The Devil [NYSM]

EASY TALKS

"Why do I feel like a guinea pig when I wear one of these?"

Jack held up his wrist to reveal the tracking bracelet Danny made them wear. Eva slipped hers on and agreed with him.

"You're not planning on doing any experiments on us, are you Danny?" she joked. The others snickered while the man faked a laugh.

"To make you more compliant and less sarcastic? I would never!"

She rolled her as at him and chuckled. He let out a genuine laugh of his own as he checked the tracker the bracelets were transmitted to.

"Five minutes!" he warned.

They stood up from their seats and filed out of the dressing room backstage. As Eva struggled to walk in her heels, she kept a hand on Jack's shoulder. She stayed with him the whole way on the stage before taking her place on her own platform beside his.

"Arthur Tressler presents Jack Wilder, Eva Donahue, Henley Reeves, Merritt McKinney, and Daniel Atlas!"

The spotlight flickered on as their names were spoken, hitting each of their platforms individually. They waved and said hello to the audience as the others clapped for their appearance.

Daniel began the show quickly, addressing the crowd.

"What is magic?" he questioned rhetorically, "Our argument is that it's nothing but targeted deception."

They all backed up onto the center platform and stood together.

"So I want you to look. Look as closely as possible. Because the tricks you are about to see may not seem connected. But we assure you, they are."

Eva smirked and looked beyond the bright lights. She saw Agent Rhodes and his partner sitting on the upper level, watching them suspiciously.

"Is what follows one hundred different tricks? Or is it one giant illusion?"

The lights mysteriously flickered on and off. Danny and Henley took the stage first while the others backed off. Merritt went around backstage and scoped out his targets from behind the curtains.

Jack and Eva practiced their act by exchanging turns throwing cards and making them disappear. They heard Danny and Henley's act cause laughs and gasps of awe.

"They make bunnies disappear and we get to throw cards," Eva sighed, "How come we got stuck with the boring part?"

He shrugged, "Maybe you should kick Danny's ass and he'll change out the show a bit."

She laughed and shook her head dismissively. He grinned and tossed a card at her, narrowly missing her head before she caught it.

"We have fun in our own ways."

She glanced at him. He moved closer, suddenly surging forward and surprising her. Her eyes widened as he took her by the waist and pulled her body close to his.

But he paused as their faces stopped within mere inches of each other. Neither of them looked at anything but the other's lips. They stayed like that for a few moments, letting their breathless pants hit their faces.

Eva dared to look up and they met each other's eyes. His own courageous expression instantly turned hesitant and wary. He looked away and slowly loosened his hold on her.

Once he completely pulled away, he turned his back to her. This only made her more confused and even a little angry.

"Are you serious?" she scoffed, "What kind of game are you playing?"