He'd pretended to clean the apartment and 'accidentally' swept away two of the bugs; the remaining pair he dismantled with a deft hand.
So Hunter wasn't worried anymore—his apartment was no longer under surveillance.
Unless the FBI came back for another round.
At the thought, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes and vanished.
This past week, thanks to his willingness to throw money around,
Hunter had unlocked several new skills and levelled up quite a few old ones.
His physical stats were now higher than they'd been just days before.
If the FBI dared show up again, Hunter swore he'd make them pay an even bloodier price.
'If they really come again, it won't be just a handful of dead agents this time.'
His gaze drifted to the nightstand: a stack of us dollars and a slip of paper left by Black Orchid.
Experience told him it was ten grand at a glance.
'So what does this make me?'
'A kept man?'
'Payment for services rendered?'
Hunter picked up the note with a wry smile, read it, and nodded.
Black Orchid had clearly decided he was a talented but penniless young painter,
so she was protecting his pride.
He pocketed the cash and the note, admitting to himself that
Black Orchid Cataleya's perfume was heady and tenacious;
the faint orchid scent she'd left behind still lingered in the air,
reminding him of their hours-long contest of wills.
Hunter couldn't help turning Cataleya's problem over in his mind.
In the plot of 'the deadly black orchid', Black Orchid Cataleya had sought revenge on the Drug Lord who murdered her parents.
After reaching the US and finding her uncle, she began years of training to prepare for that revenge.
That training lasted a full decade.
Hunter reckoned Cataleya must have already graduated into a full-fledged assassin.
When they'd first met in Los Angeles, he'd unwittingly painted her into one of his canvases;
she'd appeared out of nowhere to stop him from keeping her likeness.
That caution told him she was not only working as a killer
but probably already setting her trap.
'I can't tell if you're fearless or just desperate for revenge.'
Cigarette in hand, Hunter replayed the storyline he remembered from his past life.
Cataleya, unable to locate the Colombian Drug Lord who'd killed her parents,
decided to take a gamble.
On every target she assassinated she left a unique orchid—one that grew only in her homeland and shared her name.
She was signalling to the Drug Lord:
'I am the daughter of the couple you murdered; one day I'll find and kill you.'
She hoped to flush him out, forcing him to send men after her so she could trace them back to him.
But she was still too green: she never considered that the enemy might have fuller intelligence
and, learning she had relatives in the US,
strike at them first to eliminate every root and branch.
'Still too young,' he murmured.
He ran through every detail of 'the deadly black orchid' he could recall,
then shook his head and sighed for the uncle and grandmother Cataleya would unwittingly condemn.
He remembered the mastermind behind her parents' deaths was a Colombian Drug Lord;
after Cataleya used the dossier her parents had prepared to report him to the US embassy,
the true colours of the US Government showed.
The whistle-blower, Cataleya, was shipped to the US under constant watch,
while the reported Colombian Drug Lord was placed under CIA protection, becoming a key link in the Agency's global drug-money pipeline.
Hunter vaguely recalled the Colombian-born kingpin
was tucked away in some southern US state, still enjoying sunshine, beaches, mansions and luxury.
And this… is the United States.
He couldn't help recalling the warmth and initiative Black Orchid Cataleya had shown earlier.
A body forged through years of training—his five attributes already triple that of an average adult male—
had, for the first time since crossing into this world, felt utterly satisfied.
Though even now, Hunter still felt it hadn't quite been enough.
"When I get the chance, I'll help her track down that Drug Lord."
"And try to avenge her parents' blood-debt."
He pinched out the cigarette, pulled on a pair of boxers, and got out of bed.
The light in the room was still on, and the apartment wasn't large,
so he quickly noticed one of the keys hanging on the wall near the door was missing.
After a brief daze, Hunter's mouth curved into an arc.
"Planning to drop by often from now on?"
"Looks like I won't be canceling the lease on this place just yet."
Fine—keep it, then.
After all, Hunter was now a low-key super-millionaire with nearly five hundred million us dollars to his name.
A yearly rent of barely ten grand was nothing worth batting an eye at.
Still, the fact that the Black Orchid had been plucked so easily…
Even now, Hunter found it a little surreal.
He couldn't tell whether she'd simply been that passionate and uninhibited
or whether he still hadn't acclimated to America's open culture.
Barely ten hours ago they'd reunited on the street;
a few hours ago they were chatting in a bar—
and then they'd tumbled straight into bed.
This dream-like plot had moved way too fast.
He took a cold shower, letting the icy water wash away the restlessness.
Only when the heat finally subsided did he step out, towel in hand, drying himself while planning his next moves.
Black Orchid Cataleya wouldn't be coming back here anytime soon;
she had her parents' revenge to pursue—no time for play.
As for Dominic, Hunter would head for the Caribbean after wrapping things up in Los Angeles.
After all, Mia was still deliciously tempting.
So, for the next while, he needed to secure the farm, settle Tali and Maggie,
and drop by Slater's place again.
He still had quite the appetite for that beautiful lockpicking master…
----------------------------------
I've already posted 70 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"