CH 05: Eyes! Eyes! Eyes!
"Show your ID."
The cop grunted, trying to instil dread through his eyes.
Perhaps, in normal circumstances, Shree would have read the situation and purported to be horrified, but this time, he neither had the energy nor the mental state to represent that he was scared. On contrary, anyone who dared to look at such a creature felt a chill from his swollen, drooping eyes.
The officer stumbled, but he quickly jumped back up to cover his fascination. He had a grin on his face that screamed of evil.
"Acquire him. Little shit's intoxicated."
The cabbie became alarmed by this unexpected development and exclaimed, "Sir!..." It didn't appeal to him at all. "I am not drunk, officer." Shree's voice echoed in his typical, atypically serene tone.
"That is what we decide. Now get the hell out."
Shree just followed the order as it was; he couldn't be bothered by such thug behavior, unworthy of his attention.
The police officer was soon joined by the other. He had come out of the stop, running with a devious smile on his face, carrying an alcometer.
The cop was in such a hurry that he almost forcefully pushed the device deep in Shree's mouth.
"Hmph!.."
"Blow in it."
As it was, the device showed zero presence of alcohol in his breath.
"Don't celebrate yet, fool. The device might be broken, but I can see it; you're intoxicated."
'Ah, annoying clowns everywhere.'
Bending to the left, Shree searched through his deep pockets and pulled out his phone.
"Hey! Who gave you the permission to do anything?"
Extending his hand, he tried to snatch Shree's communicator out of his hand. However, this time around he couldn't get away with it simply because Shree didn't want it to.
"Son of a..."
Blocking the angered officer's hand, Shree pulled closer, bringing the officer's eye to the screen.
"Don't go around bullying people, Officer Vijay."
As soon as the cop read the screen, his anger subsided, and a somber expression took over his face... fear.
"Sir! Please, sir. I apologize, sir.
"What are you two begging for? I haven't even said anything."
"Sir, we sincerely apologize for our conduct; we were unaware that it was you."
Just moments before, the two officers were vandalizing him, yet now they were enticing with the same ferocity. For some reason, Shree's deadpan had grown softer, with his lips curled upward.
"Oh! I'm dying from the heat. Thirst may kill me.
The cop got upbeat after hearing the devil's luring words.
"Naik! Bring some soda for sir."
"Sir!"
"Water is actually fine. Wait a second! Are you two seeking to buy me off?"
"No, no! Not at all, sir. How are we supposed to bribe you? Of course not, sir."
"That is equivalent to declaring that if I could have, I would've done so. Isn't it?"
"No, no! "Sir."
"Cease it. I would have educated you proper conduct if I hadn't been here on a required assignment. Nevertheless you wouldn't be able to fathom yourself if I ever found out about you two. On duty now!"
Shree then got back inside the taxi. As the cab blurred, he peered outside the widow and saw the two officers saluting him, standing upright.
The rest of the journey went without any hurdles or stops. If anything, it was peaceful, with the tender atmosphere and lush green all around. Cabbie, however, seemed a bit tense, giving Shree looks throughout the journey from the inner mirror of the car.
"Sir... are you an officer?"
"No."
"Um... then those officers? They saluted you on your departure. And as far as I know, if they caught someone, they don't let that person go till whoever that person might be is drained dry."
Hesitating, he continued.
"It was after you showed your... ID, sir?"
"Oh, that? Well, that was just gibberish. I myself was surprised that they fell for that; those fools didn't even bother to check its authenticity. Gods! How did they even get assigned for surveillance?"
Cabbie remained silent for a bit, then said in a rather unusual tone: "Sir, you shouldn't just reveal your secrets in the open; I might be with the cops."
Shree straightened his back slowly, a hint of threat in his beautiful eyes.
"So, are you?"
His tone carried a certain amount of murderous intent.
"If I was, why would I have said so?"
The environment of the cab thickened, full of tension and anticipation. Looking into the rear-view mirror of the cab, he stared at the reflection of the driver, who stared back at him with the same dark eyes.
"Haha....You got me!"
Soon, he was followed by the cheerful cabbie, flooding the taxi with lightening laughter.
Jokes were intense sometimes; sometimes so intense that they ended terribly. Perhaps, 'jokes' were more than just 'jokes'. On the contrary, it would have been the most honest form of communication. The best way to present your feelings without making it obvious, all under the veil of jokes, as they were just 'jokes'. Quite ironic, people still foolishly let go of things just because it gets a laugh out of the crowd, who nonetheless laugh at the 'joke' on the subject and not on the 'subject'.
Shree never experienced it firsthand, partly because he didn't have any groups to go to and mostly because he didn't have time for it.
'Ping... Ping'
Shree pulled out his communicator to search for the odd notifications. It was from the Hotel...
"World's best 7-star hotel at your service. We hope you had a happy journey... blah, blah, blah. Your room no. is 269, seventh floor... blah, blah, blah. Your helper is awaiting your auspicious arrival at Gate No. 4, please... blah, blah, blah."
'Can't they just get to the point? Then again, it's the world's highest-rated hotel as well. Ah, I can't wait.'
As the cab entered through the large gates full of sensors, Shree came into full view of the Grand Hotel. Its buildings stood tall and majestic, a clear, colorful garden surrounding them, yet the gateways were sadistically plain.
The large Hotel was overwhelming by its mere scale. Online pictures could never capture the true scale of this grandiose structure.
"Adventure is what I feel!"
The cab was stopped at various checkpoints for security checks. And as it turned out, only taxis approved by the hotel were allowed. So, the cabbie must be an employee of theirs as well. Shree didn't think much of it; he was too busy observing the brilliance of this marvelous architecture.
Impossible spirals that crowned the buildings, brilliant pathways, decorum, nature arts... there was just too much to feel and look into.
Star celebrities from all over the world, here, were as common as oxygen in the atmosphere. Whatsoever, Shree didn't care or simply was ignorant; his interest in things that normal people did was dangerously low.
Yet it became clear, eerie or not, the Hotel certainly stood up to its fame as the "Hotel of Prestige."