Riddick knew how to put seemingly innocent little favors to some very non-innocent uses. He turned to Nagia, still speaking New Meccan.
"I'm fine but you can tend the Doctor." Then back to the guards, "Tell your master I'm ready to deal with him now."
"I will be happy to convey the foreign master's message to Prince Casmir." The guard commander delivered this speech with a broad smile and a wicked gleam in his eyes. Riddick had definitely made points with him. Not only had the man told Riddick who he was dealing with but had made an unspoken promise to do as much as he could to raise Casmir's opinion of Riddick's status, something that couldn't hurt when dealing with egotistical royalty.
The guards withdrew. Riddick knew that at least two of them would be standing guard outside the door but there was no sound of the door being locked. He wondered if this was their choice or Casmir's orders as he turned to Nagia again. This time he spoke to her in Standard. "Tell me all you know about what happened at Amiran's and since then."
The woman was already busy selecting herbs and mixing a tonic for Syrus. She continued this while giving Riddick a very clear and concise report. Without the presence of the guards, she was more the woman he had known at the compound and on board the Hole.
"It is a rather twisted affair, Sir. Ackbar Mosser had informed Prince Casmir of our mission. However, Dr. Amiran had informed Prince Sulleman of the appointment arranged for foreigners by Mosser and agreed to the attack by anesthetic gas to allow all of us to be taken by Sulleman. Peta Amiran does not share her husband's loyalty to Sulleman. She was also angered that her husband had not arranged for their children to be elsewhere during the flooding of their residence with gas. She contacted Mosser and, in exchange for a safe hiding place for herself and the children, agreed to bring Casmir's men through a hidden passage into the consultation room. Mr. Rafferty and I were taken captive and carried out by the same passage almost immediately after leaving you. Then, your blond friend tried to take us from them and he and his men were also taken. However, it seems that they have had business dealings before. His men were released and he has spent the last four days convincing Prince Casmir that it would be to his benefit to rescue you and Dr. Syrus. I believe that Prince Casmir will ask you to deliver Mira to him."
There was a sudden coldness and tension in Nagia's voice as she gave this last opinion. Riddick took time to think about all this while Nagia roused Syrus long enough to pour the tonic and a second cup of water down him. Whether because of total exhaustion or the painkillers Riddick had fed him, Syrus never came fully awake and Riddick had to warn Nagia about the injury to Syrus' ribs as she began checking out the worse of his wounds and re- medicating some of them.
Riddick also used the time to eat and drink a little more himself but stopped Nagia when she started to mix a second tonic. He hadn't worried about the tonic for Syrus because obviously Casmir wanted them alive at the moment. That didn't mean that the man would be above ordering Nagia to slip something into Riddick's tonic to make him easier to convince. While most of that shit didn't work too well on Riddick, it always gave him one hell of a headache. Not something he wanted added to the pain he already had.
"If that's for me, don't bother. What do you think about that idea, handing Mira over to Casmir? Is he any better than Sulleman?"
Riddick was surprised at the honesty of Nagia's answer.
"My opinion is tainted. Prince Casmir has reminded me that he is more capable of finding and purchasing Sissua than you are."
No points for Casmir on that one.
"What does he want for that little favor?"
"He wanted information. I told him everything I know about Sulleman and his actions against the Emir and the Imam and what happened at the compound. For the rest, I would only tell him that it was Mira's choice to accept the protection of foreigners and that I considered you the true leader of our group rather than Mr. Rafferty. He was not pleased at my refusal to answer his other questions but he did not punish me for it. I do not know what Mr. Rafferty or Mr. Logan may have told him."
"Has Casmir found Sissua?"
"No. Peta said that she disappeared from Sulleman's household at the same time that the Emir sent Mira and me to the Imam. Peta had assumed that she was with me. But, he did have Peta questioned and his man also required me to describe Sissua in great detail. That must mean that he is truly searching for her."
Riddick couldn't share Nagia's optimism. Having some flunky question the two women was easy and didn't mean anything except that Casmir was trying to look like the 'nice guy' for now. But Riddick had never been into pulling the wings off of flies. He kept that opinion to himself and changed the subject. He had a little personal business he'd like to work into the mix.
"What do you think Casmir would do if I offered to get rid of Sulleman instead?"
As Riddick had expected, this caused Nagia's eyes to widen in shock. It took her several long seconds to answer him and her speech was hesitant and broken when she did. Riddick waited through the silences without interrupting her.
"I ... I do not know. ... ... He was very interested in the fact that you and only two others were responsible for the taking of the compound and in your abilities. ... ... However, I think that he would still demand Mira's return even if Sulleman were dead. ... ... You must understand that there is a great deal of anger between those who would return New Mecca to strict adherence to the old ways and those who wish to retain the reforms that have been made or possibly achieve even more reform. None command the respect of all sides as the Emir does. It is doubtful that any could prevent open warfare without an alliance to the founding families."
Riddick's warning bells were vibrating. Up to this point Nagia had seemed to be playing straight with him but that was an awful lot of political knowledge for any woman of New Mecca, much less one that was a slave. It also sounded like something she was repeating rather than her own thoughts.
"Casmir told you to tell me that, didn't he?"
"Yes." Then the woman looked directly into Riddick's eyes for the first time. "But I believe that it is the truth. The Emir still lives. That tells me that even the powerful Sulleman does not think he can rule safely without a marriage to Mira." Nagia suddenly looked very tired and far older than she should. She dropped her eyes again. "My poor Princess. In our world, these things are for men to decide. I know that your Captain will not hand her over against her will but she will tell her all this; will ask her to choose between her own happiness and her people's. This thing you call freedom is very cruel."
Riddick couldn't argue with that. It probably was a lot easier to take what you were handed and blame someone else if it was crap. But, since he seemed to have been hard-wired from birth to want to choose his crap for himself, he really couldn't sympathize. Deciding that he had learned about all he could from Nagia, he gestured toward the door.
"Are you staying with us or leaving?"
"I am to stay if I am needed. Dr. Syrus has a bit of fever and some of his injuries are infected. I would like to stay to care for him if you will allow it?"
Riddick answered her with a shrug and moved the cabinet back across the door. He then lay down on the sofa to think. He had promised Jenna to let her handle Sulleman her way but, if Casmir went for it, this was just too good a chance to pass up. Besides, he had four days of the asshole smirking and laughing while he and Syrus were tortured to add to what had been done to Imam and Jack. It was too bad that he would probably have to make a quick job of it rather than being able to invite Sulleman down to his own dungeons.
How he would deal with Casmir would depend on Casmir. The first thing was to get Sissua. That was what Jenna had sent him here to do. It was also the deal that Casmir had made with Nagia. He would make good on it before Riddick would agree to any thing else.
As far as Mira was concerned, he would agree to take a representative from Casmir to her to negotiate for a possible marriage contract. It might be as cruel as Nagia saw it but Mira should have the right to decide for herself. Hell, with Jenna's help, the girl might be able to work herself a good deal and be able to come back home on her own terms.
If Casmir wouldn't accept that, if he were just as much an asshole as Sulleman and tried to force the issue, keep hostages for her immediate return or a completed contract, things would get ugly – Riddick ugly. If one prince could bleed so could a second.
With that much decided, Riddick allowed himself to sleep. He knew it wouldn't be for long. Casmir, if he were smart, would want to make a deal, get the jump on his cousin, as soon as he could. He was right. He had barely dozed off when something a lot harder than a fist struck the bottom of the door several times.
"Max! Open up."
Riddick chuckled to himself as he pulled the cabinet away from the door once more. Leave it to Rommy to save his knuckles by using his steel-toed boots on the expensive carved door. This reminded Riddick just how dangerous Rommy could be with those boots and he moved well back from the door before calling out to him to come in. The casual way that the man closed the door behind him and then leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest, told Riddick that his suspicion that he might be pissed about what Riddick had gotten him into was a good one. Rommy's first words confirmed this.
"Putting me in the middle of a civil war wasn't very nice, boyo. The only reason I'm still around is that I figure you as too politically stupid to know that's what you were doing. I'd better be right about that since it's what I've been telling Prince Casmir. It helped that your redheaded merc was just as clueless. You muscle types amaze me. Now, is there anything you'd like to ask me before I take you to the Prince?"
Rommy needed to remember who he was dealing with.
"Cut the crap, Rommy. You're still here because you made a contract and you know what happens if word gets out that you didn't keep it. Not to mention what I would do when I got out of here and found out that you hadn't done your best. And that's the only politics that people like us ever worry about. Now, you tell me what you think I need to know."
The near-albino stared thoughtfully at Riddick for a moment and then moved across the room with an easy grace that reminded Riddick of a cobra. He was careful to keep the low serving table between him and Riddick as he sat down in a chair and made a show of uncorking the bottle of wine and pouring himself a glass.
"You might as well sit down. This may take a while." Then he gestured at Syrus. "How's he doing?"
Riddick knew from experience that Rommy would take his own sweet time and any attempts to hurry him would have the opposite effect. He sat.
"He'll live if he doesn't get roughed up anymore."
Rommy nodded and sipped some more of the wine. "It was his telemetry going into the cellar that forced Casmir to get you out tonight. Tomorrow evening is the beginning of a week of holy days and Sulleman always plays to the hardliners by keeping his whole household in strict seclusion. Now, he's going to be able to set up a search for you before he does that. With Mosser's involvement in this, he's already got his eye on Casmir. These rooms aren't even in Casmir's quarters but Sulleman's thugs will get around to them eventually. You're a bit of a hot potato, boyo."
Riddick gave Rommy an evil sneer.
"I've got a fix for that problem. What I need to know about is Casmir. Can I trust him to deal straight?"
For the first time, Riddick got to see what 'worried' looked like on Rommy's face.
"Hell, Max! I don't know what to tell you. All I've ever done for the kid was smuggling stuff that the local government doesn't like in the hands of private citizens: banned books and vids, the idea stuff not porn; some proscribed weapons, but nothing really heavy; and some high tech snooper gadgets. What you're talking about now is fucking serious. That girl you made off with is the founding families' crown jewel and Casmir thinks that she's the key to keeping this place from going ballistic."
"What do you think?"
"I think that the kid is too young to know how to fight someone twice his age and ten times as dirty like Sulleman. But he's smart. About the smartest I've ever met. He doesn't flinch or let himself be pushed. And he is stepping into his old man's shoes so maybe he's better prepared than I think. I'd say that odds are he knows what he's talking about when it comes to the girl. I do know that, now that he has a way to do it, he's dead set on getting her back and that he thinks that the only way to protect her from Sulleman is to marry her himself before anyone knows that she's back. I also get the idea that that pisses him off some. I don't think that the boy ever wanted to sit on the golden thrown himself. Just didn't want Sulleman sitting there."
Rommy poured himself another glass of wine and then threw a smirk at Riddick. "Of course it could be something else. The kid doesn't have himself a hareem. Most his age have at least three or four sweet things to warm their bed. And, he seemed awful understanding when Rafferty went off all over him when your buddy there almost flat-lined. The merc hasn't been too happy with you two being locked in the same cell from the very beginning and when the guards reported that you had insisted on carrying him up here yourself, Rafferty looked like he was going to bust a blood vessel. Have I been missing any possibilities with you?"
Riddick swore silently. This was getting almost as bad as some slams he had been in.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Rommy, before I put your corpse down there with it. Making sure Syrus stays alive is part of my contract."
The blond gave a half-ass laugh.
"Nothing lost. Rough trade never was my thing. Are you ready to see Casmir?"
"If he's willing to come to me. Syrus isn't in any condition to be moved and I'm not letting him out of my sight until any deal with Casmir is set. And remember, Rommy, our contract isn't finished until my people and I are on our way safely off planet."
With a short nod, Rommy rose and headed toward the door. Riddick noticed that he booted the door again before he opened it and left. When Riddick turned his attention back into the room, he found Nagia staring at him her eyes flashing with anger. Shit. He knew he'd have to ask to find out what had brassed her off. Most times he wouldn't have cared enough to make the effort but, the way things were, it might be something he should know.
"What's wrong with you?"
His irritation showed in the rough gravel of his voice as well as in his words. For a minute he didn't think that she was going to answer him. In the end, her anger won out. She spoke almost as roughly as he had.
"The blond one, he slanders Prince Casmir!"
"How?"
"The Prince honors his widowed mother and his unmarried sisters. As his father before him, he will bring no concubines into their home. He will treat a wife as well. The women of his house have long been envied for the respect they are given."
Damn, everything that was going on and that was what bit her in the butt?
"That sounds like something you should tell Mira, not me."
This caused a reaction that Riddick hadn't expected. The little of her skin that showed above the veil turned pale.
"You are going to take me back with you? But what of Sissua?"
"We all came together, we all go back together and Sissua is what we came for. Casmir gets her for us before he gets one inch closer to Mira."
Nagia swayed back and forth and Riddick thought she might pass out before she quickly stood and rushed into the bathroom, almost slamming the door behind her – but not before he saw the tears beginning to run from her eyes. Fuck! Riddick was getting really tired of this 'Arabian Nightmare'.
He suddenly realized that all he wanted to do was get this over with and get back to the clean air of the Hole and a pair of sunlight-sea eyes that he knew would never lie to him.
Chapter 32 – The Plot Thickens
Riddick was awake at the first sound of a key in the lock. He was on his feet with his new sticker in his hand as the door banged against the back of the cabinet. His internal time-sense told him that he couldn't have slept for much more than an hour, just enough to let his muscles stiffen up again. As he shoved the pain to the back of his mind, he thought that whoever came through that door better be peaceable because he was definitely in a mood to kill something. As if in answer to this unspoken thought, there was no effort to force the door open and Nagia's pleasant alto came through the small space allowed by the cabinet.
"First? Doctor? I have been sent to see to your conditions. Are you awake, Sirs?"
Riddick relaxed slightly. At least that was one more of the rescue party alive and accounted for. Since Riddick really didn't care what happened to Rafferty, he was now free to start making plans for a quick escape straight to the BC.
"Who's with you?"
"The four guards who rescued you. They have been ordered to apologize for leaving you injured and unattended and not fetching me immediately."
Yeah, Riddick could really believe that the guards' first order hadn't been to report to their boss! And if Nagia taking care of them had been top priority, it wouldn't have taken over two hours for her to show up.
"Close the door and stand back." Riddick moved the cabinet and then returned to stand between Syrus and the door, his sticker hidden but easily accessible. "All right. Come in now."
As Nagia entered the room, Riddick was disgusted. Gone was the proud woman who had come to life during her time aboard the Hole. Even the confident presence she had had at the compound was gone. Her head and face once again swathed in heavy veiling, she walked with tentative steps, her head bowed and eyes averted. When the guards following her, now dressed in a house livery rather than as compound guards, actually went to their knees in preparation for making their apology, his stomach rolled. He dropped his pretense of not knowing the language and spoke directly to the guards.
"Stand up! Tell your master whatever you have to about this and I'll back you on it but brother warriors don't insult each other with such lies."
This speech was a bit flowery for Riddick's taste but the culture and language of New Mecca forced that sort of thing. Still, it got his point across to the guards. They quickly stood up and the understanding looks they exchanged with him suggested that he had possibly secured some allies. Not that they would do anything to put their own asses in a sling but they might not be super pricks while guarding him. Riddick knew how to put seemingly innocent little favors to some very non-innocent uses. He turned to Nagia, still speaking New Meccan.
"I'm fine but you can tend the Doctor." Then back to the guards, "Tell your master I'm ready to deal with him now."
"I will be happy to convey the foreign master's message to Prince Casmir." The guard commander delivered this speech with a broad smile and a wicked gleam in his eyes. Riddick had definitely made points with him. Not only had the man told Riddick who he was dealing with but had made an unspoken promise to do as much as he could to raise Casmir's opinion of Riddick's status, something that couldn't hurt when dealing with egotistical royalty.
The guards withdrew. Riddick knew that at least two of them would be standing guard outside the door but there was no sound of the door being locked. He wondered if this was their choice or Casmir's orders as he turned to Nagia again. This time he spoke to her in Standard. "Tell me all you know about what happened at Amiran's and since then."
The woman was already busy selecting herbs and mixing a tonic for Syrus. She continued this while giving Riddick a very clear and concise report. Without the presence of the guards, she was more the woman he had known at the compound and on board the Hole.
"It is a rather twisted affair, Sir. Ackbar Mosser had informed Prince Casmir of our mission. However, Dr. Amiran had informed Prince Sulleman of the appointment arranged for foreigners by Mosser and agreed to the attack by anesthetic gas to allow all of us to be taken by Sulleman. Peta Amiran does not share her husband's loyalty to Sulleman. She was also angered that her husband had not arranged for their children to be elsewhere during the flooding of their residence with gas. She contacted Mosser and, in exchange for a safe hiding place for herself and the children, agreed to bring Casmir's men through a hidden passage into the consultation room. Mr. Rafferty and I were taken captive and carried out by the same passage almost immediately after leaving you. Then, your blond friend tried to take us from them and he and his men were also taken. However, it seems that they have had business dealings before. His men were released and he has spent the last four days convincing Prince Casmir that it would be to his benefit to rescue you and Dr. Syrus. I believe that Prince Casmir will ask you to deliver Mira to him."
There was a sudden coldness and tension in Nagia's voice as she gave this last opinion. Riddick took time to think about all this while Nagia roused Syrus long enough to pour the tonic and a second cup of water down him. Whether because of total exhaustion or the painkillers Riddick had fed him, Syrus never came fully awake and Riddick had to warn Nagia about the injury to Syrus' ribs as she began checking out the worse of his wounds and re- medicating some of them.
Riddick also used the time to eat and drink a little more himself but stopped Nagia when she started to mix a second tonic. He hadn't worried about the tonic for Syrus because obviously Casmir wanted them alive at the moment. That didn't mean that the man would be above ordering Nagia to slip something into Riddick's tonic to make him easier to convince. While most of that shit didn't work too well on Riddick, it always gave him one hell of a headache. Not something he wanted added to the pain he already had.
"If that's for me, don't bother. What do you think about that idea, handing Mira over to Casmir? Is he any better than Sulleman?"
Riddick was surprised at the honesty of Nagia's answer.
"My opinion is tainted. Prince Casmir has reminded me that he is more capable of finding and purchasing Sissua than you are."
No points for Casmir on that one.
"What does he want for that little favor?"
"He wanted information. I told him everything I know about Sulleman and his actions against the Emir and the Imam and what happened at the compound. For the rest, I would only tell him that it was Mira's choice to accept the protection of foreigners and that I considered you the true leader of our group rather than Mr. Rafferty. He was not pleased at my refusal to answer his other questions but he did not punish me for it. I do not know what Mr. Rafferty or Mr. Logan may have told him."
"Has Casmir found Sissua?"
"No. Peta said that she disappeared from Sulleman's household at the same time that the Emir sent Mira and me to the Imam. Peta had assumed that she was with me. But, he did have Peta questioned and his man also required me to describe Sissua in great detail. That must mean that he is truly searching for her."
Riddick couldn't share Nagia's optimism. Having some flunky question the two women was easy and didn't mean anything except that Casmir was trying to look like the 'nice guy' for now. But Riddick had never been into pulling the wings off of flies. He kept that opinion to himself and changed the subject. He had a little personal business he'd like to work into the mix.
"What do you think Casmir would do if I offered to get rid of Sulleman instead?"
As Riddick had expected, this caused Nagia's eyes to widen in shock. It took her several long seconds to answer him and her speech was hesitant and broken when she did. Riddick waited through the silences without interrupting her.
"I ... I do not know. ... ... He was very interested in the fact that you and only two others were responsible for the taking of the compound and in your abilities. ... ... However, I think that he would still demand Mira's return even if Sulleman were dead. ... ... You must understand that there is a great deal of anger between those who would return New Mecca to strict adherence to the old ways and those who wish to retain the reforms that have been made or possibly achieve even more reform. None command the respect of all sides as the Emir does. It is doubtful that any could prevent open warfare without an alliance to the founding families."
Riddick's warning bells were vibrating. Up to this point Nagia had seemed to be playing straight with him but that was an awful lot of political knowledge for any woman of New Mecca, much less one that was a slave. It also sounded like something she was repeating rather than her own thoughts.
"Casmir told you to tell me that, didn't he?"
"Yes." Then the woman looked directly into Riddick's eyes for the first time. "But I believe that it is the truth. The Emir still lives. That tells me that even the powerful Sulleman does not think he can rule safely without a marriage to Mira." Nagia suddenly looked very tired and far older than she should. She dropped her eyes again. "My poor Princess. In our world, these things are for men to decide. I know that your Captain will not hand her over against her will but she will tell her all this; will ask her to choose between her own happiness and her people's. This thing you call freedom is very cruel."
Riddick couldn't argue with that. It probably was a lot easier to take what you were handed and blame someone else if it was crap. But, since he seemed to have been hard-wired from birth to want to choose his crap for himself, he really couldn't sympathize. Deciding that he had learned about all he could from Nagia, he gestured toward the door.
"Are you staying with us or leaving?"
"I am to stay if I am needed. Dr. Syrus has a bit of fever and some of his injuries are infected. I would like to stay to care for him if you will allow it?"
Riddick answered her with a shrug and moved the cabinet back across the door. He then lay down on the sofa to think. He had promised Jenna to let her handle Sulleman her way but, if Casmir went for it, this was just too good a chance to pass up. Besides, he had four days of the asshole smirking and laughing while he and Syrus were tortured to add to what had been done to Imam and Jack. It was too bad that he would probably have to make a quick job of it rather than being able to invite Sulleman down to his own dungeons.
How he would deal with Casmir would depend on Casmir. The first thing was to get Sissua. That was what Jenna had sent him here to do. It was also the deal that Casmir had made with Nagia. He would make good on it before Riddick would agree to any thing else.
As far as Mira was concerned, he would agree to take a representative from Casmir to her to negotiate for a possible marriage contract. It might be as cruel as Nagia saw it but Mira should have the right to decide for herself. Hell, with Jenna's help, the girl might be able to work herself a good deal and be able to come back home on her own terms.
If Casmir wouldn't accept that, if he were just as much an asshole as Sulleman and tried to force the issue, keep hostages for her immediate return or a completed contract, things would get ugly – Riddick ugly. If one prince could bleed so could a second.
With that much decided, Riddick allowed himself to sleep. He knew it wouldn't be for long. Casmir, if he were smart, would want to make a deal, get the jump on his cousin, as soon as he could. He was right. He had barely dozed off when something a lot harder than a fist struck the bottom of the door several times.
"Max! Open up."
Riddick chuckled to himself as he pulled the cabinet away from the door once more. Leave it to Rommy to save his knuckles by using his steel-toed boots on the expensive carved door. This reminded Riddick just how dangerous Rommy could be with those boots and he moved well back from the door before calling out to him to come in. The casual way that the man closed the door behind him and then leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest, told Riddick that his suspicion that he might be pissed about what Riddick had gotten him into was a good one. Rommy's first words confirmed this.
"Putting me in the middle of a civil war wasn't very nice, boyo. The only reason I'm still around is that I figure you as too politically stupid to know that's what you were doing. I'd better be right about that since it's what I've been telling Prince Casmir. It helped that your redheaded merc was just as clueless. You muscle types amaze me. Now, is there anything you'd like to ask me before I take you to the Prince?"
Rommy needed to remember who he was dealing with.
"Cut the crap, Rommy. You're still here because you made a contract and you know what happens if word gets out that you didn't keep it. Not to mention what I would do when I got out of here and found out that you hadn't done your best. And that's the only politics that people like us ever worry about. Now, you tell me what you think I need to know."
The near-albino stared thoughtfully at Riddick for a moment and then moved across the room with an easy grace that reminded Riddick of a cobra. He was careful to keep the low serving table between him and Riddick as he sat down in a chair and made a show of uncorking the bottle of wine and pouring himself a glass.
"You might as well sit down. This may take a while." Then he gestured at Syrus. "How's he doing?"
Riddick knew from experience that Rommy would take his own sweet time and any attempts to hurry him would have the opposite effect. He sat.
"He'll live if he doesn't get roughed up anymore."
Rommy nodded and sipped some more of the wine. "It was his telemetry going into the cellar that forced Casmir to get you out tonight. Tomorrow evening is the beginning of a week of holy days and Sulleman always plays to the hardliners by keeping his whole household in strict seclusion. Now, he's going to be able to set up a search for you before he does that. With Mosser's involvement in this, he's already got his eye on Casmir. These rooms aren't even in Casmir's quarters but Sulleman's thugs will get around to them eventually. You're a bit of a hot potato, boyo."
Riddick gave Rommy an evil sneer.
"I've got a fix for that problem. What I need to know about is Casmir. Can I trust him to deal straight?"
For the first time, Riddick got to see what 'worried' looked like on Rommy's face.
"Hell, Max! I don't know what to tell you. All I've ever done for the kid was smuggling stuff that the local government doesn't like in the hands of private citizens: banned books and vids, the idea stuff not porn; some proscribed weapons, but nothing really heavy; and some high tech snooper gadgets. What you're talking about now is fucking serious. That girl you made off with is the founding families' crown jewel and Casmir thinks that she's the key to keeping this place from going ballistic."
"What do you think?"
"I think that the kid is too young to know how to fight someone twice his age and ten times as dirty like Sulleman. But he's smart. About the smartest I've ever met. He doesn't flinch or let himself be pushed. And he is stepping into his old man's shoes so maybe he's better prepared than I think. I'd say that odds are he knows what he's talking about when it comes to the girl. I do know that, now that he has a way to do it, he's dead set on getting her back and that he thinks that the only way to protect her from Sulleman is to marry her himself before anyone knows that she's back. I also get the idea that that pisses him off some. I don't think that the boy ever wanted to sit on the golden thrown himself. Just didn't want Sulleman sitting there."
Rommy poured himself another glass of wine and then threw a smirk at Riddick. "Of course it could be something else. The kid doesn't have himself a hareem. Most his age have at least three or four sweet things to warm their bed. And, he seemed awful understanding when Rafferty went off all over him when your buddy there almost flat-lined. The merc hasn't been too happy with you two being locked in the same cell from the very beginning and when the guards reported that you had insisted on carrying him up here yourself, Rafferty looked like he was going to bust a blood vessel. Have I been missing any possibilities with you?"
Riddick swore silently. This was getting almost as bad as some slams he had been in.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Rommy, before I put your corpse down there with it. Making sure Syrus stays alive is part of my contract."
The blond gave a half-ass laugh.
"Nothing lost. Rough trade never was my thing. Are you ready to see Casmir?"
"If he's willing to come to me. Syrus isn't in any condition to be moved and I'm not letting him out of my sight until any deal with Casmir is set. And remember, Rommy, our contract isn't finished until my people and I are on our way safely off planet."
With a short nod, Rommy rose and headed toward the door. Riddick noticed that he booted the door again before he opened it and left. When Riddick turned his attention back into the room, he found Nagia staring at him her eyes flashing with anger. Shit. He knew he'd have to ask to find out what had brassed her off. Most times he wouldn't have cared enough to make the effort but, the way things were, it might be something he should know.
"What's wrong with you?"
His irritation showed in the rough gravel of his voice as well as in his words. For a minute he didn't think that she was going to answer him. In the end, her anger won out. She spoke almost as roughly as he had.
"The blond one, he slanders Prince Casmir!"
"How?"
"The Prince honors his widowed mother and his unmarried sisters. As his father before him, he will bring no concubines into their home. He will treat a wife as well. The women of his house have long been envied for the respect they are given."
Damn, everything that was going on and that was what bit her in the butt?
"That sounds like something you should tell Mira, not me."
This caused a reaction that Riddick hadn't expected. The little of her skin that showed above the veil turned pale.
"You are going to take me back with you? But what of Sissua?"
"We all came together, we all go back together and Sissua is what we came for. Casmir gets her for us before he gets one inch closer to Mira."
Nagia swayed back and forth and Riddick thought she might pass out before she quickly stood and rushed into the bathroom, almost slamming the door behind her – but not before he saw the tears beginning to run from her eyes. Fuck! Riddick was getting really tired of this 'Arabian Nightmare'.
He suddenly realized that all he wanted to do was get this over with and get back to the clean air of the Hole and a pair of sunlight-sea eyes that he knew would never lie to him.
