Chapter Text
When Remy, Jett, and Elena returned, the entire rest of the Poppy and I gathered in the living room. “We have to deal with El Gato before he finds out you survived.” Vivienne explained.
Nikolai spoke up. “We’ve run. We’ve outplayed him. We’ve given him enough chances to back down. And every time, he’s taken the low road.”
“So we can’t give him another chance!” Sophia ordered.
“Bu how can we stop him?” I asked. “Nothing we’ve done has convinced him to back down.”
“Well, there’s one way that works every time. We kill him.” Everyone one fidgeted at the thought that Sophia had brought up again and a heavy silence fell over the room.
“Could anyone really fault us?” Zoe asked.
“He did almost kill Leon and Isabela.” Elena said.
“Several times.” Nikolai added.
Jett sighed. “It’s nasty work, but an eye for an eye, you know?”
Leon cut in. “…No.”
Nikolai’s eyebrows shot up. “No?”
“The Poppy’s never killed anyone before. Once we make it who we are, there’s no going back from it.”
“Are you sure?”
I took Leon’s hand as a sign of solidarity. “I’m with Leon. I know why we want it, but we can’t let ourselves go there. If we kill El Gato, we’ll be no better than him.”
Nikolai steepled his fingers and mulled things over. “…Fine. But if we’re not killing him, whatever we do has to be foolproof. Since we can’t reason with him, I only see one other path. To put him in jail, permanently.”
“But he’s been to jail before.” I pointed out. “He broke out. What makes us think he won’t do that again?”
“His wife helped him that time. She’s dead now.”
“He’s got no one left to give him a hand.” Jett added as he sat on the couch by Elena and put an arm around her shoulders.
“So. We’re going to put away one of the world’s most active thieves.” Elena commented. “Where do we start?”
“Arson? Attempted murder?” Sophia suggested. “The cops know he blew up the house.”
Vivienne frowned. “In a perfect world, it would be that easy.”
“But it’s not.” Leon told us.
Zoe spoke up to explain. “A legitimate arrest means all the documents will come out.”
“Remember, we’re thieves too. We don’t want to slip and end up in jail ourselves.” Vivienne added.
“Even if we play the whole legal game right, it’d take too long. The more time we spend, the more time he has to make his next move.”
“And he’s learning from his mistakes.” Nikolai said quietly. My blood ran cold. I don’t want to contemplate what he’d try after blowing up a house. “We’ll have to go through an elaborate chain of favours and bribes. Judges. Local officers. Everyone will need to be paid off.”
“And you think that’ll work?” Elena asked.
“It will if we appeal to their egos.” Remy answered. “The older ones will remember El Gato. They’ll know what it means to bring him in.”
I steeled my face. “Then I say we do it.”
“So do I.” Leon agreed.
“We’re all in, then?” Jett wondered.
“I am.” Zoe replied.
Sophia sighed. “I still think it’d just be easier to kill him…but, yes, I am.”
Viv and Elena also agreed which prompted Nikolai to speak again. “Good. Then we’ll get to work on the first part of the plan. Isabela, Leon, you know him best. I’ll need your help.”
“In the meantime, I’ll hit the streets and keep my ear to the ground.” Remy suggested. “If he so much as puts a foot in this city, I’ll know.”
All night, I tossed and turned and eventually woke up at the break of dawn. Needing to do something, I grabbed a pen and paper from Leon’s desk and went to the roof to write. If I have to be awake, at least I can be creative. Just as I finished the first page of my new story, I heard footsteps behind me. “Leon? Is that…?”
Leon pulled the pen and paper out of my hand before lifting me to stand and pulling me into his arms. “Shh. Didn’t want to bother you. Just wanted to know where you were.”
I settled into the warmth of his bare chest. “You knew right where to look for me.” Then I peeked over my shoulder. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“Nah. Just kind of came around.”
“I’ve been doing that too.”
“I have to admit, it kind of gave me a jolt when you weren’t there. I’d gotten used to waking up next to you. I…”
“I understand. I would’ve told you where I was going, but I wanted you to get your rest.” I explained.
“I know. I need it too. But I…”
“You don’t have to explain yourself.”
“You were safe this time. What if you hadn’t been?”
I soothed him. “Let’s just take these things as we go.”
“…Alright. I’ll try.” Leon broke the embrace and settled beside me. “Feels kind of strange, doesn’t it.”
“What?”
“To be out here again.”
Of course. It’s the first time we’ve been back in Paris since we met. “That’s right. We went our separate ways for our bachelor/bachelorette parties, didn’t we?”
Leon smiled his half smile. “I like Paris with the rest of the Poppy. But it’s better with you. The last time we were here, I was ready to jump out of my skin.”
I glanced up from writing. “What? Why?”
“‘Cause I was so worried about you. People wanted you dead. Your old bosses…my cellmate. I thought, ‘this girl is one of a kind and I’m going to get her killed’. It’s…uh…” Leon grimaced. “It’s why I did the things I did.”
I smirked. “We really have come a long way from you locking me in our bedroom.” I held my hand up before he could say anything. “Before you open your mouth, don’t apologize. I’ve seen the world you came from first hand. I know what you were afraid of.”
“Still. I shouldn’t have made you prove yourself.”
“Why not? I had no idea what I was capable of either. Until I met you, that is. I had to prove myself to me too. And we’ve had some wild surprises along the way, haven’t we?”
“No kidding.”
Some of them have been tragic, sure. But even more of them have been beautiful. I held my finger up. “What do you say? Pinky swear?”
“Swear what?”
“That we’ll always work together. That’s what we signed up for.”
Leon laughed, and then indulged me by wrapping his pinky around mine. “Alright. Swear.” He admired our joined fingers for a moment, then broke it off. “I hope you know I’m still always going to want to protect you, though. It’s just how I’m wired.”
“Well, maybe my instinct is to protect you too. Besides, if I didn’t like it, would I have married you?”
“You can’t just end every conversation with that.”
“Yes, I can.” I chuckled and laid back into him. “What must the others think of us?”
“They probably think we’re insufferable.”
I leaned over and kissed Leon’s cheek. “Good.”
When the others woke up, we all started researching ideas for our next plan. Around lunchtime, Remy suggested that Leon and I go for a walk to get some fresh air. We wandered down the same route we took when we first met. “You were right. It feels so different to be here again. The first time we met, I was overwhelmed with everything going on. Now it’s comfortable. Familiar.”
Leon smiled. “Like visiting an old friend.”
“That’s right!” He may not talk much, but he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “I’m glad you’re still here to share it with me.”
“Wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.”
On the next block, we spied a pair of men huddled in a side street. They muttered to each other like they were engaged in some secret deal. One looked at us, and Leon’s hand immediately tightened on my waist. But we ignored them and kept walking, and nothing came of it. It’s nice to know he’s looking out for me, but… I eyed Leon’s stern face. Those guys want nothing to do with us. Why so intense?
“You doing alright?”
Leon’s expression lightened at my question. Good. I’d hoped I could break the tension. “I guess so. Considering.”
“Sure. For a man who just lost his house.”
“It may take me a while to figure out what to do.”
“In the meantime, at least the field’s safe.”
Leon let out a breath. “That’s a hug wait off my chest. I don’t know whether I should have the house rebuilt or…”
“Or what? Something else?”
“Like I say. I’m not sure. My gut tells me to rebuild it.”
“Then why wouldn’t you?”
“I’m not sure it’d be…right. It’s hard to explain.” Leon gazed up at a window box full of peonies. “Like maybe I’m dwelling on the past instead of moving forward again.”
“Well, I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You get a say in it too.”
“But you’re the one who had a real emotional attachment to it. It’s not that I didn’t love it, but…”
“I understand what you mean.”
I took his hand. “I just want you to feel better.”
“I know, sweetheart. I know.”
Eventually, we reached the end of the neighbourhood and turned around. “Well, I guess we’ve probably procrastinated long enough. The others must want us back so we can help plan.”
Leon hesitated. “Actually…”
“What?”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
“What’s that?”
He smirked. “When’s the last time we snuck off together? Just the two of us?”
I racked my brain for the answer. “That time…well, no…it’s been since the wedding, I think.”
“Let’s do it again. Before things get really dangerous. We won’t talk about El Gato. We won’t talk about the house. We’ll just focus on each other and get away from things for a while.” Leon’s voice sounded more at peace than it had since the wedding night. Normally, I think he’d want to hurry home and get back to work. If he wants to steal away now, he must really need the break. “Sneak off with me, sweetheart.”
I hooked my arm in Leon’s. “You really think I’d turn down sneaking away with you? We’ll just have to be careful not to come back with any souvenirs.”
Leon smiled, but scoffed. “What am I going to steal at a restaurant? A fork?”
“What? Are we going out for lunch?”
“Unless you object.”
“Of course not!”
We wandered towards the Eiffel Tower and sized up the restaurants as we went. “Huh. A fusion place? We’ve never eaten here before.”
“Let’s try it!” We grabbed a sidewalk table and read the menu that was on a chalkboard.
The waiter came over. “Bonjour, monsieur. Madame. What may I get started for you?”
All of them sound good, but I feel like an experiment. “How’s the pork chop and banana risotto?”
“Excellent choice. We also have a ‘Drunken Dragon’ flank steak with pickled shiitake mushrooms.”
“Sounds good to me.” Leon said.
“And to drink?”
I thought it over. “How about sparkling water? I feel like something light.” The waiter whisked off, and a small, calico employee stepped out. “Oh my God. They have a restaurant cat!” I held my hand out. “Come here, kitty.”
The cat blinked at me, then ignored me and rubbed along Leon’s leg. Figures. First Elizabeth, now this one. At least I have Silas. Though some days, I’m almost sure he prefers Leon to me. After the cat left, I leaned back in my chair and watched life go by. “I swear, Paris is still the most interesting place to people-watch. Do you ever do that?”
“Most people don’t like a tough guy staring at them.”
I nudged Leon’s foot under the table. “You’re too hard on yourself. See? Look at her.” I gestured to a woman at the nearby flower stand. “Doesn’t she seem like she could be in a Pre-Raphaelite painting? She has that face. That aura. Like she belongs in medieval times.”
“I’ve already got my favourite person to watch right in front of me.”
I tucked my chin as my cheeks flushed. “Oh, stop it.”
“I’m just telling the truth. Seriously, though. You’ve always impressed me with your eye for that stuff. I’m kind of a concrete thinker. You see colours, patterns, and emotions I don’t.”
“A ‘concrete thinker’? That doesn’t sound like the Leon I know. I’ve seen you in a car chase. No one can improvise as fast as you.”
Leon chuckled. “What, are we in a race to out-compliment each other now?”
“If we are, I’m winning.”
Leon kissed my hand. “You’re never gonna win against me.”
Just then, our food arrived, and the smell tickled my nose. “This looks amazing. You guys have really gotten me into haute cuisine. I used to assume it was overrated, but boy, was I wrong.”
“Yeah, hanging around with the Poppy for a while will do it to you. Even I’m more of a snob now. I can’t wear cheap suits anymore.”
“Leon, you couldn’t wear cheap suits because you’d explode out of them. I mean, I’d appreciate it, but it wouldn’t be very practical.” Leon let out a lighthearted laugh. This was exactly what I needed. I’m almost done eating and I haven’t thought about our problems once. I sipped my mineral water and took a deep breath of fresh air. I’m glad that even when times are hard, we can find a way to escape.
When we were finished, we strolled back to the Penthouse, hand-in-hand. But on one street, Leon tightened his grip. I know that squeeze. Something’s wrong. “Isabela. I need you to see something. But play it cool.”
“Alright.”
“Look at the other side of the street.” I glanced over without moving my head and I spotted a pair of young men who looked a bit too rough for the neighbourhood we were in. “I think those guys are following us. This is the third block I’ve seen them on.”
“They’re not the ones from the alley?”
“I’d recognize them.”
A chill ran up my spine. “Hiring someone to follow us isn’t El Gato’s style.”
“No. It’s not.” Leon stepped off the curb. “Keep your guard up. I’m going to see what’s going on.”