The Ties That Bind

Maxim only made a soft, thoughtful sort of sound in response to Madeline's question at first, studying the man glaring up at him even as he shifted his weight and used a knee to pin down the arm still clinging stubbornly to the weapon. In the same motion he freed a hand to reach beneath his jacket, and a moment later had his service weapon in hand pointed straight behind him, just past where they had been attacked.

"You'll want to think carefully before you take another step." He said, his voice firm though not raised, calm even as he turned his head just enough to look at the woman that had tried to creep up behind, a knife in hand and a wide-eyed look of surprise on her face. "I don't recognize either of you, so I'll let you go with a warning just this once. Before you try to ambush someone, consider who they are, and who they belong to."

Madeline wouldn't be pleased, he was sure, with the idea of being claimed by him, but for now it was what would help keep her safe. It would make smaller offenders and those simply desperate for the reward think twice about touching her, knowing that she was keeping company with not only an alpha but an agent that could drag them by their scruff to their own leaders, or else send them away as he saw fit. She could be angry with him after they were safely in the car.
 
She kept her gaze on the guy on the ground as Maxim pointed his gun at the approaching woman, wanting to make sure he didn't try and take advantage of the distraction.

His claim of her did cause an expression of anger, but it was brief, barely visible as there were more important things to deal with right now.

She shrugged off her backpack, setting it down by her feet, not wanting it to weigh her down if these idiots decided to try and fight. She stepped closer to the woman, making sure she wasn't blocking Maxims shot.

"I'm honestly a little insulted." She said coolly, keeping her eyes on the woman and the knife she held. "You brought a knife and a pipe, either you two severely underestimate me, or you have no idea who I am and you're just looking to make a quick buck."

"Eiether way, you're both over your fucking heads here." She said this with a simple, calm, harsh honesty, "now are you going to take his generous offer?" She nodded to Maxim, eyes never leaving the woman. "Or are you going to make this difficult?"
 
"In their defense," Maxim said with a slight shrug, "they had very little time to prepare."

The woman, unlike the man who had stopped fighting beneath Maxim's weight and superior strength, transitioned quickly enough from fear to anger, though it wasn't clear if it was really aimed at them at all. With a stifled, irritable sound in her throat she gave her knife a toss to put it a fair distance away, and held her hands where they could see them.

"Money's too good." She said, though Madim wasnt sure if it was meant as apology or just as a excuse for their desperation.

"So I hear." The wolf said, and after a glance down at the man beneath him to make him release his grip picked up the offending pipe and gave it a toss away as well.

Wary still, he got slowly to his feet and stepped away, letting the man sit up but giving him a sharp look to keep him from getting to his feet. "Remember that this was your warning." He advised, and gave Madeline a little gesture so as to get her to walk past him, letting him guard her back as they moved away. "If I see you again, it had best be to hear you ask for mercy."

If he received anything less, he would actually turn the safety off on his gun.
 
Once the woman tossed the knife aside, she nodded dismissively, as if this whole thing bored her. She retrieved her backpack, slipping it back on as she followed Maxims direction and walked in front of him.

She was still alert and listening for further trouble, but she didn't sense much fight left in these two. They seemed to be more desperate people, willing to do anything for easy money.

She was curious just how high the bounty on her head was, Farkas was a very rich man indeed, so it wouldn't shock her if it was an insane amount.

It would ensure quick results and would leave her with almost nowhere to hide, she was betting she was worth more alive too, so he could take his own personal revenge.
 
Maxim trusted Madeline to watch in front of them, stepping backwards until they were far enough away that any approach from behind would take long enough he would have the time to turn around. The houseless and otherwise destitute were always going to do things that were rash and unadvisable for money, that much he understood. Part of him didn't even hold it against them, knowing they were only desperate and suffering.

He kept his senses alert as they made their way back to the car and did a quick look around and underneath it to be sure no one had placed any tracking devices, then finally got them both inside and didn't hesitate to start the engine and get them moving.

"I apologize for speaking of you like something I own," he said, having intended to say it the moment he was able so as to head off some of her upset. "If I don't make it sound like you're one of mine, they'll hesitate less to try and snatch you in broad daylight." Knowing he would fight for her as he would for one of his own wolves would make those with any sense pause. Under their own morals and rules, perhaps even more than a family member or close friend, an alpha would not hesitate to maim or kill to protect what was his. Maxim himself had many steps he would take before he stooped to those levels, but they didn't need to know that.
 
She kept her eyes peeled as she led them to the car, she was looking for anyone else who might be planning to rush them, but also anyone who might be planning to follow them. She couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean they weren't there, this street was full of handy hiding places. It was obvious which car they'd come in, anyone could have noted down the plate number, hoping to find them later. Once Maxim unlocked the car, she put her backpack on the back seat, then slipped into the passenger seat.

Once she was buckled in, she shifted back to stare at the house for a moment longer as they pulled away. She turned back to face the front when Maxim spoke, she glanced at him briefly before returning her gaze out the window. She shrugged a little as if it didn't bother her, she was a good actor, but the fact that she wasn't looking at him was a bit of a giveaway. "It's fine, I get it." Her voice was soft and a little distracted, her thoughts were clearly elsewhere for the moment.

Despite his assurances, she was worried about Doc. Though he was once a powerful alpha, a lot of his former strength had faded away. He was older now, weaker, and not well. She cursed herself for dragging him into this, simply by associating with him, he had his own demons to deal with and he didn't deserve to be mixed up with hers. She could only hope they hadn't really paid attention to who she'd been seen with, but it was possible Farkas knew him anyway, Alex had watched her for a while before recruiting her into the gang.
 
He wasn't convinced that Madeline was okay with what had happened, but for a while he had to let it go. More important was paying attention to their surroundings, keeping an eye out for any tails or anyone along the way who might have been waiting to see them go past. He took a long, circuitous route on their way towards home, and rather than go there directly just drove around for a while.

"We should probably stop somewhere else before heading home," he said, rather than continue to attempt soothing her. He knew she would understand the necessity of the extra stop. "Want to stop by a coffee shop, or head back to the office?" He would leave the choice up to her. Other than one possible tail he'd lost five or six minutes ago, he hadn't noticed anyone else trying to keep track of them.
 
So lost in her own thoughts, at first Maxims words barely even registered. Once she realised he had asked her a question, she shook her head a little as she tried to focus.

She considered these options, his office would undoubtedly be safer, there was almost no chance they'd be attacked there. However it would also be harder to spot or notice anyone following them.

A coffee shop made them more vulnerable but it would also be a bit easier to spot trouble, anyone trailing them might reveal themselves.

"Coffee shop." She answered simply, deciding it was the best option out of the two. She glanced at him, a small amused smile on her face. "Though I'd prefer a bar, I could use a drink."
 
Maxim glanced her way once or twice in the silence, but let her take her time deciding. Tasked with watching over her and getting what information and assistance he could from her while others did more intensive work on the larger cases surrounding Farkas, he had nowhere else to be. For now, while they were just beginning their strange partnership of sorts, they didn't have a very regimented schedule.

"I'm sure you could," he said with a mildly amused little huff and a shake of his head. "But bars are darker and harder to see out of, so coffee it is. You can have a drink when we go home." There was no harm in it, as long as no one went to extremes. The pack didn't drink much, collectively, but Maxim was sure there were a few bottles around to steal from.
 
Her amused smiled widened, as she shrugged a little. "I know, I was just kidding." She didn't drink a lot, she'd seen it cause too many problems and hurt too many people.

"It's a bit early anyway don't you think?" She teased lightly, in an effort to distract herself, but also to ease some of the tension between them.

She didn't want things to feel awkward or like she was holding a grudge, "Besides, I'm sure you drinking on the job would be frowned upon."
 
Madeline was in decent spirits, or at least she was trying to make it sound as if she was, so Maxim did his best to just let it go. If she had real problems with him or what he did or said, she would have to tell him about it herself.

"Me?" He responded with an amused, slightly incredulous note in his voice. "Who said anything about me? I was just going to supervise." He wasn't going to drink on the clock, but he could admit it might be an amusing idea from an outside point of view. "Best just to stick to caffeine overdose instead."
 
He seemed to be fine with just moving on, which she appreciated. This whole situation was awkward enough already, they didn't need to add conflict between them. Besides even though it upset her, she understood why he did it, and she didn't blame him.

"My dear sir, did you not realise it is the height of rudness for a man not to join a lady in a drink?" She asked in a comically exaggerated posh old lady of the manor voice, "your manners are simply atrocious, and i shall have none of them."
 
Maxim chuckled at her exaggerated tone, glad that she felt better enough to joke around again. As much as he was still focused on their surroundings as he started to reroute towards a decent coffee shop, he could still spare enough attention to appreciate the accent, even if he didn't dare attempt to replicate it.

"Ah, you'll have to excuse me," he said with some amusement in his voice. "I'm not so familiar with upper society. You see, I was raised by wolves." He let it hang in the air between them for a moment, then gave a little breath of laughter and shook his head at himself. "I couldn't pass it up."
 
When he told his joke, she did her best to maintain her dour unamused persona, but she couldn't help a soft laugh from escaping as she rolled her eyes.

"That is a truly terrible joke." She teased playfully, an amused smirk on her lips. "I wouldn't have expected such a dad joke from you."
 
A small smile still lingered on his face even as she called him out, feeling the tiniest bit proud of himself for making her laugh even with a bit of annoyance mixed in.

"Oscar must be rubbing off on me," he said with a little chuckle. "The winner of the best/worst dad joke competition is whoever can make someone groan in pain the loudest." He had to be focused and make smart decisions at work, which led to a very serious persona, but when he was home there was no harm in poking fun at his wolves. They all did it to him, after all. If he didn't fight back every once in a while it wouldn't be fair.
 
Her smile widened, "I'd quite like to see that contest." It sounded like fun, though she had a hard time picturing serious Maxim doing something so silly. Still with this corny joke, maybe not.

She glanced at her bag in the back-seat, it no longer being in her hiding place felt strange. It made this whole thing feel oddly more real, after all it was supposed to be grabbed as a last resort on her way out of town.

"So.. what's the plan after this?" She asked quietly, having grown a bit more serious. "I mean with this bounty on my head, could be useful to draw them out."
 
"Oh, you'd hate it as much as everyone else," Maxim said with a little shake of his head, and as she questioned more did shift into a more serious tone. "That's a dangerous game, and for now not one I'm sure we'll be playing. Our next move is coffee, then when we're sure no one's hanging around we'll head back to the office."

If using Madeline as bait was what his superiors decided was best, and she was willing, they would give it a shot with as many safeguards as possible, but it wasn't something he would do independently. "In the meantime, we'll give Mercer a call and see what he can find out about this bounty."
 
She gave him a quick glance, trying to read his expression, then she nodded a little. "Alright then." She said casually, how she felt about possibly being bait unclear, though she didn't seem upset.

She thought it had a pretty good chance of working, to at least find Farkas and come face to face with him. Though she had to admit there was a lot that could go wrong, still she was eager for Farkas's downfall, since her life would be in constant danger until then.

"I'm honestly curious." She admitted with a sort of morbid curiosity, "I mean it sounds like it's a lot."
 
Last edited:
There were a great many pros and cons to the idea of Madeline posing as bait. For one, Maxim wasn't so sure that Farkas himself would even show up to retrieve her out of some need for personal revenge, or if he would rather have his lackeys take her someone to kill her with little qualms. Given the apparent ego of the man he had a feeling it was the former, but Farkas wasn't an idiot either and Maxim could see him deciding she was too much a risk to get caught murdering, as well. It was all very complicated, and they hadn't yet reached the point where the human guidance of the HED was willing to admit defeat and cede to more feral laws. Farkas posed a large risk to the safety of wolves and shifters in general, as well as the humans all around them. If they were going to keep themselves safe and secret, it was still likely some day that their mission for justice would become one of execution.

"We'll have to wait and see." Maxim said with a shrug as he pulled into the shopping center where their intended destination was. For a moment after they'd parked, he looked at her without making any move to get out. "While getting rid of Farkas is important, Madeline, your safety will take priority over whatever small charges we could level against him for hurting you. I hope that you believe that." He was her handler, in that moment, but at the same time her protector. Some day soon, he hoped, she would realize that he hadn't brought her into his care with the idea of tossing her to her death the first change he had. He would fight for her if he had to. If nothing else, he had already given Jackson his word that he would.
 
She nodded a little, and shrugged softly herself. "Yeah, I suppose we'll have too." She did wonder just how long that wait would be, though she supposed it didn't matter, she was stuck in this limbo until he was in jail, or otherwise taken care of.

She was worried if he was simply arrested he might still be able to reach her, but she would have to hope it would be enough for her to at least start a new life somewhere else.

As he parked the car, she was getting ready to get out when he turned towards her. She seemed surprised by his words, pondering them for a moment before replying.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly jumping at the chance to put myself in the firing range but I already am and I guess I'm just eager to get him off the streets, not just for my benefit." She said quietly, thinking of Jackson, others like him, and even Alex, foolish as that was.

"I wasn't thinking you'd get him for doing anything to me, I know I'm not important enough for that." Her tone was unaffected by emotion, she simply spoke the truth as she saw it.

After a moment she did give him a small hint of a smile, "but.. thanks for saying so Maxim." "It's not... what i'm used too, but i appreciate it."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back