Maxwell let out a heavy sigh as he watched Vuelo get taken away in cuffs in front of Paviano’s apartment building. This wasn’t meant to be how this went down.

When they started digging into whatever was going on with Captain and Mercury, Maxwell wanted to try and shield Vuelo from any big consequences. Vuelo was a father, and even if that kind of thing wasn’t ever going to be on the cards for Maxwell, he still understood that a daughter needs her dad, and that that’s more important than anything he could learn from a Leapfrogger.

Maxwell had let his squad mate down by letting him get caught. He can’t quite shake the thought that he’s been doing that a lot lately - his complicity with Mercury’s situation, his misplaced distrust of Ryker, and now this. All of it because he didn’t take action or say something. “Maybe it’s time for the observer to finally start participating”, Maxwell quietly murmurs to himself as he hails a cab.

First stop is to drop his equipment off at the hideout. Then, it’s off to make sure Elena has someone taking care of her for the night. People, let alone kids, aren’t Maxwell’s strong suit, but that doesn’t matter right now. He’ll do anything to keep her entertained so she doesn’t have to worry about where her dad is. It’s the least he can do for Vuelo, and Maxwell knows a lot about doing the least. It’s how he knows he can do more.