Vacation Encounters
"Henri?" Psyc jumped when Lapin spoke suddenly. "Wha' room do yo' wan' me t' pu' dem in? Tu père woul' throw a fit i' we pu' dem in wid Remy."
Henri sighed, "Jus' pu' dem in one o' de guest rooms, Lapin. An' discret! We don' wan' t' wake de petit fills."
"Désolé," Lapin stage whispered back and turned to Psyc. "Righ' dis way mademoiselle," he told her with a grin.
Guess it does run in the family, she thought and smiled back.
When they reached the room, and she lay Sherry down on the bed, Lapin spoke quietly, "Oncle Jean-Luc will pro'ly move yo' t'morrow mais dis should do fo' t'night."
"Thank you," Psyc said, smiling at his slight rambling. "You're name's Lapin, right?"
"Oui an' yo's i'?"
"I'm Psyc," she said, as she offered her hand and was only slightly surprised when he kissed it instead of shaking it. Lapin left after that and Psyc lay down next to Sherry, falling asleep almost instantly.
Remy and Henri were sitting in the den when Lapin came in.
"Dey're both asleep," he informed them.
"S', Remy, 'ow lon' yo' goin' t' be 'ere dis time?" Henri asked nonchalantly.
"On'y a week," Remy told him. "'s 'winter break' at l'ecole."
"Yo' ready to' go an' see Oncle Jean-Luc?" Lapin asked.
"Non," Remy said, standing, "mais Remy migh' as well ge' i' ovah wid."
"Sir!"
The sergeant's shout broke into General Nick Fury's thoughts. Fury strode across the gently vibrating floor of the helli-carrier to stand behind the speaker and view the screen.
"Report!" he said, realizing it was the man in charge of keeping tabs on Larla-Rose.
"Sir, she left the school. The boy and little girl are with her, the other girl is not."
"Where is she?"
"New Orleans, sir."
"Get me the background on whoever, if anyone, they are staying with."
"Already done, sir," the sergeant said, pulling up the files on-screen and read, "the boy is the younger son of Jean-Luc LeBeau, adopted, and the family has lived in the same house for years. They have more money than Bill Gates and the house is more a mansion than anything else. Also, and this might interest you, they are the head family of the Thieves Guild. I believe you have had numerous dealings with Jean-Luc in the past."
Fury nodded. "What the hell is she doing there?"
"As I stated sir, the boy is his adopted son. She seems to have gone with him, and, if you recall, sir, it was at the upcoming Mardi-gras festival that we lost John and his wife seven years ago."
"Yes, I remember. Notify me when she leaves. I believe this trip could be just the opportunity we've been waiting for."
Remy stormed into his own room after over an hour in his father's study.
Well, dat coulda gone worse, mais i' coulda gone a lo' betta, too.
He closed the door, flipped the lock, dropped his duffle in the desk chair and fell forward onto his bed.
"Mon dieu," he muttered into his pillow. "Why Remy evah decide to come back 'ere?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the past hour away. After a moment he smiled. Whether he had meant to or not, Lapin had put Psyc and Sherry in the room right next to his. He could feel the contentment they emanated and it helped him calm down. He rolled over and put his hands behind his head staring in the dark up at the ceiling.
Alrigh', he admitted to himself, Remy came back 'cause dey're 'is family. Mais why di' I brin' de girls? Dey woulda been fine wid e'ryone dat stayed.
Forcing himself to be brutally honest with himself, Remy admitted one last thing before he allowed himself to fall asleep.
Remy, yo' foo', 'ow yo' gon' t' keep dem safe betta den de entire team?
Psyc woke gradually. She felt the warm body snuggled next to hers and smiled, knowing it was Sherry. It took her a moment to remember where she was, looking over at the clock she saw it was 10:30.
Well, I slept in, she thought.
She lay still for a moment trying to figure out why she had woken up. It didn't take long; she heard another quiet knock at the door.
Oh, that's why.
Quietly and gently, she tucked Remy the panther under Sherry's arm. She opened the door and there stood the boy from last night, Lapin, if she remembered correctly. He held his finger to his lips and motioned to Sherry. Psyc took the hint and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her.
"Désolé," Lapin said as soon as the door was closed. "I di'n' wan' t' wa'e de petit fills."
"That's okay," Psyc assured him. "After all, it's your house. But what did you want me for?"
"Tante Mattie wan's t' see yo',"
"Who?"
Lapin just smiled and led her down the hall and stairs. Finally she asked where Remy was.
"'e's still sleepin'," Lapin told her. "'e wa' up a lo' latta den yo' las' nigh'. 'e'll pro'ly ge' up 'bout noon."
"Oh," Psyc said dully as she was led into the kitchen. In front of the stove stood a woman Psyc had seen before but never expected to see again.
"Bonjour chille," Mattie said with a smile. "I see yo' made a full recovery."
"Yes," Psyc told her, not noticing Lapin had left. "And thank you. If not for you, I would probably still be in that coma."
"Non chille, o' woul' 'ave woken up 'ventually."
Psyc sat in silence for a moment before asking if she could be of any assistance with the cooking.
"I don't really know much more than the basics, but I am good at following directions."
Mattie smiled gently, "Alrigh' chille, yo' c'n do de choppin' an' I'll do de actual cookin'."
Half an hour later, while Psyc was stirring the pot and Mattie was frying meat for lunch, Remy wandered in with Sherry.
"Mornin'," he said with a grin.
"Mornin' nothing," Psyc told him returning his smile, "it's afternoon."
"Psyc," Sherry said excitedly, "I got to wander around the house! It's bigger then the school!"
"Really?" Psyc asked, continuing to stir.
"Yeah, I was looking for you or Remy," Sherry told her. "Finally Henri found me and showed me which room was Remy's. It was locked."
Psyc noticed Mattie and Remy both smiled and tried to hide it.
Sherry continued, "I got to do my trick on the door and it worked!"
"Don' know why Remy bothered wid de lock," he said, "mais 'e di'n' t'ink dat Sherry woul' be de one t' come in an' jump on 'is bed."
Everyone laughed.
Psyc stood outside the den. She had spent the past half hour looking for Remy and hadn't found him. Instead she knocked and interrupted Henri and Sherry.
"Um… Henri?" she asked reluctantly. "I'm gonna go for a walk."
"D'accord, d' yo' wan' me t' sen' Pierre wid yo'?"
"No, I know where I'm going," she assured him. "But are you okay with Sherry until Remy makes himself apparent?"
"Oui. Mercy will be 'ere soon, don' worry, we'll kee' 'er busy."
"Thanks," Psyc said, then smiled and hugged Sherry. "I'll be back soon."
If she had been paying a little more attention, Psyc might have noticed she was being followed, but her mind was elsewhere as she walked down the drive, out the gate, and down the street. She wasn't sure why she felt she had to do this, but she did. She paused on the outside of the cemetery gate.
Well, you came this far, you might as well get this over with, she told herself.
She wandered between the graves until she found what she was looking for. She had watched from a distance as the burial took place, and now, looking at the pedestal topped with an angel folding it's wings around itself and bowing it's head, she fell to her knees and the tears that had failed to fall all those years ago, finally did so.
Remy watched Psyc stop at a grave, saw her fall to her knees, and saw her shoulders begin to shake with silent tears. He felt her sorrow as it flowed out away from her as if it were his own. He went forward and gently took her in his arms. He looked at the headstone and read aloud:
"I' lovin' mem'ry o' de Datarazanoff family,
Husban', wife, an' daughta
Respected by mos',
Missed by all."
After a moment, he asked, "Lar'a…who were dey?"
Instead of answering, she leaned into him and hid her face in his shoulder as if to keep him from seeing any more of her tears. Soon the shaking stopped and along with it the tears. Psyc pulled away and sat staring at the grave.
"We used to come here when dad didn't have to work," she began quietly and without preamble. "It was always more of a vacation, and that's what we treated it like. Dad would come home with the tickets and I'd get so excited. I loved it here. Seven years ago we came down just in time for the Mardi-Gras festival."
She paused and Remy wondered why she was telling him about her family as they sat in the cemetery.
"We'd only been here for two days when it happened. Someone planted a bomb in our house. My mom had stayed home; she didn't feel to well, and dad took me to the festival. He went back to check on her and let me stay to watch the parade. All I heard was the explosion. I don't know what made me do it, but I 'ran'; I hid. I watched the ceremony from a distance. Eventually I guess they added me to the headstone. When it was first put up it just said 'husband, wife'. This is the first time I've been back since."
"Why would' someone plan' a bomb in yo' house?" Remy asked, trying to keep his voice steady. All of New Orleans remembered that explosion.
"Because of my dad. He…he made a lot of enemies."
"Wha' di' 'e do? Wa' 'e a lawyer or somet'in'?"
"Worse. He was the top agent in S.H.I.E.L.D., bested only by General Nick Fury himself. Guess it wasn't good enough, huh?"
Finally she looked back at him. There wasn't anything he could say, there was always someone out there that was better.
"C'mon," he said as last standing and offering his hand to help her up. "Le's ge' back t' de 'ouse. No tellin' wha' Henri taugh' Sherry dis time."
Psyc laughed, "Your family is really something else," she told him.
"An' yo' don' know de half o' i'," he muttered.
"I' she yo' lil' sister?" Mercy asked Psyc as Remy and Henri watched Sherry try to unlock a combination lock. Remy and Psyc looked at each other.
"Um…not exactly," Psyc said. "She's um…" she trailed off.
"She's no' relate' t' Lar'a," Remy ignored the foot stomped down on his own when he used her real name. "She' 'n orphan, we jus' ta'e care o' 'er."
"She latched on to us to replace her real parents," Psyc explained. "So I don't know what she'd be called in relation to me."
"What do yo' pa'ents t'ink 'bout dis?" Henri asked.
"They don't," Psyc answered.
"Dey don'' care dat yo' takin' care o' 'er?"
"They don't know," Psyc said, her voice void of feeling. "For the past seven years all they have known is the dirt above their heads."
Henri and Mercy traded a glance and decided to drop it. Instead Henri asked if the were going to the bayou dance that night. Remy shrugged and glanced at Psyc, who in turn glanced at Sherry.
"Don' worry," Mercy assured them. "We'll watch 'er. An' I won' le' our junior professor teach 'er anyt'in' else dat migh' ge' 'er in trou'le a' de school."
"Hey!" Henri countered. "I wa' jus' teachn' 'er de basics. Dere not'in' wron' wid dat an' yo' nevah know when i' woul' be useful."
"Jus' don' teach 'er anyt'in' else," Remy told his brother. "She ain't in an' she ain't goin' t' be eider."
"Remy," Henri frowned, "yo' ma'e de family soun' li'e a bad t'ing."
"Non, 's no' bad, mais, she still no' getting' involved, neit'er o' dem are."
He stood and held out his hand to Psyc smiling as he helped her up.
"Yo' wan' t' see wha' a real par'y is?" he asked her.
Grinning back, Psyc shrugged off the comments she had just heard, he'd probably explain later.
"I'm always ready for a party!" she told him. "How long do I have to get ready?"
Mercy laughed. "I' don' star' fo' another trois hours."
Remy was back in the den when Psyc came down. He had showered and changed, now he stood leaning on the fireplace mantle.
"So…where is the party?" Psyc asked.
"'s bein' held in de 'city hall'," Remy said turning.
She is definitely gon' t' ge' some 'ttention, he thought, looking her up and down.
She wore a strapless, sunset colored dress that lay over her like paint and stopped just above mid thigh. With it she wore black leather boots that zipped and came neatly to her knee, leaving a nice expanse of leg showing between the two. As always she had skipped make-up, but her black hair had been crimped and rippled down her back like a waterfall with her red bangs in ringlets that framed her face.
"Am I over dressed?" she asked noting his black slacks and T-shirt with his usual brown trench coat thrown over.
"Non," Remy assured her. "Remy just don' ge' dressed up." After a moment a thought struck him and he asked, "C'n yo' ride a bike in dat?"
"Yeah, I'll just go 'side saddle'. It's no prob."
Just as she finished assuring Remy, she could ride, Lapin called down the hall, "Remy! Are yo' comin' or no'?"
He entered the room and stopped.
"Oui, we're comin'," Remy motioned for Psyc to go first and he and Lapin followed.
"Does she dresse li'e dat of'en?" Lapin asked quietly to his cousin.
"Non, an' i's a goo' t'ing too," Remy said, shaking his head.
"Oui," Lapin agreed. "Or yo' woul' nevah fin' an end t' de fights."
When they got to the 'city hall', Remy and Lapin were bombarded by greetings.
"Wow," Psyc commented. "Everyone knows you guys."
"Yeah," Remy laughed, "an' we know mos' o' dem too."
The music that flowed out the door was loud and pounding, with a fast beat. The floor was already packed even though the dance had barely begun. Remy smiled as Psyc laughed and disappeared onto the dance floor.
"Remy LeBeau," a voice called from behind him. "'s 'bout time yo' came back."
"Bonjour, Belladonna," Remy said without turning.
"Where yo' been?" she asked. "Yo' been gone fo' 'most two years."
"Remy been around," he told her. "Why yo' care?"
Finally, he turned around and faced her. Belladonna Boudreaux wore a black cat suit with flames running up the sides and boots similar to Psyc's. Her blond hair had been curled and there was a sparkle in her eyes.
"C'mon, de second heir to de Thieves Guild disappears an' I'm no' 'posed t' care?"
"'cordin' t' mos' traditions, Remy shoul' be starin' a' yo' knife righ' 'bout now," he pointed out with a grin.
"Since when d' yo' care 'bout de rules?"
Before she could answer Lapin called from the dance floor, "Remy, yo' plan on stayin' in de shadows all nigh'?"
Remy and Belle laughed.
After a while, she asked, "S' who's de girl dat came wid yo' an' Lapin?"
"She a frien' from de school."
Belle laughed, "When wa' de las' time yo' were in school?"
"Two days ago," Remy told her before disappearing onto the dance floor.
It wasn't hard to find Psyc. She was in the middle of a large group containing Pierre and, to Remy's surprise, Pierre. Remy integrated himself into the group easily.
"When did yo' ge' back," he asked Pierre. "Henri said yo' were ou' on business."
"Oui," Pierre told him with a grin, "mais, I decided t' stop be de party 'fore goin' back t' de 'ouse."
"Are yo' tellin' me yo' 'aven't e'en taken de stuff back t' de 'ouse?"
"Don' worry s' much," Pierre told him, "de car's locked."
"Pierre, yo' know 's well 's me dat does words mean rien round 'ere."
"Mon dieu, Remy, yo' back fo' un day an' yo' 'ready lecturin' 'bou' de guild rules!"
Remy opened his mouth to respond when a laughing, dancing Psyc stepped between them and grabbed his hands.
"Why so serious Remy? I thought you were going to show me what a real party is? This is supposed to be fun and I don't have to read your mind to tell you haven't started with the fun yet."
Remy couldn't help but smile and laugh, "Lar'a yo' couldn' read Remy's min' i' yo' wanted t'."
"That," she told him, "is not the point. The point is you," and she poked him in the chest, "haven't started with the fun yet."
"Je suis désolé, chèrie," he joked, "mais Remy'll fix dat in un moment."
Psyc smiled and stepped out of the way as Pierre asked, "I' she really stayin' a' de 'ouse?"
"Oui, mais Remy ain't s' sure dat wa' a bien idea now."
"Looks li'e Bella Donna's go' some competition," Lapin piped in. "Half de people 'ere can' d'cide who t' pay 'ttention t'."
Remy groaned inwardly. He had noticed the same thing.
's gonna be a lon' nigh'.
It was because of that thought that he was surprised when less than fifteen minutes latter, he found the two girls laughing together.
Well, leas' dey ain't fightin'.
"Yo' kiddin'!" Lapin said in disbelief.
It was a quarter to twelve and the party was still going strong. Remy, Psyc, Belle, Pierre, and Lapin had claimed a table in the corner and had been exchanging stories for about half and hour.
"'e blew in yo' balcony doors?" he continued.
"Yeah," Psyc told them, "then he just stood there with his hair and coat blowin' in the wind."
"Wha' wa' s' intrestin' in dere, Remy?" Belle asked laughing.
"Rien," Remy told her. "Wa' jus' Lar'a an' Jazz dancin' wid Sherry."
"That's the seven year old," Psyc put in.
"S' yo' jus' blew yo' way int' 'er room fo' no reason?" Pierre asked.
"Non," Remy assured his cousin, "Remy 'ad intended to ta'e Sherry wid 'im."
"And you shoulda seen the way he froze when Jazz started to circle him," Psyc laughed.
"Yo' woul' freeze t' i' dat femme wa' lookin' a' yo' li'e she wa' gon' t' bite yo'."
Psyc checked her watch and sobered instantly.
"Shit!" she said. "It's a quarter past twelve!"
"S'?" her four comrades asked in unison.
"Jean-Luc is gonna kill us!" she said starting to get up.
Laughing, Remy put a restraining hand on her shoulder.
"Yo' go' a lo' t' learn 'bou' dis city an' Remy's family."
They finally headed back to the house at about 3:30. By the time they got there, Psyc was more than half asleep and simply leaning on Remy. Her arms, while still around his waist, would have done nothing to prevent her from falling. Remy parked the bike and dismounted. Psyc tried to follow but her legs wouldn't seem to hold her. Remy caught her arm before she could fall and laughed softly.
"M'be Remy shoulda brough' yo' back de firs' time yo' said somet'in'."
After a few paces it became obvious her motor functions were shot, so Remy simply picked her up. At first she objected, but she quickly gave up and simply leaned into him. She was asleep by the time they got to her room. He put her gently in the bed and Sherry automatically snuggled closer to her.
Now dat, Remy thought, i' a Kodak moment.
He left the room, closing the door quietly.
Back in his room, Remy sat in an over-stuffed armchair in front of the fireplace. His thoughts traveled back over the past few hours and he grinned. It had been nice to see Psyc just have a good time, not worry about anything. His smile faded a little when it occurred to him that it didn't happen very often. He fell asleep in the chair, still wondering what it was that kept the shadows on her face.
The next day, Psyc once again found herself in the kitchen only this time it was full to bursting with people and laughter. Psyc helped Mercy mix what had to be the most cake mix she had ever seen, and Sherry sat at the only clean spot in the huge kitchen drawing.
"Look!" Sherry said just as the finished mixing the batter. She held up what she had been working on. It was a giant rolling thundercloud. "I made it for 'Ro."
Psyc smiled, looking at the storm picture, "I'm sure Ororo would love it."
"What do you think, Mercy?" Sherry asked eagerly.
"C'est tres bien, petite," Mercy told her, "mais I don' know de person yo' givin' i' t'."
"Ya, yo do," Sherry insisted, drawing puzzled looks from both of them. "I heard 'Ro and Remy talking. She used to live here too and was a temporary part of your family."
"Yo' mean Ororo Munroe?" Mercy asked, shocked.
"Yep!" Sherry said with a grin.
"Hey, Mercy, heads up!" someone yelled from the other side of the room. Mercy caught the bottle without turning. "Yo' see 'Ro?" she asked, still not quite able to believe it.
"Yeah," Psyc told her, "all the time. She goes to school with me an' Remy."
The cooking was called to a halt at a quarter to eight. Remy and Psyc tucked Sherry in bed and left the room quietly.
"I think I'm gonna take a walk," she told Remy when he asked what she had planned for the rest of the night.
"Lar'a…" Remy began.
"Don't worry, I'm not going back," she assured him. "I just wanna get out in the night. It's nice here, not cold like at the school."
Remy laughed, "O' course i's not col'. We in de south, i' nevah co' 'ere." Then he grew sober, "Jus' b' careful," he warned.
"Don't worry," Psyc laughed, "I'm a big girl. I tie my own shoes and everything." She grinned and waved, heading toward the door.
"Oui," he told her, knowing she wouldn't hear. "Remy know dat, mais yo' don' know jus' 'ow dang'rous i' is fo' a gues' o' dis 'ouse t' go walkin' 'round 'lone." He paused for just a moment more, then, making sure all the pockets held at least one deck of cards, grabbed his trench coat and followed. He kept back as he had when she went to the cemetery. He was slightly surprised she didn't realize he was there, but not many caught the second heir to the Thieves' Guild when he didn't want them to. She didn't go to the city, but the trees along the river's edge. She stopped in a pool of moonlight and Remy faded into the shadows. He watched her close her eyes and turn her face toward the sky, a slight smile on her lips and was just starting to relax. Remy thought that maybe he was wrong when he was proven right. Two figures stepped out of the shadows. It was too dark to seem them clearly, the moon had disappeared behind the clouds, but he knew who they were all the same.
"Wha' d' yo' know," one of them said. "S' i' wasn't jus' de clothes, party attitude and amount of alcohol consumed dat made 'er look good." His companion laughed, and Remy fumed. Psyc slowly lowered her face and coolly met their eyes. "Yo' no' scared?" he asked.
"No Datarazanoff is afraid of a couple of thugs in the night."
"De Datarazanoffs 'ave been dead for seven years," Gris-Gris laughed. "So say de papers, so say de 'ead stone."
Remy felt more than saw Psyc's smirk.
Crazy femme, he thought, she 'as no idea wha' she' facin'.
"So, yo' de LeBeau's new recruit," Julien said, once again taking the lead. "Well, yo' jus' made a bi' mistake." A look of confused surprise crossed Psyc's face and Remy stepped out of the shadows.
"Leave 'er 'lone, Julien," Remy said, his eyes glowing slightly and giving away the anger his calm voice did not. "Yo' go' no business messin' wid neutrals."
"Neutral?" Gris-Gris laughed unbelievingly. "I' she's a neutral, den 'm de Queen o' Spain."
"Well, where yo' dress, yo' highness? She ain't par' o' de family an' ne'er will be."
"Den yo' realy 'ave no 'entions towards 'er?" Julien asked. "Good. Belle seemed t' ge' 'lon' wid 'er pre'y good…m'be we coul' brin' 'er int' de fol'."
Psyc put the mental equivalent of a restraining hand on Remy's shoulder when he would have lunged forward.
"He's baiting you," she told him calmly. "Don't let him get the better of you."
Remy started with no outward sign. No one should have been able to get in his mind like that.
"We gon' talk 'bout 'ow yo' c'n d' dat la'er," he told her. "Righ' now jus' keep quie' an' ignore anyt'ing dat sound strange."
"Right…" Psyc laughed. "That'll happen."
"Lar'a, please…fo' once jus' listen t' me," Remy pleaded.
"Oh, alright," she conceded, "but don't expect me to actually forget anything…and if things heat up, you know I'm jumping in."
"From de pan t' de flames," he told her with a slight laugh, and then returned his attention to the assassins.
"Non, Julien," Remy told him. "Remy tol' yo' she no' go' t' be par' o' dis an' 'e mean' i'."
"T' bad," Julien smirked, "'cause she's goin' back wid us… o' she ain' goin' back a' all." Remy didn't need Psyc to tell him Julien was still egging him on, but he also knew he had no intention of letting them leave without a fight.
"Lar'a…" he said, coming to stand at her side.
"I know you aren't telling me to get out of her," she interrupted, "because you know I'm not going to leave you all the fun."
"Yo' don' know wha' yo' gettin' int'," Remy told her.
"Why don' yo' fill 'er in," Gris-Gris suggested. "See 'ow lon' she gon' stay wid yo' knowin' dat yo' de second heir t'…"
"Shut-up, Gris-Gris," Remy said, his eyes sparking once again, "o' Remy gon' t' ma'e yo'."
"Why don' de bot' o' yo' shut i' an' le' de testosterone level drop back t' normal 'fore I go ge' mon pére t' separate yo'." Belladonna stepped forward. "Julien, yo' know betta den t' mess wid neutrals. An' Gris-Gris, yo' know betta den t' go flappin' yo' lips li'e dat."
The look on her face told them all this conversation was over, and the tension told them it had been a close one. Julien and Gris-Gris threw one last look at Belle, then left.
"Merci, Belle," Remy said, "bu'…"
"I know," Belle said, "yo' coul' a ta'en dem. Mon dieu, Remy, yo' may b' used t' figh's li'e dis, bu' is Psyc?"
For the millionth time that night, Remy caught the odd look Belle gave Psyc.
"Sometime Remy wonders," he muttered.
After the encounter, Remy didn't bother to hide, he just walked beside Psyc. Her mind wandered and she thought bout what she had heard. Not a lot of it made sense, and she respected Remy too much to actually go in his mind to find the answers. She was still stuck on the fact that the others had known her last name and had laughed at the fact that they were all dead.
"Remy," she said suddenly. "What was that all about? I mean, I know some things…"
Remy gently placed his hand over her mouth.
"Don' worry 'bout i'," he told her. "'s jus' a feud dat go' back quite a few years."
Psyc let it drop and fell back into step with Remy.
"Yo' know where yo goin', chérie?" he asked after a moment.
"Not really…just wandering."
"Well den, loo' 'head." Psyc looked up and saw the cemetery. "Remy though' yo' weren' gon' come 'ere."
"I wasn't…" she said stopping. "We're leaving in the morning, right?"
"Oui…" Remy answered.
"I…I'm gonna go back, just for a few minutes. I'll meet you back at the house."
"Lar'a, Remy don' t'ink dis such a goo' idea."
"Please Remy? I…I just need a few minutes… to say good-bye one last time."
"Alrigh'," Remy agreed reluctantly, "mais i' yo' no' back in half an' hour, Remy gon' ge' mad… den 'e gon come ge' yo'."
"Agreed," Psyc said and they parted ways.
Psyc hadn't been at the grave five minutes when a twig snapped behind her.
"What do you want, Uncle Nick?" she asked without turning.
"Is it a crime now to visit the grave of an old friend?"
"Don't lie to me and don't beat around the bush. What do you want?"
"Alright, I'll be brief then, Larla-Rose." Psyc flinched inwardly at the way he said her name, in the command voice she had heard used all too many times on his troops. She didn't have to read his mind to know what was coming. "We need you to come and work for us. I meant what was said at the school. You'd make one hell of an agent."
"You forgot on thing," she told him, with ice in her voice and eyes. "I know what happens to people that work for you, remember? I heard the explosion. I saw the results."
"Give me ten minutes to explain, then you decide and you never have to see me again."
"Why do I not believe you? You've got five before I turn and walk away."
"A terrorist named Eric Lehnsherr, calls himself Magneto, has set up some sort of training base. We need you and your friends, to infiltrate and bring back information."
"What aren't you telling me? Why us?"
"He only takes in mutants. He's had encounters with the X-Men before, but being new to the group, he doesn't know about you. Plus I know I can trust you to be loyal and lead the others. To get them in and out safely."
Psyc paused for a moment. "And what if I say no? No, I won't put my friends in danger. No, I won't lead them to the lion's den just so they can be devoured alive. What then, Uncle Nick? What if I say no?"
Please reveiw. Any comments welcome.