Unlikely Allies 2: Riddick's Spawn

Chapter 1


The clanking of hard steel-toed boots stomping across the grated metal floor interrupted the still quietness of the ship. Corporal Jackson rushed down the hallway with news that he was sure to please his Lt. He stormed onto deck 7 where his superior officer was delegating responsibilities as he awaited the news.

“It’s true,” Jackson said. “I have seen the child. She lives with her mother on Planet Deep. It’s just her and the mother so extraction should be an easy task.”

Lt. Stevenson’s eyes lit up, could it have possibly been his birthday and he didn’t even know it? Had they truly found a biological heir of the most powerful predator they have ever chased? Would they be able to finally extract the part of his DNA that makes him so strong and create a ban of soldiers that would be as invincible as he?

“Where is Riddick?” he asked.

“Nobody knows Sir,” the corporal replied. “He disappeared from that planet nearly 6 years ago and hasn’t been sighted since.

The Lt.’s mouth slowly curled up into a smile. This is going to be easy, he thought as he crossed the room already coming up with a plan to snatch the little girl but stopped dead in his tracks. For a second there, he had forgotten whom he was dealing with. Riddick, a man of many talents and the best of them all was his ability to create an illusion. He played by the old school rules of the game. He knew that if he kept out of sight he would be out of mind. So just because they hadn’t seen him didn’t mean he wasn’t afoot…

***
Riddick sat quietly by the window watching Nadia training their twins in the back yard. She used words like trust and teamwork. At age 5 if it weren't for the absence of an adult’s size, Naddick and Riddia could take on any man. He began to think back to when they were small.

He always felt so vulnerable when he held them, being so human. He and Nadia both knew when they'd decided to bring them into this world that they would have to teach them to be strong and be prepared for whatever might come to harm them. They developed a plan for they knew that they had to start early. Cueing them in slowly but surely on techniques that could be used for kid’s their size that could harm anyone who attempted to harm them. They thought that getting them to understand would be the hardest part but it wasn’t. The hardest part was getting them not to use what they were being taught on one another. Riddick had to giggle to himself as he thought back to a 4-year-old Riddia with her big brother pinned to the floor, knee in his back. He watched them grow through their training as they grew from toddlers to children. He knew that they would be a greater force then he and Nadia could ever be. They had the ability to read each other almost like their own language nobody could understand but them.

He and Nadia both were special. Nadia held merc secrets and had been trained by one of their top field agents. She had a 100% success rate record then disappeared off the grid with their number 1 mark.

"Me," he thought to himself. "Some one naturally gifted with the ability to kill."

For awhile he was just another criminal until his eyes came into play. They marveled at the fact that he'd even survive the surgery he'd had done on his eyes. Others who had tried lost their eye sight permanently but not him. He'd over heard Johns remarking to another merc that he was born to destroy, which he believed and carried with him for many years. Until Nadia came back into his life and showed him that he had everything to live for. When Naddick and Riddia were born he tossed the lie for good because after looking into their eyes he knew that giving life to them was apart of his destiny, it was the rest he had to figure out.

For what seemed like forever he thought he would never get to experience this type of joy, now he can’t imagine a day without it. Nadia and the kids made him feel whole. Their love had practically erased the years of crawling in the dark on his hands and knees wishing for salvation. The dark, lonely and cold sight-less nights were no more and for the first time in his life, he believed that he had indeed been blessed.

After watching them play a little longer, he pulled the shade and removed his goggles.

He took another glance out of the window and pulled the shade as he noticed they were coming in.

“Woo, it’s hot out there!” Nadia said as she entered behind the kids.

“You guys go to your rooms and work on your lessons from this morning. It will be time for lunch soon.”

“How’s it going?” Riddick asked.

“It’s okay,” Nadia said as she leaned down to give him a kiss.

“Riddia’s doing excellent but your son plays around too much. I can’t figure out if he’s doing it because he doesn’t take it seriously or if he’s just bored.”

“No, it’s because you’re his Mom and he can get away with that type of stuff with you. He trains well when he’s with me.”

“Well maybe you should talk to him because he gives me hell.”

Nadia slid down into his arms on the couch.

“Do you think this is big enough for two?” Nadia asked.

“No, but I can recall us making it work in the past.”

“Sure, and that’s how we got the two in there. Do you wanna do that again?”

“Ha…Ha. Yeah.”

“Ha…Ha. Yeah, you would. I guess I better get something together for lunch.”

Nadia rolled off the couch and headed for the kitchen, calling Riddia from her bedroom, to come and help her.

Nadia turned back and reminded Riddick to go and talk to Naddick.

When Riddia entered the kitchen, Nadia told her to wash her hands and asked her what she wanted for lunch.

Riddia smiled and said, “A lil lobster and steamed vegetables.”

“Lobster! Nadia laughed, “Don’t you think that we should hold off till dinner.”

Riddia replied laughing, “If that’s the case how about a lil crab imperial too.”

They both continued to laugh.

Nadia said, “That sounds good let’s say after your lesson, we head to the store.”

“Yes!”

Nadia peeked in the living room to find Riddick still on the sofa lying down, eyes closed.

“Naddick Babe!” she yelled from the kitchen.

Hearing Nadia yell, Riddick got up from the sofa and headed towards Naddick’s room.

When he reached the room, he found Naddick daydreaming instead of studying.

“Aren’t you suppose to be studying?” he asked.

Naddick rolled his head towards the door, looked at his dad, then turned back to work.

Riddick walked in and sat on the bed, “Your Mother tells me that you’ve been playing around instead of concentrating on your training. Do you wanna tell me why?”

Naddick closed his book and huffed.

“I’m listening,” Riddick said.

“No…No Reason.”

“You know how important it is to learn everything that we’re trying to teach you Naddick.”

“I know Dad…I know. It’s just sometimes…I hear you and Mom talk about all of these bad people who are suppose to be after us but I’ve never seen them.”

“Come here,” Riddick motioned Naddick over. “These people you have never seen are out there. Your Mother and I ran away from them many years ago before you were born because we knew we could be safe here but we’ll never know when they’ll find us.

“But why do they want you?”

“Because your Mom and I are special and because you and your sister are our children…you are extra-special. Your mom and I will never do or tell you anything that could hurt you. And we need for you and your sister to learn everything that we teach you so nobody else will.”

“I know Dad, you told me all of this before but it all seems so unbelievable.”

“So unbelievable…that it might be true. Do you really wanna take the chance of being taken away from your Mom and I. Or someone hurting you or your sister?”

Naddick’s facial expression changed, “Nobody’s hurting my sister,” he said with so much anger in his voice.

“Well if you don’t want anything to happen, then you gotta start taking your training seriously. We have to protect our girls.”

“Yes we do although, I think Mom could probably take both of us.”

Riddick snatched Naddick under his massive arm “Come here, I think you got the tickle torture.”

“No…No…No…” laughing.

“So what are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna be good for Mommy.”

“And what else?”

“I’m gonna apologize for not listening today.”

“That’s my boy. Are you ready for lunch…your sister is cooking.”

“Oh brotha…we’re all gonna die.”

“Ha…Ha…C’mon and stop being so hard on your sister.”

“Mom should stop letting her cook.”

They headed toward the kitchen.

****

After lunch, Nadia began her lesson with the kids while Riddick took his usual afternoon snooze on the couch. The kids were exceptionally smart and surprised their Mom at times with how easily they picked up on new things. They were both doing work over and beyond their grade level. Nadia and Riddick had the kids on a very tight schedule but still allowed them enough time to goof off and just be kids. That was very important to them because it was something they hardly had the chance to do growing up.

As the kids started on their assigned class work for the day, Nadia sat quietly thinking about her and Riddick when they were younger. She was 10 when she went to stay with the Blackwells and Riddick age 12 came a few months later.

She still remembered the first day she saw him as if it just happened yesterday. Dressed in blue jeans and a red T-shirt. To see him today you would never think that he would ever be caught in anything red. She smiled to herself. She can remember loving his curly little afro that he discarded around age 14 for the clean shaven look he still wears today.

She remembered feeling a little hopeless at times. Mrs. Blackwell had her practically running the house. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of the other children and she still had to produce fair grades in school. If Nadia hadn’t had Riddick to help her out, she doubted if she would’ve been able to maintain.

Her favorite times were when she and Riddick would sneak off and go down by Keebler's Creek. They would just sit and talk for hours. Riddick was unlike anyone she'd ever met before and she knew of all the people she'd met in her life, that he would be the one to protect her at all cost. And she would do anything for him.

After the kids finished their lesson, Nadia gathered them and they headed to the store to get the things Riddia had requested for dinner. Naddick insisted since Riddia got to choose what was for dinner tonight he should get to choose for tomorrow. Nadia didn't refuse him because after all "it was only fair," he'd said as he was pleading his case. So they grabbed what he wanted for tomorrow which just happened to be burger and fries.

When they got back to the house it was dust dark and Riddick took the kids outside for their night training. He was teaching them not to only rely on their eyes to see but to use their other senses as well.

Naddick was the best Riddick would always say, "He's a chip off the old block."

When they were done training they showered and had dinner. Nadia always tried to get the kids to bed by eleven on night training nights. They'd get to sleep late with no early morning studies but she still wanted them in bed at a decent hour as she possibly could get them in.

Once Nadia got the kids settled down and in bed, Riddick would go in and spend a little quality time with each of them. It was hard because most of the time that they were awake, he was sleeping so he took what little time he could get. Tonight was no different. He went into each of the kid’s rooms and spent about 30 minutes to an hour talking with each one of them. He knew Riddia always had him on the clock so if he stayed in too long with Naddick he was sure to hear about it the next day.

Tonight, he wrapped it up a little early with them both because he knew that Nadia really needed his attention.