67) Come By It Honestly I Swear

Truthfully, with a plan of how to get out, going into a slam hadn't really worried him. It wasn't like a Triple Max with walls, guards, tech and AI's to keep track of the inmates. Dyton Double Max was easy in comparison to Butcher Bay or Deep Storage. Seriously, a desert? Just a line of sensor towers and guards on a wall in the middle of the yard? They were practically asking for him to waltz in and out.

He'd escaped from worse places.

Not that he was thrilled about a desert and blinding sun. But thanks to Simon and the corrective lenses that made the goggles unnecessary, even the sun wasn't too much of an issue.

Carolyn's quip just before the guards had taken him off the shuttle nearly had him snorting a chuckle and he was pretty sure that the amused smirk he wore had unnerved the guards more than a little. Processing was as delightful as he remembered. With a desert prison, water was at a premium so no shower, just a powder soap and rough brush to delouse the incoming prisoners. He guessed with so much sand the fleas that came along with it were an issue.

Jumpsuits, the biggest size they had didn't fit him, and that left the processing warden a little stumped. He hadn't been sure if he'd end up in his own clothes or if they'd be taken so he'd purposely worn the oldest things he had. No point in providing the guards with a new wardrobe bought with his pay after all. The cheap Slam issue 'shoes' didn't fit either.

So, he ended up standing around buck-assed for half a day until they figured out what to do with him. He guessed that was the difference between a planet based Double Max and an asteroid planted Triple Max like Deep Storage. He didn't really care what he ended up wearing honestly. It wasn't like he'd be here long.

The only thing they hadn't taken was his goggles. Good thing too. He knew where they needed to go but having the little homing device would be helpful. He guessed tinted lens goggles weren't standard issue. He'd seen the guards wearing them, no doubt to protect their eyes from the wind and accompanying dust and sand, but they weren't shaded at all.

After a half day the processing supervisor (or somebody) came up with a solution for the uniform problem. He got his own clothing back, smelling strongly of the delousing dust and dry soap, and his own boots. "Here," The warden handed him the clothing and a small protein bar. "Get dressed, go through the door on the far wall, down the corridor, out to the yard. Don't care what you do once you get there."

"Don't hafta go home but you can't stay here huh," He pulled his clothes back on and put the food in a pocket. His quip got a superior and amused sneer but nothing else. Figured. Slams must surgically remove the sense of humor before hiring employees.


Never ceased to be funny, the reaction he got from the population of a slam. It always started with whispers, grew to murmurs and inevitably there was some idiot who thought he could take Riddick with a sucker punch or a clumsily made shiv.

That took less than five minutes to deal with. Grab the wrist of the hand with the shiv, hold it with a grip just short of breaking and twist, pull the idiot off balance. A right hook to the jaw, snap that head around with a sickening snap and drop the lè sè in the dust.

Nothing like a yard to prove survival of the fittest.

Muttering now, following him as he moved through the crowd, looking for his target. Speculation about the 'sheriff' how she'd deal with him, how long she'd last, and he glanced at the inmate who'd spoken. "Easiest way if you actually want to find out? Tell me where she is."

"Buh-buy- by the wall…" Stuttering, fear boiling off the skin, just from being spoken to directly. No spine. Typical.

Nothing out of the ordinary, feeling so many eyes on him, good thing he'd never had performance anxiety. That had been trained out of him a long time ago.

Only one flaw in the plan. How would Zoë react to seeing him, and hearing his real name?


As it turned out, not too badly. He guessed if she was going to freak out, she'd save her energy for when they were safely back on the boat.

"Any injuries," He asked once they'd walked far enough to be out of sight.

"Bruises, cuts," She shrugged. "Nothing that'll slow us down."

"Seems like you'd say that even if you were bleeding internally," Riddick slanted a glance at her and got a wry quirk of her mouth in return.

"Rather die free than live in a cage," She replied.

"No plans for you to die," He smirked. But he could understand that. Couldn't stand cages himself. And talking about weaknesses made you dwell on them. Better to compartmentalize until it was safe to think about long term. Likely why apart from that one mention of her daughter, Zoë hadn't brought Emma up at all.

"I'm completely reassured," Same stoic tones.


Once they found the crate, turned on the transponder, it wasn't long until the shuttle came for them. Rather than leave anything behind pointing to a planned escape he and Zoë had brought the crate along. River was piloting the shuttle, Jayne in the back with Emma in her carry basket. Riddick guessed Mal and Carolyn were playing 'solid law-abiding citizens' at the docks so they could pick up cargo.

Zoë had gone straight for her daughter, barely acknowledging Cobb beyond a quick nod of greeting. River got a 'hello little one' and a half smile while Riddick shut the shuttle door behind them.

He'd gone up to the pilot's chair and pressed a hard hungry kiss to River's mouth before taking a seat at the co-pilot's station.

"Only have one true worry," River had obviously picked up on the little niggling itch at the back of his mind.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Only fly in the ointment really."

"Not a member of the crew," She nodded.

"You mean Bea," Jayne wasn't as slow as he looked. "Dunno if she knows who you are."

"Well, she wasn't in on the planning," Riddick agreed, turning slightly to look at the older man. "But that don't mean she didn't hear something."

"River," Jayne looked at the girl questioningly even though her attention (supposedly) was on flying the shuttle.

"Not a member of the crew, no compunctions about invading her privacy," River shrugged. "Cannot find any knowledge of his identity. But that does not account for all possibilities." Riddick figured that was a nice way of saying she could Read the girl all she wanted but she couldn't be completely certain.

"She still trying to convince Mal to lead her little group of rebels," Riddick glanced at Jayne curiously.

"Far's I know she ain't given up the idea," The man rubbed his chin. "Told her, Mal's got principles but he's stubborn as a mule. Dunno how much mule she's got in her though."

"Woman found you, had you track down Serenity," Riddick frowned. "I'd say she's got plenty of stubborn herself."

"Mal has no interest in fighting another war," River shrugged as she flew. "Lost too much the first time around. Lost too much to Miranda."

"He don't want to find out what he'd lose this go around," Jayne had half his attention on Zoë and the baby and the other half on the conversation.

"Can't say that I blame him," Riddick agreed.

"Bea," Zoë looked up from her daughter's little face with a questioning expression. The rest of them had been doing their best to give her privacy for the reunion and everyone ignored the tears that shone in her eyes when she saw her daughter again.

"Member of the New Resistance," River said quietly. "Hired Jayne to find Mal. Wants Mal to lead them in another war against the Alliance."

"Because that went so well the first time," Riddick shook his head.

Zoë frowned at Jayne, "And Mal let the two of you stay on the boat?" Her displeasure over being tracked was plain to see, an echo of Mal's anger over the same issue.

"My ma needed the money," Jayne shifted. "An' I wouldn't a done if it hadn't been someone like Bea. Didn't want her to go hirin' someone didn't know 'bout River an' Simon an' make a bigger mess."

"Plus, when we were going to set them down and send them on their merry, their boat exploded and caught fire," Riddick added. "So Mal let 'em stay on."

"But she don't know about River an' Simon," Zoë looked at Jayne. "Or Rick?" Of course, Zoë saw immediately the potential problem of having a stranger on the ship. The crew was damn protective of River, Simon too.

"Not that I know of," Jayne shook his head. "She ain't allowed on the bridge. An' everybody's been pretty close mouthed 'bout ship's business while she's around."

"No access to a cortex yet beyond the warnings sent from the shuttle," River added. "Mal looks for a place to set her down but we have been…busy."

"I can imagine," The First Mate shook her head. "How'd you even get permission to land?"

"Made Serenity a false identity," River did seem to enjoy oversimplifying the amazing feats of her genius brain. Of course, with a brain like hers she didn't exactly need to brag.

"Brought in foodstuffs," Riddick shrugged. "Carolyn sent a message to the Slam, sayin' she had a prisoner to turn in for a bounty once we were on the ground."

"Between the two we were allowed to stay at the Liverpool docks," River nodded. "Mal and Carolyn are taking on cargo now. Carolyn bargains to bring compost in to improve the soil. Suggests to Mal that it become a regular run. Dock closer to the land being worked."

Riddick sighed but didn't comment. He wasn't going to complain about a paying cargo. The bounty paid out for him covered fuel and some of the expenses that had piled up while they searched for Zoë despite the jobs they'd tried to take to cover costs. They'd get paid in credits rather than cash, but transferable credits were almost as good and between Mal, River and Simon they'd be able to launder the money so Serenity could use it.

He still wasn't entirely easy about Bea and the problems she could cause but they had Zoë back, Serenity was in sight and, if the closed cargo bay was any indication, ready to fly.


Zoë and Jayne left the shuttle, Zoë being embraced by the crew that had stayed behind. Riddick thought longingly of a hot shower while they were still docked and smiled when River straddled his legs.

"Don't tell me you were worried," He teased, looking down into those dark eyes.

"Not worried," She correctly him primly. "Missed you."

Now that was nice to hear. And the kiss he got was really nice. "Missed you too," He admitted quietly. He didn't like admitting weakness and getting attached to people led to weakness in his experience. But he'd already passed that point miles and miles back. No sense in pretending otherwise. He was so fuckin' attached to her he might as well shackle his ankle to hers.

That thought got a soft little giggle and he grinned and kissed her again. Yeah, he was fuckin' attached, but at least he'd gotten stuck on someone who didn't need him to protect her. One of the sexiest things about River actually.


Author's Note: So a little overlap with the last chapter, but we got Zoë back. Let's hope nothing else goes wrong. Well… with Mal's luck… let's hope nothing too terrible goes wrong. With Mal it's a sure bet something will happen.

Chinese Translations:

lè sè (Garbage, trash)