BLIND FAITH (part one of ?) - Archie/Maxie
Title: Blind Faith
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2721
Characters: Archie, Shelly, Matt, Proton, Petrel, Archer, Ariana, and Maxie
Summary: When you're locked away from the world, the key to freedom begins to look pretty tantalizing; even if that key is being held by your sworn nemesis.
Warnings: Language and violence.
A/N: Written for the kink-meme. Prompt is here. Part one of (hopefully only) two.
How exactly did they get caught again? Oh yeah, the goddamn boat wouldn't start. Of all things - Team Aqua, caught by the cops because the motor wouldn't run. It was embarrassing enough to have been captured by the cops, but what made it so much worse was that there wasn't a single member of Team Magma in the facility. Matt had pointed out that they were probably put in another one to keep the two teams from killing one another, but Archie doubted it. Knowing Maxie, he would have had an escape plan prepared in case everything did go horribly wrong.
Prison wasn't that bad once you got used to it. Sure the cells were tiny and you had to share them with some freaks (Archie had nearly been stabbed by some crazy guy ranting about Slowpoketails or something; said he was a "Team Rocket Executive" or some bullshit like that), the work sucked (menial labor had never been something Archie enjoyed anyway), and the food was awful. There was at least the free time in the yard, where as always, the remnants of Team Aqua would gather in the back corner, furthest away from the guards.
"We've gotta get out of here." Matt looked even paler than usual - he'd just been stuck with a new roommate, and from what Archie had gathered the experience had been unsettling to say the least. "I'm not cut out for this kind of shit, boss. You do have a plan, right?"
A plan? Hell, of course he'd be expected to have one. But how the hell do you break out of jail? Sure Archie had read about jailbreaks, heard about them on the news, and read a few things here and there, but he had no idea how to stage one. The boss gave a small shrug in response and Matt moaned.
"We couldn't try to escape right now anyway," Shelly pointed out. "The security has really tightened since those Rockets from Johto were brought in. I hear they're a dangerous bunch."
Matt nodded fiercely. "I'm with one of 'em. Calls himself Petrel and he's just... I can't even... Dear Kyogre, he's creepy as hell."
Archie snorted. "We'll bide our time for now. It's probably a good idea for you two to start doing some research. See what the library has and if you can get anything from outside."
"Yes, sir." They both replied with a nod.
"I've got some other things to deal with. I trust you'll handle it?"
"Of course, sir."
Their meeting concluded, the three separated before the guards could get a chance to snap at them for hanging around their supposed cronies. Archie did have something else to deal with alright - a couple of upstart Rockets who thought they owned the joint.
---
There were four of them - three men and one woman. Normally Archie would have requested backup from his Admins for such a task, but he was certain the only dangerous one was the green-haired man who had nearly knifed him on his first night in the joint. The purple-haired man who was apparently scaring Matt senseless didn't seem to be much of a threat, and the blue-haired one didn't look like he could stand up to a physical confrontation at all. The woman looked strong, but Archie had never had a problem fighting a woman before now. It was even more acceptable in jail then it was anywhere else, anyway.
All four of them looked up as he approached, and Archie was amused to find that they looked a bit intimidated. They were certainly younger than he was, and from the looks of it, they were scared green of being here. "What do you want?" The green-haired man snapped. It almost sounded petulant.
"Seems you all think you're in charge of this place." Archie started calmly enough, resting his hands on his hips. "You know that'll get you in a lot of trouble 'round here."
"We are Giovanni's elite; we are superior." That came from the blue-haired one, who was looking at Archie disdainfully.
Oh yeah, that was a new one. Who the hell cared about Team Rocket anyway? They were over and done with, had been for years. Archie humored him with a small shrug. "Doesn't matter. As long as you're here, you're gonna have to learn to play by the rules. My rules. Team Aqua has the run of this place, an' you all better learn to keep those egos of yours in check unless you wanna start a fight."
The red-haired woman scoffed. "You wouldn't dare."
"Really? You really think I wouldn't?" Archie laughed. "Then you all are in for a big surprise. You've got your warnin' now; do anythin' else to screw with us and we won't hesitate to put you in your place." Archie turned to leave then, only getting a few steps in before something collided with the back of his head. A rock, from the looks of it. It wasn't a particularly large rock, but it had hurt. He turned half-way, looking back at the Rockets, all of whom were looking at the green-haired man.
"There's only a few of your Aqua grunts here." He said, smirking. "You're outnumbered, and outmatched. Team Rocket's been trained to handle anything - and you all are a new organization in comparison to us."
Archie picked up the rock and tossed it from one hand to the other, slowly returning. He still looked rather cheerful as he approached - three of the four took a step back, but the bold green-haired one remained in the same place. "You've quite the faith in your team, huh? That's a good thing for any grunt to have."
"I'm not a--" But he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, because Archie plowed a fist straight into his gut. Immediately the other three Rockets were moving to counterattack, but Archie had expected that. He'd fought with Maxie enough times to know what to expect from a group of egotistical hard-heads like these guys. That rock was tossed at the blue-haired man; hit him in the middle of the forehead and effectively knocked him out (Weakling, Archie thought, amused); but that left the lady and the purple-haired man. She aimed a sweeping kick at his feet, but Archie was faster, jumping back to avoid her - and colliding with the other man. How he'd gotten behind Archie so quickly was a mystery, but not one he intended to find out. The Team Aqua boss rammed an elbow hard into his gut, grabbed hold of his arm, and flipped him over to land hard on the concrete, effectively rendering him useless too.
The woman stood there, fists clenched tightly, shaking ever so slightly with what had to be pent-up rage. "You still wanna fight? I'm not gonna take it any easier on you." Archie warned. She charged at him, sharp red nails digging into his neck in a long arc, snarling furiously. Archie didn't mind the pain - it wasn't much to be concerned with anyway - and caught her by the wrist, twisting it sharply in one direction. The snap was audible.
The guards finally showed up then to drag Archie away and tend to the four Rockets - most of whom were only dazed and shocked at their sudden defeat - and Archie laughed. He laughed all the way back to his cell.
---
Archie didn't get a roommate after that. In fact, he was moved to an even smaller cell with even less room to move about. It was so tiny and at times he felt like he couldn't even breathe in there. He'd always hated closed spaces, and it seemed like the guards had caught onto that, or maybe it had been a lucky guess on their part. Either way, it left Archie pacing endlessly back and forth across the room, eyes never leaving the ground.
His outdoor activity time had been taken away for the past week, which made things even worse. Matt and Shelly would be fine on their own, even if those Team Rocket kids decided to start something. That wasn't what bothered him. It was the fact that they wouldn't let him out of his cell at all that bothered him. Solitary confinement - might as well call it what it is. It had been a week. A week of relentless pacing, sleepless nights, and futile attempts to weaken that solid metal door. Archie was certain his shoulder was bruised badly due to that; probably not a very smart move on his part but hell, he was getting desperate for even the tiniest bit of freedom.
He'd have his chance though - later that afternoon a guard came to inform him he had a visitor. Archie wondered who the hell would bother - all of Team Aqua was captured and stuck in here with him. His family had cut ties with him awhile back. His lawyer had lost terribly and wouldn't show his face around here for some time. So who the hell did that leave?
Maxie.
And there he was, smirking and overconfident as usual, hands clasped behind his back as he merely stood there, watching the guard lead Archie in and double-check his handcuffs. Archie wasn't aware he was gritting his teeth until Maxie said, almost conversationally, "My, aren't you furious with me."
"Furious? Furious doesn't even begin to describe it!" Archie shouted. The guard, certain Archie couldn't do his visitor any harm, shut the door behind him, leaving the two alone in a small room with a long table and two chairs. Archie's hands were awkwardly cuffed in front of him, but even if he could manage to get his hands around Maxie's neck he'd never be able to kill the man. Maxie hadn't been locked away for a year and a half from the looks of it.
The Team Magma Boss chuckled, taking a seat and gesturing for Archie to follow suit. He didn't, but that didn't seem to bother Maxie any. "I merely came to see how you were doing. It seems you've been quite the trouble here lately, haven't you?"
He hated the way Maxie talked down to him like that. He always had. It was worse now though, now that Maxie actually did have the upper hand. "Fuck you," Archie snarled in response, unable to come up with anything better to say.
Maxie laughed. It was a light, almost musical sound that pissed Archie off further. "You haven't changed a bit, Archie. I'm quite glad about that, actually. If prison had broken you, you certainly wouldn't be quite as much fun to be around."
"If you're just going to sit here and antagonize me, I think I'd rather be back in my room." Archie retorted, starting toward the door to get the guard. He didn't make it - Maxie caught him by the forearm before he could. "What the hell--?"
"Archie, do you know how I evaded the police?" Maxie asked softly. There was something odd in his tone of voice that Archie couldn't quite place. "I left. I left Hoenn as soon as I could. I had to leave behind most of Team Magma, unfortunately, but they knew they would be held responsible for their actions long before our attempts to wake Groudon." Archie shrugged off the other man's hand and again turned towards the door. "They're in another jail, elsewhere. They didn't want our opposing factions picking fights, I suppose."
"Obviously," Archie didn't turn. "So how the hell did you keep from getting caught? How the hell did you even get in here without being recognized?"
Another of those musical laughs. "Archie, you seem to be forgetting something. It's a little thing called discretion. I waited this long to contact you because I knew there would be other people in the forefront of the law's mind. I haven't seen a wanted poster of myself in quite some time, in fact." Archie didn't move, but he felt Maxie press in on him, one hand on each shoulder. "Oh how I wanted to come see you before now. How I wanted to laugh at you in your horrid conditions! But I restrained myself. I laid low. I did nothing but wait... and as I'm sure you know, something did come to drive the attention away from us. Team Rocket - those fools - they tried to rise again, as I'm sure you're well aware. You picked quite a few fights with them, haven't you?"
"None of your damn business." Archie snapped. He finally turned to confront Maxie, who was staring at him with the strangest expression. It took Archie a moment to figure out what it was. Respect. That wasn't the only thing though, but whatever else was mingled there in the redhead's expression was an enigma to the Team Aqua Boss.
"I can get you out of here," Maxie said softly, so softly Archie wasn't even sure he really heard it at all.
"What?"
Maxie's hands returned to press on Archie's shoulders, sliding down his arms to rest comfortably at his elbows. Archie felt more than a little uncomfortable with his rival touching him so... delicately. The only direct contact they'd ever had was during a fight - and that was almost always Archie's fist to Maxie's face. "You want out, right? You, your Admins, Team Aqua in general... I can make it happen."
He found his voice had abandoned him for a moment. When he regained it, it was easily as quiet as Maxie's, but hoarse and tense, "What do you want, Maxie?"
The redhead's hands moved further down to rest on the handcuffs binding Archie's wrists together. Maxie's eyes were on their hands now, and his voice was still low, but his solitary word was just loud enough for Archie to hear: "You."
There was silence in the small room for what felt like forever while Archie tried to process that. He hated Maxie. Maxie hated him. Those were the facts of life, just like how he was stuck in here while Maxie was a free man. He couldn't see what Maxie would want with him, especially now. Maxie had the upper hand. He had everything he wanted, so what could he...
Maxie's eyes shot up to meet his abruptly, fixing Archie with a flat, unamused look. "I want an answer, Archie. Now." He yanked on the cuffs to indicate he meant business. They rubbed painfully against Archie's wrists and he hissed at the sudden, biting pain.
"Just what is it you want from me?"
"Really, Archie, it's not that difficult to figure out. Put the pieces together and you'll get the picture." Maxie said drolly, adding a roll of his eyes for emphasis. "What else could I want with you?"
He didn't know. No, that wasn't right - he did know, but his mind refused to entertain the possibility. He refused to think that that was what Maxie wanted out of him, that that was what he'd give to gain his freedom.
But they both knew he would. They both knew he'd do anything to get the hell out of here.
"You win," Archie growled, "do what you want."
Maxie didn't hesitate to remove his hands from Archie's handcuffs and instead moved them to the collar of Archie's prison-issued shirt. "No, not yet. You have to be patient, Archie." He purred, their faces mere inches apart. Archie had the strongest urge to bring his cuffed hands up and slam them into that stupid smirk. "You have to entertain me."
"Dammit, Maxie, I'm not going to play around!" Archie's voice rose, but not high enough to call attention to them. He wasn't going to get caught with the chance of freedom within his grasp, even though Maxie was making it painfully clear that he would be doing this on the worst terms possible.
"You are. You're going to do exactly as I say if you want out of here. You'll follow my orders." Maxie's smirk couldn't have stretched any wider. "I'm in charge now, Archie. Say it."
Though they held several things in common, one of the most obvious was pride. Archie was not one to surrender his pride to anyone - especially not Maxie. But he couldn't just think about himself here - he had all of Team Aqua to consider, assuming Maxie actually could help them get out. "You haven't told me how you plan to bust us out."
"That would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?"
"Then how do I know you're not lying?"
"You'll just have to trust me." Maxie laughed.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2721
Characters: Archie, Shelly, Matt, Proton, Petrel, Archer, Ariana, and Maxie
Summary: When you're locked away from the world, the key to freedom begins to look pretty tantalizing; even if that key is being held by your sworn nemesis.
Warnings: Language and violence.
A/N: Written for the kink-meme. Prompt is here. Part one of (hopefully only) two.
How exactly did they get caught again? Oh yeah, the goddamn boat wouldn't start. Of all things - Team Aqua, caught by the cops because the motor wouldn't run. It was embarrassing enough to have been captured by the cops, but what made it so much worse was that there wasn't a single member of Team Magma in the facility. Matt had pointed out that they were probably put in another one to keep the two teams from killing one another, but Archie doubted it. Knowing Maxie, he would have had an escape plan prepared in case everything did go horribly wrong.
Prison wasn't that bad once you got used to it. Sure the cells were tiny and you had to share them with some freaks (Archie had nearly been stabbed by some crazy guy ranting about Slowpoketails or something; said he was a "Team Rocket Executive" or some bullshit like that), the work sucked (menial labor had never been something Archie enjoyed anyway), and the food was awful. There was at least the free time in the yard, where as always, the remnants of Team Aqua would gather in the back corner, furthest away from the guards.
"We've gotta get out of here." Matt looked even paler than usual - he'd just been stuck with a new roommate, and from what Archie had gathered the experience had been unsettling to say the least. "I'm not cut out for this kind of shit, boss. You do have a plan, right?"
A plan? Hell, of course he'd be expected to have one. But how the hell do you break out of jail? Sure Archie had read about jailbreaks, heard about them on the news, and read a few things here and there, but he had no idea how to stage one. The boss gave a small shrug in response and Matt moaned.
"We couldn't try to escape right now anyway," Shelly pointed out. "The security has really tightened since those Rockets from Johto were brought in. I hear they're a dangerous bunch."
Matt nodded fiercely. "I'm with one of 'em. Calls himself Petrel and he's just... I can't even... Dear Kyogre, he's creepy as hell."
Archie snorted. "We'll bide our time for now. It's probably a good idea for you two to start doing some research. See what the library has and if you can get anything from outside."
"Yes, sir." They both replied with a nod.
"I've got some other things to deal with. I trust you'll handle it?"
"Of course, sir."
Their meeting concluded, the three separated before the guards could get a chance to snap at them for hanging around their supposed cronies. Archie did have something else to deal with alright - a couple of upstart Rockets who thought they owned the joint.
---
There were four of them - three men and one woman. Normally Archie would have requested backup from his Admins for such a task, but he was certain the only dangerous one was the green-haired man who had nearly knifed him on his first night in the joint. The purple-haired man who was apparently scaring Matt senseless didn't seem to be much of a threat, and the blue-haired one didn't look like he could stand up to a physical confrontation at all. The woman looked strong, but Archie had never had a problem fighting a woman before now. It was even more acceptable in jail then it was anywhere else, anyway.
All four of them looked up as he approached, and Archie was amused to find that they looked a bit intimidated. They were certainly younger than he was, and from the looks of it, they were scared green of being here. "What do you want?" The green-haired man snapped. It almost sounded petulant.
"Seems you all think you're in charge of this place." Archie started calmly enough, resting his hands on his hips. "You know that'll get you in a lot of trouble 'round here."
"We are Giovanni's elite; we are superior." That came from the blue-haired one, who was looking at Archie disdainfully.
Oh yeah, that was a new one. Who the hell cared about Team Rocket anyway? They were over and done with, had been for years. Archie humored him with a small shrug. "Doesn't matter. As long as you're here, you're gonna have to learn to play by the rules. My rules. Team Aqua has the run of this place, an' you all better learn to keep those egos of yours in check unless you wanna start a fight."
The red-haired woman scoffed. "You wouldn't dare."
"Really? You really think I wouldn't?" Archie laughed. "Then you all are in for a big surprise. You've got your warnin' now; do anythin' else to screw with us and we won't hesitate to put you in your place." Archie turned to leave then, only getting a few steps in before something collided with the back of his head. A rock, from the looks of it. It wasn't a particularly large rock, but it had hurt. He turned half-way, looking back at the Rockets, all of whom were looking at the green-haired man.
"There's only a few of your Aqua grunts here." He said, smirking. "You're outnumbered, and outmatched. Team Rocket's been trained to handle anything - and you all are a new organization in comparison to us."
Archie picked up the rock and tossed it from one hand to the other, slowly returning. He still looked rather cheerful as he approached - three of the four took a step back, but the bold green-haired one remained in the same place. "You've quite the faith in your team, huh? That's a good thing for any grunt to have."
"I'm not a--" But he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, because Archie plowed a fist straight into his gut. Immediately the other three Rockets were moving to counterattack, but Archie had expected that. He'd fought with Maxie enough times to know what to expect from a group of egotistical hard-heads like these guys. That rock was tossed at the blue-haired man; hit him in the middle of the forehead and effectively knocked him out (Weakling, Archie thought, amused); but that left the lady and the purple-haired man. She aimed a sweeping kick at his feet, but Archie was faster, jumping back to avoid her - and colliding with the other man. How he'd gotten behind Archie so quickly was a mystery, but not one he intended to find out. The Team Aqua boss rammed an elbow hard into his gut, grabbed hold of his arm, and flipped him over to land hard on the concrete, effectively rendering him useless too.
The woman stood there, fists clenched tightly, shaking ever so slightly with what had to be pent-up rage. "You still wanna fight? I'm not gonna take it any easier on you." Archie warned. She charged at him, sharp red nails digging into his neck in a long arc, snarling furiously. Archie didn't mind the pain - it wasn't much to be concerned with anyway - and caught her by the wrist, twisting it sharply in one direction. The snap was audible.
The guards finally showed up then to drag Archie away and tend to the four Rockets - most of whom were only dazed and shocked at their sudden defeat - and Archie laughed. He laughed all the way back to his cell.
---
Archie didn't get a roommate after that. In fact, he was moved to an even smaller cell with even less room to move about. It was so tiny and at times he felt like he couldn't even breathe in there. He'd always hated closed spaces, and it seemed like the guards had caught onto that, or maybe it had been a lucky guess on their part. Either way, it left Archie pacing endlessly back and forth across the room, eyes never leaving the ground.
His outdoor activity time had been taken away for the past week, which made things even worse. Matt and Shelly would be fine on their own, even if those Team Rocket kids decided to start something. That wasn't what bothered him. It was the fact that they wouldn't let him out of his cell at all that bothered him. Solitary confinement - might as well call it what it is. It had been a week. A week of relentless pacing, sleepless nights, and futile attempts to weaken that solid metal door. Archie was certain his shoulder was bruised badly due to that; probably not a very smart move on his part but hell, he was getting desperate for even the tiniest bit of freedom.
He'd have his chance though - later that afternoon a guard came to inform him he had a visitor. Archie wondered who the hell would bother - all of Team Aqua was captured and stuck in here with him. His family had cut ties with him awhile back. His lawyer had lost terribly and wouldn't show his face around here for some time. So who the hell did that leave?
Maxie.
And there he was, smirking and overconfident as usual, hands clasped behind his back as he merely stood there, watching the guard lead Archie in and double-check his handcuffs. Archie wasn't aware he was gritting his teeth until Maxie said, almost conversationally, "My, aren't you furious with me."
"Furious? Furious doesn't even begin to describe it!" Archie shouted. The guard, certain Archie couldn't do his visitor any harm, shut the door behind him, leaving the two alone in a small room with a long table and two chairs. Archie's hands were awkwardly cuffed in front of him, but even if he could manage to get his hands around Maxie's neck he'd never be able to kill the man. Maxie hadn't been locked away for a year and a half from the looks of it.
The Team Magma Boss chuckled, taking a seat and gesturing for Archie to follow suit. He didn't, but that didn't seem to bother Maxie any. "I merely came to see how you were doing. It seems you've been quite the trouble here lately, haven't you?"
He hated the way Maxie talked down to him like that. He always had. It was worse now though, now that Maxie actually did have the upper hand. "Fuck you," Archie snarled in response, unable to come up with anything better to say.
Maxie laughed. It was a light, almost musical sound that pissed Archie off further. "You haven't changed a bit, Archie. I'm quite glad about that, actually. If prison had broken you, you certainly wouldn't be quite as much fun to be around."
"If you're just going to sit here and antagonize me, I think I'd rather be back in my room." Archie retorted, starting toward the door to get the guard. He didn't make it - Maxie caught him by the forearm before he could. "What the hell--?"
"Archie, do you know how I evaded the police?" Maxie asked softly. There was something odd in his tone of voice that Archie couldn't quite place. "I left. I left Hoenn as soon as I could. I had to leave behind most of Team Magma, unfortunately, but they knew they would be held responsible for their actions long before our attempts to wake Groudon." Archie shrugged off the other man's hand and again turned towards the door. "They're in another jail, elsewhere. They didn't want our opposing factions picking fights, I suppose."
"Obviously," Archie didn't turn. "So how the hell did you keep from getting caught? How the hell did you even get in here without being recognized?"
Another of those musical laughs. "Archie, you seem to be forgetting something. It's a little thing called discretion. I waited this long to contact you because I knew there would be other people in the forefront of the law's mind. I haven't seen a wanted poster of myself in quite some time, in fact." Archie didn't move, but he felt Maxie press in on him, one hand on each shoulder. "Oh how I wanted to come see you before now. How I wanted to laugh at you in your horrid conditions! But I restrained myself. I laid low. I did nothing but wait... and as I'm sure you know, something did come to drive the attention away from us. Team Rocket - those fools - they tried to rise again, as I'm sure you're well aware. You picked quite a few fights with them, haven't you?"
"None of your damn business." Archie snapped. He finally turned to confront Maxie, who was staring at him with the strangest expression. It took Archie a moment to figure out what it was. Respect. That wasn't the only thing though, but whatever else was mingled there in the redhead's expression was an enigma to the Team Aqua Boss.
"I can get you out of here," Maxie said softly, so softly Archie wasn't even sure he really heard it at all.
"What?"
Maxie's hands returned to press on Archie's shoulders, sliding down his arms to rest comfortably at his elbows. Archie felt more than a little uncomfortable with his rival touching him so... delicately. The only direct contact they'd ever had was during a fight - and that was almost always Archie's fist to Maxie's face. "You want out, right? You, your Admins, Team Aqua in general... I can make it happen."
He found his voice had abandoned him for a moment. When he regained it, it was easily as quiet as Maxie's, but hoarse and tense, "What do you want, Maxie?"
The redhead's hands moved further down to rest on the handcuffs binding Archie's wrists together. Maxie's eyes were on their hands now, and his voice was still low, but his solitary word was just loud enough for Archie to hear: "You."
There was silence in the small room for what felt like forever while Archie tried to process that. He hated Maxie. Maxie hated him. Those were the facts of life, just like how he was stuck in here while Maxie was a free man. He couldn't see what Maxie would want with him, especially now. Maxie had the upper hand. He had everything he wanted, so what could he...
Maxie's eyes shot up to meet his abruptly, fixing Archie with a flat, unamused look. "I want an answer, Archie. Now." He yanked on the cuffs to indicate he meant business. They rubbed painfully against Archie's wrists and he hissed at the sudden, biting pain.
"Just what is it you want from me?"
"Really, Archie, it's not that difficult to figure out. Put the pieces together and you'll get the picture." Maxie said drolly, adding a roll of his eyes for emphasis. "What else could I want with you?"
He didn't know. No, that wasn't right - he did know, but his mind refused to entertain the possibility. He refused to think that that was what Maxie wanted out of him, that that was what he'd give to gain his freedom.
But they both knew he would. They both knew he'd do anything to get the hell out of here.
"You win," Archie growled, "do what you want."
Maxie didn't hesitate to remove his hands from Archie's handcuffs and instead moved them to the collar of Archie's prison-issued shirt. "No, not yet. You have to be patient, Archie." He purred, their faces mere inches apart. Archie had the strongest urge to bring his cuffed hands up and slam them into that stupid smirk. "You have to entertain me."
"Dammit, Maxie, I'm not going to play around!" Archie's voice rose, but not high enough to call attention to them. He wasn't going to get caught with the chance of freedom within his grasp, even though Maxie was making it painfully clear that he would be doing this on the worst terms possible.
"You are. You're going to do exactly as I say if you want out of here. You'll follow my orders." Maxie's smirk couldn't have stretched any wider. "I'm in charge now, Archie. Say it."
Though they held several things in common, one of the most obvious was pride. Archie was not one to surrender his pride to anyone - especially not Maxie. But he couldn't just think about himself here - he had all of Team Aqua to consider, assuming Maxie actually could help them get out. "You haven't told me how you plan to bust us out."
"That would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?"
"Then how do I know you're not lying?"
"You'll just have to trust me." Maxie laughed.