As the A.V continued to make its way through the air lanes on it’s journey to Riddick’s destination, he and the river had reached an agreement on terms.

“I have no qualms with that offer sir. If anything, I’d even say you’re being generous.” The driver mused, his tone quite old fashioned and polite though still.

And on the surface, although it seemed like the driver was giving a compliment, he was in fact just probing Riddick to see if he perhaps intentionally offered this amount so as to appeal to his good side.

Although to some it may seem like nothing more than a negligible statement you could answer easily, Riddick knew to expect better from the elderly.

After all, anyone whose lived longer than yourself has likely experienced far more liars, manipulators, cons, schemers and so on.

And as for why the statement was probed, Riddick could only imagine it was to see whether he was truly a generous man or was just giving extra to look better in the man’s eyes. Two very different things, that would more than likely lead to two very different consequences.

But in situations of dialogue involving a smart person, it was far too risky to pit your critical thinking against there’s. This was especially true for Riddick who knew that at best, he simply wasn’t ignorant and very cautious.

It was a humble self evaluation of himself, but sticking to it and never growing complacent is what keeps his mind so ready, which one could argue was the best state he operated in.

Because of that, Riddick would only pit his intelligence against another if he had no other option. But in this case, there was a third. One commonly available in most everyday conservations people have, ‘unpredictability’.

This was an especially true statement in the current age, where most people had incredibly short attention spans. Often answering quickly without too much thought on a reply or analysis of the other party’s words.

But to be properly unpredictable, one had to analyze the other’s words quickly, settle on a potential meaning, before quickly conjuring a confident reply, which would implicate truth on your part.

So to answer the driver’s question, Riddick replied, “I’m anything but generous. I’ve just used another human transporter services before and you’re just the best, in how you carry yourself and go out of your way to ensure your client is pleased.”

Because Riddick’s intent was to gauge the man as potential contact, he knew he had to stick to the golden rule of recruitment in a business as dark as his, ‘honesty’.

Or to be precise ‘selective honesty’. Essentially choosing what truths about himself he’d reveal.

The first and foremost was of course personality. If Riddick knew he’d be interacting with people for a good period of time, he’d always use his main persona, which showed a quiet and smart character.

That way, he’d never slip and accidentally show another side, as this was how he was normally, he needed to be, after all, it was the persona that would allow him to blend into most environment without arousing suspicion.

The less people knew, the less they could accurately guess what he’s capable of.

The driver, although a critical thinker who was indeed probing Riddick, he’d never go as far as Riddick had in preparing for interactions.

To the driver, it was simply a question he’d often ask to see what he thought was people’s true nature, after all, it had worked well so far for him. So he continued, thinking he was building a solid image of Riddick’s persona.

“That’s very kind of you to say sir. It’s not something I see in younger people these days, assuming you are the age you look?” The driver politely stated, keeping his words short and friendly so as to seem like he had no ulterior motives.

“I am.” Riddick answered, before continuing, “But again, I’m anything but a good person. At best I’d just say we’re alike in that we see the value of honesty whenever possible.” Riddick had replied immediately, making it seem like he hadn’t even pondered the driver’s statement.

When in fact, he’d simply just confirmed his suspicions following the driver’s question. And so he knew just what to say almost instantly and how to phrase it.

By saying he wasn’t a good person, he was stating the truth, just without the context. And by saying he valued honesty whenever possible, he implied he’d be honest, but only in a certain scenario, after all, he didn’t expand on what ‘whenever possible’ implied.

Such word play and critical analysis of words could often be seen in the business and political world, it was quite common in fact. But in that environment, everyone carried themselves cautiously because they knew the other party was likely as smart if not smarter than them.

In Riddick’s case however, when used against normal people, by a person who came across as incredibly normal in this superhuman world, the other party had little chance of suspecting a thing.

How Riddick knew this?

To improve his basic human interaction skills a few years prior, Riddick had worked partial shifts as cashier before at a cheap lowtown supermarket, where humans were seen as cheaper than subscribing to a droid employee service provider.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

There, Riddick would meet everyday people, who for obvious reasons would never suspect that their cashier was actively plotting to test a theory on them.

In the duration that Riddick worked, there, he tried numerous personalities to see which one was best received by other people. After finding and settling on it, he became a cashier in another area, where he used only that personality.

Then, after people knew how he carried himself as the quiet but smart young cashier, he’d began to steal from them. Not in a huge way but in tiny, often negligible amounts.

He did this because he knew that all people had routines or automated practices. Things they’d just do without thinking twice on it. Like getting your change and not counting it, especially if one even saw the cashier counting it themselves.

The common person’s brain would automatically assume their money is there and accounted for. This was because the brain would always choose to use as least energy as possible, hence why people don’t over-think common and or routine practices.

And in the case that they did find out some cash was missing, if it were only a single credit or two, chances are they wouldn’t go back to the establishment and complain, after all, even in lowtown, 1 credit was a small amount of money.

Finally and lastly, even if someone returned to complain. At worst Riddick could accept the fault and get fired, which never happened. Because of that experience, Riddick was able to slowly build up not only his ability to misdirect, but also his ability to read the common person well.

“I believe no man or alien is good sir. We all have our faults. Ah, here we are sir, Giga-chad Tailorings.”

As the driver announced their arrival at Giga-Chad Tailorings, the A.V slowly descended from the air lane and down onto the road below. Then, once there, it parked in an empty spot, guided by a droid on the nearby tarmac which gestured it on how to park while also diverting nearby people away, so that they're not close to the vehicle as it settled down.

The AV, although a unique looking car and capable of flight, was a common sight in the city, and such a thing was normal, so no one really paid it any mind as it settled down and parked.

The driver quickly got out of his car and opened the passenger door for Riddick. Upon stepping out, Riddick continued to analyze the drive, whereas the driver himself had decided to pause on trying to figure out Riddick's true intentions and personality.

Riddick though was still firmly planted in his scheme to lead the man on with the image he was trying to put across. So, as he got out of the car, he looked at the driver and asked, "What's the fare for bringing me here?"

The driver was a bit confused by this question. Riddick and him had just reached an agreement over a payment plan for driving Riddick around for his duration stay in the city. However, Riddick was asking him the price for bringing them here, which didn't make any sense.

So, the driver in turn also asked, "What do you mean? According to our agreement, you pay me on a daily basis, totaling the amount of locations I take you to."

Riddick shook his head at this. "That was the case after the deal was made. I had ordered your transporter service before the deal struck, so that in its own is a different transaction. I don't like being in debt, so please, tell me the fare. It's only the fair thing to do in this situation."

The man was absolutely flabbergasted to the point where he really suspected if Riddick was playing some sort of mind games on him. After all, what normal person would insist on such a minuscule detail that even the driver didn't pay attention to?

Riddick knew he risked coming across as pompous by doing this, but it was necessary. He needed to put across a firm image of his character, and this was it.

Seeing the absolute look of seriousness on Riddick's face, the driver didn't refuse his offer and simply raised his own smartwatch and asked his virtual assistant, "Eva, what is the total fare of my client's ride?"

To which his watch flashed to life and answered quickly in a robotic, feminine voice, "The total comes down to 9.8 credits."

Hearing this, Riddick immediately raised his watch for a proximity transfer and sent that exact amount. Whereas a normal person would have perhaps sent 10, rounding it off, or as a reversal, they may have asked for a discount, insisting they only had nine. By giving the exact amount, Riddick was essentially cementing the truth behind his words: that he was simply paying for the service he had ordered prior, and that the service of driving him around every day in the city was a different matter altogether.

The man couldn't help but inwardly look at Riddick differently. Despite his quiet and distant nature, and insistence that he wasn't a good man, the driver only saw the opposite. However, he knew better than to trust appearances alone, and so, while Riddick's image got better, suspicions remained.

Riddick, however, had no plans of alleviating all suspicion towards him as he knew such a thing would be a fruitless endeavor and would require far too much time, time he didn’t have to spend on someone like the driver, who, although helpful, wasn't particularly unique or hard to find. Riddick would definitely stumble upon another at some point.

After the precise digital transfer was paid, the driver then asked, "How long will you be taking? Should I wait for you here, or should I come back at a certain time?"

To this, Riddick answered quickly, "Here is fine. If you have other things to do, then feel free to do so, but I should only be taking roughly 10 to 30 minutes here."

To which the driver nodded and replied, "Then I shall wait here."

Having said that, the man turned away from Riddick, took out a cloth from the neat white coat he wore, and began wiping the car. As one could imagine, traveling through the air was more susceptible to dusts, and rather than use the onboard cleaning mechanism, the driver seemed to simply prefer wiping it down.

Riddick didn't find this strange, as it was a habit he noticed with individuals who value their cars in certain ways, like Nikolai, who had a habit of doing the same, despite modern cars now coming with features to prevent mild dust collection or, in some cases, reduce it to a negligible extent.

Saying nothing more to the man, Riddick also turned and looked at the store in front of him on the sidewalk he had just stepped onto. There, Riddick could see very few people passing by, which was normal given that it wasn’t lunch yet, and most people were still in their various workplaces, schools, or homes.

The few people that were walking across the marble sidewalk didn't pay Riddick any attention, despite the lowliness of his clothes. Such a sight wasn't strange in a world of superhumans.

Riddick's attention settled on the building whose sign had a large, shirtless man with god-like sculpted features, smiling and confident, with the words written below being "Giga-Chad Tailorings."

‘Looks more like a gym,’ Riddick thought to himself as he proceeded to make his way inside.

Once inside, Riddick was met with an ambient and classical atmosphere as the store was decorated with an aesthetic that mixed the current modern times and past. But before Riddick could even begin checking what clothes were present, he looked around and found that he couldn't see any attendants, and that the few racks that were present had very little clothes at all, most not of the style he was looking for.

This perplexed Riddick, and he simply assumed the store was perhaps getting rid of their stock, something commonly seen when a store was about to close or change locations. Then again it could also have been a sign of bad business.

However, as Riddick got ready to turn and leave, a voice called out to him, "Wait!"