Hold It In, Don't Vomit!

Hold It In, Don't Vomit!

Stark casually took a seat at the bar and gestured for Pepper to sit beside him.

He placed his bandaged right hand on the counter and said in an unbearably smug tone, "So, Mr. Alvin, are you asking me here to apologize? Or do you want me to recommend your restaurant to high society?"

As he spoke, Stark put on a show of looking around the restaurant, then curled his lip disdainfully. "Honestly, this place is really nothing special!"

Frank looked at Stark with open admiration. He liked Stark, because Stark's way of courting death looked exactly like his own pain-in-the-ass son.

Alvin didn't mind Stark deliberately getting his name wrong. One had to show a little respect to one's future weapons sponsor and designated scapegoat, didn't one?

Alvin smiled at Stark and said, "I mainly wanted to clear up yesterday's misunderstanding. If you haven't eaten yet, you can try the steak here. You might like it."

With an expression that said, I knew it, Stark pointed at Alvin with his left hand like a loan shark's thug. "Kid, it's too late to apologize now. Yesterday, I spent five hundred thousand dollars hiring a Japanese judo master. I'll be coming for you very soon.

"I'm going to beat you up! Not because your waiter injured me, but so you'll understand that you need to show respect whenever you meet Mr. Tony Stark."

Frank looked at Stark with some concern. If Nick grew up to be like him, how many people would Frank have to kill to keep the kid alive?

Alvin maintained a polite smile. "That's your choice, but you're injured today, aren't you? You can try my steak first."

Alvin served the prepared portions to Chief George, JJ, and Frank first. Chief George's steak was only half his usual portion.

Ginny had eaten a little too much that morning, so she wasn't hungry now. As for Jessica, she probably wouldn't be eating until evening.

Stark even mocked Chief George, saying that a man who could only eat that little was a disgrace to his image as a police officer.

Not wanting to deal with Stark's filthy mouth, Alvin smiled and asked Pepper whether she wanted a steak as well. Pepper politely declined, citing her diet. See? Heaven blessed girls who loved looking pretty!

He chose the largest steak, replaced the olive oil on the griddle with animal fat, and quickly seared it on both sides to lock in as much blood and juice as possible. Rare. He poured thick tomato sauce over the pasta and topped it with a fried egg, the yolk still runny. Perfect!

When the Teppanyaki Steak was served at the bar, even someone as picky as Stark had to take a deep breath at the rich aroma coming off it and say, "Man, that steak is excellently cooked. If you're not a liar, I'll give you another fifty points."

After enduring Stark's sarcasm for so long, Alvin still acted like an honest farmer, hoping to make up for his past mistake with warm hospitality.

Stark was quite pleased with Alvin's performance. He picked up his knife and fork and began wolfing down the steak.

No one said a word. Only Pepper watched Alvin with suspicious eyes. Alvin gave her a gentlemanly smile and tilted his head, asking what was wrong.

Pepper shook her head doubtfully, indicating that it was nothing. But she really didn't think Alvin was someone so easy to talk to. She had a feeling Stark was about to have a bad time!

When Stark cut off the first piece of steak and put it into his mouth, he chewed once and let out a deeply satisfied "Ohhh." Then he sincerely gave Alvin a thumbs-up.

Stark stuffed the enormous steak into his stomach.

Alvin thoughtfully served him a glass of lemon water to help him digest a little. Then he went to talk to his daughter for a moment, telling Ginny to stay in the restaurant and play with Jessica. Thor and Dom would stay behind with her.

Alvin waved at everyone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's go take a look at what we caught yesterday. Miss Pepper and Mr. Stark can identify it. Perhaps Mr. Stark's impression of me will improve a little."

Stark stroked his neatly trimmed mustache, gave a "Ha," and said, "Then let's go see it. I can't wait. Maybe it's some interesting animal, or the work of a Hollywood special-effects makeup artist."

The basement next door, in Frank's house, was fairly clean after its recent renovations. The lighting was dim, and there were suspicious red stains on the floor and walls near the door. An unpleasant smell also hung in the air. It was easy to associate the place with a murder scene where someone had been dismembered.

Pepper covered her nose in disgust but said nothing.

Stark, incapable of keeping his mouth shut, waved his left hand in front of his nose and complained to Alvin, "Was this place converted from a septic tank? It stinks. I can't believe you people actually live somewhere like this. When this is over, write me a letter. I'll send you a check so you can properly renovate your house."

Alvin looked at Stark sincerely and said, "Mr. Stark, I need to remind you that what's inside is a little frightening. Ordinary people might not be able to handle it. You should prepare yourself."

"Oh, cut it out. Stop putting on airs and trying to scare me, man. Show me what your so-called vampires look like," Stark said impatiently.

Alvin shrugged agreeably and signaled for Frank to open the door. The group filed into the basement one after another.

Under the dim basement lights, three black plastic sheets covered three clearly living humanoid figures.

Since no one spoke, the atmosphere was rather terrifying. Pepper had already hidden behind Stark, peeking over his shoulder at those things with only her eyes exposed.

Stark bravely reached back and patted Pepper's waist, sneering, "Nice atmosphere. This would be a good place to film a horror movie."

JJ and Frank, who had long since run out of patience, stepped forward, grabbed the plastic sheets, and yanked them away.

Three miserable vampires, already seriously injured and tortured harshly the night before, were exposed beneath the lights.

The unluckiest was the vampire that had taken a steel door to the body yesterday. Its exploded belly had spilled its intestines and internal organs all over the floor. After Jessica stepped on them by the door last night, they had now been neatly arranged beside its head.

Another vampire, whose eyes Alvin had kicked out, had been the subject of last night's interrogation. The flesh on one of its right hands had been completely scraped away and arranged piece by piece beside its head.

The last was the vampire Frank had chopped an arm off. This one was doing comparatively well and still had plenty of spirit. Once the sheet was pulled away, it violently thrashed its body, trying to break free from the huge rivets pinning it to the floor. It opened its mouth, bared its sharp fangs, and let out a piercing shriek at Alvin's group.

The horrific scene slammed into the minds of the three newcomers. Chief George had been a police officer, after all, and handled it fairly well.

When Miss Pepper saw the three moving, ruined corpses, she screamed once and promptly fainted.

Alvin thoughtfully said to Stark, whose legs were trembling, "Mr. Stark, I have to remind you: don't vomit in here. The owner of this house has a very bad temper!"