Chapter Eighteen

Toombs stared down at the slight girl in the bed. She had lost weight in the six weeks since he had brought her here.

What the hell did they do to this poor kid? he wondered. She seemed worn down, a mere shadow of the girl he had retrieved from New Mecca. Yet, she still held defiance in her haunted eyes as she returned his gaze.

As he observed her, he felt a wash of complex emotions: guilt, pity, regret, remorse, admiration for her strength... and irritation that he was feeling the other emotions. Irritation was the easiest to deal with, so Toombs latched on to that one.

"Damn, kid, you're as skinny as a Rhenarian skeletal-cat and you look too weak to sit up. How the fuck does that bitch expect me to get you out of here? Carry you?" he asked as he stepped back and crossed his arms.

The girl struggled into a sitting position and her eyes flashed with green fire as she glared back at him. "I'll walk. Thank you," she grated out then gestured at the pajamas she was wearing. "Just get me some real clothes."

He could tell that even that small action had taken a fair amount out of her. Toombs felt the focus of his irritation shift from the girl to her captors and his admiration grew with her refusal to back down. He stalked over to the mirror wall of her room and knocked on the glass. "Hey, you assholes wanna get the girl some clothes? I can't haul a prisoner around in a pair of fucking pajamas!"

He turned and winked conspiratorially at her. This prompted a look of confusion from her that almost made him laugh aloud. Instead, he grinned and gave her another wink, while keeping his back to the observation glass. With a grim thoughtful expression, she dropped her eyes to her hands, which were clasped in her lap.

Gotcha, kid! And just when you thought you had me figured out, huh? he thought as he swaggered back toward her. He composed his expression to one of mildly irritated boredom and leaned casually against the foot of her bed to wait.

Toombs used the wait time to ponder his options for the girl. I could let her go, but she has a price on her head big enough to ensure that someone else'll pick her up. 'Cept most merc ain't quite as nice as me, she'd probably end up... well it woudn't be pretty.

I reckon I could offer her a job. She's got a lot of spunk and she would make a good addition to the crew. Right, and what do you think your current employers response would be to that little idea? Take the ship, of course, but probably sell me up the river to the authorities. And where does that leave me. Yup, fugitive as well, not a pleasant thought.

All that leaves is delivering her to Ursa Luna like the asked. That's right, Toombs the delivery boy. The thought rankled and by the time the door to the room slid open to admit the orderly delivering the girl's clothes, his irritation was no longer simply an act for the benefit of Aereon's flunkies. And it was much more than mild.

"About fucking time!" he snarled and advanced on the hapless orderly. The small, thin youth cowered away from Toombs, visibly shaking as he held out the neatly folded clothes. Toombs glared down at him for a moment before reaching to take the stack. The boy seemed to shrink even more as Toombs loomed over him. As soon as he was relieved of his burden, he scurried from the room, slamming the door in his eagerness to escape.

Toombs turned to find Jack studying him intently. He stalked back across the room and tossed the clothes on the foot of her bed. "Get dressed, kid. We're outta here in five minutes. Although, you ain't gonna like where we're going."

"Anything is better than this place. Even prison," she said firmly. Jack caught and held his gaze for a moment. Her expression changed to one of wry humor and she added: "Hell, even a merc ship."

"Everybody thinks they're a fucking comedian," he complained as he folded his arms again and stepped back. He was actually pleased that she had retained her sense of humor in the face of whatever Aereon and company had inflicted upon her. The kid's attitude even in her weakened condition was a testament to her resilience. She was obviously a survivor, but he wondered if that would be enough given what life seemed intent on throwing at her.


Jack pondered all that she had discovered in the past few moments. The emotion, which gripped her at the thought of going to prison for Rob's murder, was too much for her to bear right then. Jack firmly put the thought from her mind and focused on the present. There would be time later to deal with the emotional upheaval. For now, she knew that she'd spoken truthfully when she told Toombs that anywhere was better than Aereon's facility. At least in prison, she wouldn't be forced to relive the worst moments of her life over and over again. The sharp edges of the painful memories might once again dull and allow her to move forward.

Oh, well. Guess the first step is to get dressed, Jack thought resolutely. She pulled the stack of clothes closer to her and dug through them: cargo pants, a t-shirt and a bulky sweatshirt. It was just the sort of outfit she normally wore. Guess they extracted my clothing preferences along with everything else. She grimaced at the pile of cloth, which suddenly felt... unclean.

Oh well, not like I've got a lot of choice in the matter. And at least this means, I really am getting out of here, she reflected as she plucked the undergarments from the heap. Jack looked at Toombs who was now leaning against the wall beside the mirror, watching her. She noted that he had chosen the one spot in the room where the observers on the other side of the glass could not watch him. She held up the bra and panties and then raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for him to leave the room so that she could dress. When he showed no intention of doing so, she rolled her eyes and snapped: "A little privacy, please?"

Toombs smirked at her and nodded toward the window. "Privacy ain't exactly something you're gonna get around here, kid."

"Yes, but I can't see them watching me, so I can pretend they aren't there. Besides, considering the shit they've done to me, a little skin won't make a difference," she spoke slowly as though explaining to a child or someone stupid. "You on the other hand are a strange man who is right here in front of me."

He still showed no intention of leaving and his grin widened at her growing irritation as she made shooing motions with her hands. Finally, Jack dropped the clothes and threw up her hands in exasperation. "Oh all right, if you won't leave, at least fucking turn around... And no peeking in the mirror either!"

He gave a strangled snort of repressed laughter but complied, turning to face the wall and deliberately averting his eyes from the large reflective expanse. Jack watched him for a moment and then quickly slipped out of the pajamas and into the new clothes.

The verbal sparring with Toombs had, amazingly, brought back some of her former vitality. Jack felt more mentally alert than she had in many days, but she still felt very physically weak. Her muscle tone had decreased dramatically in the weeks she had been there due to lack of activity. The simple act of dressing left Jack feeling incredibly tired. She leaned heavily against the bed. A wave of dizziness hit her and Jack fisted her hands in the bedclothes to avoid collapsing to the floor. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she waited for the disorientation to pass.

Distantly, Jack heard Toombs cross the room. She didn't register what he was doing until he grasped her shoulders and pulled her upright. Jack cursed her lack of coordination and balance. She hadn't realized she was drifting until he adjusted her position.

"You aren't gonna pass out on me are you? Cause I really don't want to have to carry your ass."

Intending to make a cutting retort, Jack opened her eyes and glared at him. She was taken aback by the concern she momentarily read in his face, before his expression returned to what she was coming to think of as his normal arrogant smirk. She took a deep breath and called upon her deepest reserves of determination to force the room to stop spinning. Once her equilibrium returned, Jack shrugged Toombs's hands off her shoulders. "I'll be fine," she answered quietly.

Toombs stepped away from her and she pushed herself off the edge of the bed. She swayed a bit, but then righted herself and stood firm. He regarded her with narrowed eyes. Then, apparently satisfied with what he saw, he gave a sharp nod and gestured toward the door. Jack began walking toward it with slow deliberate steps.

She felt twinges from various parts of her body as her long-unused muscles complained at the activity. Jack had been an active person her entire life and the martial arts training she had been taking had helped her increase her tone and agility. As she struggled to walk, she realized just how much the forced bed rest, combined with the interrogation drugs, had cost her. She gritted her teeth against the ache that was developing in her lower back and squared her shoulders. All the while, she silently cursed Aereon. You're gonna pay for everything, you bitch. I promise.


Toombs guided the girl through the complex, and his admiration for her pluck grew as they made their way slowly through the featureless corridors. She was in obvious pain, but she refused to give in or ask for help.

At one point, she stumbled and almost fell. However, when he moved forward to support her, she glared at him and shrugged off his assistance. She then pulled herself upright using the wall and continued shuffling along in the direction he indicated.

It occurred to Toombs that her attitude was not unlike what he would expect from either Mare or Kyra in a similar situation. I'm plagued by damned stubborn women. And this one's my damned prisoner. I shouldn't have to put up with this shit, he grumbled to himself.

Although it would have been quicker to carry her to the waiting hover-car, he did not move to assist her. For a reason he couldn't completely explain to himself, he wanted to leave Jack her pride in her departure from the facility. He decided not to examine the reason too closely because it would likely cause the emotions he had felt earlier to resurface. Got no desire to go down that path.

Eventually, they reached the garage. The walk, which would normally have taken Toombs no more than five minutes even given the vast size of the building, had taken almost half an hour. The girl was pale and breathing heavily as the doors to the subterranean parking area whooshed open.

Toombs stepped forward quickly and opened the rear door to the vehicle. His small gesture of gallantry drew a look of surprise from Jack. "Don't go getting any ideas that I'm a gentleman or anything, kid. Gotta make sure everything's secure for a dangerous prisoner like you," he informed her with smirk.

Jack snorted at his sarcasm and then practically collapsed into the seat. Her breath was coming in deep shuddering gasps as though she had run a marathon instead of walking at a slow pace through a few hundred feet of interior passages. Toombs watched her for a moment. Then, satisfied that she was going to be okay, he slammed the door and climbed into the driver's seat.


Jack slumped sideways across the rear seat of the hover-car. The walk from her room to the garage had sapped all her reserves of energy both physical and mental. As Toombs drove them away from the facility, she knew it would haunt her dreams from now on. Her mind spun and drifted on waves of memory jarred loose by her exhausted state.

She fought unsuccessfully to prevent tears from leaking from her eyes, but the flood of emotions was too strong. Instead, she turned her head and pressed her face against the coarse upholstery of the seat. Jack focused on breathing deeply and bringing herself back under control during the drive to their destination, which she assumed was the spaceport.

One thought rose out of the miasma of her mind, stronger than all the others: I'm free! Free from that bitch's hellhole. I can handle anything as long as I'm away from there... even prison. I know I should be scared about being sent to a slam, but it can't be worse. Riddick survived the slam, and so can I. Just gotta learn to think him, and I'll make it. And Riddick escaped the slam. That means I can too. And when I do, Aereon is mine!


Toombs parked next to the Purgatory in the shuttle port. He glanced in the back seat and discovered that Jack was sound asleep. She had drawn her legs up on the seat and tucked her arms protectively across her chest. He climbed out of the car and opened the back door without taking any special care to be quiet. The girl never stirred.

"Guess I'm stuck carrying you after all," he remarked to her sleeping form.

He scooped her into his arms and was amazed at her slight weight. He had known just by looking at her that she had lost some mass during her time here; however, he hadn't realized just how much she'd lost. He had carried her before when they first grabbed her in New Mecca, and he now estimated that she had lost at least 15 to 20 pounds. The girl had been trim before, so the weight loss had to be pure muscle. He felt a flare of outrage at such readily apparent deterioration in someone he would have considered a worthy, albeit junior, addition to his crew, only a few short weeks ago.

Toombs closed the door with the arm that was under her legs and then tapped in the recall code on the keypad by the front door to signal the rental agency to retrieve the vehicle. He walked quickly across the tarmac to the shuttle and clicked his remote to open the door. Once inside, he settled Jack on the bench of an empty cryotube, but did not engage the stasis system. As a testament to her level of exhaustion, she didn't move the entire time.

Those bastards in the slam are gonna eat this kid alive with the shape she's in. She won't last a week, he thought as he gazed down at her. The remorse and regret that he had pushed away earlier returned. This time, the emotions would not be denied.

"What the hell have I done?" he asked, his voice echoing slightly in the empty shuttle. No answer was forthcoming. After watching her sleep for a moment longer, Toombs made his way to the front of the shuttle and grimly piloted it back to the main ship.