xp_logs | Marie-Ange resigns from X-Force

Marie-Ange resigns from X-Force. Remy is dubious.

Remy looked at the letter on his desk, back up at the red-headed woman, and back down at the letter. "You have to be kidding me." He said, not in anger, but a certain level of actual surprise. Of all of his people, the very last one he expected to receive a resignation letter from, it was Marie-Ange.

"Why would I joke about this?" Marie-Ange said, after a period of silence that did nothing to hide that she had considered half a dozen other responses. "I am resigning." She had expected this to be difficult, but she also owed it to Remy to tell him in person. Anyone else, she could have left the letter and just gone.

Remy's gaze was very level, the patient lizard on the sunny rock look that said he was processing everything behind his eyes, and nothing was being missed. "Dere a particular reason dat you want to give up you current low paying and highly dangerous employment?"

"Yes." Marie-Ange answered the question. Barely. "I could explain, but we would argue. You will tell me that I am needed here, confuse my reasons with personal issues, and point out how much trust has been placed on my skills by you and the team. Then I will tell you it has nothing to do with any one person here, I will ignore any attempts to guilt me about my decision and not be convinced to stay. It is not about money or danger and I am replaceable. If I had died in India, you would have hired a replacement. He would be from Israel and have predictive mass empathy."

"You know, Remy hates it when you do dat." LeBeau said finally, leaning back in his chair and regarding her. "Since I obviously fail in the future trying to convince you to stay, and you won't tell me why you're going, can you at least tell me where? It's easier den trying to keep tabs on you secretly, which we both know dat I'd end up doing. But I'd like to at least know where you're running to if you don't want to say what you running from. As a friend."

"It is to, not from. " She was not sure she was comfortable even telling him that much but Marie-Ange found that she couldn't just walk away and say nothing at all. "New Orleans. Ah, eventually. I have some things I need to do first." Like buy a cheap used car. She was -not- taking the bus. The bus smelled.

She didn't mention that she'd been up all night making sure Remy would fail to convince her. Finding just the right combination of things to say and doing readings over and over to check. That she had made sure to time the meeting so that Wanda and Illyana were nowhere in the building, because both women just by their presence caused ripples in her predictions.

"New Orleans." He repeated, looking at her carefully. That was not what he expected, especially without a call from Tante Mattie first. She was looking him in the eye, but her true intentions were carefully hidden. He'd taught her well, maybe a little too well, and now one of his best was heading out the door when he needed her. Damn.

"Here's what I'm going to do." Remy said, taking her letter and dropping it into his 'to shred' pile. "Remy going to consider dis a leave of absence. When you ready to come back, de job is waiting for you."

"I do not know ... " Marie-Ange's composure broke, only long enough for Remy to catch a flicker of deep worry before she recovered. "I do not know when the time will be right." When, it had to be when, and not if. "And I need a favor. Which I know is very much to ask just after I resign but it is important."

Remy's eyes narrowed for a moment, but it was hardly out of anger. "Go ahead." He said slowly, curious just what was waiting for him here.

There were so many ways this could blow up in her face. In the end, it came down to Marie-Ange having to trust Remy to understand just what she was about to ask. "No one is going to understand. I need them to not chase after me to try to convince me to stay. I do not care how it is done, but I need everyone to not try to follow me to try to drag me back home."

"It's not like Remy can stop dem, but I'll make it known dat you business is you business." Remy nodded. After all, it wasn't like they didn't have enough work to do in the face of her leaving. "You been training for a long time, Marie-Ange. Long enough to know when a situation can be handled on you own, and when it can't. Don't make a mistake now. Things get deeper, you call."

She was probably still going to have to deal with at least one of her friends trying to follow her, or at least leaving a veritable ton of messages. They were stubborn people. And how could she tell him that the last thing she wanted to have to do was call for backup? Marie-Ange frowned, and knew that there was no way Remy would fail to see through the line of shit she was about to deliver. "If it becomes a problem, I will call, yes."

Remy sighed. It wasn't as if he hadn't been guilty of the same kind of stubbornness himself in the past. He just had hoped Marie-Ange was smarter than he was. He reached into his desk and pulled out a set of keys. With a flick, he tossed them to her. "De address is on de key. In de washroom, de fan assembly in de ceiling slides down. Inside is a lockbox; a little cache of money, some useful contacts outside of de system in de city, a clean phone. Spare sheets are in de closet." Remy had prepared safehouses in numerous places, but this was actually his own apartment from his time in New Orleans.

"Now, something dat you may want to remember when you decide not to call for help, is dat we will be involved, one way or 'nother if something happens to you. You can't protect us, and if you get youself killed, you can't help us." He said finally.

"If I get myself killed, it will not be because I did not want your help." Which was still not a promise to contact him or anyone if things went horribly wrong, but it was as close to it as Marie-Ange was willing to give. "But if someone follows me, I will not be the one you are burying." She dearly hoped Remy would not read that as "I am going to kill someone who follows me." but if that was what came out of this, and it would keep her friends away from New Orleans, then she would suffer the consequences of them thinking she was that ruthless.

Remy stared at her for a long moment, evaluating the situation. He could get the information out of Marie-Ange. It wasn't that he was smarter; he had a capacity for cruelty in him beyond anything the woman had ever experienced, and there were ways past her current fatalistic stand. But ultimately, it wouldn't do anything to change her leaving, and it is doubtful he'd have much to do with the information that was useful. Marie-Ange shared a lot of his own qualities, that made him both tremendously effective and dangerous to himself. Inside of the french girl was the capacity for a Gambit, held at bay by her own precognitive powers.

He ever so often wondered to himself if she allowed herself to experience those futures in which she had hardened, and turned into the killer she was so capable of being. Did it frighten her? Or was she ashamed that it occasionally thrilled her, with the feelings of freedom and power?

"You said you piece, Marie-Ange." Remy said, finally. "Better dat you went now."