Chapter Seventeen

Imam sat in the courtroom behind the defense attorney. The fact that he was here at all still seemed a little unreal. He allowed his mind to drift back to the fateful night when his world was turned on its edge.


The chiming of the door was insistent, drawing Imam and Lajjun out of a deep sleep. Imam turned on the small lamp beside their bed, and consulted the face of the chrono that shared the table with the lamp. The face indicated that it was 0200.

"Who could that be at this time of night, Abu?"

"I do not know, my dear," Imam said with a shake of his head as he rose from the bed and drew on his dressing robe. At that moment, the incessant chiming awakened Ziza and they both heard her cry out. "I will find out who is calling upon us. You go look in on Ziza," he told her and then left their room.

When he reached the first floor, Imam pulled his robe more tightly around him and snugged the belt. He then opened the door with a puzzled expression. His puzzlement increased as he realized there were two uniformed deputy constables on his doorstep.

"May I help you, gentlemen?" he asked with a polite bow.

"Professor al-Walid, we apologize for disturbing you at this late hour. I am Officer Fasad and this is Officer Ling," one of the men said as they returned his bow. "You are the guardian of Jacqueline Audrey Page?"

"Yes, I am. She is my adopted daughter," he confirmed and then fear clenched around his heart. "Oh, no… She is not injured, is she? She is not…?"

"No, sir. We do not believe she has come to any harm," Fasad reassured him.

Relief flooded Imam but confusion quickly followed. His brow furrowed and he looked from one man to the other as he asked, "If no harm as befallen the child, what has brought you here?"

"Sir, there has been a shooting," the second officer spoke up.

"A shooting. You said she was not…"

"We do not believe that Miss Page was injured; however, we fear she was involved. We need to speak to her. We thought perhaps she might have come here."

"I have not seen her since last weekend."

"Would you allow us the opportunity to check her room, sir? We need to confirm that she hasn't visited here without your knowledge," Ling requested politely. However, the firm tone of his voice told Imam that the request was made out of courtesy and that they would force the investigation if necessary.

"Of course," he acknowledged and stepped back. He motioned them through the door with another small bow. As they entered, Imam spoke again, "Please, gentlemen. If Jack was not injured, who was? Why do you believe she was involved?"

"One of her classmates was killed, sir, along with two other men whom we are working to identify. We have reliable information that she was at the scene when the incident occurred and that she may have been the shooter. Unfortunately, I cannot say more about the investigation."

Imam stepped back in shock and sank into a chair in the entry hall. He glanced up to the second floor of the house where Lajjun stood with Ziza cradled against her. He could tell by her expression that she had overheard the officer's words. He wrenched his eyes from his family back to where the officers stood politely waiting for him at the foot of the stairs.

"Who died?"

"Robert Harris," Fasad said after consulting a small pad. "We are told that he was a close friend of your daughter's."

Imam slumped into the chair as the weight of the officer's words hit him. He heard a gasp from above and looked up to where Lajjun had pressed her hand against her lips. Tears glittered brightly in her eyes and she clasped Ziza even more snuggly. The little girl shifted with a small whimper and then settled once more in her mother's arms.

Officer Ling cleared his throat and Imam shifted his gaze back to the two men. "Forgive us, sir, but we must continue our investigation."

Imam took a deep breath and swallowed around the lump that had formed in his throat. He stood and motioned to the stairs, "Of course, gentlemen. I will be happy to show you Jack's room."


After the officers left, Imam began making phone calls to try to obtain additional information about what was going on. The constabulary had found a duffle with Jack's identification on a commercial street not far from her school campus at the site of the brutal killing. Reliable witnesses placed Jack at the scene at the time of the shooting. One of them, a waitress from a nearby pub, had seen her shoot the final victim after hearing the shots that had apparently killed Rob and the first unidentified man.

The constables were still compiling evidence, but preliminary indications were that Jack's fingerprints were the only ones found on a gun left at the crime scene. Except for a stun phaser, the constables found no other weapons on any of the victims. Worst of all, Jack was missing. The waitress, who had witnessed the final shooting, had gone to call the authorities and by the time, she returned to the window, there was no sign of Jack.

When combined with the fact that Jack was still missing, the evidence and witness statements painted a grim picture. The authorities quickly charged Jack with three counts of murder. Regardless, Imam knew that Jack could not have committed the crimes of which she was accused. He tried to explain this to Rob's father, but Councilman Harris was consumed by his own grief and would not listen. In fact, the Councilman was the reason the trial moved ahead so quickly.

Normally, in a case where the accused could not be located there was a waiting period of at least six months before invoking a trial in absentia. However, this grace period was not a formal law and Harris had used all his considerable political influence to move up the trial date. A mere six weeks after Rob's death and Jack's disappearance, she was placed on trial for the triple murder of Rob and two men.

Imam immediately hired someone to represent Jack, but once again, Councilman Harris brought his power to bear. Many of the top barristers refused the case outright and Imam turned to Aron Denin, a young man with much more enthusiasm than experience. Nevertheless, Denin presented an excellent case and seemed be winning the tribunal over when the prosecutor played the Riddick card.

Fingerprint analysis on the other two men identified them as a pair of mercs. Once the information about the Hunter-Gratzner crash was introduced, the prosecution painted a picture of Jack as a disturbed teen who was obsessed with Riddick following her contact with him after the crash. The prosecutor put forth the theory that Jack had slain the two mercs because they were searching for Riddick. A scrapbook that the constables had found in Jack's room served to reinforce the obsession claims when the prosecution presented it as evidence. In the book, she had collected articles and bits of information about Riddick's life many of which were details of his various crimes including the murder of numerous mercs who had attempted to apprehend him.

Briefly, the prosecutor attempted to force Imam onto the stand to testify regarding the events following the crash. Imam was torn over what to say that would both save Jack and allow him to protect the secret of Riddick's location. When he was completely honest with himself, he also had to admit that he held a certain amount of fear for his family. What sort of vengeance might Riddick claim if he ever found that Imam had revealed the planet on which Riddick had chosen to sequester himself? Would the fact that he made the revelation to save Jack make any difference? They were questions that chilled Imam's heart and left him sleepless the night before he was due to testify.

On the morning that Imam was scheduled to take the stand, the prosecutor received a visit from a strange, heavily robed figure. Imam had arrived at the court early, so he saw the entire meeting from a distance and was impressed with the elegant grace with which the small-framed person moved. After the visit, the prosecutor mysteriously withdrew Imam from the witness list.


The sharp crack of the Judge's gavel pulled Imam back to the present. The magistrate announced, "Since both sides have presented their arguments, we will recess to give the tribunal time to review the evidence. A message will be broadcast when they have reached a verdict."

With that, the members of the tribunal and the magistrate adjourned to their chambers and the audience began filtering out of the courtroom. Imam waited until Aron Denin stepped back to him. The young attorney looked weary and a little sad as he extended his hand to Imam and said, "Well, Professor. I have done all that I can for her in her absence. If only she had been found to provide her own side of the story…"

"I am sure you have done your best, my son," Imam reassured the young man as he clasped his hand. "It is now in the hands of Allah. May his will be done."

Aron nodded and then followed the crowd of onlookers out of the courtroom. Imam looked around the now mostly empty room once more before he too exited. He made his way through the building to a bank of public comm terminals and then waited for one to become available so that he could contact Lajjun with the news that the tribunal had reached the case review stage.

"I am coming to you, Abu," she told him firmly and then held up her hand before he could protest. "I love Jack, too. I want to be there for her sake and for yours, my love."

Imam nodded mutely as tears prickled his eyes.

"It will not take me long. I have already taken Ziza to my sister's house for the afternoon," Lajjun continued and then she ended the call.

Imam met his wife in front of the court building half an hour after their call. She looked at his face and without speaking, embraced him. Imam held her tightly for a moment and then released her. She clasped his arm as they walked into the building. They found seats inside and settled in to wait for the court to reconvene.

Imam felt Lajjun press something into his hand. When he looked down, he discovered that he held a set of prayer beads: the ones from the crash and his subsequent flight with Jack and Riddick. He looked from the beads up to Lajjun's face as tears blurred his vision. Lajjun wrapped her hands around his and then leaned against him. Imam felt soothed by her presence and was suddenly very grateful that she had insisted on coming to the court.

They only had to wait for another half hour before the court PA system buzzed with the announcement that the tribunal had reached a verdict. Imam felt both relief that they had not been forced to wait too long and dread that the short recess might mean the worst. They stood and made their way into the courtroom and to the row of seats reserved for the family of the accused. Aron Denin was already in place when they took their seats. His face was schooled into a carefully neutral expression as he nodded to them and then turned back to face the magistrate's desk.

After a few moments, the magistrate and the tribunal returned from their chambers and resumed their customary positions. The magistrate rapped his gavel again and a deep silence fell over the room as the head of the tribunal rose and read the verdict.


Jack lay in her bed in the bland room where she had originally awakened. If she turned her head slightly, she could just make out the faint pinkish smear on the wall from where she had thrown her food at Aereon. Normally, she would have rejoiced at the lasting reminder of her defiance, but she could no longer muster the energy for defiance or joy. She simply felt drained… I'm like an orange half that's had all the juice squashed out of it.

She had lost track of time and lost count of the number of sessions of drugged questioning she had endured. Her captors seemed to be searching for information and were determined to pull it from her. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't tell them what they wanted to know, a fact that she repeated multiple times to no avail.

Jack had fought them as best she could, but eventually, the drugs and repetition took their toll. The techs only needed to give her a very mild dose of the drug before Aereon's gentle voice coaxed the flood of memories from her. The combination of the drugs and the repeated floods of old and painful memories had worn her down until she felt weaker than she had ever felt before. She was also plagued by a sense of failure and loss over her inability to protect what she knew about Riddick.

Jack heard the door open and then close as though someone had entered. She did not hear anyone and did not have the will to turn her head to see who it was. She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling, hoping that the orderlies had not come to retrieve her for another questioning session.

A moment later, Aereon floated into Jack's field of vision on the right side of her bed. She looked down at Jack with her enigmatic smile. "How are you feeling today, Jack?"

She paused as though waiting for Jack to answer. Jack felt so drained that she could not even summon her normal sense of ire toward the woman and so just blinked at her.

When no other response was forthcoming, Aereon continued in the same pleasant tone. "I have some news for you; we have finished our testing sessions. Our technicians tell me that they have learned all they can from you. It's time for you to leave us."

These words reached through the fog of fatigue and loss. Jack felt relief mingled with grief flood through her as images of home bombarded her mind. They were finally letting her go; she could return to her family so that she could finally begin to truly grieve for Rob. She blinked rapidly as tears leaked from her eyes and then sighed a single word: "Home."

Aereon's face changed to an expression of pity as Jack spoke. "Oh, no, my dear. I am afraid I have misled you. We cannot allow you to return home; you are much too valuable to us for that. You may not realize it, but you are very special. A person with Furyan blood is a truly rare find..."

She continued but Jack was lost in the pain that swept through her as Aereon's statement registered in her mind. There was a rushing sound in her ears. She felt dizzy and almost fainted.

No, I'm not gonna give this bitch the satisfaction, she thought with some of her former defiance returning at last. She forced herself to breathe deeply and ground her teeth as she brought herself back to the present and focused on what Aereon was saying.

"…conviction requires you to be remanded to the prison system."

"Conviction? What?" Jack asked in confusion. What conviction? What the hell is this woman talking about?

Aereon did not answer her and instead motioned with her hand. The door opened and closed once more and she heard someone enter. Jack shifted her eyes in the direction of the footsteps and her confusion deepened when she recognized the man who had entered.

Toombs crossed the room approaching the left side of her bed. He had a grim expression and Jack got the feeling that he was not happy about being there.

Not exactly jumping for joy myself, asshole, Jack thought as she glared at him. I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you.

Jack looked at Aereon again. Her smile had returned and she addressed the man. "Congratulations on your apprehension, Mr. Toombs. The authorities have classified young Jack as a rather dangerous individual. My understanding is that you will receive a handsome paycheck upon delivery of her to the Ursa Luna prison."

Jack shifted her gaze back to Toombs. He was glaring at Aereon, and Jack realized that the woman had been baiting him. When he spoke, his voice was a low growl. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Haven't you heard? It seems the Helion Prime High Court has convicted Jack in absentia for the triple murder of Robert Harris, Michael Jones, and Jorge Sanchez. The court placed an order for apprehension onto the net. When we saw it, we felt it was our duty to surrender her to you since you have experience in dealing with dangerous criminals."

"No…" Jack whispered as the words sank in.

Toombs expression quickly changed to one of shock and then outright anger as he snarled at Aereon, "Get someone else for your 'errand'. I'm not your fucking delivery boy! And I don't want any part of this bullshit."

"You will do as you are told," Aereon said quietly with an edge of steel in her voice. Jack looked rapidly from one to the other. Toombs glared menacingly at Aereon. Aereon's expression was serene but her eyes held a threat that sent frissons of fear through Jack. For a moment, she was certain that Toombs was going to defy Aereon. She dared hope that perhaps he might even help her if he got angry enough, but then the woman added, "That is if you value your ship!"

Jack wasn't sure what the exchange was about, but she knew with certainty that she had lost any chance at aid from the merc when he glanced down at her. She read the pity and regret in his face before he carefully arranged his expression to one of bland neutrality.

"I guess you have your delivery boy," he said flatly. Then he caught and held Aereon's gaze for a moment. "But this ain't over."

Aereon pressed her lips together and gave a minute nod. Then she swept to the door and left without another word.


A/N: I'm so pleased to hear that everyone enjoyed Chapter 16. It's one of my favorites. Thank you all for your kind words. I can't tell you how much each new comment brightens my day.

White lite: Thank you SO much for your wonderful feedback. You have simply blown me away! And I don't think "powerful" is a bad word at all. In fact, I'm totally flattered. And did I mention, blown away?

FitMama and pashtess: glad you are enjoying my evil Aereon. I truly had a lot of fun writing her.

Riddick's Sita: Riddick appears in several upcoming chapters and should become a significant presence starting in Ch 25 (if things go as planned, I haven't yet written CH 25, so I can't say for sure, but that's what I'd estimate).