False Dawn

There were no words to describe what Jack was feeling in that moment. Seeing Riddick again, after almost exactly two years, both staggered her and left her feeling nothing. He was a complication she hadn't planned on. She was just reaching the point where she was going to attempt getting the baby back, or die trying. Riddick was just angst she didn't need right now.

Though she couldn't deny that she was affected by seeing him. Pictures on the Vid were one thing, the huge reality was altogether something else. She had forgotten the aura of power and danger he seemed to exude with just his presence. Though she knew how capable she was, her own strength seemed to dim next to his superior one, leaving her feeling the tiniest touch of that old 'let Riddick handle it' feeling, and that pissed her off. Her anger was quickly followed by a number of other emotions: joy, abandonment, desire, sadness, relief, but mostly and sprinkled liberally through the rest was just teeth-grinding, heart-pounding fury.

She stuffed the bloody gloves into her pocket, sheathed the knife and grabbed her bag. To get out of the room she had to brush past him, but seeing as how he was an unmovable force, she didn't have much of a choice. She was a dozen or more yards down the corridor when he spoke again.

"Leaving so soon?"

She turned to see him standing just outside the door, but he was at least looking at her now. That pissed her off too. He was the one that had found her, not vice versa, why was he acting like it was a bother to even acknowledge her? "You can stick around. I got a couple places to be." With that she took off trotting down the tunnel again. She wasn't surprised when she heard him quickly catch up and fall into pace behind her.

Jack knew the route she was taking. She had to stop and unseal several doors to get through, but she'd taken the route several times, to make sure she could again. Once through, letting Riddick and his indifferent attitude pass as well, she resealed the watertight doors and continued. The heat inside the tunnel increased as they reached the end, warming to an almost unbearable degree from the buildings above. Finally they came to her escape hatch, having run more that two miles beneath the surface. She climbed the ladder, and stopped, listening.

The small mining shack above was little more than a roof over the hole she was in, but she had to make sure some dipshit hadn't come wandering over. No sounds met her ears and she slowly lifted the cover and climbed out into the tiny dark shack. Riddick followed her out and silently lifted the lid back into place.

The shack didn't have any windows, but a large crack around the door worked as a nice lookout. Behind the shack were only the minefields, stretched out as far as the eye could see, and fenced off from this point on. No one would be stupid enough to be out there, but they were welcome to if they so desired to fall into an open acid pit. On the other side of the shack were industrial plants, refineries mostly, smelts, places of that nature. The whole area glowed with a warmth she could feel even through the crack, and was the reason for the heat below in the tunnels. Dozens of furnaces burning at thousands of degrees could provide quite a bit of heat.

The activity around the refineries was constant, but she saw no one in the close vicinity. Moving to a corner of the shack where a row of pipes came up through the ground and headed out the walls at different angles, she pulled out the bag she had stashed there earlier. Not bothering to even glance at the man standing just a few feet away, she stripped.

The silence inside the shack was only broken by the whisper of clothing being shed, their breathing, and the rumbles of sound from the nearby plants. It was impossible for Jack not to hear Riddick's breathing quicken. She rolled her eyes, the gesture lost to him because she bent to pull on clean pants. Within minutes she was dressed neatly in all black, hair tied up and under a hat, with the bundle of slightly bloody clothes shoved into the purse she had carried, with the rubber gloves inside.

Riddick stooped to lift her other bag's strap onto his shoulder. She just watched him for a moment, wondering if it was even worth arguing about. She decided it wasn't. Moving to the door, she stopped to make sure they were still undetected, and then simply walked out.

The purse with the incriminating clothes inside got dropped in a dumpster several blocks down.

She kept them mostly to the back streets and alleys, not wanting to draw any attention. But Jack had a destination. A bank only a block from the landing docks served her purpose. She quickly cleaned out the temporary account of newly acquired funds, and scattered it over a dozen smaller accounts, all in different names. Riddick stood silently nearby.

That done she headed for the Atramentous, currently named the Sagacious. She didn't have to check to know that Riddick followed her.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

The Vid was full of news on the Chem Killer. Well, not news, more like updates. Riddick was intrigued. He knew that whoever the culprit was, they were well trained and had a serious hatred for Chem Industries. HE hated Chem Industries that much, which made him realize the killer was after something more. Agents were replaceable, not affecting the company itself in the least. A person skilled enough to planet hop for months targeting only Chem agents wasn't stupid, they would have another objective.

Killer to killer, he had to meet them. If anything, he wanted to know what everyone else in the universe was hot to know: Who was it? So he'd found himself a likely target and sat down to wait. There had been the problem. He'd never been real damn good at waiting for anything. With multiple hotel switches and taking off only to orbit the planet a couple times and land under a different name, he was kept somewhat busy.

It had been weeks before he saw anything suspicious. And then he'd been shocked to see it was a woman. It had been from a great distance that he'd seen her enter the shack behind the mining refineries, and had been completely by accident. He wasn't certain the woman sneaking into the little building was important, but when she stayed out of sight for hours he decided to investigate further. She had reappeared just before dawn. He was closer when she left, but still not close enough to make contact. It was part of the fun to let her make the kill. After all, who would miss a Chem agent? He'd found her bag stashed behind the pipes. A change of clothes, and a few weapons. The gun was nice, not his preferred weapon, but he could still admire. The blade was beautiful. Corrugated rubber handle to keep blood from slicking the grip and to keep the fingers from slipping onto the blade. It was sharpened to a razor's edge, slicing his thumb with the merest touch, making him smile in appreciation.

Careful to not disturb anything he had gone down into the manhole. It hadn't taken much to follow her path. The dust was so thick in places that he could see her small footprints, along with other small signs of her being there. Her path had taken him straight in beneath Chem Industries. He could see that she'd gone back and forth several times, probably to make sure she knew the path well. She would strike that day, he was certain. So he'd waited.

Much later he heard Natave's screams and had gotten closer to see what was going down. It had almost gotten him caught. He hadn't expected her to lock the guy up and start walking the corridors. He didn't know why she was waiting, but he'd had to pull back to keep from being seen. His last glimpse of the woman, he'd been close enough to see her clearly, and it had left him feeling struck.

It was Jack.

He couldn't fathom how it was her, but it was. Her scent drifted to him, reassuring him that he'd seen correctly. Her scent was easily recognizable and very familiar to him. It was the scent that haunted his dreams, the scent of her still untouched bedroom. His heart was literally galloping at the idea that she wasn't dead. For two years he'd been mourning her, nearly hating her for allowing him to live. Twice now a woman had taken the death intended for him, and it bewildered him. He'd cursed and raged and fought and moped, and finally died a little himself. Who was he to deserve such devotion? A convicted mass murderer and a general fuck up. He'd never really felt like he had someone, but once he was alone he'd felt adrift. How do you continue in the previous way when you'd been given a taste of how good it could be to not be alone?

It hadn't felt like they'd been together for very long, but in truth it had been years since T2. Jack was always there, as an excuse, a motivator, an annoyance, a friend, a lover. She'd been the reason he did things. Wanting to see her happy, proud, angry, or limp beneath him from cumming repeatedly. And then she was just gone. She'd ordered him to go, but he would never forgive himself for obeying. Death or even Slam was preferable to going on without her.

And now she was alive! He wanted to tackle her, hug her, and slap her, and then just fuck her, though not necessarily in that order. But he didn't move. She was on a mission here, for what reasons he didn't know, but he was going to let her carry it out. The time waiting for her to finish was good for him too.

That she was alive brought forward some confounding questions. Why had they let her live? Had she done something to gain her freedom? Was she being hunted even now? And what did she now know about his past? Why had she never tried to find him? Why was she killing Chem agents? What was the bigger motive?

The idea that she might not want to see him cut at him, but he knew it was a possibility. It had been two years! He could see the differences in her, the hardness. His Jack would have never wanted to kill, especially in such a hateful and messy way. This Jack was proficient and determined, and retaliating for something. His Jack had needed him, though he'd been training her not to. This Jack was a killer.

When he stepped into the little room unannounced he'd been able to see the play of emotions on her face. She'd tried to mask them but those eyes of hers were just too damn expressive for her own good. He'd been right to prepare himself. Anger and an unexpected annoyance were foremost, though it had pleased him to see that at least on some level she was glad to see him. Even if she then proceeded to brush him off like a stray mutt.

Watching her change clothes had been . . . difficult. Just being near her, smelling her, feeling her warmth was arousing. When she had started to strip he'd gotten instantly and painfully hard. She was beautiful. She was only twenty, but she had lost the softness of her youth. She'd always been lean and toned, but now there was a hardness there, a wiry strength that she hadn't had before.

Her dealings with the bank's terminal had showed him what the real motive behind the killings was, and he was actually disappointed. Jack was a thief? Money could be earned in a lot more legitimate ways. Not that he was the best moral leader, but he'd never killed for cash, regardless of what his convictions said.

She opened the hatch and walked up the ramp, it barely making it to the ground before immediately starting to close. He quickly stepped on, admiring that little feature and made a mental note to program his own ship the same way.

The Sagacious, as he knew it was named from his checks of the ships docked there, was a newer ship than his own, but about the same size. Because of the unusual name he had looked into it a bit more, but had then dismissed it, as it was a single woman on a business trip. Her cover had been good and simple enough to even throw him off.

As he followed Jack to the cockpit where she immediately started to strap in and comm with the tower for permission to take off, he saw that quite of few of her systems were 'tweaked'. Either Jack had learned a shit load about computers since he'd last seen her, or she was hiring in expensive help.

"You want out? I'm leaving."

He turned to see her looking back over her shoulder at him, and then she turned to respond to the tower's comm of confirmation. As she already had the ship powered and was reaching for the controls he quickly sat and strapped in. Guess he was going with.

They blasted off effortlessly, and he was surprised when she changed courses almost immediately and put the ship into orbit. She turned and started working on one of the terminals beside her chair. He saw she could do just about anything with the ship from where she was sitting, except maybe piss, but he'd have to check the chair.

The entire ship powered down for that one moment it took to erase its identity. Then she was powering it back up and he saw the new name appear on the monitor before him. Atramentous. He grinned. Ah, yeah, that was Jack. He realized if he went back to check the planets she'd killed on he'd find a ship with a very cleverly disguised name on each.

"We're staying this close?" he asked, not knowing if she would even deem him worthy of an answer.

She glanced back at him, and he got the feeling she had almost forgotten he was there. Then she turned back to the terminal. "They won't expect me to just stay in orbit."

"That's a bit risky, isn't it?"

She was finally unstrapping herself, and turned to him as she stood. "More risky than killing agents right under their noses?"

His restraints already loose, he stood before her. "I'm disappointed, Jack. I never took you for a thief."

Rage, pure and unadulterated, seethed from her. Her breathing was coming in short and controlled pulls as she glared at him. "Think you're fucking clever for catching the Chem Killer, huh? Think you got everything figured out? Go fuck yourself, Riddick." She turned and stalked away, stopping for just a moment before moving out of sight into another room to say, "I'll drop you off on the nearest planet, you can get back from there."

Riddick had missed his Jack for so long, remembered her smiling and laughing at him, doing silly things, taunting him. And now . . . This woman was hard and cold and vicious, and didn't much resemble the memory of the woman he loved. But that didn't change the way his body reacted to her audacity. The memory of how hot Jack could be had him crossing to the door.

She turned at the sound of the door hitting the wall, her gasp of surprise or rage barely made it out before his mouth covered hers. Her hands pushed against him ineffectively for all of five seconds. His arms locked around her, pulling her into him, supporting all her weight as he ravaged the inside of her mouth. She remained tense and impassive to him. His hands molded her to him, his tongue exploring her with the intensity that he'd been dreaming of for what felt like years. She began to struggle again, her hands pushing at him, her head twisting free of his grip. His mouth moved to her throat, making her groan and struggle more.

"No, Riddick. Stop!"

Riddick hated using force with her after all she'd been through, but he needed her. He needed to melt through that protective bitchiness she had in place. Regardless of what he wanted, he knew that if she didn't stop struggling he'd let her go eventually. He was no animal and this was Jack.

Just when he was steeling himself to release her, to let her go unscathed, she stilled in his arms. His mouth below her ear sucked at her even harder, nipping the soft skin there, making her moan. Her hair was still in his grasp and he turned her head back, locking onto her mouth. She groaned roughly, sounding both accepting and angry, but she responded. Her tongue met his in a flurry of movement as she sighed into his mouth.

Riddick groaned low at her consent and held her tighter, probably hurting her, but not caring in that moment. He needed her, and she'd given in.

As if to confirm his thoughts both her arms and legs wrapped around him. He growled his gratitude, ravaging her mouth, which was now reacting with a fieriness of its own. He'd only gotten a brief glimpse of the room before he'd grabbed her, but he'd seen the bed at the far wall. He confirmed it now with a quick look and before he'd managed to take them the short distance to the bed she was pulling at his shirt.

They went down in a heap on the bed and then separated almost instantly. They both pulled at their clothes, ripping them away with equal enthusiasm. When he finished she was just wiggling free of her panties, pushing them down her thighs as she lay back on the bed, squirming her ass to get them loose. Riddick didn't let her finish.

He came down on top of her, his mouth capturing hers, his erection pressing between her legs, the material of her panties an insignificant barrier. She cried out into him, grinding her hips up against him as her hands explored his skin, rubbing his back and sides and hips.

"Oh, Gods, Jack," he groaned into her neck. He felt like he was running her over, his lack of control making him fear hurting her.

She bucked underneath him. "Shut up!" She wriggled against him, her legs squeezing his hips, her hands pulling at him, her mouth finding his ear. "Shut up, Riddick. Just shut up and fuck me!" Her teeth sank into his earlobe. The tiny needles of pain from her sharp teeth were trivial, but he hated to not give her what she wanted . . .

He reached between them and tore away her panties, exposing her to him. Her mouth found his as he rearranged himself, his fingers stroking across her just to make sure. She was soaked, his fingers literally dripping with her juices. Arms and back straining, he buried himself in her in one hard thrust.

His growl and her cry mingled as their mouths stilled against one another. Riddick paused only long enough to ensure that she hadn't cried out in pain. When she sighed softly, her body staying tensed, but not rigid with pain, he thrust into her again.

Jack cried out again and clung to him. As he labored over her his chest and arms were flexed hard with the effort to hold himself up. He was pistoning his hips into her with more violence than he'd ever used. With Jack he'd always been careful, not wanting to hurt her or scare her. But even with the force he was using she was encouraging him. She rocked her hips beneath him, her short nails were digging into his arms or sides or back, urging him on. Her mouth bit and sucked at his throat, licking at the sweaty skin there. She held herself to him, holding her upper body off of the bed at times when he would rise up. Her legs were spread as wide as they would go, her feet pressing into the back of his thighs.

He hammered into, knowing he couldn't go on with such ferocity much longer. It had been too long, and the waiting had been just as much torture as the act was now. He angled his hips, ramming into her. The new position had her crying out and releasing her death grip on him. She fell back against the bed, allowing him to do all the work now.

Riddick loved to watch her. He'd been dreaming of her just where she was since he'd lost her. Flushed skin, mouth open as she panted for air, eyes fluttering as her eyes rolled, breasts bouncing in time with his motion. He growled low, the picture she created before him driving him closer to losing his control.

He felt her climax hit. Her body went from relaxed beneath him to arching and thrusting along with him. Her slick tunnel closed on him. He gave an appreciative groan, the tightening muscles of her inner walls urging him to loose his own climax. He was locked inside a heat that nearly burned, and then his seed was pulsing out with so much force it made him ache. He pressed her into the mattress with his weight, suddenly unable to support his weight on his trembling muscles.

Neither of them moved for a long time. Their bodies were still joined together as their breathing slowly returned to normal. Their damp skin was gradually cooling and drying. Riddick felt like he'd come home, his body felt more relaxed than he could ever remember it being. He was starting to ponder that if there were a god then this was surely heaven. He'd never been more content than lying right were he was, in Jack's arms.

"Okay, now get off me."

Riddick blinked away the approaching sleep. Had he just heard . . .?

"Are you awake? Get off!"

He reacted without thought, rolling off of her. She flung herself from the bed as soon as she was free, reaching for her clothes before she was even standing.

"Jack?"

Jack refused to look at him, pulling on her discarded clothes as quickly as she could. "This doesn't change anything, Riddick. Thanks for the fuck, it’s been a while. Leave a couple of those lovely pills before you go."

He sat up slowly, his eyes narrowed at her as she continued to dress. "What the fuck did they do to you, Jack?"


Jack pulled her shirt down into place and pulled her hair free, letting it fall down her back. She watched his eyes going to the spectacle of her hair, remembering how much he had always liked it. Remembering their time together before gave her a pang that reinforced the hardness she was feeling now. Fucking him had been wonderful. She'd never brought herself to be with anyone else, and nearly two years was a long time to masturbate. But she couldn't let her ridiculous lapse jeopardize everything else she'd been working for. There was no room for Riddick in her life right now. She'd considered how they would meet again, knowing instinctively that they would. She had envisioned taking his son to him, a grand happy family reunion. Ha! She would never deny even to herself that she still felt something for him, but it wasn't for now. She couldn't deal with this now!

He only continued to look at her, his look somewhere between longing and anger, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to beat her or fuck her again.

Jack rolled her eyes and stalked to the door. "You can have this room tonight, I'm leaving in the morning. I'll drop you off somewhere on the way." She opened the door and smiled back at him, the smile not reaching the cool green of her eyes. "Nice to see you again, Riddick. It's been fun." With that she closed the door and left him, again.