The Prince of Thieves

Chapter III: Guilty

By: Michelle

Ororo's mind wondered as she made her way to the hospital. It had been seven months since she had seen her brother last. She could remember that day clearly.

She walked into the elegant French restaurant and up to the host. "I'm here to meet with Robert Lord." She explained using her friend's other alias. "My name is Ororo Munroe. I'm supposed to meet him here."

"Oui Madam. He has been expecting you." The host replied. "Right this way."

"Merci." After following the host to the table, she finally found what she was looking for. There at the table was Remy Etienne LeBeau. She smiled as he lowered the menu he was holding.

Remy stood up politely, thanked the host and tipped him. He took her hand and raised it to his lips. "It is good to see you again Ororo." He said and kissed the back of her hand. Then, as a perfect gentleman, he pulled out her chair and seated her.

As he returned to his own seat, she couldn't help but admire the man. Remy cleaned up real nice. Instead of his usual trench coat and body armor, he was dressed in a tailor made suit. Instead of being wild and unruly, his hair was pulled neatly into a ponytail. She was shocked to see that he was cleanly shaven rather than stubbly. He got bonus points for that. The only thing that didn't change was his gorgeous ruby red eyes hiding behind his sunglasses.

Their dinner went as always. He ordered their dinners, carefully choosing a vegetarian dish he knew she would like and ordering filet mignon for himself. Then, as they waited for dinner to arrive, they talked about what they had being doing since the last time they talked to each other on the phone.

When dinner arrived, they paused in their conversation to eat. Before they knew it, their plates were empty and dessert was being ordered. As she waited for dessert to arrive, she could sense he was trying to tell her something all night.

"Remy, why did you insist on meeting tonight?" She asked curiously.

Remy was silent for a moment before he answered. "I got a job offer in Paris."

"That's good." She replied softly taking a sip of her wine. "Is the pay good?"

"I will receive 50 grand per month. Plus, my employer will be paying for all my expenses." He said as he picked up his wine glass.

She sighed. "So, how long is the job for? One? Two Months?"

He swirled the drink around in his glass before taking a sip. "Six."

"SIX MONTHS." She said not realizing how loud her voice was. Thunder rumbled shortly after.

"Stormy, calm down." Remy fussed. "We're in a restaurant."

"Six months." She said again. "What are you going to be doing there?"

"Bunch of stuff." Remy replied. "My employer already showed me a list of some of the items she wants stolen. You know. Some jewels. Famous paintings. The whole nine yards."

"Remy…Why did you take this job?" She said. "I thought you were going to stop thieving."

"It's good money." He replied softly. "Besides, what else am I suppose to do?"

"You could come to the institute with me." She suggested as he rolled his eyes at her. "Xavier would be glad to have you there. You could enroll in some of the college classes and get a degree."

"Stormy, have you ever thought that I don't want to do that?"

"Have you ever thought that I don't want to see you throw your life away?"

For the next couple of minutes, there was an awkward silence between them. Neither was sure what to say.

She took a deep breath. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." He replied.

"You are going to call me when you get there."

"Oui." He replied. "And every two weeks."

"OK. Be careful. Ok." She fought the tears welding up in her eyes. "Well, I have to get going. I have classes tomorrow."

"D'accord." He said standing up with her. He hugged her tightly. "I'll keep in touch. Remy promise."

"Yeah." She kissed him quickly on the cheek and turned without looking back at her face as she broke down in tears.

Ororo turned on the windshield wipers as the rain began. Remy kept his promise, but she never received the call telling her he was back in the states. Maybe, he didn't want her breathing down his neck again. Or maybe he got in trouble with his employer. Whatever it was, she didn't care. She couldn't help but feel this was partly her fault.

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She looked at the unconscious nurse. Perfect. She slipped out the closet and made her way to Gambit's room.

When she got there, she was glad to see he was alone. She closed the door to the room behind her. She had to find it.

She looked at his unconscious form in the bed. He was lucky he was still alive. She made her way over his belonging and began digging around.

Where is it? She was beginning to get impatient. She had looked through everything. She couldn't leave until she found it.

She picked up his trench coat again and dug deep down the pockets. It had to be in here. Just when she was about to give up, she felt it. That sneaky little thief. She opened up the hidden pocket and pulled the item she was looking for out. It was wrapped carefully in a silk handkerchief.

"Can I help you with anything?" Nurse Taryn asked as she walked in the room.

She slipped the wrapped object down her shirt. Then, she turned around. "I was just checking his blood pressure."

I'm sure. "Well, you might want to check the patient not his belongings." Taryn said as she took the trench coat from the nurse. "I can handle it from here."

She gave the nurse a wicked look then left the room. If she had it her way, the nurse would be dead. But she got what she came for.

She walked up the stairs and onto the roof where she shifted her appearance. She pulled out the item and unwrapped it. She held up the Gem and spoke into her communicator. "Eric, I got it."

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Kitty, Jubilee, and Rogue came downstairs after they cleaned up from the morning Danger Room session. What they found was Kurt and Logan trying to control a room full of students.

"Where are Ms. Munroe and Professor?" Rogue asked Bobby as they joined the boys.

"The hospital." Bobby replied. "Her brother or something was in an accident. Professor canceled classes so they could pick him up at the hospital."

"Yeah." Kitty smiled. "Do you like think it's that Gambit guy she like always talks to on the phone and stuff."

"It might be." Jubilee giggled. "I wonder what this mystery man looks like."

"I bet he's a total babe." Kitty daydreamed. "A perfect mix of Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and Orlando Bloom."

Piotr rolled his eyes. "I hope not." He whispered to Bobby.

"ALRIGHT KIDS. YOU BETTER SETTLE DOWN." Logan yelled then turned to Kurt. "Put the damn movie in."

"ja." Kurt replied. He could feel his heart sink in his stomach. What if Kitty is right?

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He slowly opened his eyes. The light in the room was so bright he had to shield them. He took a quick glance around. Where am I? He looked at the IV hooked up to his arm and noticed he was in a hospital gown. I'm in Essex's lab. He panicked and tried to scrabble out of the bed.

"Sir you need to calm down." The nurse said.

He didn't listen to her. "Gambit need to git outta here."

"Sir, you are injured." Taryn replied but she couldn't stop him from getting out of the bed. "Doctor…Doctor…I need something to calm him."

"Let Gambit outta here." He began fighting as a team of nurses and doctors held him down to the bed.

"This should do the trick." The doctor said as he gave him a shot.

"What ya do ta me?" He fussed. As the staff, released him, he tried to get up. He sat up but he felt like his body weighed a ton. He laid back down in defeat. "What ya do ta Gambit?"

"It's alright Mr. LeBeau." Nurse Taryn assured him. "It's just something to help you relax. We don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Where…where Gambit be?"

"You're in Kessler Memorial Hospital in New Jersey." She explained and checked his blood pressure.

Gambit looked at his left arm in a cast. His body ached all over. Then, he felt the bandage on his forehead. "What happen?"

"You were in a motorcycle accident last night. Now try to get some rest." She replied. "We have contacted your sister. She is on her way as I speak."

"Ma soeur." Stormy. He sighed as he remembered their last meeting.

"You are going to call me when you get there." Ororo asked with hope in her eyes.

"Oui." He replied. "And every two weeks."

"OK. Be careful. Ok."

He could see the tears welding up in her eyes. He knew she was upset. He could feel every emotion she was going through in her head.

"Well, I have to get going. I have classes tomorrow."

"D'accord." He said standing up with her. He hugged her tightly. "I'll keep in touch. Remy promise."

"Yeah."

He felt her press her lips to his cheek. She turned away quickly to avoid him seeing her cry. And he knew she was crying. She was really worried about him. Plus, it started raining.

He sat back down at the table feeling guilty.

"Your dessert Monsieur." The waiter said as he placed the slice of chocolate mousse in front of him.

"Merci." He answered softly. He picked up his fork and began picking at it. Usually, he would be fighting Ororo tooth and nail for each bite. But not tonight.

"Can ya git Gambit his sunglasses outta his coat." He asked. "De light be hurtin' his eyes."

"Sure." The nurse said and retrieved his sunglasses. "Now let me know if you need anything else."

"D'accord." He replied as she walked out of the room. He slipped his sunglasses on and turned to the side, but even that couldn't hide his tears.

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Halfway into the movie, Kurt got up and walked into the rec room. It was unusually for him to walk out of room while one of the movies where playing, especially if that movie has pirates in it. But, he couldn't get the discussion the girls had out of his head.

"You alright Elf." Logan asked knowing Pirates of the Caribbean was one of Kurt's favorite movies.

'Ja." Kurt lied. "I'm fine. Just vorried about Ororo. She vas quite upset ven she left."

"She's going to be alright. She's a strong woman." Logan replied. "What's really bothering you Elf?"

"It's probably nothing."

"What is it?"

"This Remy guy. Ororo has not really talked much about him, but she said they were really close." Kurt hung his head. "What if he's more than a friend to her? What if…?"

"I think you're just paranoid." Logan replied. "They are probably just close friends. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Ja." Kurt sighed. "I suppose."

"Don't worry about it Elf? She loves you." Logan patted him on the back. "Now, let's get back to that movie before you miss a good fight scene."

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"Where is it?"

Mystique handed him the handkerchief.

Magneto carefully removed the silken handkerchief from the ruby. He held it up so he could admire it. It was no ordinary ruby. In fact, it was the Ruby Gem of Cyttorak full of power. Its owner was going to very excited to get it back.

He smiled over to Mystique. "Time for the next phase of our plan.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Kurt and Ororo are currently in a relationship. According to this fanfic, they have been dating officially for two months. Kurt has been with the institute for four months.

Currently, Rogue and Bobby are in a relationship. But we all know Rogue and Gambit was meant to be. Need I say more. I'll just have to get cracking on these next few chapters…

Thanks for the reviews so far.

Michelle