Does love really exist, or is it only an illusion meant to trap two lovers? After all, J. Daniel Atlas doesn't do the "relationship thing."
Prequel to "Love is Like a Playing Card"
Only rated "mature " for language (throughout story) and smut (chapt...
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"Hen, did you fix it?" Sutton asked her as she and Danny raced backstage after dismissing the crowd for the intermission, reminding them to fill out their bank balances and seal them in the envelope.
"Oh, um, yeah," Henley smirked. "I see you didn't pay close enough attention to mine and Danny's act during practice, huh?"
Sutton laughed. "Yeah, yeah. It's funny now that I'm not dead."
"I wouldn't have let you fall," Danny reassured her, placing his hand on the small of her back. Sutton's smile faded, the touch reminding her of their night together.
"Anyway," Jack said, noticing Sutton uncomfortably shrinking away from Danny's touch, "we just need Sutton to press the button on the remote control to activate the change on Tressler's check."
Sutton nodded. "It's foolproof, if you really appreciate the knowledge and skill that went into this whole thing."
"You kids and your technology today," Merritt shook his head. "It's ridiculous what you can do!"
The group laughed as the lights flicked on stage. "Showtime!" Henley smirked.
"At the intermission," Sutton began as she and Merritt took center stage, "we asked you to write down your current bank balance, seal it in an envelope. Now, it's time to take those envelopes out. Everyone, take 'em out."
"Now, everybody, shout out your name," Merritt instructed. "All at once. Go." The audience began shouting, hundreds of names filling the theatre. "Shout 'em out."
"Hold it," Sutton silenced the crowd. "Clement? Frannick?"
"Yeah! Up here!" a man's voice answered.
"Oh. Way up there!" Merritt confirmed. "Okay. Dina? Robertson?"
"That's me!" a woman called.
"Okay. Names. Names. Let's go," the mentalists ordered in unison.
"Josepha Hickey?" Sutton dramatically questioned.
"That's me!" a woman answered.
"Josepha, I want you to focus on your balance, and count from one to ten out loud," Sutton instructed her.
"One, two, three, four, five..."
"Stop," Merritt spoke. "Is the first digit five?" Josepha confirmed his answer. "Do it again. This time, faster."
"One, two, three, four, five, six..."
"Stop. Six. Again."
"One, two..."
"Josepha, is your bank balance $562 as of today?"
"Yeah, that's what I got," Josepha embarrassingly said.
