Chapter Fifty-Nine:


New York City was referred to by many as the City That Never Sleeps, but to most southerners the title seemed more appropriate for the bustling city of New Orleans. Even in the dead-of-night hours, music still wafted through the air, the distant sounds of parties still raging echoing down the river, and the warm night air still carried with it the aroma of Cajun spices.

In the Big Easy, it was difficult to find time when there weren't tourists noisily stumbling down the sidewalks at all hours of the day. During Mardi Gras, it was impossible, but the rest of the year it was only difficult. You just had to know when to look for it.

That was something that both the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild of New Orleans had gotten quite good at over the years. They knew the city like the back of their hands, knew all of the shortcuts and the dead-end alleys, knew the hidden pathways of the rooftops as well as they knew the roads below.

There was a block of time, between approximately twenty minutes after three in the morning and forty minutes after four, that the streets were almost entirely deserted. That was what the thieves liked to call the "prize zone". It was relatively short, the partygoers having just gone in for the night and the businessmen about to start their day, but if your skills were sharp and your plans perfected, it was the perfect time to strike.

Crouched on the rooftop of the museum, Lucas took a moment to appreciate the tranquil silence around him as he worked. Or he would have, it wasn't for the annoying humming that continued to fill his ears, despite his attempts to tune it out. And it wasn't just any humming, but someone humming the tune of one of Sinatra's love ballads.

Unable to take it any more, Lucas grabbed his comm-link off his belt. "Is there any particular reason that you are in such good spirits this evening, LeBeau?" he demanded.

Over the comm-link, Remy laughed. "Can' a man jus' enjoy de fact dat life is good, mon ami? Dat he's got a belle femme, a lovin' family, a gorgeous home an' de best job in de world?"

Lucas glanced in Remy's direction, even though he couldn't see the other thief. "Are you intoxicated?"

"Only wit' love, mon ami, only wit' love," Remy laughed again.

Sighing, Lucas shook his head, smiling faintly. It was good to see Remy happy, even if the younger man's incessant banter was giving him a headache. Earlier that evening Remy and Marie had gone out for a romantic night on the town, and obviously it had gone well since the mutant thief was still grinning like an idiot.

"Y' know, homme," Remy said slyly. "Mebbe y' outta follow my example an' take Tessa out sometime, non?"

Lucas stiffened, suddenly having the urge to strangle Remy LeBeau. "My relationship with Tessa is strictly professional," he growled.

"Sure it is," Remy snorted.

"And I wouldn't follow out of the desert if I was dying of thirst," Lucas added, just to be difficult. "You have a terrible sense of direction."

"Dat's crazy," Remy retorted. "I got us back home when Emil got us lost in de swamps, didn' I?"

"After hours of leading us the wrong way," Lucas shot back evenly. "Which is why we now leave all matters of navigation entirely up to Tessa. Her mutation makes it impossible for her to get lost."

"But can she make t'ings explode?" Remy demanded smugly.

Lucas shook his head in mild amusement. "Get back to work, LeBeau."

"Thought dat I was leadin' dis surveillance job," Remy protested.

"You wanted to call it 'casing the joint'," Lucas reminded him. "And quit distracting me, I have important work to do."

"Amende," Remy sighed. "Y' take all de fun outta dis job, y' know dat?"

Instead of answering, Lucas clipped his comm-link back on his belt and removed his marker, examining the skylight intently for weak points. Despite Remy's jovial nature that evening, he knew the other thief would be hard at work on the roof of the east wing of the museum, locating the security alarm devices and taking note of the guard rotation shift.

If all went well, they would be back the following night with an infiltration team to complete the heist.

And with the buyer that Genard had lined up willing to pay double the asking price, it would be a very profitable job for the Guild, indeed.

Bending over, he gently pressed the tip of the marker to the glass, making small, almost unnoticeable marks that would later tell Claude where to cut. When he finished, he sat back on his heels to inspect his work, but something metallic and red caught his eye in the distance.

"What on earth," he muttered to himself, the skylight forgotten as he squinted at the dark shape across the city. A moment later he realized that it wasn't one shape, but two of them close together, and a moment after that he realized that whatever they were, they were moving in his direction, and fast.

He started to reach for his comm-link, then paused, deciding to wait until he knew what it was that they were dealing with. His heart was hammering in his chest, an eerie sense of dread creeping up his spine, as he watched the ominous shapes approach.

By the time they drew close enough for him to get a good look at them, he had a good idea of what they were. Tall and powerful, they loomed over the city's skyline, red metallic coverings gleaming in the moonlight. They made for a terrifying sight, like something out of one of those Sci-fi movies Emil loved come to live, but they were real.

They had haunted the lives of Lucas, Remy, Marie and Tessa for the past four years, ever since the creation of Operation: Wideawake.

Robots.

Sentinels.

Grabbing his comm-link, he switched it back to Remy's frequency. "LeBeau," he grunted. "I think you'd better come take a look at this."

There was a crackle of static and then he heard Remy sigh. "Y' better not be draggin' me over dere fo' not'ing, homme."

Lucas pressed his lips together tightly. "I think you will agree that it is a matter of importance."

"Right," Remy replied. "Okay den, on my way."

"Oh, and Remy?" Lucas added. "Don't use your powers."

"Que?" Remy cried incredulously, but they'd worked together long enough that he didn't argue, only mutter under his breath.

Satisfied, Lucas returned his comm-link to its place on his belt and turned his attention back to the approaching robots. They moved with powerful, earth-quaking strides, and the ground trembled under them as they moved. If the way their heads continued to move back and forth was any indication, they seemed to be searching for something.

Lucas had a bad feeling that he knew what that something was.

"What's wit' all dat shakin'-" Remy's voice began, then trailed off and a soft gasp could be heard in its place. "Oh l'enfer," he cursed. "Y' gotta be kiddin' me!"

If Lucas had any doubts about what it was he was seeing, they were gone now.

A few moments later, he heard someone landing on the roof behind him, and Remy moved up to crouch at his side, peering at the Sentinels in the distance with dark eyes and a scowl on his face. "Great," he muttered. "Dis is jus' great. Like we don' got enough problems wit' all dose toy soldiers poppin' up, now we got dese tin cans on our hands, too."

"You think they're searching for mutants?" Lucas inquired.

"Oui," Remy confirmed grimly. "Dat's what dey're built t' do. Hunt, capture an' neutralize, by whatever means necessary."

There was a worried look on his face, and Lucas frowned, wondering what had him so concerned, and then realization swept over him. "You think they're here for us?"

"Mebbe," Remy shrugged. "Would make sense, non? I mean, last week Marie an' Tessa took down half a dozen o' dem soldiers an' den last month we had dat whole mess wit' de Juggernaut... dat's a lot o' mutant activity t' go unnoticed."

He had a point, Lucas had to admit, especially the part about Rogue and Tessa's fight with the Operation: Wideawake soldiers. Not only had the two women defeated the soldiers on their own with little effort, but they had helped the soldier's target escape. That wasn't something that Trask and his colleagues were likely to ignore.

"That's true," Lucas observed grimly. "It seems likely that these Sentinels were sent here to find and capture the mutants who disrupted the capture of the mutant teenager at the docks."

"Dat don' make me feel any better, mon ami," Remy replied. "Dese tin cans mean business."

Eyeing the bold arsenal that each of the mutant-hunting robots sported, Lucas was inclined to agree. The robots were moving closer to the museum, so he placed a hand on Remy's arm, gesturing that they should back away from the ledge.

Remy nodded, and they ducked into the shadows as one of the Sentinels passed nearby, blending in with the night around them as best they could. Not that it would do them much good if the robots had night-vision lens, but it was better than nothing.

As soon as the robot had turned the corner, Lucas heard Remy let out a small sigh of relief. "Let's get outta here," Remy suggested, pushing to his feet. "B'fo' dey come back around fo' anot'er pass."

Deciding that was the smart thing to do, Lucas stood, clipping his glass cutters back onto his utility belt beside his comm-link. The surveillance job would have to wait, it wasn't worth the risk of being caught by the Sentinels.

He had a feeling not even Jean-Luc would argue with that.

They started across the rooftop, towards the bank building across the street. They could fire their jumplines at the roof of the taller building and swing across with relative ease, having done so numerous times over the years.

"I have never seen one in person before," Lucas commented thoughtfully as they reached the edge of the roof.

"I've seen plenty," Remy grunted. "Trust me, y' don' wanna get a closer look."

Lucas reached down to his belt for his jumpline, and then froze as one of the Sentinels turned onto the street directly in front of them, its glowing eyes scanning the darkness slowly. Glancing around, Lucas was horrified to realize that the other one was starting down the street from the opposite end.

"Remy," he said quietly, drawing the other's attention to the Sentinels.

"Merde," Remy cursed. "Don' move, homme, mebbe dey won' see us."

Just then the closest Sentinel turned its head in their direction, his eyes glowing a pale red. "Alpha mutants, surrender now to avoid painful apprehension procedures."

Lucas turned to glare at his companion. "You were saying?"


Translations:

Amende- fine
Que- what?
l'enfer- hell
homme- man