CHAPTER9

CHAPTER 9

“Jack?”
“Yeah?”
“Where did you find Richard that night you two came home together?”
Jack stopped the interactive game she was playing and took off the goggles it required.
“Some place called the Paradise. It was a real dive! I didn’t go all the way in though. No sooner I spotted him then he got up to leave. Why? You’re not still mad at me are you?”
In the two weeks since the incident, Zar had been preoccupied, but not bitchy. She had seemed relieved that Jack had been with Riddick and not getting into serious trouble.
“No. No, that’s not it at all.”
Jack waited, knowing from the expression on Zar’s face that she was still curious about that night. She figured Zar was worried about other women.
“You know he wasn’t messing around in there with no skank. He was just sitting there, staring at some dude.”
“What man?”
“Some scary looking creep. Real pale, spooky light eyes, kinda short. He had weird, dirty blonde hair. Kinda ropey, ya know, they call them something special...dear locks, dram locks...”
“Dread locks?”
“Yeah! That’s it! Richard just kept staring at him. All intense like. I don’t think sexually or anything like that... just...I don’t know...like he trying to memorize him or something.”
Zar had gone deathly pale and wide eyed.
“What’s wrong? You don’t think he’s got the hots for some guy do you? ‘Cause that ain’t Riddick! ‘Course I imagine he did his share of banging the ‘ole behind in Slam. Everyone knows that’s what goes on in those places. But I don’t think he would do a man if he had a choice.”
She started getting worried when Zar didn’t respond, just continued to stare at her in one of those deer in headlight looks. She hoped Zar wasn’t going to have another one of those weird episodes. That had been too freaky!
Elson Brenner! The stupid fuck was going after Elson Brenner!
She knew it! She knew he was up to something. He still made love to her, but it seemed he was pulling away emotionally. Preparing himself for something that was to come, or protecting her from a future only he seemed to see.
She had to do something! There was no way in Hell that she was going to let Richard go after him. It was too big a risk. Richard might think he was king of the psychokillers, but Brenner would put him to shame.
In just knowing and loving him for the past six weeks she could see that he hadn’t lost all his compassion for the human race. There were some he still cared about, such as Carolyn Fry, Jack, Imam and herself.
Brenner on the other hand had no compassion in him whatsoever. Just look what he did to Beth! He would fight as dirty and as lethal as he could, where she didn’t think Riddick had it in him to be that way totally anymore.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he hid the killer in his heart from her better than she could ever imagine. But she wasn’t willing to take the chance. She’d lost one man to Brenner, God help her if she let another bleed for her!
Why the hell couldn’t he have good enough alone?! And the answer hit her in the heart. Because he was protecting her! And revenging Beth. She’d seen how the description of Beth’s death had affected him. It enraged him, shook him, royally pissed him off. All the emotions needed to bring out the psychokiller in him once again. She felt grateful that the man obviously loved her so much. But she would’ve given her right eye for that same man to care a little less. To have let sleeping dogs lie.
She had to do something to stop him. But after the fight the night of his and Jack’s mutual return, and his increasing aloofness, she didn’t think talking would do the trick. He was willing to throw away the chance of redemption that Carolyn Fry had died so brutally for. The chance he held in such precious value. But he was killer on a mission and as sure as she was of her name, she knew nothing would dissuade him.
He would NOT throw away that chance of redemption for her! Not if she had any breath left in her body to stop him. And then it blind sided her! The obvious answer.
“Jack? Do you think you could give me directions this Paradise? I’ve heard the guys at work talk about going there before, but I have no idea where it’s at.”
“Yeah, sure. But why do you want to go there? It’s a really rough place. Riddick would shit a brick if he knew you went there.”
“I know, I know! But it’s important. I have to find the man he was staring at. He’s going to do something really stupid Jack, and I can only think of one way to stop him. Please Jack! Help me!”
“What are you talking about?”
Zar looked into the face of the teenager who worshipped Riddick. Should she take the chance that she’d want Riddick safe over being loyal to him? Yes, she had no choice. She would’ve preferred to enlisted Imam’s help, but he was gone to New Mecca a week ago. Jack was her only option. And that meant telling her the truth.
She sighed as she sat on the couch next to Jack.
“Remember that...crying jag...I had a few weeks ago?”
“Remember it?! Hell yeah! You scared the fuck out of me and Imam. And Riddick too! The only other time I saw him that upset was when he came back to the skiff on Taurus 2, all tore up and without Carolyn.”
The reminder of Carolyn’s name made Zar flinch.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to remind you of her. I mean, I know Riddick wanted her... I mean...he liked her...but...he’s with you now! She’s not exactly competition ya know!”
“No Jack, you have it all wrong. I’m GRATEFUL to Carolyn Fry. I wouldn’t know any of you, most of all Richard if not for her. She and her sacrifice changed him into a man I can love. But he’s about to throw away everything she did for him Jack. He turning himself back into that old Riddick. The one before Taurus 2. Unless I stop him. WE stop him.”
Jack’s eyes filled with tears at the sound of anguish in Zar’s voice. She was getting real scared now. As scared as she had been on Taurus 2 when that thing had attacked her.
“Why?! Why is he doing this? Doesn’t he like being a normal human being.”
“Oh sweetie, it has nothing to do with what he wants. He’s going after that guy in a misguided attempt to protect me.”
It was then she told the trembling Jack about her past. She left nothing out, not sparing the girl any of the gruesome details. She figured Jack had lived through some tough times of her own and deserved only straight honesty.
“He just crushed her head against the wall?! Then stepped on it?!”
“Yeah, just like that.”
“No wonder Riddick wants him dead! But why don’t you?”
“Because I don’t want to lose another man to Brenner. Brenner can be ten times the killer Riddick was. You’ve seen the changes in him. Do you really think he’s as lethal as Brenner anymore? Riddick might kill him, but Brenner will find a way, as sure as Hell, to take Riddick with him.
I love him Jack! I don’t want to lose him. And even if he lives and Brenner dies, he won’t be the Riddick I love anymore. He’ll be that man Johns was transporting back to Slam City. The psychokiller that everyone so feared and treated less than human. He will have thrown away that one shot at redemption that Carolyn died for.
So I have to take matters into my own hands. This all started when Brenner came on board the station. He looked right at me, but I truly don’t think he recognized me. Not only did he leave me for dead, it was four years and many victims ago. But Riddick obviously thinks otherwise.
I have to kill Brenner myself.”
“WHAT???!!! Are you fucking nuts??!!! It’s not ok for Riddick to kill to protect you, but it’s ok for you to kill for him? What kind of psychofuck thinking is that?! And, I’m sorry to be brutal about this, but you couldn’t protect yourself the last time you dealt with Brenner. What makes you think you can do any better this time?”
Zar listened to Jacks words but refused to think about them too deeply.
“Because I’m not the same person I was four years ago. Brenner changed me for the worse, or better, depending on your point of view. Watching your friend, husband and baby die horrible deaths will do that to a person. You know that. Aren’t you harder now after seeing Shazza die? You told me about your crappy life after the place you were staying in burned down. The things you had to do to survive. It made you stronger, more able and willing to do whatever needed to be done to protect you and yours.”
“Yeah! But isn’t that the same thing Riddick is doing for you?! Only now he’s killing for the right reasons! To protect someone he loves rather than just for the joy of it, the need to do it to survive. And don’t you want Brenner dead?”
Zar shook her head emphatically in the negative.
“NO! You don’t get it! It’s not the act itself that I’m so horrified about. It’s the consequences that I’m terrified of! If I kill Brenner it will be on my conscious for the rest of my life. I might know that it has to be done, but I will always know that I took another life in premeditated murder. I’ll feel guilt!
“It’s a lose / lose proposition for Riddick. Either Brenner will kill him, or he won’t and if he lives through this with Brenner, he won’t feel guilty!
He’ll be right back to where he was before Taurus 2. He won’t be the man we both love. He will no longer be able to love us! Do you really want that?”
She saw the terror on Jack’s face grow as the truth sunk into her heart and brain. Riddick would be lost to them one way or another if he went after Brenner. Zar was right, they had to take out Brenner before Riddick did. It was the only way!
“O.K.! You’re right! But how do we do it?”
“WE bullshit! This is totally on me kid! You’ve been through enough without adding murder onto it. And I don’t want you hurt. If something happens to me, well, let’s just say you’ll have to be the one to pick up the pieces. If Brenner kills me before I kill him, Riddick will be unstoppable, the only chance he has from going ballistic will be to protect you. He won’t want to leave you vulnerable and alone. Understand?”
Jack slowly nodded her head. Her large eyes growing even bigger at the visions running through her head. Visions of Riddick and his reaction if Zar were to be killed.
“Yeah. I understand. But why don’t we just try to find someone else to do Brenner?”
“Because it’s my fault this mess got started in the first place. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. But I didn’t, and it set off Riddick in the totally opposite direction he should be going in. Besides, murder is murder, my hands will be just as dirty.
Now where is this Paradise.”
“It’s on the third from the last level. Turn right off the elevators, then left at the second alley.
How you going to do it Zar? Shiv him? I know you hate guns.”
Zar hadn’t thought that far yet. She absolutely loathed guns. But she wasn’t proficient at knives like Riddick. And the part her of that was thinking logically knew she would have a much better chance if she ambushed him with a gun. It still left her feeling green around the gills.
What a joke! Here she was, plotting the death of another human being, and she was worried about touching a gun! Maybe Brenner and his goons had done more damage then she realized. Maybe they had unhinged her in some way. If so, this seemed almost poetic.
“No, it doesn’t matter how I feel about guns, it’s the most logical choice. There’s a guy at work who sells them. I’ll get one from him when I go in tomorrow. Then it’s just a matter of waiting till I see Brenner.”
“Yeah, but to actually hang out in the Paradise? You’re going to run into trouble or Riddick, or both!”
“I’ll just have to hang out around the outside of the bar, stay low. Keep an eye out for a good opportunity. Hopefully it won’t be too many night before I can...you know...”
“What about Riddick? He’ll be wondering where you are after work? And he will know if something’s up. You know him and his sixth sense for trouble.”
“I’ll just say I worked overtime.”
“Oooohhhh...I don’t know Zar, he hates being lied to!”
“Well it’s for his own good so he can just handle it!”
“O.K., O.K., don’t bite my face off!”
Sighing, Zar realized she was taking out her fear and anger on Jack.
“I’m sorry Jack. Your just trying to make me see all the particulars. Thanks. I’ll deal with the consequences later. I have to stay focused on killing Brenner for now. O.K.?”
“Yeah. I understand. Let’s just hope Riddick does to.”
“Amen.”