The Death Stalker

"Guys... you... you came!" Lily exclaimed, still stammering, pretending to be excited to hide her nervousness about whatever she was about to do upstairs.

"Of course! We're looking for you!" Bruno said in a tone that betrayed his hurt, despite his efforts to hide it. "What are YOU doing here?!" he asked back.

"I... I..."

"She wanted to buy another bottle of my potion," Sukraj answered for her. "Since she doesn't have any money, she offered to warm my cold bed."

Lily could only lower her head, feeling too ashamed to face either man, especially Deathstalker.

"Look..." Deathstalker finally broke the silence that had lingered for more than a minute. "How many bottles are you willing to give us for that orange?"

Sukraj thought for a few seconds. "Four. Five... No... no... Six... six," Sukraj corrected himself when he saw Deathstalker about to take back the orange. "Six. That's my final answer."

Deathstalker turned to Bruno and whispered, "How many you got?"

Bruno whispered back, "Two."

Deathstalker leaned closer to Lily. "Do you think twelve days is enough?"

"No," Lily whispered. "I've barely gotten any information these past few days."

"Hey... why are you guys whispering? Two bottles will give you six days. You've found her, so you can spend those six days touring around," Sukraj said. "Unless..." He frowned suspiciously. "You lied to me and have another mission. Am I right?"

Instead of answering him, Deathstalker nonchalantly reached into his bag and pulled out a strip of something. He unwrapped the plastic and took a bite.

"Hey... what's that?" Sukraj asked curiously.

"What? This?" Deathstalker asked. Sukraj nodded. "Oh... this is just pork jerky. It's my snack time," he said casually, deliberately ignoring the way Sukraj's expression changed upon hearing the word.

"P... p... po... pork???" Sukraj stammered. This time, not only were his hands trembling, but his whole body shook violently. He almost dropped the jerky that Deathstalker had bitten.

Sukraj sniffed the jerky and began to cry. His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the couch. "I... I... love... loooove... pork. God... it was my favorite. But... but... since... since... I am here... I... I forced... forced myself... to be ve... vegan... so... so... I won't... I won't be... a cannibal..." He struggled to speak through his sobs.

"I know," Deathstalker said nonchalantly. He took back the jerky from Sukraj's trembling hands and took another bite. "Now tell me... How many bottles of potion do you have in stock? Then I'll tell you how many jerkies I'm willing to give you for them."

In a rush, Sukraj ran to another room. A couple of minutes later, he returned with a suitcase-like box in hand. He placed it on the table and opened it, revealing rows of tiny bottles.

"These are all I have now. Thirty-two bottles. I can make more, but it'll take six days for the potion to be ready. So... so... I can only give you thirty. I need the other two for myself," he said. "I'm telling the truth—I have no more potion left," he added when Deathstalker said nothing.

"I can give you one new pork jerky for those thirty," Deathstalker said, tapping his finger on his lips.

"Two, please..." Sukraj pleaded. "I want to give one to Ling Ling. She's never eaten meat in her entire life."

Deathstalker frowned as if he were reluctant.

"I'll give you another ten... twelve... I'll give you another twelve in the future if you still need them," Sukraj hurriedly added.

Deathstalker sighed. "Okay, deal. Two jerkies for these thirty and twelve more in the future," he said. "But you have to promise me you'll give one to Ling Ling."

"Of course. She's my child. I love her," Sukraj said.

Deathstalker took out two strips of pork jerky from his bag while Sukraj closed the box. Sukraj handed the box to Deathstalker and received the jerkies, his hands still trembling.

"Thank you... thank you..." Sukraj said repeatedly.

Deathstalker took three bottles out of the box, handing one to Bruno and one to Lily before gulping down the contents of another.

"Nice doing business with you," Deathstalker said before telling his two partners, "Let's go."

"You can keep the orange as a bonus," Bruno said to Sukraj.

"Thank you so much," Sukraj said gratefully. "May your mission be successful, whatever it is," he added before showing them out of the house.

The three of them walked along the dark street. The potion not only camouflaged their scent but also enhanced their night vision and made the gravity feel lighter.

"I can't believe you're finally back," Lily said, her excitement evident.

"I had to," Deathstalker replied, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"May I know why?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"No," Deathstalker answered curtly, silencing her.

They walked in silence for several minutes until Bruno broke it. "Have you... done it with him?"

Lily shrugged. "It's none of your business," she said, refusing to answer. Bruno could only swallow hard at her response.

No other words were exchanged between them as they continued toward the town. Sukraj's house, it turned out, was on the outskirts. After a couple of miles, they finally arrived.

To Deathstalker and Bruno's surprise, the town was bustling with activity despite the late hour. People walked the streets, and some even flew above their heads.

"Don't they sleep?" Bruno whispered.

"They sleep during the day," Lily answered.

"Wow... what a jetlag we're going to have here, bro," Bruno whispered to Deathstalker, who merely grinned in response.

"The hotel is this way," Lily said, timidly glancing at Deathstalker before continuing, "I... I told the hotel owner I came here to find my husband."

"And your husband is...?" Deathstalker asked.

"Y... You."

"So now, after you've 'found' me, what excuse will you give the owner when he asks why we're still here?" Deathstalker asked again.

"I told him you're here for research. So... we can just say your research isn't done," Lily explained.

"What kind of research?" Deathstalker asked again.

"The food supply chain," Lily said. "Is that good enough?"

"What if I'm just another ordinary guest?" Deathstalker bargained.

"I... I already showed him your picture," Lily admitted, lowering her head. "He... he asked for it. He wanted to help me find you back then. I couldn't say I didn't have your picture—that would've been too weird, right?"

Deathstalker said nothing.

"Well...?" Lily asked fearfully.

Deathstalker sighed. "Just don't dream of us being together again, or I'll willingly share a bed with you."

"But... but... as husband and wife, we should be in one room," Lily persisted.

"To be honest... I can't promise not to kill you in your sleep," Deathstalker said coldly.

"Death!!" Bruno shouted in shock, while Lily instinctively hid behind him.

"He's just joking," Bruno assured Lily. "Why don't you lead us to the hotel?"

Hesitantly, Lily walked ahead to guide them. About ten minutes later, she murmured, "We're here."