Disclaimer: Even a year later, these characters and their origins still aren't mine. Maybe even less so than before since it's been so long.

A/N: Hey guys. It's been... awhile. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Life got... chaotic. But here's the first part of Chapter 3. Yes, there's another part, and *gasp* it's mostly written already! I would've posted the chapter in its entirety but I wanted to get this part out of the way to see if there's still interest in the story.

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It took her a day to drive from New York to New Orleans. She kept her pit stops to a minimum, just wanting to get the whole thing over with. She told Wolverine that needed to tie up some loose ends. He accepted the vague explanation with a doubtful look but said nothing. At least this time she was letting someone know she was leaving. She promised to return in a day or so.

Her mission, if she could call it that, was to secure a mutant by the name of Gambit and deliver him to Sinister who would be waiting in a warehouse outside city limits. The mutant geneticist had e-mailed Rogue Gambit's dossier so she had a face and a description to go with a name. Gambit, aka Remy LeBeau, gambler, ladies' man, thief. The file had it all, including his affiliation with an organization called the Thieves Guild. By the time she was finished reading the file, she knew everything on the mutant called Gambit except why Sinister wanted him.

But the why didn't concern her. As far as she knew after this job, she was done with Sinister and she could finally cut all ties with her past.

As she entered the jazz club, all eyes were on her. The smooth, seductive rythym filled the heady air as she surveyed the bar keeping an eye out for a tall man with auburn hair and a peculiar set of eyes. Several men approached and she nonchalantly turned them away. She approached the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. She was conservatively sipping the drink when she felt herself being watched. She inconspicuously surveyed the room until she saw that he had creeped by her side.

"Buy y' a drink, chère?" came a smooth voice laced with an authentic Cajun accent.

Rogue smiled. "Already got one, sugah." Gambit was attractive she admitted, very attractive, and his eyes... His eyes were most unique. Red irises surrounded by a sea of black. She had only seen one other person with red eyes and the very thought of them sent cold shivers down her spine. But Gambit's eyes were different. They reminded her of the burning embers of a warm, comforting fire. She had heard the adage of getting lost in someone's eyes, but she always brushed it off as nonsense best saved for Harlequin novels. But maybe the romance writers had been onto something...

"That ain't a drink," he said, indicating her gin and tonic before downing the last of his bourbon.

"No? Well, then, what'd ya have in mind, sugah?"

He chuckled at the double entendre. He signaled the bartender for a drink. Obviously, the man was used to filling drink orders for the sultry Cajun's latest conquest.

His eyebrows rose appreciatively. "Y' on de wrong side of de river, chère. What brings y' t' m' neck o' de woods?"

"Ah'm sure you mean bayous," she corrected him. "But give the man a prize. Ya know your dialects."

"Know a lot of t'ings, chère."

"Really?" she said, cocking her head to the side flirtatiously. Those lessons from Mystique were coming in handy at the moment. "Ya know how ta show a gal a good time, sugah?"

He animatedly exclaimed something in French. "That be m' speciality. Remy LeBeau, at y' service," he said, bowing slightly.

She smiled again. Gotcha, she thought miserably. She hated that she had to betray him to Sinister but reasoned that if he was involved with the shady doctor, then maybe he wasn't so upstanding. Although, she was attached to the man, so what did that say about her?

"Anna," she said, extending her gloved hand. He clasped it lightly and brought it up to his lips. "Enchantè. Beautiful name."

"Thanks." He still held her hand and his mesmerizing eyes held her gaze. It was hard to look away. Then she realized the longer she spent with this man, the harder it would be to do what she came to the Crescent City to do.

"Ya think we could go some place a lil' quieter? More private?"

He smiled. "Got jus' de place."

She allowed him to lead her out of the crowded bar, making sure the shifty Cajun kept his thieving hands to himself. He kept his hand pressed lightly to the small of her back like a complete gentleman. He opened the door for her that led to the outside, and though the humidity from the day clung to the night air, Rogue found it oddly refreshing.

Just do it, she silently coached herself. Just do it, then it's done. Then you can go home and start your life. Her heart pounded fiercely and she could hear the vague angry whispers of Carol Danvers as she struggled to maintain her cool exterior. But then he was in front of her, gently pressing her against the bar's brick facade as they exited the bar and leaning in for a kiss. Again, she was mesmerized by his eyes - they seemed to pulsate ever so slightly...

"Pretty eyes," she breathed.

He reached forward to touch her face and close the gap between their bodies.

"Uh uh," she said, softly batting his hand away, though his face still hovered before hers. "Don't touch."

He chuckled, his hand instead dropping to her neck. His eyes seemed to be burning brighter than before. From the start his ember eyes captivated her, now more so. She would willing lose herself in those burning orbs that had seemingly etched themselves into her mind. Maybe she could just indulge a little before fulfilling her duty. His warm lips were grazing hers and she wanted so badly to...

Then it hit her. He was doing something with his strangely-colored eyes. Hynoptizing her... She abruptly pushed him off her. He stumbled back at first, but quickly recovered.

"That's a neat trick," she archly said.

"Didn't seem t' be mindin' it much," he retorted with a lopsided grin. So, this seduction technique was amusing to him, she thought sourly.

Undetered, she straightened her back and readied for a fight. "Thanks, swamp rat. You've just made my job easier."

"Ah, mon chère. And what job might dat be?" he asked with a hint of amusement as he reached inside his duster.

"The job that sets me free."

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