23: Clandestine

Same night, elsewhere...

On the other side of the hotel, away from the fire and fanfare, the eye of the storm was sneaking away. Dev was but a shadow as he masterfully evaded all eyes, even the cameras. He turned round the corner, where the pools were and heard a splash. 

Pools and bathrooms were a couple of the only places in the establishment where he was sure there would be no cameras, and it being the dead of night, he didn't expect anyone to be here either. He wondered who would be col blooded enough to wade through these freezing waters. 

Out of the waters glistening in the moonlight emerged Iris. Her skin studded with the pearls of water that clung to her, as if they were too in love to leave. Dev hid, he knew who she was. He waited till she went inside and off he was, racing through the night and over the wall. 

He landed on his feet on the other side of the wall and started walking, taking his time. He almost stumbled over someone huddled up on the floor and apologized as the person rose to their full height which wasn't a lot, barely coming up to the base of his neck. 

A head turned up to look at him and a pair of eyes locked gazes with him. Almond brown eyes, he almost fell forward caught in the moment. She held up a coin to his face, and started walking away. He could only guess that she was picking up her fallen coin and moved on, turning back to look at her. 

The little lady seemed to skip as she went along, her neck fully hidden under the enormous headphones that hung from it. The rucksack that hung by her side seemed to have seen better days, and her baggy clothes seemed fit to be a sleepy bag. Dev felt a grin form on his lips as he turned away. 

He had walked down the alleyway that led away from where he had gone in. They say that a criminal always returned to the crime site. He didn't want to. He didn't exactly sign up for this whole ordeal himself but he had to go back, find out how it's going and report to the one who had sent him.

Willingly or unwillingly, he had to bear witness to the police sirens blaring as they made their way along the main road to the hotel and the glimmering blues and reds in the dead of the night, joining the now glowing hotel. They had all been roused, all hell was about to break loose.