p class="MsoNormal"Chapter Summary: As the Thieves try to figure out where Julien went before the Boucherie Rogue comes to a terrible realization/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"XOXOXOXOX/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Rogue sat in the club chair in Jean-Luc's office letting her legs dangle over one arm. The LeBeaus were currently discussing the final plans for the Boucherie and contingencies if things went badly. Much to Rogue's chagrin Jean-Luc had asked for her to be there 'just in case you remember something else, Petite.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rogue refused to make eye contact with Remy when she entered the room. She didn't want to see the 'I told you so' look on his face./p
p class="MsoNormal"Instead, Rogue found herself half-listening to the conversation around her and half-listening to Logan and Remy's psyches, who were pushing for her to leave./p
p class="MsoNormal"emThat's because this isn't your fight, Cher. /emRemy said./p
p class="MsoNormal"emGumbo's right, Darlin', /emLogan agreed. Rogue sighed and sank a little lower in her seat as Logan's psyche agreed with Remy. She knew that she should leave. Besides, it's not like the real Remy wanted her here anyway./p
p class="MsoNormal"emDat's not fair, Cher. He just wants you safe. He cares about you, /emRemy argued./p
p class="MsoNormal"That was something else she didn't know what to do with. There was definitely emsomething /emthere between her and Remy. She'd have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to miss his flirting and the not-so-subtle hints from the other members of the household./p
p class="MsoNormal"But with her powers, it wasn't something that they would be able to explore right now. Maybe not ever. Not to mention Remy was firmly rooted in Louisiana, and the X-men were in Bayville. Any one of those issues would have been hard to overcome, but all together…/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rogue shook her head, stopping that train of thought before it got too far down the tracks. Turning her attention back to the Thieves in the room, Rogue listened as they argued which of the Assassins had the most to gain from disrupting the Boucherie./p
p class="MsoNormal""Belle's out. She's still in Europe."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What 'bout Gris-Gris?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""He's Julien's right-hand man."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Mais, if Julien isn't dead, he might have helped him hide."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You think Julien's behind his own disappearance?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Could be. He wants t' start fights with de Thieves again."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't think so. Julien wouldn't want t' be left out of a sit-down."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Harvester? He's probably one of the few swordsmen in the Assassins dat could beat Julien in a fight."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What would he gain? He already has good standing in de Guild."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Smithy? He tends t' side with Belladonna. He'll rise in power if she becomes de Heir."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rogue tuned the conversation out, put off by how easy it was for the others to come up with reasons that the Assassins would cross and double-cross each other./p
p class="MsoNormal"emOh please./em emThe Thieves are just as likely to double-cross each other. Loverboy and his family aren't Robin Hood, fille, /emJulien scoffed./p
p class="MsoNormal"emCould it be a thief?/em Rogue wondered. The room fell silent as all eyes locked on her. Realizing she had spoken aloud, Rogue felt her face heat up. For a few moments, no one said anything./p
p class="MsoNormal""Thieves aren't Assassins, Rogue," Remy said firmly, "Even if they can be manipulative." Remy blatantly eyed Jean-Luc before turning back to the files on the table. Rogue bristled at the apparent dismissal of her idea… even if she hadn't meant to say it out loud./p
p class="MsoNormal""Emeric isn't exactly being subtle that he wants your family out of power, Honey," she replied, clenching her jaw. emHe's so damn certain he's right he wouldn't see the forest through the trees even if one fell right on top of him./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Henri must have sensed the impending fight because he jumped in with a tone he probably reserved to soothe wild animals, "Emeric is a problem, Petite, but he doesn't have de support he'd need t' pull off a mutiny."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rogue felt like screaming. None of them were listening. They hadn't seen how big the crowd was in the training hall earlier. Did all the Thieves have a blind spot for their own?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Swallowing back her rage and frustration with the men in front of her, Rogue managed to force a tight-lipped smile. She didn't dare open her mouth. She didn't trust what would come out. In her mind, Julien chuckled./p
p class="MsoNormal"emShut up, Julien, /emshe snarled at the psyche./p
p class="MsoNormal"As the group turned back to the files on the table. Rogue crossed her arms in stony silence, helplessness and fury filling her. Turning her head, she glared at the map over the fireplace. emThis whole dang thing feels like something out of a movie./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emIndeed, /emBeast piped up, emit feels like it could have been ripped from the pages of one of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. Where the detective must question every action and motive./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emYeah, except this is real life, and people are dying. /emRogue frowned at the group on the other side of the room, still deep in conversation, emThe problem is that they only seem motivated by a never-ending feud./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emSadly, hate can be a powerful motivator, as we all know./em Beast lamented, emIt is a powerful emotion. More powerful than money or power or resources./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Money./p
p class="MsoNormal"Power./p
p class="MsoNormal"Resources./p
p class="MsoNormal"Rogue froze, feeling the blood drain from her face. Standing from her chair, Rogue's heart began to hammer in her chest as she stared at the map of New Orleans over the fireplace./p
p class="MsoNormal"It couldn't be that simple. Could it?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Turning to face the group, her tongue felt too big for her mouth as she called out, "Jean-Luc?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""You okay, Petite?" the man looked up, frowning at her./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nodding dumbly, it felt like someone else was speaking as Rogue heard herself ask, "If the Thieves and the Assassins go to war again, how much money would the Runner's Guild make selling arms?" Suddenly rushing to finish her thought, she added, "How much territory would they gain if the Runners allied themselves with the winners?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"There was a beat of silence then Jean-Luc began cursing a blue streak. Suddenly everyone was speaking in a flurry of Cajun French, most of which Rogue didn't understand aside from the profanity. Henri's voice broke through the din./p
p class="MsoNormal""Alden was de one that offered t' be the go-between," he pointed out. /p
p class="MsoNormal""I need to call Marius," Jean-Luc announced as he cut across the room toward his desk before breaking off into profanity again./p
p class="MsoNormal"emTime to go, girl. /emRemy declared. Rogue agreed and headed for the door on unsteady legs. As her fingers touched the doorknob, she felt a hand on her upper arm. Turning, she met Remy's eyes which seemed to hold a hundred muddled emotions behind them./p
p class="MsoNormal""Thank you, Cher," he gave her a slight smile./p
p class="MsoNormal""No problem, Sugah" Rogue managed to return a weak smile of her own./p
p class="MsoNormal"Stepping into the hall and closing the door behind her, Rogue let out a breath. Her gut was churning, and she had the sickening feeling she may have just condemned the weaselly little man to death. Entering her room, Rogue closed the door before pulling the curtains on the French doors./p
p class="MsoNormal"Laying on her bed, she looked at her phone. emI should definitely call Logan./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"But what could she say? Two days ago, she couldn't have said anything was actually wrong. Now everything was wrong. Unwillingly her eyes began to burn. Laying back on the soft mattress, Rogue closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose, trying to calm the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She'd call him in just a minute. /p
p class="MsoNormal"Just as soon as she knew what she would say./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"A knock at the door woke Rogue. Confused, she fumbled around for the bedside lamp in the dark room. Turning the light on, Rogue blinked away the temporary blindness as she opened the door to find Remy on the other side./p
p class="MsoNormal""Can I come in Cher?" he asked quietly./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah," Rogue turned and walked back to the bed sitting on the edge, and picked at her gloves, trying to calm the nausea still rolling in her gut. Remy opened his mouth, but Rogue cut him off, "Is Alden going to be killed?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The question seemed to catch Remy off guard as he stared at her momentarily before answering. "I don't know. Jean-Luc spoke with Marius directly, and he agreed with Jean-Luc about Alden's motives. But because he is a Guildmaster, they won't kill him outright. Alden will be brought in front of the High Court for a trial of sorts. If the High Court agrees with Jean-Luc and Marius, then, oui, he'll be killed."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The knot in Rogue's chest loosened slightly knowing that there seemed to be some sort of trial for all of this. Still, she must have looked as awful as she felt because Remy squeezed her hand gently./p
p class="MsoNormal""Dis ain't your fault Rogue. If Alden is really behind all of this, then he's the one to blame. If you hadn't figured it out, the Thieves and the Assassins would have gone to war, and a lot more people would have been killed."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rogue knew Remy was telling her the truth, but it didn't make her feel much better. She nodded her head in acknowledgment anyway./p
p class="MsoNormal""I wanted to tell you that Tante will be coming with the Thieves to the Boucherie tonight. She's part of the High Court and will be one of the members overseeing the trial. We're going to be leaving soon. Jean-Luc wants to meet with Marius before the Runners get there so they can discuss what Alden's been telling each of them without his interference," Rogue nodded./p
p class="MsoNormal""We won't be back until late, and I won't have my phone with me when we're in the Boucherie." Her face must have shown her confusion because he explained, "High Court protocol requires all Guild meetings to remain sub rosa. Cell phones are a security risk."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Remy paused and looked at her, "You going to be all right tonight?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah, I'll be fine, Swamp Rat. I might call Kitty and then read one of the books I brought with me." Rogue tried to feign indifference. At Remy's look, she guessed she wasn't succeeding as well as she had hoped./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sighing, she tried again, "I'll be fine, Remy. But can you do me a favor?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Whatcha need, Cher?" Remy asked, running his thumb over the back of her knuckles./p
p class="MsoNormal"emNot a yes or no./em/p
p class="MsoNormal""If Alden is found guilty and he's," she gestured helplessly for a moment, "ya know…put to death. Will you tell me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Remy stared at her silently before asking in an even tone, "You sure you want to know?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes. I don't want to know the details, but I want to know for certain, or else I think I might drive myself crazy wondering," Rogue said./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, Chere." Remy agreed as he leaned over and kissed the white streak in her hair before standing and heading for the door./p
p class="MsoNormal""Try to just relax tonight. And tomorrow, me and you, we're gonna have a conversation when dis is all over, d'accord?" He gave her a small smile before stepping into the hallway and closing her door behind him./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"XOXOXOXOX/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"strongNew Chapter:/strong The Boucherie gets underway and Irene sends another message/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongFun Facts: /strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"Harvester is an Assassin with superhuman speed. He is also considered a skilled swordsman. Smithy is part of the Assassins Guild under Belladonna and favors guns. The comics don't suggest any remarkable loyalty to her, but I decided to play around with the idea./p
p class="MsoNormal"When Remy mentions the meeting is "sub rosa" the phrase literally means 'under the rose.' From the 17th century, possibly earlier, a rose would be suspended from the ceiling of the council chambers in Europe during meetings to symbolize the sworn confidence of the participants./p