Nikolai’s question left Riddick puzzled for a moment, before he asked in a confused tone, “What do you mean by what kind of Overwatch I’ll be?”
Nikolai could understand Riddick’s initial confusion so he gave some clarity.
“Just that, what kind of Overwatch will you be. Look, in same way hero agencies have all types of superheroes, the Leviathan works with all sorts contract killers. Some kill using poison, others traps, some chose not to speak, while others even pray for their victims. Do you understand what I’m getting at Riddick?”
Riddick thought for a moment and then nodded, “I think so. Essentially you’re asking what type of personality I’ll have and what methods I’ll trademark… right?”
Nikolai showed a grin and leaned back into his seat before nodding, “yes, more or less. You see, client’s don’t only look at your success as a contract killer, that’s just a basic requirement to be one of the best. You need something unique about you that sets you apart from others, it could be how you handle your targets or just how you carry yourself and speak to others, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s something you can be known for specifically.”
“Take me for example, I wasn’t the first nor the only contract killer with a great sense of fashion, charm and devilishly good looks… but I was the best, so my reputation naturally grew.”
Having a clearer explanation on the matter, Riddick gave a slight nod and fell into thought. It may have seemed like a simple question on the surface but to someone like Riddick with a habit of analyzing, it was fairly tricky.
To pick an image and style, then build a reputation with it as one of the best was no small feat to achieve. So Riddick found himself a bit stuck on choices.
Seeing Riddick so clearly fazed by the matter, Nikolai smiled and gave him some advice. “It’s not an equation for you to solve Riddick, looking at statistics or trying to analyze scenarios won’t give you the right answer.”
As soon as Nikolai said that, Riddick stopped pondering the matter and asked, “then what will?”
“Nothing. You can try to make a style you think will work but when it comes down to it, an image is like clothes, you pick the one that fits you best, and more importantly, one you’re comfortable with. Do that and I promise you’ll have no regrets.”
Nikolai’s honest advice made Riddick sink into thought once again. But this time, he had a clearer picture so after a few minutes of silence, Riddick looked at Nikolai and nodded, “I’ve got it. Thanks.”
Just as Nikolai said this, a man’s voice resonated from a speak above. “We’ve been cleared to land Mr. Rasputin, please ensure you are seated and buckled in.”
“Well you heard the man,” Nikolai cheerfully said while proceeding to buckle in. Riddick did the same before Nikolai proceeded to give him additional information about The Leviathan.
Shortly after the pilot had communicated to Nikolai and Riddick, the jet began to descend toward the runway present on the island city. As it descended, Nikolai and Riddick both had their attention toward their windows, where they could see other jets of varying sizes landing and leaving the airstrip.
As they did this, Riddick couldn't help but look at Nikolai and ask, "All those belong to-?" Before he could finish his sentence, Nikolai nodded, "Yes, contract killers. It's a lucrative business once you get good at it." Hearing this, Riddick turned his attention back to the window and kept it there until their plane landed and came to a stop.
Once it did so, Nikolai was the first one up, and Riddick followed his lead. The duo then exited the plane and were immediately met with the sight of an individual in a dark suit and dark sunglasses awaiting them at the bottom of the stairs. Without questioning anything, Riddick simply followed Nikolai as he began to descend the steps. Once they made it down, the man in black, who was roughly the same size as Nikolai, spoke, "Welcome to the Leviathan western hemisphere office. Your identities, please?" He asked.
The first to answer was, of course, Nikolai, "Nikolai Rasputin." Then, he gestured toward Riddick, who immediately introduced himself as well, "Riddick Rasputin."
The man showed no change in his expression and simply nodded as he lifted up his semi-transparent data pad and entered those names. After he did so, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Nikolai before clearing his throat, "I'm sorry, sir, but according to my information, you no longer possess a slot. So, I take it you're here as his +1?" As the man stated, his attention turned to Riddick. On his data pad, it showed that he possessed a slot. Having heard the names, though, the man could easily put one and one together and could see that Nikolai had clearly handed over his slot to Riddick, which wasn't at all a strange sight. Though, usually, when something of this nature was done, the individual giving away a slot wouldn't return to the Island City.
Riddick simply nodded and answered, "Yes, he's my +1." As Riddick replied, the man furrowed his brows and answered, "I wasn't talking to you, child."
The moment the man said this, Riddick frowned deeply; however, before he could speak, Nikolai grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck, brought him close, and punched him in the face.
*Boom!* The blow was so hard that a minor shock-wave erupted on the scene, with numerous planes nearby shaking. The man, who had been struck, violently hit the ground face-first before his skull cracked and shattered on impact, dying instantly.
The moment this happened, numerous droids appeared from nearby hangers with weapons drawn in Nikolai and Riddick's direction. Nikolai, however, didn't look the least bit fazed, and so Riddick also didn't really react much to the action, instead asking Nikolai, "Was that necessary?"
Nikolai chuckled at this, "I'm sure the fucker knows who I am, but since you're new, he was trying to give you a hard time. You're going to be seeing a lot of this. Only don't try to deal with it with violence as it's strictly forbidden for slot holders to injure one another on island premises. Me, on the other hand, I'm retired. Also, that felt really good."
As the droids closed in with their weapons, another man dressed in a black attire quickly rushed onto the scene and waved them off, "Stand down, stand down. Return to your posts." The droids, whose visors were flashing red, now turned green, and they hummed mechanically as they began to slowly walk back to their positions.
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The man then turned his sights toward Nikolai and Riddick, quickly rushing over and wiping his brow as he spoke directly to Nikolai, "I am so, so very sorry, sir. We heard what he said on the comms, and we are deeply sorry. On behalf of the Leviathan. Please accept my apologies."
Nikolai frowned once again, "I think you're apologizing to the wrong person. He's the slot holder."
The man then turned his attention to Riddick, who wasn't as tall or bulky as Nikolai and thus didn't draw much attention, especially since he didn't possess a flashy look. However, unlike the man before, this one didn't dare to underestimate and so he proceeded to repeat the same apology to Riddick.
Riddick, instead of answering, however, stared down the man and turned his attention toward Nikolai, "Let's just go."
Nikolai, who'd been looking forward to seeing how Riddick handled the situation, could more or less see what character Riddick had chosen to impose by that answer, and he was quite content with it. ‘So he’s chosen to be his unrestrained self.’
Saying nothing more, the duo walked away, leaving the man unsure of whether or not his apology was accepted.
As Riddick and Nikolai's figures walked over toward the vehicles parked not too far from the airstrip, another set of individuals dressed in black approached their now dead companion with varying expressions. One of them turned to the man who apologized to Riddick and Nikolai before asking the group, "Do we report this to the higher-ups?"
"Report what? Do you have any idea who the fuck that man is?"
"Should I?"
"Yes, you should. That was Nikolai fucking Rasputin."
"Wait, do you mean Overwatch? The guy from the myths?"
“Yea him. He’s a living legend, arguably the best CK of all time. Rumor has it he once killed off an entire army of class B superhumans with a bra.”
“A bra?”
“A fucking bra, who does that?”
“That’s nothing, I heard when he has a child, women pay him child support.”
“Hm!?”
“It’s true, rumor also has it, whenever he stays in a country, the government pays him taxes.”
“Hm!?!?”
----------------------------------------
As Riddick and Nikolai walked toward the set of vehicles parked near the airstrip, it began to rain. Riddick kept his gaze wandering, taking note of the place’s finer details.
Nikolai noticed this and asked, “impressed?”
Riddick simply nodded, “yea, can’t say I saw anything like this in Redemption City.”
Although Riddick answered casually, he had chosen to feign doing what Nikolai thought he was doing as it was always better to not have people know what you truly thought.
Unlike Riddick, Nikolai separated when to be serious and when to be relaxed. He wouldn’t trouble himself with analyzing anything and everything people said like Riddick tried to do most of the time, it simply wasn’t his style.
So as Riddick gave a prompt answer, Nikolai simply took as truth, after all, even if it wasn’t, it didn’t really affect him in anyway so why bother? Such was the way Nikolai maneuvered his relationships, and Riddick was beginning to see it first hand on a bigger scale.
Upon reaching the black luxury four door E.Vs, one of the men in black stationed nearby opened the doors to one of the vehicles for Riddick and Nikolai, while stating politely, “welcome sir’s, my name is Slim, and I’ll be your chauffeur. May I please have your names?”
The man who spoke wasn’t muscular and big like the man Nikolai had just pummeled, instead he possessed a small and fragile looking frame. He was also pale, had gray braided hair and a rather wrinkly face, which made him look like he was well over his 50s.
But Riddick wasn’t one to judge by appearance alone so he simply acknowledged the man’s features and answered confidently, “I’m Riddick Rasputin and this is my father, Nikolai Rasputin.”
Seeing Riddick take the initiative in introductions, Nikolai smiled to himself. Although he had given Riddick some good advice on what he needed to know in regards to Leviathan and being a professional contract killer, it wasn’t everything.
This was simply due to the fact that he wanted Riddick to grow on his own, much like he had. Staying true to himself and his character no matter which path in life he chose to walk. To Nikolai, it was like seeing a younger version of himself, only with a much better starting point. Something most parents wished for their children, although Nikolai’s intentions weren’t so pure and selfless.
The chauffeur, Slim, looked at Riddick and smiled, “a pleasure to have you with us sir.” before turning his attention to Nikolai and saying, “and it’s good to see you in good health sir.”
Nikolai laughed while proceeding to enter the car, “you too Slim. I’m glad to see old age hasn’t changed your sense of style.”
“You’re only as old as you feel sir, I believe these were your words.” The man politely replied before proceeding to enter the drivers seat, around the same time Riddick entered the other passenger seat.
Once everyone was inside, some ambient lighting appeared within parts of the car’s brown and black interior, giving it a modern feel of elegance and comfort.
Then, a tiny holographic screen was projected in front of both Nikolai and Riddick, as a robotic voice asked, “Hello, I am O.R.I, your on board virtual assistant. Please engage the seat belt mechanism and feel free to request any drinks from the available menus or music from the onboard playlist.”
Riddick engaged the seat belt mechanism but didn’t request anything. Meanwhile, immediately Nikolai engaged the seat belt mechanism, he began scrolling both the menus and the playlists.
As he was scrolling, he turned toward Riddick and asked, “you’re old enough to drink outside the Allied Federation right?”
“Really?” Considering Riddick’s occupation, Riddick wondered if Nikolai was joking. But Nikolai kept quiet and waited for an answer despite Riddick’s comment, prompting him to sigh before nodding, “fine yes, I am.”
Nikolai then smiled and turned his attention back to the screen. “Well if you don’t want people to ask you that every time, invest in growing a beard. Or change your jawline.”
“How do you even change your jawli-.” As Riddick showed a confused look and was about to question Nikolai, Nikolai cut him off as a look of excitement appeared on his face.
“Yes! Even after all these years they still stock these. Ori, we’ll have the Verdant Vodka and Blackstone Bourbon. Oh, and play Whiskey and Rain by Ivy sterling, a true timeless classic.”
Hearing Nikolai say this, the driver sighed helplessly and shook his head as he started the vehicle. “I see your taste in music is still quite… experimental, sir. Anyway, where shall I be taking you?” The driver asked, inwardly hoping it was somewhere close.
As the man asked this, a jazzy melody began to play from the speakers while automated robotic hands served the drinks Nikolai requested on trays that popped out from the seats.
Riddick, not much into liquor, looked at the black stone bourbon first before pouring himself a glass and adding some ice. Nikolai turned toward him and added a bit of the Vodka without Riddick asking, telling him, “trust me, the bourbon will add a depth of flavor while the vodka adds a fresh note.”
Riddick didn’t argue with Nikolai as he knew that would only lead to a deep explanation on the history behind each drink and what made it special.
Instead he raised the glass and took a sip, pleasantly surprised by the taste. “You’re right.” He acknowledged, knowing that this would make Nikolai happy and move on.
And it did, as he now turned his attention to the driver and stated their desired destination, “take us to Hamilton cybernetics, the main branch on the other side of the island. Let me just put this song on repeat, *sigh*,I miss having drives like this, I know you do as well Slim.” He reminisced, though the driver didn’t seem to share the same sentiment.
“*sigh* You have no idea sir…” he unenthusiastically added, but his words fell faint as the song began and Nikolai started to sing along while mixing himself a drink.
“~Whisky and rain, washing over me, echoes of laughter, whispers of what used to be~”
“~In every drop, there’s a story untold, in every sip, a warmth in the cold~”
“~The storm outside mirrors my mind, as it races back through time~ ~To a love that I left behind, in a life that was once mine~”
“~But here in this moment’s refrain, with the night that softly wanes~ ~I’m finding my peace unexplained, with my whisky and the rain~”