Growing Pains

Disclaimer: Marvel owns the characters that you recognize, the others...Jacques and Frances Benoit, Vincent St. James, Constance Alicante, Sebastine Renault, Therese Chastine belong to Missy Red and Kaleidopy.

Continuity: This story takes place six months after Devil Days.

Synopsis: With Jean-Luc away, Remy and Lapin explore New Orleans, create havoc, find a friend and trouble. Can the LeBeau family survive a week of mischief from two ten year old cousins?

GROWING PAINS

MissyRed & Kaleidopy



Chapter One



Summer in New Orleans had always been hot and sticky and today was no exception. In the high ninety degree heat, most business meetings were being conducted inside where it was cool.

A black Lamborghini drove up to the three story house and the owner stepped out and went inside. Henri LeBeau, eldest son of Jean-Luc tossed his keys down on the nearest table. "Where's everybody?"

"Up here!" A female voice answered from upstairs. It belonged to Therese Chastine, Jean-Luc's, god daughter and the day her parents were killed in a car accident, eight years ago, she became Henri's sister. Due to resent family events, Therese had left college to return home.

Everyone was on alert with the recent activities of both guilds threatening to start an all out war. Tensions have been running high since the discovery of an Assassin Guild member's body found floating in the swamps two months ago. As fate would have it, three days later, another body was found, only this time it was a Thief. With both guilds blaming the other, it was only a matter of time before something was done to spark a war.

Henri rushed up the stairs, searching for her. Finding Therese in their younger brother's bedroom, he stood inside the doorway watching her. The Twenty-one year old young woman was making the bed, humming a song Tante had taught her when she first came to live with the LeBeaus'. Seeing enough, he finally spoke, interrupting the song, "Remy needs to clean his own room. Y' heard what Père said last night, no chores, no allowance."

Therese turned, her long dark hair flying around her head, "Henri, as long as Remy's playing in the back yard, I don't have to deal with his pranks." She finished making the bed, moved to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Sighing, she reached inside the drawer and pulled out several candy bar wrappers, showing them to Henri. "No wonder he doesn't eat lunch. Tante's going to have a fit." Therese angrily slammed the drawer shut. "Why does Remy do things like this? He knows how Tante feels about him eating junk food."

"B'cause Remy knows y' let him get by wit' it. You're spoilin' him, soeur " Henri walked into the large bedroom, took the candy wrappers from his sister and began counting them. He counted seven and then laughed. "Glad y' watchin' petite frère today, wit' dis much chocolate, Remy's goin' be bouncin' off de walls tonight an' speakin' of Tante, when is she comin' over?"

"Tomorrow and I wouldn't want to be in Remy's shoes if she finds out about those candy bars." She picked up the discarded toys that were thrown about the room. "Where you going tonight? You just got home from New York yesterday."

"Bernard an' I have to meet some contacts tonight for de Guild." He noticed the smile Therese was trying hard to hide after he mentioned Bernard's name. "I still don' understand why y' keep playin' hard to get, I know y' like him."

"And what makes you think I like Mr. LeBranche?" She asked, with hands on hips, daring him to say another word on the subject. Henri laughed out loud, causing her to blush. Embarrassed, Therese grabbed the small waste basket and looked inside.

"Mr. LeBranche!" Henri started laughing again. "De other night when he was over here, y' be runnin' to de kitchen to refill his drink every time he took a sip from his goblet."

"I did not!" She shot straight up, glaring at him. "He was a guest in our home and I only made him feel at ease."

"Yeah, den how come Père an' me had to refill our own glasses twice cause y' be makin' goo-goo eyes at Bernard?" He asked, enjoying the teasing he was giving her.

Therese opened her mouth in shock. "What? You were seeing things and besides even if I did, and I did not!" She made a point to be sarcastic. "It isn't none of your business." She grabbed the dust rag from the dresser top and walked past him into her bedroom, two doors down. Henri followed, needling her for the fun of it. "Out!" She screamed.

"All right, I'll drop de subject." He promised. "Where's Remy, Père wants to take him to meet some of de Guild members today?"

"He was by the swimming pool about ten minutes ago." Therese went to window and looked out. Her bedroom view was over the swimming pool, over looking the swamps in the distance. "He's not there. I wonder where he is now." She leaned closer, trying to get a better look out the window. Looking towards the left, where a huge gully was located, she found her missing brother and screamed, "Henri!"

Henri stared out the window in the direction his sister was pointing. "What de?" He stuttered, not believing what he was seeing. "What's he tryin' to do? kill himself?" He ran out of the room, down the stairs and out the patio doors with Therese running close behind him.




With one end of a rope tied around a tree and the other end looped around a huge boulder, Remy walked across the rope bare footed. Having the time of his life, he paid no attention to the deep gully below him or Henri and Therese arriving. He reached the boulder, turned and saw the two staring at him with terrified expressions on their faces.

"Remy, I want y' to stay where y' are an' I'll come an' get you." Henri said, holding his hands out as if he could will his brother to stop. "Jus' don' move."

"What y' talkin' 'bout?" Remy balanced himself on the rope and started walking back their direction. He looked up, smiling at the two, "I know what I'm doin'. Watch dis." He jumped up, tucked his knees into his chest and flipped twice before his right foot came down and slipped off the rope.

Therese gasped, stopping herself from screaming as he regained his balance.

Three feet away from his older siblings, Remy tried to do a cartwheel but before he could gain momentum, Henri reached out and grabbed him.

"What y' think your doin'?" Henri shouted, shaking him harshly.

"Jus' walkin' on de rope, nothin' wrong wit' dat, is it? I wasn't hurtin' nothin'." Remy pulled out of Henri's reach. "B'sides y' suppose to live each day like it's your last."

"What idiot told you dat? Remy, you're only ten years old. Y' got no business doin' dis kind of stuff." Henri motioned with a nod from his head to follow him. "C'mon, we goin' back to de house so I can keep my eye on you."

"Y' ain' papa. I don' have to mind y'" Remy glared, baiting his brother into a conflict. He turned his back to the others and moved towards the rope. "An' dere's nothin' y' can do 'bout it."

"We'll see 'bout dat." Henri pulled out a knife, grabbed the rope and cut it. The rope broke free, swinging across the gully and crashed into the other side. "Looks like your days of playin' circus are over petite frère."

Remy glanced at the rope and then back at his brother. He balled his hands into fists, narrowing he eyes, he swore. "Y' goin' pay for doin' dat."

"Pah!" Henri laughed, ignoring Remy's threat by yanking the boy up and tossing him over his shoulder. Walking back to the house, Henri bopped Remy on the bottom. "Père's not goin' be happy wit' y', Remy. He already warned you 'bout dis."

"Papa never said nothin' 'bout me walkin' on dat rope. He said not to climb on de roof." Remy shouted, struggling to free himself. "Henri, put me down b'fore y' make me mad an' I have to hurt y'."

"You better behave yourself Remy because Tante's coming over tomorrow." Therese said while walking behind them. She lifted up Remy's head and showed him one of the candy wrappers "And if you don't eat a big supper tonight, she's going to learn the reason why. You understand me?"

"Y an' Henri got nothin' better to do but bug me?" Remy wrestled to free himself. Henri entered the house, turned and locked the door behind him. Remy opened his mouth, ready to hurl insults but the words stuck in his throat the second he saw someone else was standing in the room. Thinking quickly, he put on his best smile and greeted his father. "'ello Papa."

Henri tossed his brother on the sofa, grabbed his keys off the table and angrily stomped to the front door. "Père, y' better do somethin' wit' him, and fast. He was walkin' across dat gully on a rope." Opening the front door, Henri glared back at his brother, and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Next time, Remy, I won' be so nice." With those last words, he walked outside, slamming the door behind him.

Remy could hear Henri's car engine starting, the squeal of tires burning out of the driveway quickly followed. Remy would have laughed out loud over his brother's angry threat, but the silence in the room made him re-think his decision.

Jean-Luc's silence was short lived, "Thought we already had dis talk, Remy."

"Papa, y' said, non climbin' on de roof an' I didn'." Remy defended himself, hoping if he played dumb, his father wouldn't act on the consequence of if the rules of that ' talk ' were broken. He looked at his sister, using her as an unwanted participant in his latest scheme. "I wasn' on de roof. Was I T'erese?"

Therese threw both her arms up in the air and walked off, leaving Remy franticly thinking of a back-up plan.

"Don' play stupid wit' me son. Y' know what I'm talkin' 'bout, don' you?" Jean-Luc asked, waiting for Remy to nod his head in agreement before he sat down beside him. "Dis be de last warnin' y' goin' to get, boy." His father vowed, "De next time, we're goin' in de study an' when we come out one of us is goin' to be standin' for a long time. Y' understand dis, petite?"

"Oui, Papa." Remy whispered, bowing his head to keep from seeing the disappointing look on his father's face.

"Come here." Jean-Luc grabbed the boy and hugged him tightly. "I got a meetin' wit' some very important people today. I want y' to meet dem." He said, releasing Remy. "Go upstairs, get cleaned up an' wear somethin' real nice."

"Oh Papa, not dat suit an' tie again. I hate wearin' dat." Remy protested, thoughts of wearing the suit made him shiver. Not only did the thing itch but everybody in his opinion, seemed to go out of their way to make a fuss over him. "Why can'I wear jeans an' a shirt?"

"Three reasons; one, de place has a dress code." His father began, making sure he had Remy's undivided attention. "Two, dese people are very important members of de Guild an' I want y' to make a good impression. After all de braggin' I've been doin' on my petite, dey want t' meet you."

"Y' braggin' on me?" Remy grinned proudly before laying his head against his father's chest. He suddenly jerked upwards and stared at his father. "An' de third reason is b'cause y' say so, huh Papa?"

"Oui, son." Jean-Luc laughed, pointing at the staircase. "Y' get up dere an' get ready while I make some phone calls b'fore we leave."




CHAPTER TWO



As the silver Audi pulled in front of the restaurant, a young man stood behind the curve, patiently waiting for the car to come to a stop. Once it did, he walked around the front of the vehicle and waited for the driver to open the car door and hand him the keys. The door opened, a tall man in a black tux stepped out, saw him and gave him the keys. The young man handed the driver a ticket and waved one of his associates over to open the passenger door.

"Non, I'll get de door." Jean-Luc replied, stopping the young man's associate from moving towards the car. He walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door. Remy stuck his head out, looked at the restaurant and the people walking from the parking lot before deciding to climb out of the car. As they walked inside, the elder LeBeau noticed his son kept pulling at his collar. "Remy, jus' leave it alone."

"I hate dis tux, it itches me." Remy complained, yanking at the collar. He suddenly stopped and gasped, admiring the chandlers hanging from the ceiling and the extreme beauty of the place. Standing in awe, Remy was unaware he was alone until a waiter, pushing a desert cart stopped to show him the different treats.

"You want one?" The waiter offered, lifting the glass dome to allow the boy a chance to get a closer look at the deserts. He picked up a desert plate containing a chocolate moose, "You like chocolate, child?"

"Oui!" Remy's mouth started watering, maybe wearing a tux was worth something after all. He was about to accept the dessert, but a shadow moved over him. He looked up, smiled after recognizing the person. "Papa, I want dis."

"I know, but y' eat dinner first." Taking Remy's hand, Jean-Luc spoke to the waiter, "Would y' bring dat by de table in 'bout an hour, M'sieu?"

"Be glad to, sir." The waiter placed the dessert back on the cart, gave Remy a quick wink and returned to the kitchen.

Remy wasn't happy, not only had he lost out on trying something delicious but now he was being taken to a private room reserved for private customers. He wanted out of this restaurant and he wasted no time and letting his father know how he felt. "Papa, I don' like it here. Let's go to McDonalds an' get a cheeseburger."

"Non, I told y' b'fore Remy, we're here to meet some very important people." His father said, searching the room for someone. A man sitting in the back, with two others started waving his hand to get the LeBeaus' attention. Jean-Luc nodded in the man's direction. "C'mon, dere's Jacques."

A tall man with jet black hair, a thick mustache and beard met them halfway. Both men exchanged hand shakes. "Remy, dis is Jacques Benoit an' your uncle."

"So dis be Remy?" Jacques smiled down at the boy, who made no effort to be sociable. The man tried to make conversation. "My wife is your father's sister."

"Big deal!" Remy muttered, totally unimpressed by the revelation of a new uncle. Jean-Luc cleared his throat, a warning Remy understood and the repercussions of what would happen if that warning wasn't heeded. He glanced up at his uncle and did a double take. "I 'member y'." Remy stated, "Y' were de one who came an' got Papa several months ago, real early in de mornin'."

"Oui, dat was me. Y' got a good memory, boy." Jacques pulled out his wallet and pulled out a photograph. "Dis is mon fils, Frances. He's also your cousin an' 'bout your age." His uncle stuck the photograph back inside his wallet. "Would y' like to meet him?"

Remy shrugged his shoulders. Bored beyond words, he looked up at his father and begged, "Papa, I want to go home." The stern look from his father, shut him up instantly. Defeated, Remy knew he wasn't going to change his father's mind anytime soon.

"De others are waitin' for us in de back, Jean-Luc." Jacques lead the way back to the large round table where the other men were sitting.

A tall bald man, of Caribbeanian descend, sat drinking a cup of hot tea. He lowered his cup and offered his hand to Jean-Luc. "Greetings Jean-Luc," He spoke with a thick English accent. "on time as usual." He nodded in Remy's direction. "So this is the guest of honor. Hello, son, you are dressed for the occasion."

Remy shut his eyes, made a silent wish, hoping he could be anywhere else. He opened his eyes, and sighed disappointedly when his wish didn't materialize. Remy sunk down in a chair, and repeated his request. "Papa, can we go now?"

Jean-Luc ignored his son, beginning a conversation with the man. "Vincent, dis is my youngest, Remy." Remy sulked silently, as he was introduced to the man. "Remy, dis is Vincent St. James. He's a council member of our guild as is Jacques."

Remy shook the man's hand, deciding to be sociable before his father grew tired of his behavior. "How come y' talk funny?"

"I talk funny?" Vincent laughed, the look on Remy's face caused him to put his cup down. "Jean, your son is adorable. You must be proud."

"Dat I am, Vincent." The Guild leader placed his arm around Remy's shoulder and patted him. "When are de other's comin'? Remy's gettin' hungry."

"He isn't the only one," Vincent signaled a waiter to approach the table. "If everyone is ready, we can order." He glanced up, "Wait a second, here comes Sebastian."

Sebastian Renault, a man in his late forties, with blond red hair and goatee, exchanged handshakes with Jean-Luc, Jacques and Vincent before sitting down at the table. Remy silently studied the newest visitor, unaware a woman sat down beside him.

"Well, it's 'bout time y' showed up, Miss Alicantè." Sebastian sarcastically stated, lowering the menu to glare at the women. "Perhaps I was correct an' de others were wrong for admittin' y' into de guild."

"I have a first name, Senior Renault. You may call me Constance if it's not too hard for you to remember." She used the same sarcastic tone he had given her. Constance Alicantè, a proud woman of Latin descent with long black wavy hair and a white stripe that ran from the top of her hair all the way down. She addressed the guild leader, "Jean-Luc, forgive my tardiness but my flight was a little delayed at the airport."

"How y' can sit in dat outfit, Constance?" Sebastian stared at her black skin tight leather outfit and rolled his eyes. "We're tryin' not to attract attention to ourselves an' y' be wearin' dat."

"I like it." Remy suddenly spoke up. When everyone started laughing, he quickly lowered his head to avoid further embarrassment.

Constance gently lifted the boy's chin. Noticing his eyes, she smiled. "You are very sweet little one, gracious." She kissed him slightly on the cheek and then turned to the adults. "Well, I'm ready to eat."

After placing their order, the group's conversation turned to guild business. Remy barely paid attention, his interest concerned the jewelry everyone was wearing. Even the silverware caught his attention. Picking up a goblet, he hit it slightly with a folk, listening to the different sounds it would make.

"I got first class tickets for de flight to Paris, Jean-Luc." Remy overheard Jacques announce to the group. "We leave late in de evenin' day after tomorrow."

"Huh? What trip?" Remy dropped the fork, looked at his father who glared back at Jacques. Remy knew something was being kept from him and it had something to do with his father going overseas. It had to be a mistake. "Papa, you're not goin' on no trip are you?" The thought of being without his father for the first time since his adoption frightened him. "Papa?"

"Jean, I'm sorry I didn' know." Jacques apologized, realizing his mistake.

"It's all right, Jacques." Jean-Luc pulled his son close, believing it would calm Remy down long enough for him to explain. "Remy, we'll talk 'bout dis later. Dere's no need to get dis upset. It's jus' a business trip. I'll be back b'fore y' know it."

"Oui petite, I give y' my word dat we'll not be gone too long." Jacques promised his nephew. Remy looked at the people around the table, trying to read their body language. Sebastian pretended to read a napkin, while Vincent sipped his tea. Jacques glanced up at Jean-Luc and gave him the 'I don't know what else to do' look.

A waiter bought their dinner to the table. As the guild members ate, Remy's mind was on a million things at one time. His father tapped his shoulder, "Remy, eat somethin' b'fore your food gets cold."

"I ain' hungry, Papa." He whispered, desperately wanting to go home but knowing at the moment, it was out of the question.

Pulling out a gold ink pen, Constance wrote on a napkin, making sure Remy was watching her. The pen wrote in different colors and then changed to black before the ink would disappear. Remy leaned closer, fascinated by what he was witnessing. "You want to try it, Remy?" Constance asked him, holding the pen towards him. "You can have it, if you want it."

Remy took the pen and carefully started drawing with it. He laughed, watching the ink disappear. "Hey dis is neat, merci, Constance." He showed it to his father.

Jean-Luc gave her a nod of thanks before letting out a silent sigh of relief. "What's next on our agenda?" He asked, cutting his steak and elbowing his son gently at the same time while cutting his steak. "Remy y' better eat b'cause we're not goin' to McDonalds."

Remy made a face, picked up his knife and fork cut into the steak. He took a bite out of the meat and started chewing it. "Gross, dis isn' done," He grabbed the nearest napkin, covered his mouth with it and spit the meat out of his mouth. He quickly wrapped the meat inside the napkin, grabbed his glass and started drinking to wash the taste in his mouth. Downing half the glass, he wiped his mouth with his hand, and announced for all to hear, "Dere's blood runnin' out of dat thin'."

Sebastian Renault shook his head in disgust. "Boy it's cooked medium rare, it's suppose to be like dat." He cut the boy's steak, showing Remy the blood running out of the meat which did nothing but make his stomach churn. "De steak tastes a lot better if it isn' over cooked. You don' want to burn all de juices out, do you?"

"I want somethin' dat I can eat, not dis cow dat's gonna start mooin' at me b'cause it ain' done." Remy shoved the plate in Sebastian's direction. "You can have mine, M'sieu Renault. I want a hambur-," He suddenly stopped in mid sentence, remembering his father's earlier warning. He reluctantly took back his plate and started eating the baked potato.

Three hours later, the meeting ended with Remy eating three desserts. Constance gave him a quick good bye kiss on the side of his face before leaving, followed closely by Renault. Vincent politely bowed to the Guild Master before dismissing himself for the night.

Jacques got to his feet. "Jean, I'll come by an' bring Frances wit' me so he an' Remy can get to know each other." Remy tried to stuff another piece of chocolate cake into his mouth while shaking hands with his uncle. "Would y' like to meet your cousin tomorrow afternoon, Remy?"

"Sure," Remy finished the cake off with a glass of milk. He realized Constance's cake was untouched, he reached for it only to have his hand tapped.

"I t'ink y' had just 'bout enough for one night boy," Jean-Luc said before he tipped the waiter. Thinking his father's attention was distracted, Remy reached again for the slice of cake. "Mon fils, you're playin' a dangerous game wit' me. T'ink carefully, petite, do y' still want to play it?"

"Non, Papa," Remy decided the cake wasn't so appetizing after all. His father took him by the hand and together they walked out of the restaurant, leaving Remy wondering if his father was a mind reader. Jean-Luc seemed to know what he was doing before he had time to do anything.




As they stood waiting for their car, Jean-Luc glanced at his watch. Remy enjoyed looking at the night lights and the commotion of the people around him. The car stopped in front and Jean-Luc opened the passenger door, allowing Remy to climb inside before he buckled his son up with the seat belt.

Slamming the door shut, Jean-Luc walked around to the other side of the car, giving his ticket and several dollars to the man before taking possession of the car. Halfway home, he took a quick glance at his son and discovered the boy had fallen asleep. As the car pulled up into the driveway, Jean-Luc pushed a code to open the front gates before continuing his drive up to the house to parked the car.

Henri met him outside. Glancing inside the car at his sleeping brother, he laughed softly "Looks like y' wore him out, Père. He's dead to de world."

Jean-Luc unlocked and opened the passenger door. He pulled his youngest out of the car and carried him inside the house. Climbing the stairs to the second floor, he noticed Therese coming out of her bedroom. She quickly ran to Remy's bedroom and opened the door for them.

As soon as Remy was placed on the bed, his eyes popped open. "What I am doin' up here?"

"It's past your bedtime, little brother." Therese opened one of the dresser drawers and pulled out a pair of pajamas. She placed the clothes on the bed, turned to her godfather. "Uncle Jean, I can take care of Remy if you have something else to do."

"Merci, Therese, I got calls to make b'fore it gets too late." He glanced down at his half asleep son. "Get changed Remy, I want y' in bed as soon as possible. Tante's gonna have my head for keepin' y' up dis late."

Taking off his jacket, Remy managed a weak nod before yawning. Therese pulled his shoes and socks off. "Hey, T'erese, y' get out. I can change my own clothes."

"All right, but in ten minutes I'm coming back to make sure you're in bed." She left the room as he began to change his clothes. Ten minutes later, true to her word, Therese was back to tuck him in. "Did you have a good time tonight?"

"I like de desserts." Remy propped his head up on two pillows and yawned again. "but de food in dat place," He looked towards the door and motioned for his sister to come closer, when she did, he whispered in her ear. "T'erese, dey don' cook it. Dey serve it raw an' expect y' to eat it."

Without meaning to, Therese started to laugh but covered her mouth to hide her laughter. "Well, it's time for you to go to sleep, goodnight." She kissed him on his forehead before turning out the lights in the room and leaving.

Remy was getting sleepy again, but his thoughts turned to his father's trip to Paris. He didn't want to be away from his father and the realization it was going to happen worried him. What if something happened to his father? What if the Assassins, he had been warned about, knew about the meeting? A lot of frightening questions were running through his mind.

He quietly got out of bed and silently opened his door. Seeing nobody, he went to the stairs and heard voices downstairs. He decided to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"What are you goin' to do 'bout Remy? Y' suppose to be leavin' day after tomorrow afternoon." Henri asked. "Dis is goin' to be real hard on him, Père. He's very attached to y' an' I'm afraid he's gonna t'ink you're abandoning him."

"I'm goin' to have a talk wit' him tomorrow." The elder LeBeau replied. "I talked to Jacques an' he agrees dat Remy needs a buddy to keep him company while I'm gone. We could let his new padnat stay at de house until my trip is over."

"Dat could be a problem, Père." Henri explained. "What if you can't find anyone?"

"Den I have to postpone de trip." Jean-Luc answered with a deep heavy sigh.

Upstairs, hidden in the darkness, a sly smile formed across Remy's face. He now knew how to keep his father home.




CHAPTER THREE



Early the next morning Remy felt someone tugging on his bedcovers. "Leave me alone," He grabbed a pillow and covered his head with it. When the pillow was jerked away, he angrily shouted to the person who had entered his room without his permission. "Go away I want to sleep."

"Get up, we got company comin'." Henri yanked the covers off his younger brother. "It's nine, Remy. Y' plannin' on stayin' in bed all day?"

"Don' care what time it is. I ain' gettin' up, now go away." He stuck his head under another pillow and tried to go back to sleep. He vaguely heard another person coming into his bedroom, without looking, Remy knew who had entered his room. As soon as a hand touched his back, Remy knew he had to get up.

Remy pouted, hoping for another hour of sleep. "Papa, I don' wanna get up right now. I'm still sleepily."

"Petite, y' want Henri to get y' out of bed de hard way?" His father asked, not as a question but a threat. Remy sat up, yawned twice before placing his head against his father's chest. "No more stayin' up past your bedtime, Remy. When school starts y' goin' to bed even earlier, y' understand?"

"Huh?" Remy woke up fully, hearing his father's announcement. "Papa, I'm awake! Y' don' have to change de time when I go to bed." He climbed out of the bed, trying to prove that point. He changed his clothes, remembering what his brother had said about visitors. "Who's comin' over here anyway?"

"B'sides your Uncle an' cousin, some guild members an' dere families." His father answered, leaving the room with Henri. "Dey should be here b'fore noon."

Remy rushed to the closed door, pressed his ear against it, listening for voices to tell him where his father and brother were. Satisfied, the men had gone downstairs, Remy ran to his closet and pulled out a huge box he had hidden in the back.

Opening the box to look inside, he smiled down at what was inside. "Hiya doin' Jake? Got somebody for y' to meet in a lil while."




Noon.

Therese glared at Remy from across the table, frustrated because he absolutely refused to continue with his math lessons. Having taught Remy to read and write, both she and Tante had worked hard to make sure he would began school at the correct grade level.

Remy shut the math book, placed his elbows on the table and gave his sister the sweetest innocent smile.

"If Tante were here, you wouldn't be this difficult, Remy." Therese sighed, losing her temper. "I can be just as stubborn as you are Remy." She pulled out another sheet of paper and slapped it down in front of him. "You're not getting up until you finish this last chapter and I mean it."

Remy grinned, turned and yelled. "Papa, why do I have to do dis stuff on Saturday?"

"Because you pretended you were sick three days this week, that's why." Therese opened the math book, pointed her finger inside it. "Now read it!"

"Papa!"

"Y' leave me outta dis, Remy." Jean-Luc tossed down a card, winning the game he was playing with Henri. He laughed, slapping his oldest across the back as he added numbers on a notepad. "Dat makes a thousand y' owe me, Henri."

"Papa, do somethin'." Remy pleaded.

"Non." Jean-Luc said simply, glancing at the table where Remy and Therese were sitting. "Dere's a penalty for lyin', mon fils an' you're payin' dat price now."

Sighing in defeat, Remy pulled the math book closer and began to study the lesson that his sister was demanding he complete. He was on the last question when the phone rang, announcing their guests were arriving.

Therese cleared the table. "All right you're finished for the weekend. Take the books to my room and put them on my desk." She gave Remy the books. "And don't be snooping in places that doesn't concern you."




Upstairs, in his sister's room, Remy put the books on Therese's desk. He heard the sound of a car door slamming and went to the window to investigate. Looking outside, he saw his father and brother greeting three people; a man, woman and a boy who appeared to be twelve years old.

Remy studied the boy very carefully, watching for any sign of weakness he could use against the boy. Sitting down on Therese's bed, he tried to think what do next. His train of thought was interrupted by his father calling him down stairs.

He walked down the stairs, meeting his father at the bottom. "Dis is Philip, Remy." Jean-Luc introduced the boy, who gave Remy a disapproving glance by lifting his nose in the air. Remy pretended not to notice, he'll deal with the stuck-up snob soon enough. He greeted the other boy with a friendly handshake. The gesture pleased his father, Jean-Luc pointed both boys in the direction of the stairs. "Why don' y' take Philip upstairs to your room an' entertain your guest, fils."

"Oui, Papa," Remy motioned for the boy to follow him upstairs. Once they were inside the room, he started his plan into action. "Why y' pretendin' to act so tough? I bet I could scare y' easily."

Philip folded his arm and snorted, "There's nothing a shrimp like you can do that could scare me." He opened his eyes wide and laughed. "Let me guess, you're going to turn the light off and yell boo?"

Remy walked to the closet, pulled out the large box and took the lid off. "Take a look at what's inside."

Philip walked over, looked inside and announced. "It's a fake!"

"If it's fake, pick it up!" Remy dared him, trying hard not to laugh.

Philip pulled out the ten foot long python snake and stared at it's head. The snake's tongue slithered out touching Philip's nose. The boy dropped the snake, ran out of the room screaming as loud as he could.

Remy picked up the snake and put it back in the box. "Good boy, Jake. I knew y' wouldn' let Remy down." He heard the boy still screaming downstairs mixing with angry adult voice's as well. A door slammed and within a minute, a car cranked up, it's tires screeching away told Remy his plan worked. He fell in the floor laughing.

The door flew open and his angry brother's face glared down at him. "What y' lookin' at?" Remy looked up and asked.

Henri yanked his brother off the floor and half carried him downstairs.

"Put him down, Henri." Jean-Luc demanded. With hands on hips, his father stood glaring at him. "What did y' do to dat boy, Remy?"

"I never laid a finger on him, Papa, I swear." Remy answered. "He said Jake was a toy snake." He snickered, "I guess he knows better now, non?"

"Jake!" Therese shouted. "You were told to get rid of that thing." She was almost hysterical. "Uncle Jean, do something"

"Henri, take it outside."

Henri sighed, eyed his brother with a glare and then did as ordered. "Dis is de last time I do dis, Remy. I'm gettin' tired of cleanin' up after your stupid pranks."

Therese grabbed Remy by the ear and pulled it hard. "You give me a good reason why I shouldn't tell Tante that you didn't mind her. She told you to get rid of that snake days ago when it got loose and slithered into my bedroom."

"I forgot 'about Jake, T'erese, honest I did." Remy lied, hoping she would believe him. "You forgive me, don' you?" His sister didn't answer. She walked out of the room, leaving Remy feeling he was losing his touch.

"Sebastian's bringin' his family over an' I want y' on your best behavior, Remy." Jean-Luc folded his arms, an habit his father expressed when he meant business. "Dere better not be anot'er snake in dis house. In fact, de only t'ing breathin' in dis house better be human."

"I promise Papa, no more pets." Remy smiled in agreement. With Jake out of the house, he would have to think of something else to use on his next victim.




An hour later, the Renault family arrived. Sebastian introduced his wife and their thirteen year old son to the LeBeaus'. "Jean, dis is Adrienne an' our fils, Maurice."

Remy tapped Maurice on the shoulder, "Y' wanna go outside?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders, "Might as well."

Remy led the way, walking to where his tree house was build, he sat down under the large tree. He watched Maurice kicking up stones with his shoes, taking his time looking around the back yard.

Maurice sighed. "Y' might as well tell y' right now. I didn' wanna come but Father told me if I stay 'ere he'd buy me anythin' I want." He started staring, making a face at Remy. "Dey told me y' we're a mutant but I didn' know y' had demon eyes. You're creepy lookin'."

It took everything in Remy's power to control himself. He wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of this older kid, but Maurice being a lot older and taller would be the victor. There were other ways of getting revenge. "Y' mean your father didn' tell y' 'bout me?"

"What 'bout y'?" Maurice snorted angrily. "Y' jus' some stupid kid who needs his nose wiped an' I got stuck doin' de job."

"Non, I mean de eyes." Remy pointed at his glowing eyes, "I have dese eyes b'cause my father has dem. Didn' M'sieu Renault tell y' what's suppose to happen tomorrow night?" Remy leaned closer so the other boy could get a good look at his eyes. "I was called Devil Boy b'fore M'sieu LeBeau adopted me."

"So y' were called Devil Boy, big deal." Maurice still stared at Remy's eyes until he couldn't look at them anymore. "Wonder if you're related to a vampire or somethin' like dat."

"Worse dan dat, my dad is de Devil." Remy explained. "He's comin' to get me tomorrow night b'cause de moon is full."

"You're lyin'! Y' ain' de son of Satan." The boy protested.

"Y' know anybody else who has eyes like mine, non?" Remy questioned him. "M'sieu LeBeau's leavin' de country b'cause he knows my real father has sworn to kill someone in de house tomorrow night for dem stealin' me." He sighed deeply before continuing his lie. "I'm not suppose to tell y' dis but de only reason M'sieu LeBeau is makin' y' stay here is b'cause my father demands a human sacrifice to forgive de clan for dere sin. Y' are dat sacrifice, Maurice."

From the direction of the swamps, a strange animal made a loud noice. Maurice jumped, tripped over his own feet and tumbled to the ground. Remy looked back in the direction of the swamps. He turned, stared at Maurice's paling face, "Still t'ink I'm lyin'?"

"I jus' remembered dat I have to see my...." Maurice climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. The older boy kept looking at the swamps. "Uh, I can't remember who I am suppose to meet but y' understand, don' y'?" Maurice ran towards the house, looking back long enough to yell. "I'm not scared but I can't break a promise, can I?"

"Was it somethin' dat I said?" Remy yelled at the retreating boy. He fell to the ground, holding his side as he laughed.

The door opened and Jean-Luc walked out, interrupting Remy's moment of triumph.

His father yanked him up before Remy had time to get to his feet. "Why y' doin' dis, Remy?" His father asked. "Y' have dat boy beggin' his parents to take him home b'fore de moon gets full. He's convinced you're de devil's fils. Y' want to tell me why he t'inks dat?"

"He's de one who said I had vampire eyes." Remy shrugged. "I jus' played along wit' him."

"I want dis to stop now, boy. Y' scared off Philip an' I am not even goin' to ask why y' tied dat other boy up in a tree." When Remy started laughing, his father cut him off. "Dis isn' funny, mon fils. His parents are convinced y'are workin' for de assassins."

"It's not my fault dey stupid."

"Look at me, Remy." His father gently squeezed Remy's shoulder and Remy obeyed. "I know why you're doin' dis an' it isn' goin' to work. Y' have t' understand dat de Guild demands I be in France."

Remy opened his mouth to speak but Henri called out to their father, "Père, Uncle Jacques an' Lapin are here."

Remy followed his father back inside the house and angrily threw himself in a chair and sulked. He glared at Maurice who ducked behind Sebastian, making it clear he didn't want anything to do with the youngest LeBeau.

"I'm sorry to cut de visit short, Jean-Luc but somethin' has come up an' we must leave." Sebastian took his leave and he and his family left.

"Frances, y' see how Remy's been runnin' dese kids off?" Jacques went down to his knee to speak to his son. "I want y' to promise me y' won' let your cousin do dat to y'. I know y' know how to handle him."

"It's Lapin, Père." Lapin corrected his father. Frances hated his name, refusing to answer if anyone called him by it. Spotting Remy, Lapin pulled his favorite possession, a worn New Orleans Saints football cap down over his ears and walked over to his cousin. "I'm Lapin."

"Lapin! Y' t'ink you're Bugs Bunny or somethin'?" Remy looked at his cousin and chuckled. "Y' kinda look like a rabbit. Betcha eat carrots an' yell 'what's up doc?' a lot too."

"Why don' we go outside an' I'll show y' why I call myself Lapin." Lapin challenged his cousin. The two boys went outside with Lapin grinning at the adults as he closed the doors behind them.

"Y' want to go back towards de swamps?" Remy asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "or are y' afraid y' might get lost?"

"Lead de way," Lapin suggested, following behind Remy. "What y' got in mind?"

"I bet y' can't keep up wit' me in dere." Remy said, standing at the entrance to where the swamps began. His father had warned him repeatedly to stay out of the swamps, but scaring his cousin was more important.

"So we play hide an' seek." Lapin turned his back to his cousin. "I'll count to fifty an' den I'll come look for y'."

Remy listened until Lapin counted to 'five' before he ran into the swamps. Dodging around several moss covered trees, Remy kept running until he found the perfect tree to climb.

Minutes passed, Lapin came into view, walked under the tree Remy was in and moved on without looking up. Watching the boy disappear out of his sight, Remy snickered, covering his mouth to keep from being heard. He waited an hour and then climbed down, heading back towards the house. No doubt Lapin was lost by now, he better go tell his father.

A scream made his blood run cold. It came from the direction quicksand was located. Another scream, this time it was Lapin's yell for help. Remy took off in that direction, he came to a complete stop when he saw the football cap, turned side ways, left by the edge of the quicksand. Fifteen feet away, a mud puddle rested in silence, giving no indication of anyone disturbing it.

"Lapin!" Remy screamed as he picked up his cousin's cap. A practical joke was one thing, but he never wanted to hurt anyone. A twig snapped, he turned and saw his cousin standing behind him.

"Y' stupid idiot! I t'ought y' fell in de quick sand." Remy glared at Lapin who stood in front of the mud puddle, making no effort to stop laughing.

"Not so funny is it, when de joke's on you." Lapin grabbed his cap out of Remy's hand. "Let's get somethin' straight right now, lil cousin, y' ain' gonna scare me off."

"Y're gonna ruin everythin'." Remy screamed, balling his hands into fists. Nobody was going to separate him from his father. He shoved Lapin into the mud puddle. "Dat'll teach y' to stick your nose in my business."

Lapin was on his feet so fast that Remy didn't have time to react. Lapin grabbed his cousin by his shirt and slung him down into the puddle. Pointing a dirty finger at Remy, he laughed. "Fast enough for y', cousin? Now y' know why I call myself, Lapin."

Remy's temper got the best of him, he jumped up and yanked Lapin back into the mud. Both tried to force the other's face into the muck.

"Stop it!" Henri shouted, causing both boys to stop their fighting. Neither had time to blame the other, both were yanked out and thrown onto the marshy grass. "Père told y' not to be in here, Remy, an' here y' are. Why are y' an' Lapin fightin'."

Remy lowered his head, knowing he was in trouble.

"We weren't fightin' Henri. I fell in de mud," Lapin spoke up, surprising Remy by taking the blame. "Remy tried to pull me out but he lost his balance and fell in too. I'll tell Uncle Jean I was de one who went into de swamps an' got lost. All Remy did was try to find me. He didn' do anythin' wrong."

"Y' lie an' Remy swears to it." Henri sighed. "C'mon, y' can use de hose to wash de muck off."

"Why did y' take de blame?" Remy asked, whispering to his cousin.

"Jus' say y' owe me one." Was all Lapin said before running off.

"He's weird." Remy said, walking with his brother. When they reached the house Lapin had finished washing the mud off his clothes. Lapin handed the hose to Henri who turned it on his brother.

"It's c..c..cold!" Remy screamed, chattering his teeth as Henri took his time washing off the mud.

"Y' two stay out here an' dry off." Henri returned with several towels, giving one to Lapin and using another to wrap Remy inside it. "Well, petite frère, your plan didn' work did it?" Remy tried to hide his disappointment but his brother wasn't fooled. "Everythin' is gonna be alright. I promise y', Remy."

"I don' want Papa to go Henri. Can't he make somebody else go in his place?" Remy asked, trying hard not to cry. He didn't want his cousin to think he was weak. "He's de Guild Master. Papa can make dem go, can't he?"

"No, petite." Henri continued to dry Remy off with the towel as Lapin listened in. "I know you're upset 'bout all dis but I will take good care of you."

"I don' need nobody takin' care of me, I can do dat myself." Remy pulled out of his brother's grasp. "I don' want Papa leavin', Henri. De Assassins, dey gonna..."

"Non, mon petite frère, de Guild has taken precautions to guarantee de councils safety. Security is de highest prerogative. All of de Guilds are sendin' dere Guild Masters, dat's why Père must go. Do y' t'ink de Guilds would send dere most important members to a place dat has no security?" Henri reached out and pulled his brother back to him. "Is dat what has been botherin' y'?"

Remy nodded his head, acknowledging his brother's question. "Henri, y' sure Papa's goin' to be alright? De Guild will protect him from de Assassins?"

"I promise y', Père will be fine an' home b'fore y' know it." His brother said, still holding him. Lapin moved closer to the brothers and Henri pulled him into the embrace and looked at both boys. "As for de Assassins, dey are our enemies, but our Guild's strong. We take care of our own mon frère. Nothing will happen to us. I give y' my word on dis."




CHAPTER FOUR



Later that evening, Remy was sprawled across his bed reading a comic book. The door opened and Lapin walked in. "Y' got no manners, Bug Bunny? Y' ever heard of knockin'?"

"Why should I knock when dis is my room?" Lapin plopped down on the bed. "Got news for y' Cousin, y' an' me are sharin' dis room."

"Oh non, we're not!" Remy dropped his book, rolled off his bed and pointed at the door. "Y' get outta my room b'fore I throw y' out."

Lapin laughed. "Try it, Crevette!"

"Stop callin' me dat." Remy moved to the door, opened it and glared back at his cousin. "Get out!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Non!" Lapin crossed his arms, giggled and repeated. "Crevette."

"Dat's it!" Remy slammed the door, shaking several pictures hanging on the wall.




Downstairs, Therese glanced up the stairs before turning to Henri. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Her brother asked, pretending not to understand what she meant. Another crash from the upstairs bedroom, the third one in less than five minutes caught his attention but only briefly. He returned to the papers he had been reading.

"They're up there fighting. Don't you think you should get up there and stop it." Therese asked. A large thump rocked the house, she yelled. "One of them is going to get hurt and you're just going to let it happen." She walked to the stairs. "If you will not do anything, then I will."

"Soeur, non!" Henri called, making her stop at the bottom of the landing. "Petite frère's learnin' a valuable lesson he won' soon forget." Therese stood listening, waiting for him to continue. "Remy has pushed de wrong person too far dis time. Lapin's accommodatin' him." Hearing nothing for a few seconds, he smiled. "See it's over already."




Upstairs, Remy , on his back, tried to squirm free. "Get off me!"

Lapin sat on his cousin, pinning both of Remy's wrist to the floor. "Now, dat we've settled who's de boss, I will be nice an' let y' sleep in your own bed."

"Y' ain' stayin' in my room, Bugs Bunny. Y' can go outside an' dig y' up some carrots for all I care. Dis is my room an' you're gettin' out." Remy bit Lapin in the arm, causing his cousin to release him. Once free, Remy shoved Lapin down and ran out of the room.

Lapin ran out into the hallway, finding it now in darkness. "I can still find y' in de dark, Crevette."

Remy watched his cousin's silhouette creeping closer. He waited until Lapin was close enough and he stuck out his foot. His cousin fell to the floor.

Lapin rolled over on his side, "Y' better stop dis now Remy b'fore y' get hurt."

"I'm not de one on de floor." Remy laughed, returning to his room. He grabbed his comic book and started reading.

Lapin returned, grabbed the remote to the television and turned it on. He sat down in the rocking chair and watched cartoons. "Want me to turn it up?"

"I ain' watchin' so why do I care if y' turn it up!" Remy yelled behind his comic book. He peeked over the book to watch the cartoon. In time, Remy slowly dropped the comic, propped himself up on his elbows and started watching television.

Lapin jumped on the bed, joining Remy to watch TV together. Neither spoke to the other until Lapin finally had enough. "Y' wan' to be sociable now, Cousin or are y' still gonna ignor me?"

"Jus' 'member one t'ing, Lapin." Remy looked at his cousin while a commercial was on. "Papa's de leader of de Guild an' dat means dat y' an' Uncle Jacques have to do what he says," Remy touched his chest, "an' since I'm his fils dat makes me, Prince of Thieves, so y' got to do whatever I say."

"I don' care if you're de Prince of Egypt, I can still beat your butt anytime an' anywhere." Lapin eyed his cousin until the next cartoon came on.

Remy made a face at him and then settled back down to watch television. For several hours they watched in silence.

"I'm goin' downstairs an' get somethin' to eat." Lapin announced. "Y' want somethin' or are y' too good to eat wit' your cousin, your Highness?"

"T'erese won' let y' in de kitchen until it's supper time." Remy said, keeping his eyes on the television. "Ruin your appetite, she claims."

"I'm a guest, she'll let me do what I please." Lapin left the room. He returned in three minutes, angrily stomping back to sit in the rocking chair. "She threaten t' spank me if I step one foot in her kitchen."

"Told ya." Remy laughed, "an' Tante, she be worse than mon soeur."

"I'm hungry now!" Lapin rocked in the chair. Letting out a sigh, he looked at Remy and confessed. "I was only kiddin' 'bout takin' over your room. I'm sleepin' in de next room. Jus' wanted to get y' mad so I could fight wit' y'."

"It worked!" Remy admitted, laughing. "Go to de door an' make sure nobody's up here." Remy rolled off the bed and went to his dresser. He waited until Lapin nodded. "Ok, lock de door an' come over here."

Lapin obeyed, joining his cousin as Remy pulled out a false bottom in the last drawer.

Remy pulled out a small backpack and opened it. "Help yourself."

Lapin looked inside the backpack. "Wow! Y' got a gold mine in here. Candy, potato chips, cakes, and cookies." He reached in, grabbed a hand full of goodies and zipped up the bag. "I don' wanna be in your shoes if Tante finds dis."

"Y' not goin' t' tell, are y'?" Remy put the bag away, closed the drawer and went to the door to unlock it. "Sit down b'side de bed, if somebody comes in here, dey can't see y' eatin'."

"Y' not eatin' anythin', how come?"

"Not hungry." Remy returned to his bed and went back to watching television. He didn't want to talk anymore.

"Remy, Uncle Jean doesn' wanna leave y' anymore dan y' want him t' leave." Lapin said. "When Père started goin' on dose trips, I hated it, but after awhile, I got use t' him takin' dem. Trust me lil cousin, y' will too."

"Non, never will." Remy turned his face away to stare at the wall. "Lapin, sorry for givin' y' such a hard time. It's not your fault Papa might have to leave. I keep hopin' dat he will stay home."




Dusk, Jean-Luc and Jacques stood outside talking about the upcoming meeting. "Constance jus' called. Everthin' is ready. De guest list has reached over five hundred members an' you're de guest of honor."

"Total waste of time if y' ask me." Jean-Luc said. "We got enough problems wit' de Assassins to keep my attention for years, an' dat's not even de tip of de ice burg."

"Y' worried 'bout Remy?"

"Oui, very worried. Remy has trouble wit' nightmares." The guild leader admitted. "He's jus' now beginnin' to sleep through de night. He still has dem but not like he use to. I'm afraid de Paris trip will start dem up again. I'm almost tempted to call de trip off."

"Y' do dat Jean, an' Pièrre will have your head. Refusin' to appear at de meetin' will only serve as another weapon for Pièrre to use against y' to take your leadership." Benoit turned to his brother-in-law, the smoke from his pipe filling the air. "I still say y' were wrong not to strip him of his councilship. De man is trouble. De sooner he's gone from our Guild de better I'll sleep at night."

"Pièrre's nothin' more dan a power hungry weasel. I've taken care of his kind for years." Jean-Luc said, looking upwards enjoying the darkening skies. He glanced at the house after hearing a door close. Remy and Lapin rushed out of the house, running towards the tree house. Jean-Luc took a deep breath and called to his son. "Mon petite, I wan' to talk to y'. Papa wants to talk to you."

The little boy stopped running, realizing the source for the upcoming talk. "Papa, you're leavin', aren' y'?"

"Fils, y' know I would never leave unless it was necessary." He walked over and picked up the boy.

"We'll leave y' two alone." Jacques said, guiding his son back to the house.

"Papa, please don' leave." Remy begged, trying hard not to cry. Jean-Luc gave his son a tight hug, allowing the boy a moment of privacy. Remy never cried in public, choosing instead to bottle his emotions. As he rubbed the boy's back, his son shook in his arms.

"Remy, your frère an' soeur will be here. Nobody's abandonin' y'." He gently turned his son's face, wiping the boy's tears away with his fingers. "I need for y' to be strong mon petite."

The boy took a deep breath, tried to smile but sighed instead. "Oui Papa, but I'm goin' to miss you."

"An' I y' petite, but it's only for a week." Remy wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him. Jean-Luc smiled, satisfied his son had accepted the situation. "Durin' supper, we're goin' to have a family meetin' to set some rules while I'm gone."

Lapin stuck his head out the door, interrupting the private talk. "Supper's ready. T'erese say to eat it now b'fore it gets cold cause she ain' gonna reheat it." He held the door open, allowing the two to enter the house.




Seated next to Remy, Lapin swung his legs under his chair listening to the boring conversation while he enjoyed his spaghetti dinner. If he and Remy had to listen to guild matters, then they should be considered equals, which included the benefits of being treated as adults. A lame joke was shared by Henri and the adults laughed, giving Lapin the chance to speak his mind. "How come me an' Remy have to drink milk an' everybody else gets to drink wine? We're old enough to drink it too."

"Tell me mon fils, when did y' decide dis?" Jacques placed his wine goblet on the table. "Y' b'come a man without your mère an myself knowin' it?"

"I am a man!" Lapin elbowed his cousin, "Ain' we, Remy?"

"Well mon fils, man or non," Jacques said. "y' still goin' to bed at nine."

Everyone at the table laughed, angering the youngest Benoit.

"Nine!" Lapin shouted. His father shot him a threatening glare, he quickly lowered his voice. "I bet Remy doesn' go to bed at nine." He looked at the head of the table, "Isn' dat right, Uncle Jean."

"Oui, Remy's bedtime isn' nine." His uncle answered. Lapin stuck out his chest, grinned back at his father, satisfied he had proven a point. His uncle added, "Mon petite's in bed at eight-thirty an' when school starts it changes to eight."

Lapin's mouth dropped opened, realizing he had just stuck his foot in his mouth.

"Now to get some business out of de way b'cause Remy an' Lapin will be asleep when Jacques an' I leave in de mornin'." Jean-Luc continued. Everyone stopped eating to listen. "Henri's in charge. What he says goes."

"Oh great, he's bossy enough as it is." Therese threw her napkin down beside her plate, turned to Henri and sarcastically saluted him. "Heil! Hitler."

"T'erese!"

"It was a joke, Henri, sheesh!" She playfully hit her older brother in the shoulder. "You have no sense of humor, Big brother."

"Sure I do!" Henri raised his goblet, toasting his sister. "Want to see somethin' real funny, T'erese? Look in de mirror."

"B'fore I was interrupted," Jean-Luc continued, clearing his throat. "De Assassins are still swearin' revenge for dat death last week. Henri, de guild stays on high alert an' jus' to be on de safe side, de boys are not to leave de property."

The announcement caused a major uproar from the two ten year olds. The mutiny was quickly silenced by their father's threatening glares. "T'erese, y' let Remy out of his studies dis week. Let de boy enjoy himself."

Therese glanced at her younger brother, who made a face at her. "Enjoy yourself little brother, because next week you'll have tons of lessons to make up for your little vacation."

"Papa, she can't do dat, can she?" Remy asked his father.

"I t'ink she jus' did." Jean-Luc patted the boy on the head. "Petite, I'll bring y' an' Lapin somethin' back wit' me if y' two b'have." Two sets of eyes looked at him, he held up a finger, warning them. "I'll be phonin' de house daily, any word from T'erese an' Henri dat you're causin' dem any problems, I'll come back home an' deal wit' y' myself."

"We'll b'have," Remy answered before he took a bite out of his French bread, "Dey won't even know we're here."




CHAPTER FIVE



A few hours after midnight, Henri carried the luggage down to the foyer as Jean-Luc silently walked into the dark room of his youngest son. Sitting down on the queen-size bed, he watched his son sleep.

Jacques knocked softly, stepped inside and whispered. "De limousine jus' arrived."

Jean-Luc kissed his son, "Adieu, mon petite fils." He took one last glance at Remy, got to his feet and joined his brother-in-law out in the hallway. He closed the door behind him, following Jacques down the stairs.

"The plane tickets are in the envelope." Therese said, handing him a white envelope before giving him a hug. "Don't worry, Henri and I will take good care of Remy."

"I know y' will Fille, but if anythin' goes wrong y' call me. Comprendre?" Picking up one of the suitcases, he turned back around. "I mean it T'erese, if dat boy starts havin' nightmares again, y' better call me."

"I promise, Uncle." Therese opened the door as the luggage was picked up and carried outside. She followed Jean-Luc and Jacques to the car where Henri was having a conversation with Vincent St. James.

The conversation ended quickly and the two men shook hands before Vincent climbed inside the car, helping Jacques with the luggage.

Standing by his son, Jean-Luc gave his bag to Benoit as his brother- in-law entered the limousine. "Henri, keep your temper. Don' give de Assassins a reason to start a war. Marius is only lookin' for an excuse to start killin'."

"Y' trained me well, Père. I won' let y' down." Henri answered, grasping his hand. "Bernard's goin' to be spendin' a lot of time over here to assist me." The full moon gave away Therese's huge smile. Henri chuckled, "I knew dat would make y' happy, Soeur."

Jean-Luc entered the car, looked up at his eldest. "Take care of de family."

"I will, Père." Henri closed the car door and he and Therese watched as the car pulled out, driving down the road and into darkness. The gate shut behind the vehicle and a metallic noise clicked.

"The gate's locked!" Therese glanced at her brother's wristwatch. "It's just three-thirty? I'm going back to bed." She walked back into the house, Henri following behind her. She punched in several numbers on the key pad to activate the security system. "You staying down here?"

"Non, I'm goin' back t' bed too. I can still get a couple more hours of sleep b'fore my meetin' wit' de Guild." Henri stretched before going upstairs. Deciding to peek in on his brother, he opened Remy's bedroom door and found his brother asleep on his stomach, his head buried under several pillows.

Closing the door, he moved to the next door to check on his young cousin. Lapin was twisted up in his bedcovers. Walking over, Henri quickly untangled the boy who amazingly remained asleep.




Six hours later, Therese woke to the sun glaring through her windows, hitting her in the face. She quickly dressed, walked out into the hall and found Lapin coming out of his room. "You look like you've been up awhile."

"I'm up early all de time." Her cousin reached down to tie his shoe laces on his sneakers. "Been watchin' cartoons in my room so I wouldn' wake anybody." He cracked a sly grin. "Y' want me to wake up Remy?"

"No, you leave him alone today, Lapin. He's going to have a rough time when he finds out Uncle Jean's gone." Therese put her finger to her lips, silencing her cousin. She opened the door to her brother's room and peeked inside. Satisfied Remy was still asleep, she shut it and turned to Lapin. "Come on, I'll make you breakfast."

Therese walked down the stairs with Lapin following behind her. She reached the bottom stair and heard a noice coming from the large room. Recognizing Henri's voice, Therese moved into the large room seeing several papers thrown on a table. "Henri, I don't think.."

She froze, seeing Bernard LeBranche sitting beside her brother. 'What was Bernard doing here?' Giving her brother a dirty look, Therese ran back up the stairs.

"Women!" Henri stacked the papers together. He knew he would have hell to pay when she came back downstairs. He turned to his friend, "Bernard, y'goin' to protect me from T'erese, non?"

"Mebbe T'erese can take your place while Jean-Luc's gone." Bernard laughed. Henri glared at him. "Hey, chill Henri, y' need to lighten up a bit."




Therese finished putting the final touches of her make up on her face. As her thoughts shifted of many ways of getting back at her older brother, she her a slight moan coming from her younger brother's bedroom. Therese opened Remy's bedroom door and saw him stirring under the covers. "Good morning sleepy head," She greeted him, "You want to get up or stay in bed all day?"

Remy sat up in bed, his hair, disheveled hung down over his face. He tried focusing his eyes as he looked around the room. "Where's Papa? He hasn't let yet, has he?" He asked, crawling out of bed. He didn't wait for Therese to answer, he ran out of the room, down the hall and stairs, yelling for his father. Remy stopped, finding the foyer empty. The suitcases left last night were gone. "I didn' get to say goodbye."

"Y' were asleep, petite frère. Père didn' want to wake y'." Henri spoke in a gentle voice. Remy faced his brother, watching as Henri gave some papers to Bernard and then moved in Remy's direction. "Tante will be stayin' wit' at de house until Père gets back."

"Tante?" The boy asked, wondering why Tante agreed to stay at the house while Henri was home. The healer never stayed over night unless his father asked her to do so. Something didn't sound right. He studied his brother and asked, concerned. "Henri, y' leavin' too?"

"Non, but wit' Guild business, dere's no tellin' what time I'll be gettin' in. Tante t'inks it's best if she's here wit' y' and T'erese b'cause dere might be trouble wit' de Assassins." Henri returned to the table, taking the papers back from LeBranche. "Y' better get upstairs an' change b'fore T'erese starts yellin' like a banshee." He laughed, slapping Bernard on the leg as Remy ran up the stairs. "Even petite frère knows T'erese runs dis house wit' an iron fist."

"I heard that!" Therese walked into the large room. "You want some breakfast?" She smiled sweetly at her brother's visitor. "Bernard, you're more than welcomed to stay, we have plenty."

"Non, we gonna be leavin' soon." Bernard returned her smile. "T'anks anyway, mebbe I take a rain check, huh?"

"I'll remind you of that later." Henri lowered his face to keep from laughing. Therese purposely stepped on his foot, listening with a smile of her own as he let out a painful yell.




Half an hour later, Remy entered the kitchen and sat down across the small table from Lapin. "What we havin' to eat?"

"I don' care. I'll eat anythin'." Lapin answered, reading a comic book. "

Wanna bet? Y' never ate T'erese's cookin'." Remy giggled. His sister pointed a threatening spoon in his direction. He asked, "What y' cookin'?"

"Oatmeal."

"Oatmeal? I hate oatmeal! Everybody knows I hate oatmeal" Remy yelled, "I want eggs an' bacon."

"You're getting oatmeal and you're going to eat it." Therese pulled out a bowl, filled it with oatmeal and served it to her brother. "Remy you're setting a bad example for Lapin. Stop acting like a spoiled brat."

"But I want bacon an' eggs," Remy stuck a spoon into the bowl and started stirring the oatmeal. The more he stirred it, the more he hated the warm cereal. He flashed his sister his winning smiled. "T'erese, y' know your my favorite soeur. Will y' fix me an' Lapin eggs an' bacon?"

"You're eating oatmeal and if you complain one more time about eating it, you'll get a second helpin'." Therese said. "That little smile of yours isn't going to work this time, Remy."

Remy looked at Lapin who only shrugged and started eating his breakfast. Remy remained stubborn, refusing to eat. He continued to play with his spoon.

Therese sprinkled sugar into her bowl. "It's not going to disappear until you eat it, Remy."

"I ain' gonna eat it." Remy shoved the bowl away, lend back into his chair and defiantly crossed his arms. Therese pushed the bowl back in front of him and dared him to move it again. Remy decided to leave well enough alone.

"I'm finished, may I be excused?" Lapin asked, interrupting the battle of wills going on between brother and sister.

"Put your bowl in the sink and you can go upstairs to clean your room." For several minutes, Therese continued to watch her brother waiting for him to move. "Remy, oatmeal is good for you, now eat up before it gets cold."

"Don' want it." Remy muttered.

"All right, don't eat it." Therese sighed in frustration. "Just go upstairs and clean your room."

Lapin took his time making his bed. Finished, he made his way to Remy's bedroom and knocked on the door. He walked in, finding his cousin's bed still unmade. Thinking Remy was still downstairs, Lapin made the bed. He heard what sounded like plastic paper folding. "Remy, where are y'?"

"Under de bed."

Lapin yanked the covers up and looked under the bed. Remy was stuffing a powered doughnut in his mouth. "Wipe your mouth Stupid, or dey gonna know what y' been eatin'."

"Did y' eat all your oatmeal like a good lil' boy?" Remy crawled out from under the bed, wiping his mouth with his wrist. "Y' acted jus' like a wimp. If y' had stuck wit' de plan we would have gotten eggs and bacon."

Lapin folded his arms, glared at his cousin. "At least I didn' act like an ass."

A knock sounded and the door opened, revealing Therese. "Remy, are you hungry? I don't like the idea of you not eating just to win an argument."

"I'm not hungry, T'erese, honest." Remy admitted, spending five minutes convincing his sister the truth. He didn't tell her the reason, but she believed him.

Therese walked to the window and looked outside. "Why don't you two go outside and play until dinner is ready. It's just too pretty of a day for two boys to be staying inside."

Both boys rushed out of the room, down the stairs, almost running into Henri and Bernard as they hurried outside.




Several hours later, up in Remy's tree house, the boys saw the black Lamborghini pulling out of the garage. Sliding down the rope, Remy ran to the car. "Henri, take me an' Lapin in town wit' y'. We're bored."

"Bored already?" Henri asked, raising his brow. "Y' need to stay here today petite frère. I got a meetin' wit' de Guild an' I don' know how long it's goin' to last." He revved up the engine. "Tell y' what, tomorrow we'll go fishin' down at de bay."

"Fishin' yeah!" Both boys yelled.

The car drove off, leaving the two boys standing in the yard. "Y' wanna go to de store? Got two bikes an' you can ride one." Remy suggested to his cousin.

Moments later, they jumped on their bikes and peddled down to the end of the driveway. Remy punched in the code, waiting until the gate opened and then reentered it to lock it back. They pushed the bikes out of the gate before it slammed shut.

Lapin stared at the gate. "How did y' do dat?"

"I found de code book in Henri's room de other day." Remy got on his bike. "Papa an' him change de codes everyday so nobody can break into de house. I wrote dem down for dis week, so we can get out anytime we want."

Lapin had another question. "What if T'erese comes lookin' for us?"

"She's busy watchin' dose stupid soap operas to know we're gone." Remy tried keeping pace with Lapin, who headed off in a different direction. "Hey, where y' goin'?"

"De junk yard down de end of dis road. I wanna get somethin' outta dis place." Lapin pedaled off the paved road and unto a dirt road. He jumped off the bike and waited for Remy to catch up. "We go in here, dat way nobody can see us."

"What y' wan' in dis place?" Remy asked him.

Lapin ignored him. He crawled through the small opening with Remy following closely behind him.

Something sparkling caught Remy's eye. Walking over, he pulled out the glittering object and was disappointed it was only a crushed hubcap. Tossing it away, Remy climbed over several old tires looking for anything of value. Things were just about to get interesting when he heard something coming his way. He managed to climb down just as Lapin came running by him.

"RUN!" Lapin screamed as he ran by his cousin.

Remy stared at Lapin's retreating back until he heard something. Turning, he saw three Dobermans coming straight from him. Dropping everything, Remy ran in the direction Lapin had gone.

Lapin had climbed the fence but the barbwire at the top prevented him from climbing over to the other side.

"Dis is all your fault!" Remy started climbing the fence. His right pant leg was grabbed and ripped off from his knee down. He lost his balance and screamed.

Lapin grabbed his hand to keep him from falling. "Climb." His cousin yelled, yanking harder on Remy's hand.

Remy climbed higher, out of the dogs reach. He looked down as the animals circled around each other at the bottom of the fence. One of the dogs looked up, locking eyes with Remy. Remy kept the dog's glaze for a minute and then started climbing down.

"What y' doin', Remy?" Lapin yelled over his shoulder. "Dose dogs gonna rip y' apart." Lapin stared in disbelief, watching as Remy stared down the dog, the two remaining dogs watched, but not moving.

Remy reached out and touched the dog. The dog licked his hand. "Good boy, dat's a good dog." He whispered, petting the two other dogs after befriending the first one. After several minutes of playing with the dogs, he looked up at his stunned cousin. "It's OK Lapin, y' can stop shakin' de fence an' come down."

"How did y' do dat?" Lapin jumped down. He was hesitant at first but then started playing with the dogs.

Remy shrugged. "I don' know. Dat dog jus' looked up at me an' den all of a sudden he started likin' us." One of the dogs tried to lick him in the face, Remy turned, avoiding the dog's tongue. "See what I mean! Mebbe dey know we're not goin' to hurt dem."

"Well, let's get outta here b'fore dey decide dey're hungry an' wanna eat us." Lapin suggested, crawling through the hole in the fence.

Remy followed, turned and found the dogs were following him. "Non, y' doggies gotta stay here." He piled several rocks to cover the hole to keep the dogs behind the fence. Lapin was sitting on his bike and holding Remy's by the handle bars. "I'm hungry. Let's go to McDonalds."

The two rode their bikes into New Orleans, enjoying their freedom and the sites. Lapin slowed his bike down, stopping in front of a McDonalds. He pulled out several dollar bills and turned to his cousin. "Y' stay out here an' watch de bikes. I'll go get us somethin' to eat."

Ten minutes later, Lapin returned with four cheeseburgers. Giving one to Remy, he had an idea. "Y' wanna go back an' give two of dese to dose doggies?" After getting his cousin approval, the two went back and fed their new animal friends before continuing their travels.

As they rode by the river bank, the boys discovered several off beaten paths that wasn't well traveled. A few miles down a dirt road, Lapin stopped, warning bells going off in his head. Some strange reason he felt he knew the area, a place that was dangerous. "I don' know dis place. I t'ink who lives down dere wants to be left along. We better go back, huh?"

"Non, if I'm gonna get yelled at for rippin' dese pants, I ain' in no hurry to go home." Remy pedaled down the dirt road, leaving his cousin behind. He shouted over his shoulder, daring Lapin to follow. "Y' scared Lapin?"

" Remy, I t'ink we're in Assassin territory." Lapin yelled, but his warning went unheeded. Deciding against better judgment, he went after Remy.

A blond headed girl, perhaps their age was playing by the river bank. "Y' two aren' from 'round here?"

"Non, we live on de other side of town." Remy got off his bike, looking for a house the girl might live. Seeing nothing but trees, he asked, "Where y' live?"

"Oh 'round." She smiled slightly, glancing at Lapin, she laughed, "What's de matter, 'fraid I'm gonna bite ya?"

"I ain' scared of no girl." Lapin shouted, throwing down his bike to prove his point. He looked around, listening for something. The place still made him nervous. "C'mon Remy, let's go, it's almost lunch time."

"Remy! Dat's your name?" She asked, grinning when Remy nodded. She looked back at Lapin, "What's your name?"

"What's yours?" Lapin challenged.

" Belladonna! Don' wear it out."

"Lapin, an' it's a nick name b'fore y' make fun of de name." Lapin picked up his bike. "Remy, we gonna get in trouble if dey find out we left de house. Will y' come on?"

"Want some help wit' dose buckets of yours?" Remy asked, eyeing his cousin. "Lapin, get over here an' help her carry dis."

"Yeah right!" Lapin rode his bike around in circles. "It's her bucket, so she can carry it. I ain' helpin' no girl do nothin'."

"Don' remember askin' for your help," Belladonna's blue eyes twinkled, a little smile played on her lips. "I can do anythin' a boy can do an' more."

Someone came out of the woods.

"Bella, you've been sick for two weeks. Y' shouldn' be outside playin'." Tante pushed a branch out of her way and stepped into the dirt road. Noticing the two boys, her eyes widened in shock, but quickly faded. "Please do as I say, girl."

"Oui, Tante." Belladonna started for the woods. "Mebbe we meet again another day boys." She then disappeared back into the trees.

Tante waited, tapping her foot in anger as she eyed both boys twice before she spoke. "What are y' doin' on dis side of town? Do either one of y' know what kind of danger you're in bein' here?"

"What are y' doin' here, Tante?" Remy asked sarcastically as he got on his bike. "Looks like y' in a place y' don' b'long, no."

"Don' y' get sassy with me, Chile. I've bared your bottom b'fore an' I am tempted to do it again." She spotted Remy's ripped jeans. "What have y' children been doin'?" Tante inspected his leg. Satisfied he wasn't hurt, she let out a sigh of relief. "I'm goin' to get my car an' take y' both home."

"Dat's okay," Remy said. "We're headin' back to de house. Dey expectin' us in an hour."

"Is dat so?" Tante put her hands on her hips. "I'm callin' de house an' ask T'erese an' Henri why dey let y' two out of de house after Jean forbid it."

"Tante, please, if y' do den we gonna get in trouble."

"I hope dey do jus' dat Lapin. Your parents are goin' to find out y' were on dis side of town." Tante turned her attention back to the younger boy. "An' what y' t'ink Jean-Luc's goin' to do when he finds out 'bout dis Remy?" She lifted his chin, Remy could see anger as well as fear in her face. "Chile, I don' t'ink I've ever been dis angry wit' y' like I am now."

"Y' don' have to take us home Tante, we goin' now." Remy turned his bike around and ignored Tante's angry voice calling them back. When he was sure that they were out of sight, Remy turned to his cousin. "Lapin, I never seen Tante scared like dat. She was tryin' to hide it but I saw it. What's wrong wit' her?"

"Don' y' know anythin'? We're in Assassin territory."

"We better hurry be'fore Tante calls de house."

Neither saw the blue sedan trailing behind them.




CHAPTER SIX



Remy was back in familiar territory, the streets of New Orleans, the place he called home until he was adopted. He slammed on the brakes, stopping his bicycle in front of a fruit stand. Remy parked the bike by the side of the building and walked around the corner to find an old man selling merchandise. "Hi, M'sieu DuPree!"

"Well, how ya been, boy? I haven't seen ya in months." The old man tossed an apple to Remy and started counting the oranges. He looked up, noticing Lapin. "And who's your friend?"

"My cousin, Lapin." Remy introduced his cousin. "Lapin, dis is M'sieu DuPree. If it wasn't for him, I would've starved."

"Your cousin's giving me too much credit. He took care of himself." The man reached into a crate of apples, pulled one out and tossed it to Lapin. "And you can call me Jerome." "T'anks." Lapin caught the apple and bit into it. "This child could steal ya blind and smile so innocently while he's doing it." Jerome nodded in Remy's direction who was holding an orange in his hand. "See, what I mean?" "But y' always let me slide." "Word on the street is, ya got yourself adopted. I'm happy to see the rumor was true." Jerome spotted the bicycles leaning against the wall. "They treat ya good, I see." Jerome patted Remy's head and returned to stacking crates of apples. "What do they call ya?"

"Remy, an' he's a pain in de butt." Lapin said with a laugh. He finished the apple and tossed the core into the nearest garbage can. He picked up his bike, turned it around and glanced down the street. A dark sedan was parked, it's lone driver appeared to be watching him. "Remy, dat car is followin' us. We better get outta here."

"Dere ain't no car followin' us, it's just your imagination." Remy said, knowing it was time to go home. "We gotta go, M'sieu DuPree."

"You two take care." The store keeper said, waving to the two boys as they rode.

Lapin kept looking over his shoulder, convinced they were being followed by the dark sedan. He sped his bike down the narrow passages, between several building, forcing people out of their way as he followed behind his cousin. He was having a difficult time keeping pace with Remy, who knew every dark alley and back street of New Orleans. "If dat car was followin' us, we've lost dem now."

The chimes of a local church started chiming, announcing the time. Remy hit the brakes, spinning the bike around. He held out his hand, halting Lapin as he started counting the chimes. When the chime struck five, Remy gasped. "T'erese's gonna kill me an' if dat's not bad enough, Henri's probably out lookin' for us."

"I wish Henri was here now." Lapin admitted, silently.

"I know a short cut." Remy announced, leading the duo down an alley way, across four streets and in between two abandoned buildings. He turned the corner and came to a stop. Shocked at what he saw, Remy could only shake his head. The bike and pedestrian trails were no longer visible, in their place stood a rusty fence covered in over grown vegetation. A lone dumpster stood nearby, leaving nothing to the imagination at how run down the place had become.

"Dey fenced in de place." Remy angrily kicked the rusty barrier, knowing time had been wasted, forcing them to back track to get back home. "We gotta go back de other way."

Lapin turned and saw the same dark sedan parked at the end of the street, blocking their way. "Remy!"

The car's engine started and to the boy's horror, the sedan was racing in their direction.

Remy searched frantically for an escape route. Finding a dark alley in between two building nearby, he shouted. "Dis way!"

The alley was a fifty feet away but deep down Remy knew they would never make it before the car caught up with them.

A blurred black object came into his line of vision, moving towards him at an unbelievable rate of speed. Knowing the object was another car and on a collision course with the sedan, Remy jumped off his bike, yelled at his cousin to follow him as he ran for the back wall of the building.

Both boys pushed themselves up against the wall, waiting for the crash to happen. The black car did an eighty degree turn, spinning it's tires and defying the sedan to hit it.

Slamming on the brakes, the sedan came to a screeching halt. The smoke cleared, revealing the familiar black Lamborghini that belonged to Henri.

Henri and Bernard jumped out of the Lamborghini, yanked open the doors of the sedan and dragged the two would-be assassins out. The sedan's occupants were thrown, unmercifully down to the ground. "Runnin' down kids is low even for y', DuBosè." Henri yanked the driver off the ground and threw him against the side of the sedan. "Julian must be mad to try an' do somethin' like dis."

Bernard picked up the other man, harshly guiding him towards the passenger side of the sedan. He shoved the man into the car, daring him to move as he slammed the door shut. "Y' show your face again an' I'll finish what I started."

"If I hear y' tried to hurt a child again, DuBosè, you'll find out de hard way how a thief can make a body disappear. Now get outta here." Henri threatened the driver, who drove away without saying a word. Once the car had gone, he turned his anger on the two boys. "Get in de car!"

"What 'bout our bikes? Dere ain' enough room in your car for dem." Remy straddled his bicycle and started riding around in a large circle in front of the car. "We know de way home. Y' an' Bernard go ahead an' we'll catch up."

"Uh, Remy, I t'ink we better go wit' dem." Lapin pleaded with his cousin. The look on Henri's face was enough for him to drop his bike and do as Henri ordered.

Henri yanked his brother off the bicycle, forcing Remy into the car.

The ride home was silent, Remy, afraid to say another word, fearing if he did, it would make Henri angrier. Once the car was safely parked in the garage did Bernard speak. "Y' t'ink Jean-Luc knew dese two were missing when he called?"

"Papa called?" Remy's throat went dry. He looked at his cousin who gave him the same terrified look Remy was wearing. Therese walked out, meeting the four in the garage. Things were about to go from bad to worse. "T'erese, we didn' mean to be gone for so long."

His sister said nothing, glared at him and then went back inside to answer the ringing phone.

"Père told y' not to leave de property petite frère, an' yet y' did anyway." Henri slammed the car door shut. "To make t'ings worse, Tante calls to say you an' Lapin are in Assassin territory. A place dat's off limits to everyone an' y' know it."

"We didn' know it was Assassin territory." Remy tried to defend himself, knowing the phone call from their father worried him more. He reluctantly asked, "Does Papa know?"

"Non, Henri and T'erese lied to save your butt." Bernard answered. "Dey told Jean-Luc y' were in bed asleep."

"Y' can forget 'bout dat fishin' trip tomorrow," Henri added, "y' both are sayin' in de house."

"Y' promised to take us fishin'!"

"Get up to your room Remy." Henri shoved Remy to the door. "Y' don' come down until I say y' can." Turning his attention to Lapin, he barked. "Y' too."

Lapin ran out of the garage, up to his room in record time. He had no desire to make the situation worse. Remy slammed his bedroom door hard, sending a vibration through the hallway. The sound of heavy footsteps soon followed, announcing Henri's arrival. Henri was angry and Remy was on the receiving end of that anger. Lapin held his breath hoping his Henri wouldn't punish him like he was going to do to his younger cousin.




"Where did you find them?" Therese asked, pacing back and forth at the bottom of the staircase. Glancing once upstairs, she resumed her pacing.

"Julien's daily underlin' was tryin' to run dem down wit' his car." Therese gasped at the news and Bernard took her hand and held it. "Henri taught de man a lessen he won't soon forget. De boys are safe an' unharmed T'erese, calm down."

"Uncle Jean trusted me and I let him down. He's only been gone for a little while and look what's happened." She fought hard to keep her emotions from showing. "Remy runs off and almost gets killed by the Assassins."

"Soiur, dis isn't your fault." Henri walked down the stairs and faced his sister. "It's petite frère's an' y' aren't goin' to cover for him dis time."

"What did you do to him, Henri?" Therese asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Nothin'." Therese shot him a surprised look, he explained. "I didn' have to say a word to him. Remy's more afraid of what Père's gonna do to him when he gets home."




Upstairs, Lapin tapped lightly on his Remy's door, waiting for an answer. Hearing nothing, he opened the door and found his cousin stretched out across the bed.

Remy's head shot up, his anger flared. "Y' an' your stupid ideas, if we hadn' went to dat junk yard we wouldn't be in dis mess."

"Don' blame dis on me, Cousin. Y' de one who wanted to stay in Assassin territory. I warned y' but y' too stubborn to listen." Lapin argued. "Y' t'ink Uncle Jean's gonna be angry wit' y'?" Lapin asked. Remy's expression gave him his answer. "Mebbe Henri won't say anythin'."

"Only one way to find out." Remy left his room, unable to contain his curiosity any longer. He reached the balcony landing and saw his brother, sister and Bernard standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Henri, y' gonna tell Papa where y' found us?"

Henri glanced upwards, seeing the misery on the boy's face. "Sorry petite frère, but once de guild tell him de reason why I had to leave de meeting dis afternoon, Père's goin' to know. It's outta my hands."

Remy slowly got to his feet and went back to his room.

Lapin eyed him, waiting for Remy to say something. "Y' ain't to good at dis are y'?" He left the room, knowing his cousin was following him. "Watch an' learn from de master lil cousin."

Henri and Bernard were out back working on Bernard's car. The hood up and the engine running, neither heard or noticed the two boys. "Turn if off!" Henri shouted before slamming the hood down.

Lapin glanced into the car as Bernard turned the engine off and got out of the car. "We been upstairs talkin'. Me an' Remy want to do somethin' to make up for what we done today. We wanna wash de car, can we?" Lapin asked, trying to look sincere and remorseful. "Or do anythin' else y' want us to do."

Henri studied the boy for a second and then glanced over at his friend. "It's your car, what y' say?"

"Alright," Bernard agreed. "I got a ton of paper work to finish anyway."

"Wash de car! Anythin' else we can do for y'!" Remy shouted at his cousin once Bernard and Henri were gone. "What y' tryin' to do Lapin? Show me how much de master can suck up?"

"Y' see how well it worked didn' you?" Lapin grabbed a bucket and filled it with water. "C'mon Remy, y' not dis stupid. All we have to do is act like we're sorry an' Henri an' Bernard will be eatin' out of our hands by de end of de week. They'll even stick up for us when Uncle Jean gets home." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Y' got a lot to learn Remy an' I'm goin' to teach y' everythin' y' need to know."

"Dat's what I'm afraid of," Remy tried pulling the hose but found it was several feet short from reaching the car. "Go tell Bernard he needs to move de car closer to de house."

Lapin noticed the keys were still in the ignition. "I can do it." Against Remy's protest, Lapin turned the key, cranking the engine. Leaving the car door open, he yelled. "I'm gonna put it in drive. Y' let me know when I am close enough."

"Lapin!"

"I know what I'm doin' so stop actin' like a baby." Lapin shifted the gear stick and took his foot off the brake shoe. "Watch dis!" He hit the accelerator and to his horror the car went in reverse. He didn't have time to hit the brake as the car fell trunk first into the swimming pool.

Hearing the noise, Henri, Bernard and Therese rushed outside. Lapin climbed out of the pool and half hearted waved at them.

"MY CAR!!!!" Bernard grabbed his hair and screamed. "Henri, I'm gonna kill 'em."




CHAPTER SEVEN



Two days later, the boys, being confined to the house, were in a bad mood. Henri and Therese were both ready to kill the two and plead insanity at their murder trial.

"I'm bored!" Remy threw a magazine across the living room floor. "Why can' we order a pizza?"

"No pizza! No movies, no nothing!" Therese glared at her little brother and their cousin. "And you two march yourselves back up those stairs and stay there until dinner is ready." Remy opened his mouth to protest, but thought better and did as he was told.

"Glad your eyes are open to Remy's little tricks." Henri had been standing in the shadows watching the exchange between his brother and sister.

"Oh nice of you to stand by and do nothing, Henri." Therese picked up the magazine Remy had tossed in the floor and angrily shook it in her older brother's face.

"Are y' still upset wit' Remy for playin' in your room?"

"Forget that, brother dear. You haven't heard the latest." She dropped the magazine on the table and sighed. "While you were doing your business with the guild, guess what little brother decided to do?"

"Afraid to ask."

"Well, Lapin dared Remy to unlock the wine cabinet and take a bottle." She paced the length of the living room, turned and raised her hands. "Well, to make a long story short, Remy got a bottle and not just any wine bottle, but Uncle Jean's pride and joy."

"Non, tell me mon frère didn't take Père's 1949 bottle of Musigny Burgundy?" Henri asked, dreading the answer. Therese nodded and Henri panicked. The Burgundy was a gift from the Guild Master in Paris. It was priceless. "Y' were supposed to be watchin' him. How could y' let him take dat bottle?"

"Don't y' dare try to blame this on me, big brother. If I remember correctly, you're the one who's in charge." Therese raised an accusing brow. "What's the matter Henri, two ten year olds getting the best of the future leader of the thieves guild?"

"Dere drivin' me nuts!" Henri pointed at his head and yelled. "I swear I'm losing my hair. Look!"

"Don't you think you're over reacting?"

"Does dis look like I am over reactin'?" He started pulling his hair, showing her where he was going bald. "Y' de babysitter. I jus' retired."

"No, I have a better idea." Therese grabbed the phone and dialed a number. "Tante, I could really use your help and advice. How quickly can you get here?" Grinning, Therese hung up the phone and slapped her hands together. "We should have called her to begin with instead of letting the boys run wild."




Upstairs, Remy sat in the middle of his bedroom floor, with the duffel bag by his side, eating candy and reading his comic books. Lapin stood outside the balcony window. "Whatcha doin' out dere?"

"Bernard just drove up." Lapin answered, sticking his head back inside. "Hey! He's got our bikes!"

Remy grabbed the candy, stuffed it into the duffel bag and tossed it on top his bed not bothering to zip it up. "Don' let Bernard see y'. Y' know he threatened to drown us after his car was towed out of de pool." He joined Lapin on the balcony, hoping to pull his cousin away before they were discovered. Too late, Henri's friend spotted them.

Bernard touched his new car and shouted a threat at the two boys. "Y' brats touch dis car an' I'll make sure y' never reach puberty."

"Y' don' scare me non," Remy shouted, calling the man a few colorful choice words. Nobody threatened him without a fight.

"Get back in your room, Remy." Henri walked into view, surprising his brother. "Don' make me come up dere."

Remy rushed inside, opened his closet door and grabbed three balloons and went in the bathroom with them. He filled them each with cold water and walked back out to the balcony. "Hey, Bernard, your car needs a bath." He tossed the heaviest balloon over the balcony, hitting the car and drenching the two men standing by the vehicle.

While the two men cursed in French, another balloon hit them before they could move. Bernard balled his hands into fists, "Frère or not, Henri, he's dead."

Henri held his arm out, stopping Bernard. "Non," he looked up at his brother, his eyes narrowed. "Remy's mine."

Remy's mouth dropped opened, discovering too late why Bernard and Henri were the best thieves in the country. They jumped up to the balcony and climbed over the railing before Remy could blink.

"Lapin, Run!" Remy screamed, trying to get out of the room before Henri could lay a hand on him. He managed to reach the end of the stairs before the front door opened. His eyes widened. "Tante!"

"What's goin' on around here?" Tante picked the boy up and turned her attention to Therese, who only shrugged. Hearing loud footsteps and cursing coming from upstairs, she glanced up and saw Henri and Bernard angrily walking down the stairs. Both men were soaked to the skin, leaving wet footprints on the carpeted stairs. "Henri?"

"He hit us wit' water balloons." Henri glared at his brother, who instantly tried to hide behind Tante.

"Remy, is dis true?" Tante grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of her. She stared directly into his eyes, not fooled by the boy's innocent look. "Chile, I'm angry enough wit' y' as it is now, so don' make dis worse on yourself."

"But dey kept barkin' orders at us,"

"Dat's not what I asked you, Chile. Is Henri tellin' me de truth?"

Remy was dumbfounded. What was he doing wrong? His adorable routine never failed. "Oui, but,"

"Upstairs, right dis minute." Tante pointed him in the direction of the stairs. "After I have a talk wit' T'erese and Henri, I'm comin' upstairs to your room an' we'll go from dere."

Remy hugged the walls along the stairway, keeping out of his brother's reach. He sat in the doorway listening to the adults downstairs talking and cringed, hearing Tante's voice yell the words. "He did what? Jean-Luc's goin' to have a fit."

He retreated to the hallway, knocking on his cousin's door.

"Come in," Lapin's voice called from behind the door.

"Y' jus' as guilty of takin' dat wine as I am." Remy jumped on the bed and grabbed his cousin by his shirt collar, when Lapin cracked a smile. "See how funny it is when y' got no teeth to smile wit',"

"You were suppose to get a cheap bottle not de expensive one. I t'ought y' knew de difference." Lapin shoved Remy on his back. "I didn' touch dat bottle, y' did."

A duffel bag was thrown on the bed, breaking up the quarrel.

The bag was Remy's stash of junk food. Remy looked up and saw Tante glaring down at him. "It's not mine, it's Lapin's."

"Y' liar!" Lapin jumped up, realizing they were in trouble. "Remy, y' know dat's your candy and junk."

"I know who's lyin' and it's both of y'." Tante folded her arms, glared straight at Lapin and slapped the bag. "How did y' know what was in de bag, Frances?"

"Frances? Who's Frances?" Remy asked and then looked at his cousin before he started laughing. "You're named after a girl?" He laughed harder, rolling over on his side. "Mebbe y' named after dat talkin' horse we saw on television de other night."

"Y' think dis's funny, chile?" Tante asked, yanking Remy off the bed. "Y' stole your father's prize wine. Y' were in assassin territory after bein' told to stay around de house, not to mention y' threw water balloons after Jean-Luc told y' never to hit anybody again wit' dem." She stopped long enough to catch her breath and continued, "If dat wasn't bad enough, y' just lied to me about dis bag. How many times have I told y' not to eat dis stuff?"

"I, I didn' eat dat much." Remy glanced at Lapin, hoping for some support but his cousin dropped his head. Remy tried to flash a smile and found out it was the worse thing he could have done.

"We're goin' to your room, now." Tante led Remy out of the guest room, by his arm and forced him into his bedroom. No amount of pleading detoured her.




"Junk food!" Tante angrily muttered to herself. "Dat chile had a bag of dat garbage an' he sat dere an' lied 'bout it." She threw open one of the cabinet doors, searching for something to make for dinner. Hearing someone entering the kitchen, she looked over her shoulder and saw Therese. "Y' know why he is actin' like dis, don't y'?"

"My guess, he's testing us." Therese suggested.

"He thinks if he acts like a spoiled brat, y' or Henri will call Jean-Luc home." Tante opened the refrigerator, took out some vegetables and carried them to the sink to wash. "I just explained to Remy, how disappointed I am in him for doin' dis to everyone." She shook the water off the carrots and started cutting them up. "I think dat little speech hurt him more than de spankin' I gave him."




Lapin opened the door, stuck his head out and discovered the hallway empty. Feeling brave enough to sneak out of his room, he silently crept down the hall to his cousin's bedroom. He hadn't heard a sound out of Remy in two hours. Without knocking, he opened the door and walked in. Remy was curled on his side, his back facing Lapin. "Remy, I'm sorry. I didn' mean to get y' in trouble wit' Tante."

"Leave me alone," His cousin's voice was barely audible.

Lapin went over to the balcony window and pulled open the curtains. He caught movement in a tree nearby. He gasped, "Remy, dere's a man in a tree over dere lookin' at me wit' a pair of binoculars."

"I'm not fallin' for dat trick again, Lapin. Get out of my room!"

"Remy, I'm not lyin' dis time. He's out dere. He might be an assassin." Remy pulled a pillow down over his face and Lapin lost his temper. "Be dat way. I'll tell de others." Lapin stormed out of the room, down the hall and stood at the top of the stairs, screaming everyone's name. He quickly told them what he saw.

Everyone started laughing.

"But I'm tellin' de truth." Lapin pleaded.

"Y' go back upstairs an' tell Remy if he doesn't stop his lyin'," Tante walking into Lapin's line of sight, wiping her hands on a towel and issuing a threat. "I'm comin' back up dere an' give him another spankin'."

"But Remy didn't put me up to dis. I really saw dis man. He's outside Remy's bedroom window." Lapin jumped up in down, trying to get someone to believe him. "I'm not lyin'."

"Y' an' Remy weren't lyin' yesterday, when de operator called 'bout dose prank calls dat where traced back to de house?" Henri laughed, holding up a finger. "Y weren't lyin' when Remy claimed my car was stolen by the Mafia?" He held up two fingers. "Or when Remy swore he saw Darth Vader attackin' de mail man."

"Don't forget the reason why they couldn't take out the garbage, last night," Therese added, reminding the others of the boys latest sin. "Cujo was in the backyard."

"Alright, we lied 'bout dose things." Logan admitted, trying to sound sincere. "But Henri, dere really is a man outside."

"Uh huh," Henri laughed, half-heartedly. "Jus' let me know when his twin frère shows up."

"Why doesn't anyone b'lieve me?" Lapin asked, begging the three as they walked away. Realizing nobody was going to believe him, he ran back to his room, determined to stop the mystery man from entering the house. He locked the bedroom windows. He returned to Remy's bedroom and as he was locking the windows, he looked outside to find the intruder had disappeared. It did nothing to ease his mind.




CHAPTER EIGHT



Standing outside on his balcony, Remy glared out into the darkness. He was engaged in a battle of wills against his sister and Tante, both demanding apologize for his behavior and he, just as determined, not to do it.

"Got ya somethin' to eat." Lapin offered, showing his cousin a chicken drumstick. Remy glanced at the piece of meat and shook his head negatively. "Tante's gonna come up here an' make y' eat."

"She can't if I'm not here." Remy climbed over the balcony railing, sliding down the rope that was tied to the railing to lower himself down to the ground.

"Y' runnin' away?" Lapin yelled down at his cousin.

"Why don't y' yell a lil' louder so dey can hear ya."

"Remy! Remy, you come back here." Lapin watched his cousin disappearing into the woods. He climbed over the railing and followed after Remy. "Oh well, it's borin' around here anyway."

For several minutes, Lapin ran, chasing after his cousin. He stopped, realizing where he was. He touched a tombstone and a cold shiver traveled down his back. Hearing something, Lapin couldn't detect, he turned, trying to find the source. "Remy?"

A twig snapped. Lapin jumped as something scurried across his feet. Mist seemed to be rising from the ground, giving the cemetery an unholy appearance. Fearing something was close, Lapin stammered, "I'm n..n..not scared. Come o..out and s.s.show yourself if ya got de g..g..guts."

"WOOOOLLL!"

"Dere's no such t'ing as ghosts." Lapin said, trying to convince himself. A figure emerged, stooping down from one of the crypts. "Who a..are you?"

"I'm," The voice sing songed in a ghostly tone before jumping down in front of Lapin. "BATMAN!!."

Lapin screamed, almost tripping over his feet. His cousin laughed, making Lapin's horror turn to anger. "I'll get y' for dis Remy, I swear I will."

"Y' sure y' didn' wet your pants." Remy laughed harder.

Lapin shoved his cousin down to the ground. He balled his hands into fists and started swinging.

"What are you boys doing here?" A man came out of the mist, stood over the boys and glared down at them. He wore dark clothing, held a sickle in his hand. "This is a sacred place and you are vandalizing it, now get out of here before I throw you out."

Remy and Lapin exchanged terrified looks, got to their feet and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Neither had an idea which direction they were running.

Believing it was safe, Remy stopped long enough to catch his breath. "Dat man's gotta be Dracula. Did y' see him floating t'rough dat mist?"

Lapin had another concern. "Do y' know where we are?"

Remy looked around, trying to find a landmark but nothing was familiar. He shrugged, "I t'ink mebbe we're lost."




It didn't take Tante long to discover the boys missing. Having reached the last of her self control, she decided enough was enough. Pulling the rope up to the balcony, she was going to make the two escapees use the front door if they wanted to get back inside the house and once they did, Tante would be there waiting.

Hours later, Tante's anger was replaced with worry.




Finding a paved road, the boys were excited. Standing in the middle of the road and looking over the horizon, they could see the city lights of New Orleans. "Told ya, we weren't lost."

"Y' jus' got lucky, dat's all." Lapin started walking towards the city lights. "Mebbe we can find a phone an' call de house."

A car came over the hill, it's lights getting Remy's attention. "Hey, over here!" He waved his hands in the air, trying to get the driver's attention. The car ignored them, continuing down the road. "I didn' wanna ride in your stupid ol' car anyway."

"I know where we are." Lapin suddenly announced.

" Stupid, we're in New Orleans."

"I know dat, y' dummy," Lapin pointed toward a dark road off of the main road. "Dat's de dirt road dat bossy girl, Belladonna lives on,"

"Oh yeah!" Remy grinned and another car came over the hill. He turned and began to signal the vehicle to slow down. Strangely the car sped up, heading straight for them. Remy grabbed his cousin by the arm and both fell into the ditch.

The car slammed on it's brakes and skidded to a halt. Lapin poked his head up, watching as a man opened the car door and stepped out. "Uh Remy, dat's de guy I saw hangin' round de house today."

"Non, he's de one who tried to run over us de other day an' Henri beat him up." Remy whispered as he crawled on his hands and knees. "Lapin, we gotta get outta here b'fore he sees us."

"I know you're out there, you little brats." The man stood in front of the car, the head lights revealing his moves. He pulled out a gun, screwed on a silencer and started laughing. "We can make this easy or we can make this hard." He shouted, "It doesn't matter to me, because the end is still going to be the same."

"I'm tellin' y' it's not de same guy," Lapin whispered harshly. "De other one had an accent, dis man doesn'."

"Uh mebbe your right," Remy admitted. He picked up several rocks "Lapin, we gonna have to make a run for it." He pointed over his shoulder, "De woods will give us some cover. Y' go first, an' I'll distract him."

Lapin waited, counted to five and took off running. The gun fired, sending a bullet flying over his head and impacting into a nearby tree.

Remy threw a rock, knocking out one of the car head lights. The man turned and started firing on him.

Falling to the ground, Remy ran along the side of the ditch, staying out of the man's firing range. He held his breath and ran for the woods before tripping over a hidden tree root. Remy got to his knees, felt someone tugging on his shirt and Lapin whispering in his ear. "It's me. I've got a place to hide."

As time passed, the moon slowly rose over the tree line, giving off a glow to allow the boys to see.

"How are we gonna get out of dis?" Lapin asked, searching the area for the man. It had been almost two hours and they hadn't heard a sound. A bright light from a large house caught his attention. The house was well lit and from where he was sitting a window on the lower floor was open. "Look!"

Remy looked in the direction his cousin was pointing. "Yeah, come on!"

They crawled inside the opened window on the ground floor. Once inside, they closed and locked the window.

"Well, well, well, look what de cat dragged in." Belladonna stood at the top of the stairs, holding a butcher knife. "Who's chasin' y'?"

"We ain' bein' chased." Lapin folded his arms and glared at her. Leave it to his cousin to find the one house in New Orleans Belladonna occupied.

"If y' ain' bein' chased den how come y' outta breath? Y' runnin' from your mama b'cause she gonna give y' a bath or something?" She threw the knife, hitting the target hanging above an antique car.

"What's de matter with y'?" Lapin screamed at her. "Y' tryin' to kill me?"

"If I wanted to kill y', y' wouldn' be standin' over dere wit' your mouth hangin' open." Belladonna walked around the car, pulled out a step ladder. Climbing up the rungs, she pulled out the knife and grinned at Lapin. "Double or nothin'!"

"Dumb girl, y' don' scare me non." Lapin ignored Bella's dare, deciding the antique car needed a closer look. "Whose car is dis?"

"Father's, so don' put any finger prints on de windows." Belladonna said. She turned to Remy. "Y' want somethin' to eat?"

"Oui." Remy followed his hostess up the stairs. Lapin took his time studying the car but hunger won in the end. He ran upstairs to join them.

The three were eating pizza when the door opened. A teen-ager with an angry face, walked inside. "Idiots, dat's all Père knows how to hire!" He glared at the two boys. "Bella, who are dese boys?"

"My guests!" She answered, using the same venom in her voice. Bella "Dat's Julien, my big brother, who thinks he's de greatest t'ing on two feet."

"I got one at home too," Remy admitted. "'cept mine's bossier."

"Père would not approve of dis, Bella."

"Father would let dem stay b'cause it's late." Bella's blue eyes glared daggers at her brother. "Why don' y' go kill somethin' an' leave us alone."

Julien muttered something about a mutie brat being in his house before disappearing upstairs.

Before anyone could say another word, the door again opened. Bella jumped to her feet and ran to give the man a hug. "Father, your home early an' Julien's at it again."

Returning his daughter's hug, he noticed the two boys watching him. "An' who are your friends, Belle?"

Lapin dropped the pizza he was holding. "Mon Dieu!" He tapped his cousin on the arm. "Uh Remy, mebbe it's time we go."

"Non, be rude to leave without meetin' de owner of dis house." Remy walked over to Belladonna, who took his hand.

"Father, dis is Remy." She introduced them. "And dis is my father, Marius Boudreaux."

"Hello, M'sieu Boudreaux," Remy shook the man's hand. "Dat's my cousin over dere. He isn't sociable."

"Dat's not true, just tired dat's all." Lapin got out of a chair, shook the man's hand, praying silently Boudreaux wouldn't discover who they were. "I'm Lapin Benoit an' Remy's my cousin. We don' want to cause y' any inconvenience, so we'll be leavin' now."

"Don' y' think it's too dark for dem to be out dis late, Father?"

"Oui, my daughter's right. I must insist y' stay de night. I'll take y' both home in de mornin'." Marius said. "Finish eatin' an' I'll show y' where y' can spend de night."

For hours, Remy, Belladonna and Marius talked about everything children wanted to discuss. Lapin spoke sparingly, so not to cause suspicion. Later, Marius sent the boys upstairs to a guest room. Once alone, Lapin threw all caution to the wind.

"Remy, don' y' know who dat man is, downstairs?" Lapin grabbed his cousin and shook him. "Marius Boudreaux is de leader of de assassins, and dat makes Belladonna one of dem. I knew dat girl was trouble, stinkin' assassins, we gotta get outta here now."

Remy was too stunned to answer. No wonder Tante was frantic when she found them behind the Boudreaux' house. How was he going to explain spending the night in the Assassins leader's house? Thoughts came quickly and a smile crept across his face. "We're gonna be famous, Lapin. No thief can say dey did what we are doin' tonight." He started looking around the room.

"What are y' doin'?" Lapin asked in disbelief. Only Remy could find something amusing in the face of danger.

"Nobody's gonna b'lieve we were here, right?" Remy explored the room. "So we need proof,"

"Non, y' can't mean y' wanna steal from.." Lapin's hands flew to his face. "Mon Dieu, y' crazy."

"Shush," Remy picked up a small statue and tucked it into his jeans pocket. "Dis will do jus' fine."




Chapter Nine



Lapin jerked up in bed, something had hit him in the face. "Huh?" His eyes adjusted to the moonlit room to see the culprit holding a pillow in his hands. "Y' got 'bout one second to tell me why y' hit me b'fore I take your head off."

"We're leavin'," Remy whispered, looking out the window. "M'sieu Boudreaux isn't stupid. It isn't gonna take him long to figure out who we are."

Remembering whose home they had been sleeping in, Lapin jumped out of the bed and started getting dressed. "Y' finally came to your senses an' decided it's time to go home?"

"Told y' b'fore, I ain't goin' home anytime soon." Remy stripped the sheets off the bed and started tying them together to form a rope. He tied one end of the rope to a leg of the bed and tossed the other end out the window. "Follow me if y' t'ink y' can keep up."

"Follow me if y' t'ink y' can keep up." Lapin mocked him in a falsetto voice as he climbed down behind his cousin. Reaching the ground, he shrugged his shoulders. "After you."

Remy ran back into the woods, searching for the dirt road that would lead them to a paved one. Lapin followed, unaware someone was tracking them.




Therese tried to remain calm, listening to Tante explain the disappearance of her brother and cousin to the police. Henri and Bernard had spent most of the night searching for the two boys with no luck. Finally giving in to Tante's demands, Henri admitted defeat and allowed her to call the police.

"Let me get this straight," The first officer scribbled on his notepad, without looking up. "You're telling me, two ten year old boys ran away from home without a reason?" He clicked the pen, placing it in his pocket. "Look, Lady, I've been a cop for over twenty years and there's never been a case that I'm aware, where a child ran away for no reason. You want to tell me what's really going on so we can find these kids before they get into more trouble?"

"Don' t'ink dey could get into any more trouble." Henri muttered, leaving the room. He was too angry to get into a discussion with strangers over family matters.

"We'll find dem." Bernard promised.

"Remy better hope de assassins find him b'fore I do." Henri walked into the garage, opened the car door and climbed inside. "Bernard, it may be a waste of time but check 'round assassin territory an' see if anyone has seen or heard anythin'."

"Surely dey wouldn't go dere."

"Wit' Remy, anythin's possible."

Inside the house, the oldest of the three officers took control of the situation. "I promise, I'll do my best to find and bring your boys back home to you, unharmed." The roaring of an engine, the screeching of tires, caught the officer's attention. He looked out the window, watching as the Lamborghini left in a hurry. "I guess we weren't doing our job fast enough to suit Mr. LeBeau."

"My brother's worried. It's his way of dealing with what's happened." Therese explained. "We're all worried."

"We'll be in touch." Taking a deep breath, the officer suggested. "Just my opinion, but I think you need to get in touch with the boys fathers. If they were one of my own, I would be upset if I wasn't told." Tipping his cap, the officer left. "G'night ladies."

Tante shook her head, watching the police cars leaving the yard. "Guess dere's no point an' puttin' it off. I better call Jean-Luc."

"Wait, Tante." Therese grabbed the phone before Tante could reach it. "Let's give Henri a few more hours. If he hasn't found them by then, we'll call Uncle Jean." She bit her lower lip, re-thinking her words. "Uh, I mean you can tell him Remy and Lapin are missing."




Lapin had to admit that he was enjoying himself. Here he was, in the middle of New Orleans with no adult giving him orders or dragging him into stores that didn't interest him. He stood back and watched as his cousin conned or stole what ever he wanted without a care in the world.

Remy looked into a store window of a small bakery searching for the owner. A few seconds later, an elderly man with a long gray beard stepped outside. "Dere y' be boy, been askin' for weeks 'bout y' an' now here y' be."

"Bonjour M'sieu Picard." Remy greeted the man, who gave him a paper bag. "How's Madaam Picard? She still workin' wit' y'?"

"Non, dat woman talk de horns off a billy goat, told her, she either stay home or she gonna run de customers off with dat mouth of her's."

"I know Mad…m Picard," Remy eyed the man, smiling slightly. "She don' take nothin' off y'."

"Oui, y' b' right boy, she de boss." He admitted, walking back into the story. "Now get outta here b'fore she catches me standin' around an' makes me do something."

"Lapin, y' want breakfast?" Remy held the sack up and shook it. He opened the paper bag and pulled out a biscuit. "Who needs money when y' got me."

Lapin yanked the sack out of his cousin's hand, grabbing a biscuit for himself. "So what's next? Y' plannin' on robbin' de bank?"

Remy ignored the sarcastic remark and turned his attention to the loud noise of an intercom speaker. "Hey, look!" He pointed at the large banner hanging on a building across the street. "Grand opening, dey always givin' stuff away at dose places."




Having spent the last two hours searching the streets of New Orleans, Henri decided to return to the house. A car horn honking caught his attention. Bringing the car to a stop, Henri waited until the other car pulled up along beside his. "Bernard, y' find anythin'?"

"Oui, but y' ain't gonna like it." Bernard began. "Accordin' to one of our spies, Julien's complainin' 'bout two kids spendin' de night at his father's house. Dey took off early dis mornin' withou' so much as a thank you." He looked into the rear view mirror, listening as Henri swore under his breath. "Julien claims one of dem was a mutie wit' devil eyes."

Henri hit the steering wheel hard with his hand. "Y' want to go talk to Marius or do y' want me to go?"

"I'll do it, b'sides wit' de mood you're in right now, it might start a war." Bernard shifted the car into gear and drove off.




Remy studied the people shopping in the new department store. Having lifted two wallets and a diamond ring, he boasted to his cousin. "Mon Dieu, I'm good."

"Y' jus' lucky dat's all." Lapin glared with jealous eyes.

"Don' see y' doin' better."

"Watch de master." Lapin walked off in another direction of the store to scout out the customers.

Remy moved to the men's department. A woman was on the phone punching in a couple of numbers to active the intercom system.

Lapin hit him in the shoulder and then gave him a pair of sunglasses. "Put dem on b'fore somebody starts yellin' mutie."

Taking the glasses, Remy took his time examining them. "Y' could have at least gotten me an expensive pair. Sheesh Lapin, can't y' steal anythin' right?"

"Steal dis!" Lapin shoved his cousin into a circle rack of dress shirts, knocking down two display mannequins in the process. The commotion brought several people running over to the two boys.

"Are you alright, young man." A little old lady rushed over to help Remy to his feet. After making sure he wasn't hurt, she proceeded to complain to anyone who would listen. "Who's in charge of this store?" She grabbed the arm of a young woman. "You work here? I want the manager."

The young woman used the public address system to call for the manager. Remy and Lapin quickly slipped away from the gathering people. Spotting a phone on a pole, Remy pointed towards a step ladder. "Bring dat over here Lapin, it's time to liven dis place up a bit."

Lapin pulled the ladder over to the pole and watched his cousin climb up the first two rungs to grab the receiver off the phone. "Uh Remy, don' do dis, somebody gonna see us."

"Time to stampede dis place." Remy pushed several buttons. Hearing a loud beep over the intercom system, he knew he had access and spoke into the receiver. "Attention all shoppers! For de next five minutes, dis store is havin' a 100% off all items. Dat's right! Everything in dis store is free for de next five minutes."

The second he got the last word out, people were running wild, pushing buggies and carts everywhere. Fights broke out between customers over electronic equipment, toys, and clothes.

Standing back and watching the chaos, the two boys were laughing so hard they didn't notice the huge man until it was too late.

"You two are coming to my office and we're going to wait until the police come and haul you away for causing this riot." He yanked both boys roughly by their shirt collars. "We'll see if you're laughing then." He forced the boys to sit on the floor while he announced to the public 'the last announcement was a hoax'.

"M'sieu, come quickly," A girl ran up to the man. "People are runnin' out of de store with their arms full of things and not payin' for dem."

"I'll deal with you two later." The man ran off leaving the three behind.

"Dat's another one you owe me." Bella laughed before running out of the store.

"Bella, wait." Remy chased her outside and down the sidewalk. He grab her by the arm to slow her down. "Why y' followin' us? An' b'sides why didn' y' tell me who y' were."

"Y' asked me my name an' I told you." Belladonna yanked her arm free. Wrinkled her nose and studied her friend. "How come y' left without sayin' goodbye? Y' hiding somethin' yourself, huh Remy?"

Lapin pointed at her. "Y' be an assassin,"

"An' y' wouldn' know 'bout de assassins if your family wasn't from de Thieves Guild." Bella grabbed him by the hair and yanked it hard. "What's your last name? 'fraid to tell me?"

"Let him go, Bella,"

"Why should I?"

"B'cause Lapin isn't gonna hit a girl, dat's why." Bella released Lapin and glared at Remy, who shrugged. "So we're thieves, you're assassin, big deal."

"Remy," Lapin warned his cousin.

"Your father's de leader of de Assassins, an' y' one too?" Remy asked her.

"An' proud of it too." Bella answered. "Bet your father has to bow to every high rating thief who crosses his path." She laughed, mocking him. "Does Jean-Luc LeBeau pull his strings like a puppet?"

"Papa's,"

"Remy's father's a thief, one of de best." Lapin interrupted his cousin. "Since you're too good to associate wit' two thieves, leave us along."

Belladonna placed her hand on Remy's chest, keeping him from moving. "Y' can't help who's your family. I'm sorry dey are Thief an' not Assassin."

"Sorry your family is Assassin, an' not Thief." Remy answered with a vicious tone. "Thieves have honor, somethin' dat y' Assassins know nothin' 'bout." He shoved her hand away. "Come on Lapin, let's get outta here b'fore I say somethin' she may regret."

Sighing deeply, Bella sucked in her pride and apologized. "Care if I tag along?"

"Non,"

"Sure." Remy disagreed with his cousin. Arm in arm, the two walked together leaving an angry Lapin glaring at the two's back. "Dere's an old buildin' I use to explore. Y' wanna see it?"

Grinning, Bela agreed as Lapin sulked behind them, making snide remarks about how stupid his cousin was and how he couldn't wait until a certain someone got in trouble with Tante.

Stopping at an old three story building, the three looked up, discovering the place was scheduled to be demolished in five days. "Let's go upstairs to de third floor. Y' can see de city real good from up dere."

The three climbed the cracked concrete steps, stepping over plaster until they reached the large room. They stood looking out the window, enjoying the view. "See, didn't I tell y' de view was great."

"To bad it's going to be the last sight you ever see." A voice came from behind them. They turned to see a man standing behind them, pointing a gun.




Chapter Ten



"Get away from that window." The man ordered the three children, using his gun to point towards the stairs. "Down there and stay together so I can keep my eye on you."

With his back to the window, Remy felt around with his fingers, trying to get his hands on a weapon. Finding a piece of sheet rock, he grabbed it.

"M'sieu, I don't know dese two boys." Belladonna approached the man. "I came up here to look out de windows b'cause he," She pointed an accusing finger at Remy. "said dere was hidden treasure up 'ere. He lied. Y' let me go an' y' can do what y' want to dem."

"Jus' like a stinkin' assassin." Lapin glared at her.

"Go on and get outta here before I change my mind." The man grabbed her by her hair, jerking her forward. "You tell anyone about me and I'll track you down and kill you and your family. Do you understand?"

"Oui," Bella answered in a shaky voice. The man released her, shoving her to the ground. She jumped to her feet, pulled out a knife she had hidden in her boot and stabbed the man in the thigh with it. She turned back to the boys and yelled, "Run!"

The man pulled the knife out of his thigh, screaming in agony. "Run you punks, while you can."

Lapin shoved passed Bella on the way down the stairs. "We got to find a hiding place before he gets back on his feet."

"I know a place." Remy yelled, leading the others out of the building.




Bernard LeBranche slowly drove his car into the driveway of Marius Boudreaux' home. It wasn't every day a member of the Thieves Guild paid a visit to the Guild Master of one's archenemy. Opening the car door, he scanned the area, the place was well guarded. It wasn't a surprise.

A man opened the door and met him halfway. "This is highly unusual but Marius has agreed to meet with you." He motioned towards the door. "Follow me, Thief. Attempt to steal anythin' an' y' forfeit your worthless life."

"Dis gonna be fun." Bernard mumbled under his breath. "Wish I was havin' a root canal done 'bout now."




Driving down several back roads looking for his missing brother and cousin, Henri held his breath. The boys had been missing for over two days and the police were no closer to finding them than he was.

Something caught his eye and he recognized it as his young cousin. "Lapin!" He yelled at the fleeing figure. Flooring the accelerator, Henri took off in the direction he last saw Lapin running.




"And what do I owe dis pleasure, M'sieu LeBranche?" Marius leaned back in a huge chair, surrounded by several high ranking Assassin Guild members.

It's 'bout de two boys y' took in last night." Bernard began, never forgetting the pairs of eyes burning into him. The thought of being in the Boudreaux home without back up made him nervous. He shook them off, his mission was more important. "Do y' know where dey are?"

"Non, but Belladonna's missin'. Julien's out lookin' for her now." The Assassin Guild Master walked to a window. Pulling the curtains back, he stared out. "Why are y' Thieves interested in two street kids?" He turned, glaring at Bernard. "Unless Jean-Luc used dose kids to lure my daughter away. If dis is true, den I'll have de head of every Thief, for generations to come, includin' LeBeau's."

Bernard paused for a second, debating to himself if he should tell the man the truth. Marius suspected something. He decided telling the truth was in order, well most of it. "Dose two aren't street kids, dey're runaways."

"Now dat y' mentioned it, I thought I recognized de older one." Marius chuckled, remembering Lapin's performance last night. "Oui, he's Benoit's fils, isn't he! Tell Jacques, he's trained de boy well." The Assassin leader raised a curious brow. "An' de other one?"

"He's de son of a council member." Bernard answered quickly, hoping it would be enough information to stop the questions. He wasn't so lucky.

"Don't toy with me, Thief." Marius warned the younger man. "Dat younger boy is devious, smart and has a silver tongue." He eyed Bernard carefully, watching for any sign of body language to betray the thief. Bernard lowered his eyes, avoiding Marius' accusing glare. "I'd say he's bein' trained by an expert-say maybe Jean-Luc himself."

"M'sieu LeBeau is too busy to spend his time wit' a child, much less someone else' child." LeBranche straighten up in his chair.

"De boy is Jean-Luc's, I know he adopted a boy several months ago." The Assassin crossed his arms, tilted his head and stared. "Come now LeBranche, surely y' know I have my spies as does LeBeau."

"I'm not here to discuss Guild business with y', Boudreaux. I want to find de boys b'fore something happens to dem." Bernard got to his feet. "If your daughter is wit' dem, she could be in danger as well."

"I don' trust Julien to find Belladonna. I'm comin' with you." Marius walked with Bernard to the front door and was met by another man.

"Pièrre, what are y' doin' here?" Bernard asked the Thieves Guild council member. It was forbidden for a Thief to be holding council with an Assassin without the Guild's permission.

"Business matters LeBranche," Pièrre answered, his eyes widened in disbelief at seeing Bernard with Marius Boudreaux. What was LeBranche doing with Marius? Perhaps Jean-Luc suspected something and had sent LeBranche to investigate. If LeBeau discovered his meeting with Boudreaux behind the Guild's back, Pièrre's days were numbered. "Dis isn't what it seems LeBranche. I have family business with Boudreaux. Dis has nothin' to do with de Thieves Guild."

Bernard glared but remained silent. Henri would deal with Pièrre soon enough.

"We'll take my car." Marius suggested, signaling to one of his men to bring his car.




CHAPTER ELEVEN



Lapin, Remy and Belladonna hid behind several concrete bricks watching as the man in black searched nearby. As soon as he had disappeared behind a building, the trio took off down the deserted street.

A car suddenly came out of nowhere, cutting off their escape.

Remy and Lapin both gave a sigh of relief, recognizing the car. The person climbing out of the car didn't seem to notice their relieved looks.

"Do y' two have any idea what you've put de family through?" Henri glanced briefly at Belladonna. 'What was his brother and cousin doing with Marius Boudreaux' daughter?' Deciding to wait for an answer to that question at another time, Henri, instead made sure the three were alright.

"Henri, somebody is tryin' to kill us." Lapin said. "He's some assassin dat's been tracking us."

"Lapin, stop lyin'. I'm sick of it. Get in de car an' don' y' say another word. Y' hear me."

"Everybody dat ain' dead, heard you." Remy muttered under his breath. Belladonna started laughing.

"In de car, NOW!!"

"What 'bout dat man, Henri." Remy pointed over his shoulder in the direction he had last seen the man, dressed in black. "He's still out dere."

"For de last time, dere's no assassin."

A gun shot fired, interrupting the two brothers' argument. Henri cried out in pain as a bullet struck him in the leg, knocking him to the ground.

"Henri!" Remy screamed and rushed to his brother's side. He dropped to his knees, yanked off the bandana around his neck and used it to apply pressure against his brother's wound. He "It won' stop bleedin'."

"It's okay, Remy." Henri gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain surging through his leg as he got to his feet. He placed his arm around Remy's shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. "De bullet went clean through. It's jus' a flesh wound. Trust me, I've had a lot worse."

"Oh I wouldn't say that, my friend." The man, wearing black, stood over the two, waving the gun between Remy and Henri trying to decide who to shoot first.

"Who de hell are y', and what do y' want?" Henri shoved Remy behind him, shielding him from the man's reach.

Belladonna ducked behind Henri's car, wishing she had her knife.

Lapin, still hiding in the car, desperately tried to find something to use as a weapon. Remembering the car jack and tire iron was locked in the truck, he glanced at the ignition and found the keys missing. Henri had them.

"This isn't personal, just a job. Someone wants me to kill a kid." The man studied the brothers and then glanced at the parked car. "And of course, I can't have witnesses either."

"What are y', a hired assassin?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it." The man answered.

"It matters to me." Belladonna stepped out from behind the car and stood in front of Henri and Remy. "If you are Assassin den I'm orderin' y' to leave b'fore my father learns y' put me in danger."

"You don't have a thing to worry about, girly." The man's smile was pure evil. "because you're going to die with the others." His finger curled around the trigger, the smile spread further.

THUD

The gun dropped out of the man's hand, his expression changed from the evil grin to shocked surprised.

"Julien!" Bella screamed her brother's name, watching as he stabbed the hit man in the back with a knife.

Dragging the knife across the dead man's throat, Julien eyed Henri and Remy, the knife dancing in between his fingers. "Dis better dan Christmas. Killin' de heir to de Thieves Guild should score me some points wit' de old man."

Belladonna stepped between her brother and Henri. "Julien, y' stop dis."

"Bella, get out of de way." Julien heard a car approaching. He turned to investigate. He narrowed his eyes in anger as his father climbed out of the car with Bernard by his side.

"Julien, put dat knife down an' get outta here b'fore I do somethin' y' gonna regret." Marius rushed to his daughter, taking her into his arms. His son refused to lower the knife. Marius issued another warning. "Julien, I won't tell y' again. Step down."

" You're gettin' weak Father. De Assassin need a leader dat's not afraid to start a war wit' dis thieves trash." Julien turned his back on the others and disappeared down the street.

Bernard helped Henri walk to the car.

"Let's get y' to de hospital, Henri." Marius Boudreaux aided Bernard in helping Henri to the Lamborghini. "LeBranche, y' drive Henri to de hospital. I'll take de children home."

"I want to go wit' Henri." Remy followed Bernard to his brother's car.

"Non, y' go home, Remy." Henri eased into the passenger seat, leaned over the open window of the car and touched his brother's arm. "Tante and T'erese are worried. Go home an' tell dem what's happened."




Several hours later.

"Are you comfortable, Henri?" Tante propped his leg up with another pillow and turned her attention to Lapin. "Y' should be in bed. Remy's been asleep for two hours."

"I'm not sleepy." Lapin answered, trying his best to conceal a yawn.

"Uh huh, up to bed with you, young man." Therese followed Lapin to the stairs. The phone started ringing, she picked it up and after offering a friendly greeting, she smiled. "It's the overseas operator, Uncle Jean's calling." She put her hand over the receiver. "Do you want to wake up Remy?"

" Non, dat boy's too hard to get back asleep." Henri picked up the extension phone and listened in. Hearing his father's voice, he spoke before his sister had a chance to speak. "Hello, Père."

"Henri, I should be home tomorrow morning'. Have someone pick me up at de airport." Jean-Luc's voice spoke over the bad connection. "I'm bringin' home a surprise for everyone."

"What is it?" Theresa asked.

"Y' worse dan de petite, Theresa. Y' jus' have to wait." Jean-Luc laughed. A boarding call could be heard in the background. "Dat's my flight. I'll see everyone tomorrow."

"Bye." Therese and Henri both answered before the phone line went dead.

Hanging up the phone, Therese glanced over at her older brother. "I wonder what he's bringing home?"

Her brother just shrugged his shoulders. "Don' know, guess we wait an' see."



The End


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Dynasty Clandestine