A Calculated Gambit

Gambit- A device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage. Affiliated with Alternate Origins Remy LeBeau RP blog.Joined 12/4/15

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Bosses and Liars

[blue-phoenix-rising]

Marco listened intently, though as always his expression gave the impression of the complete opposite. Calling it ambitious was an understatement, something that cities with all their manpower and funding could still only dream of. It was the last thing he’d expect anyone, especially someone at the top of a crime ring, to say much less be able to pull it off. It helped explain the very specific rules as well; kids were kids and cops were just trying to do what’s right.

“That’s one hell of a plan you have there, and it even sounds like it’s working-yoi.” For one thing, Remy kept Marco off the streets because if he hadn’t found some kind of income that’s likely where he’d be when rent was due. It was relieving to know some of the money was being put to good use. “Like fighting fire with fire.”

He glanced at the blood-soaked cloth around his shoulder; Marco was admittedly going to miss that shirt. “Although, I can’t say I’ll be much help for a while. Did you tail me because you had a bad feeling?” Though it was embarrassing to muck up in front of his own boss, at least it ended up saving his skin.

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Remy was glad that Marco could see it his way. Not many people could see it. It’s why the information was privy only to a few. He nodded quietly, “It does seem to be working. There are some rough patches, the other gangs seem to always have a bit of a problem with me. I’m not old news like a lot of the groups around here. I come in and start taking their money and business and it’s one of the fastest ways to make enemies.” 

“That was the reason I followed you. It was your first real dangerous mission and I had bad blood with the gang you were encountering. I wanted to make sure that you were safe. If you didn’t make it through have a better plan for next time.” 

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Kylo rubbed his lips together, looking down. “You seem to know just about everything…” He muttered, deep voice rasped and soft. 

He was getting tired, his body catching up on the weariness the fight from earlier had caused. He then snapped himself back to reality, however, meeting the crime boss’ eyes and nodding.

The words ‘do something with you’ didn’t sit well with him, but he was going to ignore that feeling. LeBeau seemed trustworthy and against the idea enough for Kylo to rest assured he wasn’t going to use him like a weapon… He threw on his jacket once again, sniffling. It really was getting late, and chances are, Hux would be at his apartment, and would sure enough question his injuries and how they were already treated. That would be fun to explain. “Two Monday nights…” He repeated, and then quietly replied, “Sure.”

And of course, two weeks passed by as quick as two hours, and Kylo Ren once again found himself inside of the casino. He looked around, trying to find the crime boss, except he was back to his normal, fight-ready self. However, he was having anxious thoughts again. He did say two Monday nights, right? Ugh, I hope I didn’t hear that wrong… If I did, I’m fucking screwed-  Stay calm, Ren, or else you’re going to goddamn explode again… And then we’ll see how much LeBeau wants to help you.

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The mob boss was working the bar knowing he would need to leave at a seconds notice. He smiled seeing Kylo and he walked over to him. Unlike their four in the morning session the casino was busy and blazing. He was glad that the other looked well rested and that he had actually shown. 

“Come on to the lower levels there’s some training things down here. I have a course built specifically for thieves but I think it will do you just as well. Unless that’s not where you want to start because there is a lot of things that you need to train on and trying to be stealthy might not be putting your best foot forward.” Remy wasn’t trying to insult as he lead the other through the back room and down a set of stairs to the lower levels. He was trying to be realistic. “Sparring might be a good start, or escape tactics, or improvised weapon making.”

It was clear that Remy was ready to jump right into training and wasn’t going to pull any of his punches. It was clear he had trained people before and knew what he was going to be pushing Kylo through. 

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Bosses and Liars

[blue-phoenix-rising]

He shifted as Remy spoke to get more comfortable, trying to keep his body from getting too stiff. Marco was only vaguely familiar with the game but he knew of the term anyway, since it was a tactic not just useful in chess. 

“A better city through crime… you don’t hear that every day.” Most gangs and mobs had predictable goals; make lots of money, control areas and businesses, crush the competition, become untouchable. They aimed to bring a city to its knees through crime, not improve it. That usually meant bringing down crime rates, helping the homeless, that sort of thing. But Marco was quickly learning that the man known as Gambit wasn’t predictable in the least bit, so there had to be a reason.

“I feel like it might spoil the surprise if I ask what the goal is.” He said with a smirk. Marco figured Remy was baiting him on purpose, but after a statement like that he couldn’t say he wasn’t curious. Whether he’d get an answer was another thing entirely.

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“Like I told you when you first came I wasn’t an average boss. I have my no cops no children rules for a reason. The house you’re in right now it probably the fanciest thing I own and it’s mostly for show. Considering most other bosses have mansions and private Islands this is rather small for being someone being one of the biggest in this game.” 

“Every city I’ve entered crime, corruption, homelessness has gone down significantly. Especially in the areas I control.” Remy leaned back. “All my money that doesn’t go to my people I’ve been putting back into the community. Crime is one thing I know better than anything so I try to use it to get what I want. Most of my money has been funneled into the foster care system, work programs, and really anything that I think would help drop crime.” 

Remy sighed, “Once the other bosses have been stuck to the wall and crime for the most part prevented I’ll close a lot of my ops. I’ll keep the casinos and drugs because they make good money and it’s personal choice for people to use ‘em.”  

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Bosses and Liars

[blue-phoenix-rising]

The sudden shift in accent caught Marco off-guard for a few moments. “I’ve heard about these ‘tears’, I figured people were hitting the drugs a little too hard.” Easy way to explain one person talking about it, but he’d heard it anywhere from buses to bars. A citywide mass hallucination like that was much harder to wave away, unless there was something in the water as some actually believed. He had yet to witness one, so he remained skeptical.

Marco opened his mouth to let loose another 'bullshit’ at Remy’s last statement of who he was, but he stopped before saying it to think about the facts for a few moments. The accent, red eyes, exploding coin, thieves’ training.. Everything he had heard lined up; either this guy was one hell of an impersonator or was the real deal. For one, superpowers weren’t an easy thing to fake.

Then it dawned on him that after all this time, the 'bartender’ Marco first met? The boss himself. Guess he really did get that one-on-one interview after all. About the only response Marco had was to laugh, then clutch his sides and grimace because of the pain that action brought.

He regained his composure. “Sorry, sorry, I’m not laughing at you. Everything just kinda fell into place is all. Had me fooled this entire time, but then again you would have to be good at that.”

“Gambit, eh? Should I keep calling you Remy so your secret’s safe?” After all, it wouldn’t be good if his boss’s identity got out.

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Remy shrugged, “Not like most people would have any trouble with you calling me the Gambit, Most believe there’s more than one Gambit around so it’s not impossible. Remy leaned back in his chair. “Probably a good idea to keep it a secret though.” Even his own workers were kept in the dark it was for his own and their protection. If no one knew who the real Gambit was then his men couldn’t be tortured for it and if no one knew who the real Gambit was his men wouldn’t be able to give him up. 

“Trust me the name has a meanin’,” Remy explained. “It’s a move in chess. A pawn is typically given up for the greater good. The name it’s self is it’s own tactic. If someone was to find out who I was I could easily convince anyone that I was nothing more than that a pawn for something else that I wouldn’t be the end goal to the fall of my empire.” 

“Or some of the hire ups who know exactly what’s going on see it as a meaning for the entire operation that I run.” Remy put his legs up crossing them not really minding the laugh. “The Gambit is the crime and the end goal is a better city.” That was the part that was shocking for a lot of people to hear and most when they first found out always thought of it as a lie. “I don’t do what I do with no end goal.” 

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Bosses and Liars

[blue-phoenix-rising]

There was the occasional flinch from Marco, especially when anything that stung had been applied, but otherwise the process wasn’t a terrible ordeal; he had gone through this enough to know what to expect. Didn’t mean Marco wouldn’t voice his annoyance with the occasional grumble. Finally it was over and he could relax a bit more and the pain gradually faded away to a dull, but still very noticeable, ache.

Marco watched Remy’s exploding coin trick with curiosity. “Now that’s interesting.” If he said he could do a lot more, and wasn’t just trumping up his skills, it likely meant Remy wasn’t limited to just little parlor tricks. It would explain how he managed to scare that mob off with little apparent trouble, but there was another question; just how the hell did he do that? The coin had looked normal, with nothing attached to it that would cause that flash and bang it did. As for the color shift, Marco thought it had been a trick of the light and thought nothing of it otherwise.

He took one of the painkillers with a fresh cup of tea. “Thanks-yoi. So, who are you really? Most bartenders I’ve met don’t claim to have assassin’s training, or can make things explode.”

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Remy sat down and he leaned back in the chair. “Well the powers don’t come with an easy explanation. It’s this whole tear in the universe thing. Given lots of people superpowers. I got stuck with red eyes and energy powers.” Remy had switched back to his more Cajun accent not finding any reason to hide from Marco any longer he had found him useful and loyal.

“Now Assassin’s training is easier, grew up with a thieves guild back in the states they were suppose to join with the assassins guild and I was pose to be the person who did that. Had to train as an assassin for a little while. That gig never really worked out.” 

“Now for who I really am? Honesty doesn’t come easy. You might not even believe me cause there are a lot of layers to the work we do.” Remy smirked a little and tilted his head to the side. “I’m the Gambit.” 

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Bosses and Liars

[blue-phoenix-rising]

It was less the change of name that Marco raised an eyebrow at, and more at the idea that Remy saved him all by himself. “You took on five guys by yourself? Bullshit.” He scoffed, not without someone taking a few hits at least, but Remy looked untouched. That was pretty odd.

Marco shook his head. “Thanks, but considering I still feel like I’m on the deck of a ship with a migraine to boot, I’m going to pass on food for now. Painkillers and some more of this tea would be good.” He didn’t think he could keep anything down that wasn’t liquid, maybe when he felt braver he could try soup.

Marco patiently waited for the task of cleaning the wound on the back of his head. The blood had dried by the time he woke up, and what little hair he had on the top of his head was partially matted with the blood and was stuck to the wound. When Marco pulled himself free in his panic it must have reopened it. The lacerated skin was pretty tender, and Marco was bracing himself for a world of pain.

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Remy was careful in trying not to cause too much pain as he cleaned and re-bandaged Marco’s head wound. Remy chuckled and he laughed hearing Marco’s disbelief at him taking down five guys. “I have had assassin’s training but you never know.” He pulled back and got up. “No there is a reason it’s so easy.” He pulled a coin from his pocket and for a few seconds in his hands it shimmered purple and when it hit the ground it exploded unlike a fire cracker. “Can do a lot more than that but that’s a demonstration.” 

“I’ll go and get you more of those things.” He again disappeared for a minute before coming back with a full pot of tea and a handful of pain killers. “Here you are. Should be enough to last you.” 

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Bosses and Liars

[blue-phoenix-rising]

In his daze, Marco realized he wasn’t alone but the reassurance was enough to cause him to relax a little bit; he doubted they’d save his sorry ass to harm him. Considering just laying there was dizzying enough, he definitely didn’t plan on getting up anytime soon.

It took a while, but when the ringing and spinning finally subsided enough for him to focus Marco was then able to check his surroundings. Looking around, the room was like nothing he’d been in before; he most definitely felt out of place and here he was getting blood on the sheets of a very nice bed.

And finally, who he assumed was the owner of the place coming back though it wasn’t who Marco would ever expect and he squinted. “Robert?” Of course, he only recognized him as the bartender he’d run into on occasion and would often get jobs from, now sans sunglasses. Marco wasn’t quite sure what to think of those strange eyes, but he said nothing. “How’d I get here, how long was I out?”

He took the offered cup of tea with his good hand, after finding his other arm would burn with pain at the slightest bit of movement, and began to sip from it. Concerned, Marco flexed his fingers, twisted that wrist a little, and with relief found everything still worked despite the pain so nothing too important had been hit. Damaging a tendon or nerve would have been devastating.

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Remy smiled and he laughed when he got the reaction. He knew the eyes were something that bothered people. Too easily identifiable for him so he kept them hidden most of the time. “Well I guess I should be honest with you. Call me Remy, Remy LeBeau. It’s my real name,” Though that was debatable whether Marco would believe him now that he admitted he was a liar. 

He pulled up a chair and he shrugged, “I pulled you out of where you were held up and brought you here. You were out for a few hours.” Remy pulled forward and he started unwrapping the bandage around Marco’s head. 

“Is there anything else I can get you besides tea? Something to eat? Painkillers? Something strong to drink? Remy knew everyone dealt with pain a different way some people wanted a stiff drink others knew better and stayed away. “This might hurt a little,”  Remy was lying. It was going to hurt a lot. He moved cleaning up the fresh blood on the back of Marco’s head. 

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Kylo saw right through his humor, long eyelashes blinking for a second and his lips pursed. He maybe let a small smile cross his features for a moment, but then his mouth went into a thin line once again. He rarely let himself take a joke; he sometimes wondered if he was entirely hollow on the inside due to rarely feeling happiness when he was supposed to.

At the mention of Remy knowing of Snoke, Kylo’s head looked up with a slightly shocked expression. 

“You do?” Almost nobody knew about the Supreme Leader. He always worked away from people in the shadows, and even those who were associated with him knew next to nothing about him. Even somebody who once worked as closely with him as Kylo. “He… He’s not like your average crime boss.” His tone was almost fearful, like he would get punished if said otherwise about his former employer. But he wasn’t going to touch on Snoke any longer.

“I don’t even know why you want to help me.” He finally argued, the rest of Remy’s words running through his head. But then the hitman sighed. “But… fine.”

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Remy was glad to see Kylo smile. Even if it was only for a brief moment. “Course I know. I like to know who I’m contending with. I know he’s not like you average crime boss but neither am I.” He frowned at the way that Kylo talked about him. It made him hate the other boss even more seeing what his methods could do to other people. 

Remy’s eyes lifted when Kylo agreed. He grinned, “Great I think that we could really do something with you.” Remy looked over Kylo and he sighed. “You need a few days to rest and heal up though. You should be getting home I’m sure you’ll have someone there worrying about you.” Remy knew about Hux not like it was some big secret. He honestly wondered though how they got along. “Come back here two Monday nights from now and we can start you on training.” 

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Bosses and Liars

[blue-phoenix-rising]

Marco had been doing pretty good on his little spying job so far. Act casual, like you belonged there, and some gangs would let you mosey on by with little to no hassling. The rest either needed a little smooth-talking or just getting the hell out of Dodge. Marco had been busy marking out points of interest for the gang; boltholes, main entryways, anything that looked like it was of importance he made a mental note of.

But this job.. his gut instinct said something bad was going to go down. Perhaps he had lingered too long, or glanced at something he shouldn’t have, but whatever the case it didn’t matter; Marco had their full attention now and he soon found himself surrounded. They saw him snooping, they claimed, and he wasn’t going to be let off easy.

While it was one-sided from the beginning, as five against one were terrible odds, Marco still managed to get a few good hits in. A couple of broken noses, busted knees… it slowed them, but it wasn’t enough to completely take any of them down for the count. Trying to focus on five targets at once was wearing Marco down, and the many bruises and minor cuts he sported were proof of this.

With a knife one lunged at him, aiming directly for his chest. Marco managed to deflect it at the cost of it grazing his arm and sticking in his shoulder, then being unceremoniously ripped out; better than it being his heart, but the blood loss was still worrying. There was a blur of something in the corner of his eye and that was the last thing he remembered before a feeling of falling, then darkness. Looking back on it, Marco would realize he’d likely been cracked across the head by a baseball bat from behind.

He woke up with a gasp, the last thing remembered was being surrounded, and tried to sit up for a second round only to fall right back down on the bed with a groan. Clutching his head with his good hand, when Marco pulled it away there was blood on it. Still dazed, he looked around to try to focus on the room he was in.

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Marco woke in a nice bedroom that looked much like a stereotypical mansion bedroom. The man he knew as Robert was there and got on his feet when Marco shot up. He walked over quickly and pressed a firm hand to the undamaged shoulder. “Hey, don’t get up too fast. Your hurt but you’re safe.” 

Remy had forsaken his sun glasses, which every time before that Marco had seen him. It gave away the red and black eyes with no white to them at all. Remy still had on his normal clothes which made him seem out of place in the room. It wasn’t the fact that he wasn’t suppose to be here it felt like the room shouldn’t be. The feeling of Remy being the owner of the place was there but it didn’t feel like the place fit him. 

“Just rest your head gather your surroundings. I’ll be right back. I wouldn’t advise getting up, took a nasty bit to the back of the head.” The man pulled away from Marco. He would let him get his surroundings in order for a few minutes while he went off to get some things. 

It wasn’t long. Maybe five minutes before Remy came back. He had a cup of something warm that smelled like green tea, turmeric, and ginger and fresh bandages in his hands. “We’ll need to re-wrap some of your wounds and you should drink this. Will help you heal up  and hopefully help your head get back to being less fuzzy after that hit. 

Remy gave a slight smile and he helped Marco to sit up making sure to have the pillows prop him up. “You’ll be fine.” 

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Bosses and Liars

Remy cursed and he jumped down from the building where he had been watching Marco. He had been worried for the mans first time going into this territory. It was highly dangerous but he had chosen that it would be safer without guards. Which might have been true. Guards would have given him up sooner. That’s why Remy had followed. He was a master thief he knew how to stay hidden. So, he had followed Marco just to be safe. 

He had been jumped by five guys and as soon as Marco hit the ground Remy had to think in the quick span of a few seconds on how to deal with this. He had three charges from his powers, but he had purposefully brought more than a deck of cards with him. A few smoke bombs and flash bombs would do enough to handle him in a retreat, it wouldn’t do much though in a fight.   

Remy hit the ground causing a good blast to go through the men knocking them off their feet. That was the first charge. Second one was aimed with two playing cards to knock the guys out. Then a flash bomb and smoke bomb, to cover their flight. 

Remy had no idea how long Marco had been conscious but when he got to the man he was out cold. He slung Marco over his shoulders which was easier said than done, but he managed. 

From there it was just a question of getting away. Remy stuck to back roads and places where no one trafficked. He crashed into a very nice house hurrying knowing time was a factor here. He could feel the man bleeding out and Remy knew that he had to hurry. He tossed Marco on the nearest bed which was a downstairs guest room and hurried in patching him up. 

He cut off Marco’s shirt really hoping the man wouldn’t mind if he did Remy could always pay him back at a later date. Then it was a matter of stopping the bleeding. Luckily Remy was sure that the wound didn’t hit anything important. Stitches would be needed, but a hospital would not. 

When everything he could do to help was done Remy pulled a blanket over Marco and made sure that his head was elevated. Now he had to wait for him to wake up and make sure that Marco was really going to be okay. 

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For Hire

[blue-phoenix-rising]

“That’s a relief, at least.” Marco figured that, to the police that did notice the shadowmarks, they were likely passed by as just some odd graffiti or scratches and promptly forgotten. They’d probably be kicking themselves if they knew that the symbols had meaning and importance.

He nodded at the idea of people marking buildings as being guild affiliated, it was pretty clever. Marco wondered if that was risky for them to do so; being part of the guild and doing that is certainly one thing, but to be the sheep in wolf’s clothing might have its consequences.

Once the form was produced Marco pulled out a pen from a pocket and began to fill the first part out while humming a little tune. It consisted of the usual needed information; address, phone number, etc.. Marco thought there would have been questions about his history, though for the most part his was about as tame as they get. If they needed that, he was sure they had ways. Once he was done Marco slid the sheet back over.

“That should be everything, if someone calls me I’ll more than likely be home.”

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Remy smiled and he nodded, “I am sure it will not be hard to contact you.” He grabbed the form sliding it back into the desk. “I think that we have everything that we need done here.” He got up. 

“I’ll show you out. I’ll probably be the one telling you where you report and who to report to when the time comes.” Remy motioned with his head towards the door. “I’ll show you the way out.” He opened the door and lead them back up to the bar. 

Before Marco could fully leave Remy stuck out his hand. “It was nice to meet you Marco. I look forward to working with you. I’m sure you will be invaluable to the boss.” 

[blue-phoenix-rising]

For Hire

[blue-phoenix-rising]

Marco listened intently, staring at the symbols as each was explained. They were simple enough, and covered all the bases one would need to operate on the streets. Though he didn’t see himself robbing anybody or needing a fence anytime in the future, it was still good to know just in case it ever came to that. Routes, as well as paths to avoid, would especially would be useful for Marco to know in dangerous territory. He’d have to keep a watchful eye out for those.

Avoiding the police was a high priority as well. Most of them were decent and just trying to do their job and, while he was choosing this kind of life once more, Marco wanted to fly under their radar for as long as possible. He wondered with amusement if they would have to dust off his file of mostly petty crimes from years ago.

“Yeah, I think I got it. Have cops ever figured out what these symbols are doing all over the city, tried to use them against the guild?” That was a major concern for Marco; if they ever figured out these symbols they could easily use them to catch members. A supposedly safe haven such as a hideout would become a trap, and it would be off to the nearest station in a cruiser before you’d even realize what happened.

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Remy snorted and shook his head, “not the kind of thing most cops look for when investigating a place and it isn’t something someone would spot unless you’re looking for it.” The boss leaned back he could understood the concern. “Even if people do get taken away by the cops who know about these. The cops never ask so no one ever tells. No one would even want to tell, because anyone who knows what they’re looking at knows it’s helpful. Know some guys around that even mark their houses as guild so no one tries to rob ‘em. Smart idea members of the guild tend to stay off each other, good business practice.” 

He moved pulling something out of the desk. It looked like a simple form. “Boss likes to know who he’s dealing with before he gets anyone involved. I send this to him he looks it over and it gets burned, so no worries about cops stinging you through his records. You only need to fill out the first part, anything that you don’t have you can cross out. Boss doesn’t ask too many questions, just has some bad blood he’d like to keep out. I doubt you’ll raise any flags. He’ll call me or you in a few days and that’s when you know you can start worken.” 

[blue-phoenix-rising]

For Hire

[blue-phoenix-rising]

“Shadowmarks, huh…” Marco looked at the symbols on the paper. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of ‘em.”

Dealings with a thieves guild; this history lesson was getting interesting. If Marco got this down, it would be much easier than outright memorizing the locations of hideouts. Drawings were much easier to associate, and much faster to recall, which would be important when you were on the run and needed to think fast. So this boss sounded fairly lax so far, which was almost unheard of, aside from the two biggest rules. Not dealing with other gangs was obvious, and as for assassins… if he knew any, Marco didn’t realize it and that was probably for the better. It basically boiled down to 'just do your job and it should be all right’.

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Remy grinned and he leaned forward glad to be out of the topic of rules. He didn’t take Marco as someone who would break them. Rarely anyone did, they all heard the horror stories of someone breaking them, that kept most people nice and scared. Some of them were true. Remy had no tolerance for people who would hurt children. 

“Yeah, you see they’re something thieves use to tell other thieves what places are what. If you’re looking you’re ought to find them all over the place either in paint or carved in. “Guild is simple enough. It’s a main guild place like here. It will lead you into the underground that will lead to one of the bases around here. Safe meaning if you’re ever in a tough place, like in another territory that we’ve started getting into, this will mark out a safe rout through it. Danger means that the house to too dangerous to steal from or that a path is too dangerous to go down meaning traps. Escape is used in places like prisons or in some of the makeshift holdings that other guilds use. This on a location means easy escape from it. Protected means that the person and location are under the guilds protection, should never be hurt or stolen from. Fence means there’s a place or person to sell off goods and stolen goods, something tells me you wont be needed that one. Cache means that there is guild money hidden there, along with contacts for fake ID’s, and places to stay. It’s mostly used for members of the guild who end up in another town, gives them something to go on while they’re there. Money means that a person or location is filled with loot and a good target to rob. Empty means that the house has already been broken into or there’s nothing there. Police means that either it’s a station, a police officer lives there, or if it’s someone being protected by the police. I wouldn’t recommend going any place like that. Beds simply means a place to stay the night, usually operated by  a guild member or someone guild friendly. Hide out just means some place that you can hide for a while, their usually small little hide holes. Don’t stay for more than a few hours.” The other looked up to Marco, “You think you got it?” 

[blue-phoenix-rising]

For Hire

[blue-phoenix-rising]

“Sounds about like what I’ve heard about the guy; a total enigma. And a drink would be great, thank you.” Marco replied, waiting until the other was done before pouring a small amount in the other glass. He’d heard plenty of rumors, not just about this Gambit but other mob bosses as well, all of them just as contradictory and ridiculous as one might imagine; the ‘superpower’ one was definitely his new favorite though. He took a sip, pretty impressed with it; of course, Marco usually got the cheap swill when he visits bars so just about anything was an improvement. The guy still had taste, though.

“Makes sense, people tend to get tempting offers from cops to talk. You’ll have to have someone show me where a few of these spots are.” For a brief moment Marco thought about mapping them out; it would make it easier to remember them, especially if there was a large number of them. Then he realized if anyone aside from him got a hold of it there would be hell to pay. To play it safe he’d have to do it the old-fashioned way of memorization.

“I don’t want to even think about what happened to that guy.” Vague punishments were usually best left that way, so he didn’t push. About the worst Marco would ever do to a kid would be to chase them around just to terrorize them a little if they were being particularly bratty, but he’d never willingly raise a hand to actually hurt one. Sometimes they even thought it was hilarious to rile the blonde up enough to play a game of chase. Kids were just kids; most of them didn’t know any better, especially if they were brought up in a rough area.

“I’m glad there’s a rule like that, others aren’t so.. considerate.” Marco was beginning to believe he had lucked out.

[chessmove-luckyrisk-blog]

“Don’t dwell too much on what would happen it will help you sleep better at night.” Remy commented. “That’s the basics of Remy’s rules, he doesn’t really like to associate with assassin’s but that’s something he leaves up to you as long as you aren’t bringing it into his guild. Of course no go fraternizing with any other mobs and you’ll be fine. He doesn’t keep people on a leash as long as they do their job, ya know?” 

“Well actually easier ways then just showing you. Remy pulled out a piece of paper from his desk. “I can just tell you how to look for them.” Remy smirked as he leaned back in his chair. “You see while there are a lot of rumors I can confirm that Gambit has been in a thieves guild or at least worked closely with thieves because he uses these things called shadowmarks.” Remy placed the piece of paper on the desk. There were a set of symbols with one word under each. Guild, Safe, Danger, Escape, Protected, Fence, Cache, Money, Empty, Police, Beds, and Hide Out. “Pretty self explanatory if you have ever worked with shadow marks before, but if not I can always explain them too you.” Remy smiled glad to talk about something that wouldn’t bother him so much. 

[cxupdegrace-blog]

Kylo’s brows furrowed, and as he leaned forward, focusing on Remy, he swore that he could detect a sense of sorrow… He sensed it inside of the mafia boss, and for reasons unknown to the hitman, it made him nearly feel the same negative emotions. He then sat back, looking LeBeau up and down with a skeptic look.

“You honestly have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” His words were quiet, and if the mafia boss squinted, he could maybe detect a hint of sadness. “I… I have ties with people that could really try and get to you.” And by ‘people’, he meant Snoke. Even if Kylo moved to work for other people as well as the ‘Supreme Leader’, as the old fucker liked the be called, he knew that he would always have an influence on him. He’d always be keeping tabs on him. Always watching… Kylo was like his pet, in a way. And he could never escape his hands… If Snoke saw that Kylo’s loyalty was switching to another, a rival, then he obviously wouldn’t be happy. Not with Kylo, and certainly not with Remy.

However, the dark-haired male felt himself gravitating towards the more merciful crime boss. For some odd reason… “He did his job in a different way.” It was right, but it was effective. At least, effective for Snoke.

[chessmove-luckyrisk-blog]

Remy snorted a little, “Didn’t you hear I’m the feared devil of New Orleans?” He snorted trying to inject a little bit of humor back into this. He could tell that Kylo was being serious. Remy sighed and he leaned back running a hand through his hair.

The boss shook his head, “Listen I know who you used to work for.” Remy knew exactly who he might end up dealing with if he took this on. Well, this was really starting to shape up to be like home again. He wondered how long this could possibly last. “I know exactly what I’m getting myself into, with most of the other bosses around they’ve dug a grave for me already. Just a matter of if they can bury me.” Remy smirked, he was confident with his abilities to keep himself alive. 

He moved back to the bar his eyes on Kylo. “I’ve met people like you, with your mentality. I’ve seen the good and bad of it all. I know people like you can change. I’ve seen it happen. It just takes the right set of events to put it into action.” Let’s just hope that I can keep you alive through whatever end this has. 

“I’m going to tell you that no one should be treated like that. I’ve made enemies and found despicable people but I would tell you not even the worse of people should be turned into weapons.” Remy sighed and shook his head. “I’m not asking you to join me, I’m asking you to let me help.” 

[blue-phoenix-rising]

For Hire

[blue-phoenix-rising]

Marco nodded. “Gambit, an interesting choice.” As they went down the stairs into the busy underground below the bar, he wondered if they were at the level of the subway trains, or maybe even below them already. It was amazing how all this could be quite literally under the police force’s collective nose and they’d never know about it unless they somehow managed to stumble down here. No wonder these groups could be so successful; getting into a building was easier than storming an underground pocket that likely had very few, but very guarded, points of entry.

At the mention of drugs Marco continued to act disinterested, but was inwardly frowning. While he couldn’t argue about how much of a moneymaker they were, that didn’t mean he had to agree with their distribution; Marco had seen a lot of lives destroyed by their use, and he was glad he wasn’t going to have anything to do with them. At least for the moment. Welcome to the seedy underbelly of Solias, enjoy your stay.

Not talking to cops was a given, and Marco had few friends and even fewer family to talk to. There was a very clear warning in ‘Robert’’s words that nobody could have missed; there was sure to be no second chances given after breaking such an important rule. “Got it-yoi.” He headed towards the office, and with the mentioning of 'odd rules’ Marco could only begin to guess what that meant; every mob or gang boss was sure to have their… quirks, and this Gambit fellow was probably no different.

[chessmove-luckyrisk-blog]

Remy walked quietly into the office closing the door behind Marco. “The boss has a flair for...show about him. He is an interesting person if you were to ever meet him. Though building an empire from scratch in two years shouldn’t be something to be scoffed at. Plenty of rumors get spread about him, he’s a mysterious figure because no one can ever be sure if they have met the real Gambit or not. No one can ever be sure of who the face of the boss is. Wild rumors have gone around, talks of him being only in his twenties, talks of him having red eyes, talks of him being Cajun, or French, or Chinese, or English, or American, talks of him having taken down other guilds in other countries when he was only 18 , which may or may not be true because we know that two guilds from New Orleans want his head on a pike, and well the most outrageous of all him having superpowers. It’s all very funny to hear people’s stories about what he’s like.” 

He moved over to the liquor cabinet and he smiled, “Would you like something to drink?” He grabbed two glasses pouring something for himself. “Now The boss has two rules that everyone must follow. One of these rules I have never seen him be so made over when someone breaks it.” He took a sip. “Most people down here refer to it as the “no cops, no kids” rule. You don’t engage Cops at all, if you are engaged don’t let yourself get caught, act only in self defense, and try to run there are plenty of hidey holes in the city. You’ll learn soon enough on how to spot them. You do not engage kids at all. During the early days, someone broke this rule not knowing how serious it was. I can tell you that the person who breaks that rule will wish that the boss would have just killed them himself.” 

Remy sighed and shook his head still acting very serious, “The boss isn’t known for his temper. He doesn’t have one really, but you hurt a kid and I can tell you: You have a one way ticket to not having a very good time on earth anymore.”

[blue-phoenix-rising]

For Hire

[blue-phoenix-rising]

Marco slightly raised an eyebrow at the offer, a change from the bored deadpan he usually sported. His skills, while a bit unique, must have been more valuable to a crime lord than he ever thought. Guess all that running around the city was good for something other than his health. “Well, you’ll get no argument from me. I’ll do it.” He doubted few other groups would pay as well, either, or would have happily agreed to his lowball offer.

When the man motioned for another to take over the bar, Marco grabbed the map and took that as his cue to get up and follow. “Rules would be good to know.” He was sure some of them were the same as just about anywhere else; know your place, brown-nose your superiors, and especially do your job. Failure wasn’t often tolerated in these kinds of circles.

“Hell, I haven’t even introduced myself yet. I’m Marco.” He mentally chided himself; usually he’s much better with manners than this, but must have gotten caught up in the whirlwind of negotiations.

[chessmove-luckyrisk-blog]

Remy smiled and he he nodded, “Nice to meet you Marco. You can call me Robert,” Remy was used to lying about his name. He knew this one was smart, didn’t want to risk him finding out he was the boss so soon.” He grinned. “You ever talk about the boss just call him boss or Gambit. If you think you’ve heard his name you’re probably wrong so it’s just good to stick to what you know.” 

The other lead him down a flight of stairs in the back which lead to a somewhat large underground complex. There was a lot of people making on with their work. “We have a few unusual rules here but you don’t need to know most of them since you aren’t dealing with drugs or any other kind of selling business. Also don’t need most of them because you aren’t doing thug business.” Remy huffed trying to think of any rules he needed to know. 

Remy smirked, “We do the first two rules of Fight Club around here. Which means Don’t talk about it. And just keep your yap shut about what we do around here.” Remy looked over, “That means to anyone. No Family, no friends. You don’t talk to cops about it. At all. Usually the boss isn’t very strict about keeping his boys in check but talking to cops about this under whatever situation it is. It’s something he will personally deal with if it comes to it.” Remy knew that sounded threatening but it was true. Usually the threats were enough to keep his men in check about talking to cops. It was one of the few things he didn’t tolerate. 

“Now the next few rules are kind of odd. The boss has some of his own personal rules you probably won’t hear often.” He motioned for the office in the back.