After Riddick saw that Jamie had concluded orchestrating her plan. He went on to his bed for the first time, taking off his shirt and pretending he was asleep. He did this for a few minutes, waiting patiently.
After around 10 minutes passed, the sound of Jamie's creaking steps could be heard coming up the stairs just outside the door.
Immediately, she came up the stairs, Riddick could hear that her steps shuffled closer to his door. He immediately knew she likely had her head on the door, trying to see if Riddick was asleep.
To put on a convincing front, he began letting out a low snoring sound. As one too loud would be too obvious. He did this for a minute straight, and only then did he hear her steps move away as she finally returned to her room.
Immediately, he heard the sound of her and Johnny's room door closing, he opened his eyes, reached for his phone, and checked the time.
Seeing that it was just a little over 1 a.m, Riddick was about to continue laying down for a few minutes longer, but Zoe's voice resounded from the smart-watch in a low tone.
She reported, "Riddick, it's come to my attention that the phone in your mirror profiling is still in the possession of its owner and hasn't been returned to the cupboard where you had found it."
Although this may have seemed like a minor report to Riddick, every detail mattered, and this one was much bigger than the common man would presume.
Because immediately upon hearing this report, Riddick instructed, "I need you to hack into her front camera, back camera, and the phone's audio receptors."
The reason Riddick would do this was obvious. As long as the phone wasn't off, Riddick would be able to hear anything Jamie said so long as the phone remained in close proximity to her.
The same went for seeing anything she pointed the camera towards, and she wouldn't have the slightest idea.
“One moment, affirming now,” as Zoe said this, Riddick’s phone automatically flashed on two prompts. On the top part of the screen and another on the bottom.
The top part was showcasing a real-time video feed of the front camera, which she was currently holding as she lied in her bed right next to Johnny, tilted to the side as if to ensure she could hide the phone in case he woke up suddenly.
Riddick thought to himself, ‘she must feel this will be the final time they spend the night in the same bed. So she probably isn't worried too much about having the phone on her.’
Looking at this, he observed that the top part of his phone showcased an icon of an alarm clock. This came from the mirror profile, indicating that Jamie had set an alarm.
Going back to the mirror profile, he checked and that was indeed the case as Jamie had set an alarm for 2 AM sharp.
After doing this, the front camera could be observed being tucked under her pillow, and her lying on top.
Riddick was surprised how one could even sleep considering what she had just orchestrated. But it seemed whatever scheme she had in her mind, everything was going according to plan.
But the same could be said for Riddick. Considering the circumstances, Jamie had now left him.
Thinking of a way out of the situation would already prove to be a headache. The quickest and simplest way would simply be to get to the car and leave.
But Riddick knew better than this. For one, he didn't come from the OT communities. So choosing to roam around without a local escort was akin to suicide. There was just no telling what could happen or if he could get attacked by a band.
Whereas, by staying in the compound, he had the home-field advantage. He knew they were coming, knew that there would be more than one, and he had some time to prepare.
Close to one hour's time at that. For a contract killer, this was simply too good of an advantage to not use.
To begin, Riddick first laid in bed for an additional 10 minutes. This was because he was waiting for signs that Jamie had fallen asleep, which he got around that time.
He could hear a subtle snoring coming through the feed, with another loud one in the background clearly Johnny.
Riddick didn't delay and quickly stood up from the bed, before looking at the door.
He needed to go downstairs, but using the door was very risky. Jamie wasn't in deep sleep, and it was likely that she was already preparing herself to wake up soon.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
When a person goes to sleep in such a state where they know they need to wake up, they will subconsciously be more receptive to noises. So not wanting to risk this, Riddick decided to go out through the window.
As he snuck out, he tested the solidity of the roof and found that it was thankfully firm and didn't even creak. Still not wanting to risk it more than he needed, he laid flat on the roof and crawled toward its edge before rolling off and allowing his body to hit the dirt ground below with a silent thump.
He felt a minor aching, but it was nothing he couldn't handle, and he quickly stood off and patted the dust off himself.
The first thing he did when he reached the ground was look toward the gate, the cars, and the large expanse of the yard. These were the key details he took note of the first time he entered the compound.
As for why he would've done this, it was simply because in the situation where he would be faced with the possible presence of multiple enemies, those things were key to fighting back.
Because as a contract killer without superior powers, he didn't fight harder, he fought smarter.
Looking at his watch, he saw he had just well over 40 minutes to prepare, but he didn't look the least bit phased as he settled his eyes on the numerous vehicles present near the gate.
"Let's start over there."
Riddick walked over towards the gate, gently assessing the points on it he could use to his advantage.
The gate was large and rusty, with many parts having been replaced by scrap metal. Despite this, however, it was still electronic, as he had observed earlier when he and Johnny came in.
In that case, it could only mean that Jaime had simply left it unlocked so she could easily open it with the remote one hour from now and allow the
Looking away from the gate, Riddick turned around to face the direction of the house and began to think of what was the most likely way the
‘They would have no choice but to go straight and surround the house, or at least be in front of it.’ This was the most logical thing to do.
So now, having a clear direction his enemies would likely take, Riddick needed to decide how he could best use this. The first immediate thought was to lay traps.
He crouched on the ground and felt the soil, finding that it was quite soft, as there was a lot of dust on the property. He'd only need to dig a few inches at each given point to plant some explosives. However, it wouldn’t really yield the desired result as only the one in the lead would get hit. This factor didn't phase him at all though as he quickly stood up and turned his attention toward the cars, seeing another potential place to set a trap.
In the instance that the
To do this, they would surely go for those vehicles closest to the gate and the most attractive. The more expensive the car looked, the more likely they'd get it. So thinking along these lines, Riddick targeted the cars nearest to the gate and began to quickly uncover them to check their make, design, and value. He did this for two columns on either side of the gate, choosing to leave four uncovered as they were the most attractive and had the most value among that group of vehicles.
Having done that, Riddick immediately decided to turn toward the farming area in the yard, with the only livestock present being chickens, which were currently asleep. Riddick couldn't see any use of the animals here, but where there was livestock and a garden, they'd be gardening equipment and supplies. Oh in Riddick's case, ingredients and chemicals.
With that in mind, he quickly went over toward the left side of the house where the farming separation was. Luckily for Riddick, the chickens had entered their pen and were asleep, so he didn't need to worry about them making noise or being agitated by his presence.
His attention was focused on the small shack just opposite the chicken pen. It was only secured with a meager 20th-century lock, which could easily be picked. Upon doing so and opening the door, Riddick did find the equipment and chemicals he assumed he would.
Knowing that time was ticking away, he wasted no time checking the counters and shelves, as well as the work desk and drawers for what equipment was present and what exactly he could use.
Among the chemicals and supplies present, Riddick picked out; potassium nitrate in the form of a bag of fertilizer, a sturdy metal rod, a PVC pipe, duct tape, a strong adhesive, small pieces of metal, a wooden plank, screws and nails, a drill, nuts and bolts, a few cut electrical wires, two batteries, a generator, two metal meshes, some rubber in the form of a tire, some old light switches, cans, adhesive putty, wires from an old fence, and two cans of diesel and petrol.
Having gathered these things, Riddick cleared aside the workbench and quickly began to brainstorm over the equipment, before nodding to himself.
He then quickly exited the shack and walked over toward the house.
Because given how Jamie was planning this takeover, the
This now gave Riddick a third point where enemies would likely pass through, so it was only natural to set traps there as well. In addition, he needed to check for a few additional ingredients in the kitchen.
Rather than use the front door, Riddick directly entered through the window, which wasn't even locked, and directly into the kitchen, quietly and stealthily.
Once inside, he came out of the kitchen and peeped out into the living room, and the doorway, then finally the stairs leading to the second floor.
In his mind, Riddick was already looking for ideal places to set traps. Looking at the TV, there was another generator nearby, one Johnny likely used incase of emergencies or days where there wasn't enough sunlight collected in the solar panels, which most OT communities did.
Apart from that, Riddick could also see that nearly everything present was flammable, as the house was predominantly made of wood.
Looking at these details, Riddick turned back into the kitchen and began opening up various cupboards. From these, he got sugar, baking soda, aluminum foil, wax paper, and two lighters.
Riddick glossed over these items one more time before nodding to himself, then putting them into a nearby cloth and exiting the house once again.
Once outside, he returned to the shack and added the ingredients onto the pile he had already set up. After he did this, he raised his watch and asked, "Zoe, how long until Jamie's alarm goes off?"
To which Zoe replied, "You have 32 minutes."
Riddick let out a sigh and showed no worry.
"That'll be more than enough time."