APPEARANCES BY: Gambit, Rax, Domina, other members of the Neo, Tante Mattie, Bella Donna Boudreaux, Gris-Gris, Fifolet, Singer, Questa, Theoren Marceaux, Emil Lapin, Mercy LeBeau, Genard Alouette, Zoe Ishihara, Claude Potier, Minister Tome and Minister Hoard of the newly Unified Guild of Thieves and Assassins. Also appearing: Fontanelle, Quiet Bill, Courier, New Son and, in flashbacks, Jean-Luc LeBeau, Marius Boudreaux and several members of the Thieves Guild from 1922.

SUMMARY: The story begins with a shot of Gambit standing on the balcony of his Garden District safehouse. He is unaware that he is being watched, and targeted, by a member of the Neo. Rax takes a shot at Gambit and misses, instead breaking the glass in Gambit's hand and staining his shirt. Rax leaves after Gambit uses his powers against the other man, and Gambit decides to follow him and have a little fun. He is trying to take his mind off of Guild business being conducted that very moment.

Over at the Boudreaux mansion, the members of the Unified Guilds have gathered...without their patriarch...to hold a vote of confidence. After recent events (see review of Gambit 21), Theoren and Gris-Gris asked for the vote because they believe Gambit's position as leader needs to be addressed. The meeting opens with the Guild Viceroy, Bella Donna, speaking to the assembled members and reminding them all of why the meeting was called.

While the Guild is thinking of how they are going to vote, Gambit has caught up with Rax and their fight begins in a New Orleans graveyard. But fighting Rax is not quite enough to take Gambit's mind off the vote. He knows what happened the last time there was a vote of confidence in the Thieves Guild: his grandfather, Jacques LeBeau, was ousted as patriarch after the theives gave him a vote of no-confidence. That particular vote was spearheaded by his own son Jean-Luc, who only just recently left Gambit in charge of the Guild.

As this is taking place, Fontanelle is taking a walk through Quiet Bill's dreams. In them she sees New Son fighting against several of the superheros of *his* earth. She also sees several scenes of a very dead Gambit. She is trying to help Gambit figure out just what New Son is up to and why, but there doesn't seem to be very many answers within the dreams of Quiet Bill.

Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, Courier is looking into secret government files, also trying to help Gambit regarding New Son. He (she) discovers information on Black Womb (see review of previous issues) and comes to the shocking discovery that the entire program was started on alien technology and the X-Cutioner armor.

Gambit continues to fight with Rax, very out in the open in the middle of New Orleans, and the Guild begins their vote. One by one, Bella Donna asks each Guild member to give his or her vote. In the end, before Bella Donna casts her own vote, they have a 7-6 vote to keep Gambit as patriarch. The Guild members who voted no: Gris-Gris, Theoren, Minister Tome, Minister Hoard, Claude and Questa. Those who voted yes: Tante Mattie, Mercy, Emil, Singer, Fifolet, Genard and Zoe. Bella Donna reminds them that a tie will mean the same as a no-vote but she is not actually shown casting her own vote.

The scene shifts back to the fight, where Domina and other members of Rax's Neo clan have arrived. Gambit is on the ground, and from the looks of things, about to be killed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a knife comes flying down, embedding itself in Rax's hand. Everyone looks up to find the members of the Unified Guild ready, willing and able to defend Gambit as their patriarch, signifying that Bella Donna voted to keep him as leader. The Neo do not wish to fight with the Guild, so they leave and Gambit, who never wanted to be the Guild patriarch in the first place, comments to Bella Donna about how he lost the vote.

The story ends with a preview of things to come when New Son finally frees himself from the trap Gambit and Angel put him in during the events of the Gambit 2000 Annual.

QUINN'S OPINION: This has always been one of my favorite issues of Gambit, simply because it allows us to see how the Guild is divided in regards to their patriarch. One would almost assume, based on how the Thieves and Assassins have been enemies a lot longer than they've been unified, that the Thieves would all vote for Remy and the Assassins would all vote against him. But that doesn't turn out to be the case. We finally see, as was never shown before, that members of Remy's family really don't like him, and that some of the Assassins are actually willing to give him a chance. Nothing in Guild life is cut and dry, it would seem, and that makes for some interesting friction.