The Ninth Life

Shan'ica SilverPheniox


9: Surprise

The trip to Jassa Four was largely uneventful. There was the problem of the drunken crewman who couldn't find his room, but did find Jack's foot planted solidly in his crotch the second night of the trip. Otherwise the trip was fine. The passengers spent most of the trip in their cabins, asleep or engaged in more…athletic…pursuits, as Shane and Riddick did. When they disembarked on J-4, a sprawling planet full of sewage and filth, Shane, Riddick, and Jack immediately booked passage to Navaho Mesa, a small planet where Shane assured them they would be safe while they decided what to do next.

4 months later

"So how was the party?" Riddick looked up from the book he was reading as Shane and Jack entered the room. Jack laughed, opened her arms and twirled, a cache of credits and jewellery spilling to the floor and across the room. The two of them had been 'attending' a party hosted by one of the wealthier couples in San Sedro. They had attended many such parties in the time they had been here.

"I would say that we did pretty well." Shane sat down on the arm of the chair and kissed his cheek. "Jack is better than I ever was at pick pocketing." A humoured smile crossed her face. "But that is still small stuff. *This* is the real treasure." She produced a small statue from her bag. It was a golden cat statue. Riddick smiled and took the thing, admiring it.

"How much is this thing worth?" He asked. They were trying to get to Tan'ish'ah, Shane's home planet, but they were a long way off, and the fair to get there was high. They could make a fresh start there, Shane said. The planet wasn't part of the Union and her people where not all that concerned with people of shady pasts.

"My people actually prefer people that are considered society's slime. They find them…refreshing after dealing with politicians. At least criminals are honest about their crimes. Besides, the Tal'shi'tan have a very strict justice code. If you commit a crime, you are sent into the jungle. Just how *deep* into the jungle depends on the crime. Rape and murder are immediate execution offences, as is any crime against a child. All this happens after a fair trial, of course. But you are never judged on past offences. You always get a fresh start." Shane had explained all this to them when she suggested that Riddick and Jack accompany her home. As good as the thieves life had been to her, she was finally ready to go home. Riddick would make a great jungle hunter, Shane said. There was virtually no light in the deep jungle, and it offered plenty of chances to kill things. Jack could go to school, a real school, and make a life for herself. Shane didn't say what she would do, but Riddick could only assume that she had a plan for that. He and Jack had talked about it for almost a week before deciding to do it. Shane had been thrilled with their decision, and had proven it many times over to Riddick. Now they just needed the money to get there.

"I'm not sure." Shane answered his question. "I'll have to talk to a few people before I know exactly what it is worth on the market." She stood up and stretched. "But right now I am going to go have a nap." She smiled at Riddick and Jack, who was picking up the stolen goods she had spread around the room, then headed off for the room that she shared with him. He watched her go, then moved to help Jack gather up and put away her little collection. When they were finished he went to check on Shane. She was fast asleep, curled up on their pillows. He had discovered a lot of things about Shane in the few months they had been together, one of which being the fact that she loved pillows. He learned why when they moved into this apartment three months ago. She liked to sleep on them, with a mountain of them surrounding her, so it was almost like she was buried in them. He chuckled lightly to himself and stroked her forehead. She was so beautiful. And very much the cat she resembled. Fortunately, he and Jack had gotten used to Shane's strange behaviour and even admitted that it could be useful. It was also somewhat frustrating. Shane's independence had lead to a few fights between the two of them. Most of these fights had stemmed from the fact that Shane would take off in the middle of the night to trade on the black market and she wouldn't tell him. She told him she had worked the market for years and knew how to take care of herself. He said that she had been out of the market for a long time and that she should have him there just in case. 'She'll take off tonight to sell the statue.' He thought. 'I don't care what she says, I'm going with her.'

Almost as an after thought he brushed his hand along her belly. Hopefully they would be able to pay for transport to Tan'ish'ah with the cash from this statue and they jewellery that Jack had collected. Then they could put everything behind them and start again. He was looking forward to that.




Shane snuck out of the apartment about midnight, as Riddick expected. He followed her a few minutes later, after telling Jack that they were heading out and to make sure that everything was ready in case they had to make a quick getaway. Shane hadn't gotten that far ahead of him, so he had no trouble tailing her to the 'market'. Located in a run-down row of warehouses, the black market of Navaho Mesa was one of the seediest he had ever seen. The market was dark, rank, and filled with twists, turns, and plenty dead-ends. It was just all around dangerous. Shane moved quickly here, free from the restraint of having to avoid the police on the streets. He almost lost her a few times, the turns confusing him. When they hit the main hub of the market he did lose her. The crowd was always large, as the only way many of the people on the planet survived was by buying and selling on the black market. If there was ever a planet with a major split between rich and poor, this was it. He shook his head and headed down into the mob of people, hoping to find Shane before she got herself into trouble.




Shane lost Riddick quickly enough. She knew he was worried about her, and she was flattered by it, but she needed to do this herself. She needed to know that she hadn't lost her touch. She had stopped doing simple B & Es years ago, once she discovered the money in contract thievery. She had made a lot, and it pushed her skills, which B & Es just weren't doing. But she was afraid that she had let the skills she had obtained in the beginning fade, and she wanted to reassure herself that she was still as good as she was back then.

Selling the statue wasn't hard. There were lots of takers, and most were willing to buy it at a high price. A few were even willing to buy the name of the former owner of the statue, for an extra couple hundred credits. She smiled as she walked away from the man she sold the piece to. He was one of those 'businessmen' who would buy stolen items on the black market and sell them back to the owners for twice what he had paid out. Not a bad trade, but a dangerous one, as you always ran the risk of being caught with stolen property and ending up in jail. But that wasn't Shane's concern right now. With the sale of that statue and the few pieces of jewellery she had gotten enough money to finish paying for the tickets to Tan'ish'ah. In a day or two, the three of them would be off this rock and headed toward their new life.

Suddenly Shane was grabbed from behind and pulled into an empty row of boxes. A strong arm was wrapped around her chest and a thick hand had been slapped across her mouth, covering it completely. A second man directed her captor farther back down the row.

Shane almost fainted from shock as she recognized the other man. He smiled his sick, perverted smile and said, "Hello, Ms. Corvan. It is so nice to see you again."



 

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