Gambit

Remy LeBeau stopped outside the meeting chamber and lit a cigarette. As he took his first drag off of it, he noticed the look on Jacques, his brother’s, face. “You need one, too?” Remy asked.

“Yeah.” Jacques quickly took the offered cigarette, lit it, and took a long pull. “I can’t believe this,” he said as smoke escaped his mouth.

“I know,” Remy replied as he nodded. “It does just `bout beat all.” He took another pull off the cigarette.

“One of us is going to be the next head of the Guild.” Jacques had finished his cigarette and seemed more in control of himself. He dropped the butt on the floor and ground it out with his heel. “I’d always assumed it would be you.”

Remy smiled. “I don’t know. I t`ink dat Pere, he’d pick whoever’s best for de Guild.”

“I guess so.” As the two had talked, they’d moved up to their old bedroom. Jacques opened the doors to the balcony and stepped outside where he leaned on the balcony’s railing. “I just don’t think that I’m ready to handle this yet.”

“Ain’t so tough,” Remy said. “You got de respect o’ de Guild. All you gotta do is keep the peace.”

“Well,” Jacques said as he straightened, “no sense in worrying about it yet.” He turned to face Remy. “After all, I’ve got to beat you first.”

“Yeah.” Remy flicked his dying cigarette off the balcony. “Looks like we gotta go at daybreak.”

Jacques nodded and stepped forward, his hand extended. “Best of luck, Remy. May your feet be swift-”

“And yo’ pockets be full.” Remy clasped his brother’s hand and finished the old Guild greeting. “Till tomorrow, den.” The two returned to the bedroom and were asleep in moments.

Jean-Luc LeBeau sat in his room. He was looking at his canopy bed, but he couldn’t bring himself to go to sleep yet. His eyes sagged and the blond woman appeared in his dreams again.

Well, well, Fontanelle said. So. You’ve decided to risk war with the Assassins over your wayward son.

“Remy didn’t do anything wrong. There was no reason fo’ him to be banished.”

And yet, you were the one who decided that peace was more important than your son. I wonder why things changed.

“Dey changed because I said dey should. I am de head o’ de Guild.”

The head. And yet your actions may soon cause your Guild to be headless.

“De Assassins wouldn’t dare to try anything. It’s all their fault, anyway. Dey broke de peace. Not us.”

Perhaps. Either way, it should be fascinating to see... She left LeBeau’s mind with her delicate laughter. Somehow, hearing that laugh made a cold sweat break out on LeBeau.

Souris walked through the streets of the French Quarter, inspecting what few shops were still open. He stopped suddenly as two large men stepped out in front of him. “Assassins!” he whispered, pulling his knife from his belt. Brandishing it before him, he tried to look dangerous.

One of the Assassins raised his hand and chuckled. “Easy,” he said. “We’ve just been sent to bring you to the Head of the Guild.”
“W-w-what does she want with me?” Souris asked, not dropping his guard.

The other Assassin spoke up. “We do not know. We offer our pledge. May harm befall us if we harm you.”

Souris’s mind was running at a thousand miles a minute. Still, there was one fact that kept coming to his mind. If one enjoyed breathing, it was best not to insult an Assassin. Souris slowly replaced his knife in his belt. “I accept your p-p-pledge,” he said, giving the traditional response. He started down the street, accompanied by the Assassins.

The next morning, Jacques awoke to a chilly breeze. He stepped out onto the balcony where Remy sat, wearing only sweat pants. “Aren’t you cold?” he asked.

Remy shook his head as he tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette. “Nah.”

Jacques smiled. “I believe that I’d pull a shirt on before coming out here.”

Remy shot one of his killer smiles back. “You always were de wimpy one.”

Jacques laughed. “That’s what you think.”

“Hey, you can always su’prise me,” Remy replied.

“I may just do that today,” Jacques said with a sly smile.

“Maybe,” Remy said. “Maybe you will.” He took a pull of the cigarette. “How long we got?”

“About an hour,” Jacques said. He shifted awkwardly.

“Whas’ wrong?” Remy asked.

Jacques stepped forward and grabbed his brother. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice shaking. “I’m just glad to see you back.”

“Dere, dere,” Remy said, patting Jacques on the back. “Remy’s here. And I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

Jacques took a step back. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

Remy took another pull off his cigarette. “Why don’t you stop apologizin’ and tell me what’s wrong?”

Jacques sat down on a stone bench across from Remy. He took a deep breath. “This is hard for me to say, because you know that I’ve never disagreed with Father.”

“Best t’ing when your pere’s head of de Guild,” Remy said.

“He should not have let you go,” Jacques said firmly. “I would have fought to the death to keep you here. You’re one of us. He should not have sold you out to the Assassins like that.”

Remy flicked his cigarette butt over the low railing around the balcony. “Tryin’ to keep from fightin’ wit’ an Assassin’s usually good thinkin’,” he said. “Trust me. I know firsthand.”

Jacques began to fidget. “It’s not just that it was to the Assassins. It’s that he put something else before us. We’re his family and he’s willing to send you out with nothing...”

Remy shrugged. “Don’t worry me none. It’s all over wit’ now.”

Jacques stood and paced a moment. Finally he stood before Remy, trembling with rage as tears started running down his face. “That’s not the point,” he said, fighting to keep his voice low and under control. “You are his son. He should have fought for you. Especially after Henri...” Jacques went silent.

Remy fought back a tear of his own at the mention of his dead brother. His brother Henri, who’d been killed bringing a message to him. “Be dat as it may,” Remy said carefully. “I know dat Pere did what he considered best. Deep down, so do you.”

“But in whose best interests?” Jacques asked. “The Guild’s, certainly. But I don’t see that he cared at all about our family.”

Remy’s eyes flicked from side to side, checking for eavesdroppers. Finally he walked over and draped his arm over his brother’s shoulder. “Come on, now,” Remy said as he led Jacques inside. “We got to get ready. We got a big day ahead. Plus, dis kinda talk is dangerous.” The doors clicked shut behind them.

Souris was led into a large room in the building that housed the Assassins. It said something about their feelings of security that they hadn’t considered his knife dangerous enough to take. As Souris stood before a massive throne, the two Assassins that had brought him there excused themselves and closed the doors behind him.

“Souris,” a woman said from the front of the room. “It’s been a long time.”

“B-b-bella Donna Boudreaux,” Souris whispered.

Bella Donna smiled. She sat in her throne wearing her customary green pantsuit. A red cloak with gold embroidery hung from her shoulders. “I never thought I’d see you again,” she said.

“This is a surprise,” Souris agreed.

“A surprise,” Bella Donna rubbed her finger across her red lips. Souris stiffened. He knew that this was when she was at her most dangerous. Bella Donna walked down from the throne and stepped behind Souris. “A surprise, indeed. I have had many surprises lately. Including learning that my former husband has returned in breach of our treaty.”

Souris swallowed a squeak. Bella Donna stepped in front of him. Despite the fact that her full breasts were at eye level, Souris never let his eyes wander from her face. Souris knew someone who’d made that mistake once. That man was allowed to live, but he could hardly be called a man anymore.

“I want to know what LeBeau is thinking,” she said. “Why did he invite Remy back?”

Souris swallowed as he carefully chose his next words. “H-h-he did not confide in me,” he said. “M-m-mr. LeBeau’s decisions are his own.”

Bella Donna returned to her throne with a pout. “Surely you have some sort of information you can sell me,” she said, leaning forward. She was making sure to thrust her chest forward.

Souris reminded himself to keep his eyes on her face. “There may be something,” Souris said so quickly his stutter all but disappeared. “T-t-today there is a competition going on. Remy and Jacques are competing to steal a gem for Mr. LeBeau. Whoever returns with it will be the next head of the Guild.”

“Hmph,” Bella Donna said, leaning back once again. “LeBeau would never do something like this without a reason.” She returned her attention to Souris. “You may go. In peace, as per the pledge you were given.”

Souris bowed slightly. “Your pledge is honorable,” he said, completing the ritual. He walked from the throne room to collect his pay, leaving Bella Donna to sort possibilities in her mind.

“It’s so great here!” Mary Roberts, newly married to Andy, was gushing about her hotel room to her mother. She sat in the chair with her legs up. She was quite naked, mainly because she and Andy hadn’t found a reason to put any clothes on yet. “I love it! And let me tell you about the food!”

In the bathroom, Andy Roberts yawned as he turned on the shower. “She’s wearing me out,” he said, then smiled. “Best exercise I’ve had quite a while.” He stuck a hand under the spray and stepped in when the temperature was agreeable. He reached for the soap to scrub the sweat away. Imagine his surprise when a gloved hand was clapped over his mouth from behind.

“You’ll do,” a voice whispered in his ear. Andy Roberts couldn’t even let out a cry as a needle jabbed into the back of his neck. The soap fell to the floor of the shower as Andy went limp. A moment later, it was joined by a gold circle. The attacker had pulled Andy’s wedding band off his finger before he departed with his victim.

In the main room, Mary continued with her conversation, unaware of the fact that she’d shortly be a widow.

Near a dock, a light shot from the sky and impacted in the sand. When the light cleared, a young woman stepped forward. She had beautiful long blond hair and wore a white dress. Her name, like the one before her, was Anielle.

Inside the Astor Crowne Plaza, a young man wandered down a hall in sunglasses. Remy LeBeau found the room he was looking for. He glanced up without breaking stride. His hand tightened around the lockpick in his pocket. They had security cameras and one was trained directly at the door. Looks like he’d be doing this one the hard way. He entered a stairwell and started climbing.

Moments later, Remy stood on the room’s balcony. With practiced ease, he determined that the doors didn’t have an alarm on them. In under a minute, Remy stepped inside the luxurious room.

He walked to the dresser. There lay the jewel. He knelt before it. Visions of what it meant danced through his mind. Leadership of the Guild. Acceptance here. His hand reached out to take it.

He paused before his fingers could close around it. Another set of visions danced before his eyes now. A woman with long brown hair and a white streak through the center of it. An X enclosed in a circle. A bald man in a wheelchair with a dream with eyes that looked straight through you to your soul.

Remy’s hand fell away. He stared at the jewel as he tried to decide what to do.

The jewel was picked up from the dresser and tucked into a small velvet bag. Jacques stuffed the bag into his pocket and quickly exited the room by the balcony. Remy smiled as he stepped out of the closet where he’d concealed himself. He’d watched every step his brother had taken as he snatched the jewel. “Congratulations, mon frere,” he whispered as he also stepped to the balcony. He waited to be sure Jacques was gone before exiting to the sunlight and freedom.

To Be Continued...

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