As soon as Riddick stated his next destination, the driver wasted no time opening the door for him so they could go on their way. Riddick got into the car, and once again, the driver took it up into an air lane before heading for the aforementioned destination.
This time, during the drive, Riddick chose to be quiet. This was simply due to the fact that he had already gauged the man to some extent, and since the man had already agreed to work with him for the duration of his stay in Midtown, there was no need for him to rush. After all, the last thing he wanted to do was come across as chatty, thereby contradicting his own image of a quiet person.
To ensure the driver himself didn't spark a conversation, Riddick asked, "Could you please turn on the radio? The news."
"Of course, sir," the driver promptly agreed before turning on the radio with a simple hand gesture over the screen on the dashboard.
As the dashboard flashed to life, the radio broadcast could immediately be heard.
[Good morning, people of Midtown, this is your favorite droid presenter Carson V1. If you've been with us since morning, then welcome back, and if this is when you're joining us, well, sit comfortably as we bring you up-to-date on the latest headlines happening in Redemption City.]
[First and foremost, the biggest story to catch everyone's attention in the last couple of hours has been the nuclear meltdown at the Barnes Charging Station, an affiliate of Marriott Energies. Marriott Energies, of course, claim they aren't responsible for this and that a third party was likely the cause. Investigations are currently being carried out, and we'll give you an update as soon as a public statement is made.]
[In nother news, Redemption City's very own Vernice St. Clair has received a first album of the year nomination at just the tender age of 23. As some of you may remember, she is the young star we saw perform at the Metaverse FPS quarterfinals that were held right here in Redemption City back in 2510. We here at the studio wish her all the best, and I'm sure the people of Redemption City feel the same.]
[Now onto business news, former professional superhero turned business mogul, Sir Alexander Martinelli, has shockingly announced that he will be moving from his nation of Great Montenevro to the Allied Federation, and to be exact, Redemption City. This decision follows his complete buyout of the superhero agency Plexus for 10.87 billion. He’s received a lot of backlash from the business world for investing in what most consider a crime-filled city. But Sir Martinelli, however, says he only sees a city in need of a guiding hand and proper development. The mayor of Redemption City, Madam Celine Odergar, has since welcomed Sir Martinelli's decision, stating the need for more investors to come to Redemption City and that in due time, it'll become one of the focal economic cities in the world. We can only wait and see.]
[And now, to security news. There has been an increased number of homicides within the lower zones of both Midtown and Lowtown. The deaths are believed to be orchestrated by a cult of some kind, which specifically targets people with cybernetic implants of any kind, with all the victims having their parts brutally removed. The Redemption City Police Commissioner, Harold Bland, says his department is working toward a speedy solution to the matter and that investigations are being carried out throughout all of the zones. He, however, still urges the good residents of Redemption City to practice caution as they move about their daily activities.]
Upon hearing this particular set of news, Riddick couldn't help but remember the man who had attacked him back in lowtown. However, as far as he was concerned, he didn't have any piece of cybernetic hardware on his body.
So, was it that it was just a mere coincidence, or was another plot perhaps at work? Though even more possible, could it be that the police were twisting the facts, obscuring the real reason behind this sudden increase in homicides? After all, it wasn’t unheard of.
After these pieces of news were revealed, the rest of the news now focused on local matters that didn't really catch Riddick's interest at all.
Soon, the driver pulled out of the air lane and descended into a nearby street. Like the one before it, it looked to be of incredibly high quality and value, with the sidewalk having styled marble instead of concrete, and many of the surrounding stores and buildings being pristine clean, with numerous droids visible at work on some of them.
At this time, it was approaching lunch hour, so Riddick could see that the streets were a bit more crowded now. The driver showed a frown as he observed this. "It's always a nightmare trying to find a parking spot during lunch hour and evening hour. Thankfully, it looks like we won't need to..." As the driver was about to finish his sentence, he was prevented from doing so when another car unceremoniously flew in front of them, a risky maneuver that was outside the air vehicle regulations and rules.
Transporter 47 immediately frowned and hit the horn of his car hard before leaning out of his vehicle and yelling, "Are you mad?" However, the only response he received from the other driver was him removing his hand out of the window with the middle finger raised.
Eventually, both cars touched down and parked. Transporter 47 wasted no time exiting his vehicle and walking over towards the other man, only saying, "Excuse me for one moment, sir, I’m going to
Riddick didn't intervene and simply exited his vehicle, turning his attention toward Oriette Café, which was visible from where he was standing.
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He casually approached it, putting the studs he had received from Madam Petit into his jacket and resting the aviators in his pocket. As he arrived at the entrance of the Café, he found the door guarded by an enormous-looking bouncer standing by the entrance with two lovely women on the other side.
This wasn't at all odd in itself, as the man was usually security, often having class B superhuman abilities, whereas the women were meant to chaperone guests inward. Very much aware of the setup, Riddick approached.
As he did so, one of the women came forward with a datapad in hand and said to him, "Welcome to Oriette Café, sir. Do you have a reservation, or are you here for a quick lunch? In which case, I have to inform you, we're booked.”
“I’m meeting with someone? They should already be inside."
The woman kept a smiling expression and asked, "I see, and what is your name?"
“Riddick,” he replied, to which the woman looked over her datapad and nodded happily. "Ah, yes, Riddick. Your associate should be waiting for you on the top floor, table 7. Please enjoy your time."
As Riddick entered inside Oriette Café, he was met with a rather beautiful and elegant atmosphere, despite the style being rather old-school and lacking modern technological features like ambient lighting or the presence of droid waiters.
Instead, Oriette Café possessed mounted wall lights that projected an orange candlelight hue within the entire establishment, which greatly complemented the largely brown interior and furniture. Riddick's attention then turned to the guests, and he couldn't spot a single one with a visor. Soon after noticing this, he looked over at a nearby wall which stated quite clearly what was and wasn't allowed within the establishment, and among the things that weren't was virtual reality gear, a category which most visors fell under.
Although not as common, such establishments could be found throughout Redemption City, acting as a sort of haven for those who wished to escape from the technological bussle and hustle of the modern day.
Riddick didn't spend too much time taking in the details and simply walked over to the stairs, choosing them in place of the elevator. The ascent was slow, and as he went up, the largely transparent windows that also acted as walls gave quite the stunning view of the outside, minus the loud noise.
After about three minutes of ascending the steps, Riddick reached the top floor. There, he found, unlike the other two floors, the setup was such that the third floor had a soft roof which possessed a special kind of reflective transparent surface that would allow patrons to sit under natural light without risking damage to their skin, while ensuring they enjoyed whatever meal or time they were having in the open-air environment and with a great view of the surrounding areas.
Once Riddick reached the floor, he was immediately met by another waiter who wore a unique brown uniform and asked Riddick politely, "May I lead you to your table, sir?”
“Sure, table 7.”
“Oh I see, right this way." The waiter promptly answered and led Riddick over toward the table near the edge, overlooking Meridian Park with Chantille Lake at the center.
Riddick's gaze, however, instead settled on Nikolai, who was already present at the table, with one other individual sitting opposite him—a woman clearly older in age but with her features largely hidden.
Riddick could tell she had black hair, though the majority of it was hidden under a stylish black sun hat, whereas her eyes were hidden under a pair of black aviators. The rest of her attire screamed elegance.
Riddick didn't really try assessing any more and walked over in steady steps behind the waiter, who soon reached the table before politely saying, "Here you are, sir."
"Thank you," Riddick quickly replied before turning his attention to the woman.
As soon as the waiter left, the woman, who had been sipping on a glass of lemon water, turned to Riddick and eyed him up and down once before turning to Nikolai and stating, "I thought he'd be more intimidating. He looks a bit too green if you ask me."
Nikolai let out a laugh at this and gestured Riddick to take a seat. "He just has one of those faces. I guarantee you, my little comrade is a professional, trained by the very best," Nikolai added confidently.
"I see you’re still as modest as ever," Riddick sarcastically added as he took a seat and faced the woman, undeterred by her comment and unfazed by her rather intimidating presence.
The woman then placed a finger under her chin and rubbed it in thought before stating, "No, I suppose he does look better than other candidates his age. But I warn you, Nikolai, this isn't a matter that can be failed."
Nikolai, despite the obvious seriousness of the woman's comment, remained un-fazed. "Since when has failure ever been associated with my name? And right, now my name is his," Nikolai confidently stated, which made the woman turn her attention back to Riddick, who chose not to speak as he didn't know much of what was going on or even the topic at hand.
It would have been foolish for him to comment directly on such a situation. The only thing he could do was take note of the woman's personality, manner of speaking, and even the gestures she performed as she spoke. There was no telling whether or not they would be useful, but in such a situation, there was nothing more he could do than observe and listen.
"I'll hold you to that. Now, I don't have much time, so I'll make this short. I have a target that I need dispensed off, rather specifically. I won't go into much verbal detail, as this chip contains everything you need to know about our contract. The payout is 2 billion: 1 billion credits before the mission to aid you in carrying it out, and the other billion once you complete the mission. Should you fail me, however, I shall expect full reimbursement of my funds, lest you yourself become a target," she bluntly warned.
She took out a chip from her trench coat and slid it over the desk to Riddick before casually taking a sip from her glass of lemon water again, as if she hadn't just made a 2 billion dollar contract.
Putting aside the terms, the amount the woman had just stated inwardly shook Riddick. He knew that some contracts reached the millions; however, to reach the billions, it could either mean that the person before him was desperate to successfully have their target eliminated and had the money to cover it, or the target in question was just that hard to deal with, hence a higher price.
Riddick, however, didn't make his doubts known and simply received the chip before holding it in his hand. After all, if he went over the details and felt it was something he couldn't do, he would simply return the 1 billion credits, declare the contract void.
Saying nothing more, the woman finished her lemon water and stood up before turning to Nikolai and saying, "I'll keep in touch. I’m looking forward to news of your protégé's success." She then turned to Riddick and said, "This may be the start of a wonderful partnership, provided of course you don't fail me. In which case, it will be the start of your demise, I assure you."