Deserter: Chapter Nine-The Meeting

   Riddick entered the city with the rest of the survivors. Nick and Gina had been persuaded to leave Rain alone for now, and therefore hadn’t taken off into the forest, where Riddick was sure they’d have lost their lives.

  Dark had almost fully descended on the moon, and the bright lights of the city were on. They were flashing for casinos, hotels, clubs, bars, and anything else that might attract patrons and cash.

  The forest had given way to private homes before they’d entered the actual city of New-New York, and Riddick had steeled himself to prepare for the assault on his senses. He always hated entering a big city such as this.

  He wondered if Rain had gotten into the city yet, and if Ven and Brand had also. He didn’t know them well enough to care if they were alive or dead, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be disappointed if they were killed. They’d helped him out, and that counted for something, even in his book.

  Everyone decided to get rooms for the night and they spotted a hotel that had a gaudy neon sign flashing “Vacancy” below a larger sign. The larger sign was obviously the name of the hotel, and Riddick decided that Saturn must be very fond of its rings, because most everything there was named “Ring” something or other. The hotel was no exception. The Ring Stop was a decent looking place, with a friendly old woman working as desk clerk.

  When she saw the small group of six enter her establishment she beamed at them and immediately began handing out pass keys before anyone even brought out money.

  Riddick gave the woman a cred card and she swiped it merrily through the register. She did the same with everyone else and began leading them to their rooms

  Riddick’s room was small, but what he figured people would call “cozy.” There was a handmade quilt on the double bed and the room had all the modern conveniences. He turned off the lights the woman had switched on when she’d opened the door for him and removed his goggles.

  There was a holovision set on a chest of drawers. He didn’t bother with that, but instead pushed open the door leading to the small clean bathroom.

  He stepped into the shower fully clothed, except for his boots, and just let the water wash away the dirt. He used a bar of soap to wash the grime from his clothing, rinsed it off, then peeled the clothes away from his body so he could wash his skin.

  When he was done he tossed his pants, shirt, and jacket over the shower door then dried off.

  He wrapped a towel around his hips, pulled on his goggles, and sat down on the bed, flicking on the HV set.

  The local news was of no interest to him and he found a station playing old movies. Riddick fell asleep to the sounds of automatic gun fire and explosions playing over the set.

  ~~~

  Rain awoke with her hair all around her, curling wildly. She shoved the black locks away from her face and groaned. Three days of tree leaping and forest hiking had left her a little stiff.

  That’s what made cryo-sleep such a bitch. Your body might not age or need to eat, but it didn’t protect your muscles from atrophy or deterioration. She hated it!

  With another groan she shoved herself to her feet. The sun was already rising and that meant she’d slept longer than she’d intended. Her clothes were already dry and she tugged them on, loving the clean feeling. The shirt was a bit on the trashy side from climbing around in the trees, but her pants were fine. They reminded her why she loved leather; easy to clean and durable.

  The scratches on her arms were irritated and she decided that it would be a good idea to clean them with something. Shoving her creds in her pocket and securing her blade to her leg, she left Rhea’s Ring and headed for any sort of store she might be able to find.

  The desk clerk nodded at her as she passed, and at Ven, who was following close behind.

  Rain knew she was being followed the minute she stepped outside of the hotel, but didn’t let on. Whoever was following was good at masking any emotions they had, because all Rain could pick up on was the person’s presence but no actual feelings.

  She found a large grocery store and entered. Most the people she passed gave her strange looks, but she ignored them. Moving quickly, Rain ducked behind a display of some sort of canned food, and when the person trailing her whipped around the corner after her, Rain grabbed for them.

  But her pursuer was to fast for that, and ducked beneath Rain’s grasp and rolled to the left, landing in a crouched position.

  Rain, blade pulled, coiled to jump her attacker but froze when she saw it was Ven. Ven also had her blade pulled and they faced each other, sizing one another up.

  “I don’t want to fight you,” Ven growled at Rain.

  Rain lifted one sleek shoulder in a small shrug and eyed Ven warily. “I don’t want to fight you, either,” she answered quietly.

  Ven flashed a grin and re-sheathed her blade. “Good. Then we can talk like civilized people, although we both know we’re not that at all.”

  Rain decided she liked the girl immediately and also sheathed her knife.

  “You should clean those,” Ven said, pointing at the cuts on Rain’s arms.

  “That was the plan,” she replied.

  “I’ve got stuff in my room,” Ven offered.

  Rain shook her head, still not trusting the young woman. “No, thanks. I’ll just buy some stuff here and clean them myself.”

  Ven shrugged. “Your loss.”

  They walked through the store until Rain came to the medical supply aisle. She grabbed a bottle of peroxide and some bandages and they headed for the checkout station.

  Rain paid for the supplies, then her and Ven walked in silence back to Rhea’s Ring.

  When they entered the hotel, Brand was waiting for them on a bench by the wall. He shot Ven a questioning look, his hand resting on his blade handle. When Ven nodded to him, he relaxed and removed his hand.

  “Hi,” he said, walking over to Rain.

  She eyed the young boy curiously. He was as tall as her and not as skinny as most boys his age. Black hair, gold eyes, and dark skin.

  He stuck out his hand and she shook it. “I’m Brand,” he said.

  Rain studied him, feeling the strength in his grip, and grinned. “I’m Rain.” She turned to face the boy’s sister. “Ven, right?” she asked.

  The girl nodded then headed up the stairs. Rain followed with Brand bringing up the rear. He obviously didn’t trust her any more than he could throw her, and that’s just how she felt about them, so she wasn’t offended.

  When they entered Rain’s room, the two stood silently while she sat down on the bed and began to clean her cuts. The cryo-tube had done more damage to her arms than she’d thought, hissing through clenched teeth as she swabbed the wounds with antiseptic.

  They began to bleed again when they were clean and she wrapped both arms with the gauze she’d purchased, the white a stark contrast to her golden skin.

  Ven and Brand had been completely silent and she struggled to read them. They cloaked their emotions the same way Riddick masked his, although Brand was a little easier to pick up on. He was still young though.

  Rain sighed and motioned them to seat themselves. Ven lowered herself to the small couch in the corner, Brand beside her.

  “Why were you following me?” Rain asked, getting right to the point.

  “We need your help,” Ven answered, not bothering to pretend she didn’t know what Rain was talking about.

  Rain lifted a dark brow. “Why should I help you?”

  “I can get a ship and get you outta here. Nick and Gina, that young couple, they had the same ambitious way as Max and Clyde, if you catch my drift.

  “After you tore up Walker’s face they went ape shit, claiming you needed to be brought to justice.” Ven snorted. “They think they can dish it out to you.”

  Rain chuckled. “You don’t agree?”

  “I saw what you did to Clyde, like the rest. Rick disappeared and he was a pro. You probably took out Max, too, didn’t ya?”

  Rain shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah. I took them all out. Not like it was a hard thing to do.”

  “And you’re not sorry either. You’re a killer, like us. We’ll get you off this moon, and you tell us all you know about Gyn Wolf.”

  They were watching her, waiting to see if she’d react to the name. Sure, she knew it. Every Ranger did. Gyn Wolf was best known for wiping out any Rangers unlucky enough to cross her path, but Rain had never met her. Last she’d heard, the woman was in Slam City serving a life sentence. She thought she’d heard Wolf had escaped, but the transport she’d stolen had crashed on some God forsaken planet in the middle of nowhere.

  Rain wasn’t about to tell them that though. If they could get her out of this place, she was more than willing to cooperate. “How long will it take you to get a ship?” she asked.

  “Two, three days? You interested?” Ven asked.

  “Damn straight, I’m interested. But what’s Gyn Wolf to you guys?”

  “She’s out sister,” Brand spit out before Ven could silence him.

  Rain grinned. “So all of you are part of that Ranger killin’ family,” she said knowingly. “I’ve heard about you guys, too. No one has ever been able to catch you, but you’ve killed plenty of folks. Even you, huh, kid?” She looked at Brand.

  Brand shrugged. “Killin’s easy,” he said. “You can make money doin’ it. You were a Ranger, weren’t you?”

  She shrugged. “Was, kid.” She turned to Ven, “Okay, I’m game. I’ll tell you all I know about the notorious Ranger murderer and you get me off this rock,” Rain told them, rising to her feet. She was going after this Nick and Gina. They were threats, and from what she could tell, anyone in that group that wanted to get ahold of her was in need of a lesson.

  “It wasn’t murder,” Brand fumed. “Killing Rangers is *never* murder. Its pest control.”

  “My thoughts exactly, kid,” was all Rain said in reply.

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