Chapter Twenty

Riddick's POV

I hate bright lights. I've got my goggles on. Haven't used them in a while. There was no need to, but here, sun's bright. Warm too. The light is coming in from the vaulted glass ceiling. I haven't even gone outside yet, and I'm not liking the planet. I'm packing. Shivs that is. That, and other portable weapons of my choice in a bag. The ship is safe behind me. I'll programmed it to seal itself for twenty-four hours. I've got to move it after that. It's not safe for us having it where it is. I inhale deeply just to make sure you're behind me. I know you're packing your new shivs too. You'll get to play with them soon, promise.

"Stay close." It's an order I expect you to follow. I don't want to have worry about you.

"Behind you or beside you?"

Such a simple question, but extremely loaded. I noticed that you didn't say in front. "You choose, woman. Be quick."

"Back to the stilted vocabulary, are we Winters?"

I ignore the question. I've got a lot on my mind.

"Husband?"

Your voice is a little farther away than moments before. I stop in my tracks and turn around to look at you. You've stopped with your hands on your hips, and are looking pissed. Pissed again? What the fuck for now?

"Wife?"

"Wife? Trndy. First woman, now wife. I got a name, Baldy?"

You do it on purpose. Antagonize me to get a reaction while we're still in the public eye. I'm too good at playing mind games on others to fall for that, woman.

"Wife not good enough?" I smile, mostly for the cameras, which of course, are capturing all of this banter on digital tape.

"You need a shave. Stubblehead." You smile is sickeningly sweet.

The corners of my mouth inch upward, again. Stubblehead? That's new.

"The hotel will have shaving cream, Peach."

"Peach?" I wait for your reaction. I know its coming. "What a stupid name! That's what you picked?"

Did you know that your voice increases its pitch rather drastically when you're agitated?

"No. Keep moving." I start to walk to the main gate, knowing you'll follow. I've piqued your interest, so you'll have to follow to learn your new name.

"Peach isn't my name?" Pause. "Winters, WHAT is my name?"

You're close now, walking beside me. I like that. I wrap an arm around your shoulders. Humph. I need a shower.

"Aislin Night. Rather, Aislin Winters now."

"I like it. Exoitc."

I lean in to whisper in your ear. To anyone observing us, I look like a very attentive and devoted husband. "Shut up. Stay close…Peach."

For once you listen. I glance around, taking note of all around me. I notice you're doing the same. I can glance around more though, because of my goggles. It's good to know that you're able to watch your own back, but you've got to stop baiting us out.

"Look straight ahead, Peach."

You do. There are more people now. We've entered the line up at the checkpoint gate. Here they take the entrance fee. Only one person ahead of us and he's leaving. Just what I like, no waiting.

"Name?"

I look at the guy before me. What a sucker. Maybe in a few years he'll make five feet. I can't smell the full order of fear off of him, but I can smell the start of it. Must be my size.

"Winters." I say it with a smile. The guy relaxes a little. I grind my teeth, unintentionally.

"Jason and Aislin?"

"Yes." I drop my arms from around your shoulders to your waist. This has its own advantage as I'm able to draw you closer to me. Your smell is driving me crazy.

Good show, Kyra. You've put your arms around my waist and smile all stupid eyed into my goggles. My eyes are laughing at your obvious fake lovesick puppy look. The guy buys it though, and that's what I needed.

"Will you be paying both the entrance fee and exist fee, sir?"

"Yes."

You remain silent. Good. No talking is best. Can't afford voice scans to give you away.

Fuck, you're tracing your hands along my abdomen. A few inches lower and – Kyra!

The guy in front of me punches in some buttons. "100 universal denominations."

I slip one hand from around your back to give the little shit a card. Mr. Jason Winters' card, to be exact. Its amazing what shit I found on the necro ship.

"How long have you two been married?" Fuck. Now the stupid shit of a guy wants to engage in casual conversation.

Fuck the small talk, I want to take her to the hotel and hear her scream my name!

I can feel your hand massaging my back. It has a calming effect.

"7 days."

"Oh, a honeymooning couple. How lovely. Better watch out for her, Mr. Winters. Unscrupulous men tend to wander these streets."

Little punk. "I'll keep that in mind." Does it fucking look like I can't take care of my own woman?

"Well, your card cleared. Here you go. Have a nice stay."

"Move," I say through grated teeth after we are out of earshot. I let go of you to walk quickly away from the cameras. Going to have to get access to a power source to plug my computer in. Gotta do some looping. Get our faces erased from those cameras. "Two minutes."

"Till?"

You said something. "What?"

"Two minutes till what, Winters?"

"Nothing."

There. Across the street. Cable. "Stay close."

I feel it more than I hear it. It's the movement of hands cutting through the air. I don't tense, because I know they're your hands. You've grabbed hold of my right hand. Interesting.

"Close enough, Winters?"

"No."

"No?"

I smile, but I don't stop walking.

"Closer, Mrs. Winters."

"Right here, on the street? Kinky."

I shrug.

There. Right there. I tense a little. You've felt it too. I think. A shadow. Shit. More than one.

"Time to play, Aislin."

I can hear your heart racing faster. You've been cooped up too long on the ship. Need to stretch your muscles. These two that are shadowing us, they'll be dead before long. I make a move to head down an alleyway. You tug my hand in another direction.

"No. Not here. Over there. Less people, less noise."

I knew you'd figure it out. I knew you'd be able to tell when we were being shadowed.

"Mercs?"

I knew you'd ask that too. I thought the same, at first. They're not mercs. They're something else.

"No."

"Bleed them or kill them?"

"You bleed, I'll kill."

I don't even wait for an answer. I see a crack in the wall large enough to conceal you and shove you in. There's no argument from you. I like that. It'll make this easier. As I turn to leave you I hear you take your shivs out from their hiding place. I glance around. No place to hide but the shadows itself. I belong there, so it's easy for me. I'm not far from you, Kyra. I can see the crack from here.

I can smell them now. They're close. One's a female. Different smell all together, femininity is. She's not that tall and very light. I can hear her soft, quick footsteps. The other one is male. Heavy too. Too heavy for his size. He's short as well. I can hear his footsteps. I snort. He's not even trying to hide his size. I'm glad I left you in the light to take the first one, while I grab the second.

They've stopped, two feet from where you are. Cowards, they won't even venture into the darkness. Look at them – oh shit.

"Hold," I say to Kyra.

I can see you poking your head out to take a good look at our shadows. Two more feet and the first one would have been bleeding a whole hell of a lot. Our shadows, they're fucking kids.

"Fucking kids, Winters."

"I can see them." Hell, I can even smell the fear off of them. They're kids. Maybe twelve, thirteen, can't tell. The girl is small, petite, no meat on her bones. The boy is stocky, too much meat on his bones.

"Put the shivs away, woman." You do as I say, but you remain very still, as if poised to pounce. That's not good. I don't feel anything off of these kids. Wonder why you do?

"Why do you wear goggles?" Of course it would be the little girl who asks that question.

I smirk. Cute kid. "To cover my eyes."

"What's wrong with them?" So the boy has a little bit of a backbone, talking to a big guy like me.

"They're sensitive to light." I glance at their outfits. There's not much to them. Street kids. Who'd ever thought there could actually be a heavy street kid? Interesting. Something's not right. No shit.

"Um…We were wondering, sir…"

Sir? Never had that before. "About?"

"Well, we know this area real well. We can do stuff for you – like, get you stuff…that you need of course."

Of course. "We don't need anything."

"Okay. So why'd you come down this alley then? Are you hiding, cuz we're good at doing just that, aren't we Andy?" The cuteness aspect is leaving this kid real fast.

"Shut up." I glance in your direction, Kyra. Damn, those words did come from you. Harsh, but needed. We can't afford to have attention brought our way. There's something wrong with these kids but I don't know what…yet.

I smell salt. I hear the whimpers. The girl must be crying. Fuck. She makes a move to run, so I reach out to prevent her. It seems Andy thinks I'm going to hurt her cuz he pulls a knife and points it at you, Kyra. I ignore him. He's not going to hurt you Kyra. We both know it. Will she hurt him? That's another story.

I pull the little girl towards me and crouch down so that I'm at her eye level. My hands remain tight on her arm, but I'm not hurting her. "Are you frightened of me?" I tilt my head to the side a little.

She shakes her head no, but I can smell the fear radiating off of her. Fuck.

"I won't hurt you."

"Promise?" More tears are flowing, but now they are silent.

"I've never made a promise before."

"Never?"

I nod my head.

"Well, do you swear not to hurt me or Andy?"

I nod again. She reaches a tentative hand to my face to trace the lenses of my goggles.

"Don't touch them."

She flinches while I remain perfectly still. Surprisingly, I don't smell any fear off of her. I guess she's no longer afraid of the Big Bad. I stand up and glance at Andy. He's still pointing the blade at you, but he's starting to realize the full impact of the situation he's gotten himself into.

"Aislin. Take the blade."

In one swift movement, you have the blade in your hand, and are staring at one shocked little boy.

"How'd you do that?" What a typical question. "Fuck you lady, give me back my knife!" Now that's the reaction I thought was originally coming.

"No." I watch, enthralled, as you take his knife and slip it into your pant leg. You then do something I'm totally unprepared for.