He Didn't Come

New Mecca was as Riddick had feared—big and bright and noisy. Imam smiled broadly at finally reaching his destination the instant they stepped off the tiny cruiser. They had bargained passage using the rest of their money on the space station they had finally been dropped off at. Lack of cash was their biggest concern at the moment. Imam hardly seemed aware that there were such things as problems. He was smiling like an idiot, staring at every detail. Riddick just felt exposed.

“What now?” Jack asked, looking up at him. She trusted him to make the decision, he noticed. Imam might as well have ceased to exist as far as she was concerned. It was disconcerting, but Riddick didn’t let on that she made him feel uncomfortable. Her innocence in the ways of the big bad universe came as a bit of a surprise to him sometimes. The way she acted, you’d think she knew it all. He knew that she thought she did. Not then, though. She had a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face that made him want to reassure her.

It was reminiscent of that strange episode on the Reliance. She was so unpredictable. Furious, ecstatic, and panicky, all in the space of a day. He didn’t understand.

“Talk to the locals, I guess,” was all he replied. “See what’s what around here.”

Imam nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes. I must find a place for all of us to stay until I can get in touch with my nephew. Come with me.”

Without much of a choice, they followed him into the bustling, brightly colored streets. When Riddick pointed out a small café, Imam encouraged them with a gesture to sit down at an outside table. He then hurried off without another word. Jack asked Riddick as they sat down, “Got any clue what he’s up to?”

He shook his head. “Nuh-uh. Do you?”

She shrugged. “Nope.”

All they could do was wait. Imam wouldn’t tip off the authorities. No, he wouldn’t. He was trustworthy… Riddick hoped. Jack leaned her head into the curve of his shoulder, and he suddenly realized that he had placed his arm around her protectively. He jerked back in surprise with his customary swiftness, and it overbalanced her. She almost fell to the ground, and steadied herself at the last minute with a gasp.

Riddick was unaccustomed to feeling remorse, and when Jack’s face clouded with hurt and confusion after the rebuff, he didn’t know what to do with himself. “Uh—shit, kid, sorry. Didn’t mean to knock you over like that.”

Her face swiftly assumed a nonchalant pose, and she returned to her tough-guy routine. “No big deal. It’s cool.”

He still didn’t understand. Why did he care? Why did she? Because he’d have to be a total fucking moron not to understand that not only was there inexplicable hero worship and idolization going on, there was genuine trust and emotion looking up at him from her thirteen-year-old eyes. Those eyes were doubtful, now that he’d knocked her over so abruptly, and he steeled himself before replacing his arm over her shoulder in a camaraderie-like gesture.

But he was still Riddick. His name inspired fear in several, though not all, planetary systems. Of course, he hadn’t made it across the entire Consortium yet….

Imam came back towards them, robes flapping in the dusty wind. His excitement was evident in the animated way he moved and spoke. “There is a place nearby,” he began telling them, “a shelter, free of charge. It is for honest people that are temporarily out of luck and need a place to stay. I offered our remaining money to the kind woman in charge, but she has refused payment.”

Jack laughed caustically. “Honest people? I’m fucked, then. No way do I qualify.”

Riddick contemplated the news quietly, as he always did. He wanted to consider staying, but knew that it was impossible. He needed to just leave before it got even harder. Out loud he said to Imam, “Well, I’ll leave you to it, then. Holy man, it’s been nice knowing you—”

“Hold on,” Jack interrupted fiercely. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

It completely took him by surprise. He knew that she had some kind of thing for him, but he hadn't expected her to want to go with him. Didn't she hate everyone, or something?

“Sorry to break it to you, kid, but I’ve got to go. This place has way too many people and news of the attack might not have circulated yet. I’m supposed to be dead, remember?”

“I’ll go with you,” she persisted stubbornly.

“No, you won’t.”

“I’ll follow you.”

Riddick suppressed a snort of amusement. This kid had more nerve than he gave her credit for. “How?”

She paused for a moment, and then said with fake confidence, “I’ll figure something out. I’m smarter than you give me credit for. Nobody figured out I was a girl until… well, you know. I'm not much of a girl, anyway."

She was right. This was Jack, the thirteen-year-old kid who wanted to become an infamous murderer just like her hero. True, since she had unbound her chest and let herself move a bit more freely, that subconscious sway had rolled itself into her gait and she was all too feminine, despite her hair- or lack thereof. It only made her startlingly large eyes stand out even further, and those eyes certainly weren’t those of a prissy teenage girl. They looked as though they would be more at home in a face closer to his own age, due to all the horror stories that he was sure resided inside them. He didn’t know the specifics, nor did he want to, but he suspected that they were all too much like his own.

God, kid, don’t turn out like me, he pleaded silently, wrenching his eyes away from her hips. He was feeling like a fucking pedophile at the moment. At least it made the hurt in her green eyes easier to bear.

“So long, kid.” It was the nicest farewell he had given in a very long time. Usually he just walked away without another word, or, if it was a hit (or just someone who needed ghosting for some reason or another), he simply ghosted them and was done with it. Why couldn’t the girl see that? See that he was a bloodthirsty villain, just like the mercs and cops believed he was, and accordingly chased him down?

Because she was a kid, he decided. She’d wizen up in time with the old man. Speaking of which….

Imam had crossed his arms across his chest, making him look very much like a disapproving father. “You cannot leave this girl like this,” the old man proclaimed, emanating a sense of dignified outrage. “After all we have been through together-“

“What?” Riddick chuckled briefly. “The ship? Come on. Pirates attack all the time. You think that was some big bonding experience? Being stuck on that piece of shit skiff for a week? And now, being out in then open when a lot of people think I’m still out and dangerous? I’ll bet I’d be really interesting to those cops over there. Yeah, the ones you two didn’t even notice.” He nodded behind them, and sure enough, there were two local cops conversing about half-a-block away. “No, no, Jack, don’t look!” He sighed as she snapped her head guiltily toward him. “You see, Jack? You’re safer here with Imam.”

Angrily she said, “I don’t want to be safe. I want to be with you.”

“Why? I’m an asshole.”

As he’d guessed, she had no retort for that one, because it was the truth. Still, she doggedly pursued her argument. “I’m going to come with you now or find you later. You can’t stop me, Riddick.”

“You’re going to stay here, safe with Imam. If the cover story doesn’t clear, I’m going to have cops and mercs all over my ass. And I'll warn you, cops that chase people like me down aren't your friendly neighborhood watchmen. They're ruthless. He can keep you away from that. You’ll get killed or taken away.”

“I will be fine.” Her voice took on a steely edge, and her eyes narrowed. He was seeing a lot of her true spirit here, he realized, and though it was a major pain in his ass, he respected her for it. “Besides,” she added softly, as though ashamed, “if you decided that no one was going to hurt me, no one would.”

Well, at least that was true. Riddick shook his head, feeling slightly sick with guilt. What the hell had happened to him, to make him feel like this? All of these… emotions. The word curdled in his mind with his distaste. Life was so much less complicated before he met this girl.

“Kid, my answer is no. Stay here.” He contemplated giving her a hug, though it was more than foreign to him, but the look on her face was one torn between sheer anger and sorrow. He knew that look, because it had been worn by any number of the kids he knew from before. The ones that he knew went to slam, anyway. She’d either cry on his shoulder or try to kill him.

Okay, ‘kill’ was a bit of an overstatement. He knew that she’d try and at least take a swing at him, and he didn’t want their parting to be one of violence.

So he did what he always did.

He left.