Hello one and all! As always, infinite thanks and gratitude to all my beautiful reviewers! Without you guys keeping me going this would probably suck. –HUGE SMOOCHES TO ALL-
This chap is a little short and boring, but the next chapter will make up for it I promise. It may take a little longer to write, but you guys will just die for the monkey wrench I'm throwing in! Well, maybe not, but you'll love it at any rate, I'm relatively positive ;o).
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to me, except Kyra, and Riddick, and anyone else who doesn't belong to me. Duh! ;oP
They disembarked at the Lazarus port as scheduled and without complication (Kyra was still trying to get the taste of Riddick's boots out of her mouth). As they descended the ramp from the Vesper, the first thing Riddick and Kyra both noticed were armed gunmen standing at regular intervals on the pier. Little did they know but Jonas noticed as well. 'Compliments of Tobias Rothchild, no doubt,' he thought to himself with a scoff. Jonas also noticed how much the area around the pier had grown in his eight-year absence. When he left it was just a dock, a place to get on and off the ferry, nothing more. Now it was a bustling commerce center with many shops and restaurants and other attractions. Stands were set up along the edges like a street market bearing different types of colorful and highly overpriced merchandise. Jonas and Kyra were so enthralled that Riddick was the only one who noticed one of the gunmen heading in their direction after taking a long look at the screen on his arm. Riddick stopped the other two in their tracks, and then they saw him. 'Shit shit shit,' was the concurrent thought among them.
"Clearance cards?" the gunman asked, holding out one hand while keeping the other firmly planted on his weapon. Jonas fumbled for a moment, as thrown off by the threat emanating from Riddick as the gun at the man's side. He dug the cards out of his pocket and handed them over. The man swiped the cards on his little digital scanner.
"Salazar, Jonas M.?" the man asked, eyeing Jonas when he raised his hand, "We've been waiting for you. You have a summons from the High Lord." The man motioned for two of his associates to approach, "You need to come with us." Jonas had to think fast as he could feel the growing anxiety in the two behind him.
"Of course, anything for the High Lord. May I only have a moment to confer with my friends?" Jonas proposed innocently. Riddick stilled the hand that was about to go for his shiv. The gunman eyed Riddick suspiciously, then Kyra admiringly (which made her a little nauseous), and finally he nodded and Jonas pulled them aside, away from prying ears.
"Are you crazy? We just got here and you're just going to go off with these guys? What the fuck are you thinking? What are we supposed to do?" Kyra's tone was level so as not to draw attention, but her eyes were frantic.
"Look, there's a good possibility that Tobias got wind of my name on the ferry roster and wants to find out why I'm back. If they knew who the two of you were there would already be arteries open. Just stay cool a minute." Jonas walked over and took a pen from one of the gunmen, then walked back to Kyra and took her hand, writing an address on the back of it. "Go here and lay low. It's a safe place, and I doubt that it's disappeared no matter how much the city has grown. If I'm not back by sundown then open arteries, okay?" The last bit of his statement was aimed at Riddick and the look the two men exchanged was a mutual understanding. If Jonas wasn't back by sundown, chances were he was dead and they should leave Ajilon by any means necessary and continue on without him.
Kyra watched the gunmen escort Jonas up the pier with an overwhelming sense of dread, but she kept her mouth shut as always. Just then, Riddick leaned in close to her ear.
"So, it's okay when he suggests we split up, huh?"
Jonas was amazed at how the city had grown back, even flourished after such a tragedy. He always knew they would be all right, with or without him. Some of the shops and neighborhoods they passed were familiar, some were new, but he got the same feeling from all of it; fear. He could hear the people behind him whispering hushed conversations, and at one point he thought he'd heard his name mentioned but he couldn't be sure.
The men lead him to what had once been the Chambers of the High Council, now the High Lord Tobias Rothchild's permanent residence. The first thing he noticed was how dark it was. No curtains open, no daylight at all. Second, it was sickeningly ornate and stunk of autocracy. Gold and antiquities at every turn, which Jonas knew damn well had been paid for with the trust and sweat of his people. The whole damn place was offensive and a little creepy. He was lead into a parlor and told to sit, that the High Lord would be with him at his leisure.
'So, we're down to hurry up and wait?' Jonas thought with a sneer. He looked around and started when his eyes graced an enormous portrait of Tobais's father, Lazlo Rothchild, that he had somehow missed upon entering the room. It wasn't so much the size of the thing that was disturbing, but the look of Lazlo's face presented a totally sinister air that Jonas didn't remember him having, not that he'd paid much attention to politics as a child. It gave Jonas the heebie jeebies and even when he tried to ignore it, he felt as though it was staring at him.
A sound (gratefully) distracted him and he looked up to find a man had entered the parlor. He wore a well-tailored suit, yet carried himself like a slave, which was rather unnerving.
"Mister Salazar, I presume, sir?" Jonas nodded, and the man came forward to the settee where Jonas sat and stood in front of him, bowing his head low, "A few things you must be aware of, sir. You will stand to address the High Lord, sir. You must never raise your voice to the High Lord, sir. You must always-"
"That will be quite enough, Raoul. Jonas is an old friend, he will be fine." Jonas looked up at the door where the servant had just been to find the form of his one time acquaintance standing in it now. 'Wow, eight years really does a lot, doesn't it?' was Jonas' first thought. The last time he'd seen Tobias, he was a skinny, gangly, acne ridden little shit of a boy. Now, well now was another story entirely. He had grown by at least six or eight inches, lost the acne, gained some muscle and was now a formidable looking man. He had grown his hair out and the mass of auburn waves was tied back in the same way a warrior would tie his hair back before a battle. His long oval face was pale, and the darkness of his hair and large eyes only set off his narrow features even more, almost giving them a glow. Jonas was so taken aback that he hadn't even noticed Raoul's swift exit. Jonas stood as Tobias came forward, his gauzy pitch-black robes moving with him in an almost unnatural way.
"Really, Jonas, you don't have to stand. That rule is for the masses, not… friends." His voice had changed significantly as well, and not just from puberty, Jonas had a feeling. There was a ring to it that Jonas just couldn't quite place.
"It's good to see you, Tobias. You've changed. A lot." Jonas held out his hand to shake the other man's, and Tobias only stared for a moment before finally taking it in a firm grip. Their eyes met, and Jonas saw the same challenge, the same unyielding tenacity there had always been. His grip on Jonas' hand tightened just enough to make him wince and Jonas saw something else mingle briefly across the other man's face; pleasure. Pleasure from pain. 'Interesting… and creepy,' Jonas thought to himself. Tobias released Jonas' hand and the two sat across from each other.
"So, I trust that my men gave you no grief when they found you at the pier?" Tobias asked with seemingly genuine sentiment.
"No, no grief at all. It was just a little surprising that you knew I was coming, but I suppose you have eyes and ears all over the Capitol, don't you? Being an aspiring Sovereign, after all." Jonas replied, having to bite back his sarcasm. Tobias didn't seem to notice.
"So I do. One must keep channels open to secure one's place." 'Whatever that means,' Jonas thought snidely.
"Well I, uh, I like what you've done with the Chamber. It's very… interesting." There was silence between the two men for a moment, and then Tobias spoke up again.
"So, Jonas, it's been eight years. What exactly brings you back home after so long?" Tobias' tone was low and his eyes were fixed on Jonas' face, like a big cat watching a herd for weakness.
"Just back for a visit. Wanted to see what's been done with the place." Jonas kept his answer short, not wanting to give away too much. Tobias nodded.
"And what of these friends of yours, hm? Who are they?"
"They're just friends. Good friends." Jonas replied with only the slightest hint of annoyance. Tobias seemed to think over Jonas' answer for a moment.
"The girl, she is very beautiful. I wonder, do you and this other, bigger man feel the same about her? I suppose not, after all there was only one for you once, and I doubt she's been forgotten." Jonas' demeanor darkened at the stab but he said nothing, so Tobias continued, "You know that if anything happens involving them, you and everyone you've come in contact with since arriving will be held responsible. Be very careful with your friends, Jonas." Jonas' eyes went wide as he caught the insinuation. A thought came to him then of lunging across the space between them and choking the man before him. He refrained. "Now, with that said I would like to invite you and your comrades to our celebration this evening here in the grand ballroom. Go, retrieve them and come back, I will personally see to your preparations." Tobias stood to leave, and Jonas stood to stop him.
"What exactly are we celebrating?" Jonas asked. Tobias chuckled.
"My father's death, of course, and the anniversary of the fall of the iniquity of the Council, and the rise of the new peace in Lazarus. Tonight will be five tranquil years since I took power. We will add your return to the list as well, if you'd like." Tobias snapped his fingers, and Raoul quickly entered the room again. "Raoul will show you out." With that he turned to leave. Raoul bid Jonas lead the way toward the door. He went to go, but turned in Tobias' direction again.
"Tobias," the man stopped just inside the other doors and looked up, "Tell Sariah I said hello." Jonas smirked as Tobias' eyes darkened, but he only nodded slightly and left.
Jonas had a lot to think about now. Once again, the question came to him, 'What the fuck am I getting myself into?'
After what had seemed like hours, Riddick and Kyra finally found a cab to take them to the address written on the back of Kyra's hand. Upon showing the man the address, he looked oddly between the two and shrugged before starting the meter. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a back alley bar in what looked to be the 'bad part of town'. After arguing for a few minutes that this had to be the wrong place they gave up and paid the man and he sped off for fear of being jacked. The place was dilapidated, with a sagging roof and crumbling stucco walls, and had a general 'not such a good idea' feel to it.
"Stay close to me," Riddick growled in Kyra's ear as they walked toward the entrance. She scowled at him, but he lifted his goggles and his eyes shone with the gravity of his remark. She mumbled something and took his arm as they walked inside. The first word that came to her mind was cliché. The place was your typical loud, dirt infested shit hole bar, with the typical loud, dirt infested shit hole patrons. And there were quite a few patrons. 'What kind of person drinks at this hour?' Kyra thought to herself. After scanning the room, Riddick decided there was not a man present he couldn't take on a few times over, so he led Kyra to a quiet corner table and they sat to wait for Jonas. A hyped out waitress came and took their drink order (bourbon and ice for him, water for her) and scampered off to fill it. Kyra chuckled to herself, rethinking her earlier question. When the waitress came back she set the drinks on the table and bent down to Riddick's ear and whispered something. Jack felt a mild jealousy begin to form, but then Riddick laughed, grabbing the woman's forehead and shoving her away from him hard, making her fall on her ass on the floor. The woman scrambled to her feet and ran to the bar, talking frantically to a fat man standing next to it.
"Here we go," Riddick rolled his eyes as the man approached.
"You got a problem mister?" the fat man asked, his chest puffed out in his most intimidating manner. 'Yep, cliché,' Kyra thought with a small grin as she took a sip of her water.
"Nope." Riddick replied nonchalantly, looking up at the man who was crowding his personal bubble.
"We'll just see about that!" The man said as he went to swing on Riddick. Kyra was shocked when Riddick actually let the man land a sloppy punch to the side of his jaw. He just sat, totally unmoved and still looking down at his drink.
"That was a freebie since I pushed your whore. Now, walk away." The man looked back and snickered at his buddies, who had now collected behind him to see the commotion. He came around again to land another blow, but this time Riddick caught the man's fist mid swing. Kyra hadn't seen the movement, but she heard the sounds of bone crunching and the man started wailing in pain. With a good heave, the fat man was on the ground holding his hand and whimpering like a baby. There were murmurs and whispers among the fat man's friends as Riddick stood and looked around so everyone could see his shined eyes.
"Anyone else?" There was no response, so he motioned to Kyra, "C'mon, let's go." They left the bar and found a metro stop close by so they could still watch for Jonas.
"What did she say to you?" Kyra asked out of nowhere after a long silence. Riddick smirked.
"She said that fucking little girls is bad for me, that for thirty creds she'd take me out back and show me what a real woman could do."
"Oh," Kyra blushed a little as the thought of them fucking stuck in her head. The next words came out before she could think to stop them.
"Why didn't you go? It was only thirty creds and-" she didn't get to finish as Riddick's head whipped around and he ripped off his goggles to stare at her like she'd grown a second head.
"What! Woman I oughtta-"
"Oughtta what? What did she do now?" Jonas' voice chirped in and the two turned to see him walking down the sidewalk toward them. Kyra sprang to her feet and was standing over Jonas menacingly in only a matter of seconds.
"What the fuck is the big idea sending us to a shit hole like this to wait for you? Do you know what could have happened? HUH! ANSWER ME!" Jonas could only stand and stare wide eyed at the raging woman in front of him.
"I, uh, I mean, I …We're going to a party. Does that make up for it?" He explained the situation, and though Riddick had a bad feeling, he agreed to go for Kyra's sake. More accurately, she was dragging him, bad feeling or not.
