Antonio gave a bittersweet smile as he kicked Arthur down, then rested his boot on the others back. Arthur was skinny, and though he ate well, it was clear that he was quite a runt. Ivan, on the other hand, was not restrained that easily. Both men which had restrained and overpowered him earlier were clearly struggling to rega, and after a moment Ivan was able to push them off of him. He rose to his feet, and turned to throw Antonio off of Arthur, before a harsh BANG sounded. François had entered the room at last. He held a gun, and smoke emitted from the barrel. In the confusion, the two blonds were able to get up and restrain Ivan yet again. Antonio looked at François with a somewhat pleading expression, but the Frenchman shook his head.
"Bonjour, captives." François commanded attention. With his striking azure eyes narrowed, and composure stern and professional, François looked rather intimidating. He nodded his head, prompting Antonio to slowly take his boot off of Arthur's back, and allowing the other to, gradually, get up from the ground. Ivan looked at his shoes, refusing to look at the french captain, while Arthur glared at François with inevitable contempt. The captain grinned softly at this, then took a daring step forward. But, instead of going towards Arthur, he went towards the Russian. The captain put his hand under Ivan's chin, then flicked his wrist up, forcing the man to look at him. Ivan scrunched his eyes closed; they were already full of tears from the memory of getting shot getting brought back to him. François grinned slightly in satisfaction, then took another step forward, pinning Ivan to the wall. His head nearly inches away from the other mans face, François whispered one thing.
"Try to protect him again and you'll live to regret it."
The captain pulled away, gave Ivan a kiss on the cheek, and walked to Antonio. There was muffled french whispering, a few exclamations, and, finally, Antonio nodded with a smile.
Francis returned it. He had sat down at his desk, while Antonio stepped forward and smiled happily, bringing a feeling of optimism to the room. Arthur tried to take a step back, but was stopped by one of the blonds holding Ivan. The man gave a tiny shake of his head, but his grip on Arthur's shoulder... Reassured him, in a way. Arthur's stance relaxed some.
"Do not be afraid, please. Capitaine François has ordered you both to work on this crew. You'll be like family, and none of us will hurt you. You dine with us, you sleep with us, you fight with us, you die with us." Antonio offered a grin.
"If you don't accept the offer, you have the option of either killing yourself with a knife, or allowing one of us to shoot you. It will be quick, don't worry."
Arthur looked to Ivan, then at Antonio, and, finally, at François.
"How many rounds have you got on you?"