Houses of the Holy

"Think of this as the start of a new chapter, we are going to make sure the Quebec Nordiques don't suck", said John with a laugh.

Dan nodded as he tossed the last suitcase into the back of the Range Rover, riding shotgun. "Yeah, I'll have chance to do something else for once. Just stay positive, and you can teach us French, Brassy", he laughed.

"Oui, mon ami Italien. Quebec est un cite' mas belle, when we played against the Remparts in the Q the fans sont fou. You are really going to like it", said Derik.

"I'm the dumb Yank here, are French really that hot?", joked John.

"Oui, Champ. And the ladies in Quebec est mas belle, they got the first pick of girls from France back in the day. And if you play on les Nordiques, the girls will really like that", said Derick.

"Awesome, Brass", laughed Dan as he plugged in his Ipod and hit shuffle, Houses of the Holy by Zeppelin coming from the speakers.

The drive to La Guardia was pleasant as rush hour traffic had just dissipated, Dan parking the Range Rover in the lot and taking out the bags. "It ought to arrive there by next week", he mused aloud.

"Tha tsucks there's no direct flight to Quebec City, how long is it from Montreal?", asked John.

"Three hours, but it's a nice train ride. The team is going to find us a place, the Chateau is too expensive", joked Derick.

"At least we'll be together, we could've ended up in Seattle", said Dan.

"Seattle sucks, Carbomb. There's just wimpy hipster gus and tattooed goth chicks, plus it rains all the time. Quebec may be cold, but they got hot French chicks", said John.

"Oui, mon ami Americain", agreed Derick.

The trio went through check-in and then security, finding their gate on the screen. Just a few days earlier, the trio had found out they were claimed in the Expansion Draft by the Quebec Nordiques, the relaunch of the legendary Quebec franchise. After the initial shock, they had decided to fly up htere and meet team officials and get acquainted with the city.

"Are they going to wear those weird old uniforms?", asked Dan.

"Those were kind of badas, it sure was original. At least it sticks out", John said.

Derick sat by the window and gazed out the window as the Air Canada flight was loaded with luggage, deep in thought. Look on the bright side of life, just like Monty Python said. I am going to play in Quebec with my best friends, on a totally new team. This is a chance to start all over again, he mused.

"Air Canada Flight #617 is now boarding", announced the voice over the PA.

"Are we going to stay at the big hotel?", asked Dan as the train pulled into Gare du Palais.

"Probably not, it is tres expensive. Their PR person is going to meet us here, along with the coach", said Derick.

"I never thought my coach would be Briere, he's not that much older than us", laughed Dan.

"Yeah, I never thought of him as the coaching type, with the kids and all. Did he really find himself a young hot wife?", asked John.

"Laima's a cool chick, she's got awesome taste in music. I met her at his golf tournament, she plays guitar and she's was in a 70's cover band when they lived in Montreal", said Dan.

"Whoa, badass. Bet she's popular with the boys", laughed John.

Standing at the platform they saw Danny Briere in a sharp gray suit with a lavender tie, along with a very tall red-haired woman. "Bonjour, mes amis et bienvenue a la Cite' Quebec. I am Daniel Briere and this is our PR person and my sister-in-law, Ausra Fedorova", he said as they all shook hands.

John shook their hands and was surprised at how tall she was, easily over six feet tall and just a bit shorter than his own 6'3. While Ausra wore a sober gray business suit, her vivid red hair was plaited and pulled back into a knot at the back of her head. Her regal appearance was amplified by her almond-shaped green eyes and sharp-featured Slavic face, her looks more striking than classically pretty.

"Damn, you're tall", John blurted out.

"Oui, je sais. Both my parents are tall, I am half-Russian and half-Lithuanian. I do PR for the Nordiques, my assistant Natalia does the foreign PR work, you don't deal with her. You will meet your teammates during training camp, in the meantime we wil try to find you a place", said Ausra.

"Your French is very good, Miss Fedorova", said Derick as they went to get their bags.

"Merci, I've always been good at languages", said Ausra proudly.

"Coach, your sister-in-law is a genius", said John in awe.

"Oui, everyone says that, that's why she was hired. You guys are staying at the Chateu, so you better find a place quick", Danny quipped as Derick laughed.

"Whoa, I gotta take pictures", said John.

"Just don't spend too much time at the hotel bar, too many tourists. And I have to pick up Alexey from school after this", said Ausra.

John frowned when he heard that. It's not like I can go out with her anyways, plus chicks with kids are a big no-no, he thought.

"My son is going to French preschool, he has to learn the language. He speaks English and Russian", she said, showing them a picture on her phone.

"Cute kid", said John, showing the pic to the others. The boy looked to be about three or four with wavy strawberry blond hair and bright green eyes, wearing a miniature Nordiques jersey and holding a mini plastic hockey stick.

"That is my son Alexey, he loves hockey and he can't wait to see the games. He wants to see his cousin Caelan play", she said with a laugh.

"Huh, your son is on the team?", asked John.

"Oui, the team drafted Caelan from the Foreurs", said Danny proudly.

"Awesome. Isn't that going to be strange, coaching your son?", asked Dan.

"Non, Patrick Roy coached his son when he was with the Remparts and he did a fine job. I also coached Cameron when he was with the Olympiques, I treat them like the other players', said Danny.

"Au revoir, guys. See you at training camp", said Ausra as the car dropped them off in front of the Chateau Frontenac.

"Whoa", murmured John.

"Oui, Champ. This is the best hotel in Canada, this is where all the big shots stay. But we do have to find a place sometime, we don't want the team to go broke", laughed Derick.

"Are we still in Canada?", asked Dan in disbelief as they walked inside and saw the lobby.

"Oui, Carbomb. This is just a fancy place, the view is tres awesome from the bar", he replied.

"You were right, Brass", said John, taking a sip of beer.

Derick nodded as he stirred the straw in his Scotch and soda, the windows revealing a sunset over the St. Lawrence. "Oui, this is the best place to watch the sunset, plus there's drinks. Most likely we will end up living outside the city, Le Colisee is out in the suburbs. But believe me, this is the best city", he said.

"I trust your judgment, Brass. What do you think of the coach and the PR chick?", asked Dan, drinking his own Scotch and soda.

"I've met Briere before, he is a good guy but his ex-wife est un chienne, she dumped the kids on him. And the PR lady is intimidating, but I guess she's here because she speaks many languages", said Derick with a shrug.

"That chick is almost as tall as me, that's freaky. Does that mean Briere's wife is taller than him?", John wondered aloud.

"Nah, his wife is shorter than him, she's like 5'7. Reckon the sister got the freaky tall genes", replied Dan.

"I hope she doesn't come on the road trips, she's a crazy chick", said John.

"Maybe the assistant does, hoepfully she won't be like her boss", said Derick.

"Brass, are you planning something?", teased Dan.

Dercik gave his friend a look. "Maybe, Carbomb. I haven't had a woman in a long while and you should always be open to new ideas, non? I am French, it's not normal for us to be without someone", he retorted.

"Brass, if I was half as good-looking as you and French, I'd get with a lot of chicks. You got game, I'm just an ugly Irish bastard from Chicago", laughed John.

"French girls are hot, dude. Just say you play for the Nordiques and you'll get plenty of chicks", teased Dan.

"Pour de nouveaux commencements et des amitiés, des applaudissements", toasted Derick as they clinked glasses and drank.