THE MULTIVERSAL CRIMINAL

Chapter 2: The Heist

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The dancers today, performed Odissi, an ancient Indian traditional dance of Earth.

Erkum smiled at the facial expressions of the performers and the chimes of the tiny bells fastened at their ankles in a chain.

He was served desserts free of cost and he relished his taste buds with the variety of ice creams and his eyes with the classical dance performance.

The lights on the stage mirrored the sunlight of Earth and special holographic effects created a natural landscape with trees swaying in a soft breeze and birds trilling. The floor was real soil.

Even the dancers who were surely not all of Indian origin and mostly belonged to some other alien race or other human races, had holographic filters that changed their appearance during their performance to portray twenty year old females of the native land where this dance had originated from.

One could now understand what brought these shows to such popularity.

Now starlight took place of sunlight and the atmosphere changed with the tempo as did the environment behind the performers. A cameraman was recording the whole performance and live feeding the public who enjoyed from their homes.

About half an hour later, the show ended.

The girls now in their true forms, thanked the audience with their palms placed together in a similar fashion as to how the Indian people prayed.

Erkum clapped in satisfaction, with a wide grin falling accross his face.

Now a bit sleepy and contented with the night performance, Erkum made way to retire in his suite.

He was given a souvenir from the hotel on his way back. A metallic sculpture of an Indian deity, a special for the night. Saraswati was written in bold letters in the front and he assumed it to be the name of the goddess. He was further provided the information that she was associated with songs and traditional dance in the Indian culture.

He was liking how he was being treated. Exactly how I should be treated for the amount I'm paying. He thought, pride manifesting on his visage.

The elevator chimed and the doors opened and receded into the sides. He entered. A seat came out of the back wall of the elevator and he groaned as he supported his body over the projection. His room was on the tenth floor, the highest in the hotel. Even with such a small number, his room offered a phenomenal view of the city through the all glass wall. The hotel was built on a hill and had numerous public floors within it. The hotel's floors were at an interval of five public floors, that included cinema halls and parks and malls. Thus the view from the height. However the elevators had special access to only the hotel staff and its guests. To the public floors, the doors didn't open. Ever. Except in cases of emergency.

Among the many things that ran in his mind as the elevator ascended to its destination, the thought occurred to him that he should give the hotel a good review with a five star rating before leaving the next day.

The bell chimed again and the doors opened into the sides. He got up letting out another groan. The chair receded back into its opening.

As he made his way towards his room, he noticed in the hallway clock that it was well past midnight. No wonder why he was so tired.

Stopping before his door he gasped.

The room was unlocked.

H-how could this be? I swear to Ush, I locked it before leaving. Am I losing my mind or what?

He gruffed in frustration, and went inside. Probably the signs of old age were showing.

Clink!

His souvenir fell on the ground.

"Wh-who are you!" he barely formed words.

A dark silhouette of a figure stood by his bed. On the floor was his most prized possession- the teleportation device.

"I'd be needing this," the voice proclaimed. It had a rough texture and had a hidden intensity.

The hand of the silhouette glowed for an eternal moment, exposing its metallic nature, and it shot a ray straight at him.

The last thing Erkum saw before his body went limp was a light. A red light. Coming out of the shadowy form's face.

Erkum's body fell dead at the figure's feet. He retracted his metallic hand, the hole in his palm still warm from taking the shot, charged ions leaping out of it. Then he slowly stepped towards the device that lay at his feet and prepared for teleportation.

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Instantaneously his body manifested within his pod. He smirked.

Nobody would be able to trace him. The murder of Erkum Gutsu would forever remain a mystery.

His identity was successfully concealed as he had planned and he was able to retrieve what he had come to Destum for. The teleportation device was now in his possession.

The pod shot upwards into the sky again and disappeared beneath his ship. The same ship that was infamous accross galaxies.