"Acting on an anonymous phone call, the police raid a house to arrest a suspected murderer. They don't know what he looks like but they know his name is John and that he is inside the house. The police bust in on a carpenter, a lorry driver, a mechanic and a fireman all playing poker. Without hesitation or communication of any kind, they immediately arrest the fireman. How do they know they've got their man?"
What? I stared at the first question. I was expecting a riddle and instead I got a word problem? What kind of joke was this? I read the question again and rolled my eyes. If that was how he wanted to play then I'd go along, for now that is. After I minut of 5ought I jotted down the answer and moved on to the next one.
"A man and his son are in a car crash. The father is killed and the child is taken to hospital gravely injured. When he gets there, the surgeon says, 'I can't operate on this boy—for he is my son!!!' How can this possibly be?"
I rolled my eyes, this was sooooo easy! Everyone has heard of this question, it was one of the most obvious answers ever. I glared where I knew the camera was. Was Riddler purposely going easy on me? If so, why? I scribbled down the answer and moved on to the next one.
The next several answers all varied in difficulty and I answered every single one of them, though I wasn't 100% sure if I got each of them right. By the time I got to the last problem,there was 5 minutes left on the clock. Shoot. I glanced at the problem:
"U2 has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. You must help them across to the other side in under or at 17 minutes. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man's pace:
Bono: 1 minute to cross
Edge: 2 minutes to cross
Adam: 5 minutes to cross
Larry: 10 minutes to cross
What is the shortest time needed for all four of them to cross the bridge?"
My hand was already cramping and I had less than 5 minutes now to finish this last question. Of course it was just a math problem, if not a complicated one. Shutting out the unnecessary words and facts, I focused on the numbers given and got to work.
"Times up!" Riddler said cheerfully just as I put my pencil down. I let out a yawn and stretched. Ha! Bet you didn't think I'd finish in time.
Hmmmm," Riddler said, "You actually finished on time! What a surprise! Since you managed to do that here's a bonus question: What's black, white and read all over?"
I frowned; a bonus question? Why add that in? It was the only riddle that actually was in the test, or rather would be in the test. The rest of it was just random questions.
"Do you need me to repeat that?" Riddler asked.
I shook my head as a memory surfaced in my mind.
"I though for sure that we weren't going to catch Penguin this time," Bruce grumbled at the table. He speared a piece of fruit and took a bite. "We were lucky this time. I swear, every time we catch one of those Rogues they just get smarter each time."
I rolled my eyes. It was the same ranting that Bruce went through each time he caught one of the Rogues and it was getting annoying. Richard shot me a knowing look from across the table and turned to Bruce.
"Hey Bruce, what's black, white and red all over?"
"I'm not in the mood for riddles Richard," Bruce scowled, "I didn't need another Riddler."
"Aw come on Bruce," Richard whined, "just answer the question."
"I don't know the answer to it," Bruce said, "and even if I did I wouldn't answer you."
"Come on," Richard persisted, "you never know when Riddler might capture you and ask you this very question. What's black, white and red all over?"
Bruce grunted and Richard let out a sigh.
"Penguin in a blender," Richard said, "that's the answer! Cause he's always wearing black and white and if we stick him in a blender-"
"We're not putting Penguin in a blender!" Bruce interrupted. "He's already in Arkham, where he belongs."
I was drawn out of my thoughts by the sound of Riddler humming the Jeopardy! theme. I made a face, how annoying! I scribbled down the question and then the answer before slamming the pencil on the desk and crossing my arms. Happy now?
"Excellent!" Riddler said, "now then there's a little mail slot in the wall on your left..."
I turned and saw what he was talking about. A steel mail slot, just big enough to slide my test in, was on the left wall.
"Slide your that into that mail slot and wait until I finish going over your answers."
I really had no choice except to do what he said so I put the test in the mail slot and then sat back down.
"This'll be done in a jiffy," Riddler told me, "hang tight for now though!" The speaker clicked off and I was left in complete silence.