Summer in New Orleans is always hot and sticky and today was no different, in the high ninty degree heat, most business was being done inside where it was cool. A black Lamborgini drives up to a three story house and the owner steps out and goes inside. Henri LeBeau, eldest son of Jean-Luc tosses his keys down on the nearest table. "Where's everybody?"

"Up here!" A female voice answers from upstairs. It belongs to Therese Chastine, Jean-Luc's ward. She had recently taken a leave from college to help around the house. Everyone was on alert with the recent activities of both guilds threatening to start an all out war. Tensions have been running high since the discovery of an Assassin Guild member's body found floating in the swamps two months ago. As fate would have it, three days later, another body was found, only this time it was a Thief. With both guilds blaming the other, it was only a matter of time before something was done to spark a war.

Henri rushes up the stairs and goes in search for her, he has always considered Therese his sister since she came to live with them eight years ago at the age of thirteen. Finding her in their younger brother's bedroom, he stands in the door way. " Remy needs t' clean his own room. You heard what Pere said t' him last night, no chores, no allowance."

" Henri, as long as he is playing in the back yard, I don't have to deal with his pranks." Therese finishes making the bed, opening one of the drawers. " No wonder he doesn't eat lunch, look at all this." She pulls out several candy bar wrappers and shows them to Henri. " Tante is going to have a fit. You know how she feels about Remy eating junk food."

" Speakin' of Tante, where is she?" Henri walks into the large bedroom and takes the candy wrappers from her. After counting seven, he laughs. " Glad you watchin' petite frere today wit' dis much chocolate, Remy's goin' be bouncin' off de walls tonight."

" Tante coming over tomorrow to watch him and when she finds out about that candy, I wouldn't want to be in Remy's shoes." She finishes putting the clean clothes up and then puts his toys away. " Where you going tonight? You just got home from New York yesterday."

" Bernarde an' I have t' meet some contacts tonight for de Guild." He notices the smile creeping across Therese's face when he mentioned Bernarde's name. " I still don' understand why you keep playin' hard t' get, I know y' like him."

" And what makes you think I like Mr. LeBranche?" She pretends to be picking up trash off the carpet floor so not to let him see she is blushing.

" Mr. LeBranche!" Henri starts laughing again. " De other night he was over here, everytime he take a sip from his cup y' be runnin' t' de kitchen an' fillin' his cup."

" I did not!" She shoots straight up and glares at him. " He was a guest in our home and I only made him feel at ease."

" Yeah, den how come Pere had t' refill his own cup twice cause y' be makin' goo-goo eyes at Bernarde?" He asks her.

Therese opens her mouth in shock. " What? You were seeing things and besides even if I were, and I was not!" She makes a point to be sarcastic. " It isn't none of your business." She grabs the dust rag from the dresser top and walks past him into her bedroom two doors down. Henri follows after her only to continue needling her for the fun of it. " Out!" She orders him out of her room.

" All right, I'll drop de subject." He promised as he sits down on her bed. " Where's Remy, Pere wants t' take him t' meet some of de Guild members today?"

" He was by the swimming pool about fifteen minutes ago." Therese goes to one of her windows and looks out. Her view was over the swimming pool and back towards the swamps in the distance. Her attention was suddenly caught where a huge gully was located. " Henri!" She screams.

" What?" Henri rushes to the window and looks where she was pointing. He had to look twice to see if what he was seeing was real. " What is he tryin' t' do, kill himself?" He runs down the stairs and out the patio doors with Therese running close behind him.

With one end of a rope tied around a tree and the other end looped around a huge boulder, Remy was tight walking across the rope bare footed. He was having the time of his life, paying no attention to the deep gully below him. He didn't notice Henri and Therese arriving. He made it across to the boulder and turns around to see them almost horrified.

" Remy, I want you t' stay where you are an' I will come an' get you." Henri tells his brother as he stands by the tree where the rope is tied. " Jus' don' move."

" What you talkin' 'bout?" Remy balances himself on the rope and starts walking back towards the other side. " I know what I'm doin'." He carefully takes his time moving across the rope at his own pace, knowing full well that Therese was holding her breath. He was about three feet from finishing when Henri reached out and yanked him off the rope.

" What you think you doin'?" Henri shakes him once he had put him back on the ground. Therese joins them as she too was glaring down at the boy.

" Jus' walkin' on de rope, nothin' wrong wit' dat is it? I wasn't hurtin' nothin'." Remy shakes his head and pulls out of Henri's reach. " B'sides you suppose t' live each day like it's your last."

" An' what idiot told you dat? Remy you're only ten years old, you got no business doin' dis kind of stuff." Henri tells him as Therese glances at him and then back down at Remy. He motions for his younger brother to follow him. " C'mon, we goin' back t' de house so I can keep my eye on you."

" You ain' papa an' I don' have t' mind you." Remy turns back around and heads towards the rope.

" Well we'll see 'bout dat." Henri yanks his brother up and tucks him under his arm before pulling out his knife and cutting the rope in several pieces making sure Remy couldn't use it again. " Looks like your days of playin' circus are over petite frere." He bops his brother on his bottom and heads back towards the house. " Pere isn' goin' t' be happy wit' you, Remy. He already warned you 'bout dis."

" Papa never said nothin' 'bout me walkin' on dat rope, jus' not t' climb on de roof." Remy struggles to free himself but to no avail. " Henri, put me down b'fore you make me mad an' I have t' hurt you."

" You better behave yourself Remy because Tante is coming over tomorrow." Therese says while walking behind them. She lifts up Remy's head and shows him one of the candy wrappers " And if you don't eat a big supper tonight, she is going to learn the reason why, you understand me?"

" You an' Henri got nothin' better t' do but bug me?" He continues to squirm as they enter the house, as Henri turns around to lock the patio doors, Remy glances up to see who was in the house. Thinking quickly, he puts on his best smile. " 'ello Papa!"

Henri simply tosses his brother on the sofa and grabs his keys off the table. " Pere, you better do somethin' wit' him, he was walkin' across dat gully on a rope." Opening the front door, he angrily slams it shut behind him.

Jean-Luc simply stares down at his youngest son as he hears Henri's car cranking up and leaving the house. " Thought we already had dis talk, Remy."

" Papa, you only said not t' climb on de roof an' I didn'." The boy defends himself even though he knew what his father was talking about. He sits up on the sofa and

pretends to act innocent. " An' I wasn' on de roof. Was I Therese?"

Therese throws both her arms up in the air and walks off, leaving a very angry Jean-Luc glaring down at his son. " Don' play stupid wit' me son, you know what I was talking 'bout, don' you?" He sits down beside the boy once his son had shaken his head. " Dis be de last warnin' you goin' t' get, boy or de next time we goin' in my study an' when we come out one of us is going t' be standin' for a long time, you understand dis, petite?"

" Oui, Papa." Remy lowers his voice in a whisper as he bowed his head to keep from seeing the disappointing look that was on his father's face.

" Come here." Jean-Luc commands as his son obeys him. He grabs the boy and hugs him tightly. " I got a meetin' wit' some very important people today dat I want you t' meet. What I want you t' do is go upstairs, get cleaned up an' wear somethin' real nice."

" Oh Papa, not dat suit an' tie again. I hate wearin' dat." Remy strongly protests. Even thinking about wearing a suit made him shiver. Not only did the thing itch him but everybody in his opinion went out of their way to make a fuss over him. " Why can't I wear jeans an' a shirt?"

" Three reasons, one, dis place will only allow you inside if you have a suit an' tie on," Jean-Luc begins making sure he had his son's undivided attention." Two, dese people are very important members of de Guild an' I want you t' make a good impression, after all de braggin' I have been doin' on my youngest dey want t' meet you."

" You braggin' on me?" Remy grins proudly before laying his head against his father's chest. He suddenly jerks upwards and stares at his father. " An' de third reason is b'cause you say so, huh Papa?"

" Oui, son." Jean-Luc stands up and carries his son towards the stairs. He puts the boy back on his own feet. " You get up dere an' get ready while I make some phone calls b'fore we leave." Remy runs up the stairs as his father heads for his study.