When There Is Nothing Left But Love

The man had a trucker hat on. He deliberately kept his head low when he passed by the reception to evade the surveillance cameras.

Millie had mentioned once during one of our casual exchanges that due to the handsome pay that came with the high-risked nature of their jobs, they had to put their life, blood and sweat on the line or die while they were executing their mission. It became their second nature to keep watching over their own shoulders, even when they were sleeping.

For me, I was just striking a deal with the man. I could not care less how much bloodshed he had caused.

As soon as they took their seats, I cut to the chase. “I want the reports on Ashton’s most recent medical records and his whereabouts right now.”

“But you promised to give him three days’ time to investigate,” Millie reminded me.

“No problem.” The man kept his head low. From where I was sitting, I could only see the lower half of his face. His chin was stubbled, and he looked slightly darker than most native K City citizens. His thin lips were oddly protruding, bearing the ruggedness of the desert people.

“The figures on his health records, his schedule, and the list of persons he has been in contact with are all simple numbers. I can send them to your phone right now. However, I cannot provide you with more detailed information,” the man muttered as he fished out his phone.

Soon, I received a WhatsApp notification. It was a message with an attachment.

the file, which took mere

zooming in and pinching out, and noticed the “In good health” remark at the bottom of his health report.

relief at the health report.

He could lose a tail easily. Although I held little hope on the leads of his whereabouts,

 was imprinted on

and forth from K and J Cities in the evenings, to the family home left behind

to K City, the family home had remained vacant. Even Uncle Charlie hardly went back there. I knew Ashton had been swamped lately. So how, or rather why, did he go back and forth between two cities

reach him these days. It must have something

right in the

that I was deep in silence, the man reminded me, “My pay is only to locate Ashton Fuller. If you want to know what happens at the

Moreover, the family home was not a dangerous place, so it made no sense for an outsider to poke around, especially when there might

and said nothing else. He cast a sideways glance at Millie before

out after him to ask him for more

sat right down in my