Chapter 1

Anna strained her eyes to keep them from betraying her. However, even after three ventis, her eyelids felt as if they were weighted with lead. The dimness of the room offered no help either. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't missing anything important. After all, it was just a debriefing of a minor case that involved fraud. She didn't even know why her department handled the case. To further complicate her predicament, the room's temperature was set at the perfect setting, just about 70 degrees. It was as if her superiors were welcoming her to take a nap. Suddenly, a swift kick to her shin startled her upright. She glanced over to her partner, Damon Price, who was still staring at the presentation, all the while displaying a crooked grin. She rolled her eyes in irritation, forcing herself to pay attention once and for all.

Anna didn't normally behave in such a manner. She was almost ashamed for the way she was behaving this morning. However, her activities from the previous night had deprived her from some much-needed sleep. As she sat staring at the screen, her mind wandered back and forth between work and the handsome man that was the cause of her insomnia.

Anna relived their night of passion in her mind. Although she and Remy had been spending almost every night together, he still found ways to surprise her when they made love. She closed her eyes for a moment as she pictured the way he touched and teased her. Anna felt a burning sensation in her legs. She thanked the heavens that she wasn't working with the X-Men any longer. The telepaths would have had a field day with her thoughts. She smiled inwardly as she thought of Remy, his hands caressing her body all over. If she concentrated hard enough, she could still feels his strong hands exploring all the areas of her soft pale skin.

"Ahem," she heard as she felt another swift kick to the shin. Her eyes shot open from the pain. Much to her dismay, the lights were all turned on now. Every person in the room was staring at her, some visibly forcing back their laughter. Anna felt the blood rush to her face, waiting in desperation for the attention to be drawn away from her.

"Raven," Ronald Brookes, the supervising agent for FBI branch named Mutant Affairs and Relations, yelled across the room. Anna always thought that they could have put more thought into naming their little slice of justice, but who cared what a former vigilante thought. "If you're done having your little daydream, we've got some pressing matters to discuss."

"I'm sorry. It was a late night," Anna started to explain. She felt the need to somehow save face in front of all her colleagues.

"Don't care," Brookes interrupted. "Moving forward."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Damon chuckle. Now that she was wide-awake, it was her turn to deliver some pain. Anna shifted ever so slightly closer to her partner, just close enough to drive her heel right into the leather of his expensive Italian loafers. She heard Damon fight back the urge to groan out loud. He shot her a look that conveyed that their little war was far from over. Anna merely smiled coyly, shrugging her shoulders as if she were unaware as to what just happened.

Anna had every intent to continue delivering her punishment to Damon until she thought she heard a familiar name. She narrowed her eyebrows, shifting her attention back to Brookes.

"What was that name again?" she spoke, surprising the other agents in the room.

Brookes sighed in frustration. It angered him that one of his best agents had developed a sudden case of ADHD. He repeated himself for her, "LeBeau. Pierre LeBeau. He's a part of a group that the FBI's been investigating for sometime now, known as the Thieves Guild. LeBeau was found dead this morning in a section of New Orleans that had been destroyed by Katrina. Cause of death remains unknown, but the coroner's ruled it suspicious. LeBeau was supposed to meet some of our own. Supposedly something big is going down and soon. He was supposed to fill us in on it."

"Do you think his guild members found out?" one of the agents questioned. If Anna didn't know them herself, she would have thought the same thing. However, she had seen first hand how the Thieves were a family first. Amongst their own, there was an unbreakable and honorable bond. She wondered how Pierre had been related to Remy. In all her years having known Remy, she could not remember ever having met this particular individual.

Anna paid careful attention to the details of the case. She waited anxiously until she could return to Remy and share the information. Although it was against policy to divulge information to outside parties, she knew it was necessary for Remy to be filled in. She all but jumped out of her seat once Brookes dismissed them.

Anna ran to her desk to grab her purse and car keys. She had made it half way down the hall before she felt a strong hand grab her by the elbow.

"Hey, where are you going?" Damon widened his eyes questioningly.

"There's something I need to do," Anna replied. She released herself from his grasp, continuing to head towards the elevators. She pressed the down button and waited impatiently for the car to arrive on the eighteenth floor. "I should be back right after lunch." She smiled hoping that he would leave it at that. She had no such luck.

"You're running home to tell him about this aren't you?" Damon accused her through gritted teeth. He knew the kind of trouble she would get into if anyone found out about this. "Not a good idea, Anna."

"Drop it, Damon." Anna started tapping her foot, glancing at her watch. Quarter past nine. If she were lucky, Remy would still be asleep at her place. She would rush home and break the news to him gently, before anyone from the guild called. She rolled her eyes in relief when the elevator doors finally opened. She stepped in and pressed the button for the lobby.

"Don't do it." Damon looked at her, pleading.

"I said, dropt it," she growled back as the doors shut between them.

Anna was worried to see that Remy had already left her apartment. She raced the five blocks uptown to where Remy had purchased his own townhome. It seemed like a waste of money to buy this large piece of real estate, since he spent every night sleeping with her. A space that large in Manhattan did not come cheap. But, Remy respected the fact that Anna still prided herself in her independence from the X-Men. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin their relationship by suffocating her. She never felt that way of course, and had been thinking of ways to ask him to just move in with her.

Anna fumbled for the set of keys that Remy had given her to his townhouse. Once she entered, she walked upstairs to his bedroom. He had already started to pack. A pile of clothes sat on his bed next to a large duffle bag. It worried her though that he also going to pack his uniform, several decks of cards, his telescopic staff, and knives of varying sizes and shapes.

"Remy," Anna called out into the empty room. All she could hear were the clacking of her heels on the hard wood floors as she looked for him.

"In here, chere," she heard him yell from the extra bedroom that he had converted into den.

"Hey there, hon," Anna greeted. "You planning a trip without me?" She wasn't sure how much he knew, or how much he was willing to share. Remy was always tight-lipped when it came to Guild matters.

"Just some business I need to take care of," Remy replied coolly. "I should be back in a few days." That confirmed it for her, he had no intention of telling her anything.

"Does this have anything to do with Pierre?" It was a bold intrusion into his private life. She knew how much it upset him when she prodded into his personal ties with the Guild, but if the FBI was investigating Pierre's murder, it was her business now too.

He stopped packing his belongings into the large bag and stared Anna straight in the eyes. "What do you know?"

Anna made them some coffee as they discussed the details of the case in his dining room. She explained how Pierre had been willing to meet with the bureau regarding something still unknown. She also told Remy how it wasn't clear how Pierre died. There were no physical signs to signal murder, but the timing of his death was enough for the FBI to view it as a homicide.

"There's no way Pierre was a snitch," Remy stared, brooding darkly into his cup of coffee. Anna could see the wheels grinding overtime. "But, if he were going to meet with the feds, umm, FBI," he corrected himself, "then he felt like there was no one else to turn to, no one he could trust. Not even the Guild."

"Do you think that this was an inside job," Anna spoke, her jaw dropping slightly. She had idealized the bond of the Guild so much, that she never considered it a possibility.

"Chere, with my family," he paused to finish his drink, "anything's possible."

It didn't take much for Anna to convince Brookes to assign her and Damon to the case. All she had to do was explain her past and familiarity with the Thieves Guild. Damon put up no objections to a trip to the Big Easy. It's not like he would have had any choice in the matter. Once he heard the name LeBeau, he knew it was only a matter of time before Anna dragged him down there. He also took it as an opportunity to learn more about Remy. Even though Damon had started casually dating a few different women, he still cared deeply for Anna. He was still waiting for the Cajun to slip up. But, Damon didn't see any point in waiting alone.

Remy, on the other hand, was not too thrilled that Pierre's murder had become Anna and Damon's next case. As much as he appreciated Anna's desire to help in the matter, the FBI's involvement would make it much more difficult for him to conduct his own investigation into the matter. Remy decided to make the best of the situation. He would not have to be away from Anna like he originally thought. They would still be able to spend their nights in the same bed. Remy admitted to himself that he was not looking forward to that part of his trip had he gone alone. Unfortunately, Damon would also be tagging along.

Remy smiled as best as he could when he saw Anna with her partner in tow.