Chapter two
Remy arrived back at the apartment to find the chips cleared up and Rogue doing acrobatics over the furniture, trying to get from one side of the apartment to the other. She smiled meekly when she saw him.
"I hope you don't mind, but those chips were annoying me. I figured that I already did the floor test, so you wouldn't mind if I cleared 'em up."
"Thanks, chère, I wasn't much looking forward to the clean up."
Her smile turned brighter, pleased that she hadn't angered him.
"How you getting on?"
"I'm not," she admitted. "Which ever way I go, I always end up too far away from my door."
"And what about going the other way?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"Bedroom to kitchen."
"I don't see how that'll make a lot of difference."
"Because you can take a longer run up from the bedroom. Try it."
It took her three tries but with a longer run up of twelve feet, she was able to leap the nine or so feet to the couch. Of course she crashed over it and landed on the floor, but she had made it. She went to try again.
"Non, not today," he said, taking her covered arm and leading her away.
"But I nearly had it."
"No, you did have it, now you just have to practice. You looked at it from a different angle and figured out another way. That's mostly what being a thief is about, finding other ways to get what you want. But don't obsess about it or you get stuck in the problem and can't see a way out. Tomorrow we'll put some mats down so you can practice making that jump without hurting the furniture, then you can give it another try."
Rogue nodded. "Okay."
"I got some bagels for lunch, that okay? Yours is turkey, you're not vegetarian or allergic or something, are you?"
"No," Rogue smiled. "I love turkey."
"Good."
They settled on the couch and Remy turned the news on low in the background.
"So," Rogue began slightly hesitantly. "Where'd you get that power inhibitor?"
"Stole it," he said with a cheeky grin.
"Where from?"
"A military base in Canada. Mon père stole one for me to use when I was training."
"So why did you steal one? Did you expect to have an apprentice?"
"Non, but it pays to be prepared. First of all I tried to find a way to counteract its effects plus, if a mutant ever comes after me, I want a chance to even the playing field. I figure like you, most rely too much on their powers, which gives me the advantage."
"That's not evening the playing field, Cajun, that's tipping the odds in your favour."
Remy shrugged but his smile was unrepentant. "Is it my fault they rely too much on their gifts?"
He had a good point actually. If they ever did catch up with her, they would probably use one of their power dampeners on her, and she was no match for highly trained black ops soldiers without her powers.
"Did you find a way to counteract it?" she asked.
"Oui."
"How?" she leaned closer, eager to hear his answer.
"Practice," he said seriously. "It took me three months of trying for two hours a day, then I finally managed to override it. It still took another year to get my power nearly to full strength after that."
"So it's just sheer will power?"
"No. Like with thieving, your body and brain, have to find a way around the block. Our powers might look freaky but they're natural. What's unnatural is blocking those powers so with enough practice, your brain can find a new way. A bit like how stroke victims can regain movement, even though the original parts of the brain that handled those movements were damaged."
"So it's like rehabilitation for mutant powers?"
"Yeah, I guess. Why are you so interested?"
Rogue looked down at her nearly finished bagel.
"Sorry," he said, noting her hesitance, "I shouldn't have asked, that. You're entitled to your secrets, just like the rest of us."
After lunch, Remy suggested that they spar, after all, every thief will have to fight a security guard or worse at some point. He turned the power inhibitor on, cleared some space and they began to fight.
Remy noticed that she'd had some training but again, she was relying on her mutant powers too much. Remy on the other hand, had been fighting since he was a kid, so he not only had technique, he also had a few dirty tricks up his sleeve.
After throwing her to the floor three times, he felt that he had observed enough of her to start teaching. He began with a few Savate moves which Rogue picked up quickly. Once he had taught her half a dozen moves they sparred again, but this time Remy allowed Rogue to gain the upper hand a few times so that she could practice what she'd learned.
When they were finished, both were tired and headed to the kitchen for a drink.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Rogue asked. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I grew up on the streets, so I had to learn to defend myself. When the Thieves took me in, they taught me Savate, French kickboxing. Now I kind of use a mix of the two. What about you?"
"Oh, well I've been taking lessons since I was a kid." She wouldn't meet his eye so while he knew she wasn't lying, he knew it wasn't the whole truth either.
"You're good," he said, "but you rely too much on your strength so when your powers are turned off, you're unable to put any real force behind your blows."
"How did you know one of my powers was strength?"
Remy shrugged. "Most people with invulnerability have some kind of super-strength. Plus I can tell from your technique that you use brute force over skill."
He had his suspicions about where she had been trained, but he kept them to himself for now.
"Why don't you grab a shower," he said. "I still have a workout to do."
"We've been fighting for two hours! You can't need more exercise."
"We can't all have super-strength," he said with a flirtatious wink.
Rogue didn't know how to answer that so she shuffled off to have her shower. When she came out, Remy was leaping from beam to beam over the high ceiling. She watched him as he hung from a beam, going along it's length like a it was monkey bars, then he turned around so both hands were on one side of the beam and flipped across to catch the next beam, quickly manoeuvring so he was standing on it. He then jumped from beam to beam again, making it look like child's play. She wondered how he had climbed up there since she couldn't see a rope, but he had respected her privacy, so although she enjoyed watching him, she tore herself away and headed into her room.
***
Remy left her that evening as he went out. Rogue wanted to go with him, or at least ask where he was going, but she didn't feel that she knew him well enough yet to ask about his plans. She spent her time practising the jump from her room to the couch.
He returned just after ten that evening, carrying a large wooden board and a bottle of bourbon.
"Chère!" he cried upon seeing her still practising her jump. "What did I tell you about taking a break?"
"Well I didn't have anything better to do!" she snapped. "Besides, I made the jump two hours ago, now I'm just seeing how much further I can go."
"Then watch TV or something," he snapped. "Honestly, all work and no play makes Roguie a dull girl."
His words were flippant, at attempt to lighten the mood but Rogue felt stung by them.
"I am not dull!"
"No," Remy said with a sigh. "I was joking, Rogue, I'm sorry. But we really are going to have to find you some hobbies." He gave her his usual smirk and she suddenly felt odd. She couldn't describe the feeling since she had never experienced it before but if she had to liken it to something, it would be nerves. Which was silly; she was invulnerable and besides, in her (admittedly rather limited) experience, hobbies weren't something to fear.
Her throat suddenly felt dry and she swallowed.
"You want me to take up needlepoint or something?"
"How about poker?" he asked. "Ever played?"
Rogue shook her head.
"Then I'll teach you. Not only is it a fun game, once you're good, you can use it to get yourself some extra cash, especially if you get into a high stakes game. Go get changed and I'll give you your first lesson."
Rogue just nodded and left to take a quick shower.
When she returned, her hair was still damp, her face washed clean of make-up and wearing only a white t-shirt and jeans. She looked odd, not young exactly; perhaps innocent was a better word. Remy had set the dining room table up for a game of cards and there were two pizza boxes sitting on the other end of the table.
"Thought that maybe you skipped dinner," he said as he saw her eyes dart to the boxes while her stomach rumbled.
"Did you eat while you were out?" she asked as she helped herself to a slice.
"Nah, didn't have time."
She felt relieved for some reason. "What were you doing?"
Remy pointed to the large wooden board that he'd returned with. Rogue had forgotten about it until now. It was resting against the breakfast bar, and Rogue could see that it had a number of locks affixed to one side.
"Tomorrow you learn to pick locks," he said as he shuffled the cards. "It'll be long and tedious work, but worth it in the end."
"Where did you get that?"
"Stole it from a hardware store. If we were with the guild, they'd have locks you could practice on, but we'll just have to make do."
He dealt the cards, then poured two small shots of bourbon for them.
"Alcohol doesn't affect me," she said. "No drugs do, so if you were planning to get me drunk to win this game, you're out of luck."
Remy smiled. "Man, that's gotta suck for you, but I like your confidence, thinking you're gonna beat me."
Remy went through the rules for Texas Hold 'Em, explaining that it was the most popular poker game at the moment, then they played a few practice hands. Remy observed her as they played another two hands, then explained what her tells were.
"You push your hair behind ear when you are unsure, and sometimes you bite down on your lip. I saw you hustling pool in that bar, I know you've got a good poker face, you just have to remember to keep it."
After another four hands Remy spoke up again.
"Better, but you still get flashes of emotion now and again. No matter how good or bad your hand, remain calm. And don't forget to try and read my body language."
Rogue had forgotten about trying to read him but when she tried it was difficult, because he gave nothing away.
Remy won another two hands then decided they should call it a night as it was gone midnight.
"You did good," he told her. "Next time, just try to remain focused, and when you try to read me, remember to keep your own emotions locked up."
"I'll never get it," she said, folding her arms on the table and dropping her head onto them.
"Yes you will, chère, you just gotta have patience and not let it get to you."
Rogue wasn't very good at patience.
***
The next day Remy awoke feeling tired again. It seemed his new house guest suffered dreadfully with nightmares and after two interrupted nights, Remy was starting to feel lethargic.
He wanted to ask her about them, to see if maybe he could help her at all. Not that nightmares were that unusual, he sometimes suffered from them himself, but Rogue's were different. Really different. Not only did her cries signal many different scenarios, sometimes her voice even sounded different.
He knew her well enough however, to realise that she wouldn't tell him. He'd just have to get some ear plugs and live with it, until she trusted him a bit more, at any rate.
Today he taught her how to pick locks. When he demonstrated it, it took him a maximum of thirty seconds to pick the locks, but it took Rogue much longer. Remy assured her that she just needed practice and left her to get on with it while he went out.
When he returned, he had two sets of lock picks for her.
"They're for me?" she asked.
"Yep, every thief needs a good set of picks. One you keep on you at all times, the good set, the other, try and hide the pick and tension wrench somewhere on your person."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you hide them. If you're wearing trainers, put the important picks in the rubber sole, hide them in your hair grips. If all else fails, make sure you have some bobby pins in your hair. Or some paper clips handy. Almost any wire can be used to pick a lock, once you've had practice."
Rogue took to her new task with enthusiasm, only stopping when Remy told her it was time for lunch, then fighting practice.
That evening Remy suggested they watch a movie and asked her what she liked.
"I don't know." She shrugged.
"Well action, rom-com, thriller, science fiction, fantasy..." his words trailed off as she looked blank. "Cher, have you ever watched a movie before?"
"Of course I have!"
"Name one."
"I... There was one, about a horse, a black horse called Beauty. And I remember one about a school, teenagers... I can't really remember what they did though."
"So when was the last time you watched a movie?"
"I don't know, a few years ago. I don't watch much T.V."
"You don't like it?" He asked.
"I just haven't had the time, okay?" she felt uncomfortable, which was making her snappish.
"All right," He thought for a moment. "So how about superhero movies? Given your powers, you must like them, no?"
Rogue shrugged.
"What about Superman?" He reasoned that everyone had heard of superman.
"Nah, he's too good to be true. All that power and he doesn't use it for personal gain? I don't buy it."
"You've seen a Superman movie then?"
"I think so. And he had this silly little curl on his forehead, that annoyed me too."
Remy smiled. "How about Batman then?"
"He seems a little too... military for me."
"I'm gonna guess you haven't seen Adam West as Batman then?"
"Who?"
"There was a series in the 60's."
"No. I've never seen any Batman actually, just read bits and pieces about him. I don't like all the gadgets he uses."
Remy picked up on the words military and gadgets, but didn't know what to make of them.
"So how about Spider-Man, you seen any of those movies?"
"No. I think I might have seen a cartoon though. He's just a regular boy who gets superpowers, right?"
"Right, and he isn't a goody two shoes neither."
"Okay, I'll try Spider-Man."
Remy took that as his cue to head for he rental store, which thankfully was only a block away. He also bough tortilla chips and popcorn for them to enjoy and they settled on the couch that faced the T.V. It was only a two seater though, so they had to sit fairly close together. After about half an hour, Remy put his arm around Rogue's shoulders and drew her to him. He didn't mean anything by it, it was just instinct for him.
"What the hell do you think you're doin' swamp rat!" She glared at him.
"What?"
"My powers? Unless you want to wake up in a coma, stay away from me!"
"I don't think anyone can wake up in a coma. Wake up from one, maybe."
"Cajun! Just stop it!"
Remy had forgotten about her powers at that moment, but he hadn't when he'd dressed for the day.
"Look, Rogue, you're covered, I'm covered, I've even got gloves on, we're perfectly safe, okay? I'm just trying to make us both a bit more comfortable, that's all. I mean you no harm and my intentions are completely honourable."
Rogue looked sceptical so Remy tried another tac.
"What happens if we're on a job and I have to grab your arm? You gonna react like this and bring the security down on us? I swear I'm not trying to be inappropriate with you, chère, but we have to get used to each other."
He could see doubt on her features so put his arm around her shoulders and once again tried to pull her into him. She allowed it, although she was tense.
"Relax, chère. Just snuggle up and enjoy the movie."
He rewound it to the point where she had started yelling at him and they continued watching, although it took Rogue another thirty minutes until she finally relaxed. Thankfully it was a fairly long movie, so he still had time to enjoy the feel of her against him.
***
Each day continued in a similar manner of training and fighting, with the occasional night out for practice. On the nights they went out, Remy taught her to play pool properly, so she could hustle for real, or took her to a casino where she watched while he played. He tried to convince her to play but she refused. Remy knew that she wasn't yet good enough to play these high stakes games, but she was getting there and the practice would be good for her.
One or two nights a week Remy went out alone, usually returning anywhere between midnight and morning. Rogue suspected what he was doing but even though she didn't like it, she held her tongue. Just because she was destined to be single her whole life, didn't mean that Remy had to be as well. Besides, she was his apprentice, or something, so technically he was her boss, her superior. She had been following orders her whole life, so chewing him out just felt wrong.
The rest of his time he spent with Rogue, or at least in the apartment with her. They stayed in most nights and usually ended up playing poker and/or watching movies. Rogue didn't seem too familiar with television though, not knowing what shows were popular, or what movies were good. He wondered what sort of environment she had grown up with not to be so unfamiliar with modern media. He had asked her about computer games once, and she had never played one.
He thought the guild had been tough on him, but his upbringing was nothing compared to Rogue's. In so many ways, she was naïve, and not just with television and movies. One example was that she had little idea of the cost of things. Another was that she said she didn't like soda, until he pressed her into trying one and she discovered that she did like it. Fashion was completely alien to her and she knew nothing about style. The only thing she cared about in clothes were function.
Remy took her to a quiz night just to see how good her general knowledge was. On topics like biology and geography, her knowledge surpassed his but on current events, politics and music, she was a complete novice.
He wished that she would trust him enough to share her past with him, but he didn't pry. She would open up in time, he was sure.
He also taught her other skills while they played pool or poker. For example, although alcohol didn't affect her, he taught her to knock back shots and play drunk. Playing a believably tipsy person actually took skill, and it was a skill she could use to disarm both pool and card players. He also taught her a little of the theory about alarms, which was basically just circuits. She learned (in theory at least) what the different components of a security system were, how to recognise the types of circuits, how to bypass them or override them, and the security measures they put in place to try and prevent that kind of tampering.
He taught her how to read body language, especially common poker tells, as well as how to lie convincingly and things like how to watch for a tail, recognise law enforcement, how and where to buy a burn phone and many many other small but vital skills. Well, they were vital if you were leading a life crime and wanted to stay below the radar.
One thing that she had never even considered before, was to shop in stores without surveillance cameras. Remy didn't insist on that all the time but explained that if he heat was on, it was always best to avoid such places. He taught her how to recognise them, even the hidden ones, and how to tell the difference between a real camera and a dummy, which lots of smaller shops employed as a deterrent, because they couldn't afford (or probably need) a proper surveillance system.
Rogue listened and took everything in like a sponge. In fact, when he was teaching her was just about the only time when she was normal around him, the rest of the time she often seemed a little on edge.
***
After almost three weeks, Remy retuned home one evening with her false I.D. He had bought her two top grade identities, one in the name of Sarah Mathews and the other in the name of Claire Beaumont.
She examined them closely and seemed impressed with their quality. He could almost hear her mind working as she realised that he had purchased 60,000 dollars worth of I.D. for her. He saw her eyes shine with what he thought might be tears, but she dipped her head and looked away.
"Thank you," she said in a small voice.
"My pleasure, chère." He headed into the kitchen to get dinner ready. "By the way, tomorrow we're moving on. We've been here longer than usual anyway."
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Wherever. You have any preference?"
Rogue shook her head.
"Then let's head east, see what we find that we like."
***
After travelling for two days and staying in motels overnight, they finally decided to settle in Oklahoma City for a few weeks. Remy found them an apartment that was available for a short term let and rented it for two weeks in the name of Robert Lord. She somehow doubted that was his real name though, and wondered what his name was. Of course if she were to ask that, he would probably want to know her real name too, so she contented herself with calling him Gambit for the time being.
It amazed Rogue how he just just seemed to throw money around. As well as buying her I.D. he gave her half his poker winnings, insisting that she was his lucky charm, and she wondered just how much money he had, that he could throw it about so easily.
One day she had taken the bank cards that he had given her to go along with her identities, and looked up the balance on an ATM. One account had $3,251.19 and the other had $2,120.92. The amounts seemed off to her, but then she supposed a perfectly rounded figure, like $3,000 would look odd in a supposedly used bank account.
She didn't withdraw any money though, and she never spent more than a few dollars of the money he gave her. She kept the rest, intending to pay him back, or maybe keep it as an emergency fund in case she had to leave him. She supposed it depended on if Remy was willing to keep her around for a while or not.
She didn't like the idea that they might go their separate ways but life had taught her that there were few certainties she could count on. It had also taught her that she should plan on being betrayed, used, or left behind.
She hadn't missed anyone who had left her in almost four years now, but she had a feeling she was going to miss Gambit, no matter how hard she tried to harden her heart to him.
It was quite late by the time they had settled into the apartment.
"I don't know about you, but I'm tired," Remy said. They had been travelling for most of the day, after all. "What do you say we go out to eat tonight, chère? We'll pick up some groceries tomorrow."
"You mean, like, a restaurant?" She sounded hesitant.
"Sure."
"I don't have anything to wear."
He gave her one of those penetrating looks, the ones that made her feel like a freak.
"Have you ever been to a steak house before?" he asked.
"Uh, no, I don't think so."
"Trust me, what you're wearing is fine."
"Can't we get take out?"
"We always get take out or I cook. Let's go out for a change, chère."
Rogue looked unsure but nodded her agreement. Five minutes later they were heading out of the apartment building, intending to wander until they found something they liked.
Remy put his arm around Rogue's shoulder as they walked but it seemed like a completely natural action for him. Rogue felt uncomfortable with the proximity but she didn't want to hurt his feelings, so she didn't say anything. If he noticed her stiffen up slightly, he didn't mention it.
Finally they found a burger bar that looked nice and got a table. The experience was fascinating to Rogue, since she had only ever been to posh restaurants before. Here, instead of soft classical music and tasteful décor, there was an upbeat pop music track playing and seemingly very available inch of wall space was crowded with pictures, posters and memorabilia. The waiters and waitresses all seemed to be wearing the same uniform, but it wasn't black tie as she was used to. Their waitress was far friendlier than she was used to, and flirted shamelessly with Gambit.
Rogue knew enough to recognise flirting when she saw it, she was trained in it after all. This girl was an amateur; she was making it too obvious and too easy for Gambit. Men, or at least the men she was used to using her skills on, liked to feel like they were in charge, or maybe that they were winning a prize, not that what they wanted was being given away too all and sundry.
Remy seemed receptive though, and Rogue didn't like how it made her feel. She briefly considered trying some of her own seduction techniques on him but then wondered, what was the point? The point of her learning to seduce men was so that she could one, get them alone and two, absorb information from them. She wanted neither from Gambit. And even if she did actually like him, they couldn't do anything about it; she still had poisonous skin.
She distracted herself by looking at the pictures on the walls.
"Who is that?" Rogue asked once the waitress had left, pointing to a black and white picture. "I feel like I should know her."
"That's Audrey Hepburn. Breakfast at Tiffany's, My fair Lady?" he prompted when she looked blank. "She's an actress," he explained.
Rogue looked at the picture again. "I don't think I've seen anything she's been in."
"Then we're renting a few of her movies next time we stay in," he declared. "Everyone should have an appreciation for Audrey."
Once again he wondered about her upbringing but again held his tongue.
He had noticed how she seemed to close down as he flirted with the waitress and wondered if perhaps she was developing feelings for him. Part of him hoped so, but the more intelligent part of him prayed that he was wrong.
Whether he was right or wrong, he refrained from flirting with the waitress for the rest of the night. He noticed that she had written her phone number on the bill when it came, but he simply put the cash on top of the bill and closed the receipt wallet.
As they walked back to the apartment, he put his arm around Rogue's shoulders again. He had been making a point of touching Rogue at least once a day, but usually in a far less intimate manner; grabbing her arm or hand to get her attention, putting his hand on her shoulder as he leaned over to look at something, or patting her knee when she did well.
Putting his arm around her on the way to he restaurant had just been instinct, but he had felt her stiffen up at the contact. He thought it was ridiculous though, after all, she was fully covered, so he resolved not to pull away.
Besides, everyone needed touch sometimes and deadly skin or not, Rogue was no exception.
***
The next day, Remy presented Rogue with a new challenge. So far she had passed every test or challenge that he had given her and was progressing almost as fast with her training as he had. Remy had been the youngest boy ever to take the tilling and pass first time, and had then gone on to pass his Master Thief tilling, also in record time.
When he wanted something, he was determined, and it seemed that Rogue was just the same.
As such, he had stayed up half the night preparing a few challenges for her, basically just the details of places that he had robbed in the past.
He drew floor plans and wrote details of the security system, locks and any other relevant details, like security guards, and told her to work out a plan and time frame to rob the building.
He started her off easily enough, with the theft of a necklace from a private home and safe.
She hadn't been with him long enough to know much about electronic security systems or safes, but it seemed she already had some knowledge of them, which she added to with internet searches and two days later, she presented him with her plan and time frame.
He looked over it, and it was good, although perhaps she had underestimated her timings.
He handed her more details, this time to rob a small museum of a gold chalice. The building had electronic security and guards, but no safe.
This plan required equipment, for which she suggested military issue equipment, which confirmed some of his suspicions.
Of course, in reality she wouldn't need rope and a winch to lower herself from the skylight as she could fly, but she had done as he asked and planned this as if she didn't have mutant powers.
He was impressed, although there were a few things he had to correct her on. For example, she had failed to realise that 10pm was change of guard, and had proposed that as a break in time. With twice as many guards on duty, and a fifteen minute cross over on clocking in and knocking off, it was the worst time imaginable. She hadn't read the small print.
He explained that generally speaking, the best time for a break in was between 3 and 5 in the morning because between these times, the guards would be feeling the most tired (nearing the ends of their shifts, usually 6 to 8 o'clock), the most relaxed (having already done many circuits of the building), and were highly unlikely to be checked on by bosses at this time. Sloppy and tired security guards were always preferable to wide awake and on-the-ball guards.
She listened more intently and resolved to check for the shift change with her next test.
This time Remy gave her the task of working out how to steal an antique ring from a private collector. It was on display in his home, so no problems with a safe, but equally the electronic security was top notch and there were security guards.
It took her a week since she didn't seem to be familiar with many of the security measures, such as floor sensors and laser beams, but she worked out a way around them herself rather than asking him for help. He admired her for her independence (it reminded him of himself) but he did kind of wish that she would ask him for help sometimes.