Riddick sniffed the air. He was close. Tucking himself behind a hanging display of mens' tribal wear, he waited for his prey. After a moment, Johns walked past the souvenir shop dressed in his trademark 'uniform'; blue pants and vest, white shirt. Snug fit, as always. Sometimes Riddick wondered if Johns dressed like that on purpose, knowing what kind of reaction it would get. A brown duffel bag was slung over Johns' shoulder, and he was carrying a stubby case -the shotgun probably, disassembled for travel. Once Johns was halfway down the block, Riddick stepped out onto the walk and followed him.

Riddick followed Johns to the local Transport Authority and watched as his prey boarded the only transport there. Riddick mentally complimented his nemesis; the shuttle lifted off less than a minute after Johns stepped on board. Score one for the merc, Riddick thought. He wasn't worried though, he knew exactly where Johns was headed.

Johns sank into his seat as the shuttled rose from the ground. In three hours they would land on Athena Prime. The latest residence of a professional weasel called Vinny 'The Mouth' Berenger. His apprehension and return to Federal Protective Custody was worth a respectable 4,000SC (Standard Credits). He was holed up somewhere in Corinth with his brother-in-laws' ex-girlfreind. Easy pickings. Not really worth his time, but it suited his purpose. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

Riddick checked his watch. The shuttle to Athena Prime had taken off at 11am local time. It was now coming up on 6pm. Give Johns a day to find Berenger, another to collect him, and a few hours to return to the Transport Authority where Johns had most like pre-booked a pair of open tickets. Riddick tried not to smile in anticipation; if everything went right, Johns would never return to the shuttle, and Berenger would get lucky.

The tele-communicator next to the bed beeped. Riddick reached over and tapped the 'receive' key and covered his face with his arm.

"Yeah?" He didn't bother with a formal greeting.

"He's here. Right on time. Rented a skiff at terminal 2 and headed west into the city."

"And?"

"First stop was the police station."

Checking in with the local police precinct to register the gun, Riddick knew the drill almost as well as Johns himself. Standard operating procedure.

"What else?" Riddick asked.

"He stopped to eat. Then he checked into HoJo Interstellar Motel on Terra Avenue, Room #222."

"Did you keep your distance?"

"Yeah. Had a time stayin' off his radar, but he didn't see me."

"Good. The money's in your account." Riddick stifled a yawn.

"Pleasure doin' busine..."

Riddick punched the disconnect key and lay motionless for a while. He had patiently laid low during the four months it had taken his knee and leg to heal. He'd never be 100% again, but he had learned how to compensate for the weakness. What was more important was that while he was convalescing, he had kept track of Johns' every move.

Riddick was booked on the 8:30pm flight to Athena Prime. Within a matter of hours, Johns would be in for a little creative payback.

Darryl Hammond had just finished drying his hair when he saw the door to his room open from the corner of his eye. He put the hair dryer down and wiped his face and neck with a towel. A behemoth of a man -wearing tinted goggles of all things- entered the room and closed the door.

"Who. The fuck. Are you?" The man asked. Darryl pointed in the general direction of the duffel bag on the bed. He didn't take his eyes off the man.

"Your package is right there." He said, still staring.

"My package." The visitor intoned. Darryl blinked. If the man wanted to wear tinted goggles in the middle of the night, that was fine by Darryl. The man looked absolutely ridiculous, but hey, who knew what this guys' story was.

"Yeah. I didn't think you'd get here this early. The guy said you'd get here around 3 or 4 in the morning. It's only a little after midnight."

Riddick stared at the kid. He was the right height and build, but his hair was jet black, with eyebrows to match. Why was there a package, and who was supposed to pick it up? What the fuck? He stared at the kid for a long moment.

"Take the package..."

When Riddick didn't reply, the kid kept talking.

"I'm not even supposed to still be here, man..."

This was the price for relying on a third party. Fuck it, Johns had slipped away. Riddick pulled out his shiv and moved toward the kid who suddenly started yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Take the package! There's an envelope in there for you! Come on! Dude, PLEASE!"

The next flight out wasn't for another four hours. Riddick figured he had the time. There was no need to hurry. Riddick rifled through the duffel bag until he found a padded envelope. He ripped it open and dumped the contents. The first thing to fall out was the shiv Johns had taken months ago. A letter folded in half fluttered out after the shiv. Riddick double checked the envelope for more contents, but there were none.

"What color is your hair?" he asked. The kid rolled his eyes.

"Duh, black."

Riddick sighed and tried again.

"Your real hair color, dumb ass."

"Oh. Blond."

"He tell you to dye it?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Darryl asked.

"Duh, you weren't supposed to still be here." Riddick replied. He pocketed the shiv and picked up the letter. He glanced at the kid before he read it. If the kid had backed any further away he'd have been in the wall.

Don't kill him.

Johns awoke from his nap when the shuttle touched down on Athena Prime. He yawned and stretched while a gaggle of passengers packed the aisles to retrieve thier carry on parcels. He selected a magazine from the pouch on the seat back in front of him while a man dressed in blue pulled a brown duffel bag and case from the bin directly over Johns.

Johns settled on an article about the state of the tourist economy in Betel Beach on Venus Prime while passengers, including the man with the duffel and case, filed toward the exit. By the time new passengers had filed on and the shuttle had lifted off for the second leg of its' journey, Johns had turned to a piece about snap fishing in the mountain streams of Rigel's Pass.

His thoughts drifted from the article. Riddick had come out of the shadows right on schedule. Johns had known almost to the moment when Riddick had started watching him. Johns couldn't decide if what he was feeling was anxiety or anticipation. He had been keyed up ever since he felt Riddick's eyes on him.

Pulling the back-packer in for a day's work and a free ticket to Athena Prime hadn't been much of a chore. Darryl was a good kid -a little stupid- but harmless. Riddick wouldn't kill him.

There wouldn't be any sport in it.