The Ninth Life

Shan'ica SilverPheniox

4: Attraction? Or Reaction?

Once they got inside, Riddick put Jack to bed. He had almost forgotten about Shane and wasn't prepared to hear her voice at his ear.

"She will be alright after she has rested. But she will be hungry when she wakes. Her body will require nutrients to fully recover." The purred voice spoke in a whisper that caressed Riddick's skin.

He turned to look at the strange woman. She had replaced the glasses on her face and had moved back away from him. She was very…exotic was the only word that came to mind. Her face seemed to extend into a muzzle, and her ears sat higher on her head and were pointed. He gestured for her to follow him to the other room so that they wouldn't wake Jack.

"Who exactly are you?" He demanded to know as soon as the door to Jack's room was shut.

She didn't answer immediately, but instead moved along the walls of the room, surveying her surroundings. He watched her actions with interest. She moved like a cat, and seemed to have a cat's habits. When she was satisfied, she sat on the edge of the bed and faced him.

"I told you. My name is Shane Corvan." She cocked her head to one side, as she had done earlier. "But that is not what you meant, is it? You meant, why am I here, and why was I there." She smiled, then removed her glasses. Once again Riddick found himself startled by her eyes, a deep purple colour cut down the centre by two black diamonds. "I was there because I was in the area and heard you call to her. I saw you follow her, then I saw another figure. I know the way things are here. I knew what the second figure was up to. So I followed." She stood up in one smooth movement, to stand in front of him. "I guess I was just in time."

Shane smiled again, then moved towards the window, looking out to the street below. "Now I have told you who I am. You should return the favour." There was a slight growl in her voice, but her words were light.

Riddick started to answer, then stopped. He didn't know anything about this woman. He didn't know how much he could trust her. And what exactly did that growl mean? She turned to him, a puzzled look on her face. Or, at least, he took it to be puzzled. "Very well, you need not tell me now." She said. "The important thing is that you leave here. Now."

"Why? Give me one good reason why I should listen to you." Riddick's hand went to his shiv and he gave her a hard look. "For that matter, give me one good reason not to kill you."

"I can give you several, actually. But the most important one is headed up here now. You obviously have some enemies here." She moved away from the window towards Jack's room. "You spared my life. I will help you save yours. Honour demands." She disappeared into Jack's room, leaving Riddick confused over that last part. Honour demands? What the hell did that mean. He didn't have time to puzzle over it, though. Shane appeared in the doorway, supporting Jack.

"We must go now." She said simply, leading Jack to the window. "You can stay with me. You'll be safe." She looked at Riddick expectantly. A heavy banging at the door convinced Riddick to follow her. If nothing else she had protected Jack, so he could trust her for the moment. He took Jack from her and followed her out the window.

Shane awoke as the sun crept thru the curtains the next morning. Yawning and stretching, Shane uncurled herself from the edge of the bed and crawled along the floor to the patio. Once outside she stretched again and flopped down onto one of the reclining patio chairs. What a night. She smiled. It felt good to move like that again. It had been too long.

Once out the window Shane had lead the man and the half asleep girl down the fire escape (which actually held their weight) to the last platform. From there Shane had leapt to the ground and ran to the end of the block, where she had left her 'borrowed' transport. By the time she got back to the building, the pair's attackers where almost to them. She yelled at him to jump into the pile of trash that lay against the building. While he obviously wasn't crazy about the idea, he swept the girl up into his arms and jumped. Shane was next to them in an instant, pulling them free of the junk and into the vehicle. They were gone before their pursuers reached the ground.

They had reached the hotel about 40 minutes later. Shane led them up to her room, ignoring the looks they received from people in the lobby. She helped the girl wash and change, then put her to bed. She let the man shower next, as she called the desk for a cot. It was in place and set up by the time he emerged from the shower. Shane slipped in the shower herself and emerged from the bathroom half and hour later, clean and comfortably dressed. The stranger had changed as well. He had managed to grab his bag before they left the room. Shane had smiled and told him the cot was his. Before he could say anything Shane curled up on the foot of the bed and fell asleep.

The patio door opened behind her and Shane sat up. "Here." The stranger offered her a cup of coffee. She smiled and took the cup. "Thank you." She purred, settling herself back into the chair. He sat on its mate and sipped his coffee.

"The name's Riddick. Richard B. Riddick." He said after a few moments. "The kid is Jack."

Shane smiled. "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Riddick. I have heard much about you." He raised an eyebrow at her, causing her to chuckle. She always found it amusing when humans did that. It made their faces look funny. "Don't look so shocked. I doubt that there is a criminal out there who hasn't heard of you." She sat up and faced him. "You have a question?" She asked.

"How did you…? Never mind." He gave her a quizzical look, then took a sip of his coffee. "Why were you 'in the neighbourhood' last night. It sure doesn't look like you need to hang around down there."

"I was doing my job. Or at least part of it. I…" Before she could finish the comm system beeped. Going inside, Shane dialled down the volume to avoid waking the girl, then activated the unit. "Yes." She growled the word, a touch of menace in her voice.

"Ms. Corvan, Mr. Klidox would like to see you. Immediately. He has agreed to your terms and would like to finalize the agreement." The voice belonged to Mr. Klidox's right hand man, an annoying and self-absorbed man who gave off the feeling of being a disgusting pervert.

"Thank you. I will be there in an hour and a half." Shane growled at the man, then deactivated the comm before he could say anything more. She turned to Riddick, who had followed her inside. "I'm sorry, it appears I am being summoned." She moved around him and disappeared into the bathroom.

When Shane emerged from the bathroom clean and dressed she was greeted by the smell of hot food. The girl, Jack, was sitting up in bed, munching away on scrambled eggs and toast. Jack smiled when she saw Shane. "Goo morin." She said, her mouth full. Shane gurgled/purred and smiled. "Swallow, then talk." Jack nodded, then went back to her breakfast. Riddick was out on the patio. Shane joined him.

"Quite the little feast you have there." She said as she joined him.

"You said she would need to eat." He replied, sipping at his fresh cup of coffee. Shane nodded and nibbled at the piece of bacon she had snared from the food cart. "Who's Mr. Kildox?" He asked.

"The rich bastard paying for all of this." Shane replied, licking the grease off her fingers. "I'm here to do a job for him. Why?"

He didn't answer her, but continued to stare off into the distance. Shane watched him for a moment, then turned and headed back inside. "I have to go meet with him." She said. "I shouldn't be too long. You can stay here until I get back."

Jack had finished eating and was pouring herself some juice. She smiled as Shane came back inside. "I'm Jack." She said, extending her hand. Shane took it. "Shane Corvan." She smiled. "Why don't I see if I can find you something to wear. We left your bag behind by accident." Jack smiled but didn't reply as she had stuck a piece of bacon in her mouth.

After she had found something suitable for the girl to wear, Shane grabbed her bag and headed for the door. She stopped at the door and looked back at her guests. Jack had gotten another plate of eggs and was flipping thru the vid channels. She was a cute kid. Riddick was still out on the patio. There was an old earth saying her mother liked to use for people like him, a mystery wrapped in an enigma. That fit him well. He was so mysterious, so challenging, so strong, so handsome… Shane shook her head to lose the thought before it went any further. What was she thinking? She growled out a goodbye and left, fighting the urge to look back at him one more time.

Riddick looked up just in time to see the door shut behind Shane. She was a strange one, he thought. Strange, but very attractive… He shook his head, mirroring Shane's own movement only a few moments before. "No," He muttered. "It's just her abilities that are interesting. Not her personally." He looked back at the door. Just her abilities…