The Ties That Bind

Maxim had gotten in and buckled up, started the car and even shifted into reverse before she made her suggestion. There was a small pause before he quite pointedly put the car back into park, set the parking brake, and leaned his head back against the seat with a soft sigh.

"Madeline." He said after a pause to go over her words in his head and try to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Where are we going?" Now that she'd spoken up, he had to know exactly what it was. If she was going to be bringing him somewhere that was illegal enough she didn't want him there, they were going to have problems. Mainly, the fact that she was his problem. He had to keep his eyes on her.
 
She had been looking out the window, but his sigh caught her attention as she turned to face him. She looked a little sheepish, as if she knew he would have a problem with it and she should have told him sooner.

"Look I understand what you're probably thinking, but I'm not trying to ditch you and take off okay?" "I stashed my stuff in a dilapidated old house, in the attic that you won't be able to follow me up into and even if you could manage that, the floor won't hold your weight."
 
Maxim was quiet for a moment, just watching her and running over a few things in his own head, both determining whether or not he believed her and giving her a moment to rethink her decisions. Nothing could ever be easy, could it?

"And this 'dilapidated old house'," he began, calm but mildly annoyed, "is it occupied by any of Farkas' men or other unsavory types? Is it a drug house or filled with illegal squatters?" One he could overlook, while the other he could not. If she was trying to go into a place she didn't so much as want him to enter, they were going to have problems.
 
She shook her head a little, she could tell he was a bit annoyed, she was a little herself but she didn't show it. She could understand why he didn't trust her, it was just frustrating to be treated like a troublesome child.

"No it's not Farkas's territory, I'm not that dumb, the whole point was to stash my stuff somewhere they wouldn't be." "It's a rival gang, they keep everyone else away from their territory but they're pretty small time and they don't stray from their hideout much."

"Like i said, not really during the day." She seemed a little hesitant but continued, "it's possible that there might be one or two people camping out on the first floor, but they're not bad people."
 
It wasn't, truly, that Maxim didn't trust her to come back. If she decided to run, that was on her. But if he let her out of his sight in a place where she could potentially be involved in other crimes, it wouldn't look good for him. Even beyond all thoughts of his image with the superiors watching over him, he was meant to be keeping her safe.

Maxim hesitated for a moment longer, letting her decisions stew between them, then finally sat up straight again and reached to shift the car into reverse, to finally take them out of the parking lot. "Then I'm coming with you. I may not be able to get into the ceiling, but I can at least follow from below. If it's dangerous, we shouldn't separate." Depending on where they were going, the 'small time' gang might even know his face. Perhaps he'd even helped them out, here or there. If he was recognized and Madeline was seen in his presence, it could allow her some protection should she ever be seen without him.
 
She still seemed reluctant, but she could tell this was the most he was willing to bend. "I usually get in from a tree outside, there's no second floor anymore, but alright."

"Can you promise not to bust anybody that might be staying there?" She asked quietly, "they're not bad people, just poor and desperate."

"They shouldn't bother you, but don't tell them who you are." "They don't trust cops, though they might figure it out anyway, you look like one you know?"
 
If he hadn't been operating a vehicle, Maxim would have held up both of his hands to proclaim his innocence, for what little good he thought it would do. Madeline was, understandably, not quick to trust anyone but herself.

"You can rest assured," he said with a little wave of his free hand as they pulled away from the parking space and started off, "It's not my intention to go around arresting those who are sick, or down on their luck. I would offer aid, if they felt like accepting it."

There were places they could go to find a temporary roof over their heads, or to work on breaking free of an addiction, and he would send them there if they would let him. Kicking out squatters and busting drug abusers was for the local police. His goal was to keep their own kind out of trouble as much as was possible, and to take down those beyond helping. The HED was well aware that having a shapeshifter in an average prison could go very, very poorly. If they couldn't be helped, corrected by their own alpha or similar leader, or brought to the side of the law, then Maxim would focus on arrests. Before he lifted his fist he would always first extend his hand.

"I'm sure there's some way in." He said when they'd stopped at the exit to the lot, waiting for her to direct him which way to go and only pulling out into the street once she had. "If need be, I can give you a lift. If I don't show my badge, at least our kind tend to see Alpha before Agent." Humans only saw authority where shifters sensed the position and power of a leader. If there was no hole in the roof and no second floor, he might be of some actual use to her, and would be sure to leave anyone they found inside alone if they would do the same for him.
 
It was her turn to study him, after a moment or two she seemed satisfied enough, nodding a little. "Alright, thanks." She hoped his definition of sick and down on their luck, included addiction and or petty theft but hopefully that wouldn't come up.

Besides they'd been in and out quickly enough, and she thought he'd overlook it anyway. He did have bigger fish to fry after all, but she thought it was a bit more than that.

She was mostly silent, save for pointing him in the right direction. "There is, from the outside." She said with a small smirk, "but since you insist on accompanying me, I'll have to improvise."

She shrugged a little at his alpha comment, "most of the ones I know are just humans, but there might be one or two there."
 
Maxim wasn't fully sure that she believed him, but for now compliance would have to do. It was early in their strange partnership to be arguing already. Rather than press to make sure she knew he wasn't lying, he simply followed her directions as he drove.

"Fair enough." He said with a shrug when she thought there would be more humans than shifters. It was often the case, given the ratio of human population in relation to theirs. "Call me your bodyguard if you'd like," he offered, giving a small smile just to show he wasn't truly angry with her for taking them somewhere so unsavory. "Or your chauffeur." She didn't need to call him anything, given anyone around would rather scatter than ask questions, but it was amusing at least.
 
She had turned to look out the window again, trying to think. She hadn't been inside the building in a while, the first floor anyway. She usually used a tree outside to carefully reach an otherwise inaccessible window, then from there she vaulted her way up into the attic.

She'd chosen this building partly because the stairs had collapsed long ago, and the floor was so brittle it was like thin ice, which made it pretty much impossible for any regular person to get upstairs.

She wasn't sure how she was going to get up from the inside, but she'd just have to figure it out. She was more worried about anyone that might be there, she didn't want to scare anyone off.

There was also the small possibility that someone dangerous might wander in, but she didn't think that likely. She glanced at him when he spoke, smirking a little.

"Oh yeah?" "Perhaps i might, but I doubt they'd believe it." "I mean you're pretty sloppily dressed for a chauffeur." She teased lightly.
 
"Somehow I feel insulted," Maxim said with a shake of his head, driving the way she directed and keeping an eye on their surroundings as they went. "Though, you really should pick a side. Am I dressed like a cop, or dressed like a slob? I'm getting mixed signals."

His clothes were generally rather generic - denim or otherwise durable work pants, a simple, plain shirt whether it buttoned up or not, and either a sport jacket or something less formal, but always in muted, neutral colors. He neither dressed up or down, staying clean but not formal, and ready to take whatever action was necessary. The dress code for agents like himself was generally rather loose, so long as they looked presentable.
 
"It's not your clothes that make you look like a cop, though they don't help." She said simply, with no further explanation. "Besides cops and slobs are not mutually exclusive."

"And you're not sloppy by normal standards, but a chauffeur should be in a suit at the very least." She smirked a little in amusement, "I thought you said your ego was hard to bruise, are you really insulted so easily?"
 
Maxim gave a soft pff under his breath but didn't refute her any more than he had already, knowing that she wasn't wrong. Whether it was because he was alpha, because he was technically an officer of law, or simply because he carried himself with authority, he was well enough aware that if he didn't want to be spotted immediately he had to consciously change his posture, gait and expression.

"Let's just say I feel like I should be," he said, a faint smile on his face at having his own words thrown back at him. "Would you prefer I slouch more when we get there?" It was only a jest, as he had no intention of changing anything while they were out and about unless he observed and deemed it necessary, but it was enough to keep up a little conversation between them until they reached their destination.
 
She shook her head a little, her amused smile growing a little. She was glad to see his seemingly good mood, it made her feel a bit less nervous about him bothering anyone they might run into.

"That would be up to you, but I don't think it would help much." She teased lightly, she couldn't really explain what it was about him that betrayed his identity.

Some of it was the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, the look in his eyes, he just seemed to give off an air of authority.
 
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Maxim only wrinkled his nose a little at the idea of trying to look 'casual', knowing he wouldn't do it very well unless he fully committed and not willing in this particular circumstance to do so. "I suppose not. I'll just let them scatter when they see me. They'll come back." He was not enough of a threat to scare them away for long unless he was trying to.

When they arrived at the building she led him to, Maxim parked where she thought was best, but didn't hesitate to get out despite the clearly unsavory neighborhood it resided in. Part of his 'image' she was sure he was projecting was likely a lack of fear over his own safety. He was a strong wolf, experienced, alert, and did carry a firearm when he was working. All in all, he was reasonably confident he could handle most things that came their way, or else call for backup and get Madeline to safety somewhere if he couldn't.

"All right, then." He said once they had gotten close to the building, glancing over at her with an eyebrow raised. "Where do you suggest we enter?"
 
She joined him outside of the car, her own demeanour a bit less confident. Still she was fairly relaxed here, she'd never seen anyone even remotely connected to Farkas around here after all.

"Around the back, there's an opening in the wall, everything else is boarded up." She shrugged a little, "or at least there was last time I was here, it's been a while."

"And I don't get upstairs from the inside, I don't even know if I can." It might sound like she was making excuses, but she was being honest. "I normally climb up that." She explained, as she pointed to a large old tree in the backyard.
 
Maxim shrugged and just turned to follow her towards the back of the building, not overly concerned with getting inside. "A few boards wouldn't be a problem, really. We'll just have a look inside and see what it looks like. Worst case scenario, you go back to your original route and I'll just listen for you."

Once he had a look inside he could more reliably say that there was no one around that he didn't want her associating with, and no reasonable points of exit except for the way she would come in. Once he had checked on those things, he could allow her a bit more freedom. He was reasonably certain she wasn't going to disappear. He just also needed to be sure she wasn't going to do anything the both of them would be getting in trouble for.
 
She didn't really get why he was so insistent on this, if she was going to ditch him this wasn't the way she'd do it, but she just shrugged a little, it was pointless to argue about it. "Alright then."

She led the way around the back of the house, everything about it, from it's slanting roof, cracked foundation and splintered wood screamed that it would crumble to dust in mere moments.

However the house had stood this way for years, and likely wood for years to come. The whole street seemed to have been forgotten, or at least by anyone besides society's outcasts.

Where a sliding glass door should have been, there was a hole that had been loosely covered with a square of canvas in an attempt to keep the elements out.

There was enough space to squeeze in easily enough, she glanced over her shoulder at him, "sure you don't wanna wait out here?"
 
The house looked like a stiff wind would knock it down. Maxim was sure it was more sound than it looked, at least when it came to the outer frame of the building, or else it likely wouldn't still be standing at all, but it didn't truly inspire confidence. He supposed, at least, that if she thought the ceiling was going to cave in Madeline probably wouldn't have stashed her things there.

Still, when she stopped at the feeble covering over the door to double check with him he only gestured for her to keep going. "Am I supposed to be scared?" he asked with amusement in his voice. "Just go before the termites get us. I'll have a look and go from there."
 
She shrugged a little, looking forward again. "Not scared, sad maybe." She said quietly, before slipping in between the canvas and the wall, disappearing into the darkness within.

She was tentative at first but she needn't have worried, it was more or less what she'd been expecting, a mostly empty house with a few people scattered here and there.

A few of them glanced her way fearfully, though most didn't take any notice, either sleeping or simply lost in their own world. They were mostly separated from each other, monopolising their own little corner of the dusty floor.

She recognised a few and she nodded to them but said nothing, they did likewise, seeming to be undisturbed by her presence.

An older man, perhaps in his forties or fifties, approached her. He was tall and solidly built, though it was hard to tell with how thin he was. His wild untamed hair that was once a thick and lustrous black was threaded with grey and his beard was much the same.

He had a look of illness about him, a picture of a once strong man reduced to this waste but he carried himself with a certain sad pride and his green eyes, though bloodshot were kind and intelligent.

"Well fancy seeing you again lil lady, it's been a while." He spoke to her with a friendly smile, his voice calm and steady. There was an air about him, one that spoke of former power, as a man, and as a wolf.

She nodded to him and smiled back, though she was sad to see his current state, he seemed to have gotten worse since the last time she'd seen him. "It's good to see you doc, how've you been?"

He shrugged a little, never losing the easy smile though it didn't quite meet his eyes. "Same as always hon, same as always."

His eyes narrowed a little as he caught sight of Maxim, "and who might you be?" He asked him, not aggressively but not very welcoming eiether.
 
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