THREE

Johnson opened the letter that he received in the mail. The letter was handwritten. Inside was a single sentence, written in bold letters. After reading the sentence, Johnson felt a chill run down his spine. He tried to contact Jack and Mark, but their phones were disconnected. Then only he heard a sound behind him. He turned around and saw a shadow pointing a gun toward him.

A FEW DAYS AGO

Johnson, who was a detective, had been investigating the murder of a local businessman for weeks but had made no progress. The case was getting to him, and he was desperate for a break.

One evening, as he was heading home from the station, he stopped by a diner for a cup of coffee. As he was sipping his coffee, he overheard two people sitting at the next table discussing the murder of the same businessman.

Intrigued, he turned to them and asked, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Do you know about this case?"

The two people, both in their late forties, introduced themselves as Jack and Mark.

"You also seem interested in this case," Mark said.

"Yes, I am investigating this case, that's why," Johnson smiled.

Jack and Mark looked at each other and didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Don't worry. I won't do anything to you unless you are the culprits," Johnson laughed.

Jack smiled and said, "I don't know if you will believe us or not."

"Try me," Johnson said.

After a brief pause, Mark said, "Have you ever heard of the parallel universe?"

"Parallel universe?"

"Imagine there's an infinite number of universes," Jack said, "Each one slightly different from the last. In one universe, you might be a rich man, but in another, you might be a poor man. Every possibility exists in a parallel universe."

Mark leaned forward and said, "Well, what if I told you that we have discovered a way to travel between parallel universes?"

Johnson's curiosity was piqued, "What? How is that possible?"

Jack pulled out a small device from his pocket. "This is a dimensional portal generator. We've been working on it for years, and we've finally got it working."

Mark said, "We can take you to a parallel universe where the businessman you're looking for was not murdered. You can question him, and maybe find some leads."

Johnson was hesitant, but he was also desperate. He decided to take the risk and go with them.

The duo activated the portal generator, and Johnson felt himself being pulled into a vortex of light. When he emerged on the other side, he found himself in a world that was almost identical to his own.

Upon investigation, he found that the businessman was a truck driver in this universe and was killed in a road accident. Other than this, Johnson didn't find anything useful. He couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that came with his trip to the parallel universe. The idea that there were infinite versions of himself and his world out there was both thrilling and terrifying. He decided to do some research on the topic and couldn't help but wonder what his alternate selves were up to. Did they share the same career path, or had their lives taken a completely different turn? Were they happy, or struggling with their problems? The thought of it all was overwhelming, and he soon found himself consumed by it.

One day, as he was sitting in his office, Jack came running to meet him.

"Detective, I need your help," Jack said, looking worried, "Something's gone wrong. Mark was doing an experiment when a portal opened and someone pulled him inside the portal and disappeared."

Johnson agreed to help and the two of them set out to find Mark. They began their search. They traveled to various universes and finally found Mark in a universe that was vastly different from their own. The sky was a deep shade of red, and the buildings were made of a strange, shimmering material. Johnson couldn't help but feel disoriented as he stepped out of the portal generator. But there was no time to waste. They took Mark and came back to their universe.

"What are you two doing and where am I?" Mark shouted.

"We are saving you."

"I was going to the hospital to treat a patient," Mark shouted again.

"Hospital?" Johnson said in wonder.

"Yes, I am a doctor."

Jack and Johnson looked at each other in shock and Jack said softly, "I think we brought Mark of that universe to our universe."

"So, our Mark is still in that universe," Johnson replied softly.

They grabbed Mark and journeyed back to his universe. They left Mark there and started searching for their Mark again. After some hours, they found Mark unconscious in an abandoned lane. They grabbed him and came back to their universe.

"Mark, tell us what happened there?"

"A masked man grabbed me and took me to that universe. I tried to fight with him but he beat me until I was unconscious," Mark said after coming to consciousness.

"Who was this masked person?" Johnson thought.

"Should we travel to this universe? Let's call our universe number one and this other universe number two to clear the confusion," Jack said.

"Let's do it."

Mark, Jack, and Johnson traveled to universe two and spent some time there. They saw their versions there. In universe two, Mark was a doctor, Jack was a beggar and Johnson was a movie maker. Other than this, they didn't find anything useful there and came back to their universe.

"I think we did a lot for a day. It's better if we all go home and take a rest," Johnson said while grabbing his head. Mark and Jack agreed and left for their homes.

Johnson took a bottle of beer and started drinking it. Then only he received a letter in the mail. The letter was handwritten, and it was addressed to him personally. Inside was a single sentence, written in bold letters. After reading the sentence, Johnson felt a chill run down his spine. He tried to contact Jack and Mark, but their phones were disconnected. Then only he heard a sound behind him. He turned around and saw a portal opening. He got terrified and fell to the ground. A shadow emerged out of the portal pointing a gun toward him and Johnson shouted after watching the face.

The shadow came closer to Johnson and smiled, "Hello, Johnson. Don't be scared. I am you from the other universe."

"But you don't look like the movie maker I saw."

"Movie maker?" Johnson laughed, "I am not a movie maker."

"Not a movie maker? So, is he from any third universe?" Johnson thought.

"What should I call you? J3? Johnson from the third universe?" Johnson said in a confused tone.

"J3? Cool! You can call me that."

J3 took out a gun from his pocket and asked Johnson to bring Jack and Mark to him.

"I tried calling them but I am unable to connect with them."

J3 laughed. 

"What happened?"

"You are such a fool, Johnson. It's sad to see that my version of this universe can be fooled so easily," J3 continued laughing.

Then only a portal opened behind J3. He turned back and pointed the gun toward the portal. Mark and Jack come out of the portal with guns in their hand pointed toward J3.

"What the hell? Where are you coming from?" Johnson shouted at both of them.

Jack and Mark ignored Johnson and kept eye contact with J3.

"If I am not wrong then they are coming from my universe," J3 laughed.

"But why would they go to your universe?" Johnson asked in a confused tone.

J3 laughed continuously and stopped after some minutes. He took a deep breath and said, "They went to my universe to kill me. It's as simple as that."

"What the hell? You two went to kill my version of the other verse? But why?" Johnson shouted.

Mark shot Johnson in the knee. Johnson fell to the ground and screamed. Jack said in an angry tone, "We don't have time for your bullshit."

J3 smiled and said, "You think you will do all this and no one will do anything to you?"

A portal opened behind Mark and Jack. A shadow came out of the portal and shot both Mark and Jack in the head, killing them instantly.

Johnson is again shocked to see the person who shot Mark and Jack. It was his version of the second universe which was a movie maker. 

J3 smiled, "Nice work, Striker."

"But you were a movie maker?" Johnson asked.

"That's only for the rest of the world," Striker laughed.

"Then, what's all this?" Johnson asked in pain while grabbing his leg.

J3 smiled, "Mr. Detective, please calm down. He is Striker. When I came to know what Mark and Jack could do, I asked his help. By the way, nice timing Striker," J3 laughed loudly.

"What the hell is going on? Please tell me," Johnson said in a painful tone.

J3 looked at Johnson and said, "Let me make it clear to you. Your culprit is in front of you."

"What are you saying? Wait for a second! Are you saying that……"

J3 interrupted, "...that I killed the businessman of your universe."

"What the hell?"

"Mark and Jack came to my universe to ask me to kill the businessman of your universe. That businessman was not any small businessman but a billionaire running a drug empire here and was also using the dimensional portal generator. He was running a drug empire in this universe and other universes also. Mark and Jack came to me and gave me a contract to kill him. They both are the head of a rival drug empire who wanted to get rid of Mortal, the businessman. I came to this universe along with them and killed the businessman. I asked for my reward but they asked for some time. I waited but they never came. I was the one who kidnapped Mark and took him to another universe but I had to leave him there as I had urgent business to do. Later on, I threatened to expose their plans. I sent them a letter…"

Johnson interrupted, "That letter reached me."

J3 continued, "I asked the Striker to deliver it to Mark's residence but he delivered it to you. I think he made a mistake. So, where was I? Yes, I threatened to kill them, and to stop me they went to my universe when I came to you when you said that you were unable to contact them." 

"What the actual fuck is going on here?" Johnson grabbed his head.

J3 laughed and rubbed his head.

"If Mark and Jack were the ones who arranged the murder then why did they involve me? Why did they introduce me to these dimensions and universe shit?" Johnson asked in an angry tone.

"Listen to me carefully, I am a contract killer and I have done a lot of assignments like this where I traveled from one universe to another to do the killing. Everyone comes to me from various verses to give me contracts. No one has seen my face as I act as a shadow and I am a normal shopkeeper according to the people of my universe. Mark and Jack were playing a big game but they failed. They involved you because they wanted to know each and every part of the investigation. It becomes easy for them to work if they know every move of the police. They would have killed you also but lucky for you I was here," J3 laughed.

"They would have claimed to you that they made the device but it was me who invented this device ten years ago. I traveled in this universe when I met Mark by accident. He told me that he was a scientist and then I made a mistake. I told him about the device. He stole the device from me and made copies of it. I stole a device and came back to my universe but this Mark started chaos in the multiverse," Striker said in a low tone.

"Their business kept growing in billions and then came Mortal who was his biggest rival. Jack, who was Mark's partner, came to me in my universe to give the bounty of Mortal. After killing Mortal, they showed their real faces when they didn't give me what they offered. Also, I came to know about Striker's story and I decided to help him too as our motives were the same to kill Jack and Mark," J3 said.

Johnson took out his gun, pointed it toward J3, and said, "I still am unable to understand all the motives but right now I will not let you go. You are a murderer."

"What will you do, kill me? There's a whole big game going on outside. You don't know what will come. And yes, regarding your case. If you want to do police work, you can tell your department that you killed both the murderers as they tried to shoot at you. They will accept that Jack and Mark did this but they won't believe that your version of another universe did all this," J3 continued laughing.

J3 pressed a button and a portal opened behind him. He looked at Johnson, smiled, and started walking toward the portal. Striker kept looking at Johnson till J3 left through the portal.

"It will not feel good to kill your version of another universe. Keep hun to yourself and enjoy the simple life that you were enjoying," Striker said while pressing the button.

A portal opened and Striker said, "Now, you are also involved in all this shit. Keep yourself safe. Anyone can come to attack you. You play lowkey."

"Very nice. I did nothing and now I am involved in all this?," Johnson laughed and then started crying.

Striker smiled and left through the portal. Alone in the room, Johnson kept laughing while lying on the floor.