'All that crying must've made her fall asleep faster…' Kyla thought as she watched Ava sleep soundly beside her, patting her hair gently.
She frowned, thinking back to what she had said to her friend before finally calming her down.
_
"Why don't you try to figure out what Berger wants from you first?" Kyla suggested, squeezing her shoulders gently. "After that… then maybe... maybe you could consider…"
"Consider what?" Ava asked, disblief lining her face. "Working for him? Kyla, you know I can't do that… he'll… he'll kill me!"
"So what do you want to do then?" Kyla asked. "Would you rather go to jail and then get yourself killed?"
"Hah…" Ava scoffed, pulling at both sides of her hair. "I'll die either way…"
Kyla pursed her lips. "Don't say that, Cookie." She told her. "I know that brain of yours has thought of something already."
Ava chewed her lips nervously. "What if it doesn't work? What if he finds out before–"
"Anything!" Kyla yelled, her voice trembling. "You and I both know that anything else is better than staying under that spiteful man! This is your one and only chance at escape, Ava. You either try your best and die or die doing nothing!"
Ava slumped, covering her face with both hands. "But… what about you?"
"Tsk!" Kyla clicked her tongue. "You always worry about unnecessary things. I always find my way around… I'm strong, remember?"
Ava's lips pursed and she slowly shook her head. "Just… just give me time to think about it… please…"
_
Kyla put off the lamp by the bedside and adjusted herself on the bed. "I hope you make the right decision, Cookie…" She muttered as she drifted off. "But whatever it is, I'll support you."
*****
"Ava darling," A man cooed softly as he stroked young Ava's hair. On his head was a tuft of ash blonde locks and the crinkles by the side of his eyes wrinkled gently when he smiled, his grey eyes lacked any sort of emotion whatsoever even as he stared down at her.
"I got you a present."
Eleven year old Ava blinked up at him, holding the stuffed animal in her hand tight. "A present?" She asked curiously, her eyes basically sparkling. "What is it?"
The man chuckled and snapped his fingers, then the door to the room they were sitting in flung open and a man in a basic black suit walked in, holding a carton box.
Ava jumped up excitedly. "What's that?!"
"Why don't you open it and see?" The man answered and nodded at the man wearing the suit.
The man nodded back and handed the small box to Ava. Then she quickly peeled open the cover and peered inside.
"It's a puppy!" She squealed as she gently took it out of the box, admiring its golden fur. "It's a puppy! It's a puppy! Thank you, Sir!"
'Now I won't be so lonely anymore!' She thought happily as she hugged it close to her chest.
The man only watched her silently, a smile on his lips.
...
"How have your lessons been going, Ava dear?" The Ash blonde man asked, his hand rested on her small shoulder.
"They're.. weird lessons, Sir…" Ava told him, a little worried as she gently petted the small dog in her arms. "But… but the teacher says I'm doing good!"
The man looked at a dark haired woman with glasses standing behind her. "Is that true?"
The woman nodded once. "The girl is… talented." She said, "She lacks strength unlike the others but she's smart."
The man's eyes brightened as he fixed his gaze back on Ava. "Excellent! Shall we put that to the test then?"
The woman flinched. "With all due respect, Sir–"
"Ava," the man started, ignoring her. "Would you like to put all you've learned to the test? I'll give you a gift."
Ava's ears perked. "A gift?"
The man nodded. "It'll be even better than the puppy."
Ava's eyes brightened. "Al… alright I'll do it… if it's not too difficult…"
"Not at all." The man grinned, fishing out a small photo from his back pocket. He crouched to face her properly. "I want you to take something very important away from this man."
The man in the picture had a head full of dark raven hair and his eyes were the color of ice.
"Take something important?" Ava echoed, staring up at him. "But Sir… isn't that… stealing?"
The man's brows arched. "Of course it's stealing, what else would it be?"
Ava's eyes widened and she took a small, cautious step back. "But… but stealing is bad, Sir… I don't want to steal…"
"Hmm… but I'm sure your teacher has told you it can be for a good cause sometimes."
Ava's head lowered. "Then there has to be another way… right? I… I don't want to do something bad for a good cause."
The man frowned and his eyes shifted to the woman behind her. "Why is she still being so difficult?"
The woman's eyes drifted close. "I apologize, Sir, but–"
"Too smart for her own good, eh?" The man scoffed. He let out a sigh. "I didn't want it to come to this."
Suddenly, his hand moved too fast to follow and he snatched Ava's small pet away from her grasp.
"Max!" Ava cried, stretching out her arms. "Sir, are you going to take Max back?! Is it because I refused–"
"Of course not. Max belongs to you and only you." He said, his large fingers circling around the dog's tiny neck. "But you see, Ava, whenever you refuse to do as I say, I'll have no choice but to punish "Max" in your stead."
Ava stood frozen and watched in horror as the man began to wring the puppy's neck. It whimpered and struggled, its limbs flailed listlessly as its eyes began to glaze over.
"Stop!" She screamed, grasping onto his clothes and pulling desperately. "I'll do what you ask, I'll do it! So please don't kill him!"
The man feigned surprise, his eyes were wide like it carried a sort of madness. "Really? Do you promise?"
Ava nodded intensely as tears poured down her cheeks. "Yes, yes! I promise! I promise!"
"Good girl." The man finally let the puppy out of his grip and it fell to the floor with a helpless thud.
"Max!" Ava yelled and rushed to it, placing the trembling, breathless puppy on her lap and stroking it gently. She sniffled. "It's… It's okay… you'll be alright… you'll be alright. I'll take care of you..."
The man placed a gentle hand on her head and for the first time since he took her in, Ava felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch.
"Don't cry too much, now. Children have to be punished when they disobey." The man said gravely. "I didn't have a choice, Ava dearest. I didn't want to hurt you."
Ava's stomach twisted at his voice. She didn't want to steal… she really didn't… but she didn't want to lose Max either.