The Ties That Bind

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It almost felt too easy. But Madeline had just gone through quite the shock, and a great deal of dread and fear that likely hadn't even fully settled in. On top of that, taking the position of alpha had granted him an air of authority that even humans could sometimes sense, his voice not raised or strained but demanding compliance, leaving no room for refusal. For weaker individuals it led to immediate submission - for others, either a wary obedience or a fearful burst of defiance. Madeline had kept her cool rather well, despite the wary fear in her eyes when she looked at him, towering over her. In the end, she had at least complied eventually.

"Good." He said after a long pause to let her stew, and with a soft sigh relented, letting his shoulders relax even as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I need to make a call. Mercer, watch her."

The doors closed behind him almost before the other agent could nod at him, and for a moment of awkward silence he and Madeline only looked at each other. Finally, he gave a weary sigh and moved his mic away from his mouth. "Please don't try to run," the young man said wearily, as if he'd been given an impossible task. "He's right outside, and I don't get paid enough to tackle you out the door."
 
Her gaze never wavered as she stared back at him, she was afraid of death and yes of him, he was very hard for her to read properly.

That made him unpredictable and therefore a threat to be feared, still despite everything she'd been through, she still had her pride.

She would not cower, and she would not beg. She had talked because at this point she truly had nothing to lose, and there was something about him, revealing himself as alpha, he seemed to command respect.

She relaxed a little when he did, watching him leave before glancing at his partner. A hint of a playful smirk flashed briefly on the corner of her lips, "you're assuming you'd even be able to catch me."

For a brief moment she had considered running but she'd dismissed it immediately, she had no doubt Agent Orwell was blocking the door.

Still it wasn't all talk, she was fast, among other things. "But since you asked so politely, I'll stick around so you can be stuck with me for a while longer."
 
"I'm faster than I look." The agent said, and with a little huff of amusement at her bravado did give a small smile of his own. "I've been stuck with worse before."

The phone call Maxim took was not horribly long, as phone calls went, but stretched for eternity inside the small vehicle. Mercer sat facing her but not staring, glancing at the displays nearby and talking quietly into his headset, announcing which units were on their way and which had yet to leave, keeping track of the ambulance's progress as reports came in and passing messages as necessary. Now that the job was over, relatively speaking, coordination was all he really needed to do.

Finally, the door opened again and Maxim stepped up into the van, shutting the door behind him and taking a moment to consider. He stood across from Madeline again, and after a moment crouched down in front of her, addressing her closer to her level rather than standing over her, and looked her in the eyes.

"All right, Ms. Jones." He said, any sign of his previous attitude gone, replaced by something more mild, less commanding. "From here you have a choice to make. You say you're a dead woman, no matter what you did or did not do in reality. So I'm offering you a second chance. I won't force you to testify, but I would like you to come and work with me. No matter what you do or don't know, any insight you have can be very useful to the H.E.D. in getting more nightshade off the streets." He paused briefly to let her think it over, then gestured towards the door with one hand. "Or I can let you go. And you can run as far and as fast as you can, and hope it's enough."

It didn't feel like much of a choice, to him, but he was a man of his word. Someone like an unwitting delivery person wasn't such a big fish to fry that he would land himself on any higher ups shit list.
 
"I'm sure you have." Her tone was light, but she had no doubt they'd both probably dealt with a lot in their line of work, Agent Orwell especially considering his strength and seniority.

Whilst they waited for Maxims return, she listened to Agent Mercer's soft mutterings, trying to decipher as much as she could, listening for any familiar names, still not sure how many had been caught in the bust.

Just as she was beginning to grow impatient, he finally stepped back inside and crouched in front of her. She met his gaze steadily, but unconsciously shifted back and away from him.

At first his words were so opposite to what she expected to hear, they didn't even register properly. Once they did, she was so shocked it took her a moment to think it over.

She seemed quite guarded, obviously not trusting him, but hopeful despite her better judgement. Previous experience had taught her this was a trap, some sort of trick, though for what purpose?

Of she did run, where would she go? Even if she managed to get out of the city and successfully disappear, she'd have to spend the rest of her life in hiding.

No friends, jumping at shadows, having to drop everything and run at a moments notice. No, she didn't want to live like that, not again.

Still the instinct to run was a strong one, especially since she didn't think he had a snowballs chance in hell of putting Farkas away. Though really what could it hurt to try? She was screwed either way, maybe if she was lucky, she could help stop anyone else getting hurt.


"What would you have me do?" She asked tentatively, unsure if she was agreeing or not. "And let's say I help you and testify against him, are you going to throw me in jail afterwards?"
 
Maxim was still and patient, waiting for her to think it through rather than demanding any answers. Now that he had come to his own conclusions based on the information he'd gotten from her, he had no need to bully her into speaking. It was a large choice for someone who had already been trapped in a situation she had never wanted to be in once. He didn't envy her the position of doing it a second time, but there was little else he could offer her.

"Inform." He answered. "Tell me where you've picked up and dropped off, who provided the product and who it was given to. Tag along occasionally and give me some insight on what we're up against. You may not think you know enough to be helpful, if you've been kept in the dark, but anything can make or break a complicated issue. Farkas may feel untouchable, but even he will eventually make a mistake, and even he needs a functional operation beneath him. When you're opponent goes to ground, leave him no ground to go to."

Even taking out smaller supply chains, cooks, and storage houses would slow the whole system down. Right now they were not in reach of their big fish, but they were also not above taking cheap shots at his people.

"I believe in second chances, Ms. Jones." Maxim said with a slight tilt of his head, as if studying her, or daring her to study him. "Consider this yours." It was risky for her, obviously, and she didn't have a lot of other choices. There was no use in arresting her anymore.
 
She was grateful for the time to think, this was essentially a choice between certain death, or almost certain death. She could eiether run away and have a chance, or stay here and be a sitting duck.

If she ran, what life would she really have? Sure she could survive out in the woods somewhere, completely cut off from the world, but these were not ordinary men, with their powerful forms they might be able to sniff her out even then.

Even if not, it didn't sound like much of a life. A stubborn part of her didn't want to give him the satisfaction of running anyway, she'd been running away her whole life and she was sick of it.

Also if there was even a small chance of taking him down, she wanted to try. To stop him hurting anyone else, to make up for the shitty things he'd made her do, and yes, to get some payback for all the things he and the others had done to her.

She noticed he didn't really answer her about prison, or at least not definitively. Though really what difference did it make? If she ran she'd still be a fugitive, she'd just have to take her chances.

"I don't know if I know enough to really make a difference, but I do know more than he thinks i do." She said quietly, "to be honest I don't think you have any hope of taking him down and I expect I'll be dead within the week."

Her tone was calm and matter of fact, but she'd made her decision, she would at least try. "But..." She lifted her head, meeting his gaze. "I'll help you.." "if I can."
 
Maxim waited patiently once more, giving her time to consider the rather unpalatable options before her, and when she answered only gave his head a considering little tilt, as if unconcerned about how she doubted him. "You can leave worrying about him to me." He said with a slight shrug, and finally straightened up to get back on his feet. "In the meantime, if it brings you any solace, as long as you see fit to stay on you'll remain under my guard. I'm going to uncuff you now."

She was his responsibility now. Whether she lived or died was on him, and whether she was useful or not was up to her. Whatever the outcome, so long as she didn't decide to turn tail and run, he would guard her as fiercely as he did his own.

When Madeline had shown she understood him, he stepped around her and gestured for her to turn, producing a key from his pocket and unlocking the cuffs around her wrists to be stored in their holster at the back of his belt. "Everyone inside has been shipped off, so it's safe enough to step out without being accosted. This vehicle will stay here a while. Come with me and I'll give you a ride back to our office."

There would be some paperwork to do, as well as a thorough interview, and when they were done they would need to stop by wherever she lived and pick up any personal effects she wanted to take with her. If any of the criminals knew where she lived, which he thought likely, it wouldn't be safe to stay there anymore.
 
She thought he was taking Farkas's power far too lightly, she didn't know if he was just being foolish, naive, or just overconfident.

Still she did have to admit, she admired his confidence, even if she thought it a bit reckless. Then again, maybe she was just to used to taking the cowards way out.

Her eyes narrowed a little at his words, she studied his face carefully, trying to decipher his true intentions. He seemed to be telling the truth, though she was still mistrustful.

She turned a little so he could uncuff her, moving her hands to her lap with clear relief, they were more uncomfortable than she'd been letting on, not only physically.

She rubbed her wrist idly, "thank you." When he mentioned going to his office, she seemed nervous but nodded as she got to her feet. "Alright, lead on then I guess."
 
Maxim waited for her to be ready, then turned and opened the door to step out with no further deliberation. He had presented her the choice; if she decided to run and take that chance instead that was up to her, so he had no need to watch her very closely. It was better to keep his attention on their surroundings.

"You can relax," he said as she got out, shutting the door behind her and turning to lead the way to where his car waited a block down the road. "It isn't my office, I just work there. We won't be alone once we get there." Even he had superiors, after all, and though he sometimes did jobs by himself he didn't truly work alone. Simon was back at the office, helping with paperwork and phone calls and whatever else Maxim needed of him. Given that he wasn't an authority figure and was generally the definition of unthreatening, Maxim was sure the human would make her feel more at ease.

Maxim got in first when they reached his car, a plain black vehicle with no police markings since he most often worked in stealth rather than brute force, and while Madeline got herself settled he sent off a quick text to Simon just to warn him. He would have to call the others once he got to the office. "We should talk about your accommodations." The wolf said as he pulled away from the curb and made his way carefully off the scene, knowing Mercer would report his movements to the others. "I'm assuming it isn't a far leap to say they know where you live."
 
As she stepped out of the van, her gaze flicked around quickly, it was habit at this point to quickly assess an area for any threats, especially with her current predicament.

Of course she hadn't done such a good job of it today, she'd been taken completely by surprise. She couldn't afford to make that mistake again, even if Agent Orwell was telling the truth about protecting her.

"Relax?" She seemed amused, "I don't think that's possible or wise right now." "Alright but that's not what I'm worried about, in fact it's the exact opposite."

In a one on one fight she had a fighting chance, more people meant more chance of getting ganged up on. "I hope it doesn't hurt your ego special Agent, but I'm not afraid of you."

She said this in a lightly teasing way, and it wasn't a lie, but her wariness was still apparent. Perhaps she was still a bit giddy from shock, or maybe she was just trying to calm herself, make herself feel a little less vulnerable.

Glancing down the empty street, she hesitated briefly before sliding gracefully in the passenger seat. After buckled her seatbelt, she turned to stare out the window, lost in her thoughts until he spoke up again.

"Oh they know alright," There was humour in her tone, but it was bitter. "They own the damn place."
 
Far from being offended or angered, Maxim cracked a small smile, giving a soft huff of laughter at her comment. "I think you'll find my ego very hard to bruise," he said with amusement in his voice. "I would prefer it, really, if you had nothing to fear from me."

Other then worrying about a second attempt at arrest, he supposed, though he was at least aware that it wasn't going to happen. Her fears were better placed elsewhere, in her current position.

"That is . . . less than ideal." He said with a sigh as the drove, glancing briefly at her but largely keeping his eyes on the road. "Is it also safe to assume, then, that it would already be compromised? Is there anything there worth taking the risk for?"

He knew that she could have sentimental attachments to things, but wondered if it was something she would fight for. She likely had her wallet, ID and the like on her, so at least they wouldn't have to send anyone for that. It was likely the safest route to abandon it entirely. If she was overly concerned about it, he would have a couple of average police officers go and have a look for them, so as not to have Farkas' men on his own trail so soon.
 
She was a little surprised by his laughter, but a small genuine smile appeared on her face for a brief moment, there and gone again far too quickly. "I guess I'll just have to try harder then."

Growing serious again, she shrugged a little. "I'm not sure, I doubt he'd expect me to be dumb enough to go back there." "But I'm sure they're watching it at the very least."

"There's nothing there that can't be replaced." She stared out the window, acting more aloof than she actually felt about losing her home and stuff. "Eventually anyway, not like I'm flush with cash right now."

She muttered to herself, shaking her head a little. "Everything truly irreplaceable is already stashed elsewhere, somewhere safe, or at least somewhere they don't know about."
 
She still had some fire in her, Maxim thought. That was a good sign for her continued ability to keep living without spiraling into panic at a moments notice. If she wanted to joke at his expense, that was fine with him.

"Mm, best not to risk it then." he said after a moment to think, weighing the options. "Once you give me the address, I'll have someone keep an eye on it in case anyone comes around. In the meantime, try not to worry too much about cash flow. I'll make sure you're fed and clothed."

He let it settle for a moment, let her decide whether or not to believe it, then pressed on with information she would probably like less. "For now, you'll be staying with me and my pack. It may not be ideal, but we have the space, and being closer to me will help keep you safe. If you have any concerns, now would be the time to voice them."
 
She nodded a little about abandoning her apartment, it was the smart thing to do but even though she'd already secured her most precious things, it still hurt to lose the rest of it, not to mention her home.

She seemed uncomfortable with his reassurances, she hated feeling indebted to anyone, it had caused quite a lot of trauma in the past. "Thank you, but I'm not a charity case, I'll earn my keep."

Tension and discomfort was immediately clear in her body language, though she kept her voice calm. "So I was right then, you are an alpha." "Again no offence but I'm sure you can understand why I'm not exactly thrilled to be surrounded by a pack of wolves again."
 
Maxim's eyebrows rose just slightly at her vehemence, and the way she visibly tensed beside him, but after a short pause he only shrugged, unoffended. "Unfortunately, we don't have very many options left to us." He said, with some apology in his tone. "While I understand how the situation can feel hostile, I hope that in time you'll understand that you are safe within our home. My pack is not full of gangsters, or even agents. They take no part in my business, but they wouldn't see any harm done to you either. I'll call and explain the situation to them before we leave the office."

It was the best he could give her in way of reassurance, but he wouldn't blame her if it wasn't particularly comforting. She would just have to learn in time that his pack was trustworthy, and that the majority of its members were kind. He could not account for Aether just yet, knowing the young wolf would be protective of his human friend for a long while, but even he would eventually come around. There was no telling how long it would be necessary for Madeline to stay with them.

In time they reached the H.E.D.'s local headquarters, a plain looking office building with governmental seals on the entrance doors. Once he had parked the car he led her into the building and up to the second floor where both offices and a main room full of desks with no walls were. At one such desk there was a young, blonde human working quietly at a computer who looked up as Maxim entered the room and gave a little smile, though he was confused by Madeline's presence.

"Madeline, this is Simon," Maxim introduced, leading her over to his desk and pulling over a chair for her to sit in. "One of mine. He's going to take some general information from you while I go have a . . . discussion with someone." An argument, really, but it would be fine.

Simon was confused still but gave her a sunny smile anyway and welcomed her into the other chair with a small gesture. "Nice to meet you. Why don't you have a seat. Oh, Max, before you go, Oscar wants to know if we'll be home for dinner."

Maxim could only shrug even as he started to walk away. "I'll call him in a few. Have Ms. Jones documented as a CI, please."

That was certainly interesting, but it wasn't the friendly human's prerogative to judge. All he was doing was data entry, really.
 
She didn't seem all that convinced, but she did relax a little bit. She had a lot of trouble trusting people, with good reason, not even including the latest bunch of assholes she'd accidentally gotten caught up with.

So she wasn't quick to take anyone's word, though she was encouraged by his behaviour. He wasn't quick to anger, and he seemed quite calm and sincere.

Still she'd been fooled by good actors before, so she remained wary.

She was silent the rest of the drive and the walk up to his office, though she appeared calm, aloof even, her eyes were always moving, looking for threats or potential exits should she need one.

As she sat down in the offered chair, she noted his hesitation with curious intrest. It seemed like it would a bit more than a simple discussion, and she wondered if this had to do with her.

She had no idea of his postion, but since he had offered her this deal seemingly on his own, she assumed him to be fairly high ranking.

Though perhaps not, and he was about to get chewed out for overstepping his authority. She could only hope her deal would still be honoured and that she wouldn't be thrown in jail.

Turning to face Simon, she was surprised by his sunny smile and friendly demeanour, it seemed innocently sincere and not something she was used to, especially from a stranger.

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled back tentatively, appearing a bit shy. "So uh.. what do you need to know?"
 
Whatever trouble came from deciding to spare her from being arrested, Maxim walked away to face it without hesitation or fear. He had made the choice based on his own instinct and on the very believable reality that if he simply let her go to jail she wouldn't last very long. Giving her a chance was all he could do, and he would stand by his own choices and take responsibility for her as necessary. Given the strange line of work he involved himself in, with everything largely secret and occasionally bending to the rules of the supernatural rather than that of humans, he had a great deal more leeway than the average detective or police officer.

"Nothing too complicated for now," Simon reassured Madeline with a small smile still, clicking around on his computer for a moment before pulling up the appropriate form and getting ready to fill it out. "Mostly things that would already be on your drivers license - your full name, date of birth, current address, a general physical description. It'll be easy, I promise. Why don't we start with your full name: first, middle, and last, if you could spell them for me."

Simon was no one special, just an assistant for Maxim and any others in the office who needed an extra hand, so any sensitive information would be filled out later. His purpose, as the alpha wolf saw it, was to make people feel more welcome and at ease, and to get paperwork started for others who had more security clearance to finish off.
 
"It's Madeline, Grace, Jones..... it's spelt..." As she continued to speak, spelling her name and giving him the other basic info he needed, she found herself studying him curiously.

Maxim had said he was one of his, she supposed he could just mean at work, but based on his question about dinner, she thought he must be a part of his pack.

As far as she could tell though, he was just a human so perhaps she was wrong. If he was, she wondered if Maxim had warned him about her and the dangers of being around her whilst she was a target.

It didn't seem so, she'd have to talk to him about that. She knew in wolf packs that what the alpha says goes, no discussion no argument, but still, she didn't want any innocent people getting hurt on her account, especially if they weren't even aware of the risk.
 
Simon was polite and friendly, asking the questions as needed and apologizing if anything felt too personal because it was his job to ask. Nothing too probing would come from him, anything involving her past, most of her private life, and what crimes she was involved in left for Maxim at a later date. Despite his welcoming nature, he was not fully ignorant. He knew Maxim had been away on a bust, and given that he had brought back a 'CI' told Simon that he was sitting across from a criminal of some sort. He trusted Maxim's judgement and knew the wolf wouldn't have left him with someone that was an immediate danger to him, and on top of that trust Simon had a personal belief that people were just people - regardless of species or criminal history, they should be treated as such until they proved themselves someone who would try to take advantage of kindness.

"All right, that should about do it for now," Simon said when he had filled out as much as he could, saving the file and sending it off to Maxim for whenever the wolf would look at it, and gave Madeline a little smile as he started to get to his feet. "I'm not sure how long you'll be waiting, but you can sit here at the desk with me. I'll bring you something to drink - is water okay? The vending machine is rather far if you'd like anything else, but there's a water cooler just over there."

She could keep him company until Maxim returned, and if she tried to cause any sort of trouble Simon would just go get the man, or some other nearby agent.
 
The questions didn't bother her too much, they were all pretty standard, nothing more invasive than what was already on her ID really.

Still she felt a little uncomfortable about it, she wasn't used to honestly answering questions, especially about herself. In her current profession, that was the sort of thing that got your ass killed.

Not that it had made much difference in the end, but it was a hard habit to break and she wasn't looking forward to the more personal questions she was sure Maxim would have for her.

"Water would be great, thank you." She looked thoughtful for a moment, weighing up her options. "Can I ask you a question?"
 
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