Chapter Two

[Keratan Three]

Things were not going well for Jack. In the two days that she had been on K-3, her room had been broken into and she had found a peephole in her bathroom.

"And don't forget that weird looking guy following you this morning," she said to herself, pacing the room trying hard not to panic.

"I'm a resourceful person. I've survived carnivorous aliens, I can survive a few more days on this planet." She paused in thought. " I just won't go out much."

Her pacing resumed and she cast her eyes towards the bathroom. The paper covering the hole had been removed. Flustered she stalked to the bathroom. It was a tiny piece of paper, an insignificant thing for others, but for Jack, it was a barrier between her and this godforsaken planet - and it was gone. Nowhere in sight.

"What the -? God damn it! Do I have 'break in and peep on me' written on the door?"

Jack ran from the bathroom and grabbed her satchel, no longer feeling safe within the confines of her room. I don't feel safe on this planet.

Forgetting her idea to stay inside for the remainder of her stay, she headed for the door, fingers fumbling the locks as she allowed fear to take hold of her. What if the person's still here? In the closet, waiting for me to go to sleep. What if - No. No. Get a grip. Panic never helps. Get with it. She shook her body and tried the locks again.

With a click the door opened and she raced down the stairs and of the hotel in a bid to get as far away from her room as possible.

It didn't take Jack long for her to get lost. Keratan Three was a sprawling metropolis - a city planet - with one of the largest population per square metre ratios in the galaxy. Her blind run had led her far from her hotel and deep into the crowds that swarmed the streets in the daylight hours.

From where she stood, even the looming mass of the transit terminal was not visible - not a good sign Jack. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Turning around, she tried to retrace her steps, but found it to be hopeless. In her panic, she had not made a note of the landmarks she passed. This section of the city was darker than the section most often frequented by visitors, the clothes worn by the citizens were shabbier, and the pavement riddled with holes.

She had crossed into the slums - mugging was a very real threat here.

Jack was about to pick a direction to walk in when a familiar voice broke into her thoughts.

"Well, hello their friend! I certainly didn't expect to see you in this part of the Metro."

Jack turned to find the drop-in center guy standing at her elbow. Relief flooded her previously taut face and she almost hugged the man, her reservations about the stranger evaporating. Now she viewed him as a possible source of help and not some creepy man who had invaded her space just days earlier.

"Thank God! I thought I was never going to find help!" Jack blurted out.

The smile on Drop-In Center guys face wrinkled into a concerned frown, "are you in trouble? What's happened?"

Jack realised that she had sounded desperate, and tried to recover some dignity and relieve the mans worries, "No, no. I'm not. I didn't mean to worry you like that," she took a breath and looked around them, gesturing at the buildings, "I'm lost. I__, I felt like I was suffocating in my hotel, so I went for a walk and I got lost. I have no idea where I am." She smiled her best sheepish smile, hoping that he wouldn't ask to many questions.

He looked at her, then he held out his hand and smiled, "I'm Chad," he raised an eyebrow at Jack, she sighed and extended her own.

"Jack."

They shook hands.

"Well, Jack, where are you staying? I'll walk you back."

She began to protest, but Chad just held up his hand, "you really picked a bad part of town to get lost in and I don't want to see anything happen to you."

"Well, uh, Northvilla Hotel. It really would be alright if you just pointed me in the right direction, I can take care__"

"Of yourself," Chad cut in. "I'm sure you can Jack, but K-3 is no Earth or Altair, and I'd be able to rest easier tonight if I knew that you were definitely safe in your hotel room."

He seems genuine, she thought. Maybe I was wrong about him. At the very least, I can get back to my hotel in one piece, if I walked by myself, that might not happen. These people look like they would roll you over for a breadcrumb.

"Okay, you can walk me back." She paused. "Thanks."

Chad extended his arm to her, and she took it, Here goes, she thought as he began to guide her through the streets.

[Transport Mercascia]

Riddick sat in his tiny cabin, carefully sharpening his shiv, honing each side of the blade almost lovingly, as he considered exactly how he was going to find on individual on a planet of millions.

Best bet is that she hasn't wandered far from the terminus. Probably found some cheap tourist boarding to make her credits stretch.

He placed the blade on his bunk and grabbed a tourist map he had 'procured' from one of his fellow passengers and began to scan it for such places. There were seventeen that fit the bill.

Riddick tucked the map under the bunk's pillow and lay down. He didn't want to examine too closely just why he was bothering to go after Jack. Nor did he want to admit to himself that after his experiences on the Hunter-Gratzner and that planet that he was going soft and that he actually cared for the girl.

No, I'm repaying my debt to Caroline. She died for them, for me. The least I can do is see to it that they continue living. Comforted by this, Riddick put his head back and began to plan just what he would do when he got to Keratan Three.

[Keratan Three]

It took Jack three hours to get back to her hotel room. She had found that after she let go of her original apprehension of Chad, he was a nice guy. They had started to talk on their walk and he had told Jack of his work with K-3's youth, his plans for expanding his center and how he had been a runway his self.

Somehow his friendly behaviour had sparked something inside of Jack and she found herself walking slower so that she could extend the trip, while telling him about all the troubles that she had found herself in once she had arrived on planet.

"Jack, this is a serious problem. You need to see the hotel manager and tell him that someone has been into your room."

"I know and I have. The guy told me that he would fix the lock, and that he would plaster the hole in the wall, but that was yesterday and nothing has happened yet."

"Would you like me to speak to this man for you? You have the right to demand safety and privacy." Chad seemed rather upset at Jack's lack of security, his face was wrinkled with a deep frown and his cheeks were pink.

Jack his her smile at his parental concern. "No, Chad, thanks, but I can do it myself."

Not giving in yet, Chad looked seriously at Jack. "You said you were staying at the Northvilla? What floor?"

Chad's question made Jack uncomfortable, and she tried to dodge it. "It's not really that important. I'll speak to the manager when I get back."

"Jack, I'm sorry if my question seemed out of the blue and inappropriate. My reasons for asking are that I know that the Northvilla has seven floors. You must be on a lower level, or no one would bother trying to break in so much. You should ask the manager to assign you a room on a higher floor. There's no elevators, so the person who wants to break into your room would have to climb a large number of stairs to get to your room."

Jack felt her cheeks turn crimson at her unwarranted suspicion of Chad. "I'm sorry, I just -"

Chad smiled down at her at gave her a light punch on the arm. "You're looking out for your safety, which is nothing to be ashamed about. You're alone in a big city and you've had a pretty rough experience."

"I'm on the second floor at the moment, so I can see what you mean about easy access to my door. I'll take your advice and move up a few floors if there's any room."

Chad put his hand on Jack's elbow and pointed to a street sign. "Well Jack, I know that I promised I'd take you all the way to the door, but I've remembered that I have a few errands to run for the center. The hotel is about two hundred metres down this street. But if you'd like me to come with -"

"No," Jack jumped in quickly, "I'll be fine. You go get those chores done." She began to walk in the direction of the Northvilla, turning back to wave at Chad and to call out a thank you, before continuing on to the hotel.

From a shop window not far from where Jack and Chad had said good-bye, a pair of eyes, shaded by dark glasses watched their chat with great curiosity. The figure pulled a camera from a jacket pocket and began to snap pictures of Jack as she walked down the road. Frowning at the disappearing Chad, the figure exited the shop and began to follow Jack, noting which hotel she was staying at.

Crossing to the other side of the street the figure booked into a hotel directly facing Jack's. As the elevator doors closed on the person's view of the hotel lobby, a small smile curved onto thin lips.

"Let the games begin."