Chapter II

Learning Lessons

She stopped in mid-stride when she heard her stomach grumble, thinking it was an attack from behind. Smirking, Jack decided that scouting out some food really wasn't a bad idea. Well, it wasn't like she could go grocery shopping. Not here. She would have to go into the 'upscale' part of the planet, and that was about a good hour walk.

There was this long stretch of road in wasteland that connected the two parts. Poverty-stricken and the 'upscale', which really was no different than an average planet's middle class. It was no fun to walk and buying a ride wasn't easy either. So, it was up to Jack to find a way through. There was a last row of building that ended the city, no suburbs, no rolling grasslands, but the final row of decaying buildings. She had hidden herself on the outcropping of one, crouching and waiting for a chance. Seeing it, she burst out and flung herself onto the truck, barely making a noise. Releasing her 'claws', she dug into the roof of the truck and held on.

Jack would never understand why the drivers never heard a full body slam against their truck, but she was content just to hold on and get a free ride. Another thing she liked about this stretch of highway was that there were never traffic jams, which could lead to someone seeing her and calling the cops. She shuddered to think of that possibility. The cops on this planet were worse than mercs, considering they didn't want the filthy scum of the other land on their upper-class grass. Jack snorted at that thought but was glad to be on the side of the wasteland where cops never ventured into. Keeping her eyes locked on the approaching city, she remembered the time a few drunk cops wandered past their safe point.

Those who lived on the poverty-stricken side never banded together, always fighting to survive, but when cops came around, it was a question of survival. She had watched from the roofs as the drunken idiots were herded into a dead-end alley. Nothing short of slaughter had commenced, the cops didn't even have a chance to defend themselves. Jack continued to stay after the murderers left and was slightly disgusted and shocked to see that corpse-looking people came out from the shadows to take flesh from the still-fresh kills. She had vowed not to fall to that and Jack mused that that was why she was sitting on top of this truck, heading towards the better half.

Soon she jumped from the top of the truck, landing into an alley. She didn't need to compose herself as she walked through the streets, watching children play together and their parents hurrying them off when she came too close. Jack hated the feeling of being here, in this fake society, so she quickly entered the market. She was relieved she had her darkened shades with her, so the bright florescent lights didn't blind her. Just as quick as she would kill someone, she picked up the food she and Marius could live of until they escaped with the promised pay of a ship. Throwing it down onto the conveyer belt, she sneered at the man who billed them and put them into a bag. She noted with satisfaction that his hands shook as he took the creds off her cred chip, leaving the change.

"I don't have all day." She snarled, impatient at his slow manner.

"I…I…if you a-a-abuse me I c-can call s-s-security." He stuttered, quickly checking that he had charged the correct amount. Jack laughed in his face as she took the cred chip from his hands.

"Why don't you think about some bladder control lessons then call security, hm?" She mocked, easily smelling the urine that had soaked the leg of his pants.

So maybe shopping for food wasn't all that bad, Jack mused as she left the store, slipping into another alley to put the food in her knapsack. Adjusting the straps, she tied them together in front so the bag wouldn't fall off if she were forced to run. Jack was going to walk back in the street, but she heard the clicks of boots that were issued only to cops and she scaled the building in seconds. Not even bothering to check their direction, she sprinted across each roof, easily crossing the space between the buildings and landing with similar ease on the next roof. Finally she reached the last one and she saw from the corner of her eye an oncoming truck. Picking up her pace she pushed off from the ledge of the roof and with a hiss of metal being unsheathed, Jack locked her claws into the top of the truck. For extra safety, she flattened herself against the top of the truck and hoped for a quick ride.

Soon enough the dark city of thieves and beggars appeared and Jack released her claws and jumped off the side and burst into a sprint, noting the sun was midway in the sky. As she climbed the side of her building, she was thankful not to be able to hear Marius move around in the apartment. He had learned quickly and well, not unlike her. Slipping into the window she was glad to see him going through his movements to the point where he had worked up a sweat.

"That's enough." She ordered. He turned to see her and his blue eyes sparkled with pride. Letting a quiet snort of satisfaction, Jack deposited her bag on the 'counter'. "Wipe yourself down then we'll eat."

With a nod, Marius ran to the bathing room. It wasn't a bathroom, not by any means. There were no working showers that Jack knew of and she had gotten by with strips of cloth dampened in rainwater she caught in buckets. A chunk of soap she had stolen from the bathroom in the bar was hidden behind a removable tile and she and Marius used this to wash their hair.

Jack began to set up the plain meal, cutting strips of the pre-cooked steak and laying them on slices of bread. This wasn't fancy, but she couldn't start a fire, that would draw too much attention. Carefully sealing the rest of the food, she hid that in her loft and waited for Marius to come out. Soon he did, looking excited to eat.

"Thanks, Jack." He said, slowly eating the food. He savored all his moments with her, amazed she had let him stay. She had trained him, fed him, protected him and maybe even cared about him.

"Welcome, Marius. Eat up then I've got to tell you something." She ordered, ignoring the pained flash on his face, as if he thought she was going to abandon him. "No, we're staying together, it's something else." She added, feeling at ease when he graced her with a small smile. Jack had also made a point never to call him 'kid', as Riddick had done to her. It had demoralized her and put her in her place, but she knew that Marius needed none of that. He had been surviving on his own in this hellish world long enough. Jack saw his done eating and eagerly awaited her conversation.

"I've got this job and the payment is a ship. A powered ship, Marius. This is the chance we've been waiting for. We'll get off this shit planet and plan from there." She informed him, carefully watching the amazement turn to suspicion. "Speak up, what are you thinking?"

"Ship for payment? It's translated into 'this person I want you to kill is going to put a huge bounty on your head so I was nice enough to give you a form of escape'." He quickly said, hoping he didn't offend her.

"I thought of that, but I can handle that." She replied, slightly surprised that his mind thought on those terms so quickly. Then again, she had taught him to do so. Yet as she said this, she couldn't push down the doubt that this was too easy. "Are you packed?"

"I have nothing to bring with me, so yes." He confirmed. "You want me to be ready to go, don't you?"

"It's a precaution. Tonight I'm going to get the lot for the ship. You will be on the ship waiting for me because most likely you're right. Get some rest, I'll be up." Her thoughts were disconnected and her speech broken, but Marius didn't want to point it out. He knew something was wrong with this situation, but the ticket for escape was too tempting to give up. Nodding, he ignored the fact the sun was still up and laid down on padding next to the wall and beneath the window. As he watched his mentors calm and controlled manner, he knew that is what he wanted to be when he grew up.

"Good night." He whispered, amazed how her head instantly snapped in his direction. He had barely spoken a breath and she heard him. But he hid all of these emotions as her hardened face relaxed slightly.

"It isn't night, but sleep well." She returned, as if ordering him to sleep. Almost instantly he fell asleep, still alert but knowing Jack was nearby. Jack wasn't watching Marius but as she quietly shuffled papers in her hidden loft, she heard his breathing even to a sleeping pace. Slipping down from the hidden bed in the ceiling, Jack put down on the 'counter' a few objects.

Laying her upper body across the counter, she picked up a pen and smoothed out the paper she was going to write on. Before she did, Jack looked at the other object she had brought down with her. One of Riddick's original shivs that left her with. She had found it tucked away in a corner of her room in Imam's house. At the time it had given her hope that he would return, but soon the shiv just became another tool to train with. Yet now as she looked at it, she knew it had higher meaning to her then she was willing to admit.

Uncapping the pen, she began to scrawl across the paper, her handwriting surprisingly elegant and graceful. As she reached the bottom of the page, she stopped before she signed it, as if waiting for the ink to dry on the paper and in her mind. Folding it, she put it in a pant pocket and the shiv in the waist band of her pants. Tossing the pen back up into her hiding spot, she went to call her client. She had found later that he had slipped his number on a piece of paper into her pocket. Probably the moment when she had been struck with the idea of payment by ship. Seeing that Marius still slept deeply, she went into the next room and closed the door, eyeing the ancient communication structure.

Thanks to these reviewers:

TotallyRiddickObsessed – It might be a Jack/Riddick.

ren3017 – Yep, I really was attracted to the idea of Jack being put through what Riddick went through with her. Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing.

Snowgurl54 – I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing.

anonymous – Although I've read my fair share of Anne Rice, the name actually came from my knowledge of Roman history, hence why Jack picked out that name. Thanks for reviewing. Yeah, I really do like the name.