Siren

 (Author's Note: Now it comes with an audio because I just love the sound of my own voice. Listen here! )


 Ah, what a great time to be me, Maximillion Ventura thought with a grin.

 He sat in the tallest part of the tallest building in Augusta, MD. Ventura Co, his life's work. It did a lot of things: Security, computers, cell phones, even toys. Thousands of people slaved to keep this company running with all the things it did, since no other famous company would dare stand to be in a place full of psychics with some weird ass backyard right by. Max, though? He took advantage and made his little personal monopoly, sucking those little poor worms' money right out of their hands. Government regulation? Pah, government doesn't give two shits about a city full of freaks. President gave up on them once his constituents gave him hell for even thinking about helping them.


 An entire city was in the palm of his hands, eating the shit right out of it. And man, he loved watching them buy his stuff because it was the only company they could get stuff from. No matter how high the prices went, they grumbled and gave their money with no huge outrage. Not a worry in the world weighed him down, because it could be solved with money or by pressing a big, fat red security-calling button on his desk. In emergencies, he had a gun in the safe to take care of things himse-

"Sir?"

 A lady, dressed in formal business wear, stood in front of his desk, with a phone in her hand. Max groaned. "What do ya need this time, Serena?" he asked, pulling out  a cigarette and placing it between his lips. "Don't tell me that some idiots screwed up my next plans and missed the deadlines!"

 "Um, no," Serena replied, adjusting her glasses a little. "Actually, someone was calling and demanded to speak to you."

 Max snorted. "Some low class idiot, wanting to talk to the President of Ventura Co.? Not even worth my time. Put them on hold, indefinitely."

 "But she says she has something serious to talk about-"

 " 'Oh, she says she has something serious to talk about!' " her boss repeated mockingly before taking out a lighter and lighting up his cigarette. "Fuck what she says, put her on hold and redirect her to customer service. Probably wants to complain about all those microtransactions in that new phone game we released. Low priorities and all."

 With a sigh, Serena left the office, leaving Max to himself. Finally. He was just about to relax when his own office phone rang. He let it ring and ring and ring until it finally stopped. Some idiot was desperate. What the heck could she be calling for? The microtransactions weren't that bad, were they?

 Rrrrr. Rrrrrr. Rrrrrr.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and startled him, almost making him drop his cigarette  out of his mouth. With a sigh, he picked it up and answered, "Maxamillion Hamilton Ventura, President and CEO of Ventura Co., how may I he-"

"Ignoring me won't save you, dear president," said the voice over the phone, sweet as honey, with a tint of poison.

 "What are you talking about? You're just calling me to solve some problem that customer service can answer. Call them instead of-"

"Only you can answer for your sins, President. You might think you can escape without empathy for the people you drain of green gold, but unfortunately, there is no escape. Not after what you've done to my own."

 Max gritted his teeth. What the hell was this girl talking about? 'Done to her own?' What was she, some sort of alien? "I'm sorry, but we speak english here. Tell me what the fuck you want or I swear, I'll call the police on you for this!"

The voice chuckled at him. "How naive you are. I have already thought of that. You won't find this number anywhere in a phone book. Nor will I even give you the pleasure of knowing my name, dear President. As for what I want? Ah, such crude words you use! Hardly befitting for a king who sits upon a throne of lies. Anyhow, what I want is for you to return the gem you stole from my kin. Return it by midnight, or else I will be forced to deliver divine punishment myself."

 The president couldn't help but cackle at this girl's attempt at scaring him. "Oooh, divine punishment! You think you're some sort of hotshot? Try me! I have security to catch your face before they gun you down like the idiot you are, threatening me! As for your gem..."

 Max stood up and walked over to the steel safe in the corner of his cozy office and opened it up, taking out the brilliant gem, shining with all the colors of the rainbow, and holding it up. It was as big as the palm of his hand, yet light like a feather.

 With a shit eatting grin, he told the person on the other line, "It fits someone like me more than your little filthy friend. Good bye!"

Click.

He  fondly remembered how he got this beautiful gem. Some girl had a jewelry stand with all sorts of sapphires and emeralds. Gems galore, pieces made by hand, stuff almost worthy of being worn by someone like him. Then he saw the greatest prize of all, sitting around her neck. Max asked how much it was, but that bitch told him it wasn't for sale; "It's special and important to my people," she had said. "It wards off the plague of death that a demon has cursed us with out of spite. I will not sell it, not to anyone."

 The girl refused to sell it for a million. Two million. Ten million. No amount of money would convince her to give Max that beautiful gem. So of course, he paid people to forcibly take it away from her and hand it over, ignoring her cries and pleas. A gem like that was never meant to sit around some ugly bitch's neck. Oh no, it was more worthy being around his. He chuckled a bit to himself, ignoring that one of the security cameras happend to move on its own. Not that he would pay it any mind anyhow. That was their job. You know, keeping the place safe? There was no other thing they could be used for... was there?


----------------------

 The next day, Maxamillion walked into his office and yawned, checking the safe to make sure the gem was still there. He made sure to close the door and relaxed in his comfy chair, basking in the sunlight. However, within a matter of minutes, the sun seemed to go down, while the moon went up. Max checked his watch. It was only 12 PM! Why was it so dark outside already?

 He heard something rustle and froze, eyes darting across the room, looking out for any signs of intruders. He reached out and tried to press the button-

 "Oh, don't bother. I made sure to disconnect it last night. Nobody will hear a thing, dear president!" said a familiar, honeyed voice.

 Max looked up slowly and saw her: A woman with flowing blue hair, a purple, feathery mask, a blue dress and slippers, and... what were those, wings? "What's a shitty cosplayer doing in MY office?" he asked through gritted teeth. "If you're looking for trade secrets, I'm not telling you jack shit-"

 "My, how quickly we forget," she sighed, shrugging and shaking her head. "I did not think you had the memory of a goldfish. Shameful, shameful. But I don't want your trade secrets. I don't even want your money. What I want is the gem you took from that poor girl. The one in the safe. Now, if you will."

 "And what are you gonna do if I don't?" Max asked. "Gonna call my mommy? Call the cops? Please, I could buy my way out of it. Face it, sweetcheeks: You can't do jack, so go back home before you get hurt."

 The girl yawned and rolled her eyes. "Sounds familiar... Hm, yes, that sounds like something that happened in one of Sammy's video games. What was it called? Athena Cykes: Ace Attorney?"

 While the girl mused to herself, Maxamillion crept towards the safe and opened it up. The girl turned her head, curious, until she was met with a gun rather than a gem.

 "Let me repeat myself, shall I?" Maxamillion said with a grin. "Go back home before you get hurt. Bet your boyfriend's worried sick. I wouldn't want to give him the bad news: that poor, wittle girlfriend got herself killed." He thought for a moment and added, "And tell me how you got in here and found out about where the gem was."

 "How delightful," the girl said sarcastically. "One willing to use brute force and sweep it under the rug. I got in here by picking locks. For a company who claims to be the top in technology, you are quite behind the times in terms of locks. Honestly, some of the doors I could actually open with a card through the side. As for how I found out about the gem..." The woman pointed over to the security camera. "I had a little help from a mechanical friend."

 Max sneered. "Thanks, sweetie. Now I know exactly how to fix those little problems... and fix the big one standing right in front of me. Au revoir, sweetcheeks!"

 BANG.

The president chuckled as he blew away the smoke from his pistol. That girl wouldn't be a problem anymore. He mused out loud, "Now, I should probably invest in some fingerprint scanners and eye scanners for this room. And get rid of the security cameras. I don't want some idiot hacker to get any ideas from this. 'Divine judgement'? Ha, what a fucking joke. Kid took her cosplay too seriously, I bet-"

 "A cosplay, you say?"

 Maxamillion froze before turning slowly towards the girl. She was standing upright instead of collapsing like a corpse would. There was a bullet wound in the middle of her head, but she was smiling. Smiling! Creepier still, the blood wasn't the red color any human was used to seeing...

No, her blood was bright and multicolored like the gem he stole, running down the middle of her face and onto her mask. "How rude, gawking at me like that!" the girl said, tipping her nose up like a snotty girl. "Now, if you're done with-"

BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG!

 Five more into the chest. Same blood. Same girl, still standing. She was starting to glare at him, though, while his eyes were trying to pop out of his head. This can't be real. No, it can't be. He's dreaming, right? This girl's bleeding rainbows. How is she not dead?! He just shot her chest and head! Why? Why? WHY?!

 "Now, if you're done expending bullets and causing me pain," the girl said, "Its my turn."

 She let out a piercing wail, making him drop his gun in favor of covering his ears. No good; the sound was beginning to make his ears ring. When the wailing stopped, he checked himself, making sure  the rest of him was okay. The moment he did, though, he was kicked in the face and grabbed by the collar as the mysterious human-like thing hissed at him.

"Before I finish you off and take the gem back, let me inform you that the girl that you took the gem from? Her family, her clan? Everyone? They died of the plague she warned you about. You are a murderer thousands of times over, but of course, its all worth it if you can wear a priceless gem on your lapel and flaunt it to the world as a sign of your power, no?"

 Maxamillion whimpered pathetically before she continued, "Either way, your crimes will be paid for. Lets see how you handle one of the Fey's curses!"

The fey? Max could vaguely recall a coffee shop barista talking about the tricksters. Something about them looking innocent, but actually being dangerous? He was unable to think more on this, though, as he looked down and saw that his body was turning into a hard gem. Brilliant, beautiful, powerful. Just like him. He marveled and marveled at himself , even when he could no longer move his neck when it solidified, too.

 He marveled and marveled until he could marvel no more, his body turned to pure opal. And when the illusion of night faded, all who wandered in casually could see that in the middle of the brilliant statue of Maxamillion Hamilton Ventura, there was a heart of stone, as dark and black as could be.

And the Siren? She left not a trace of her presence.