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| CHAPTER 2 Zar led them down a corridor and then to the second elevator on their right. Others were waiting, but seemed to want to wait when it showed up. They would take the next one they assured her. She couldn’t blame them. The three travelers were reeking in the open the much less a confined space like an elevator. Who would want to share space with that? Richard with his grumpy bad ass face and attitude didn’t exactly encourage company either. By the time the elevator loaded with the three of them stopped at her floor, she was afraid she was going to pass out from holding her breath so long. Never had doors opening seemed such a wonderful sight. She felt sorry for the next batch of people who road that particular elevator. It was going to take a long time for it to air out. Nobody had spoken the whole way up. Imam and Jack seemed embarrassed over the passengers who had rejected their company. Carolyn just seemed bored. And the silence continued even through her stopping at her door and opening it up with a swipe of her hand at the eye of the identifier. The main room served as kitchen and dining room. There were six doors leading off it. There were no windows. But there was a lot of white plastic and steel. So very common in the living areas of the workers of Polaris Station. Zar had tried to make it more homey. Adding paintings and small knickknacks had given the apartment a little more warmth. "You see the kitchen and eating area. This is my room." Pointing to the last door on the right. "This one..." Gesturing toward the door next to hers. "... is the entertainment room. There’s a vid and com screen in there. "The other three are all bedrooms. Pick among yourselves." Jack looked curiously around. "Do you live by yourself?" "Yes and no. I have two roommates. But they’ve been gone for two months and will probably be gone another year. They’re on a mining pre-scouting mission in the Horseshoe Nebulae. Their rooms should be pretty clear. They packed their stuff away so I could rent out the rooms if I wanted. Haven’t really needed to though so far. Good thing huh?" "Yes Zar! A very good thing." Imam ready smile made her feel like she done the greatest thing ever in her life. "I’ll make some dinner. Anybody have any restrictions? No pork for you Imam right? Or alcohol?" "That is correct. I’m sorry if that is a great inconvenience to you." "Don’t worry. I’ll adapt." "Jack?" "As long as it’s food!" "Hah, hah...that’s a kid for you." She purposefully didn’t ask Carolyn. Screw him! He and his bad ass attitude could eat shit as far as she was concerned. "You know what? I think it would be a good idea for you guys to wash your clothes till you get new ones. There’s a washing unit next to the bathroom. While you’re taking showers, I’ll get the food ready." "That a hint?" "My God! It speaks???!!!" She had no idea why she had teased Carolyn that way. But she guessed it was her impulsive mouth again. Well, good! Let him know she wasn’t intimidated by him, well not too much anyway. She expected he’d ignore her little taunt or maybe even growl. Instead she got back a little smile. "Well don’t I just feel like the most blessed creature this side of Earth! A smile from Mr. Bad Ass! Wonder’s never cease! And yes that was a hint. I’m sure you folks went through some shit. But you actually smell like you went through some shit!" "Jack can go first." "Yes, that is fine with me Rid..er..Richard." Zar caught the quick flash of fear on Jack’s face at Imam‘s correction. And the cold anger on Carolyn’s. "Listen, I don’t know what went on, who all of you are, where your from. And to be honest, I don’t want to know. The less I know the less I can tell. All I care about is that you treat me, and my stuff, with respect while you’re here. And that you don’t bring any kind of crap down around my ears. You can have your little secrets, and I’ll have mine. Agreed?" Jack and Imam nodded with a relieved gesture. Carolyn just continued to stare at her through the goggles. "Agreed Mr. Carolyn?" "Fine. And call me Richard." He didn’t say it in the normal polite voice that most people used when they asked to be called a certain way. Rather it came out in a tone of voice suggesting she wasn’t worthy to utter the name Carolyn. Whatever you jerk! "Fine. Come on Jack. Jump in the shower and leave your clothes on the floor. It only takes a few minutes to clean them. I’ll show you how to do it and you show the guys." The two women went through the automatically opened door and soon the much muffled sound of a shower could be heard. "Watch your mouth holy man!" " I apologize ...Richard. All I can say in my defense is that I am very tired. At the same time, I don’t think we have to worry about Zar. She seems a very kind woman. And very non-judgmental. This a very brave thing she does by taking us in." "Oh I don’t know about brave. More like incredibly stupid. And I think she regretted the offer two seconds after it came out of her mouth." "I get that impression also. But where many others would have found an excuse to worm out of it, she kept her word. She is a good woman. And I praise Allah for leading us to her. Jack especially needed relief. I don’t think she could have lasted much longer without peaceful rest and food." " I hope your right about our Zar here holy man. ‘Cause if you’re not, this could the end of the line for us all. And I have no intention, whatsoever, of going back to Slam. Even if means leaving the two of you." "Jack would be devastated if you left. You have taken on responsibility for her now. You can’t just leave her!" "Ya ever think she’s better off without me?!" "Would you two keep your fucking voices down out here! She’s can hear every word your saying and she’s balling like a baby. You’re scaring the shit out of her Richard! So just shut up!" They had been so intent in their argument they hadn’t noticed the bathroom door opening. Zar stood with her hands on her hips and eyes blazing. Her short, rounded body vibrating with anger. For the first time Riddick noticed her as a woman. He wondered if she’d bring the same kind of passion to sex as she did to protecting the underdog. He reminded himself to ask Imam the next time they were alone, what exactly she looked like. The color of her eyes, the shade of her hair. But then again, he reminded himself that all pussy looked the same in the dark. Even to him. He could hear Jack’s soft sobs in the bathroom and without even thinking about his reasons set off to comfort her. And came to a crashing halt at the immovable object that was Zarifa Cholena on the warpath. "Move." He had said the word quietly and with the all the menace of his best prison attitude. If Zar hadn’t been so mad, she would have been petrified. Instead it just pissed her off more. "Hell NO! Where do you think you’re going? She’s taking a shower in there. Leave her some dignity man!" At that moment he realized how ill equipped he was for taking care of a teen -age girl, and how Zar was the exact opposite. And he was suddenly very grateful to this mouthy, round, short, tenacious, sexy as hell woman for taking Jack in. She would be a friend for life from this moment on. He wasn’t used to being grateful. The last time someone had done something selfless for him she had died for it. It was too new and too raw to deal with right now. "Fine. I’ll wait. Tell her I’m not leaving her." "Damn straight you’re not! Stupid fucker, Mr. Bad Ass attitude." The second sentence had been mumbled under her breath. But Richard, used to listening for the shiv aimed at his throat in the night, heard every word. "What did you call me?" He wanted to laugh outright at her eyes growing wide. But he kept his prison face on. Not a smirk lifted the corners of his mouth as he leaned his face down to hers. Most men he knew would be pissing their pants right now. That’s how good he was at playing the killer. Playing hell! He was a killer. He hadn’t needed the law to add any of the trumped up charges they did to make the title accurate. But he had only killed to survive or when threatened. He couldn’t help it that he was very good at killing. The Alliance Security Forces and prison had made him what he was. And he was one dangerous mother fucker. And most men and women knew it. This one on the other hand didn’t seem to let her fear override her concern for a child. She definitely reminded him of Carolyn Fry. He knew even Imam was worried about what his reaction to Zar’s defiance. As unobtrusively as possible he was moving around Riddick towards Zar in order to help her if he struck out at her. But the little lady had balls! And he was mightily impressed when she just tightened her jaw and looked right back into the goggles and said "Stupid fucker. I called you a stupid fucker , Mr. Bad Ass attitude. And what’s with the goggles any way?" "Stupid fucker huh?" And proceed to have a belly laugh that sounded like a cross between a cat hacking up a hairball and someone attacking a conveyer belt with an axe. She hadn’t jumped or even twitched the whole time he was standing over her. But when she heard his giant bark of a laugh, she almost did pee her pants. She half expected some alien to come crawling out of his mouth. The laugh sounded that unused and against nature for him. "So you want to see my eyes huh? Fine take a look and see some true bad ass attitude." He slowly lifted the goggles from his head, but kept his eyes cast down. Totally hiding his eyeballs from her gaze. Zar almost told him to stop and put the goggles back on at that point. She was sure some horror was waiting of her in those eyes. But she had come this far and was not going to back down now. But why was he taking so long to raise his eyelids? It was then that she realized that Richard was a bully. He liked intimidating people with his eyes, and over powering physique and bad ass attitude. And that he was probably one of the loneliest people that she would ever know. That all the intimidation was just a defensive weapon against getting too close or caring, or getting killed. She wanted to find out what had occurred in his life to turn him into the hard as nails on the outside, soft and vulnerable of the inside. And the fear disappeared to be replaced with pity and compassion. Richard saw her hands move towards his face in his excellent peripheral vision. He half expected her to smack him for his delaying and intimidation. Hell, he figured he even deserved it. Instead he felt the warmth of her fingertips against his stubbled cheeks. The shock of the gentle touch made him want to look at her in the eyes finally. But he didn’t get the chance. For she had moved two of her fingers quickly over his eye lids while the rest of her hands curled around his jaw and ears. Gently she forced his forehead down to her lips to receive the light as air kiss she gave him. "Keep your secrets Richard. It doesn’t matter anymore." She released his head and turned quickly towards the open doorway. Back to Jack and her much diminished crying. But he caught her chin before she could get away. Turning it as gently as she had touched him, he brought her face around to gaze directly into his eyes. She didn’t recoil as so many did upon first seeing his "shined" eyes. Rather she looked like she was going to cry...for him and the pain they must have caused him at one time. "What happened?" "I was thrown in prison. For a very long time with no hope of ever seeing daylight again. There’s a doctor there that does reflective surgery on eyes for a certain price. Twenty menthols are the starting price. This way no one sneaks up on me or mine in the dark." "It looks painful. Does the light hurt your eyes?" "Sometimes. Depends of how bright it is. Aren’t you going to ask what I was in prison for?" Zar seemed to contemplate the question as she looked into his silvered eye surfaces. "I guess you’ll tell me whether I want to know or not. So get it out of your system." "I’m a murderer. I have a tendency to cut people." He waited for her to recoil in horror. But again she did something no one else had ever done. She seemed to feel his anguish, his anger, his pain at the way his life played out before him. And so, to her, it seemed the only thing she could do in reaction to his brutal announcement was to cup his face in her hands and whisper "I’m so sorry." Turning away she slipped through the bathroom door and closed it. Leaving a stunned Richard staring at the door as if it had landed a punch to his midsection. Slowly a smile spread over his face as he continued to stare at the door and listen to the sounds behind it. "How very interesting." |
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