CHAPTER 1
The city at night was a river of neon and shadow, and Migo was its gentle boatman. The steering wheel was cool beneath her fingers, the hum of the engine a familiar, lulling song. Her cab, a yellow beetle in the endless stream, was empty, carrying with it the lingering ghost of cologne and cheerful chatter from her last fare, dropped off just a few minutes prior. The silence that followed was a comfortable one, broken only by the swish of tires on damp asphalt and her own soft chewing.
She was mumbling a cold meat pie, the pastry tough and congealed now, the filling a vague, lukewarm mass. She'd gotten it hours ago, a hurried purchase during a shift change, and it had sat on the passenger seat, forgotten until the gnawing in her stomach became too persistent to ignore. It was cold, yes, and far from satisfying, but it was doing the job, quenching the hunger, filling the void. She took another small bite, her eyes never leaving the road, scanning the sidewalks for the tell-tale raised hand, the hopeful figure under a streetlamp.
A few metres ahead, under the sickly orange glow of a faulty halogen light, she saw him. A tall man his name is Carly, in a long dark coat, his arm was already raised, hailing another cab that had just pulled over. Migo eased her foot off the accelerator, ready to glide past. But then, the man leaned into the window of the first cab, seemed to exchange a few words, and then straightened up, waving the driver on with a dismissive hand. The cab pulled away, its tail lights shrinking into the distance.
Almost immediately, the man's gaze swung to her approaching vehicle. His arm came up again, this time directed squarely at her. A flicker of professional curiosity passed through Migo's mind. Changed his mind? Didn't like the driver? She pushed the thoughts aside and smoothly pulled the cab to the curb, the tires kissing the concrete with a soft sigh.
The man didn't open the door immediately. Instead, he bent at the waist, his hands on his knees, and peered through the glass of the passenger window. His face was pale and sharp in the dim light, his eyes dark pools scanning the interior—the empty seats, the clean upholstery, the partition, and finally, Migo herself. It was a deliberate, assessing look, not hostile, but intensely cautious, as if he were verifying the specifications of a vehicle he was about to purchase. Migo met his gaze for a second, gave a slight, professional nod, and then looked away, feigning interest in her dashboard to give him his moment.
Satisfied, the man finally pulled the handle. The door swung open, letting in a rush of cool, night-smelling air—a mix of distant rain, exhaust, and the sweet decay from a nearby overflowing bin. He slid into the back seat, his coat rustling like dry leaves. The cab settled slightly with his weight.
He gave the address, his voice a low, even baritone, naming a street in a quiet, residential neighbourhood on the other side of the city. It was a long fare, a good one. Migo punched the destination into her GPS, the screen blooming with a route in electric blue.
"Very well, sir," she said, her voice slightly hoarse from the dry pie. She cleared it softly and recited the estimated bill, the numbers appearing on the small digital screen facing the passenger compartment.
The man didn't even glance at it. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead, through the windshield. "No problem," he answered, his tone flat and final. "Proceed." Unfortunately he begin to threaten migos when she was on a motion, the man have already put tracker into migo's car.
Migo start to shake on driving till she heat the car to mountain the man faint when the incident happen and Migo get down from the car with wound and start looking for help nobody came out, later the man came out from the car and he begin to bully her again till the man faint finally. Migo quickly rush into her car and she drove away start calling 911 for assistance.
Police officer's face, once a mask of a calm reassurance, tightened into a grim mask of urgency the moment the name "Carly" left the speaker. He held a finger to his lips signaling for migo to keep him talking, while his other hand flew to his shoulder radio, whispering a rapid, coded transmission.
But Carly wasn't waiting for a response.
"You think you have got away, driver?" His voice was a low, venomous sneer, all pretense civility gone. "You become part of my problem. And I solve my problems."
Migo's breath hitched. The officer nodded at her, encouraging her to speak, and engage.
"What… what do you want?" Migo stammered, her voice a thin whisper.
" I want you to understand the situation you're in," Carly said, his tone chillingly conversationalBefore I hailed your cab, I was in a… disagreement. A man decided he didn't want to cooperate. So I shot him he is not getting up again."
A cold solid dread, heavier than any fear she' d felt before settled in migo's stomach. This wasn't just an aggressive passenger; this was a killer.
"I looked in your window and I saw it," he continued, a twisted a pride in his voice. I saw a woman alone no fight in her eyes. Just… tired you looked easy. And you were. Untill you weren't."
The memory of his assessing gaze now felt like a violation. He had selecting her, judging her as soft, as prey.
"Now you've made things difficult", he snarled, the smugness evaporating, replace by raw threat. "And when people making thing difficult for me, I made things permanent for them. Do you understand? I know your face. I know your cab number. I know the sound of your voice. There is no "getting away."
The line went dead, leaving a silent in the car that was more terrifying than his words.
The police officer was already in a motion. "He's confirming a homicide and making direct threats. We have his name. This a top priority now". He look at migo, his eye full of a new, grave intensity. "You are not going home . You are coming with us, right now. We re taking you to safe house."