"Just kill? Wh... Who do they want to kill?" Olivia asked her friend in a whisper, her eyes darting around fearfully.
"I hope it is not who I think it is..." Ava urgently whispered back to Olivia as she tried to listen to the men's conversation.
"You and you, take the back entrance. And you, with me at the front." The leader instructed as he pointed at the three men behind him.
"Yes boss!" They replied in unison, their deep, cold voices low.
"The security cameras are already disabled. We have exactly twenty minutes before the backup system kicks in." The leader informed them.
Ava's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her.
"They are here to kill Calix!" Ava whispered.
"What? Now, what are we going to do?" Olivia asked, her voice shaking.
"We need to save him." Ava replied firmly.
"What? How?" Olivia asked.
"We just need to distract them, keep them from entering until the police arrive." Ava told her friend.
Olivia stared at Ava in disbelief.
"Do you know what you are about to do? These men have guns, Ava!" She almost yelled.
"Yes, I know. It is what I have to. I can't let them kill someone if I can prevent it." Ava maintained firmly.
And for a moment, Olivia stared at her friend in shock. When she realized she was serious and wasn't going to change her mind, she took a deep breath.
"Okay, I will help you. You are crazy, but I'm with you." Olivia reluctantly agreed and Ava nodded in appreciation.
Quickly, Olivia pulled out her phone and dialed 911, speaking in hushed tones.
"There are armed men trying to break into 12 Maple Stone. They are planning to kill someone. Please hurry!"
"Stay here. Don't come out, no matter what happens." Ava instructed her friend after the call.
"What? You can't..." Before Olivia could finish protesting, Ava was already sneaking towards her friend's car.
She slipped quietly into the driver's seat then started whistling loudly.
The men stopped at Calix's gate, their hands instinctively moving to their weapons.
"What the hell?" The leader hissed.
"No one is supposed to be here at this moment according to our intelligence..." One of them pointed out, looking surprised.
At that moment, Ava switched to singing, her voice deliberately off-key and loud.
"And iii will always love youuuu!" Ava sang.
"Boss, we have got company." One man reported, his eyes landing on Olivia's car that was parked at a corner, although he couldn't see the inside as it was dark.
"Find out who that is! And shut them up!" The leader instructed sharply.
"Near... far... wherever you are!"Ava continued, adding dramatic hand gestures.
In her hiding spot, Olivia clasped her hands together.
"Please God, protect my crazy friend and let the police come quickly. What is the heck is she even singing now?"
"My heart will go ooon!" Ava kept up the act.
"Fucking loud!!!" One man spat out, sounding irritated as he moved with another one to fish out their disturbance.
Ava saw the two men approaching and cranked up her performance.
"Baby shark do do do!"
"Somebody is in the car!" The men observed and sprung into action.
Suddenly, the car door was yanked open.
"Get out!" One of the men ordered.
"Okay, action!" Ava stated inwardly even though her mind was pounding with fear.
She stumbled out, giggling.
"Heyyy! Are we having a karaoke party? I know ALL the songs!" She slurred the words, as if she was heavily drunk.
The men exchanged confused looks.
"Shut her up before someone hears!" One hissed in annoyance.
"But I loooove parties! Let's dance! Who wants to dance?" Ava shouted, swaying on her feet.
"This drunk bitch is going to ruin everything!" The other man growled, reaching for her.
But Ava dodged and wrapped her arms around him instead, shocking the man.
"Dance with meee!" Ava literally yelled into the man's ear as she was pulling his head down with her arms on neck.
"Get off!" The man tried to push her away while she continued shouting.
"Should we just kill her?" The other man asked, clearly conflicted.
Hearing that, Ava held the man tighter, screaming harder.
Then, Olivia heard sirens in the distance.
"Thank God!" She mumbled, feeling relieved.
Inside his house, Calix heard the police sirens and rushed to his security monitors. They were all dead.
"What the hell is going on out there?" He wondered in shock.
The other man was just moving in to hit Ava on the head with his gun when the police arrived.
"Everyone freeze!" A policeman shouted.
"Fuck!" The assassins scattered but were quickly surrounded.
Calix stepped out of his house, shocked at the scene before him.
"Mr. Maxwell? We received a call about armed intruders planning to assassinate you. These men are professional hitmen. If it wasn't for that young lady's call, they might have succeeded." A police officer informed a very stunned Calix.
"What young lady?" Calix asked, still processing the information.
Olivia emerged from her hiding spot then.
"That would be me, sir. But really, all thanks should go to my friend. She is the crazy one who kept them busy until the police arrived." Olivia divulged.
Calix stared in surprise at Ava, who was now being checked by a paramedic.
"She put herself in danger just to protect me?" Calix wondered inwardly, completely shocked.
After giving their statements to the police, Calix approached them.
"Please, come inside." He invited in.
~~~~~~~~~~
In his living room, Calix handed them both glasses of water.
Ava took a long drink and exhaled sharply afterwards.
"I can't believe that actually did happen!" She exclaimed and chuckled softly.
"Why did you help me? You barely know me!" Calix asked, going straight to the point.
"I could never ignore someone who needs help." Ava replied simply.
Calix studied her thoughtfully.
"What do you want from me? I am certain you definitely didn't just risk your life for nothing!" He said.
Ava nodded simply.
"I just need you to come work for the Gray Enterprises." She confessed.
Calix's face immediately hardened.
"I can't." He said sharply.
"Why not?" Ava inquired.
Calix breathed deeply but his expression was cold.
"There is actually a reason why I have been refusing to join. Ethan is..." He began but stopped abruptly.