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Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
 
 
 

Thick as Thieves - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Valerie Jones and Lori McDonald
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 16

Quietly, Remy walked down the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets and his head down against the falling rain. His car he'd left behind, since this was not the sort of neighbourhood it should be brought into, not without guaranteeing that everyone on the block remembered it. He wanted to be secretive tonight; he just wished he'd been secretive enough.

Why did y' tell him, y' fool? He thought to himself angrily. Sure, Bobby, I used ta turn tricks 'til I was eleven. No biggie. He snorted. Least I didn' tell him I used t' jus' rob dem in dere rooms an' go out de window. Only had t' really pay up t'ree times. Those were bad memories, things he'd tried for a long time to forget. Bobby was the first person he'd ever told and he shook his head at the irony. Bobby was the total opposite of him, with nothing really in common even after all the training he'd given him, yet he'd told him one of his deepest secrets without batting an eye. Why?

The Cajun didn't even look up as he crossed a busy street, trusting to his spacial awareness sense to let him know where the cars were. He didn't know how he felt about Bobby anymore. He'd figured at first Bobby would wimp out and quit, just like he did with everything else, but he hadn't. He'd stayed with it and he was excelling. Yet he didn't fit in. Remy had never seen anyone who stuck out in a crowd more than Robert Drake. It was probably his inherent goodness, he mused. Bobby was the sort of person who'd see a boy on the street hustling his ass and never even consider the idea that he was a hooker.

Sometimes Remy wished he could be so innocent.

I guess y' right after all, Stormy, he thought. Maybe Bobby is gonna lose somet'ing from de life he lead, and maybe it is somet'ing he shouldn't. He remembered himself, just like Toby, standing on a street corner hoping and fearing for a car to stop, so he could get enough cash to feed himself and his friends.

It definately was something he shouldn't lose.

I can't believe I'm doing this. I must be a total moron!

Nervously, Bobby knelt in the shadows of the alley next to Andre and another of Michael's apprentices named Shasta. She looked - and acted - like a bubble headed blonde, and even where they were, he could hear her snapping her gum like a cheerleader, just as she had for every second of the last twenty minutes. Remy had taught him that gum chewing on the job was for idiots. Forget yourself in a moment of tension and you could be proverbially screwed to the wall. He would have told her to stop, but Michael was right behind him and he could feel his hot breath on his neck.

What is he waiting for? He wondered.

Unlike with Remy, Bobby doubted this was much of a training mission. Michael had made it perfectly clear that he was the one in command and they would do whatever he said without question or delay. Bobby had a feeling he was just along for the ride, which made him wonder why. Why take him along? Michael, he suspected, was up to something, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.

Remy would know, he mourned. But of course, Remy could never know. It was the only protection he could give his mentor.

Finally, Michael leaned over his shoulder. "Frightened yet, Drake?" He whispered.

Bobby almost jumped, but years of being hunted in the Danger Room by Wolverine had taught him not to leap in terror at the first surprise. Of course, Logan could smell his fear and would just stalk off chuckling, but Michael didn't have that option, and he leaned back again with a noncommital grunt when Bobby calmly replied. "Of course not, Guildmaster."

Andre looked over at Bobby and winked while Shasta spit out her gum under a look from Michael.

"All right, apprentices," Michael said coldly. "It's time to move, and if anyone fucks up, I'll take it out of their hides."

Bobby swallowed and nodded with the others.

As he neared the area he'd referred to as a 'Black Hole' to the boy, Remy started to notice subtle things. The neighbourhood was no more grimy and dark than the ones before it, but there were no people out. He could sense them inside, but they stayed inside and there was a definate aura of malice in the air. Gambit stopped in an alley. Something was wrong.

For a long time, he waited, listening. Silence. An alley cat, a distant car, a crackle of a poorly wired streetlight. No hookers, no winos, no beggars. And there was NOTHING from the next block on. Just a sign saying that the area was under construction and no unauthorized personnel were allowed. There were demolished buildings and a chain link fence, but no sign of guards.

After a few minutes indecision, Remy bowed his head and closed his eyes.

Professor?

Almost immediately, Xavier's voice sounded in his mind. #Yes, Gambit?#

Remy's lip curled in distaste. Like all X-Men, Xavier kept a mental link to him, which would let him know immediately if he were hurt or if he died. Normally, Remy forced it down to a faint tickle in the back of his mind, denying Xavier access to even his pain. When he'd fallen down the air shaft earlier that year, Xavier hadn't known. If he had, a squad of X-Men would surely have shown up to rescue him and Remy wasn't one to want rescues. Most of the time.

I'm at de construction site I tol' y' 'bout, he told him. Dere's somet'ing wrong here.

#Do you want me to send Cyclops?#

He'd rather dive head first into a pool of pirahna, actually. Scott made his skin crawl. Non. Jus' keep in contact. If I get into trouble, y'll know. More importantly, if he died, Xavier would know what had killed him. He didn't usually entertain the idea of his own death, but there was something about that site...

#Remy, I'd prefer you wait for backup.#

Non. You ask me t' do dese t'ings, I do dem my way. Dat's de deal. Xavier fell silent and he nodded in satisfaction. He knew for a fact that Storm had told the Professor she would never steal for him again. Remy'd never stopped and he was the best information source the Professor had. He wouldn't risk that.

With the Professor's touch on his mind a little stronger than usual, Remy backed down the alley and ducked down a side street, coming towards the fence from one of its sides. He still couldn't sense guards, but twenty feet away, while he was still on a public sidewalk, he found a laser operated trip wire. If he broke the beam, his presence would be detected. Remy's eyes narrowed. He'd never heard of anyone setting up detectors like this outside. The damn thing would trip a hundred times an hour during the day.

But it only needed to do so once now to get him killed.

With even more caution than he usually used, Remy slipped past the sensors, bypassed the motion detectors right before the fence, climbed over it and made his way into the construction site. He still didn't see anyone, or sense any movement, but he still felt as though something was wrong. It was nothing he could put his finger on. Just a feeling.

#Are you all right, Remy?# Xavier asked suddenly.

Remy stopped, eyes scanning the shadows. Don' do dat, he thought.

#Do what?#

Walk in m' mind uninvited. If I need y', I scream.

Xavier seemed somewhat miffed as he withdrew.

Remy didn't care. For once, he was wishing he did have more immediate backup. In the form of a young mutant named Iceman.

Silently, the four mutants crept around the side of the building, Bobby right behind Michael, Andre and Shasta behind him. Letting me and Michael take the grief if something goes wrong, he thought bitterly.

Ahead of them, they could see the edge of the alleyway. Before it was a street, and across that was a big stone building with large glass windows in front. A jewelry store. Bobby swallowed.

"All right, Drake," Michael said coolly. "You get to earn your spurs by breaking us into that building."

Bobby looked at him. Is he out of his mind?!

Michael's smile was so cold even he felt it. "Do you think you're up to it?"

There was a threat in that voice, and Bobby licked his lips nervously. He had to be up to it, to prove he was a thief, or Michael might just try and come down on Gambit. He couldn't allow that. He also couldn't take even the slightest chance of never being allowed to see Diedre again.

Diedre... he thought softly and managed a smile. "Yes, Guild Master," he said, and Shasta giggled. Michael silenced her with a glare.

"Then quit stalling," he ordered him.

Trying not to look insulting, Bobby turned his back on him and looked towards the building. The front lobby lights were on, and even from here he could see the guard sitting inside. There was absolutely no way that he'd ever get them inside that way, not without using his powers. Yet Michael seemed to want him to try.

Screw him, he thought. I'm going to use my brain for this one.

"Follow me," he whispered and moved back the way he'd come. After a moment's hesitation, the others followed.

Bobby skirted the building, careful to not let anyone see him and cautious not to get too close to any outside cameras. He worked his way around the building until he saw an employee's enterance, his backpack heavy on his back. Thank God he'd brought it. Gambit's second set of tools was in it. The complete set of a Master Thief. He hadn't actually said Bobby could use them, but he hadn't said he couldn't either, and Bobby had decided not to take the chance that he wouldn't need them.

He checked the sight of the cameras while still out of their field of vision. They had a continuous look on the door. This is a stupid way to break in, he thought. I don't know dick about the inside of that building. He didn't dare look at Michael. Remy had said to never head into a building blind, but for Bobby it was just one more trap he had to skirt and hope he didn't spring.

Careful that there was no one around to see, he unslung the backpack and reached into it for a jammer. It was a neat little toy, running on battery power for a limit of twelve minutes only. But in those 12 minutes, it would send out enough interference to make any motion camera so thick with snow it was useless, and without making it seem like they were being jammed. Just a tidy little surge in the circuits.

"What is that?" Andre whispered.

Bobby allowed himself to smile at him. "Always bring the right tool for the job."

Michael snorted.

Quickly, Bobby set the jammer on the ground where it wasn't likely to be seen and aimed the transmitter at the camera. God, please let me be doing this right, he thought and turned it on. The little light on it turned to green, signifying it was working. Bobby let the breath he'd been holding out, set the cover over the light to hide it, and ran to the door, praying all the way. Nothing happened, so he grabbed lockpicks and got to work on the door.

The others joined him a second later. "Jeez, trusting, aren't you?" Shasta muttered. "I'd never trust a machine that much."

"Then you'll never break into anything major," Bobby retorted as he felt the tumblers move into place and the door unlock. He kept it closed though, and rummaged in his back for a tripper. There had to be motion detectors inside. What this toy would do is trip them, but in the wrong area, sending the guards running to check there while he and the others got in to the diamonds.

This was a sloppy way to work. Gambit would have his butt if he tried it with him, but Michael seemed to want speed, and Bobby had to give him what he wanted. More, speed was vital when you hadn't even timed the local police cruisers on their standard drivebys.

Gambit would know what they were, he thought. Even if he turned it all over to me, he'd know. I wonder if Michael does, or if he figures he can just fight his way out with his mutant powers? His thoughts hesitated. What is his power?

He didn't want to think on those lines. Setting the tripper against the door, he set it to far range and hit the ON button. Immediately, it sent out a beam that triangulated the alarms in the building and selected the one farthest away from them, setting it off.

Andre and Shasta jumped as an alarm went off. "You idiot!" Andre hissed, ready to run.

Bobby ignored him. Grabbing the trigger, he set off another jammer and ran into the room. The alarm hadn't gone off where he was thanks to the jammer, but that wouldn't hold long.

The alarm panel was in the most likely place, according to Remy's teachings. Unscrewing the cover with an electric screwdriver, he rewired it in record time and the alarm went off again. Only then did he allow himself to breathe, but only for a second.

"Hurry," he whispered. "We've only got a few seconds until they come in here to check the alarm."

His tools gathered, he shut the door behind them and led them into a nearby closet. He'd suspected the alarm controls would be by the door the employees used, or else they wouldn't be able to turn the alarm off in time when they came in in the morning. Now he crouched in the tight closet with the others and listened through the door as the guards came, muttering all the while, and checked on the alarm panel, which blinked a happy green even though it wasn't working at all.

In the center of the construction area, hidden by old, condemned buildings that had been left standing, was a cleared section with a low, flat windowless building built on it, one no more than a block wide and maybe two stories high. Remy crouched in the shadows and stared at it, wondering. Why would Draxar go to so much trouble to build what looked like a bunker? His lips narrowed. Maybe it was a bunker.

Silently, the Cajun padded over to it, and knelt in the shadows. He knew he was unseen, but he waited a few moments to be sure of no reaction before he pulled his tools out of an inside pocket of his trenchcoat, his hand brushing one of his two guns as he pulled it out. Two minutes later, he was inside.

He'd been expecting a lobby, much like in any normal building. There wasn't one. Instead there was a cement room, with a lowered floor and a walkway seperated by a railing around it. There was a balcony along the second floor, the ceiling right up by the roof, and hundreds of windows on the inside walls. It was all unfinished though.

What de hell is dis place? he wondered and spent a few seconds sending the image to Xavier before he moved on. The entire top floor seemed to consist of small empty offices, without any furniture in them yet, nor windows. The doors hadn't been installed yet and there was no carpeting on the floor. There were also labs, with heavy security on them already, even though there was nothing in them yet. Remy peered into one, but didn't enter. Some well honed instinct told him he didn't have the time.

At the back of the building was a large elevator. Remy went through a panel in the floor and lowered himself down the cable to the lower floors. He counted ten before he reached bottom. The bottom floor was much like the top. Empty, unfinished rooms with concrete walls. This floor had some warehouse space as well though, and he cautiously went up towards a machine that looked much like a dishwasher. As he got within ten feet though, in spite of all his precautions, the green light on the front turned to red and it began to wail an alarm.

Without even hesitating, Remy turned and ran, back to the elevator and up the cable. He could sense movement now, coming from everywhere. Yet he couldn't see anything and hadn't sensed anyone before. No human alive could hide themselves from him this well. And certainly not the dozen he sensed coming at him. Alarms screamed everywhere.

Professor! He shouted mentally. Keep on me!

#I am, Remy. I'm about to dispatch an X-Men team.#

For some reason, his instinct warned him that that would be even worse. Non! He cried. Hold dem back. I don' have time t' wait anyway an' I don' know what we're gettin' into.

He reached the elevator and pulled himself up through the hatch. He could hear footsteps running towards him and the gasping of an overexerted human. He couldn't see anyone in the pitch darkness yet though, and his eyes involuntarily glowed red as he tried to see. Immediately, the rhythmn of the running changed, becoming heavier, and the breathing stopped. He could also sense someone or something coming up the cable below him.

Remy never hesitated. Grabbing half a dozen cards in each hand, he charged them all, dropping half down the shaft and throwing half before him down the corridor.

They exploded almost simultaneously. Flame shot up out of the open panel in the elevator as the hall before him was rocked by explosion. Remy bolted into it, holding his breath so the superheated air couldn't sear his lungs, eyes closed to protect them from the glare, hands over his face. He sensed whoever had been charging him lying on the floor and dove over him.

Something grabbed his ankle, and the Cajun pitched to the floor, landing on his knee painfully. Gasping, he spun, reaching into his coat at the same time. He was too close to use his cards, so he grabbed his gun, aimed, and fired it point blank at a shadow he could see moving in the flames. More shadows were coming up behind it. The grip on his ankle released and he ran, ignoring his knee as he sprinted down the hall to the enterance, dropping more cards behind him as he did so. Flames leaped up behind him and chased him down the corridor. So did whatever was after him.

Remy raced out of the building and hightailed it for the fence two blocks away, dodging to avoid any incoming fire. He didn't sense any, but he could detect movement. Presences that changed. He saw flashes of men running to catch up to him, but what was behind him didn't feel like men and he could sense the humans he saw changing to become like them.

The fence was only fifty feet away, and they were right behind him, outrunning him in fact, though he still had a lead, and the cards he dropped behind him increased that by a small margin. He didn't look back though. He was already running full out on an uneven surface. If he fell or stumbled, they'd have him, and he seriously doubted he'd survive them.

The fence was right in front of him. Suddenly, someone dodged in front of him, and for an instant, he saw emotionless eyes below a bush of white hair stare at him while hands reached out to grab him. Remy shot him right between the eyes and leaped. As the man went down, he used him as a launching pad to throw himself right over the fence. His landing was one to make even Scott proud and he ran on, losing himself in the darkened alleys and back streets that made up New York city.

It wasn't until dawn, when he had backtracked and doubled over his own trail and was ten miles away that he felt it was safe enough to go home. And even that took him by a route that needed six hours to travel.

Five agonizing minutes later, the guards finished checking the alarm and left. Bobby was glad they hadn't been spotted, but disgusted at the same time. Those guys were lousy. They hadn't even checked the closet.

Yeah, right, like I'd be happier if they had.

Silently, Bobby opened the door and stepped into the room again. No alarms went off, no guards leapt out at him. He listened, but heard nothing.

With a grin, he gestured for the others to join him. The two apprentices looked annoyed at the scare he'd given them, but Michael's face was impassive and Bobby resisted the urge to swallow. He had no idea how well he was doing in the Guild Master's eyes. Even Gambit was easier to read than this guy. Then again, he wasn't worried that Remy would shoot him in the back.

Without a word, Bobby went to the door into the main part of the jewelery store and pulled another tool out of his pack, this one a tiny camera on the end of a long, flexible cord. Quickly, he unscrewed the bolts on the doorknob and lowered the half on his side of the door to the ground. Then he pushed the knob on the other side forward, just enough that he could push the camera through the gap to see the other side on a tiny display screen.

The door led to the main room of the jewelery store, filled with cases of jewelery and at least five cameras on the wall. Bobby switched the view to ultraviolet and winced at the sight of the lasers crisscrossing the room. He didn't have the option of hanging from the ceiling the way Remy had in the museum.

Or maybe he did. He certainly didn't want to touch that floor. The others were crowded around to see the screen, but they kept silent, and Bobby managed to forget they were there for a while as he went into what Remy jokingly called "thief mode". A state of total concentration. It worked in combat too, but Bobby hadn't managed to master it while enemies were trying to blow his head off.

While Michael and the others watched, Bobby reeled the camera in and put the doorknob back in place. Then he pulled another jammer out of his pack, the same as the one outside, and set it next to the door. Here was where he had to depend solely on luck. The jammer wouldn't work unless it were actually in the room. Which meant he had to get the door off, and pray that the idiots guarding the place weren't looking at the cameras when he did.

Praying to himself, he unscrewed the hinges on the door, breathed deeply, and lowered it to his side with one hand while he slid the activated jammer into the main room with the other. Then he waited, ready to bolt. Nothing happened.

Oh, thank God!!

Adjusting his mask on his face, he lowered the door the rest of the way and pulled on a pair of goggles to see the lasers. They were bulky and turned everything green, and for a moment he envied Remy. With his unique eye structure, he could see the lasers without any tech, though he wore the goggles anyway to throw people off the trail in case he were filmed.

There was a laser directly in front of the door. Bobby strapped some special suction cups to his hands and knees and belted on some climbing gear, then stepped over it and proceeded to shimmy up the wall. The cups would leave horrendous marks, but that couldn't be helped. He couldn't get through the lasers any other way. At least not quickly.

When he reached the ceiling, he bolted the climbing gear to the ceiling and began to cross it. There was no way he was going to trust those cups to support his full weight while upside down. He ony went a few meters though, over to the first case. It held more diamond necklaces than he thought he'd seen in his entire life, and he imagined one of them around Diedre's smooth neck.

Pay attention, idiot! He thought savagely.

There was a spot in front of the case about three feet wide that was free of lasers. Bobby lowered himself to it, and got to work on the alarm on the case. By the time he'd bypassed it, he was sweating. The jammer had to be running out of power.

The case opened, he started shoveling jewels into his pockets, not caring how they tangled in his growing fright. He was a sitting duck if a guard looked in.

None did, and he raised himself up to the ceiling again, quickly moving over to the door again. He was undoubtably rushing too much, but he was starting to freak, trying not to think of what he'd just done and how long he'd sit in jail if he were caught.

Once in the room, he screwed the door back into its hinges, the jammer still on the other side. The risk of retrieving it was too great, but he'd hit the self destruct as he passed. In two minutes, it would suffer an interior meltdown, he'd been damned sure not to touch it with his hands and he knew Remy would never have been so careless to.

Once the door was back up, he went and wired the alarm back to normal. He had to leave as few clues as possible and he really wished he could save the jammer. He finished the wiring and set the alarm. In thirty seconds, it would activate again as normal.

Turning, he gathered his back and equipment and went out the back door, the two apprentices, if not Michael, following in silent respect. He locked the door, gathered the jammer he'd left out there, and all three of them vanished into the shadows.

Quietly, Bobby ate dinner, glancing discreetly at the empty chair across the table and down a few places. It was getting late and no one had seen Gambit since the previous day. Bobby was getting worried, wondering if what he'd done last night had gotten the Cajun into trouble anyway.

If he's gotten hurt, I'll never forgive myself. He still wasn't sure he'd done the right thing and now that it was over, he wanted so very much to talk to Gambit about it. He'd tried looking for him at the club, but there'd been no word. No one there cared, used to Remy's comings and goings, and he was trained well enough by now not to let his own concern show.

Everyone at the mansion seemed to be treating his absence with the same lack of care as well. Am I the only one who gives a damn? He thought sulkily.

#Of course not, Bobby,# the Professor said in his mind. #Gambit is alive and well and on his way home now.#

Bobby started choking on the food in his mouth and had to grab a glass of water and swallow while Hank enthusiastically thumped him on the back. Did Xavier know? He started to panic, then forced himself to calm down. Remy had taught him not to let his emotions get the better of him. So he sipped his water and glanced in Xavier's direction, but the Professor was talking to Scott and seemed to be ignoring him completely. He must have just sensed my concern, he thought, understanding now why Remy didn't like telepaths.

Suddenly, the front door banged open and he heard a heavy, limping step come into the foyer. "Excuse me," he said and left the table.

All conviction to give Remy hell ended once he saw him. The Cajun was halfway up the stairs, limping as he helped himself along with one hand on the railing. He was filthy, like he'd been crawling in garbage, and he looked utterly exhausted.

Bobby ran up to take his other arm. "What the hell have you been doing?" He whispered. "Running around in a sewer?"

Gambit grinned wearily at him. "Duckin' inta sewers a myth. Dey're not ventilated, an' wit' all de shit down dere, dere's no oxygen either. You ever have t' duck into a sewer, make sure y' take an air tank."

He winced and leaned on Bobby as he led him down the hall to his room. "What happened?" Bobby asked quietly.

"I twisted m' knee."

Bobby opened the door to the Cajun's room. "I can see that. How?" Suddenly, he felt incredibly guilty, thinking that his master had gotten into trouble while he was showing off for Michael. He thought of his share of the take hidden under the mattress in his room and winced.

Remy sighed and let go of him, heading for the bathroom. "Lookin' inta somet'ing dat was worryin' me."

Bobby sat on the bed. It was immaculately made up, and made him wonder if Remy ever slept in it. "Is it something with the Guild?" He asked apprehensively.

The shower started inside, but the door was still open so he could hear the Cajun. "Non. Dis more t' do wit' de X-Men, I t'ink."

"Some kind of mission?"

The Cajun took a few minutes to answer, splashing water instead as he took a shower. Then he came back out, a robe on while he toweled his wet hair. He still looked tired, but far less bedraggled. "Not yet. I wan' more inf'mation first. I'm gonna talk t' some a my hackers, see what dey can't dig up." He yawned.

Immediately, Bobby stood. "I should let you rest. Whatever it was you went through," he added as he went to the door. "I wish I could have been there."

Remy grinned. "Me too, act'lly."

Suddenly feeling inordinantly pleased, Bobby went out to his own room. He closed the door and leaned against it, wishing he'd had the nerve to tell the Cajun what he'd done. He'd just have to wait until he was rested.

He heard a low hum then and curiously opened his door a crack to see, of all things, Professor Xavier letting himself into Gambit's room, then locking the door behind him.

 

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