Disclaimer: I do not own Rogue/Marie, Remy Lebeau, Bella Donna, or Julien Boudreaux. They are property of WB
Chapter 5: A Bed of Roses
Marie ran to Johnny, eager to untie his hands and ask for an explanation, but he seemed interested in other matters.
"Take the key and letter Marie-."
"Johnny that's not important, what about my fa-."
"Listen to me for once, dammit! In the drawer over there, take the key and letter."
"Johnny listen to yourself-."
"Take the damn shit Marie."
"Fine," Marie walked over the drawer taking out the letter and key holding it in her hand, the other on her hip, "there Johnny, your precious letter and key, are you happ-."
Marie never got to finish the sentence when heat and debris from the front of the house ripped away her skin, the force sending her hurling into the air and into the backyard. She landed on a bed a roses in full bloom from the summer heat and rain. An image of her planting them with Johnny played in her mind, the corners of the screen darkening until her eyes saw nothing but darkness.
Marie awoke to the sounds of a fire truck yet lay still in the bed of thorns and petals, unable to escape the pain and exhaustion from the explosion. Shouts from the fireman were loud but unclear, it wasn't until stray water from the hose brought her back that she realized the reality of the situation.
Footsteps in the burnt grass and heavy breathing, someone was coming to get her. Marie rose to the air, taking advantage of her powers of flight.
"Hey! Come back down here!"
She hesitated before taking off in full flight, clenching the piece of paper and key she still held in her hand. She headed towards the destination that lingered in her mind: St. Francis Hospital.
New Orleans, Assassin's HQ
Julien smiled, the new recruit lived up to his name by appearance. He was lean but built, agile yet deadly, a good match for Remy.
"Mousier Basset, a pleasure to meet you."
The man stood calmly, taking Julien's outstretched hand and giving it a loose shake.
"I have heard of your reputation.."
"If I didn't have a reputation I doubt that I would be here, discussing a job with the son of the Assassins himself."
Julien sneered, a bit angered by the man's overconfidence, but the job needed to get done and Basset was a good candidate. "Here is the target. What you need to locate is 226 kilos of cocaine, they're in separate crates 10 of them 50 pounds in each. The guy also has 5 millions stashed somewhere, most likely somewhere in the United States. I need you to get me the 5 million and the location of the drugs. Secure the area and alert me as soon as possible. But remember, no matter what, make sure you kill Remy Lebeau by the end of everything. Make sure he dies."
"And my cut of the money?"
"I'll give you 125,000 now and the rest when you deliver."Julien handed him a manila envelope, filled with photographs and pages of information reiterated from his speech.
"Consider it done."
Chapter 6: Chere
Marie breathed a sigh of relief safely landing on the roof, her powers had been weakening moments before seeing the letters spelling out St. Francis on top of the building. Dodging a couple of planes and fighting off some birds she thought she had done a decent job maintaining her altitude throughout the trip.
She stopped in front of the door leading to the stairway. What was she doing, she didn't even know what room Falco was in, let alone what alias he was under. What if she was going to blow his cover and his life, the man who killed Johnny seemed readily willing to kill. Was he here already?
She attempted to calculate her speed of flight skipping down hundreds of steps, her adrenaline suddenly pumping and her powers heightened. Crushing the railing and door Marie managed to calm herself as she entered the hospital atmosphere. She went down several more floors when a certain voice caught her attention.
"Bonjour chere." This time softer and definitely more flirtatious but she couldn't be mistaken, it was the same man that had blown up her home talking sweetly to a nurse. Looking for cover she walked down the opposite hallway almost brushing against his shoulder as she turned. She looked back out at the intersection of halls. With his back turned to her she decided to follow him from a safe distance.
Marie decided to not take the chance of him hearing her footsteps, lifting herself slightly from the floor and slowing her breathing down to a minimum airflow.
Unlike her the intruder seemed to know where he was going. Although focused on maintaining her flight she let her mind wander to his appearance. He was tall and lean, younger than she had suspected, perhaps near her age? Most likely French and southern by the way he talked to that nurse, and careful as he opened the door to a room. Marie hid in the corner waiting for the man to come out of the room, suspecting that it was Falco's. Once he took his leave and walked down the hallway and out the exit she floated towards the room.
Entering she opened her eyes in wide shock, darkness enveloped her, and once her hands found the lights only brooms and buckets revealed themselves, not her father.
She felt hands covering her mouth and a strong arm trapping her against another body.
"You're sneaky cheer, but yah breathe too loud."
Why wasn't she absorbing him? A piece of cloth. She frowned breathing in a sharp solution of rohypnol and alcohol , suddenly getting drowsy. The final words lingered in her ears, bitter as the taste of alcohol on her tongue. Chere...
