Chapter Fifty-Four:


"If we come in from dis direction... Emil, lemme see yo' pen fo' a minute."

"Ici," Emil said, tossing his pen in Remy's direction without looking up from the blueprints he and Theo were studying.

"T'anks," Remy replied, turning back to the map he had spread out on the table. "Now, see if we split up here an' den move in on de barge from dese four différent angles," he traced the intended path with the pen he'd borrowed, coming to a stop at the location of their target. "Den we can catch de guards by surprise. While one team deals wit' any resistance dat dey might put up, de ot'ers can go in an' retrieve de shipment."

Lucas sat back in his chair, nodding thoughtfully as he considered the plan. "I like it," he said at last. "It makes sense, and it'll lower our chances of failure."

"Us? Fail?" Henri snorted indignantly. "Y' fo'get who yo' talkin' t', mon ami."

Ignoring his remark, Lucas stood and moved across the room to open the mini-fridge along the wall and retrieve two cans of soda. "As long as Theo and Emil can get us an easy way in," he said, returning to his seat and handing one of the cans to Remy. "I think we should move on this plan."

"Boys?" Henri asked. "What y' got fo' us?"

"Some good, some bad," Theo replied, turning in his seat to face them. "De records show dat it's gon' be a fairly quiet night down at de docks, not much activity goin' on an' only a few shipments comin' in."

"I sense a but comin'..." Henri groaned.

"But dere are trois times de normal number o' guards signed up t' work dat night," Theo said grimly.

"Which means dat eit'er de collector is paranoid," Emil added.

"Or dey t'ink dat we've already picked up on dis one," Remy concluded with a curse, kicking the table leg in frustration. "Dat's jus' great."

"It's still possible to complete the job," Lucas reminded him calmly.

"Oui," Remy sighed, rubbing his chin, which bore stubble attesting to the fact that it had been several days since he last shaved. Lucas wondered if he had just been too busy in the past few days to shave it, or if Remy was thinking about growing it out.

I wonder what Marie will think of that if he does, he mused to himself. With all the teasing Remy had directed at Emil when the younger thief grew out his goatee, Lucas suspected that Rogue would be more than happy to get payback in Emil's name.

"If we jus' increase the size o' de operation a li'l, t'ings will work out jus' fine," Henri insisted. "De cinq o' us, plus Claude an' Tessa makes sept. We can pick up cinq more t' make it an' even douze. Dat way it be groups o' trios when we split up."

"The question, then," Lucas observed. "Is who the other five should be."

"Ooh, I vote fo' Zoe," Emil suggested eagerly, a broad grin touching his lips. "She's smart an' t'inks fast, plus she's quick on her feet."

"I suppose dat yo' eagerness t' bring her along don' have a t'ing t' do wit' de fact dat she's attrayant?" Remy asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow in challenge as he opened his soda and took a long gulp of it before setting the can down on the table.

"Non, o' course not," Emil shook his head. "But if she happens t' be nice t' look at..." he trailed off, a smirk crossing his lips. "Den dat's a bonus, non?"

A collective groan went through the room and Henri gave Lucas a pleading look. Nodding, he reached over and smacked Emil in the back of the head, slightly harder than necessary. "Merci, Lucas," Henri said. "Now den, can we get back de matter at hand? Emil's hormones may be doin' de t'inkin' fo' him, but I t'ink Zoe might be a good idea. She's good in a fight an' her gymnastics has paid off more dan once."

"Oui," Theo nodded. "Zoe's in."

Emil sat back in his chair, grinning in satisfaction. Lucas shook his head, wondering how long it would take for Zoe to get sick of Emil's flirting and deliver a right hook to the Cajun thief's jaw. Zoe Ishihara wasn't exactly known for her patience.

"What 'bout Pierre?" Theo offered, though he seemed a little reserved in the idea.

"Too reckless," Remy shook his head at once, and Lucas was inclined to agree. The last time he had done a heist with Pierre Renoir, the overzealous thief had nearly gotten them caught when he just had to snatch an ivory statuette that wasn't on their itinerary.

"Christophe?" Lucas inquired, and Henri paused for a moment before nodding. Though on the quiet side, Christophe Laferriere was serious and dedicated. He never questioned orders, and was able to adapt quickly to just about any situation. If something happened to change the plan, Christophe would not only be able to react fast, but take charge of his trio.

"How 'bout Laurent?" a new voice asked, and they all looked up to see Jean-Luc standing in the doorway, a newspaper dangling from his hand. "He's been itchin' fo' an assignment since he got back from London last week."

"Would be nice t' have some brute force wit' us, in case anyt'ing goes wrong," Henri admitted.

Remy shrugged. "Marie could do it jus' as easily. She's stronger dan Laurent, an' she's been bored wit'out anyt'ing t' challenge her powers lately."

Lucas smiled to himself, pleased with how far Remy had come over the past few years. The first time Rogue had been suggested for a mission, Remy had protested it vehemently, but two years of marriage had done wonders for them both. While Rogue didn't participate in jobs that often, when she was asked she agreed quickly and Remy no longer objected. She had proven herself to be quite capable as a thief.

Besides, Mercy hadn't been on active duty since Jacques was born, so having Rogue on hand to fill Mercy's normal role was a blessing.

"Take dem both," Jean-Luc advised, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. "Y' can' have enough muscle on a job like dis."

"If Marie goes, den we jus' need one more," Theo said, tapping his pencil on the table absently.

Emil smirked. "If Marie comes, den bring ol' Edmond along."

A small smirk tugged its way onto Lucas' lips, as well, recalling the other day when Edmond had made the terrible mistake of making a rather sexist remark in Rogue's presence. Needless to say, he'd been sporting an ice-pack over his jaw ever since.

"Don' know if dat's such a good idea," Remy said with a frown.

"Aww, c'mon, homme, what's de worst dat could happen?" Emil asked.

"Edmond could say somet'ing stupid again, an' Marie eit'er slams him in t' a bulkhead, drawin' attention t' us, or she throws him overboard an' we loose a good t'ief," Remy said evenly, and Lucas wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"Besides dat," Emil waved dismissively, not impressed in the least.

Remy opened his mouth, but any reply he was about to make was forgotten when the doors suddenly burst open and Mercy LeBeau rushed into the room, face flushed and breathing hard. "Mercy?" Henri asked, equally confused and worried. "What are y' doin' back? What happened?"

Lucas frowned, observing the panicked edge to her breathing, the nervous hitch to her voice when she spoke. Whatever had sent her running back to the estate, it was something serious.

"Trouble," she gasped out, and the men all stiffened in their seats. "Down at de café on Decatur Street. Dere was some mutant causin' a ruckus. Marie an' Tessa, dey went t' go stop him."

"Him?" Remy asked, leaning forward urgently. "Mercy, did y' see dis mutant? What did he look like?"

"Big fella," Mercy said, lowering herself into the seat Emil vacated for her. "Dressed in dis funny red outfit, wit' some kind o' red bowl on his head, wearin' it like a helmet."

"What was dis guy doin'? Henri asked his wife, but it was Remy that Lucas watched. The younger LeBeau brother had sat back in his chair, a frown on his face, brows furrowed in concentration. He was obviously deep in thought, trying to remember something, or perhaps to place the description Mercy had just given them.

"He was tearin' up de street," Mercy cried, angry now that she had caught her breath. "Smashin' cars an' knockin' down street poles an' de works. Il est fou!"

"Non," Remy shook his head, rising to his feet and grabbing his duster from the back of his chair. "De homme's not crazy, jus' mean."

"You know this mutant?" Lucas asked in surprise.

Remy paused in the doorway, tugging his duster on. "Oui," he said grimly. "Goes by de name o' de Juggernaut. Never met de guy myself, but Marie has. He's Professor Xavier's demi frère." Fixing Lucas with a serious stare, he added, "An' he's got a real grudge against de X-men."

A grudge he'd no doubt be happy to take out on Marie, Lucas thought darkly. "Say no more," he said, standing and moving to Remy's side. "I'm coming with you."

Remy nodded. "Dat be fo' de best, since dere's no tellin' what good eit'er o' our powers will do against him. De Juggernaut's s'posed t' be damn near unstoppable."

"Y' want us t' back y' up?" Henri asked with a worried frown. Lucas knew what Remy's answer would be before the other man even opened his mouth. The others were good fighters, brave and loyal, but in the end they were just humans, and a human against a mutant like the Juggernaut wouldn't do much good.

"Non," Remy shook his head. "Y' would jus' be in de way... no offense."

"None taken," his brother assured him. "Get outta here den, go help yo' wife."

"From what I can remember from de file Magneto had on dis Cain Marko fella," Remy snorted. "S' likely dat we're gon' be de ones needin' her help."

They rushed out to the garage and swiped two of the motorcycles, tearing off down the road, headed for Decatur Street. Once or twice Lucas glanced over at Remy, saw the determined set of his jaw, and he decided that if anything happened to Rogue, it would be the Juggernaut who needed help once Remy got through with him.



Translations:

Ici- here
trois- three
cinq- five
sept- seven
douze- twelve
attrayant- attractive
Il est fou- He's crazy
demi frère- half-brother


A/N: Sorry this one was kind of short, guys- haven't had much time to write this week and then there was something wrong with the site, it wouldn't let me upload for a few days. I will try to get another update up soon for you all :) Until then, thanks for reading and for all the reviews!