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I'm sorry it's been a couple weeks, rather than the weekly updates I promised. Blame it on work and school. Hopefully it was worth the wait :-)
Chapter 7.
Everyone knew of him. His name was spoken often either in awed tones, or whispered in contempt. Yet few really understood who he was. His public face was that of a commanding man, an intellectual; cold and analytical. In his private life he was, not very different. As a father, he commanded obedience rather than showered affection. Unfortunately, the past could not be undone, but the future was his to shape. Always thinking ahead, he had set plans in motion years ago, and waited. This was his only true passion. Soon, everything would be as it should, and he would finally take his rightful place, answering to no one, leading the world as it needed to be led.
Leaning back thoughtfully, he drummed his fingers slowly on the arm of the chair, the large unusual metal ring glinting as the light struck it. Anna was not aware of it, but she was integral to his plan. He was slightly amused that she thought she could run away from her responsibilities. When the time was right, he would simply send a tracker to retrieve her. At the first chime of the large grandfather clock, he promptly gathered his papers and exited his cavernous office. By the eighth and final chime he had taken his place in the conference room. President Graydon Creed was fastidious about promptness; in his estimation, one of the few commendable characteristics the soon-to-be-outgoing president possessed.
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Rogue took a large sip of lemonade as she surveyed the three men ahead of her. Remy was seated at another table at the open air restaurant, from the little she had gathered, apparently in the process of buying something he considered important enough to risk coming here. Ever the mysterious one, Remy hadn't told her anything. Good for him, he didn't acknowledge her presence. It would be difficult for the others to tell she was watching through her large dark glasses. Straining to hear their conversation, she could only catch bits and pieces, owing to her distance from them and the fact that the conversation was in French. While she happened to be fluent in French, the current speaker tended to slip into undecipherable Cajun dialect. After a few minutes, she gave up, and went back to pretending reading her newspaper. Then, she noticed Remy take an envelope from the pocket of his coat, handing it to the speaker. Aha. She could see the glint of jewels flashing as he opened the packet to appraise its contents. Finally he nodded to the other man, who suddenly produced what had be the tiniest laptop in existence, and started conducting what Rogue assumed to be a transaction to Remy's account. Not long after, Remy received a cell phone call, and with that the meeting was quickly adjourned.
Remy waited until he was sure the others ha left before going over to Rogue, his eyes glowing. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you to wait at the park."
Rogue looked at her plate. "I got hungry." She deliberately took a bite of her spicy shrimp dish to prove her point.
He said something she couldn't understand, although she could gauge its meaning, before taking the chair in front of her. "How did you know where to find me?" His eyes arrowed suspiciously.
"Coincidence?" She suggested, shrugging.
"Look Rogue, I told you for your own good to stay put. You don't know what could have happened. You could have compromised us both –"
"You smug, condescending bastard. I'm not your hostage anymore, and I'm certainly you're your puppy. Sit here, stand here, stay here. I'll do as I damned well please, thank you. Besides, you're the one they're looking for, not me. I was doing you a favour, looking out for you. By the way, you're welcome."
He opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it. She was annoyingly stubborn. He tried again when he thought he could speak calmly. Again, Rogue beat him to the punch.
"As you ought to know by now, I can be very resourceful. Stop treating me like I can't do anything and we'll get along fine."
He clenched his jaw. "So, there's no point in telling you to do anything, since you won't do it anyway."
"I'm not saying that. I would just like to be included in all the decisions, since we are in this together."
To be fair, Rogue wasn't being unreasonable. He just liked doing things his way, and he wasn't thrilled about being questioned, even if she was partially right. Was it just him, or was he spending too much time with Scott. It's exactly the kind of thing of lecture he would have given had he been in this situation. "I'm not used to having a partner, but I'll try not to be …as overbearing in the future."
Rogue eyed him sceptically. "That easy?"
He shrugged. "Don't get too used to it. May I?" He motioned to her dish.
"Go ahead. It's pretty good."
Remy took a bite. "Hmmm, it's all right. I see you have a lot to learn about fine cuisine, chère. Remind me to cook for you sometime."
Rogue laughed. "I suppose you can do better."
"Do you cook at all?"
"When I have to. It may not be the best in 'fine dining', but I make pretty good fried chicken."
"Can't hardly expect better from a river rat. Well, lucky for you, you're looking at one of the best chefs in these parts. Maybe we can make something of you yet."
"As, always, your humble nature astounds me."
Remy shrugged. "Why bother cutting yourself down? There are always plenty of people waiting to do it for you."
"I suppose I should be flattered that the great Remy Lebeau thinks I'm worthy of his time; maybe I would be if not for the fact that you probably offer lots of girls, umm, culinary attention."
"You have a very suspicious mind, chère. That's a very unattractive trait in a woman."
"You never struck me as the type to be particularly picky. So what other traits do you look for in a woman?" Rogue challenged.
Remy thought for a moment before answering. "Probably the same things you look for in a man."
"What a cop out." She tried, and wasn't entirely sure she succeeded at sounding matter-of-fact, rather than like a petulant pre-schooler. "It's a simple question, Cajun."
"There's no such thing as a simple question."
"Fine. Let's just forget it then." Rogue rolled her eyes. She had just officially lost the maturity battle.
"Do you always have to get your way?"
"I don't like what you're insinuating."
Remy threw both hands up. "I'm not insinuating anything. Just asking a simple question."
Rogue made a disgusted sound. "Ok. Fine. Here's a simple question for you. Do you always avoid personal questions? Are you afraid that someone might actually get to know you?"
"I find that funny coming from a woman who's managed to avoid speaking about anything remotely personal since we've met."
Rogue shook her head. "Shouldn't we be leaving now?"
"What? Quitting so soon, chère?"
"You know, you're just too good for me." Rogue's voice was flat.
"Don't be so hard on yourself chère. You know the old saying: practice makes perfect." Remy winked at her in way that suggested he was no longer talking about their verbal sparring.
"You're insufferable. You just dwell in the gutter, don't you?"
"I don't like what you're insinuating." Remy grinned.
Rogue couldn't help laughing at that. "Touché."
"Let's go. We can't have you spend your first trip to New Orleans without getting a tour of the city." Remy grabbed her hand, pulling her down the tree lined avenue.
"Are you insane? There are agents looking for you here." Rogue looked suspiciously around her.
"Well, it shouldn't be so difficult to avoid them since we know who they are; your old pals from Washington."
Rogue's eyes widened. "Pietro's here? You know I didn't tell him. You saw to that." She thought for a moment. "He probably got suspicious when he couldn't get hold of me, after you took my cell phone, and decided to do his own investigating. That would explain how they got here before we did."
"Relax, chère. I wasn't accusing you."
"I just wish I knew what the Brotherhood was up to?" She mumbled under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing." She wished saying it could stop the worried sensation creeping through her.
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Raven always told her to trust her instincts. Rogue's instincts had warned her that was that this little outing would be a bad idea. Why hadn't she listened? Remy would be fine now, if she had just said no.
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Remy had listed out all the sites he thought worth touring, particularly places he enjoyed that he said tourists rarely see. They only saw a handful of them, and even that had been a lot to cram into a few hours, but the time seemed to fly by.
By late afternoon, they had stopped at a little jazz club, at Remy's insistence, to "give her a taste of some real music." He seemed genuinely upset at her limited knowledge of the genre, which made it all the more amusing. There were few patrons, owing to the time, and Rogue loved the ambiance – dark and cozy.
Suddenly, a female voice interrupted them. "Well, if it isn't Remy Lebeau."
Remy looked up at the very well-endowed blond standing by the table. "Allo chère." He rose and kissed her on the cheeks.
"I didn't know you were back in town"
"I'm just passing through."
"Excuse me, I'm Lorraine, and you are?"
Until this point, Rogue sipping her coffee and pretending not to notice the exchange. "Rogue."
"Enchantee, Rogue. Are you Remy's girlfriend? Remy had the good grace to look embarrassed. The woman was aggressively forward.
"A business acquaintance, actually." Rogue said aloofly.
"Ahhh, Remy, we should exchange numbers. We can catch up before you leave." Out of nowhere she had produced a pda.
"Je regrette, mais il faut quitter plus tard dans la soiree. Nous sommes en voyage d'affaires."
Rogue hid her smile in her cup. She almost felt sorry for Lorraine. Her disappointment at being told they were leaving that night was palpable.
"Well, next time then."
"Au revoir, Lorraine."
"I'm sorry about that." Remy sat down and looked across at Rogue.
"Why should you be?" Rogue asked innocently.
"Business aquaintainces? What happened to friends?" He didn't stay apologetic for long Rogue noted.
"Why the last thing on Earth I'd want to do is cramp your style. I was just making sure there was no ambiguity, in case you wanted to take her up on her offer." Rogue replied pleasantly. "Besides, you didn't seem overly concerned about the 'business' tag when you were using it to your advantage."
His brow furrowed in confusion, until he realised. "I wasn't aware you spoke French."
"I'm fluent in three languages, beside English. This chicory coffee is fantastic. I'm glad you made me try it."
Remy search Rogue's face, but if she was upset, she had done a good job of masking it.
After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Remy announced "You ready to go?"
She nodded wordlessly. Remy sighed in frustration as he led her towards the exit.
"Remy, mon cher. The least you could've done was let me know you were in town. Who else would give you the proper welcome you deserve?"
Blocking the way out was another buxom blonde, and three men. "And I thought meeting just one of your old paramours was awkward enough." Rogue said quietly.
Remy instinctively stepped in front of Rogue. "Belladonna. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
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Rogue had to get through to someone in the guild. Pulling Remy's phone from his coat, Rogue scrolled through the directory until she found one of the names he had mentioned earlier. Henri. His brother. The number was ringing without an answer. She was trying to think of alternatives to carrying him to the hospital, as they would have to report admitting and treating a mutant. Finally, she heard the response on the other end.
She waited anxiously by an unconscious Remy for Henri to arrive. Time was running out. They had better get here soon.
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Translation:
I'm sorry, but we're leaving later this evening. This was just a quick business trip."
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a/n: Sorry about leavingit here. What happened? Will Remy live? What would be the fun if you knew everything now? All will be revealed, next chapter.