Scott and Remy, Thursday morning

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Remy, upon his return to the mansion, comes to Scott with the information he dug up in Europe about the death of Pete's father. The identity of the culprit is a very, very, very bad thing.


Remy LeBeau looked like shit. He was jetlegged, hungover and had been up for forty hours solid at this point. He wanted another drink, a nap, was ready to kill for a handful of dexidrine and was carrying a thick file full of bad news in his right hand. He didn't bother to knock as he reached Scott's office.

Scott looked up at him, automatically saving and closing the file he'd been working on. "Close the door behind you," he said quietly, correctly judging Remy's expression. "What's up?"

"Me. And Remy can't figure out why dat is." LeBeau dropped into the chair across from Scott's desk, his normally insolent sprawl replaced by the slump of utter exhaustion. "Heard somewhere dat people go to Europe on vacation. Must be one of dem urban legends."

"I wouldn't know... I don't take vacations," Scott said, giving Remy and his file a troubled look. "The Professor passed along why you were over there. You turned something up, then."

Remy tossed the file on the desk with a fat thump. "A folder full of disaster. Dat what Remy found." The fatigue was starting to get to him, making him less controled and gaurded. Remy knew he was in the middle of a possible war, and that he took personally. "Dat's who killed Wisdom's pare."

Scott reached for the file, pulling it closer and opening it. It only took him a minute to skim the first few pages. "Shit," he muttered. "De la Rocha?"

"Alphonso De La Rocha." Remy shook his head. "Motherfuckin' De La Rocha. De man he used to procure de poison was ex-KGB. Used all sorts of double blinds. If Sirov hadn't have made his movie debut a few months earlier, I would have never traced it back to Alphonso."

He was getting one of those headaches again. Scott leafed rapidly through the file, resting his head in one hand as he read. "Damn it. What are the chances that Pete will turn this up himself?"

"Honestly? It's unlikely, but I wouldn't rule it out. I got lucky in making a connection, but still... If Remy could find it, bet dat Wisdom can find it." Remy shook his head tiredly. "Which means dat de la Rocha is a walking dead man if Pete ever finds out."

"Not that any of us would shed any tears for the man on a personal level, but if Pete kills him..." Scott shook his head. "And I'm not saying anything you don't already know," he muttered, skimming through the rest of the file before he looked up at Remy.

"Dat puts us in a situation den, neh?" Remy said, returning to look at the file. "Wisdom is not going to stop looking for who killed his father, and eventually dese things have a way of getting out. Remy brought dat to you because right now, Pete is not thinking right. He finds dis out now, before we plan, den he going to give Shaw his excuse to start a war 'tween us and de Hellfire Club."

"So what's going on with this, then?" Scott asked, closing the file, some frustration at the situation creeping through into his voice. "Advance provocation? Is de la Rocha trying to bait us so that we provide Shaw with that excuse?"

"Non. Dat's not his style. de la Rocha's triggers are pride. De people in de mansion, especially Wisdom and 'manda took his son from him. Dat means he needs to hurt dem to regain his honour. De attack at Pete's pare, de DVD on Valentine's Day, all of it matches up." Remy pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, clearing his vision. "But Shaw would take de excuse if it was offered. Unless you ready to take dem now, keep dat file away from Wisdom. Den go talk to de Professor, tell him what's coming."

"The war we've been heading for, for better than a year," Scott said, his eyes still on the file, not on Remy. "I keep telling myself there's no such thing as the inevitable, but they keep hitting us where it hurts." Time after time.

"Unless you ready to take dem now, keep dat file away from Wisdom. Den go talk to de Professor, tell him what's coming." Remy leveled a look at Scott, a seriousness unlike him taking over. "Because you might not know what war means, homme. de la Rocha is bad enough, but if dat Shaw comes into it, he got de reasources to buy de Professor out of petty cash. De money to hire people like Wisdom and I."

"Don't lecture me, Remy," Scott said neutrally, closing the file. "I have to think."

"I just been in Europe doing horrible things to people to get that information, Summers. You want it, den you can damn well listen to me until Remy sure dat you can be trusted wit' it." Remy held out his hand for the file. "Your choice how t' play dis one, homme."

Scott looked right at him. "Fine," he said simply. "You want to take it back, be responsible for keeping this particular secret?" He shoved the file across the desk. "Go right ahead. But the fact that you brought it to me in the first place suggests to me that you don't really want that."

"Non. Remy brought it to you so dat I'm not forced to choose 'tween killing Wisdom and de la Rocha. But Remy not one of your X-Men, homme. Seen your squad moves. You can do something dat Remy can't match wit dem, but dat don't mean you understand de kind of death dat dis could lead to." Remy picked up the file and stood up. "You too good to prove dat you really understand what dis could do, fine. Remy take it to someone dat he can trust."

Scott shook his head. "We're talking past each other. Leave the information with me, or don't," he said. "It's your call."

"You haven't answered my question, Scott." Remy leaned in. "I make dis clear. You sure dat you understand dat dis could lead to de messy and painful death of every single person in dis mansion? Either you know it and take it seriously, or you don't."

"Stop trying to put the ball back in my court," Scott said coldly. "I could tell you I know the risks six different ways, but they'd be empty words. This is your information. It's your call. If you don't think I can handle it, turn around and get the fuck out of my office."

"Remy can see why de mansion gets invaded every few days." Remy dropped the file at his feet. "Dis gets back to Wisdom, den we going to have words, homme." He turned and walked away.

"Get some sleep," Scott called out after him as he headed out of the office. "You look like shit," he murmured, as Remy vanished into the hall.