xp_logs | Opening Salvo: Aftershocks

In the aftermath of Romany's rescue, Pete proves he's still able to surprise Remy when he makes him an offer.

"So, you never told me dat you were de nice, relaxed one of you family, homme." Remy dropped the glass off beside Wisdom with the bottle, before he settled into his seat. Pete gave him a wintery smile around his cigarette. The was still crisp and cold, even at the end of April, and the balcony opened on a view of the river and the city. They'd just finished arranging for transport back to New York, and Wisdom had sought out a quiet corner. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet ever since they'd rescued Romany.

"De way Remy figure it," He poured two glasses full. "You going to need to spend some time out of England."

Pete shrugged. "No more than I usually do. I've got enough mates here that owe me favours to keep the worst of it off me back, if I keep me nose clean." He took a sip, then turned his head slightly to fix Remy with a broad grin.

"I've never been very good at that bit and I have no fucking intention of starting now. What about you? You want to go back to the swamp, or can I interest you in a job?"

"Thought dat you were de one looking for a job dese days?" Remy looked out over the river, idly tracing the skyline and wondering what his next move was. "I've got some party to attend at de Assassins Guild, a few threats to make... de usual, really."

Remy took a reflexive sip as his mind finally caught up with Wisdom's undertone. "Wait, you thinking what Remy think you might be thinking?"

"No, but only because I don't share your fixation with goats." Pete blew smoke down his nose. "Seriously, though: this extranormal ops outfit are just one bunch of bastards I've got unfinished business with, and I know of a lot more bastards out there that Charlie can't or won't more against. But it ain't like either of us is working for Charlie any more. Don't have to worry about what'll happen if we piss someone off too badly, and a bunch of kids get caught when they come looking for us. So I'm going to start pissing people off. Badly."

He leant back in the chair, looked up at the sky.

"I'm sick of letting them get away with it. Sick of the squalid little deals that keep butchers and bastards scurrying around in the dark, instead of dragged out into the light and shot. Sick of putting possible repercussions ahead of what I know needs doing. Sick of the same old excuses for looking the other way that I've been hearing from everyone for the last fifteen years. I'm calling fucking time on it."

He looked back at Remy.

"You in?"

"Hold on a second, Pete. I like de idea of being de bigger bastard den de bastards part, but let's be realistic here. You and I are good. We've been doing dis a long time, and let's be honest, de news of us coming to town in white hats will make a lot of people wet demselves." Remy took a sip, trying to order his thoughts. "Den dey figure out dat we just two people, and eventually both of us get it in de back of de head."

Remy put down his glass and began to tick off points with his fingers. "One, both of us have had a lot of our contacts go into de toilet in last two. Two, even with what I've got salted away and what I figure you were smart enough to hide, we still don't have anywhere near de resources to go after de people I figure you looking to go after. Three, we'd need a solid, stable base to work from, wit' support systems in place. Otherwise, all we're doing is going 'round killing who we think we need to until dey catch up wit' us."

Pete tapped the side of his nose, with a grin.

"Fortunately, squire, I have a number of extremely wealthy friends, who don't want to see me dead. And a few who don't care that much if I'm dead, but owe me big favours anyway. We can get a place to work."

"And where are we supposed to find de support team? People wit' de specialized training dat we need to..." Remy trailed off and put his hand over his eyes. "You thinking 'bout de rest of de people here, aren't you?"

Pete shrugged.

"Why not? They're a sharp bunch, they'll get the job done. Might take them a bit of time to get used to it, but it ain't like we were born knowing how to do the job, is it?"

"I can't wait to see you tell Xavier, homme. I hope it'll be a funny stroke." Remy shook his head. Despite what he said, his own mind was ticking over. Their adventure with Arcade a year back had shown him how effective some of the students could be. Besides, it wasn't like there was a lack of X-Men.

"Freedom to operate without it being tied back to de school... I have to admit, it sounds good. Who do you think is going to be able to put this together from the outside? Can't be de Professor."

"Wasn't planning on telling him anything until I've got most of it set in stone, to tell you the truth. I ain't looking for his blessing, just a certain amount of co-operation. As for the resources, well, Emma owes me some very big favours. December and January might have been a bit more hassle than she was planning, but she came out of the whole Hellfire business well ahead, and I'm calling that in. I understand she's been talking to MacTaggart, too, so the two of them are going to cook something up and get back to me."

Remy turned it over, and couldn't find any flaws in Wisdom's idea. "How far you planning to take this, homme? It means throwing out de rule book in a lot of cases. Dat's a lot to be asking dem."

Pete's expression grew darker. "We'll see. I ain't got any intention of turning into the kind of bastard we both used to work for. If someone can get the same job done without it getting bad, then I don't care how they do it. Other than that: as far as I have to. Anyone else can walk away whenever they want."

"Hope dat's de way things stand." Remy looked back out over the city for a moment. "Much fun as keeping pimps and thieves in line is, I'm not interested in ending up de same as dem. Alright, I'm in."

Remy picked up his glass and took a sip. "So, does dat mean we have to call you Professor W from now on?"