Riddick’s reply came across as quite cold and Larry couldn't help but frown. Only for a moment, however, before his expression eased.
Although he wasn't crying or showing it on his face, Larry was obviously troubled by what happened to Johnny. As a dear friend and a contact in the same region, they were likely close friends, business partners, or something along those lines.
So although grieving, Larry seemed levelheaded and didn’t snap at Riddick. "Right, you uncover your car and bring it out. I'll start moving the cars out of the way so you can pass and load it into the truck. Or it did it get busted when the
"No, thankfully, Johnny had me park it a bit further away from the gate."
"Ah, good for you," Larry replied, his tone carrying some clear detest for Riddick's calculated neutrality.
He had lost a dear friend, and he wanted nothing more than to help the family left behind escape a dangerous situation. Then there was Riddick, who was alive in place of his friend and he only thought of his own safety. Larry just couldn't help but be angry towards Riddick, it was a natural human emotion to have in such a scenario.
The only reason he didn't speak on this was because he was levelheaded enough to know that he still had a career to maintain and that Riddick likely didn't just survive due to luck.
If an altercation were to begin, Larry was at risk of losing alot, perhaps even his life. It just wasn’t worth getting angry over, so he just bottled up his emotions and walked away toward the 4x4s.
Riddick had expected such a reaction so he wasn’t really bothered by it. In fact, he had assumed Jamie's parents would be the same. Thankfully, their old age and general knowledge of the circumstances in the off-line territories made them much more understanding of the circumstances and the spontaneous death that came with it.
After he had successfully convinced Jim of his role, he had hoped that the same situation would happen for Larry. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
However, Riddick didn't show discontent. Emotions over loss were among the hardest to manipulate or direct.
If someone felt strongly in regards to a negative situation involving someone close to them, the chances of a third party convincing them otherwise were exceptionally low. And in their efforts to try and do this, they would simply lead the affected person into using them as a target for their frustration.
So in such a cases, it was better to be quiet and blunt. If they argued, you listen, but don't reply. As long as you don't feed more into their energy, they would eventually calm down and realize the error in what they're doing.
The facts were there. If Larry still refused to see them after calming down, then there was simply nothing Riddick could do. After all, some people just refuse to believe the truth, sticking by whatever delusional belief they may have.
With that in mind, Riddick walked over to his Morgan and uncovered it. At this time, he looked at his wrist, which showed a prompt showcasing a low battery. With so much happening, he hadn't even bothered to charge it at all from the time he had escaped the meltdown at Barnes charging station.
He soon realized that he could charge it in the vehicle, something he was currently wondering why he didn't do before on the way to Johnny's compound. But it wasn’t uncommon for someone to focus their attention on certain priorities and end up overlooking the small things. Such was life.
Riddick casually entered the vehicle and put away the total of three vials of Supracell he had and began driving the car out. Jim ignored Riddick's car despite its flashy appearance, whereas Larry couldn't help but stare blankly at it as he was moving his 4x4s.
Once he finished moving them, he quickly approached Riddick and asked, "Where the hell did you get this?"
Riddick frowned and turned to face Larry with a very serious look.
An unspoken rule when it came to black-market dealings was never to ask too many questions pertaining to the items one was purchasing, selling, or handling.
If you went to the black market to buy illegal cybernetics, you wouldn't ask who made them. If you went to buy drugs, you couldn't just ask how the product was made. It was basically common sense. But given the astronomical rarity of the Morgan, Larry couldn't help but ask. However, Riddick wasn't willing to entertain this line of thought.
"I wasn't under the impression that my boss needed to divulge his information to you," Riddick said, causing Larry to take a step back.
If Riddick had simply told him to back off, he knew the effect wouldn't be as impactful. Instead, he brought up the possibility of a superior above him, trying to put across the image that he was nothing more than an errand boy.
Looking at the value of the car, it would naturally make Larry wonder just how powerful and well-connected the person who was moving this was. And if he tried anything funny, he knew the consequences would be disastrous, as the black market was often unforgiving when it came to theft, scamming, and deal-breaking.
So, he quickly raised his hands while shaking his head, "No, no, I didn't mean it like that. Just, we don't see many more of these you know?" Larry's former negative emotional state was quickly overwhelmed by his shock and surprise at the sight of the Morgan. He even began to quickly blabber, feeling he had crossed a line, a line that could be very fatal.
Riddick arched his brows. "From what Johnny told me, you don't really have any set rules and limitations on the brand or value of the car. Your only rule being that they mustn't be anything else getting smuggled in the car. As far as I'm concerned, I neither any drugs in here nor am I a hot commodity myself. So, where's the problem?"
Riddick now began to speak in a tone of slight anger, feigning that he was made upset by the suggestion.
At this time, Jim approached Riddick and Larry. "Is everything alright?"
Larry immediately nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I was just admiring this machine." As Larry said this, Jim turned his head and looked at the Morgan.
Being a car made every century, this particular series was one that Jim definitely knew of, as it was older than even him.
However, he couldn't bring himself to show excitement, instead just nodding and giving a small smile instead. "She's a beauty. So, I take it you're leaving?" Jim asked Riddick, and Riddick quickly nodded. "I have to. Otherwise, it would be problematic if my boss thinks I ran away and comes through asking questions. You see, he is very unforgiving, the fat bastard." Riddick added in an irritated tone.
After all, like with most unfair bosses, it was natural to show hate or dislike for them; it was the common human behavior pattern one would see in such a scenario from a mistreated subordinate.
Jim nodded in understanding and extended a hand to shake Riddick's. "I understand. You've done enough. If it wasn't for you, I don't think we would've found even Sabrina alive. So, thank you."
Riddick, in turn, nodded. "Johnny is the one you should thank. When that thing knocked me back and set it’s sights on him, he shielded Sabrina with his own body, if he hadn’t, she'd have definitely died. I didn’t know him well, but from what I saw, he was a very good man." Riddick, maintaining a neutral tone, stated this and shook Jim's hand.
With this display and the addition of the imaginary boss, Riddick was sure that Larry wouldn't find any more trouble with him.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He was done here.
----------------------------------------
Riddick soon proceeded to drive the Morgan into Larry's trailer while Lonnie said his goodbyes to Jim and assured him that he would be back as soon as he finished his job with Riddick.
As he finished talking to Jim, Larry looked over at the trailer and saw that Riddick wasn't exiting the vehicle. At that time, he approached the trailer and asked from outside, "Are you staying in the car?"
Riddick rolled down the window to the Morgan and then looked at Larry through the side mirror, while nodding, "Yes. Just in case of anything else."
Riding with his car in the trailer wasn't a strange thing to do; in fact, it was very common in car fixing. It was done with the purpose of easy escape in case things went wrong. Hence why most people who moved cars this way were very good at driving and/or fighting. Larry said nothing else as he simply wanted to confirm, and so he closed the trailer with Riddick inside before going to the truck and driving off.
While in the Morgan, Riddick took off his watch and put it on the dashboard before reclining his chair slightly and closing his eyes with the intent of sleep.
To say he pushed himself would be an understatement, but he wasn't even that tired, or at least he didn't feel that way. However, he knew that a rest was incredibly important to have, because despite feeling like he was at 100%, he knew that he could still overwork himself and possibly risk overworking the immuno-titanium cells within.
Although he was yet to reach his hard limit, there was no point in aimlessly carrying on such risks at this stage of his growth.
Many hours would pass, with the truck occasionally stopping at a few points here and there, normally just so that Larry could take a quick piss or simply stretch his legs for a minute or two.
However, each time, Riddick remained in the trailer, not even bothering to wake up. It was only when a prompt flashed on his dashboard and Zoe’s voice resonated, "Riddick, you have a call request from Nikolai. The line is secure. Do you wish for me to connect?"
Riddick stirred, and before Zoe could repeat her statement again, he woke up and let out a small yawn. "Establish a connection.”
As he said that, the prompt flashed green with a check sign that read "Connected" appearing soon after. Then it simply showed caller ID: Nick, with a blank avatar where one would normally put an image of their face or Metaverse avatar.
"Little comrade, still alive?" Riddick stretched his arms and began cracking his neck slightly while replying, "Just because I didn’t operate outside of lowtown, doesn't mean I don't know how to survive outside of it. Though, I admit, even I didn't expect to run through this many hurdles."
Nikolai's laugh resounded on the other side, "It is no joke when they say Redemption City is the crime metropolis of the world. If you're not lucky, you can get killed by nearly anything in this city. Anyway, that's not why I'm calling."
"Is something the matter?" Riddick asked, but Nikolai quickly denied this, "No, I can't really go into details about it over the call. That's why we need to talk when you reach Midtown."
"Could you at least give me a general idea?" Riddick asked with brow slightly raised.
To which Nikolai excitedly replied, "your first big mission."
Seeing as Nikolai wasn't going to reveal more, Riddick replied with less enthusiasm, "I see."
"Aren't you excited?" Nikolai asked, a bit disappointed at Riddick's lack of enthusiasm.
Riddick replied sarcastically, "You have to forgive me for not being excited about a mission I know nothing about. And if some of the missions you've told me you've done as Overwatch are true, then I definitely have no reason to be excited."
"No need for negativity, little comrade. Trust me, you will love it. If you're going to become Overwatch then you're going to need big money contracts to survive. Resources, assets and contacts altogether aren't cheap, and just because I'm handing over my title to you doesn't mean my former clients trust you the same way they did me. If anything, it will mean they'll trust you less but expect more."
"Are you saying that I can't do it?"
"No, quite the opposite. You have potential, a lot of it. But you and I both know we operate differently. However, I trust your methods to get things done. My clients, however, may not."
"Sounds like you've already tried to do this."
Nikolai let out a nervous chuckle, "You got me. That’s the reason I went to Hightown, but those ungrateful contacts and clients can't seem to really want to give you a chance."
Riddick, although disappointed to hear this, could understand the line of thinking they were probably on now.
"What did you expect from an unproven contractor whose only ever operated in lowtown? I wouldn't trust me either." This was an honest response from Riddick.
Nikolai, however, seemed especially upset about this, "
After several more hours on the road with a few stops here and there, Larry’s truck finally came to to it’s final destination.
The brakes screeched to a halt as Larry drove into a storage garage in Midtown’s West Side.
It was a vast compound with numerous sizable garages all round.
With the boom of car trading culture in full swing, it wasn’t strange for every major district to have at least one storage garage yard.
Of course, it was through these very garages that stolen cars would sometimes slip through. It was also here where stolen cars were sometimes recovered, so it presented Riddick with his final hurdle, one whose outcome he couldn’t directly influence.
This was because he had no connections to the storage garage yard, like so many other people, hence the need for car fixers.
Riddick could only hope that Larry’s contact was solid. Because even though the Morgan wasn’t marked as stolen, it’s presence alone in the hands of someone like Riddick would spark suspicion.
Thankfully, after an hour of screening, Larry’s truck was let through into the main yard, where it could park the trailer and offload the vehicle.
Riddick could only sigh in relief as Larry avoided getting his trailer inspected during the screening.
‘Finally something goes right.’ Riddick thought to himself as he reached for his watch, which was currently rested on a charging pad.
As he put it on, it immediately flashed to life as Zoe’s familiar voice resounded from it. “Good morning Riddick, you have a temporary voice messages from an anonymous user named BigDikNik.”
“*sigh* Just play it.”
“Playing now. *ksh* ‘Hey little comrade, when you arrive, meet me at Oriette Café on Central Street in upper Midtown so we can iron out the details. We have much to do.’ *ksh*"
Just as he finished saying that, the trailer door hummed with a mechanical tune as it’s began to slowly open.
“You can bring her out buddy!” Larry yelled from outside.
Riddick scoffed at the statement as he turned on the car. ‘So we’re buddies now? Give me a break.’
As soon as the trailer’s offloading ramp extended out, Riddick quickly reversed out of the trailer and drove into the garage Larry parked in front off.
It wasn’t really spacious and looked more abandoned than anything else, clearly one of the cheaper options in that yard.
Once parked, Riddick came out of the car and looked at the garage better, not really feeling his vehicle was safe here.
Larry quickly closed his trailer door then noticed Riddick gazing at the garage, clearly not impressed by what he was seeing.
“It’s not pretty I know but Johnny and I marked all our cars as old common makes which pass through everyday to avoid inspection. If we want to go for one of them better priced garages, your car needs a value of around 200k. And for that price, it’s definitely getting inspected.” Larry quickly explained.
Riddick could understand Larry’s reasoning but it still didn’t lessen the worry he had over the security of the place considering the value of his car.
“Fair point, we can close it up.” On the surface though, Riddick pretended to have come to terms with it.
As Larry approached to close it up, Riddick took the moment to snap a few pictures and one video of the Morgan.
Larry didn’t question this as it was very common to do in the car fixing business. Usually to confirm to a client that the product had arrived and where it was stashed.
Riddick however did this for another purpose. Which he planned on acting upon once Larry left.
“Alright, all closed up. Here’s the garage passkey and occupation documents. Don’t lose them, my guy won’t be able to get you new ones.” Larry handed over a folder to Riddick, who in turn quickly opened it to check and make sure everything was as Larry said.
“And how much do I owe you?” Upon making sure everything was there, Riddck immediately went to the matter of payment.
“Well I charge 10k credits for my part. Johnny charged depending on the value of the car but I think 50k would be fair. I’ll pass it on uncle Jim.” Larry replied, immediately causing Riddick to frown for a moment.
Rather than say something immediately, Riddick activated a proximity transfer and Larry immediately readied his device to collect.
However, when he did so, he found the amount to be only 10k, prompting him to look Riddick’s way with a frown of his own.
“There’s your pay. Let’s just say I paid what I owed Johnny when I saved his daughters life. Okay?”
Riddick’s cold response over not sending the 50k made Larry inwardly angry. But he couldn’t bring himself to argue over it.
It wasn’t strange in this business to get ripped off from time to time. And in this case, he got paid for his part, so he needed to ask himself if it was worth risking over money that wouldn’t go to him in the end.
“I’ll be sure to pass on those exact words. *spit*.” Larry could only reply in a dissatisfied manner as he spat to the side and turned to leave.
Riddick said nothing over Larry’s rude action and instead just watched him enter his truck. Once he did so though, Riddick raised his watch to take a photo of Larry’s license plate along with its unique bar code.
“Zoe. Initiate an open bounty on the driver of the vehicle with this license plate. Set the reward to 20k and assign the threat level to D.”