After Riddick communicated with Zoe, he turned his attention to the projected figure of Eva and replied, "No, thank you. I won't be needing anything." After stating this, he simply leaned back into the seat as the driver started the car and took off into the year, quickly joining a nearby street.
As he began heading to the other side of the island, the rain would occasionally pick up, but for the most part, it remained as a light drizzle. Riddick could only continue looking at the scenic views provided to him of the island city as he went toward his destination. It was a gloomy but calming atmosphere, something he felt was particularly unique to the islands.
The journey to his destination merely took less than 10 minutes as the car soon descended from the airline and approached the towering building, many feet tall with it’s summit nearly piercing into the clouds. It had a dark glass-like reflective surface, making Riddick unable to see into it. He could guess it was likely one of the few of many security measures present in such a building.
As soon as the transporter parked, Riddick didn't even exchange any words with the driver. Instead, mentally communicating with Zoe, who then automatically paid the fee for the trip before Riddick exited the car on his own.
The moment he exited the car, he looked around for a bit, noticing the mildly busy entrance to the building. He could mostly see men and women dressed in all sorts of attire that looked rather quite normal, although a bit formal, as they left and entered the building. He didn't stand too long to stare, for he didn't want to come across as starstruck or let it be known that he was new, as that would only attract people who try to take advantage of him. And though he wasn't particularly easy to take advantage of, it wasn’t worth risking.
So, after a few seconds of standing outside the car, he stepped onto the black obsidian pavement and approached the black marble stairs leading up to the entrance of the building. There, a man said to him, "Welcome to the Leviathan Grand Hotel Duvoir branch." Riddick simply gave the man a nod and then proceeded inside.
Inside, Riddick found perhaps the most luxurious setting he had ever seen with his own eyes. The interior, much like the exterior, also had a black theme, though everything from the furniture to the lights and even upholstery looked elegant and expensive. And this was merely just upon entering.
Though despite this, Riddick didn't slow down his steps because he knew the moment he entered, eyes would've already been set on him. Within the lounge, they were more than a few people casually seated in the many seats available to guests who simply wanted to wait in the lounge, as well as those who were either moving out or moving in, carrying small or no luggage.
As he predicted, Riddick indeed caught glances. Most of them only momentarily, as many of the individuals present also didn't want to seem like they were giving too much attention, so they would only give him a brief look and look away.
Riddick, however, didn't underestimate what could be told about him in that brief moment. After all, considering the system he now had, which could gather plenty of information at a single glance, he didn't rule out the possibility of other people possessing the same or perhaps something even better. He could never rule out the capabilities of others just because his own was great.
With that in mind, Riddick looked around once, moving his head from left to right before looking straight at the receptionist. In that time, he communicated to Zoe, who had already taken note of everything Riddick had seen and was now analyzing.
‘You managed to get all that?’ Zoe immediately replied, 'Yes. Processing now, though it's quite a lot of data, so it is best viewed when you are seated down in a private space, so as not to clutter your field of vision.’
“Right." Riddick agreed and proceeded toward the receptionist, where he found a tall woman, roughly 195 cm tall, or perhaps shorter, as he couldn't see behind the counter whether or not she had heels. Like the rest of the staff, she too wore a formal all-black uniform. She had lovely green eyes and short blonde hair with a high bridged nose, slender cherry lips and an hourglass-shaped figure. Beautiful as she was, Riddick's focus was on her eyes and nowhere else as he spoke, "I'd like a room, please."
Although he was inwardly curious to ask questions, considering how the individuals before him simply checked in and checked out, he didn't want to draw attention by pausing at the receptionist's desk.
Looking at Riddick, the woman maintained her smile and gave a slight bow, first stating, "Welcome to the Leviathan Grand Hotel, Duvoir branch," before turning her attention to her projected monitor screen and asking, "What room would you like, and how long will you be staying?"
"Two days in the standard room will be fine," Riddick quickly answered again, not wanting to take too much time talking despite not even knowing fully what type of rooms were available. Though having stayed in a crummy low-tone apartment for over three years, Riddick highly doubted they'd give him something he couldn't be content with. The bar was extremely low. As for the amount of days he chose, Riddick thought it was neither too much nor too little.
The only real thing he'd be doing in that time was first learning more about the Leviathan itself and how it operated, and second, going over his contract so he could decide whether to go through with it.
Riddick's answer didn't come across as strange to the woman, who simply kept up her smile and then asked, "Name, please?"
"Riddick Rasputin," as Riddick said this, man, the woman's smile froze a bit before she looked at him and asked again, "Could you repeat that name?"
"Riddick Rasputin." Riddick repeated, shrugging it off as just another case of Nikolai’s name drawing attention.
"I see," she muttered, a bit unsure, before turning her attention to the holographic screen. The small change in expression and manner of speech caused Riddick to frown, now his eyes on her as he asked, "Is something the matter?"
"No, no. It's just been so long since we've heard that name around here," as the woman spoke, her smile returned, but behind the counter, unseen to Riddick, her fingers were navigating underneath the panel and soon reached a button, which she subtly pressed. The moment she pressed it, alarming lights began to flare all around the lounge as all of the individuals present, whether they were casually sipping tea, reading holographic magazines, or chatting with another individual, they all turned their attention toward Riddick and stood up. Each reaching into their coats, jackets, and holsters and pulling out guns before aiming down their sights at Riddick.
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Riddick was incredibly surprised by this turn of actions, so much so that he didn't know how to react. But considering the fact that they didn't shoot him immediately, Riddick chose not to respond with force and simply looked around instead, at all the individuals aiming guns at him.
After he looked at them, he calmly turned his attention back to the woman, who was no longer smiling and looked incredibly nervous, having Riddick's cold gaze settle on her as he asked her, “what’s this about?”
Posing that question to the receptionist in front of him, Riddick caused her gaze to look down at the counter nervously, seemingly worried that Riddick may act out at any moment and that she'd be the first to die.
However, before Riddick could say anything else or even make a move, another voice spoke out to him. "Well, well, well, quite the interesting guest we have ourselves here."
Riddick immediately turned his attention toward the direction of the voice, and he saw a woman approach from a hall on the left side of the lounge. She had no bodyguards or escorts with her, but something about the way she carried herself made it known that she was important.
She wore a long, slated formal dress, red in color, and quite flashing, with a fur collared scarf to match. Her eyes were uniquely red, while her hair was long and black with parts of it grayed. She looked roughly to be in her early 30s, however, Riddick knew better than to guess the age of people in an age where someone could make themselves look incredibly younger than they were, thanks to the advancement of technology and surgery.
Looking at this woman, Riddick didn't immediately speak, and he relaxed his expression from a frown and a narrowed gaze, to a neutral expression.
The woman approached Riddick, her heels resoundingly tapping against the tile path she was walking on. It was only when she got close to Riddick that he realized she was quite tall, roughly 210 cm. However, this was only one of the many small details Riddick focused on.
She stopped just a few feet away from him, rested her hand on her hip, and wore an unimpressed look. She eyed Riddick up and down, then brought her hands, which had white lace gloves that extended up to the elbow, toward her chin as if thinking about something. While she did so, the blaring alarms were still sounding. She quickly turned to the receptionist and snapped her fingers twice, saying to her, "Could you please turn off that darn alarm? It seems we've made a mistake."
"This is interesting. To think there was another Rasputin I didn’t know of… " As the woman said this, keeping her gaze on Riddick, it made him wonder just what she meant. It was pretty clear that from her words, she was likely looking for Nikolai.
The question was, for what reason? Was it for a reason that extended to the past, or was it a more recent one in which Nikolai had done something after leaving Riddick at Hamilton Cybernetics? These were the only options he could think of, and he leaned more to the latter because if Nikolai was wanted, why take the risk of coming to the island in the first place?
Despite having all these questions, Riddick remained silent and unmoved on the surface. However, the entire matter seemed to have relaxed, as the woman then turned to the individuals and gave a wave of her hand, saying, "False alarm, everyone. I apologize for ruining whatever activities you were engaged in. Please accept complimentary drinks from me to you as an apology."
She then turned her head to Riddick, stating, "You as well. You seem a bit confused as to why this happened. Care to join me in the
Riddick looked around at the individuals who quickly returned to their activities as if they weren't planning to kill him just a second ago. He was, of course, angry at this action, but he knew that letting his emotions control him was not wise. The woman in front of him was clearly in a position of power, and whether or not he liked her methods, he could do nothing about it in his current state. Such was the disparity that could be caused between those in power and those without.
No taking too long to think about it, Riddick gave a nod, saying, "Sure." The woman looked at him oddly, taking note of his habit of saying few words. She inwardly wondered whether this was simply how he was, or if her actions had brought about this response. Whatever the case, she didn't dwell on it and simply turned, gesturing him to follow with a single finger.
Riddick gave a final glance toward the receptionist, who looked especially worried, before following the woman. The woman led Riddick down a fine hall, plastered with various paintings and sculptures on the sides. Riddick took the time to focus on each one, taking note of it all, analyzing every piece, with Zoe occasionally showing the value in a prompt via augmented reality.
By the time they reached the end of the hall, the cheapest painting he had seen cost well over 65 million credits, an astounding number. But he was already more than well aware that the stupidly rich had money to burn, and so he didn't think too much on it.
As they reached the end of the hall, the woman approached two grand doors, but with no guards or droids nearby, she simply stood in front of it, and it scanned her figure before a robotic voice echoed from the door's side, stating, "Welcome, Madame." She then turned to a console, "I have an additional guest with me. Be sure to register him." As she said this, the scanner then scanned Riddick, stating, "Guest scanned. Welcome. Please enjoy your stay." Following those words, the doors clicked before opening automatically on their own, giving sight to a small but rather cozy looking restaurant of sorts.
Much like the lounge, it was lavishly decorated; however, instead of possessing black-themed furniture and upholstery, it possessed red-themed items. Taking note of the woman's dress, Riddick could only assume it was her favorite color, and given the lack of individuals present, he was quick to assume that this was likely a private area.
The duo descended down a set of lavish spiral steps before arriving on the ground level, where an arrangement of tables, compartments, and even a small stage could be seen.
As the woman made her way down the floor, two men approached her. Saying nothing, she simply extended her hands out, and these two men proceeded to first reach out to her hands, holding them gently before kissing a single finger. As they did so, they carefully took off her lace gloves, and then one proceeded to take her fur scarf. At this time, the other bowed even deeper as he proceeded to take off her heels. After they took these items, both bowed deeply before one asked, "Will you be needing entertainment, Madame Dubois? What to which the woman nodded, "Yes, something melodic, as my guest and I have a little chat."
Only after Madame Dubois mentioned this, did the two men bother to look Riddick's way, looking him up and down with unimpressed looks before turning their attention back to the woman and bowing deeply, saying, "As you wish, Madame."
Madame Dubois then proceeded to look at Riddick, showing a small smile. "This way," Riddick said nothing and simply continued to follow. As they arrived at a lavish arrangement of sofas right at the front of the stage, there were already drinks and snacks neatly arranged on a hovering table, circular in shape.
Madame Dubois took a seat first, crossing her legs and extending her arm over the hand rest of the sofa, gesturing for Riddick, "Please, have a seat."
As Riddick sat down, he didn't do so in a relaxed manner like the woman, instead sitting upright and looking at her with a steely gaze. To this, the woman said, "No need to be so stiff. If I wanted to carry out harm, I'd have already done so," she casually stated.
Riddick remained unmoved, but this time he finally spoke, "Then why am I here?"
"Straight to business, I see," the woman casually pointed out before reaching for a glass casually rested on the table and pouring herself some wine. As she swirled the wine in her glass, she looked at Riddick and responded, "Why, of course, to discuss your father's debt," she revealed with a smile.