| CHAPTER 8 He took a quick inventory of the woman as she lay unconscious on the floor. Her body had curled into a fetal position defensively against the cold of the room and the aches leftover from the rough handling. The blood on the corner of her mouth had dried and was now cracking. Her breathing seemed normal, if misty from the rooms chill. But she was pale, very pale. Every freckle standing out, her light brown lashes looking almost black against the ashen skin. When Gonzalez had described her, he thought her commentary had been colored by her hatred of all things, and people, having to do with Richard Riddick. But in this case, with just a slight softening adjustment, she’d been right on the mark. While he wouldn’t go so far as to call Zarifa Cholena “dumpy”, she was not glamorous in the least. Short and on the plumb side, with nothing outstanding about her physical appearance. Seemed very soft with a “girl next door” feel about her...the antithesis of what Riddick usually fucked. But who knew, maybe she gave good head. Alphonse Bieti understood that people’s physical appearance rarely matched their personality. He himself being an excellent case in point. At seventy, many believed him the grandfatherly type. Only his frosty eyes gave a clue to his true character. And when needed, he could mask the lack of human warmth that so permeated his soul. For the many years he had kept Riddick under surveillance, it seemed the two shared that lack of any sympathy towards their fellow human being. All he had to do was look at the brutal killings and beatings over the years perpetrated by the ex-ASF man. They went way beyond a ‘kill or be killed’ need or the actions of a man doing what was needed to escape an equally brutal penal system. No, Richard Riddick had shown a real flare for torture and terror. Bieti had almost felt regret when he gave the order for Riddick to be killed before he reached Slam City after his last escape. But he’d become too much of a loose cannon. Something had to be done. Unfortunately, Bigsby had fucked it up. The Hunter-Gratzner had been sabotaged, but not lethally. Riddick, and some of those unlucky enough to be his traveling companions, had survived the crash. It could have been hoped that the creatures on Taurus 2 would do the job. But they hadn’t been a match for the bastard. No matter...the situation would be resolved in due time. Rubbing his fingers against the softness of the unconscious woman’s cheek, he still could find no overt reason for Riddick’s passion. Nonetheless, there had to be some reason why Riddick allowed himself to become attached to her. For a man who’d been the personification of the word “loner” his whole life, he exhibited every behavior typical of a man who loved a woman. And the general had seen that behavior first hand. He had Riddick under surveillance for the last week. Other than within his apartment, his every action was recorded and reported to Bieti by a dozen spies. Bieti had even contemplated “bugging” the couple’s abode, with only the sure knowledge that Riddick’s keen sense of smell and uncanny instinct for the “not quite right” that would let him know if someone unauthorized had been in the rooms, keeping him from carrying out the plan. Locating Riddick and Cholena had taken a few weeks. Longer than the general had expected. But the repeated escapee had known how to cover his tracks. And hiding within a Sargimite operation like the Delightful system, had been an act that Bieti actually admired for it’s sheer brilliance and audacity. Most fugitives would’ve gone “underground.” Ensuring as little contact with their fellow man as possible. Trying to hide in isolation. But Riddick had been smarter than that. A pimple on the back side of the galaxy, with hundreds of “shined” eyed men, little to nil serious law enforcement and management that was willing to take pretty much anybody due to a high death rate among the miners, Dee 7 was perfect for hiding in plain sight. If it hadn’t been for a stroke of luck in tracking down The Hollerste, and therefore being able to trace it’s various ports of call, Bieti would still be looking. Once the convict had been located, Bieti knew he had to be very careful of not giving his presence away. There was one simple reason for that. Before seeing first hand the bond Riddick had with the woman, the general had no doubt that the wary escapee would take off without the slightest glance backward at the tiniest whiff of trouble. So he’d set up an extensive and constant watch. Riddick had the uncanny, and irritating, habit of being able to disappear like a puff of smoke. Not that he couldn’t be recaptured...he could. But it was getting harder to do and took a Hell of a lot of resources, mouth money, patience, blood and luck to get him back. The main reason Bieti decided it was time to cut his existence short. And it wasn’t as if any one would raise a cry about his loss. As the situation stood, Bieti wanted as little fellow ASF people involved as possible. They might expect Bieti to hand him over to them. That was not what the general had planned. Riddick needed to be dealt with in a more permanent, and this time reliable, manner. That’s where his own little band of “specialists” came in handy. Hand picked by him for the abilities to kill, and be circumspect about it, they were the best of the best. Or the worst of the worst. It depended on whether they were working for you...or hunting you. It was reported back that the Cholena woman was still with him. And that, exactly as the merc Miriam Gonzalez had reported, they had set up ‘house.’ She was there of her own free will and desire. Even more importantly, it was noted that Riddick didn’t treat her as would be expected. She was obviously someone important to him. He cared about this woman. Bieti had trouble believing it at first, but once he saw the surveillance vid’s himself, he was forced to concede that the spies had got it right. He was never so happy to be wrong in his life. Originally he thought the re-taking of Riddick would probably result in a loud, messy bloodbath. As shown by his previous escapes, and consequent recaptures, he wouldn’t go easily. That meant the use of heavy fire power and probably civilian deaths. Not to mention the death of some of his own people. Not that he gave a flying rat’s ass about people dying, but civies death’s meant a public outcry, a public outcry meant investigations, etc. Things he would rather avoid. Things his “projects” needed to avoid at all cost. But with Riddick’s attachment to the Cholena woman, the general had something to use against him. Something that might make him walk right into the ASF’s waiting grasp. A plan had been formulated, studied and carefully laid out. The carrying out of the plan had been surprisingly simple. Watch the apartment, wait for the two of them to leave, then pounce in the least public place possible. Bieti figured that with the woman present, Riddick would more than likely stand and fight, rather than run. He’d be at a disadvantage in trying to protect both himself and the woman. Add to the mix the two men he sent to kill the couple were excellent at their jobs. The result, however, hadn’t been as clean to come by as expected. He’d lost some of the best people he had. Their specialized abilities would be missed for a while. But not for long. It was amazing how many illegally talented people were anxious for a chance to be a part of his goon squad. Drugs, sex and power had that side effect. He ended up sending in a specially trained strike force after the debacle outside the cantina. Men and women loyal to the ASF nominally, to him specifically. Riddick and the woman had had about a fifteen minute head start. Which for any other escapee lugging around a civie, would’ve been easily surmountable. But with Richard Riddick, all bets were off. The man could hide in plain sight, cut your throat and be gone before the first drops of blood hit the floor. Add the element of darkness, an environment he thrived in, and a fifteen minute gap turned into a huge advantage. The woman herself wasn’t exactly as much of a hindrance at the general had hoped. She hadn’t fallen apart or distracted Riddick from his intent to kill their attackers. Bieti felt he might have underestimated the amount trauma she should be carrying around after Jessup 2. She was evidently tougher then her exterior led one to believe. It was a mistake he promised himself he wouldn’t repeat. But Dee 7 was only so big. An advantage for Bieti and his squad. And he had studied Riddick well enough to know where he would go. The dark...the mines. The less occupied the better. Specs of the mines layout, both active and abandoned, were easily accessed and the squad sent in. Bieti had watched from a soldiers helmet vid as his people moved in on the trapped couple. The rush of satisfaction in seeing the escapee at the end of the lighted tunnel had been heady. He had him! He had been about to give the order to move into the kill when he noticed the bars separating the Cholena woman from Riddick. Where minutes before fierce, burning satisfaction had run through his body, he now felt the equally strong force of rage as he watched the man he wanted dead more than anything else, slip away into the darkness beyond the bars. Alphonse Bieti hadn’t risen to the level power he now owned without being adaptable. No matter the hot emotions running underneath his skin. Had Riddick really abandoned her, or just been separated due to a little used and therefore easy to malfunction door? Everything the last few weeks of surveillance pointed to the latter. He wouldn’t have left her if he could’ve helped it. Bieti knew deep in his gut. The woman would be useful. The order was given to apprehend her. It didn’t matter what condition, as long as she was alive and usable. And here she was. Bruised, unconscious from a sedative and as vulnerable as a newborn babe. The next step would be to get the information to Riddick, no doubt hidden deep in the tunnels, that his woman was still alive and in need of rescue. Easily done through the miners grapevine. There were sympathizers who would give him the necessary information on the above world and supplies to survive in the hot and inhospitable environment. If not, he knew that Riddick would make sure to surreptitiously listen in on the miner’s conversations and news programs regularly beamed to the vid units located throughout the mines. Riddick would lie low for a while, giving Bieti a chance to set up a plan using Cholena. His musings were interrupted when she started to stir on the floor. As he watched her fight her way to semi-consciousness, Bigsby came through the door. The adjutants gaze didn’t move an inch from the generals face. The woman meant less to him than the floor she laid on. But the information he carried about her was definitely of more interest. “General, I think you’d better see this report.” Bieti’s stare moved with surprise over his aide. The man knew his place very well. It must be something just short of amazing for him to be so presumptuous. Indeed Bigsby’s excitement vibrated through to him when he took the information pad being thrust in his direction. A small smile of triumph flitting across the aides face. A matching one soon came over the general’s. “Well....this changes everything, doesn’t it?” “Yes sir. Should I schedule the procedure ASAP?” Bieti rubbed a hand slowly over his chin as he returned to contemplating the woman. The light of anticipation making his eyes eerily shine. Making him look somewhat like Riddick. “Yes.” “Understood sir. With your permission, I’ll have her disposed of once it’s done.” “Fine.” She wouldn’t be needed anyway. With a smart salute, Bigsby turned to leave to make the ‘arrangements.’ He was stopped short by the generals soft “Bigsby, wait a moment... a change of plan.” Turning back, the adjutant watched Bieti’s face as the general stared hard at the Cholena woman. Seconds ticked by in silence and Bigsby started getting nervous. What could make the general keep the woman alive? Bigsby wanted her dead, if for nothing else, for her poor choice in men. But the main reason was that it would cause Riddick pain. A man he’d come to hate almost as much the general. The convict had made a joke of ASF too many times. And he was just too dangerous to the general to be alive. “Once the procedure is done, give her some of the serum. It should have an interesting result, don’t you think, with her Orion Plague antibodies? It just might make our Mr. Riddick loose his vaulted self-control. People without self-control make very deadly mistakes, don’t they?” The smile returned to Bigsby’s face. This would be better than death. Or worse, it depended on which side of the needle a person stood. |
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