Riddick couldn't help but look perplexed as he saw the number plate of the vehicle that just pulled up at the location.
But as the car drew closer, Riddick shifted his gaze. Ignoring its rather unique name, the fact it had a metal plate also caught his eye and had him confused, especially considering the fact that digital number plates were far easier to tamper with and to use when running a business as illegal as car fixing.
Regardless of these thoughts, however, Riddick simply kept a plain face as he waited to see just who this “MILFMAN” was. A few seconds later, the car pulled in closer and parked right beside the Morgan, before the driver's door popped open with a metallic thud, clear signs of the vehicle's aged body.
The driver of this vehicle was a lanky-looking man. His age was hard to discern, as his complexion looked rather healthy, but his posture was slumped, and he wore rather loose and comfortable clothing.
He had a very large and scruffy beard, brown in color, and also wore a cap to cover his hair of the same color. As soon as the man came out of the car, he turned toward Riddick and also sized him up a bit, or so Riddick thought.
"Man, sorry I'm late. You won't believe what just happened a couple of
Riddick remained silent for a bit, confused by what the man before him just said. Not because he couldn't understand the context, but because it was very odd for this particular situation.
In the world of contract killing and black-market transportations, car fixers were a vital part of the cycle. They could be found in almost every major and minor city, often very low-profile, quiet characters who never revealed their faces. However, this particular one seemed rather unique, so Riddick's skepticism was justified.
But it was too early to tell if the man was even the car fixer. It was very much possible that he was just a messenger. In this situation, it was better to keep his curiosity under wraps and to go with the flow set by the other party. At the end of the day, Riddick just wanted his car problem fixed.
"Yes, that's where I'm from. If I had driven just a little slower, it may have gotten me," as Riddick said this, the man looked at Riddick with a look of absolute surprise.
"Slow? Is it even possible to go slow in that thing? Do you even know what you're sitting on? No way, that's real. Can I touch it? Oh, I am getting hard."
Riddick furrowed his brow at this very suspicious arrangement of words.
"It is, but now's not the best time nor place to talk about it. Given it’s value, I'm sure you understand." Riddick's words seemed to have snapped the man out of his daze as he shook his head and nodded abruptly.
"Oh yeah, for sure, for sure. I get it, man. You're right. Just wow, it's an honor. Oh well, my name is Johnny. Johnny Riggs. My uncle Sinns gave me a call saying one of his buddies had one of his buddies out in the area who needed some help. And, you know, I was also in the area still having a smoke and thought, why not? You know, it's a good day, sunny."
And in that moment, Johnny was getting off-topic again. So added, “you do realize a lot of people died on this nice day?”
Riddick said this not to make conversation but to put Johnny in an awkward position because he soon quickly regretted his choice of words. "All shit you're right. May their souls strengths and- uh what is it those New God followers say again? Oh shit I’m rambling, uh can your car move or do you need to get tolled? We’d need to go to my garage. From there, I can arrange transport for you and that beauty to get to Midtown, safe and quietly. Going to have to keep low about this car, though. The car fixer market has been cutthroat lately."
Riddick moved from the hood of his car and looked ready to enter it as he answered, "Let's talk more on the
"
Riddick simply gave a nod as he entered his car. "Don't worry about it, I got air filters."
Johnny quickly entered his car and started it. Whereas in Riddick's car, Riddick let out a sigh as he reluctantly sent the chat request while thinking, "I sure hope this is going to be a short drive."
----------------------------------------
Meanwhile, what was formerly a Marriott charging station and now the center of investigation for nuclear disaster, a proper camp had been set up. Numerous nodes covered the desert land, and more were being planted by individuals wearing construction frames.
These particular nodes aided the drones as they flew above the skies and helped filter out the air of contamination. It was a slow and very long process. Along with these two features, numerous tents now covered the site, some medical, others testing, collecting, resting, and even meeting.
Despite being made of what could be considered a fabric, the tents shone with metallic splendor every time light struck them, giving them a rather unique look.
In one such tent, the largest based at the center, numerous guards could be seen standing around on all sides of the perimeter. Whereas inside, right after the contamination chamber, an open area with a single oval-shaped table and numerous seats around could be seen.
All of the seats were currently occupied. The notable figures present were those of Capt. McKinney and Dr. Monroe, along with a few other individuals wearing scientist uniforms like the doctor, then for the rest of the seats, where the five survivors found at the scene who had just been cleared by the medical team as fit to interrogate.
All five looked clearly traumatized and stupefied, but both the captain and the doctor needed answers. So, McKinney clapped his hands together and leaned forward,
"Now I know this is hard for you, but I'm going to need you all to cooperate. Is that clear?"
Contrary to what Riddick thought, the journey towards the car fixers compound was not a short one and had even required Riddick to tap into one of the many charging nodes scattered at 100 km intervals in the Offline Territories.
The offline territories were just beyond the industries and solar panel fields. These lands were home to people who liked to live free from the numerous restrictions within major cities, especially those regarding certain beliefs like those around combustion engines, unmonitored vehicles, homes, and just the general feeling of being in an area where you want weren't being watched by technology every second.
It sounded like a paradise away from the technological world humanity was moving toward. But it was in fact the opposite, because of the refusal to accept technology most people who stayed in the offline territories were very uneducated and had very low understandings of the way the current world worked, as they mostly limited their entire lives to their communities.
A majority worked as mechanics, scrappers, and programmers at the various reading stations that monitored the vast solar fields and turbine fields. Because of this, despite being considered generally unintelligent, the people of the OT were incredibly innovative. With most teenagers being able to construct combustion engines themselves, so long as the resources and materials available.
One such innovation was the charging nodes inserted into the ground at various points on off roads leading to the outer lands, where any vehicle that had an electric power system as its main or sub propulsion component could charge.
Although they were largely against electric vehicles and the digital age that brought them, OT natives as they were commonly called, still didn't outrightly reject the presence of tech and adapted it to a minimal degree in their lives. For example, if by any chance they ever happened to run out of the synthetic fuel used to run their combustion engines, they would resort to the electric subcomponent.
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And although they were greatly looked down upon by other communities within the redemption city area, Riddick considered some of them to be quite intelligent. Like Specs, who had originally come to lowtown from an OT town.
Having never been there himself, though, and with their geography not included in most maps along with other rarely traveled routes, Riddick had no idea just how far Johnny's compound was.
But after more than 10 hours of continuous driving and chatter, Riddick realized he had been completely wrong in his guesses. But since they hadn't passed through any crowded areas and only stopped by some other nearby OT towns, Riddick didn't have anything to complain about. But he was curious so he asked, "Johnny, how far until we reach your compound?"
"Almost there buddy, just past that rocky dune and wind turbine over there. I would've said we go to my uncles, but that car you're driving is sure to catch a lot of folks' eyes. Trust me, the last thing you want is for a couple of
Riddick felt content with the response as it made sense given the situation. So if going further meant lesser risks, then he was absolutely fine with it despite the unnecessary chatter that came with it.
Knowing they were close, Riddick could only feel relief inwardly as he diverted his attention toward something else, Johnny Riggs. Since they were going to stop soon and likely get down to business, he needed to have a better idea of just what kind of person Johnny Riggs was.
Thanks to Johnny's habit of talking too much, Riddick already had a rough profile on Johnny, but this was only from one side of chatter as he himself didn’t try probing him by asking questions whose answers would help determine a particular trait.
But in Johnny's case, Riddick felt he only needed to ask one question. Because although Johnny's chatting during the length of the journey was irritating, it led Riddick to paint a positive profile.
This was something even Riddick found surprising. But to fully confirm his thoughts and theory, he had to ask, "By the way Johnny? why did you become a car fixer? I don't mean any offense by it, but you're not exactly the picturesque image of what people would expect when they think of someone in your line of work, especially given the dangers that come with the business.”
Riddick paused for a moment and then added, “You also seem carefree, so I’m curious as to what led to you choosing this business.”
Hearing Riddick’s question, Johnny was caught a bit off guard, but he didn’t hesitate to reply, “Gee I wasn't expecting that sorta question if I’m being honest, But it’s not like it’s a secret. It's how my Pa brought me up. He always made me believe in living life to the fullest, and that meant pursuing my passion for cars. They aren't exactly many opportunities for you when you come from an OT family, you know? People just assume you're dumb, or you don't know anything. So you have no choice but to resort to car fixing.”
Johnny also paused, his tone growing more sentimental as he spoke more on the topic.
“Sure, there's risks involved, but it never stopped my Pa from doing it, so it ain’t gonna stop me. Plus I got a family now, my girlfriend Jamie and a little girl, Sabrina. As long as I can provide for them the same way these big money E-athletes do for their families. Gotta be a man like pa said, you know? I mean is anyone ever truly safe now that we got all them people flying and throwing buildings? So I'm just trying to live a good life with no regrets, but that's just me. Oh yeah I didn’t even ask what you do man. You also don't look like the typical car thief, are you some sort of distributor or a middleman?"
A pause for a moment followed as Riddick pondered Johnny's answer and reached a conclusion.
Johnny was someone with an adventurous spirit and determination to live life authentically. He also had a sense of responsibility towards his family and his desire to provide for them while staying true to himself and his passion. And more importantly, his willingness to confront danger for the sake of his passion demonstrated not only bravery on his part but also commitment.
To Riddick, this was someone he could have as a contact, so he replied honestly.
“I’m a contract killer.”
Upon hearing Riddick’s answer, Johnny was a bit surprised. In the same way Riddick was surprised that Johnny didn't fit the bill of the standard car fixer, Johnny also thought Riddick didn't fit the bill of a contract killer.
One had to understand that most contract killers were either individuals with amazing superhuman abilities or war veterans adept at killing people, because it was many more times dangerous than car fixing.
Almost every job contract killer did usually carried the risk of death. So when you understand this, it was no surprise that there were usually two types of contract killers: ones who took the job because they wanted money and the others who did it simply because they enjoyed killing.
Johnny couldn't help but wonder which one Riddick was, but he felt a bit intimidated to even ask. Instead, let out a nervous laugh, "Well, that's… uh, I didn't expect that. So, are you like on a job or was this...?" Johnny trailed off, not wanting to insinuate anything, but Riddick could already tell what Johnny was trying to say.
Wherever a contract killer went, it was almost a guarantee that someone would die and some chaos would be left in their wake. So Johnny, despite not being as clever as most, he was still an over thinker and couldn't help but wonder if Riddick had any association with the nuclear explosion that just occurred, though he quickly shook off these thoughts, as it seemed far too far-fetched.
To ease Johnny's worries, Riddick replied, "Actually, no, I was just on my way to go see someone."
Riddick didn't give much detail, but it was enough to ease Johnny's mind as he let out a quiet sigh of relief. After all, the last thing he needed was a contract killer bringing trouble to his compound.
Johnny didn't ask any more questions after this, partly due to the fact that he now saw Riddick in a different light. How could he not? In his mind, he had numerous questions, such as how many people did Riddick kill? Was he doing this for money or pleasure? And so on.
Thankfully, the silence didn't last, as Johnny soon passed by the wind turbine he had mentioned, with Riddick in toll. Ahead of them, they could see a grungy looking wall that surrounded Johnny's compound. It was made mostly of scrap metal just put on top of each other and welded using a plasma welder.
This was a common sight for most OT homes, so Riddick wasn't really surprised. But since this was his first time seeing a compound up close in person, Riddick let his gaze wandered around as he took note of certain details.
At this time, Johnny spoke through the comms again, "Welcome to my humble abode. It's not much, but it's my everything." As Johnny said this, they both approached the large scrappy metallic gate which began to automatically slide open as Johnny's car reached.
Heading inside the compound, Riddick found numerous cars of all kinds parked in a large dusty yard to the left. Some of the cars looked very new, while others looked centuries old. Then, on the other side of the compound, one could only see fields, all vegetables, and a small pen of chickens also present.
And then, at the far back of the compound, was the medium-sized two-story house made of wood and scrap metal. Even just from a glance, it was clear to Riddick that the house was handmade. Again, this was something that wasn't uncommon in OT communities, so Riddick didn't pay it much mind and just followed Johnny.
As the dual parked their cars next to the many other cars parked in the yard, a figure happened to come out from the house, drawn by the commotion.
The figure was a fair skinned woman with medium-length blonde hair tied into two pigtails, she wore a white crop top which hugged her large breasts tightly and revealed some cleavage.
She wore jeans shorts as a bottom and a pair of brown boots. She showed a toothy smile as she began waving over toward Johnny and Riddick. Johnny showed a proud smile, looking at the woman before saying to Riddick, "That there is my lady, Jamie. She's a real fine ain’t she?"
Riddick looked in the direction of the woman named Jamie, and couldn't argue with Johnny. By national standards, she was indeed above average in terms of looks, even though she came from the OT areas.
He gave Johnny a small approving nod and, "She is, you're a very lucky guy." And although in reality Riddick didn't feel any particular way about Jamie, he knew very few men didn't feel a certain sense of pride when they were complimented about their woman.
Johnny proved this theory as he showed a bright smile with his chest out in confidence. "That I am, buddy. You ain't seen nothing yet. Let's just cover your car up, I'm sure Jamie has whipped up a great meal. We can eat as I see what routes you can take and plan how you move."
Riddick could truly see that Johnny was in love with his woman, but this was a good thing for Riddick. Why? Because it meant Johnny had a weakness Riddick could take advantage of in case things here went south.
Just because Johnny seemed like a genuine person, didn't mean Riddick would let down his guard and not have safeguards in place just in case anything didn't go according to plan. He knew the tremendous value of the car he had and he knew just how greedy people could become.
But for now, he kept up appearances and gave Johnny a nod. "I really appreciate that. I haven't eaten anything in hours."
Johnny let out a chuckle and gestured Riddick to follow as he began walking over towards the house. Riddick followed, but as he was doing so, he continued to take keynotes of certain details about the compound.
Soon, the duo reached the front of the house and the woman named Jamie immediately rushed to lock Johnny in a tight and affectionate embrace. It lasted nearly a whole minute before Johnny cleared his throat, "Jamie, we have a guest."
Jamie then directed her big brown eyes toward Riddick and showed a bit of a curious look. Their gazes met for but a split second before she immediately turned away and whispered to, Johnny, “He’s kind of scary looking,”
To which Johnny whispered back, "Now, don't be like that. It's better than my usual clients."
Jamie turned her gaze back at Riddick and looked him up and down, noticing his fairly bland clothes but incredibly well-built frame and good looking face. Riddick on the other hand, began to silently profile Jamie, but from what he could tell, she and Johnny really were a match made in OT heaven.
At the same time, he felt that there was something very unsettling about her. As for what that was, he couldn't quite put his finger on it,
…yet.