Chapter Four
McCoy cursed under his
breath mentally berating himself for his momentary lapse in judgment. He had
been so occupied with the cylinder and explaining his findings to Wolverine
and Storm that he never detected Scott's presence until it was too late.
Judging from his two teammates, Scott's sudden arrival and hasty exit had
surprised them almost as it had him.
"Scott," he shouted, hoping Cyclops would listen to reason before his
friend did something he would later regret. When Scott was upset, he had a
tendency to overreact and make the situation worse, especially when it
involved family. Henry had only to remember the many heated trivial arguments
Scott had with his younger brother, Alex over the years to know things would
quickly spiral out of control if cooler heads did not prevail.
Though Alexander was headstrong, resented his big brother's over
protectiveness, Havok understood Scott wanted only the best for him. Remy, on
the other hand, would not be so forgiving.
Unfortunately, Wolverine realized the same danger signs and both mutants
collided into one another as they tried to exit the room to pursue Cyclops.
"Get yer hairy arm outta my face, doc," Wolverine snarled, elbowing his way
out of the door before McCoy had time to use his bulk as an advantage.
With room to move, Logan easily advanced on Cyclops. "Cyke," he yelled.
When the younger man ignored him, Wolverine angrily grabbed Scott by the arm
and spun him around, but before he could say another word, Cyclops turned his
anger on him.
"Stay out of this, Logan," Scott shouted, pointing the cylinder at the
smaller man. "Interfere in my private business and I'll shove this up your
ass so far you'll...."
"You'll do what?" Wolverine taunted, slapping the cylinder away. If things
weren't so critical, he would have been impressed with Scott's bold threat.
Instead, he was too angry to dwell on it. "If you would cut the
holier-than-thou attitude and listen for a change you'll know things ain't
what they seem."
"Scott, please," Storm pleaded as she and Beast hurried to where the two
were standing. "Logan's right. You have misinterpreted the conversation."
"Misinterpreted? No Storm, I heard every word Hank said precisely. I gave
Remy more credit than this. God only knows what damage he's doing to
himself," Cyclops said, tossing the cylinder to McCoy, almost daring the
doctor to contradict him. "I must handle this discreetly before the student
body learns an X-Man is a drug addict."
"Scott, I cannot deny what we both know is the truth but I will not condemn
Remy without...."
"No, Hank, don't belittle yourself with this pointless argument." Cyclops
clasped the doctor's shoulder affectionately and then turned to speak with
Storm and Wolverine, wanting the three to understand the reason why he had
accidentally eavesdropped on their conversation. "I just received an
anonymous phone call with a female voice, claiming she's a concerned parent.
She alleges a resident from the mansion is using drugs and unless we take
action immediately, the authorities and the media will be notified."
"Anonymous call? I doubt this was not a coincidence."
"Coincidence or not, isn't the point, Storm. Face it, another one of
Remy's dirty little secrets has blown up in our faces." Scott sighed, angry
and disappointed that his suspicions about Remy's recent behavior had been
confirmed. Now that the problem had been discovered, Scott wasn't about to
grant Remy leniency. Doing so would only endanger his brother's life and
those around him.
"Cyke, Gumbo wasn't a willin' participant. Sinister is behind this. When
Rogue and I followed them through the tesseract, I overheard Sinister braggin'
'bout the whole incident. He wants the Cajun back and he's not being too
subtle 'bout it. Somehow, he's made sure Gumbo has easy access to that drug
of his. The big question is how."
"No, the answer is our unexpected guest," Scott said, believing he
understood the motive behind Lapin's sudden arrival. "I want a complete lock
down on the mansion grounds. Nobody leaves and Emil Lapin is to remain under
constant surveillance until further ordered."
Storm's eyes widened, momentary stunned at Scott's drastic order but before
she could voice a response, he turned leaving her standing with her mouth
agape.
The garage explosion, though not planned, created the perfect distraction
to occupy the X-Men while Lapin began the mission Jean-Luc sent him to
complete. The enormous mansion grounds would have made his task difficult
if he hadn't been surveying the area for the past several days.
Before he purposely made his presence known, he had witnessed Warren
Worthington's hasty departure. As the blue Mercedes-Benz Roadster
convertible raced underneath the tree he was hiding, Lapin saw the expensive
leather briefcase sitting in the front passenger seat and a Chase Manhattan
bank book sliding atop it.
The multi-billionaire was being blackmailed.
Lapin had never gloated over another's misery, but this time he allowed
himself this small luxury and smiled at the irony of the situation. Not too
long ago, the powerful Worthington Industries had hired corporate spies to
gather information against a thriving rival company. The result started a
damaging domino effect for the competitor. Someone leaked information about
the CEO's personal life that forced the man to resign in disgrace. Stock
then tumbled, costing the stockholders millions, and months later, after its
media blitz opening, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Worthington Industries was once again the toast of the New York Stock
exchange.
Whoever was blackmailing Worthington, greed wasn't their only motive.
Revenge could also be a powerful weapon, leaving behind a long list of
potential suspects, ranging from victims of hostile takeovers to disgruntled
former employees who lost jobs due to greedy outsourcing contracts.
Lapin did not know this modern day Robin Hood, but if it balanced the
scales if only for a brief moment, Lapin wanted to shake their hand. That
disgraced CEO had been a childhood friend of his father.
As his thoughts turned to the present, Lapin used Remy's description of
the mansion grounds to make mental notes. Though his cousin's descriptions
had been vague at best, it served its purpose. Having trained under the
world's greatest master thief hadn't hurt his chances either.
Lapin imagined Jean-Luc's approving smile as he easily slipped away,
taking a few expensive souvenirs with him. The coolness of the New York
night air made him homesick for Louisiana. Once he completed his assignment
for his uncle, he would be on the first plane back to the Pelican state.
He hurried to a large grove of trees, climbed into the thickest believing
the darkness would conceal him long enough to survey the mansion grounds.
He heard voices in the distance swearing one of them belonged to his cousin
but he was too far away to make a positive identification.
Since his arrival, he wondered why he hadn't seen or heard from Remy. If
his cousin knew of his arrival, Remy wouldn't have hesitated to seek him
out. Something important must be occupying his cousin's time.
He tried to make himself comfortable but considering his current
position, it was difficult.
Something shuffled through the foliage, moving towards him. Lapin
perched on a lower tree limb, stared into the darkness hoping the mansion's
security lights would give off enough light to identify what was
approaching.
"Imitating an owl?" a tired slurred, yet familiar voice asked.
Startled, Lapin had to grab a tree limb to keep from falling. He cursed,
muttering under his breath at how life had never dealt him a trump card when
it came to besting Remy. He had hoped their reunion would have changed his
luck. No such chance.
Lapin climbed down to the lowest tree limb and then jumped, landing next
to his cousin. He opened his mouth, wanting to offer a friendly greeting
but Remy's disheveled appearance stopped him cold, even the darkness could
not hide his cousin's violent shivering.
"You ill, cousin?" Lapin asked his concern turning to Remy's health.
Though the night air was cooler than the previous nights, the temperature
remained comfortable. Yet, his cousin shivered as if snow was on the
ground.
Remy turned his head, giving Lapin a full view of his face.
Lapin gasped. Remy's unnatural eyes were glowing with a powerful
pulsating energy that left him momentary dumbfounded. "Remy? What's..."
"It's happening again," Remy whispered, collapsing against the same tree
Lapin had just vacated. "The garage explosion...my fault."
The despairing words unnerved the visiting Cajun, sending Lapin's
thoughts back to the past. He recalled the only other time when Remy was so
apprehensive. It happened over a brief phone call from Seattle. Silently,
he prayed history wasn't about to repeat itself.
Panicked was something Lapin never associated with Remy, but that night
Remy called Jean Luc, he was hysterical. Jean Luc tried to calm his son but
nothing the patriarch said reached Remy. Jean Luc pressed the speaker
button, allowing Henry and Lapin to hear the conversation. The only audible
words they heard before the line went dead were Seattle. Powers
unmanageable. Accident. Dead bodies everywhere.
The phone call still haunted Lapin six years later.
Moments later after the phone call ended, the news media reported the
horrific scene in a Seattle theater had left countless dead.
Frantic to find his son, Jean-Luc risked the fragile treaty with the
Assassins when he sent Henri to Seattle to bring Remy home. The Assassins
never learned of Henri's secret trip, nor did Henri succeed. Jean-Luc would
not hear from Remy until three months later, calling from some foreign
country pretending nothing had happened.
Whatever happened during those months, Remy never told anyone. The
relationship between father and son became estranged until Remy returned to
New Orleans years later, that frantic phone call forgotten.
Now, that same fear was back.
"Remy, it's not Seattle."
Remy's head shot up, fear apparent in his eyes. Seattle was a closed
subject and mentioning it, especially where someone might overhear was the
ultimate betrayal.
"I can't live through that guilt again," Remy whispered, shaking his head
defiantly. In a span of a heartbeat, Remy's behavior changed. The red eyes
narrowed, glaring at Lapin with such intensity that Lapin stiffened,
believing Remy planned to attack him. "Why are you here, Lapin?"
Lapin opened his mouth, taken aback by the suspicious question. "I needed
to check on a few investments for Jean-Luc," he answered, keeping a neutral
voice so not to draw further distrust. He held his breath waiting for
Remy's reaction. His cousin had the uncanny ability to read him like an old
worn book.
Remy's glare lessened and Lapin sighed, releasing the anxious breath he
had been holding. Jean-Luc would have his head if he knew what he had in
mind. If it helped Remy, Lapin would live with the consequences later.
"How can you live here?" he asked, motioning with a nod of his head
towards the mansion. "With the cameras and the guy with the big gun walking
the grounds, I feel as if I'm in a jail. Let's go some place where we can
talk."
Remy nodded, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. "My bike...the
garage."
"Look on the bright side," Lapin laughed, making a joke out of the garage
incident to lighten the mood. "Summers' car was a gas-guzzler. You
probably saved him a fortune in gas."
"Non, I ..." Remy stopped abruptly, straightened to his full height and
stared back at the mansion. He cursed, curling his fingers around a tree
limb.
"Cajun, we need to talk," Wolverine said, emerging from the darkness.
"Tell your cousin to take a hike."
"You take a hike, mon ami," Remy hissed. "Nobody asked you to dis
party."
"I ain't playing games with you, boy." Logan unsheaved his claws,
intending to intimidate the visitor into leaving the area. A tree limb
snapped, and Wolverine heard Gambit's kinetic mutant power charging. He
turned to investigate only to find a glowing pink missile speeding directly
towards him.