Partners in Bondage

 

            Lady Luck was clearly fond of Gambit, as the next day continued to prove when Mystique returned and he was able to observe her unloading propane tanks, oddly without the aid of Rogue, though the task would have been child’s play for such strength.  Sensing her obvious desire for secrecy, he watched intently through binoculars as she opened a hidden door in what appeared to be a no-longer-used outhouse.  Secret bunker, reasoned Remy. No doubt de control room for all her security and such.  Parfait.  At last, a real plan was beginning to formulate.  It would be complicated, making it that much less likely to succeed, but while Dame Fortune was favoring him, he intended to make the most of it.

            The key would be ensuring that Rogue was alone in the house, not an easy feat given her protective and vigilant guardians.  He watched and waited another couple days, until Destiny again left to run errands, walking more than two miles to the nearest bus stop.  Stealthily he made his way to town after her.

            Destiny ran into many unexpected delays while running errands and missed the last bus that ran to her stop.  She got a room at the local motel and called Mystique to let her know she would have to return the next day.  Hanging up the phone, she turned her unseeing eyes in the direction of the man in her room.  “I know you mean Rogue no direct harm, but I do hope you’ll try not to cause any indirectly.”

            Remy wasn’t surprised that she knew he was there, but her words did catch him off-guard.  “Don’t plan to.  Be a shame for such a belle femme t’ get hurt in any way.”  He moved slowly to close the deadbolt on the door, keeping his eyes on Destiny and still trying to process her nonchalance.

            She sat down quite calmly on the bed, letting her hands rest loosely in her lap.  “Then if you are determined to follow through, you should get on with it.”

            “Givin’ your blessin’ on it, mademoiselle?” he asked warily.

            “Hardly,” she responded with a snort.  “But Mystique needs her security tested, and I certainly am not capable of overpowering you and escaping.  Though I warn you, you should still secure me before you leave, for I will try my best to stop you.”

            He laughed and brought out the restraints, shaking his head.  “Shoulda taken you out for dinner; you’re more int’restin’ dan I t’ought.  Next time I’m in town, oui?”  He attached her firmly but gently to the bed and turned out the lights on his way to the door.  “Sweet dreams.  ‘Spect Mystique’ll come ‘round for you after de first bus or two arrives widout you.”

***

            Returning to his campsite, Remy settled in to sleep through what little was left of the night before closing in to spy on Mystique the next morning.  As he had predicted, she went to the bus stop expecting to meet Destiny and was perturbed by her absence as the first bus of the morning sailed past without slowing.  She tried dialing the motel Destiny had called from and got no answer.  Gambit could sense his chance drawing nearer when he eavesdropped on Mystique talking to Rogue, using the bug he had planted while the former was away.  “If Destiny’s not on the next bus, Ah’m going into town to look for her, baby.  You just sit taht here and we’ll be back in a hurry, Ah promise.”

            “Yes, Mama.  Ah hope she’s okay.”

            Of course, Destiny wasn’t on the next bus and Mystique boarded it, determined to get to the bottom of things.  As the bus rolled away, Remy was already breaking into the bunker.  He took a moment once inside to admire the hefty generator and the impressive array of security and surveillance equipment.  He hooked up a thumb drive and blasted past Mystique’s firewall to infect the whole system with a virus.  He knew Sinister would complain about the fact that he hadn’t stopped to pull any data, but he couldn’t risk having Mystique and Destiny make it back before he whisked Rogue away.  And as that was the primary mission, he intended to put his best effort into it.

            He fully intended to seduce her, which might take more time than he was entirely safe spending, but he figured it well worth the effort.  And anyway, plan B was taking her by force, which had considerably worse odds of success.  Gambit was hoping, if it became necessary, that an exploding card in her face would distract her long enough for him to knock her out with a blow to the back of the head.  If not, he’d have to try and drop a chunk of ceiling or a tree limb on her and pray that would be sufficient.  He slipped the Queen of Hearts out of his deck and gave her a kiss.  She hadn’t failed him yet.  He liked to think he was a favorite of hers, as well as Dame Fortune’s.