"Really?"
Fluffy was protesting.
"You haven't found a better flight than this one?"
"I'm afraid not." said Marvin. "You'll have to travel inside a cage in the hold."
"Okay for the cage, but… in the baggage hold? With the animals and luggage?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry. The only company that still has flights to London does not allow animals in the cabin. And with all the energy restrictions and shortages imposed by that world government, we don't really have a choice. I'd say nowadays we're lucky if we can get a flight at all."
"I know, I know… I'll go in the hold then. We can't wait any longer to go there."
"All right, then I book this one."
A few days later, Marvin and Fluffy were aboard the plane, heading to London.
Marvin was looking at the quiet clouds through the window. It was evening time.
He was thinking a bit about the poor Fluffy who was forced to travel alone in the hold. But after all, he thought, she was a goddess. He shouldn't be worried about her.
Actually, he had much better reasons to worry. He was about to go and rob a museum! Or at least, to use one of the exposed artefacts in an inappropriate manner, which could lead to big trouble.
What was Fluffy thinking? That they could just do whatever she wants with no consequences at all? Maybe she thinks she's entitled to something. But no one has heard about her on this planet. No one will treat her like a goddess. There will certainly be some serious trouble waiting for them. And maybe she can get away with it, but what about him?
Oh yeah, and there was the entire situation with this new Government of Gaia. These guys were no joke. It seemed that they were growing more and more authoritarian. At least judging by the way they suppressed the revolts that emerged. One would not want to be caught infringing the law nowadays. There could be some nasty consequences. No one could know what to expect really. At least one thing was for sure: the days when everyone had a free pass to steal from the stores in broad daylight were long gone now.
And also, Marvin was feeling that he was already missing his wife and son. He didn't like to be taken away from them. What was he doing getting himself into that mess?
Now it was night time. Marvin thought he should maybe use some sleep before they arrive next day in London.
When they landed at Heathrow airport in the morning, the weather was quite rainy. A grey rain was pouring on the city.
Marvin was waiting at the airport. All the luggage of the travelers was delivered, but he had to wait some more for Fluffy's cage.
When they finally delivered the cage, he discovered that it was all wet from the rain. The creature that was inside was looking miserable and completely soaked. Two eyes were staring in the void in the middle of a dripping wet furry face.
"Oh boy! What happened?" asked Marvin.
"I don't want to hear one single word…" said Fluffy.
"They forgot you on the tarmac, or what?"
"Get me out of here!"
Fluffy jumped out of the cage, looking more like a wet rat than her usual elegant self. She shook her entire body furiously.
"No time to avenge now. But I swear… Next time I… Damn it! Let's go Marvin."
The weather changed quickly as they were getting out from an Underground station, and started walking through the city. It was now a nice and sunny autumn morning.
Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Marvin was enjoying the sight of the nice unknown town he was wandering through.
"Okay now..." said Fluffy who was walking alongside him. "We're not here to play tourists. We've got stuff to do."
Marvin shrugged.
"All right. You lead the way."
She brought him in front of a small door somewhere in Covent Garden. It was a jewelry shop.
Although there were probably luxury items inside, from outside it looked quite discreet and wretched.
"What's that?" asked Marvin
"We need to buy a diamond here."
"I'm sorry?"
"Let's go inside."
"A diamond? What the hell? Why this new passion for rocks?"
"The statue of Bastet is kept behind a wall of reinforced glass in the museum. We'll need something like a diamond to cut through it. Diamonds are harder than glass, don't you know?"
"I know. But can't we use something cheaper than diamond?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Something heavy enough to brake it."
"We couldn't get such a thing inside. There will be security controls at the entrance."
"All right, but how do you expect to get a diamond anyway?"
"With money. Come on."
"You mean my money?"
They went nonetheless inside the shop and took a look at the necklaces, rings, bracelets and precious stones that were exposed on velvet cushions in the display cases.
"This one should do." said Fluffy showing with her paw a shining diamond with sharp edges hanging on a necklace.
"What? Two thousand pounds? Are you mad? Where do you want me to get that money from?"
"I know you've got some savings."
"Maybe, but… No! No way! That's a lot of money…"
"Think of it as an investment."
"How is it an investment?"
"When your son rules this portion of the galaxy it won't feel such a great amount of money anymore."
"What? My son… To rule the galaxy? Stop making a fool of me."
"Come on. Let's not waste time with silly discussions."
"Or else? Are you gonna give me your hypnotic stare again until I pay for that diamond?"
"Is there something wrong, sir ?" It was the owner of the shop: an old man with white hair. "Can I help you with something ?"
"Well, actually… maybe… I was thinking about buying a nice piece of jewelry for my wife… Maybe something like this one here."
One minute later, they were walking in the street again.
"Can't believe you made me buy such an expensive thing."
"Don't lose it."
"By the way, you could have given your hypnotic stare to that seller. We could have had it for free."
"Perhaps. But I don't want to overuse my magic without necessity. It's exhausting. And I'll need it later to activate the statue. Now, let's head to the museum."
"Hey, wait. It's almost noon. And I'm dead hungry. Let's go have lunch somewhere before that."