A Little Magic

Chapter 2

~ ɔıƃɐɯ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ ~

The plan was clear. Put on a show and get rewarded. It all seemed a little ominous for Henley's liking but she wasn't willing to ponder over it too much. Besides, she had priorities.

"Mommy?" Faye tugged on Henley's sleeve. "What's happening?"

She lifted her daughter to her hip and smiled, showing her the plan. "Mommy's got a new job, baby."

"It looks like we'll be spending some time together then." The younger man was talking from behind the sketches and plans. "I'm Jack Wilder. I know you're J. Daniel Atlas, I'm a fan of yours. Your work is incredible."

Daniel was pulled out of his trance. "Huh? Yeah, thanks, kid."

"I'm Henley Reeves, and this is Faye." Faye flashed a toothy grin.

"Nice to meet you, girls, I'm Merritt McKinney." The mentalist held his hat to his chest and ducked his head in mock-bow. Faye giggled.

"Faye Reeves?" Daniel was beside Henley.

"Actually, her name's Scarlett Faye Reeves, but I call her Faye." Merritt kept the young girl distracted, knowing Henley and Daniel need a moment.

"What do you want me to do? Does she know? About me?" He felt a little trapped between the two redheads, he wanted to meet his daughter desperately, but figured he couldn't just introduce himself as her father without Henley's backup.

"I haven't told her anything. I was going to, eventually. But you're here now. I could..."

Deciding against making a remark about her not telling him let alone Faye, Daniel kept quiet. Henley set Faye on the floor and spoke calmly.

"Faye, baby, there's someone you need to meet. This is Danny." Danny was crouched on one knee so he was Faye's height. He smiled at her as she returned the gesture nervously. "He's your dad."

Faye blinked up at Daniel, eyes widening.

"So... you're like a boy mommy?" She asked, face contorting adorably as she thought it through.

Daniel chuckled. "Exactly."

Faye smiled, her tongue peeking through the gap where her front teeth should be. Her head kept turning between Henley and Daniel, eyes sparkling.

"Just something I need to clarify." Jack was looking over the plans with a frown on his face. "We're supposed to plan this for almost a year. Right? So are we supposed to carry on with what we usually do? We've still gotta make money, surely."

"This part's gonna take a while to plan." Merritt was stood by the diagram of the French bank they'd have to find a way to rob. Daniel stood to oversee the plan. His daughter (his daughter-good lord) stood beside him and took his hand. Her hand was practically the size of his thumb but somehow that didn't stop his insides from melting at her touch.

"We can still do street magic on the side, make some money. And if the four of us are in this together-" Henley paused as though someone would object. "then we can all pitch in a bit, right? Plan this thing, make a little money."

"Pay less on the rent by the looks of it." Jack twirled an apartment key on his finger.

Merritt gestured to Jack to throw him the key, he tested it in the apartment lock. "Not this apartment." He concluded, throwing it back.

Jack inspected the engravings on the key. "Looks like an expensive place. 'RHR'" He read the company name.

"I know that place. Locksmith down on 53rd. Pass it back here, I'll find out what that unlocks." Jack threw it back to Merritt and the man tipped his hat at them, quickly dashing out of the apartment.

~ ɔıƃɐɯ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ ~

"Whoever planned all this, do they know about Faye?" Daniel and Henley were stood over the plans again, glancing at Jack who was entertaining the mini redhead.

"Hard to say." Henley said quietly. "She doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere in the plans, but I haven't exactly hidden her. I mentioned her in one of my shows once, one of those comments you make as you set up the trick." He nodded, knowing how the shows work.

"Whoever scouted me might've heard that, or might not." She sighed, wondering how this would play out. "But hey, I don't think whoever scouted you put two-and-two together to get Faye either so maybe she's just an oversight."

"She doesn't jeopardise the plan at all, but we need to be careful with her." Danny's eyes were back on his daughter again. He felt strange, like he knew her but also didn't know her at all.

Henley chewed her bottom lip. "I don't want her getting caught it the crossfire of whatever this turns out to be."

~ ɔıƃɐɯ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ ~

"That exec building down by the Broadway?" Merritt reentered dramatically, throwing the key over at Daniel. "We've got the penthouse suite on the top floor." He threw another key at Jack and yet another at Henley. "I had extra keys cut."

"No way! Man, I stole-" Jack's eyes widened as he glanced at the little girl on his knee. "-borrowed some stuff off the wrists of the residents there. Watches worth about a quarter million, no way are we gonna live in that building!"

"What are you all waiting for? Pack up the plans, let's get moving!" Merritt lifted up the laptop and waited for them all to herd out.

"Come on, monkey, let's go." Henley said, taking her bag and a few folders in one hand and her daughters hand in the other.

~ ɔıƃɐɯ ǝlʇʇıl ɐ ~