The Devil's Song Bird

A lone night encounter

"Where are you now?" Liam asked, with his voice laced with worry.

"For the hundredth time, Liam, I am fine!" Ava snapped, her frustration evident. "I am perfectly capable of walking home alone. It is not the first time, you know."

"I know, Ava, I know. I just...." he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up today."

Those words made Ava softened slightly. Liam had always sacrificed his time to drop her off home every night after work. But somehow, today was different.

He couldn't make out the chance to take Ava home, and that worried him.

"Liam, it is fine. Stop apologizing. This is just 9:30. The streets aren’t that bad yet."

"9:30 at night is not ‘just,’ Ava. Please, pick up the pace and get home quickly," Liam urged, the protective edge in his voice unmistakable.

"You are acting like I am a kid. Relax! Now hang up already. You are exhausting me.". Ava said, and rolled her eyes.

"No way," Liam countered. "I am staying on the line until you are safe at home. Just humor me, okay?"

"Ugh! Fine. But recharge my phone later if you insist on wasting your office’s balance on this nonsense," Ava teased.

"Deal," Liam chuckled. "Now, how far are you?"

"About 20 minutes, I think. I just turned onto the estate Road." Ava paused for dramatic effect. "You know what, Liam. You sound like a possessive husband tracking his lost wife. When I see you tomorrow, you are dead."

"Looking forward to it," Liam quipped, his sarcasm making her grin despite herself.

Their banter carried on until Ava's attention shifted. She noticed a sleek car parked under the faint glow of a streetlight. Its presence was oddly out of place on the otherwise deserted road. And that made her wonder.

"Hey, Liam. There's something weird here," she muttered, slowing her pace.

"What’s weird? Ava, what’s going on?" Liam asked, his tone turned sharp.

"There’s this car here. Fancy-looking. And… there’s someone standing next to it.". Ava squinted at the vehicle.

"Ava, keep moving. Don’t stop to admire cars."

"I am not admiring cars! Just that this car looks expensive. Like, crazy expensive," she murmured.

As Ava approached, she could make out a man leaning casually against the driver’s side. His figure, tall and imposing, was illuminated faintly by the street light. And his sharp suit hinted at both luxury and.. danger.

Ava felt her breath catch. Even from a distance, there was something magnetic about the man. Her steps faltered a little as her gaze inadvertently met his. His eyes, dark and piercing, held hers in an unspoken challenge.

And then she noticed who it was.

"Ava? Where are you now?" Liam’s voice cut through her trance.

"Liam. RoughCoin Shakur,..he's...here," Ava stammered, and her voice trembled.

The last person she expected to encounter tonight was the notorious criminal, RoughCoin Shakur.

"What?" Liam's alarm was immediate. "RoughCoin? Are you sure?"

Ava nodded instinctively, forgetting Liam couldn’t see her.

"I..I don’t know what to do.". She whispered.

"Listen to me," Liam said firmly, trying to stay calm despite the panic rising in his own chest. "He is not there for you, Okay. He is probably handling some other business around. Remember what he told Mr Ronnie the other day? Now, turn around slowly and run. Don’t look back. Got it?"

Immediately Liam said that, Ava's legs felt like lead. She glanced back at RoughCoin Shakur, who was now standing upright with his attention wholly fixed on her.

"Run, Ava!" Liam’s voice urged her through the phone.

Finally, as if shaken awake, Ava spun on her heel and bolted. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made her faster than she thought possible. With the sound of her footsteps echoing through the silent street, and her phone still clutched tightly in her hand.

But RoughCoin had already anticipated her move.

She turned a corner and froze immediately. A row of sleek black cars blocked the road ahead, with their headlights glaring like predatory eyes.

"Liam.!". Ava whispered frantically into the phone, her voice cracking. "This is a trap. I am trapped."

"Stay calm!" Liam’s voice tried to ground her. "If they catch you, don’t say anything. Call him ‘sir, and be polite. Give him whatever he asks for. Just....."

Liam was still instructing Ava on what to do, when a deep, husky voice interrupted.

"Why did you run, my love?"

Ava's breath hitched. RoughCoin was behind her, and so close she could feel the cold edge of his presence.

Slowly, she turned to face him with her heart hammering in her chest.

And tears pricked her eyes. She had heard the stories of women who disappeared in the night. Stories of violence, and of cruelty.

‘This is it,’ Ava thought, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

'I am going to die tonight.'

But RoughCoin merely tilted his head, with his gaze softening as it roamed over her trembling frame.

"You shouldn’t have run," he murmured, his tone low but strangely intimate.

Ava couldn’t speak. She couldn’t even move. She could only stare into the eyes of the man who, in a single moment, had changed the course of her night, and possibly, her life.