New Orleans

I see a sea of smilesI see a haunted city reachin' outI see hope in all their facesBehind the mask of Mardi GrasWhere the good and the righteous walkAnd the wicked as well- Stevie Nicks

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New Orleans, Louisiana; 27-30 April, 1992

After a couple of days of resting in Montana, the renegade duo were on the road again. Thirty-six hours later, they arrived in The Big Easy. Tessa was utterly exhausted, and really so was James, though he was trained to go days upon days without sleeping. Tessa wasn't even a morning person; she couldn't live without sleeping as often as possible. There was no way they were going looking for Remy tonight. Instead, they got a crappy motel room and holed up there for a few days to just rest and reassure each other that they were both alright so far.

Tessa had fully healed, and she'd greatly bitched about her Soldier removing the stitches. It stung like hell, but both sides of her body healed up nicely. She would have very little scarring thanks to the serum in her veins, but she slept a great deal once they were able to do so.

It wasn't until the second night there that Tessa felt up to renewing that physical bond that she had formed with James in her quarters so long ago. With no fear, they took full advantage of their freedom and allowed their lovemaking to be just that and not some secret union that had to be hidden away from the other soldiers in the Siberian facility.

The following day -- April 30th -- there was a jazz festival being held in the French Quarter, and Bourbon Street would be lined with vendors and performers who would be easy targets for a thieves guild. It was exactly what they could have hoped for, really.

Tessa and her Soldier dressed for the night with both of them tying their hair back. For Tessa, it was into a ponytail that would loop through the back of a trucker hat. For James, it was a low, loose ponytail that would mask the length of his hair with the help of the jacket he would wear. Tessa's jacket was entirely ruined, burned with the remains of the barn they left in their wake along with the evidence of them therein.

While James was dressed as he normally would be, Tessa wore jeans and a simple Black Sabbath t-shirt she'd packed into her belongings. They would split up for a time, Tessa taking one side of the street while James took the other, but they would always remain within sight of each other. Even in the chaos of an always busy city, she could pick out her Soldier's heartbeat above everyone else mingling about.

It was a good three hours before Tessa zeroed in on a man standing at the opening of an alleyway, a table set before him as he hustled a crowd through Three Card Monte. She had no trouble picking out his shill, but a quick buzz through that man's synapses showed her only a human. The grifter, though, had a mind that was quite intriguing.

He was definitely a mutant, one with strong mental barriers that would make any telepath jealous. As Tessa didn't read minds, she could only feel her way through thanks to the natural response of his brain to function, at least while he wasn't expecting it. Tucking her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, she meandered up to the table and watched for a moment, her eyes following the cards while people placed their bets on where the Lady was hiding amid the three cards on the table.

Three successes and a failure, each and every time.

Finally, Tessa's bright blue eyes lifted to take in the man before her on the other side of the table. His chin was covered in scruff, but he was handsome if you could get beyond the fact that his eyes were definitely not normal. The irises were bright red, and each sclera was black instead of white. While beautiful in its own way, she wondered if he had a way of masking it for the humans who looked on.

It was during this time that his attention turned on her at long last and a charming little smile quirked at one corner of his mouth.

"What about you, cher?" He asked in a Creole accent so smooth that James felt he had immediate competition in the man. "You think you can follow 'long with ol' Remy, hm?"

Her Soldier watched from across the street with his jaw tense and teeth grinding together, though he tried to keep his focus on looking through the goods of another vendor at that spot. At least the music was nice and reminiscent of the years of his youth, not that that made him feel any more at ease over Tessa's new admirer.

Tessa let a smooth and easy smile spread over her lips, her chin ducking in a playfully coy manner and her voice changing to a slightly higher pitch to make her seem like she was easily charmed by the man's looks and accent.

"I don't really know how to play," she lied smoothly and without a single tick to give her away.

"Well, now," Remy drawled, his smile spreading over his lips with ease. "It's not all that difficult, petite princesse. All you gotta do is find the Queen of Hearts, y'see?"

He showed the face of each card, one being the one already named with the other two being the eight of spades and the three of clubs. He leaned closer toward her over the table, one hand braced against the top of it while he directed her attention through his teachings.

"All you have to do, cher, is find that Lady there that's almost as beautiful as you," he crooned.

Tessa's smile widened and she gave a flirty bat of her lashes as she leaned forward a little more to make it seem she'd fallen fully under his spell.

"So, I bet each time I want to guess?" she asked and received a single, simply nod from the Cajun.

"That's all you gotta do, cher," he raised a hand and shrugged with the same shoulder as if the directions were easy as pie. "Minimum bet of just a dollar."

A dollar wasn't too terribly much to shell out to lure him further into the moment. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small bunch of cash folded in half, enough that it perked the interest of both the grifter and his shill. Without hiding it, she unfolded the bills and counted out only the ones before slipping the larger currency back into her pocket.

One dollar was laid onto the table. Remy straightened and gave her a winning smile before he started in on sorting the cards around to confuse her and any onlookers. Tessa had to hand it to the guy; he was quick and he wove his craft well there in front of her.

Once he stopped and folded his arms across his broad chest, Tessa gnawed on her lip as if in deep thought. A couple of people called out their guesses on the cards, but they hadn't placed their bets. Instead, Tess reached out to press the pad of her right index finger against the backside of the far left card. Once Remy flipped it over to reveal the Queen, the shill chimed in with a good job! that Tessa fully ignored.

"Well done, belle fille!" he exclaimed with a forced bit of pride in the woman to coax her further along into his game. Tessa let him think he'd snagged her by laying another dollar onto the table.

This time, the shill tossed in a fiver to further the bets along. When it came time to choose again, Tessa was the only one to guess correctly again. Once more, bets were placed and the game was in play with the blond winning her third hand.

Rather than a dollar this time, she reached into her pocket and fingered a twenty out of the folded bunch of cast which was then laid down. It made Remy's stomach lurch in excitement.

"You sure, cher?" he asked, his dark hair shifting a bit as he tilted his head to the right a little.

"Yep," she stated, but this time her eyes held a spark of flirtation that allowed her to lean in close to him and whisper toward his ear. "Only this win, I'd like to buy you a drink with my winnings."

A rumble of mirth spilled deeply from the man's chest and he acknowledged her for a moment to assure she meant what she said. When he was confident she meant it, he gave a nod.

"You have yourself a deal, petite chaton," he winked then started in on the cards, this time quicker and more smoothly than before. Damn if he wasn't amazing in his trade. Tessa could see how he'd risen to patriarch of the guild as he had.

Biting her lips, Tessa kept a weather eye on his movements until he stopped. Before the shill could pick, she laid her hand down over the card she chose. There was hesitation before the second thief was forced into making a choice that Tessa knew was wrong.

"You sure that's the one you want, cher? I'd hate for ya to lose all that money.

"Oh, sugar, I'm certain," she responded, her voice just as smooth as his.

The whole interaction made James want to strangle the Cajun and toss his body into the water. He couldn't even fully explain why he was so goddamn jealous of their target other than he was openly flirting with Tessa, whether it was to get her money or not.

With a widening smile, he reached down and began flipping over cards. The one picked by his accomplice was assuredly wrong the moment black came into view on the face. The third card was also black, leaving Tessa's pick to be the Queen herself.

There was a small tightening of muscles in his jaw, but Remy smiled and drew attention to the win with a great spill of Creole passing from his lips and a grandiose gesture of a bow that swept his trench coat around his legs.

"Mesdames et messieurs, we have a grand and beautiful winner!" Remy stated loudly before sweeping his hand in to take hers and bring it in a flourish up to his lips to kiss the back of it.

Soon enough -- and reluctantly -- the hustler released her, took up the cash and handed it over like a good sport. Tessa took it with another grin and light giggle that just did not sound like her at all. It crawled over James in all the wrong ways.

"And now, my friends, we break for a while," he stated, gathering up the cards from the table and slipping them back into his pocket to have readily available with the rest of his deck. He didn't bother with the table as it would be manned while he was away, only not by the shill who was helping fuel the betting. "Now.. about that drink, cher. Shall we?"

Tessa chuckled as she tucked the money into her pocket, and he offered his forearm to escort her like he was some proper gentleman. He could be, for all she knew, but right now wasn't the time to question things. She reached up and draped her arm around his so he could guide her into the milling crowd and off toward a lesser populated alleyway and a quietly-manned bar that was off the beaten path.

James wasted no time in following, though he was entering about the time Tessa was being seated at a table in the back of the main room. LeBeau sat where he could watch the door, but right then all his attention was on the pretty blond in front of him.

"You got a good eye, belle," he stated and folded his arms across the top of the table.

"I try," she stated, her brain sending out a pulse in search of her Soldier and finding him right where he was supposed to be.

A waitress came to the table for their order. Tessa requested a dark rum and Remy was content to have himself a double bourbon.

"Somethin' tells me you done walked into Remy's life for a reason, cher," he stated with a small smirk falling over his lips.

"Why would you think that?" The question was almost entirely innocent, really. She couldn't tell if he'd read her expression or just had a hunch about things.

"Because people don't one-up ol' Remy like you just did," he stated and propped his chin into his palm, those unsettling red irises on the beautiful features of the small woman before him.

"Well, I'll give you more credit now that I know you're not just fooled by a pretty face," she stated with a serene smile. "My name's Tessa."

"Now, that's a pretty name," he smoothly purred out, never dropping that charming little accent that was ingrained into his very soul. "Whatchu wantin' with ol' Gambit, cher?"

Tessa paused to give a smile and thank you up to the waitress when she brought back their drinks. Remy immediately had a drink from his glass, but the pretty blond followed suit soon after.

"You see my friend back there by the door?" she asked with a polite smile coming to her lips.

Remy's eyes flickered up and found the ice cold eyes of The Winter Soldier staring right back at him. His teeth clamped against each other for a moment before he slid his vision back to Tessa and gave only a nod of his head.

"That's my partner," she stated simply. "We used to work for an organization that really wants something you took from the Weapon X facility."

Those were the absolute wrong words to bring up to the Cajun, and it was clear in the change of expression that switched like someone put out the lights. He stretched each side of his neck and drained his glass without pretense.

"Still didn't answer my question, cher," he stated with a little less warmth behind the words.

"Let me be frank, Remy," she said gently. "HYDRA will do anything to get their hands on that journal, and they will be coming after you. We're just here to warn you so you can get away before they find you."

HYDRA was not a word the man wanted to hear, and he was easing back into his chair a little more, a hand slipping down into his coat pocket to idly stroke the edges of his trusty deck of cards.

"And whatchu know about them HYDRA people, pretty lady?" he tilted his head again, red eyes searching her own as she sipped her rum.

"Until just recently, I was their lead on a project in Russia," she stated, her eyes never wavering from holding his somewhat unsettling gaze. "I was raised in it, but I've seen them for what they really are -- we both have -- and we're running. We wanted to warn you that you got on their radar so you could do the same."

"They don't wanna come get a piece of ol' Remy, cher," he shook his head and let his glass be set down onto the table a bit too firmly. "That won't work out for any of them."

"Remy," Tessa started, but he was already getting to his feet and tossing a ten on the table to cover their drinks and a tip. "No, Remy. Please listen to me." Tessa rose, too, and left the majority of her drink behind as she did so.

"I think I've heard quite enough, cher," he said, pulling his hand from his pocket and withdrawing his entire deck of cards as he did so.

"Please, listen to me," she said and took a single step toward him so she could lower her voice. "I'm a mutant, too, Remy. I care about our people. I care about keeping them safe. I'm the one that took out Stryker."

"You really 'spect me to believe a little slip of a thing like you did all that?" he said referring to the destruction of the facility in Alberta.

"I didn't do it alone," she said. "I had my friend back there and another help me out."

"Still not believin', cher," he smirked and laid the deck of cards into the palm of his left hand. "I'll be goin' now, y'hear, and I don't want either you or your friend to be followin' when I do."

"I am literally begging you to listen to me," Tessa said softly. "This is no trap. You have to believe me. You are not safe here."

"And that is where you're wrong, petite belle," he smirked and laid his right hand over the top of the deck.

When he pulled that same hand back a moment later, cards rose in the wake of his hand, a bright purple glow bleeding into the edges and decorations of the face and back of each one. Tessa was immediately stepping away, her hands coming up to show him that she wasn't going to stop him if he wanted to leave, but Remy wasn't as convinced by the hulking, angry man who now stood between the Cajun and the doorway out into the alley.

With a flick of his hand, four cards flew toward James. Tessa lunged, but only in an effort to get herself between Remy and her Soldier. She wasn't fast enough, but James was. He dove out of the way only for the pathway into the alley to explode like four grenades had just gone off and shattered the brick and mortar.

"Remy, please!" she begged him, but he heard none of it.

Heavy boots shouldn't have moved as quickly and quietly as his did when he ran for the exit and leapt into the air. Right foot hit one wall of the alley to bounce him to the left to connect and launch him upward to the right again and the roof of the building next door.

James was quickly in pursuit, though he kept to the street and followed with his increased speed. As soon as Tessa got outside, she took flight and was chasing the Cajun as well.

Knowing full well that he was being pursued, Remy pulled his telescopic staff from his left pocket, extending both sides of it with a twirl of the item and enough force to send it out to its full length. Tessa had to give it to the man, he was graceful in every movement he made, and he was fucking fast, too.

She could have dropped him with a bolt of electricity, but she didn't. She wouldn't. She would get his attention when they were away from the big crowd attending the festival below. Once they reached an area where she thought she could deescalate the situation, Remy leapt down the ground level only to be blindsided by The Winter Soldier. The two went tumbling, but it was James who ended up flying off in the opposite direction.

Tessa landed behind the Cajun and set right into getting his attention focused on her, which probably wasn't the best of ideas for her to have. She tried to enter his mind and flicker a pulse or two, but his barriers were locked up tight now, and he was in full fight mode.

That staff lashed out toward her, and she dipped backward quickly to avoid being hit by it. He heard her Soldier running toward him and quickly charged a card and sent it flying to explode against the ground right in front of where James' foot landed. It sent the metal-armed man off in another direction entirely.

Tessa began to build her own charge, but Remy was able to feel the power of it as it started to rise. With a furious flurry of movement, he advanced on the woman with the staff. She blocked one end with one forearm then the other by the other until he gave a forward jab and hit her right in the stomach with a flash of purple kinetic energy that had glowed from the tip of the staff briefly.

A yelp was given as Tessa toppled backward, spilling over the ground and tumbling to a stop countless yards away. Gravel bit into her palms and stung like hell, but she scrambled back to her feet quickly and began her own advance, lightning flung between hits and kicks that he blocked with the staff.

Once James joined the fight, Remy had both ends of the staff occupied on both sides of himself, and he was winning the fight. Tessa was baffled beyond belief at how quick the man was. Dust around them was kicked up by their movements, and the gravel made the ground slick when any of them skidded around a hit or when they delivered a kick that he assuredly would block.

They fought until every single one of them was winded by activity and exertion. Craters could be seen where every charged and thrown playing card had hit the ground around them. Remy then ended the scuffle with a twirl of his staff that came to a halt as he buried one end of it into the ground and sent a blast out from its base, an explosion of sound and pain that sent both Tessa and her Winter Soldier flying back away from the man.

James got up, but Tessa didn't. She laid on her back on the ground, gasping for breath to return to her lungs and her hand clamping down over the area where she'd been shot just days before.

"Jesus Christ," she murmured, hair a mess, cap long gone and eyes closed as her body reminded her of the punishment she'd just put it through.

With James up, Remy moved over to where Tessa was and poised the end of his glowing staff right above her head, his eyes on The Winter Soldier.

"You move one more step," he warned with words that drifted unfinished in the air and raised the staff, fully prepared to pop Tessa's head like a grape.

James widened his eyes and halted his movement, his metal fist clenching and his arm calibrating while he set his jaw in grim determination to save his goddess.

Tessa, though... she gave a small chuckle that grew a little bit until she sounded almost delirious. A thought had just occurred to her regarding their last time in Canada years before.

"You have got to be Logan's friend that he was looking for up there," she said, her hand coming up to gently grasp the end of his staff and gently guide it away from her head. She wasn't getting back up to fight more.

"Logan?" he questioned in astonishment, his body loosening up a little. "Yeah, I know Logan. Why didn't ya just say you were buddies with ol' Canucklehead?"

He gave a deep laugh and collapsed his staff while Tessa laid there dying in the dirt and James watched him like he was a crazy man altogether.

"Well, had I fucking remembered it, I might have, but Jesus Christ," she gave him an exasperated look while she continued to lay there prone. "Had I known you were going to beat the shit out of both of us, I might've just done that, Remy. Forgive me for trying to be a decent human being by just warning you to run, though."

"Aw," he said softly. "Don't be that way, cher. Remy was just lookin' out for his own welfare. You start tossin' 'round names like HYDRA and people in the know tend to get a li'l bit nervous 'bout dyin', oui?"

"Ugh," was all he got back from her until he put the staff away in his pocket and reached his hand down to help her up from the ground. He was careful about it, and so was she. James, on the other hand, wanted the man to get his hands off of Tessa altogether.

"Forgive ol' Gambit, will ya, ma petite étincelle?" he asked with that returning charm and smile.

"She's not your anything, pal," James warned as he moved over to his lover and took her hand to tug her back away from Remy. "She is mine."

"No offense meant, sir," he gave a little bow then smiled to them both and politely kept his hands to himself. "And I apologize for my panic and ... all this trouble I seem to have caused."

Tessa linked her fingers between James and pulled herself close to his side in order to let him gain that warm and gentle surety that she was, indeed, his and was unharmed.

"Just get yourself safe, Remy," Tessa said. "I meant what I said. HYDRA is after us. They're after you. They're after anyone they can convert to their cause. Leave the area and don't come back if you can help it. Please."

"I will, cher," he stated and watched as the man tended to his beauty and the two of them started walking away. "Maybe next time we won't be meetin' as strangers."

Gambit stood there, his eyes watching the retreating forms of Tessa and her metal-armed companion. Now all he had to do was leave the guild in the hands of someone trustworthy and get the hell out of the area, too.

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Posted: 12 August, 2021