I hope you enjoy Chapter VI as much as you have enjoyed all the other chapters:

Chapter VI


Remy glanced sideways at Pietro and almost gasped. Pietro's face was a bloody mess; he had a cut lip, bleeding nose, black eye and several large bruises. "You look terrible," he whispered across to Pietro.
The Excalibur agent managed a small grin. "I've had worse," he said with more confidence than he really felt. Truth be told, his whole body was aching and he was thankful that the other kidnapper had stopped Victor when he did, otherwise he might not have survived this long.
Remy suddenly noticed the speedboat slow and then turn into a large boathouse on the riverside. Pietro didn't see this through his bruised eyes, but he felt the boat slowing down.
Once inside Peter steered the boat to the dock and Victor came over to Pietro and lifted him out. Peter lifted Remy out and then followed him. They strode down several large passages until they came to a metal door with a guard posted in front of it. He took one look at Victor and opened the door for them. They stepped out into the sunlight and a tiny airstrip. A plane sat waiting, engines already on, and the two men ran over to it. They boarded it and threw their prisoners into two chairs. "Victor, go and help Irene up front," Peter ordered. Victor nodded sourly and disappeared. Peter sat opposite the prisoners and when the plane had taken off he pulled a sketchpad out of a bag next to him and began to draw.
Victor soon came back from the cockpit. "Irene says we should be there soon. We're making good time."
Peter nodded, concentrating on his drawing. Victor sneered at his companion's activity, sat down and opened a beer he got out of the small fridge at the front of the plane.
It took two more hours to reach their destination, by which time Pietro was mercifully unconscious again. Neither Victor nor Peter had said much all flight the first leering at pictures of scantily clad women, the latter intent upon his drawing. At some prearranged time Victor went into the cockpit again to assist with the landing. Upon landing Peter roughly pulled Remy up and marched him down the stairs out of the aircraft, Victor behind them with an unconscious Pietro slung over his shoulder.
As he was marched forward by Peter, Remy looked at his surroundings. They had landed inside a heavily fortified complex, it appeared to be an old châteaux and it was swarming with guards. Remy was led inside and then along a twisting maze of corridors until they reached a set of beautifully carved oak double doors. Peter pushed them open and shoved Remy inside. "Mr. LeBeau, won't you have a seat." Remy hadn't seen the man standing in the shadows of the corner until he spoke. The man turned and gestured to an elaborately carved wooden chair, which Remy sat down in. Victor dumped Pietro's unconscious form in the chair next to him.
"Ah, Piotr and Victor. As usual you have excelled yourselves." The man moved closer, then frowned. "I thought I told you to bring him back undamaged?" His tone was friendly, but had a steely undercurrent to it.
"Victor couldn't keep his hands off him," Piotr said, glaring at Victor who glared back at him.
"Well?" The man was looking expectantly at Victor.
"He deserved it, boss, he…"
"I decide what he deserves, not you Victor," the man had an almost friendly tone now. "Really, I expected a man of your experience to be able to control his anger. But apparently it seems I was wrong." He shook his head, his tone getting friendlier by the minute. Victor and Piotr glanced at each other. The boss was never friendly. "X23." Suddenly it all clicked. Piotr moved away from Victor, who had dropped into a fighting crouch, looking around him warily.
Remy was the first to see her uncoil from the tight crouch she had been in like some hideous insect. She made almost no noise as she dropped to the floor from the ceiling. Remy was horrified, yet fascinated by X23. She was short and wore a one-piece black form-fitting outfit that stretched from her head down to her feet. She was beautiful, but there was no doubt what her purpose was. Death.
The only warning Victor had was the quiet sound of metal being unsheathed as X23 pulled two daggers from her belt. Victor whirled around, throwing himself at the spot where he had heard the sound, but X23 was long gone. As he picked himself up and looked around X23 struck, leaping onto his back and one dagger into the back of his lungs and running the other across the front of his throat. Victor managed a gurgling surprised gasp as his lungs filled up with blood. X23 jumped off his back, pulling out her two knives and sheathing them, before turning to the man and bowing her head.
Piotr and Remy stared in horror at Victor's corpse, that occasionally spasmed, whilst the man laughed and applauded X23's efforts. "Well done my dear. Now, dispose of the waste."
X23 turned and was about to pick up Victor when he leapt up, hands reaching for X23's throat. X23 looked absolutely unperturbed as the dying man choked the life out of her. She suddenly punched both her hands into Victor's chest and with a massive effort ripped his heart out and held it up in front of him. Victor gasped and then collapsed. X23 dragged his corpse out, leaving the room in a stunned silence. "Piotr." The Russian straightened as the man said his name.
"Sir?"
"Leave us."
"At once." The Russian followed X23, glad to be out of the room, which was stained with Victor's blood.
One Piotr had departed the man turned to Remy. "I'm so glad you could join us Mr. LeBeau. It's an honour to meet the man who had made his first million at seventeen."
"Why did you kidnap me? Why not just take the Gambit Program?" Remy managed to summon more confidence than he felt, he felt thoroughly disgusted by the cold-blooded murder he had just witnessed.
"Oh, we did take the Gambit Program. But why do you think we took you as well Mr. LeBeau? Your associates will be willing to pay a substantial amount for your safe return."
Remy groaned, although inwardly he was ecstatic. This guy, whoever he was, didn't know about the failsafe Remy had installed in the Gambit Program. Only he could activate it, otherwise it would lockdown and become unusable. As long as these guys didn't know that they might be all right.
"But there was another reason. I've got someone here who's simply dying to meet you. Darling," he called. A door in the wall of the room opened and a tall woman entered. She had incredibly dark blue eyes and long, fiery red hair. Remy felt his draw drop as the woman walked over to the man, who was about twice her age, and kissed him passionately. "I believe you have met Raven before, Mr. LeBeau."
"Hello, Remy." Raven's voice was low and sultry and Remy remembered it vividly.
Raven Darkholme had been the secondary master programmer on the Gambit Program and one of Remy's most trusted confidantes. To see her here was just, appalling. In some ways it was worse than watching Victor's execution.
"Like I said, Raven here," Raven kissed the man again, "was just dying to see you again. To see your face when she told you that your little failsafe you were trusting on had been changed."
Remy's heart sank even lower. Ever since Raven had walked in he'd been afraid of something like that. With Raven at his side, this guy could potentially do anything with the Gambit Program.
"But I think you two need some time to get reacquainted." Raven stood up as he said this and walked over to Remy. "Let me just warn you Mr. LeBeau, she's quite the little hellcat when the mood comes upon her." Raven grinned as she hoisted a disgusted Remy to his feet and led him out.
"And that leaves us to get acquainted, doesn't it Mr. Maximoff?" Pietro looked up and managed a grin. He had been feigning unconsciousness for the best part of ten minutes now, and it was good to be able to move again.
"Where's Kitty, you crazy bastard. She has nothing to do with this computer crap…"
"Oh I know that," the man interrupted Pietro as he moved from behind his desk and walked towards Pietro. "But first Pietro, I think we should take some time to get to know each other. It's been a long time since you last saw your father…