Sixteen-year-old Emil Lapin stretched and yawned. He glanced at his watch and raised an eyebrow. It was later than he thought it was, but it didn't really matter to him. He had the hacking program finished, now all he had to do was get his cousin Theoren so they could test it. That could wait until morning though. Emil was tired. He saved the program and then absent-mindedly ran a hand though his thick red hair. He spun around in his chair a couple of times and decided with another yawn that it was time to go home and see what his father was up to.
Emil turned off the computer and got up, finally becoming aware of his surroundings again. The library of the New Orleans Thieves Guild was good-sized, for being underground and unknown of by the general public. The Guild held meetings there when they needed to, but it was mostly used for research and computer-work. As it was rather late at night, only two people were in the library and Emil was one of them. The other was the Guild librarian, Minister Tome, who always creeped Emil out. He had a mean streak that ran deep, and didn't like most of the other Guild members. Emil paused briefly by the older man's desk on his way out into the tunnels that connected the Theives Guild underground homes.
"'Night, Minister Tome."
Tome looked up rather menacingly at the lanky teenager who had just dared to speak to him and disturb the silence of his library. "Done already?" He asked, his voice dripping with its usual sarcasm.
"T'ings like dat take time, Minister Tome." Emil replied with a tired smile. He chose to ignore the sarcasm.
"Yeah well, computers make entirely too much noise for my likin'...all dat clickin' an' clackin'..." Tome muttered.
Emil raised an eyebrow. "Faster den writin' it all down on paper. Or would you rather live in de dark ages?"
"Go on get outta here. I got work to do."
Emil did as he was told and left the library, shaking his head as he walked. On his way, he met Tome's best friend, Minister Hoard, the Guild accountant. If any pair of best friends could be considered exact opposites, it was Tome and Hoard. While Tome was mean and creepy, Hoard generally looked like he never fully woke up. Both men were brilliant, Emil knew, but it never ceased to amaze him how they managed to be friends.
Like most of the thieves, Emil enjoyed walking along the dark, somewhat eerie tunnels. His family had used the abandoned tunnels and sewers under the city of New Orleans for centuries. Living in houses like normal people was unheard of for the Guild, and they wouldn't have it any other way. They were creatures of the dark, and found the tunnels comforting. The tunnels were lit with candles along the walls so there was no need of flashlights, and the candles gave the tunnels a less imposing feel. As Emil neared the section of underground rooms where his part of the Guild family, Clan Lapin, lived, he paused, having heard something that didn't sound quite right.
"Marcel, I will do what I t'ink is best for dis fam'ly an' I don' need your help!" Francois Lapin, Emil's father and head of the clan, said angrily. If he had known his son could hear, he probably would not have said his words so loudly, but it couldn't be stopped now. Emil frowned and silently moved closer to the rooms, remaining hidden as he watched his father and his Uncle Marcel argue.
"I'm startin' to t'ink you don' have de slightest idea what's best for dis fam'ly, Francois. You're too caught up wit' Theoren an' Henri to pay attention to de needs of your own clan." Marcel retorted. "Next t'ing, you'll be wantin' to take Emil an' join Clan LeBeau permanently."
"You leave my son out of dis, Marcel. Why don' you jus' say it? You hated dat I didn' go along wit' you an' everyone else in de vote of confidence in 1922, an' you hated de fact dat I married Jean-Luc's sister." Francois countered. "Hell you're prob'ly jus' jealous b'cause you were never in line to be leader of Clan Lapin an' you never will be."
Emil knew from past experience that his father and uncle would fight all night if it struck their fancy to do so. He'd seen them do it before, after all, even though they didn't know he'd witnessed their frequent arguments. He wasn't prepared for what happened next though, and the shock and horror of it almost made him throw up.
"Dat was de wrong t'ing to say, mon frere..." Marcel said, his voice quiet and deadly. If Francois hadn't been so angry he would have caught the warning signals his brother was giving off. As it was, he wasn't listening for danger signs and was caught off guard when the attack came.
Marcel swiftly pulled a ten-inch knife out of his Thieves Guild uniform and before either Francois or Emil realized what was happening, he used the knife to stab his older brother in the chest. The thieves weren't good fighters in general, but they were all trained in self-defense combat and could use knives as weapons if the need arose. Marcel knew exactly what he was doing, and his aim was right on target. Francois grabbed his chest, gasping, and sank to his knees.
"Marcel...why...?" He managed to say before tumbling over onto the ground and gasping out his last breath.
"B'cause you d'served it. Why else?" Marcel replied to his brother's dead body. He knew that because Emil wasn't twenty-one, he wasn't technically able to take over as head of Clan Lapin. And that, to Marcel and the rest of the Thieves Guild, meant that he, Marcel, was the new clan leader. Which is just what he wanted.
Emil leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, trying to regulate his breathing and keep from crying. The last thing he needed was for Marcel to discover his presence, but fate was not working with Emil that night. He opened his eyes and looked into the room, focusing on his father's body. A sob rose in his throat and he tried to stifle it rather unsuccessfully. He choked as a result and Marcel suddenly looked up in his direction.
"Merde..." Emil cursed to himself.
"Emil Francois Lapin, get in here right dis second!" Marcel commanded.
With a grief-stricken sigh, Emil did as he was told and joined his uncle. The tears that were forming in his eyes threatened to spill over, but were quickly overruled by fear.
Marcel went over to his nephew and said, his voice harsh and venomous, "You saw nothin', compris? Dis didn' jus' happen."
"Yes it did..." Emil choked out.
Marcel shook his head. "Uh-uh." He reached out and pushed Emil against the wall, pinning him there. Emil noticed with a sinking feeling that his uncle had the knife in his hand again. "In de mornin', I'm goin' to tell Jean-Luc an' everyone else dat de Assassins killed him while he was out on patrol. An' you are gon' keep your mouth shut if you don' wan' join him. Do you understand dat? I didn' kill him. You didn' see anythin' an' derefore you ain' gon' say anythin' to anybody in dis Guild or I will kill you too."
Emil nodded silently, unable to do anything but agree with his uncle's crazy plan. He went into his room while Marcel moved Francois' body and cleaned up the blood on the ground. Emil pretended to be asleep when Marcel checked on him awhile later, but he stayed awake all night, alternately crying over his father's murder and trying to think of a plan. Just before dawn, he came to a conclusion. He quietly checked on his uncle and the rest of his clan. Seeing that all were sleeping or on guard duty, he put a few necessities into his backpack and pulled on his Thieves Guild uniform. Then he left his home, stopping only momentarily to speak with his cousin, Louis.
"Where you goin' dis time of de mornin', kiddo?" Louis asked as Emil tried to slip by him. "Got some work to do or somethin'?"
Emil stopped with a silent sigh. "You could say dat, yeah."
Louis nodded. "Okay. Be careful. See ya later."
"Yeah." Emil replied and kept going. If Louis had known his young cousin's intentions, he would have done anything possible to stop him, and Emil knew it.
Emil walked along the tunnels, going back to the library, where he found Ministers Tome and Hoard dozing in lounge chairs. He didn't dare turn on a computer; he didn't want to wake them up. Instead, he took a piece of paper and a pen from Tome's desk and sat down as quietly as he could, writing a letter.
"Uncle Jean-Luc: Something happened last night. I can't talk about it with anybody here, but I have to talk about it to someone so I'm going to find Remy. I'm sorry. I just have nowhere else to go right now...I can't even tell Tante Mattie, although I'm sure she knows the difference. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise. Please don't worry about me too much. I'll be okay. Love Emil"
Emil folded the letter and scrawled Jean-Luc's name on the outside. Then he left the library as silently as he'd entered it and walked along the tunnels towards the center of the maze, where Clan LeBeau, the head Guild clan and his dead mother's family, lived. He lucked out in that his cousin Henri, Jean-Luc's son, who was on guard that morning, wasn't around when he got there. He really hadn't wanted to try to explain to Henri what he was doing. Henri was smarter than Louis, and would've seen right through Emil's cover. He quickly went over to the table in the center of the room and put the note on it before slipping into the shadows again and heading away from the only home he'd ever known.
Once he got above-ground, Emil, squinting in the early morning sunlight, sat on a bench and pulled Remy's most recent letter out of his backpack. He studied the envelope, and realized he had a long trip ahead of him. The letter was postmarked Westchester, New York. He sighed and put the letter back.
"I ain' got enough money to fly dere..." He thought miserably. "Surely de bus is cheaper, but it's gon' take forever!"
Emil got up again and walked to the bus station. He knew where it was because he'd gone there with Tante Mattie before. When he got there he went over to the counter, feeling very out of place and nervous. "Uhm...hi." He said to the girl behind the counter.
"Hello dere, what can I do for you dis mornin'?" The pretty blonde replied with a smile that was much too cheerful for that time of the morning.
"I need to go to Westchester, New York." Emil told her. "An' I need to leave as soon as possible." That was the truth, too. Emil knew that once his letter was discovered and the Guild was notified that he'd left, they'd be all over the airport, train station and bus station, looking for him. He had to get out of town quickly.
"Well let's see what we can do here now." The girl said, punching a few keys on her computer. "I can get you to Westchester, but dere'll be quite a few stops, an' one bus change. First bus leaves here in fifteen minutes. You up for dat?"
"Yeah...dat'd be great. Don' care 'bout how many stops dere are...but where does de change take place?" Emil asked.
"Memphis. Dat's de only change you'll have to make. An' most of de stops are jus' for gas an' food an' stuff. It's still gon' take quite awhile t'ough..."
"Dat's okay."
"Great. Can I get your name for the ticket?" The girl asked.
Normally the Thieves Guild had very specific rules for names to use when traveling, but Emil didn't want to go by those rules this time because if he did, it would make him easier to track. He decided to go close to the truth. "Francois Devereaux." He told her, using his father's name and his paternal grandmother's maiden name.
"Okay here you go." The girl said, handing Emil his ticket. "It's bus number 746, right out dere by de door. Have a nice trip."
"T'anks."
Ten minutes later, as bus 746 was pulling out of the station on its way to Memphis with Emil as one of the passengers, Henri LeBeau was urgently waking his father, Jean-Luc, up from a rather peaceful sleep. Henri had returned from his guard patrol to discover Emil's note on the table. Recognizing his cousin's handwriting and knowing his father wouldn't mind, Henri had opened the letter and read what Emil had to say. After Jean-Luc had read the note, he looked at Henri.
"First of all, what de blazes is he talkin' 'bout an' second...we have to stop him."
"I don' know, Papa." Henri said. "He says Tante Mattie prob'ly knows, maybe we should ask her. An' as for stoppin' him, we might be too late."
"Well, let's find out, shall we?" Jean-Luc suggested.
Within thirty minutes, the entire Guild, with the notable execption of most of Clan Lapin, was assembled in the library. Jean-Luc quickly took charge. "Emil has taken off to find Remy in New York. I don't know exactly why at de moment, but I'm plannin' on findin' out very soon. I need six volunteers right now to go to the airport, the train station and tbe bus station to either try to stop him or to find out how he's travelin'."
Henri and his wife, Mercy, exchanged looks and came to a silent agreement. Henri voiced it for them. "Mercy an' I will check de airport."
Two of the older members of the Guild, Sebastien Delacour and Jacques Gritault, held a brief, whispered conference and following it, Sebastien announced, "Jacques an' I will go to de train station."
"Very good. T'ank you." Jean-Luc replied. He noticed that another of his nephews, Theoren Marceaux, was about to speak up and continued quickly. "Non, Theoren. I want you to come wit' me to try an' find out jus' what's go Emil so freaked out dat he doesn' t'ink he can talk to us 'bout it. Any takers for de bus station?"
"Genard an' I will do it." Claude Potier said quietly, speaking for himself and his best friend, Genard Alouette.
"Okay." Jean-Luc sighed with relief. He was always glad that his thieves were open to volunteering to do things. It took the pressure off of him to order someone to do them. "Dis meetin' is adjourned until further notice. De six of you go, an' report back to me as soon as you learn anythin'. Theo, you come wit' me. I want to get to de bottom of dis."
"I'm confused, Jean-Luc." Theoren commented as they walked along the tunnels. "I mean, I've read dat note, an' I don' have a clue what de kid's talkin' 'bout either."
"Well I'm hopin' someone here can shed some light on de situation, Theo." Jean-Luc replied. They had reached the home of Clan Lapin. Louis was still standing guard.
"Louis, did you see Emil dis mornin'?" Jean-Luc asked.
The red-haired man thought for a moment and nodded. "Oui. He said he had some work to do. I didn' question it. He's usually workin' on somethin', y'know."
"Yeah well you should've questioned it." Theoren commented. "De kid's on his way to find Remy in New York an' we don' know why. Any ideas?"
"Non...but I ain' seen Francois or Marcel since last night. T'ought it was funny dat dey didn' go to de meetin' you called dis mornin'...Maryse jus' told me to stay here."
"You did de right t'ing, Louis." Jean-Luc assured him. "It is funny dat Francois an' Marcel are missin' t'ough...Not like dem to miss a meetin', especially when it concerns de well-bein' of a member of deir clan."
While Theoren continued to speak with Louis, Jean-Luc went and peeked into his brother-in-law's room. Empty. So was Marcel's room. Something wasn't right, and Jean-Luc knew it. He frowned in frustration and was about to get Theoren and go visit Tante Mattie, the Guild's spiritual healer and mother-figure when Marcel suddenly returned, carrying the obviously dead body of Francois.
"Jean-Luc! T'ank God you're here! De Assassins...Francois...where's Emil?" Marcel gasped out, playing his act for all it was worth.
"Marcel, what on earth is goin' on?" Jean-Luc demanded, ignoring the question.
"Francois was killed...murdered by de Assassins...I jus' found out dis mornin'...it must've happened when he was out patrolin' last night..." Marcel practically sobbed, causing Theoren, standing near Jean-Luc, to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. He didn't believe the other man for a moment and neither did Jean-Luc, from the look on the Guild leader's face.
"While it's obvious dat Francois has been killed..." Jean-Luc commented. "It doesn' explain why Emil would suddenly run off to find Remy an' leave me a note sayin' dat somethin' happened he can' talk 'bout." Both he and Theoren watched Marcel sharply for his reaction.
"Emil's gone? Maybe he saw it happen, I don' know. I'm surprised he didn' come to me if dat was de case." Marcel smoothly answered without missing a beat.
"We got people out tryin' to find him or find out his method of travel. We might be too late to bring him back, but we're tryin'." Jean-Luc said, feeling a strange pit in his stomach he wasn't used to. Marcel was lying, he just couldn't prove it and he didn't know what the truth was yet. It angered and frustrated him to no end.
"I have to tell de rest of our clan..." Marcel said softly. "Dey're gon' be devastated..."
"Prob'ly." Theoren muttered. He was horribly saddened to learn of his best friend's death and, because he wasn't much of an emotional person, he hid it with bitterness and anger. "T'ough I doubt dey'll b'lieve you any more'n I do..."
"What was dat, Theo?" Marcel asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Nothin'."
Jean-Luc shot a warning glance at his nephew, and Theoren shut his mouth. "We'll take Francois' body to Tante Mattie so she can prepare him for burial. An' when we hear news of Emil, we'll let you know."
"T'ank you..." Marcel replied with a relieved half-smile. Deep down he was very angry at Emil for having run off and left a note. He knew Jean-Luc and Theoren didn't believe his story, mainly because of the note Emil had left for them. The kid was ruining everything even though he wasn't even there, and Marcel suddenly regretted not having killed the brat before something like this could have happened. Emil was a witness to the truth, and therefore should have been dealt with permanently and immediately so he couldn't tell anyone what had really happened.
Meanwhile, bus 746 rolled along the highway heading towards Memphis. There weren't many people on it and Emil was grateful for that. It meant he could sit by himself and not have to answer any questions from curious busybodies. He slept a great deal of the way to Memphis and by the time the bus stopped at the station in Memphis, Emil was ready to get off and stretch a little before boarding the second bus of his trip.
He learned from the man at the ticket counter there that the bus heading to Westchester, New York, would arrive in an hour. It was bus 1092 and would take him directly to Westchester without him having to change buses again. There were many stops along the way, but that was to be expected. Emil thanked the man and decided to go for a little walk while he waited for bus 1092.
Realizing he was starving, Emil took the opportunity to find a place to eat that wasn't too far from the bus station. He lucked out and found a Subway sandwich shop just down the street. Shrugging and deciding he probably wouldn't find much better, he went into the restaurant and got in line. When it was his turn, he found himself facing a bubbly brunette with a friendly smile.
"Hi! Can I help you?"
Emil blinked. What was with people being so damned cheerful and upbeat today? "Yeah...can I have a six-inch melt on white bread, s'il vous plait?"
"Sure! What kind of cheese would you like? We have cheddar, monterey jack and mozzarella." The brunette asked him as she put the bacon in the microwave behind her and cut the bread for his sub.
"Uh...monterey jack, I guess. I don' know..."
While Emil was ordering and eating his lunch and waiting for the next bus, six members of the Thieves Guild were reporting to Jean-Luc that they had not succeeded in stopping the teen from leaving the city.
"He took de bus, we know dat much." Claude confirmed after the others said they'd found no sign of him at the airport and the train station. "Girl dere told us a kid who looks exactly like we described got on a bus first t'ing dis mornin' headin' to Memphis."
Genard took up the story. "She said dat's where he had to change buses. De second one would take him to Westchester. He's prob'ly in Memphis by now, maybe even on de second bus already. We don' know."
"What do we do, Papa?" Henri asked quietly.
"Much as I hate to say it," Jean-Luc sighed. "We let him go. While I still don' t'ink Marcel told us de truth, I can' prove dat he's lyin'. If Emil does know his father's dead, dis trip will prob'ly do him some good."