(Two)
Gambit stepped out of the taxi cab, his bag slung over his shoulder. He shut the car door and stood looking up at the Xavier Mansion for a moment. The cab drove away and he was alone.
He had enjoyed his time off in New Orleans, he truly had. It was almost painful being back here now. The big house before him was a huge reminder of his failure to bring his Kimble home. Here was his pain. He couldn't move his feet.
New Orleans had been a blast. He had stayed away as long as he could, even managing to squeeze in Mardi Gras after all. Really, he had been too concerned about his father to leave him for long. He knew Jean Luc didn't have much time left for this world and Gambit determined to stay by his side as much as possible. He had hardly left his father's rooms, fearful that he had have a heart attack or stroke while he wasn't looking. Jean Luc seemed to appreciate his company and they had spent some time catching up on each other's lives. Of all of Jean Luc's would be sons, Remy was the most attentive. Etienne was around, but Henri and some of the other cousins were conspicuously absent from his side, only calling now and again as if they knew nothing of the seriousness of Jean Luc's condition.
Gambit wasn't about to do the same. He had called the Professor and told him that he would go along with whatever plan the others devised for the Friends of Humanity Rally, but he needed the time away right now. When they required him to actually be there, he would come. Charles understood that Remy needed this break from the X-men and was all too willing to give it to him. The Rally was now only three days away and he was back here again to prepare with the team.
While in New Orleans, Gambit had been unable to locate the mysterious Babette, nor had she called him. When he wasn't spending time with Jean Luc and his Tante, he prowled the streets, the bars, and clubs looking for her, but she had simply vanished. Perhaps her Master had been upset at her sneaking out and had punished her. He hoped not, the thought of her being in pain disturbed him. She would always have a place in his heart, she had burned her way in and would never leave. He still felt obligated to find her, clearly she had information about why Jael was seeking Kimble out and what his real purpose was. Remy didn't know how much she knew, but he needed to know what it was.
Remy had even gone so far as to consult with some of his more questionable contacts for some help in locating her. New Orleans was a big place and the Thieves Guild wasn't the only Guild in operation there. There were other Guilds, most notably the Assassins Guild. They were a crafty bunch and sometimes worked hand in hand with the Thieves. A lot of the Assassins were prostitutes as their marks could be more easily lured this way. Remy's loose and fancy free ways had him mingling among them often and he'd made a few friends.
He went to one of these, a woman by the name of Nancy. She was an accomplished Assassin and also a prostitute, which meant she got around. She went to a lot of the Clubs and bars where a Siskan might attempt to pick up men as Babette seemed to like to do. She was Gambit's best hope for finding the mysterious and elusive Babette. Remy gave Nancy the best description he could of his new friend. When he got around to describing her tattoo, something flickered across Nancy's eyes. When he questioned her about it, she told him some distressing news.
The Assassins Guild's network and information gathering capabilities rivaled that of the Thieves', Nancy was well informed. It seemed that Jael was done playing around with Sabretooth, he wanted his Siskan turned in. He had posted a ten million dollar bounty on Creed's head, it would go active the moment the Friends of Humanity Rally ended. It appeared that Jael was issuing an ultimatum to Creed - deliver Kimble by then or else. The Assassins had caught wind of it because the bounty was good if Creed was brought in either dead or alive. A number of the Assassins felt they were more than up to the job of collecting.
The bounty had also been extended to Kimble. A very clear description of the Siskan had been handed out, including details of his tattoo. Kimble was wanted unharmed and returned to Jael at once. A generous bonus would be paid to anyone who did this, but certain harsh penalties would be cast on anyone who damaged Kimble whether or not it was an accident. The money offered was too good for anyone to pass up and many Assassins were home now, sharpening their knives.
Remy couldn't help but groan inside with impatience. He would do this Rally job with the X-men, help them kick Sabretooth's ass at the Rally, and then he would go back to New Orleans again. Nancy was sure to have information for him on Babette by then. He had played innocent on everything else she had told him of course, fooling no one, but Nancy was a good friend, he could count on her. Babette had nothing to do with Jael and Gambit's money was always good. Remy gave her all of his various phone numbers and she would call him if Babette showed up. Remy couldn't wait to go back and finish this up. Nothing would keep him here in New York after the rally was done, unless of course Kimble showed up.
Get a real idea, he chided himself, but couldn't deny the flicker of hope the thought had given him. Don't even t'ink it, it ain't gonna happen.
He heaved a heavy sigh and managed to take a step towards the house when the front door opened and Molly came out. She coughed her lion's bark at him and eagerly ran out to greet him. She halted at the last moment, checking herself and trying not to be too pushy, but she would never be able to hide her happiness from him. It came at him in a pleasant wave, warming him as her arms came around him. He gave her a squeeze. "Bonjour, my Molly girl. You been good?"
Where's the fun in that? she signed with a laugh.
He laughed and breathed her in, trying to ignore her vibrations of love. An impossible task with his heightened senses. /She's got a crush on you/ Shi'ow-ri whispered, unable to hide a touch of laughter in her voice. /She's such a fine girl, Remy. She'll make a beautiful wife./
It hadn't taken Remy long to grow used to this new voice. They had become fast friends and as time went by, it seemed to him that she had always been there, his secret little helper.
She too young, Remy chided her. She still a girl.
Shi'ow-ri gave him her laughter. /Yes, a girl. For now. But later, a woman./
Don't tempt me, chere. Don't tempt me. Wolvie'd squash dis boy flat if 'e knew what I was t'inkin'.
Molly had a crush on him, no doubt, though she was trying to respect him and hold it back. It wasn't easy. He had been gone almost a month and she had missed him, he had a long stack of E-mails on his father's computer to prove it. She had written to him almost every day once he had sent her the address. Thing was, the feeling was mutual. She was so beautiful to him now, laughing here and tugging him up to the house, being careful not to scratch him with her claws. It pained him that she was so young, still so far from reach.
His time in New Orleans had been good for him. He had done a fine job of overcoming his fear of women, Babette had seen to that. She had provided a temporary cure for that dull craving he had been fighting all this time, but it didn't last. It was back soon after and even now a little worse than it had been before, making him restless and hungry for her again.
He prowled about looking for the mysterious Siskan, but no longer turned down anything of the female persuasion that came his way in the process. Dealing with the beautiful Assassin women only ensured that it would happen, but it had been good for him. He learned to quiet his mind, to not reach out with his power when he was with them and he hadn't lost control, not enough to black out. He had gotten used to the duality that came on him just the same but relaxed and learned to enjoy it, letting it boost his pleasure. Even so, the sex with them wasn't as good without the rush Babette had given him with her power. Being intimate with a Siskan 'gram would always be its own adventure, but at least he could take his pleasure now with anyone he might desire and not be freaked out.
His sexual confidence now restored, a lot of the anger he had been carrying around was gone. He was mellow. The tea Mattie had given him soothed his aching guts and he had no more pain. He stopped smoking and drank less, behaving. He had gained a healthy fifteen pounds over the last month from his Tante's good cooking as well. His fine sense of humor and cocky kid like arrogance had returned, he was happy now and more like his usual self. He was determined not to let himself get that low again. His concern about his father's illness aside, he was overall very much improved.
Shi'ow-ri wasn't done whispering to him. /Molly's so pretty. Let's take her with us when we go back to New Orleans. Imagine her pretty face there, shining all around you./
Yeah, imagine dat face gettin' me into a whole lotta trouble. Gambit don't dare, he really don't. Besides, if we find Babette, don't wanna be explainin' dat to 'er. Forget it.
"Easy, chere," Remy said, dropping his internal conversation to address the girl tugging him along. "Gambit miss you, too. 'Ad no time to watch de X-Files. You gotta bring dis boy up to date on what 'e miss, hien?"
She laughed and released him to speak. He watched her face more than her hands as she began to tell him about the episodes he had missed, seeing her happiness and drinking it up. Her energy and her smile charged him up and made him feel a little giddy. He loved the expressions on her face, the blue of her eyes. She would never be beautiful, but he just didn't care. It was her vitality and inherent happiness he enjoyed. She was a joy to be around, even more so since he'd been gone. He shifted his bag on his shoulder, still smiling as he listened to her, and they walked up to the house.
(break)
Charles Xavier wasted no time in gathering his teams to prepare for the Rally. This would not be a Blue Team exclusive, the threat was much too large. Not even an hour after Gambit arrived, the leader of the X-men convened an emergency meeting to get everyone brought up to speed about the Rally. There was a good sized crowd here in the large War Room, almost everyone from the huge X team was here. Charles actually had about three or four teams active around the world at all times, keeping an eye on all the different mutant factions and their human opposers. Now gathered, there were close to fifty people here, not all of them recognizable to the Cajun thief.
Remy took his seat at the table and the meeting began.
Scott Summers, Charles' second in command, took the podium and addressed the room. He gave everyone a rundown on what had happened during the raid on Jael's lair. It had happened three weeks ago and most of the people here had heard all this before, but Gambit hadn't so Scott took the time to bring the Cajun up to date. Some of Jael's people had been taken into custody during the raid and a chunk of Jael's wealth confiscated. The man himself got away, but the raid wasn't a total bust. They had learned details about Jael's plans for the upcoming Friends of Humanity Rally.
Through its various sources, SHIELD had pieced together that Jael had apparently hired Sabretooth to set up a team to cause some sort of mischief. No one knew what Sabretooth had planned, only that it was sure to be ugly, so now the whole X-men crew was on high alert. Sabretooth had extensive military training and with Jael now backing him, near unlimited resources. Everyone assigned to an X-team would be called out to participate and to provide back up for the SHIELD security forces that had already been assigned to protect the Friends of Humanity speakers and the crowd. Hopefully with the two teams working together, they could stop this thing from becoming a serious disaster.
Most of the rest of the meeting was spent on viewing schematics for Yankee Stadium and working on who was going to cover where. It was tedious, but necessary. Co-ordination was required with this many players on the field, both air and ground positions had to be squared away and the talents spread out where they would be most useful. Once that was set and organized, Scott dismissed most of the group, asking for the Blue Team to remain behind to discuss what might be done about Kimble. It had been an unspoken thing that if Sabretooth might be present at the Rally, Kimble might be there as well. Kimble's personal information was kept a little behind the scenes from the entire X-group as it was, for now, considered mostly a Blue Team matter.
Remy was quiet for most of the meeting, listening to what was being said, and nodding every now and again. When the Blue Team was alone, he raised his hand, asking for Scott's attention.
"Yes, Remy?"
He looked at Logan. "You an' Fallen seen other Guardians when you was at Jael's?"
"That's right," Wolverine answered. He was fully recovered from his burns and never looked better. Planning battles always seemed to make him shine.
"Gambit seen another one, too, In N'Orleans. One wit a Mark."
"Do tell."
Gambit explained that he had come across Babette by accident. He tried to leave out the details of the romping around, but was soon flushing a little and chuckling when asked some rather embarrassing questions by some of his more rambunctious teammates. He rather enjoyed a sharp look of jealousy that crossed Rogue's face, but saw something flicker across Scott's as well, their fearless leader would never approve of his more playful appetites. That cooled him somewhat, bothering him more than he would have liked. He danced away from the sex and moved on to what he had learned.
He downplayed Babette's mind control on him, saying only that she had used her charm power against him to evade his persistent questioning. He did however manage to get her to take his phone number and hopefully she would contact him. Gambit also took this opportunity to announce to the team his plans to return to New Orleans immediately after the Rally. His father was gravely ill and he wanted to continue his pursuit of Babette.
He didn't mention his contact with the Assassins Guild, he doubted his teammates would approve. All he said was that he had some spies out looking for Babette. If she didn't call him on her own to meet her Master, he was going to make it happen on his own, one way or another. He was firm in his belief that her Master had information they needed to fully understand exactly why Jael was seeking Kimble and others of his kind.
"That sounds like a good plan, but I'm hopin' fer better'n that," Wolverine said in his low growl. "Way I see it, if Creed's hidin' Kimble away from Jael and yet he's still pullin' this job, he's gonna stash Kimble somewhere he thinks Jael won't be able to get him. We get Creed, we'll get Kimble. This might be an opportunity we won't want to miss."
"How you know Kimble ain't been turned over?"
" 'Cause word has it that Jael's offerin' ten million fer anyone who turns up Kimble or Creed."
Remy did an excellent act of pretending he didn't know this already. As a thief, he would always be prone to keeping secrets, he didn't want his dealings with the Assassins Guild on record. "Why would 'e do dat if Saby's pullin' dis job fo' 'im?"
Logan laughed. "The bounty ain't active until after the Rally. Creed's been given an ultimatum. Turn Kim over or run."
Remy scowled. "Merde! Den he gonna turn Kim over fo' sure!" (I'd like to t'ank everyone at de Academy fo' dis here award...)
Wolverine snorted derisively. "No he ain't. He just hates that shit. Even if he was considerin' turnin' Kim over — which I doubt if what we know is true - he'd make a point of keepin' Kim late just to thumb his nose at Jael. Creed ain't scared of nobody, least of all terrorists with big fat mouths. Hell, if it came down to it, he'd probably do a real good job of thinnin' Jael's ranks, the guy's so bloody ruthless. He's like a walkin' war machine. It's such a shame he's a total crackhead. We'd probably stand a real good chance of takin' Jael down if Saby was workin' with us instead of the other way around."
"So you still condone murder?" Scott interrupted, crossing his arms in irritation.
"Fer Jael? Absolutely."
"Hopefully that won't be a decision that comes to us to make," the Professor said in an attempt to cool the tempers in this room. The Rally was looking more and more like a big deal and folks here were nervous. No one fancied the idea of trying to prevent something you can't see. No one knew for sure what Sabretooth had planned, only that it was probably going to be something bad. The best they could do was prepare for the worst and hope for the best.