MAIZE

Silence. A heartbeat. Two. Four.

"You think you are in any position to even propose such an idea?" He questioned, voice like the low scraping of acid meting metal from how tempered, venomous and oh so loathing it sounded.

To contact him alone was a bold move. Even for her. As she thought, it was bound to make him even more ticked off than he most likely already was after their escape and the RCMP's raid on his compound. The incessant nerve that she would even consider seeking him out in direct contact.

She would be playing with fire however which way she decided to proceed. Though in her mind, the outcome of this excursion had already been made up the moment she sought out the phone from Ryder.

"You think you're in such a great position yourself that you don't want to at least hear what I have to offer?" Her words, her voice, everything was calm. For now. No matter what she said, he would be angry. But it was the indubitable lure she offered then that she was sure were enough to at least peak that sense of curiosity and crave for gambles she had always remembered of him.

And she was right.

"I'm listening."

Good. That was all she needed.

She began, "Your men were taken out. Your spy was caught. At the moment, I can't imagine you have that many quick options at your disposal to strike."

She had put it out there, what they both knew. She could hear his teeth grind. The confirmation she needed.

"So I'm going to make this easy for you," she said, willing her voice not to waver as she rattled off a pair of specific coordinates—ones that she had gotten just before making the call. "I'll be waiting there, just before midnight."

This was the gamble. A two-way rope being offered to him.

Would he take it?

No answer, but she knew he was still on the line from the subtle sound of his breathing. Thinking. He was going over every syllable of her words, every hint that could give a sign of what he most likely suspected; trickery, foul play. She was notorious for both was she not? At least, when he knew her.

"No RCMP. No traps," she said. "When you get there, you'll find me alone."

"You're so sure I'd come," he responded draggingly. "That I'd be stupid enough to take you at your word?"

"Daring. Not stupid," she lamented, before going as far as to put a smirk into her tone as her lip curved upwards. "Unless these past few years have turned you into more of a coward than you'd care to admit."

She was twirling with a burning poker. Walking a thin line.

Azeal knew better than to try a contradict her taunt, out of disinterest rather than taking any sort of offence. Her opinion meant nothing to him. Is what his lack of defence said.

But even so, an iron poker that had been jabbed lightly into burning coals would still have felt the blaze of heat even if on the surface it was barely warm.

"So, what is your ultimate game plan?" He questioned, his tone deceptively bored, looking for her to give up as much information as possible.

Maize answered honestly. "I want this to stop."

A contemplating hum from the other end. "So you're not baiting me into facing anything other than yourself? You think turning yourself in so pitifully now will make me stop?"

"Who said anything about turning myself in pitifully?" She asked. "If I recall, you offered me something didn't you?"

A moment of dead silence. "That little offer was retracted the moment you decided not to shoot your detective," Azeal said. "And you can't bait me into thinking you actually reconsidered."

"True, I didn't. Which is why I'm not handing myself over to you or surrendering to the gang. All I want is a proper stand without distraction; you and me."

Azeal chuckled lightly. "I'd think this was a show of bravery if I didn't know what utter bullshit that would be. You want to face me alone because you think you'll be enough to stop me? Or is it something more?" She stiffened ever so slightly, and he spoke as if he could see it; venomous and purring. "Is it because you know I won't stop that you would willingly put yourself out on the plank all alone? I'd say it's because there's now something, or rather, someone, you wish to keep out of my grasp—"

"Azeal," she bit the name, effectively silencing him. Shit. She bit down on her lip. "The coordinates. Midnight. I'll be there."

Azeal seemed to think about it for a moment, based on the long pause that took place before he chuckled into the phone. "Then I'll be seeing you soon, Daiyu."

Then the line was cut dead.

Maize let the arm holding the phone drop limp at her side as she let out a shaky breath she didn't even realize she had been holding.

That was a pain in the—

She was interrupted by the sudden presence that she hadn't realized had pulled up behind her at some point while she was distracted focussing so solely on her exchange. She had not registered them at all, despite the murderous aura that surrounded every part of their being as they listened up until the end of her call.

"What. The. Blazing. Hell. Did. You. Just. Do?"

Fuck.

Maize nearly tripped over the pedal of her bike as she gave a startled jump. Her head immediately whipping around, to meet the seething dark eyes of a very, very pissed-off-looking detective.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

"What are you doing here?!" Maize exclaimed as Alec stood behind her, arms crossed in front of his chest with an expression of pure loathing anger on his face.

Had Maize been anyone else, she probably would have run for the hills from the intensity of his glare alone.

She thought she had seen the detective mad before. Hell—that, she now realized, had been nothing.

His eyes narrowed even further as he regarded her through furious slits, his voice shaking in barely controllable rage as he spoke. "You better not have done what I think you just did. Said what I think you just said. And spoke to who I think you just spoke to."

She knew it wasn't smart but she said weakly anyway, "That depends...who do you think I was—"

Alec was far from amused and even less patient enough to be dealing with her sense of ill-timed humour. "So help me God if you did any of that—" Alec's voice rose to a shout, "—I swear I'll place you under arrest right here and now!"

"For what?" she snapped automatically. The skeptic side of Maize was not only pointing out the fact that he had no authority here, but that he literally had nothing to charge her with. That he could prove anyway. A phone call was not solid grounds to even think about making an arrest.

"How about theft? Abiding in theft? Thinking you could leave your partner without so much as a word! Being in the current possession of dangerous items in a civilian space. Shall I go on? Not to mention, what you stole was police property!"

She held up a single hand to stop him there. "Ryder stole the police property—and I never abided in anything. Besides, it's more borrowing than stealing if I plan to return it eventually. What I did take, as far as dangerous items, was also from him, so you would have to file an arrest order on the actual owner of this stuff. And lastly, civilian space my ass. This place is a ghost town at this hour."

"Forgetting one?" He quipped, not pleased in the slightest.

Maize narrowed her eyes. "There are no grounds to charge me on something as petty as that." Her voice struggled to stay even at that line. "It's a free country, I can do what I want."

Alec's glare deepened.

"Well in that case..." He pulled her close one minute, looked straight into her eyes in a way that gave Maize the thought that he was going to kiss her.

He didn't.

Maize then felt the chill of a cool metal clasp suddenly around her wrist.

As soon as the sound of the clasp registered in her mind, she automatically shot her eyes to her hands. A mixture of shock and disbelief filled her gaze as she looking at the metal cuffs around her limbs, now locking her wrists together.

Alec was quick to take a step back, presumably before she could strike him, as a satisfied smirk lifted his lips. He shot her a look to return the shocked glare she was then sending him.

"You think you and Ryder are the only ones who thought to borrow from the RCMP?" He questioned pointedly.

"What the hell Alec?" Maize hissed.

He crossed his arms and stared her down. "I can do what I want too."

Oh how strongly she felt the urge to kick him.

"This is not funny," she said, and his frown pulled tighter.

"Who said I was laughing?"

"I—hold on, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Maize exclaimed furiously as Alec suddenly grabbed a hold of her cuffed hands and began dragging her in front of him forcefully away towards a very familiar-looking black car like some felon under his arrest. Which she most certainly was not.

"I'm taking you back," Alec growled, not looking back as he added ruefully, "before you have the chance to follow through with something stupid."

Like smacking him in the damned face? That could be a start.

She tried to kick back at him but he put his knee behind her own before she could connect with anything else. He leaned down and growled close to her ear, tone borderline dangerous. "I dare you to try that again. See how far it gets you."

"Alright." She tried to elbow him and nearly caught him in the jaw.

He whipped back out of the way just to avoid it in time, but his eyes flashed with frustration that mimicked her own. "Would you stop?"

"Take these off."

"Nah."

"How did you find me?" Maize asked as she finally managed to tug her arm out of Alec's iron grip, her effort so forceful that it pulled Alec around as well, so that now she had to stare into his heated brown eyes.

"It wasn't that hard," he grumbled at her, pointedly staring at her as he crossed his arms. "I knew almost as soon as you left."

"How—" she stopped herself as the beginning of the question only seemed to send the detective into deeper aggravation. The look in his eyes said it all; he had known. She thought he hadn't been paying attention to the little details, but he had known that she was planning something.

He always noticed the little details in the times she really wished he wouldn't.

"So you followed me all the way here?" she questioned. How had she not picked up on it?

"Remember that whole not running purposefully into trouble thing?" He retorted, glaringly as she looked away a tad guiltily. "Thought so. Anyway, you can start practicing it now because I sure as hell am not letting you go through with whatever dumb idea you think you're—"

"Alec—"

A bark interrupted them both.

Maize froze.

"Alec..." she repeated, slowly turning back to the car as if looking at it for the first time. She hadn't noticed the dark shadow poking its head out the half rolled down window of Ryder's black Dodge Challenger. "Alec, what in the bloody hell is Kota doing here?"

"It wasn't my fault. The damn dog hauled himself in on his own the moment I went to follow you. His so-called owner was nowhere to be found and I didn't know how to convince the mutt to get out. I sure as hell wasn't going to try and force him. In case you haven't noticed, he's the size of a freaking bear."

"So why would he come along?"

"Oh who knows, probably for the same reason I did; to stop your ass from your own idiocy."

Maize said, glancing back at the dog in the car window. "When Ryder finds out going to be so mad."

Alec narrowed his eyes. "I'm mad," he growled in response, his demeanour reverting back to cold and icy as he hissed at her. "What the hell were you thinking trying to face off with Azeal alone? And don't even try to deny it—I heard fucking everything I needed to! Goddammit Maize. I mean what was your plan anyway? Run in blind and what—hope for the best?"

"Who said I didn't have a plan?" she snapped when she had had enough of his raging at her.

Alec froze, stepping back to stare at her. He waited a bit, steadily studying her unwavering expression.

Maize lamented, "Listen, I need you to just trust me alright?" She looked him in the eye when his harsh gaze let go of some of its tension. "Please just believe I know what I'm doing and don't try to stop me."

Something flashed within Alec's eyes then. Resignation, was it? Realization? Something else...Acceptance.

He let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair frustratedly as he grumbled a combination of indisputable curses under his breath. She waited until he was done, several long moments later. She had a feeling he could keep going, but chose to cut himself short anyway, seeming to come up with some sort of reluctant recognition.

"Fine," he said lowly. He close his eyes and sighed before staring at her through hard eyes, "But I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not," she replied instantly. That would screw up her whole plan.

"Too bad. You get no say."

"I think I get every say," she retorted hotly, glaring fiercely. "And I say no."

Alec suddenly threw his hands up in exasperation as he regarded her with a bewildered expression. "Why the hell not?"

Because I do not what to relive that moment ever again.

"Because you'll just get in the way," she retorted instead, knowing full and well that that was not true, but hoping it would help convince him.

Alec scoffed. "Good luck trying to stop me, because there's no way in hell I'm letting you go in there alone. You're not the only one who needs to get even," he said stubbornly.

She quietly swore. Was there any end to his damn moral-logic?

She could tell by the look in his eyes, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. And that would prove to be a problem.

"I don't like this..." she began bluntly and Alec smiled, knowing exactly what she was leading to.

"So is that's a yes?"

Reluctantly, Maize gave a nod of her head.

Alec's smile widened as he smirked and began to make his way to his—no, Ryder's—car, obviously satisfied with himself. Maize cleared her throat loudly, making him stop and glance at her over his shoulder.

"Oh right, is there something else I can help you with?" Alec smirked knowingly, and Maize held back a deeper scowl.

"You forgot something."

Alec smirked and stepped forth to presumably remove the handcuffs he had purposely pretended to forget about—now that he had gotten what he wanted, they were no longer necessary.

Nevertheless it seemed to come as an inarguable shock to him when he saw the shiny silver shackles dangling freely from Maize's free hands.

He blinked and he mouth parted to say something when Maize tossed the unlocked cuffs into his chest. As she passed him, she briefly raised her left hand to show him the thin metal needle twirling between her two fingers.

"Next time you try to arrest me, Detective," she smirked. "I suggest you make sure to search me before hand."

He arched an eyebrow at her. Then he pocketed the cuffs and chuckled.

"Only you, Maizey," he muttered with a shake of his head.

The corner of her lip curved upwards.

"Now," he said, looking between her and the car with the dark canine waiting patiently before facing her with a confident look that read all sorts of trouble. "Let's go kick that bastards ass."

A/N: Will things go as planned though? Who knows.