Chapter Twenty-Four:

Gambit sat patiently as the large man behind the desk took a long pull on his cigar.

The room was not dark, but the dingy windows did not allow in much of the afternoon sun and shadows lingered in the office's far corners. Gambit could feel the large man's personal bodyguards eyeing him cautiously, but any pressure caused by the stares did not show on the Cajun's face.

The large man was known as Ivan the Red in New York City, Sunny Blacktooth in L.A. and Jackie Irish throughout the south and at least half a dozen other aliases around the world. Gambit knew the man's real name, but would not have given it away for his life.

'Ivan' happened to be a close friend to a certain guild in New Orleans, which had more than a few members with the last name LeBeau. The large man blew smoke noisily through his meaty lips and raised a curious eyebrow at his guest.

"To what do I owe the honor this surprise visit, Remy?" Ivan asked, "Not on business for your father, I assume. Last time I spoke to him, he refused to even say your name..."

Gambit nodded and sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers behind his dark glasses.

"Oui, je compris," he said with a resigning grin, "Unfortunately... we did not part on good terms..."

The large man snorted, "I suppose not. By the way your father was acting, I thought maybe you had left this world all together."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Gambit replied with a grin, "But, that is not such a terrible thing for some people to think maintenant..."

"Of course not," the large man interrupted, "Loan sharks don't go after dead men."

Gambit nodded, his face turning somber, "Ami¸ if all I had to worry about were some gambling debts, Remy would still be in New Orleans."

The large man puffed on his cigar and frowned deeply, "What is it then? Police? F.B.I.?"

Gambit shook his head and sighed heavily again, a strange smirk forming on his lips.

"No...no...much more complicated than that..." he replied, and the large man suddenly grinned again.

"A woman, then, is it?" Ivan asked and his gut shook as he bellowed in laughter, "Has Bella's father been on you again about marriage?"

Gambit grinned but did not entirely share the large man's amusement. Xavier's school may have been stuffy, but at least while he was there he could forget about his Big Easy woes. Having his wide range of personal troubles listed aloud made him feel like he was trapped among a jury of his peers.

"Unfortunately, no," Gambit said, "I didn't come here because of money or love or even to hide from the authorities. I just hoped... you would be able to get a message to the guild... and to my father..."

Gambit shifted his head toward the bodyguards, and then back to Ivan, indicating that the message was not for all ears to hear. Ivan nodded, grumbled orders to his men to wait outside. Once they were gone, the large man leaned forward on his desk and waited for Remy to continue.

With a reluctant motion of his hand, Gambit took the sunglasses from his face. Ivan did not immediately react as the younger man revealed his strangely colored eyes. Gambit waited as his condition was scrutinized. Finally, the large man shifted back in his chair and folded his hands on his large abdomen.

"You were never a lucky boy, Remy," Ivan said, considerately but without pity, "No one back home knows about this, yes? They would have mentioned it... guaranteed they would have, at least to me..."

Gambit shook his head, "No. No one. It happened after the grand mal a few months ago. If you thought Remy was dangerous with his hands before..."

The large man scoffed, "Bah... you're just like your pere... even if neither of you will admit it. Don't start thinking this new condition of yours makes you any different than the rascal you were before..."

"No, sir," Gambit said, smiling again, "That is why I came to you. I knew you would be able to get news of me to the guild without the words spreading over all of New Orleans, yes?"

"Let them know you were not abducted by Martians or the mob," Ivan said, "Very well. I will tell them what you want me to. But I don't understand the secrecy. The guild would not turn you out just because you are a mutant now..."

Gambit nodded and held up one hand defensively, "As always... my problem is not so simple..."

"Nothing ever is, boy," Ivan said, "Especially for us mutants..."

Gambit nodded, and watched without surprise as the large man stretched out a second set of beefy arms and, with the third of his four hands, put his cigar to his lips.


Author's note: Did anyone else know that MSWord spellchecker forces you to spell 'martians' with a capital M? Huh...