June 7, 1988
"Is he still bleeding?" David asked.
"Not so bad," Kurt said, "But we really need to get him to a hospital."
"Remy can hear ya!" Remy said.
"No reason why he shouldn't," David said.
He wanted to rub his temples, but he needed both of his hands for the steering wheel. Over the past four hours they'd been driving as fast as they could out of Louisiana. It appeared that he'd be paying Sharon, or more specifically her father, a visit after all.
In the back he heard Kurt tighten Remy's bandages. Remy made a small noise in the back of his throat. David kept his eyes on the road though. He was going at speeds that even he wasn't comfortable now, but they needed to make Maryland pretty soon.
Remy's injuries, despite their initial appearance, weren't actually life-threatening. Still, if he was going to live further than a few days he would need to seek medical attention. At the rate they were currently going, they would be able to make it to Hank's.
There was something else that was bothering him though.
"So, Remy, now that you're bandaged, do you mind telling us what the hell is going on?" David said.
There was a pause.
"Remy's not so sure-" Remy said.
"My brother nearly got shot trying to help you," David snapped, "Every minute that we don't know what's going on is a potential safety risk to all damn three of us. I see no reason why you shouldn't be sure."
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Besides, I'm asking your permission out of courtesy," he said, "I'm a telepath. If I wanted, I could already know by now."
"So why don't ya?" Remy said.
"Because I wasn't raised that way!" David said.
His brain caught up with his words after they left his tongue. Didn't he resent his upbringing? He wasn't so sure anymore. It was more of that confusion, more of that vague sense of disconnect between what he knew was him and what he thought might be the terrorists.
"Y'all keep sayin that," Remy said.
"Because we mean it," Kurt said, "You can trust us."
There was a long pause. David was just about ready to tell Remy that he was going to pull over and go into his mind when Remy spoke.
"It be a long story," he said.
"I'm going about forty miles over the speed limit, and we still won't be there any time soon," David said, "Don't worry about it being a long story."
"Well, y'all ever heard o da Thieves Guild?" Remy asked.
"No," Kurt said.
"Remy'd be worried if ya did," Remy said, "But da Thieves Guild is a collection o da top thieves in da world. Operates outta New Orleans."
"And you're a member?" David said.
For some reason the idea seemed ridiculous.
"You're what, fourteen?" David asked.
"Fifteen," Remy snapped.
"Sorry if I don't believe you," David said.
An object hit the seat next to David. David glanced quickly down and saw that it was his wallet.
"When did you-?" he began.
"Does it matter?" Remy snapped.
David sighed.
"Keep talking," he said.
"Remy was adopted into da Guild when Remy was six," Remy said, "An I been runnin jobs since then. Big uns an little uns."
"How big?" Kurt asked.
"Banks, museums," Remy said.
His voice was dismissive.
"What dey didn't tell Remy was dat dey occasionally break into Assassins Guild territory," Remy said, "And dat...dat didn't sit right wi Remy."
David could hear that his voice became hesitant and tired.
"They asked you to kill someone, didn't they?" David asked.
"Yes," Remy said, "So Remy decided to get outta town tonight. Not easy when dey bribe da cops and half da officials in da south."
He laughed.
"Didn't get far."
"I can see that," David said.
"You were adopted?" Kurt asked.
His brother's voice sounded small and curious. David could feel his arms tense up again.
"Yeah," Remy said.
"And you just decided to leave them all behind?" Kurt said.
"Remy's daddy ain't exactly da best," Remy said, "An ya met Remy's charmin brother. Always been like dat. Wasn't so hard ta leave when it came down ta it."
"They weren't..." Kurt said.
David could tell his brother was struggling to wrap his head around the concept of an adoptive family that had never loved the adopted child. He coughed.
"So, let me get this straight," he said, "We have to get out of this area as soon as possible, right?"
"Dey might already be followin ya," Remy said.
"Hm," David said.
He looked around. He wished that he had brought one of the cellular telephones from Westchester. However, he hadn't thought that they would need it. There were plenty of pay phones around, and David hadn't exactly been expecting any sort of emergency.
He knew for a fact that he was outside telepathic contact, even if he was trying to get into contact with his father. If David really tried he supposed he could, but that would mean pulling the car over. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to do that. He might as well use a pay phone if they did that.
"Was it awful?" Kurt asked.
David kept his eyes on the road. He didn't feel comfortable with the questions that Kurt was asking, but he didn't suppose that he would ever feel comfortable with that sort of thing. He wasn't adopted, and he was sure it was something that he wouldn't understand.
"Didn't use ta think so, but den Remy got ta wonderin if it could be better somewhere else," Remy said.
He saw a fork in the road and sighed. He turned off suddenly to the left and a sign welcomed them to Kentucky. David could feel himself sweating. They'd have to keep driving for at least another day straight to make this work. He was glad that they hadn't come across many other cars, and he was doubly grateful that he hadn't run into any cops yet. He couldn't imagine the speeding fines.
David looked at the fuel gauge. They still had a quarter tank of gas, which would probably get them to a decent gas station. He wished he was in the Blackbird, that got much better gas mileage and it went much faster. Then again, he was acutely aware of the fact that he had never been taught how to fly the plane. Only X-men were allowed to fly it.
He shook his head and turned his mind to other things. David wondered how Hank would react when they showed up on his doorstep. He supposed that Hank was used to this sort of thing, although it didn't happen as much as it did in the old days. According to Sharon her mother had only found out about his past as part of the X-men when Alex had brought in a wounded Scott.
"-Remy never really saw anytin wrong wi it, but now dat Remy really tings about it, well, his work weren't so great. His family weren't neither."
David continued to tune Remy out. He wasn't sure what he was babbling on about, but it was important that he stayed conscious. If whatever Kurt was doing allowed him to stay awake, then he could talk as much as he liked.
"-an den dere were Bella Donna, an she were madder den a bag o snakes-"
Something in the road jolted one of the front tires, sending the car spiraling out of his control. David turned the steering wheel, but the speeds he was going at were too great for a quick turnaround. The car spun off the highway into the shoulder.
David slammed on the brakes, but a ditch beyond the shoulder was fast approaching. He concentrated and slowed the car, but the speed still sent the car forwards into the ditch. All things considered, the impact wasn't bad.
His clipped his head lightly on the review mirror, but his seatbelt came him in place. David unbuckled and looked behind him at Remy and Kurt. Kurt was rubbing the back of his neck and Remy looked pained, but neither of them had been injured from the crash.
"We have to get out of the car," David said, "I should be able to get it back on the road."
"I've got it," Kurt said.
David kicked the car door open and looked out. Several figures were standing in the road wearing police uniforms, and all of them had their guns trained on them.
"You are under arrest for aiding the escape of Remy Le Beau!" one of the cops called out, "Put your hands above your head!"
A strange feeling entered David as he looked at the police and the cowtrap on the road that had punctured his tire. Despite the mounting panic in his head, he knew that something was wrong. They were in Kentucky, had just come into the state. He'd swerved suddenly, just decided to take the Kentucky route. There was no way the local police could have been alerted so fast.
He slowly put his hands above his head, feeling calmer than he had since they had first run into Remy.
Kurt, I'm going to try something, he thought, And if it goes south, then teleport out of here with Remy right away, understand?
What do you mean? Kurt thought, I won't just leave you-
Kurt, just listen to me! David thought, I think...I think I know what I'm doing.
David walked up, his arms still up above his head.
"Now the rest of you," the officer said.
"Can I see your warrant?" David asked.
The officer hesitated.
"What?" he asked.
"Your warrant, for Remy LeBeau's arrest," David said.
"We don't take that kind of stuff out on patrols," the officer snapped.
"No, of course not," David said, "Which tells me that you're actually a cop. Next question, what judge will be signing the warrant when it does go through, since I'm supposing this only has the status of an alleged crime right now?"
The officer hesitated and looked at the officer next to him.
"You don't know, do you?" David asked, "You're not Kentucky police, are you?"
He lowered his hands. The officer angled his gun and David laughed.
"Are you from Louisiana?" he asked.
"What difference does it make?" the officer snapped, "We're in hot pursuit!"
"I suppose you are," David said, "But I don't think you alerted the Kentucky police to the fact that you are, in fact, in hot pursuit right now. They're ignorant that you're in their state. Do you know why I think that?"
He didn't give the cop a chance to answer.
"Because you would have been able to tell me the name of the judge if you had," David said, "Because you would have, most likely, already contacted them to set up said warrant in Kentucky for extradition to Louisiana. You can't just take criminals from one state to another."
David smiled.
"And I swear, if you take us in now I'll bring this up in court, and it could very likely cost all of you your careers," he said, "Maybe more than that, because I'll see to it that the Kentucky police will make a big stink about it. And I don't think your boss wants this to be a high profile case now does he? Lots of publicity? He didn't even want to involve his friends in Kentucky, if he has any. Does he want that?"
The cops began looking at each other nervously. One cocked his gun.
"I could just kill you all right here," he said.
"Ah, yes, there is that option," David said, "And I think you're counting on no one knowing who Remy is. And we live in the real world, so we both know that few people will care much about a teenage delinquent showing up dead, or just going missing. But do you know what they will care about?"
He leaned in.
"Two rich kids who went missing on a road trip," David said, "Unfortunate, but that's the way it is sometimes. So, I ask you again, do you want all this publicity?"
The officer paused.
"You're bluffing," he said.
"Am I?" David asked.
He laughed.
"That's a really nice car for someone my age to have," David said, "Now, I could have stolen it, true, but I also knew quite a bit of legal jargon back there. It means that I've been very well prepared for a career in the law, which doesn't come cheap. Now, I could be a scholarship kid, but are you willing to take that chance?"
He leaned forward.
"If you are, then kill me and find out if I'm bluffing or not," David said.
The officer paused and slowly lowered his gun. David grinned.
"Now, get back in your cars and get the hell away from us," he said, "I have a tire to change."
The officer snarled at him, but turned on his heel and left. David watched him go and walked back to the car, feeling strange. He saw that Kurt and Remy were staring at him, Kurt's mouth opening once or twice.
"Did you...you know?" he asked, tapping the side of his head.
"No," David said.
He waved his hand and the trunk, containing their spare tire, opened.
"I am going to Yale you know," David said.
"You gonna be one helluva lawyer," Remy said.
David smiled as he levitated the tire and the necessary tools over to him.
"You know," he said, "I rather think I will be."